Beauty And The Blog

Emu Oil. To me its, ewww (Ewwwmu Oil)! Yeah, I know Oprah uses it, or at least says she does. But honestly, I just am not all that excited about smearing rendered bird fat on my face and body. Not because I am a vegan, or even a vegetarian. And yes, I love animals. But not scorpions. One stung me last night. And yes, loving animals and eating animals, whole ‘nother issue for someone else’s blog. But I digress…

Granted, emu oil is great for the skin. Or so they say. And who are “they”, anyway? Mostly those who are manufacturing and selling emu oil would be my guess. Yet I did find information sighting a number of benefits to be had from the use of emu oil. And not just from an anti-aging view point. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you using a night treatment that includes the active ingredient retinol? Or the prescription strength form Retin-A? And are you using a leave on chemical exfoliant (cream, lotion, liquid or gel) to remove the layer of dead skin cells on your face (so that awesome retinol, a cell communicating ingredient, can really penetrate the skin)? Would you happen to be applying them both in the evening?

Retinol and Retin-A do their best work at night. While your body is at rest and in repair/rejuvenate mode. Used during the day these products can cause reactions in the skin from the sun, such as redness and burning. They can also be neutralized by sun exposure. So you aren’t really doing yourself any favors by using these ingredients during the day..

But if you are using anAHA or BHA product in the evening along with your retinol or Retin-A, you may not be getting the benefits you think you are. Read the rest of this entry »

When you look for anti-aging products, what do you look for? It’s important to know the components of a good anti-aging product, whether it is a serum or a moisturizer. If you have read any of my earlier posts you already know that I am not all that enthusiastic about cleansers that contain anti-aging ingredients, why pay the extra money for something that is on your skin such a short time and rinsed away? Active ingredients need to stay on your skin a while to do their work. And that just doesn’t happen with a cleanser. Off it all goes down the drain….

So, 5 things. 5 things that are not negotiable when it comes to ingredients in your anti-aging routine. This is important stuff, because each of these 5 things does a different job. And we need all those jobs done to maintain the complexion we all strive for. Read the rest of this entry »

By now most of you know that vitamin C is an antioxidant and a great anti-aging ingredient. It pops up in products and formulations of all types. Personally I feel C does it’s best work in serums. Facial washes contain C but I am of the belief that a facial wash isn’t on your skin long enough to allow the vitamin C to do much of anything, you rinse it off, right? So, maybe you want to rethink how you are applying vitamin C.

As I said, my favorite is in a serum. But many moisturizers contain vitamin C as well. The most important thing to remember about vitamin C when making your choice is packaging. Yes, that might be a really pretty jar to put on your vanity, but what about the light and oxygen it is exposed to every single time you use it? The vitamin C can degrade and/or lose potency in as little as a week. And that is money not well spent.  Sorry, but true. So look for pump bottles and tubes. OK? Read the rest of this entry »

Looking around the net at anti-aging sites and forums I found this bit about using scotch tape on red marks left behind by acne and the occasional breakout. Wow, never heard that one before. Have you?

Strangely enough, people claim that using a piece of regular old scotch tape on a remaining red spot will fade or remove it.  Over time of course. I haven’t tried it myself since I don’t have any red marks, at least right now….

This is done on a freshly washed and dried face. Don’t put any treatments or moisturizer on before you apply the tape. You apply the tape and then remove it immediately. So it is a bit like a peeling exfoliate. At least that is the way I understood it. Read the rest of this entry »