Girls Beauty Tips

Consumers are getting savvier these days thanks to the internet, but they seem more confused than ever even though the FDA limits claims that can be made on a cosmetic product. Did you know a cosmetic or personal care product can't have ANY therapeutic purpose? Otherwise it is recognized by the FDA as a drug. There are some drugs that are OTC such as sunscreen or smaller percentages of retinols or salicylic acid, but they are labeled as such and the active ingredients must be prominent with their percentages and purpose at the top of the label. Furthermore did you know that the word "cosmeceutical" is not recognized by the FDA? There's a lot of crafty marketing out there and because the FDA allows cosmetics to go to market before getting approval it's up to the customer to take their own precautions. You should read up on all of the FDA bylaws HERE for more information.  Ingredients on a cosmetic label should fall in descending order. The greatest percentage of ...

 Photo courtesy of askanesthetician.wordpress.com We've all been trained over the years that the number one thing that ages us is the sun, but did you know that you're more likely to have more wrinkles in the winter than in the summer? That's because there's less humidity and moisture in the air in the winter than in the summer. Collagen needs moisture. As we age we lose collagen and thus we lose moisture. The beauty industry would like us to think we lose moisture and therefore we lose collagen. Consumer beauty expert Paula Begoun points out if it were the other way around children would have wrinkles in the winter! You can read about it in more detail in a previous Tuesday tip HERE.   There are some things we collagen deficient folk can do to help retain or boost moisture other than purchasing Niki Taylor's fave skincare product Liquid Gold Cell Quench . HERE ARE MY TOP 5: AVOID HYALURONIC ACID Hyaluronic acid is considered "Nature's moisturizer".  ...

  DIET IS KEY IN ANTI-AGING If you don't know by now that your diet is key to anti-aging... and if you think magic is going come out of a jar retailing for $800 you need not read any further. Getting the right nutrients through your food is vital and keeping inflammation down is key (inflammation = aging) ! THE ROAD TO PALEO GLUTEN-FREE 20 YEARS Since college, about 20 years ago, I have been gluten free. It started with the Blood Type Diet. I no longer wanted to pass out on the floor after eating a muffin top or a modest bowl of pasta! I have the occasional gluten, but overall I'm pretty serious about it except when I go home to visit for Chicken and dumplings. Gluten and I have just never been friends. Celiac? No idea. Just glad there are more options out there than before! ORGANIC DIET In 2010 I also did 100% organic food and beverages ( www.foodincavenue.blogspot.com ). By then I had weighed nearly 300lbs and couldn't drop it for the life of me thanks to a ...

Photo courtesy cosmedica.ca In life everything is about timing.  When it comes to skincare it holds no exception to the rule. The best time of year to undergo most skincare procedures is not winter, spring or summer, but actually late fall. When I refer to procedures I'm talking about chemical peels, laser, microdermabrasion, and other non-ablative (non-surgical) treatments (that I am personally against). All of these treatments leave the skin permanently susceptible to the sun because they compromise the function of the cell and permanently change the structure of the collagen. One intuitively might think that winter is the best time of year for these treatments because there are fewer hours of sun to have to avoid. It's a good guess, but the problem with winter is actually the majority of the moisture and humidity leaves the air depending on where you live. When humidity leaves the air the cell has an even greater difficulty protecting itself leaving it more prone to skin can...

 Photo courtesy doctorshealthpress.com For years I have known that if you take the inside of a banana peel and rub it in/apply it to a bug bite, it would help the bite heal pretty quickly. It definitely took the itch away faster than any anti-itch product I've found at the drug store. Apparently banana peels are no joke when it comes to beauty. I have seen it help eliminate and heal adult acne in so many customers as well as help to shrink pores, eliminate wrinkles and lighten sun spots. It's the enzymes that banana peels contain that hold the magical properties. Who knew?! Before bed simply take the inside of a ripe banana peel and rub it on clean skin in a circular motion until the banana peel is brown. Leave the residue on the skin overnight. Rinse your skin in the morning while you shower. Ta da! As one of my clients put it....time to go bananas! P.S. For deeper forehead wrinkles take the banana skin and tape it to your forehead with surgical tape. (Don't try this if yo...