How Can I Combat Redness?

Every face tells a story. A story of fun summer days, memorable trips and numerous smiles with laughs along the way. Your skin also will tell you what it needs, but often we are not paying attention to the cues that it gives us. If your skin looks (or feels) red, it’s time to start addressing what it is telling you. Below are four of my top suggestions to help your skin heal and take on that normal color again.

First and paramount is sun protection. Since the sun is the skin’s enemy number one, it’s important to use sunscreen everyday. Yes, each and everyday, and not just on the days when you are out. Regardless of how simple (or complex) your home care routine is, this will be your very last step. When you are regularly using SPF and continue to do so, this alone will help with the red ‘tint’ that our skin takes on.

Second is hydration! So many clients will tell me that they drink 8 glasses of water and eat all the right things. Wahoo!!! This is SO important, but the skin will get the left overs after the other organs have taken what they need. Simply put, the best way to address the skin’s needs is to apply it topically. Using professional products with high quality ingredients is exactly what the Esthetician ordered!

Third is an elimination diet (so to speak.) Remove any products that may be irritating to the skin. Specifically, if you have redness, you’ll want to remove the scrubbie exfoliants, any product that has added fragrance, and hot water to wash off your cleanser, exfoliants, and masks. Use tepid water instead (trust me on this one.) If one of your skin care products feels tingly on the skin, you may also want to consider removing it from your current line up and see if your skin does better without it.

Finally, you may want to add in a serum or concentrate that helps with redness, especially if this is your top skincare concern. Making sure that it is gentle and soothing is a must. Some may find benefit in adding a serum that works on the blood vessels of the skin, ensuring that they are not in a dilated state all of the time. Your Esthetician can help direct you to something that will fit your needs.

Did you find which one of these you need to do? Or maybe it’s all four! Let’s get your skin back to its natural baby coloring again. Are you ready?

Don’t forget to

Breathe. Let Go. Relax.

Zoey Jolley, LE

Narrowing Down the Search for Amazing Skin Care

We are surrounded by so many options and choices. Back in the 80s and 90s, we found ourselves captivated by those 30 second commercials and print ads. Times have changed and now we see ads on FaceBook, beautiful graphics on Instagram, and a plethora of pins on Pinterest.

In this world full of great things, how do you choose between the millions of skin care products that will keep your skin healthy and glowing? How do you narrow it down?

It is overwhelming to choose. How do you know that this product will work and do something beneficial for you? Spending money on a chance... do you just go for it? If the internet makes a claim, then it must be true, right? We all know that's not true!

Each dermatologist and esthetician, will have products that they like and recommend. These are products that they have absolutely done their research on, personally tried and experimented with, and eventually spent a lot of money to invest in. All because they believe that this is the best bang for your buck and they truly love it! When you see your trusted partner, you know they will be working with you to find the very best products for you to love!

The professional becomes even more trained in learning the benefits of the skin and how it can help you. They will ask you questions, like:

"If you could change one thing about your skin, what would it be?"

"What is your current skin care routine?"

"Is there a product that you absolutely love? What do you like about them?"

Straight up, I think your best bang for your buck will be in a serum. This is a product that will have a specific "job" to do for the skin and can penetrate deeper than any other product will. Take this with a grain of salt though. If you aren't preparing the skin at the ground level by using a decent cleanser, mist, etc. you might be throwing your money down the toilet. The skin needs to be at the right pH level and getting all of the dirt, excess oils, etc, off before putting on the star of the show.

Another great tip that I give for those buying skin care on a budget, is to start with one item and each month save up for the next product. That way, you can spread out the purchasing. If you have cleanser, mist, and exfoliant, then start with a moisturizer and SPF. When you run out of the cleanser, make the change then.

I think one of the best ways to narrow it down is to start with ingredients! Did you know that as a general rule of thumb, the first 5 ingredients in the product make up 80% of the product? I always start at the first 5, but if you go to 8, 9, or 10, that'll work too.

Look for ingredients that you don't want in there. From Mark Lees The Skin Care Answer Book, some of the most highly comedogenic ingredients are:

linseed oil, olive oil, cocoa butter, oleic acid, coal tar, ispopropyl isostearate, squalene, isopropyl myristate, myristyl myristate, acetylated lanolin, isopropyl palmitate, isopropyl linoleate, oleyl alcohol, octyl palmitate, isostearic acid, myreth myristate, butyl stearate, and lanolic acid.

Then look for other ingredients that are going to be beneficial for the skin. Here are some of my favorite ingredients:

• coenzyme Q10

• ceramides

• caffiene

• lactic acid

• kojic acid

• mandelic acid

• hyaluronic acid

• snow algae

• niacinamide

• allantoin

• beta defensins

• jojoba oil

• zinc oxide

• kaolin

• lactus basillas (probiotic derivatives)

• skinmimics complex

• matrixyl 3000

• and many other peptides and antioxidants.

Another great website that I like to use when I don't have books on hand (yes ... I don't have all of these memorized and some of them are very similar but the response on the skin is quite different) is Paula's Choice (google it.) You can type in any ingredient and start there.

Above all, use your esthetician and skin care professional. Let them analyze your skin after a cleanse to see what products they think will give your skin the best benefit. After all, you deserve the best and you get only one face in this life! Showcase what you have with that inner and outer glow!

Don't forget to Breathe. Let Go. Relax.

Zoey Jolley, Licensed Esthetician