Summer Anti Aging

Skin care in the Summer months can be tricky because exfoliation is key, but staying out of the sun while exfoliating becomes tricky. I love Skinceuticals Advanced Brightening System for this reason. All you will notice is that your skin is glowing- not peeling- and starts to look amazing within days! It helps regulate discoloration, but doesn't irritate.

Morning Regimen~
1. Cleanse your skin (Clarisonic & Purifying Cleanser are my preference)
2.The Retexturizing Activator- 2 or 3 drops applied to full face. Let it dry (does not take long)
This is a mild, superficial exfoliation + oil free moisturizer; great for pore minimizing! This one does exfoliate so skip this step a day before heading to the beach or waxing. Poolside sun counts too!! 
3. Phloretin CF- 3 or 4 drops full face
Phloretin is an antioxidant that will make you glow & is non-irritating; it's gentle to your skin and feels like moisture as well
4. Spf 50- the greatest, oil free, greasy free sunscreen ever.
Worn under your make up! Or alone.... It is tinted :)

At night~
1. Cleanse
2. Retinol- just gives your skin the best anti aging in a bottle- Vitamin A. Be careful because this step does exfoliate so skip this step a few days before heading to the beach or waxing. Poolside sun counts too!! It will magnify sundamage.
3. Advanced Pigment Corrector- will even out skin color. It's safer than Hydroquinone and still effective.

Enjoy!!!! Let me know what you think. Or email me questions.

Exfoliation Baby

Different Ages have different stages of aging. Understanding the stage you are currently in will help you know what you need. This is a broad overview, of course, and as individuals there are other factors

I can not speak to, but its a good place to start. 

For you lucky ducks in your 20's: Prevent and Protect

Your cellular turn over is still moving at a decent pace, so no need to worry. Prevention means "preserving" the way your skin currently behaves by wearing sunscreen, washing with a Clarisonic and NEVER sleep in your make up please! Sleeping in your make up ages you 7 days. No tanning beds on your face! Wear an antioxidant daytime (Phloretin for normal skin and Blemish +Age Defense for acneic skin) and sleep in a gentle AHA night cream or light Retinol. AHA for dry skin will help stop break outs, clear up dry patches and make your skin glow. For oily to normal 20 somethings, Skin Medica makes a good 0.25 Retinol that is super gentle and Skinceuticals makes a 0.5 that is well tolerated in normal skin. Retinol can also minimize pores, help with blackheads and clean up pimples.

The rate at which our cells turnover (move from the innermost layer to dying and sloughing off) slows at age 30. This cellular turnover is directly related to collagen & elastin strength and production. That is why the proper amount and type of exfoliation are required at any stage. These are my favorite three: microdermabrasion, hydrafacial or chemical peels. You want an aesthetician to guide you as to which is best for you, but I can put it in perspective for you. 

Microderm is great for men (mechanical exfoliation) or oily skin and it yeilds results for about a month. This doesn't mean all skin doesn't benefit from it, it's just best on oily on men skin (they have thicker skin than we do, typically). 

Hydrafacial is a great treatment for dry, mature or sensitive skin. It can have a chemical portion added to it to make it more aggressive and it does make you glow period. It also infuses the skin with serums that leave you looking firmer for about a month, and the glow lasts

that long too.

Chemical Peels rock for all skin types. The deeper you go, the better the results. They improve pore size, overall tone and texture! They can also improve discoloration. My favorite brand of peels are from Skin Medica because they are safe on all skin types. If you have darker skin, chemical peels get tricky and Skin Medica will take care of you. When I say darker skin, I mean natural olive pigment (like myself) on up to really dark. Just make sure the person taking you though your treatment is experienced. 

Just barely peeling- 2011

Please don't do at home peels and think it's going to be as good as what you get in office. It's not as strong and won't yeild the same results. You could totally hurt yourself if it were the same strength.

Chemical Peels

Lately I have had a few people ask about how to take care of, or improve their skin.

Here are a few things you 30-somethings can do.

I love chemial peels! They tighten your skin a little, minimize pore size, improve discoloration and just brighten skin over all. They do literally make you peel and depending on the depth of the peel, is depending on how many days this will go on for but also how much improvement you will see. Here is a photo of me after having a VI Peel. It's a moderate depth peel and I peeled for 10 days total. I peeled once and thought I was done at day 5, but started peeling again at day 6. lol Once complete, my skin was great for about 3 months. Due to skin type, your level of peeling will vary and so will the level of improvement. One thing about chemical peels is that you will see a change for the better, no doubt. You also have to follow the after care religiously to get the best outcome.

 This is from 2010 when I worked in Bastrop, TX. As you can see, I am peeling.

^Do you see how much I love you!? ^ Not my most flattering photo! ^