Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Summer and Oily Skin

For those of us who have oily skin, summer's heat and humidity can make our face feel as if it is melting off...we can't wait to wash our face and sometimes we need to wash it twice, just to feel clean and dry...how can we battle it? I say we in this post as I too have oily skin and fight this feeling as well.

Our first line of attack is to make sure that we cleanse and hydrate our skin twice a day. The oilier the skin the more we hydrate and the dryer the skin, the more we moisturize. Obviously we want to wash our face at night to rid our skin of the day's "dirt", and just as important we need repeat the process at night. That is when our skin does most if not all of it's repair work.

When dealing with oily skin it's all about the signals that are sent to the oil glands. If you use a cleanser that is to astringent or strong, you are telling the glands to over produce...and the same goes if you don't use any type of hydration or moisturizer to follow the cleanser.

My favorite cleanser for oily skin is the Bioelements Decongestant Cleanser, it's a gel and gives a wonderful clean feeling without drying your skin out. Depending on the level of oiliness, ( how soon does your face get shiny and where does it get shiny) there are several options for hydrating and moisturizing in your daily regimen.

Normal to oily skin - Absolute Moisture

Moderate oily skin- Hydration Gel

Over all oily skin - Pom Mist Spray

To combat oiliness through out the day I use and recommend one of several products designed just for oily skin in the Jane Iredale Mineral Make Up line. Your first line of attack is to use Absence 1 or Absence 2 before putting your foundation on, it controls over active oil glands and can even be used alone. Absence has an SPF of 15 so it's great poolside!

For a foundations, use the PurePressed Base versus a liquid one, it gives a nice matte finish and finish with PureMatte or Amazing Matte Powder and then throw the Brush-Me Matte into your purse for help through out the day to help cut oil and shine.

The best thing about using the finishing powders is that you can use them through out the day without worry that they will "cake" up on your face...there is NO talc powder in the Jane line, and it's talc powder that screws things up!

Stay cool and shine free!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Humidity...Friend or Foe?

Hello and Happy June! Wishing my Mom a huge Happy Birthday today!

Last week I had the good fortune to spend some time with my sister, for her birthday, in beautiful northern California, as well as a bit of heaven in Lake Tahoe NV! It was a wonderful trip!

What Your Beauty Pro discovered was that humidity is most definitely a much needed friend!!! Yes, you read that right! For as long as I can remember we complained of humidity because of the effects it had on women with fine to medium texture hair as well as those curly or wavy headed vixens.

Humidity gives us volume, structure and shape no matter the style...I would have to say that I struggled with my hair while in the mountains with zero humidity, I could have used a gel styling aide to give me some oomph...however when in San Francisco with my hair in it's naturally curly state, it behaved great...foggy humidity there...and I "styled" my hair by using my favorite leave in conditioner, Trauma Treatment and let it air dry in both places.

It didn't really add up for me until after being back home for a few days...to high humidity day one, and then no humidity day two, then back to it on day three...good grief this weather is crazy! Beautiful, but crazy!

It's my friend now and can be yours too, as along as we can control the "frizz" that comes along with it...Your Beauty Pro has what you need to enjoy the volume your new friend gives without the "frizz!" Eufora's Formation Foam gives you that, along with extra volume...and feels great when you put it on...use it as volumizer with your blowdryer or use it alone to envelope your curl in definition.

When we don't have humidity then we need a gel to gives us the hold factor...I like Redken's Blown Away for a stronger hold and Eufora's Sculpture for a lighter hold. Which one will depend on your texture and the silhouette of your style.

Is humidity your friend or foe? If you feel it's your foe then let's chat about it!