Blog Posts by Carol Belanger

avocado maskDo you suffer from over productive sebaceous glands, also known as oily skin? Although oily skin will show less signs of aging such as fine lines and wrinkles, the downside to oily skin is a shiny appearance, large pores, pimples, blackheads or both.

Genetics and hormones play a part in the amount of oil your skin secrets. Environmental factors and free radicals may also play havoc on the skin too. A free radical is pollution. For instance, if you were standing on a corner and a diesel bus passed you by billowing fumes of gas, then chances are you have been exposed to more exhaust pollution in that single minute than your great grandparents may have experienced in a lifetime. These free radicals are placed in the air by smoke, airplanes, and industrial and agriculture processes. The free radicals (dirt and pollution) clog the pores, thus stimulating the skin to produce more oil.

The most important thing you can do to combat oily skin is to keep the face clean and protected.

aloe veraThere are approximately 400 species of Aloe. They vary in color from grey to bright green and are sometimes striped or mottled. In addition, the leaves are often long and pointed and have spinney sides. Aloe flowers are tubular in appearance, and vary in color from yellow, orange or red. The flowers are usually densely clustered, simple or branched leafless stems.
The most famous of Aloes is the Aloe Vera. It is revered for it medicinal herbal properties. The most popular herbal property in Aloe Vera is its use in skin care.

Aloe Vera has both antiseptic and antibiotic properties which makes it highly effective in treating skin irritations such as cuts, burns, eczema, and sunburns and will also relieve the itch from poison oak, poison ivy and poison sumac. Additionally, Aloe Vera is widely used in the cosmetic industry as moisturizing ingredient, improve elasticity in the skin, and reduce the sign of aging, just to name a few.

Although the plant is 96% water, the

Microdermabrasion is a cosmetic procedure in which the outermost surface of the skin is partially removed by light abrasion. This form type of cosbeautiful smooth skinmetic procedure is to remove or lessen the appearance of scars and dark spots on the skin, smooth away leathery sun-damaged skin, and stimulate the production of new and healthy skin cells. Additionally, microdermabrasion can even out skin tone and diminish the look of fine lines, wrinkles and age spots. In essence microdermabrasion is a form of advanced exfoliation, or skin resurfacing, in which the surface layer of the skin is removed and new skin cells are brought to the surface.

There are various methods of microdermabrasion: they are crystal microdermabrasion, diamond microdermabrasion, and at-home microdermabrasion.

Crystal microdemabrasion is much like sand blasting the skin. It involves spraying the skin with the crystals. This method can be somewhat uncomfortable around the nose and mouth due to their sensitivity. After

essential oil
Essential oils are the oils obtained from plants by various methods, such as distillation. They are called essential oils because it carries a distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant. The use of essential oils has a history dating back at least a thousand years and has been used for medicinal uses, skin care and aromatherapy.

If you are fortunate enough to have an herb and/or flower garden, or have access to fresh cut herbs and flowers, you can make your own essential oils quite easily. Sweet almond oil with Vitamin E will be the base of all your essential oils. Vitamin E will act as a natural preservative. You essential oils will last 6 to 12 months if kept in a dark, dry, and cool place. Remember to sterilize your containers and start with clean utensils.

Ingredients: Day 1, Repeat for days 2 through 4

1/2 Cup Sweet Almond Oil
couple of drops of vitamin E
1 Cup packed fresh herbs OR
1/4 cup chopped fruit peel, such as orange, grapefruit, lime,

essential oils. salts, herbsA body scrub is surprisingly easy to make at home. Start with sugar or salt in a bowl, add jojoba oil, almond oil or lavendar oil, which are available at many health food and grocery stores.. Mix in other herbs like lavender sprigs or dried rosemary, and use the scrub along with a loofah sponge. See specific recipes below.

LAVENDER SUGAR SCRUB

1/2 cup of jojoba oil
3/4 cup of white cane sugar
1 teaspoon Vitamin E
1/4 cup almond oil
6 drops of lavender essential oil
Dried lavender to your preference (optional)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Mix until combined, then pour into desired container.

WINTER ROSEMARY SALT SCRUB

3/4 cup of sea salt
1/2 of jojoba oil
4 drops (or to preference) of rosemary oil
1 teaspoon Vitamin E
1/4 cup almond oil

Directions: Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Mix until combined, then pour into desired container.


For more skin care recipes, Complete Skin Care

Most of the time the neck is uncared for as part of your skin care routine. The neck area and décolleté, as known as the V zone, has very thin skin and is prone to show signs of accelerated aging, similar to the skin around the eyes. Therefore, the neck and décolleté area need attention in order for the skin to stay supple and smooth.

The daily routine for skin care on our face can also be applied to the neck area. However you may want to consider a cream rich in moisture as the V zone has very few glands to produce the natural oil as the face does. The general principles for a good skin care regimen for the neck and the face are to cleanse tone and moisturize. Additionally a gentle exfoliate once a week should be in your skin care routine.

Furthermore, just as you protect your face from harmful UV rays you should also be applying sun screen to the neck and décolleté area. Because the skin in the V zone is so thin, UV rays play havoc on the skin in this area causing

Cleansing is a vital step in your skin care regime. Proper cleansing with products specific for your skin type will improve your overall appearance. Daily cleansing is important to remove dirt and bacteria, sweat, air pollution, excess oils and in addition cleansing exfoliates the skin surface to promote circulation.

Proper cleansing starts with clean hands. This prevents the transfer of bacteria to your face. Apply your cleansing cream at the forehead and then sweep the cleanser over the face, lips, and neck. Massage the cleanser into your skin in a gentle circular motion. Eye make up can be removed with specially formulated eye creams, as some facial cleansers are not suited to be applied to the eye area. Thoroughly rinse your face with cool or tepid water (not to hot or to cold). Extreme hot or cold water can cause flushing and break sensitive capillaries in the skin. Hot water will open the pores and expose these pores to environmental pollution and dirt.

The best

Facial serums are generally found in exclusive spas as part of a facial treatment. The type of facial treatments has been a beauty secret in the spa industry for a long time. Serums are liquid treatments high in concentrated ingredients to treat skin problems such as redness, fine lines, discoloration and dehydration.

Facial serums are fashioned to add extra nutrients to the deepest layers of the skin. This is due to the fact that facial serums contain anywhere from 10% to 70% active ingredients, whereas most facial moisturizers and lotions usually contain less than 10%. Furthermore, moisturizer and lotions only affect the top layer of the skin. Additionally, fluid facial serums usually do not carry binders and waxes as found in typical moisturizers.

Due to the high concentration of nutrients serums are fast acting and easily absorbed into the deepest layers of the skin. A serum nourishes, enhances, and boosts the natural ability of the skin to regenerate and moisturize it