| Skinformation Monthly |
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Dear Friends,
Today is the Fall Equinox, with shorter days ahead. As we bid farewell to Summer, we are reminded that September is a great time to initiate new routines and fresh beginnings. For your summer-worn skin, consider exfoliation to slough off dead skin cells, refine skin texture and allow the pores to breathe. I explain why you need to exfoliate your skin and how to do it in this newsletter edition.
In other news, find out why a backlash to Botox is brewing, and how the material your water bottle is made from can determine the purity of the water in it.
Once the Fall wardrobe is back upstairs and the kids are adjusted to school, treat your skin to the new beginning an exfoliating treatment provides. It is the time of the year to consider microdermabrasion as an effective way of accelerating exfoliation's benefits. My series of three microdermabrasion offers optimal benefits at an unbeatable cost. To schedule your appointment, call me at 206-999-6336, or email Amy@AmySkinCare.com.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Warmly,
Amy
P. S. If you enjoy receiving this newsletter, won't you please take a moment to share this vital beauty and health information with your family and friends?
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When Sloughing Off is a Good Thing - Exfoliation
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The process of exfoliation loosens and sloughs away dead skin cells on the epidermis or outer skin layer. This naturally occurring process actually results in the sloughing off of old skin cells replaced by new ones every 28 days. The cycle slows as we age. Exfoliation treatments aide the natural process by providing the little assistance sometimes needed to remove stubborn dead skin cells.
It doesn't matter how much moisturizer you are slapping on your skin, if dead skin cells stand in the way of your skin absorbing all the benefits your moisturizer has to offer. Pores clogged by the dead cells your skin has shed will lead to blackheads, a dry look and rough skin surface. This is why regular exfoliation is the cornerstone of any effective skin care regimen.
Key Exfoliation Methods
* Massage exfoliation can be performed with sugar, salt, poppy seeds, crushed almonds, maize flour, etc.
* Enzymatic or chemical masks exfoliate without massage. A natural approach is based on fruit enzymes such as pineapple, pumpkin, papaya and naseberry. A glycolic peel is a clinical enzymatic exfoliation that uses a stronger chemical. These enzymatic exfoliations make the skin tingle a bit as dead skin cells are loosened for removal.
* Microdermabrasion is a clinical approach that is highly effective in accelerating the benefits of exfoliation. The esthetician uses a microderm wand in cross-hatched type movements across different sections of the face which sloughs away dead skin while the microderm machine acts as a "gentle vacuum" to whisk away the dead skin cells. There is no down time from this treatment. Because it is highly effective in reducing the dead skin cover and revealing a new skin surface, microdermabrasion is advisable only in the Fall and Winter when our exposure to harmful UV rays is limited.
Which of these approaches is best for your skin is best determined by an experienced professional. My free consultation and recommendation can help you choose your path to these great exfoliation benefits:
* New cell regeneration
* Sloughs off stubborn dead skin cells
* Refines skin texture and adds vibrancy
* Unclogs pores to better absorb nutriants
* Helps prevent break-outs
* Reduces or heals red patches and rough, flakey patches
* Reduces fine lines and wrinkles
* Helps stimulate fibroblasts and collagen
Effecitive Exfoliation with Eminence Skin Care
Massage Approach: Cleanse your skin. When skin is damp, apply the exfoliation mask. Make sure to dilute the product. Use light pressure, moving around the face in a gentle, circular motion. Do not over work or scrub too hard and do not use around the eye area. Eminence's scrubs include:
* Almond & Mineral
* Rosehip and Maize
* Pear & Poppy Microderm Scrub
Enzymatic Mask: Cleanse your skin. Dilute and apply a thin layer of Eminence's Yam & Pumpkin Enzyme Peel over your clean and dry face and neck. Avoid the eye area or active acne lesions. Allow the mask to remain on the skin for 10-15 minutes. Gently massage with fingertips to loosen dead skin cells. Remove product using a towel soaked in cool water or tea. Follow with cotton pads soaked in Soothing Chamomile Tonique to deactivate the product. Rinse again with towels soaked in cool water. Glycolic Treatments are performed by an esthetician.
Eminence's Naseberry Eye Exfoliation Masque is an enzymatic exfoliant gentle enough for the eye area.
Microdermabrasion: Uses special equipment for treatments performed by estheticians. Ask about my microdermasion series for optimal results and special savings.
Don't Forget Body Exfoliation
A great way to exfoliate the entire body is a sugar scrub. Sugar scrubs are especially suited to delicate and sensitive skins, and they will not burn if you have little nicks or cuts, as a salt scrub can. Try the various Eminence Sugar Scrubs:
* Blueberry Soy
* Cucumber Mint
* Cranberry Pomegranate
* Mimosa Champagne
* Coconut
* Pear & Green Apple
Follow Exfoliation with Effective Hydration
So slough away the dead skin cells to smooth your skin texture and enjoy your body's glow. As an added benefit exfoliated skin absorbs moisturizing body lotions much more efficiently! Complete your new beginning with one of the Eminence Organinc Body Lotions:
* Naseberry * Honeydew * Watermelon Papaya
* Stone Crop * Cinnamon Paprika
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Botox Backlash
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New concerns about the potential impact on brain function, loss of facial expressions and a production process that relies upon animal cruelty are fueling a backlash against Botox and related cosmetic treatments. More than 2.7 million cosmetic Botox procedures were
performed in 2007, making Botox the nation's number one cosmetic procedure.
Despite this widespread usage, a lawsuit filed in July alleges that manufacturer "Allergan obscures that Botox is a highly lethal toxin with serious and life-threatening side effects." Botox is injected botulinum, the same bacterium the causes deadly botulism. In a study published in in the Journal of Neuroscience
published April 2, tests on rats found that injections can migrate to brain tissue.
As early as 2003, Paul de Freitas, a resident committee member of the British Casting
Directors Guild, warned that Botox injections that paralyze the facial muscles effectively cut actresses careers short. "We waste a great
deal of time weeding them out at the audition stage of the casting
process; we watch them on film and when you get the close-up, there's
simply no subtlety of emotion there at all." In February, a British commentator noted "almost every American movie I see now contains a cast in the same poisoned state."
While Botox is used to treat some neurological disorders, most of the $1.2 billion in sales last year were for temporary cosmetic improvement. Whether for therapeutic or cosmetic applications, every production run must
be tested to assess the potency of new batches of the toxin. Allergan's testing finds the
dose that kills 50 percent of the animals used. Those who don't die immediately may languish with varying degrees of
paralysis before being euthanized at the end of the three- to four-day
test. One could hardly imagine a more distressful test. The Humane Society characterized Botox testing as "the poster child for everything that is wrong with animal testing."
What does the use of cosmetic Botox say about our judgement, values and humanity? It is ironic that advertisements for these treatments note that the face is considered "the gateway to the soul."
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What's in Your Water Bottle?
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Keeping the body properly hydrated is a skin care fundamental. Drinking an ample amount of water daily helps to reduce the visible symptoms of skin dehydration. Make that bottle of pure water part of your daily routine.
As you do so, you might want to make note of the bottle and how you wash it. Unfortunately, those fabulous colourful hard plastic lexan bottles made with polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol, may leach Bisphenol A. This chemical is a xenoestrogen, a known endocrine disruptor, meaning it disturbs the hormonal messaging in our bodies. Synthetic xenoestrogens are linked to breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and are particularly devastating to babies and young children. BPA has even been linked to insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes.
While the chemical industry maintains that ubiqitous Bisphenol A is safe, risks were first suggested in 1999. Studies by Patricia Hunt, Ph.D. now at Washington State University in Pullman linked high levels of chromosomal errors in the mouse cells she was studying to polycarbonate cages and water bottles that had been washed with a harsh detergent. When her team replaced all the caging materials with non-polycarbonate plastics, the cell division returned to normal.
To be certain that you are choosing a bottle that does not leach, check the recycling symbol on your bottle. If it is a #2 HDPE (high density polyethylene), or a #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene), or a #5 PP (polypropylene), your bottle is fine. The type of plastic bottle in which water is usually sold is usually a #1, and is only recommended for one time use. Do not refill it.
Looking for water bottles free of Bisphenol A? Click on these images to order directly from REI:
Bilt Vite Colored Stainless-Steel Kids' Water Bottle - 15 oz.
Bilt Vite Colored Stainless-Steel Water Bottle - 24 oz.
Nalgene Narrow-Mouth Loop-Top Tritan Water Bottle - 32 oz.
Nalgene Everyday Grip-N-Gulp Tritan Water Bottle - Kids' 12 oz.
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