Rosacea Skin Problem

Rosacea is a skin condition characterized by a severe redness on the face, usually the cheeks, forehead, nose and chin. It's nicknamed "The Curse of the Celts" because it generally affects Caucasians, most times women, and people who tend to be 30 to 50 years of age. Besides the redness on the face people may also suffer with watery eyes and in some cases pustules or pimples. However you do not treat this like acne.

The symptoms of Rosacea can be confusing as well as the triggers and people often don't know what they have. Hormonal imbalances don't seem to play a role in getting it but research is continuing. The symptoms can come and go and there is no known cure but there are treatment options. It is not contagious to others.

Some of the common triggers are hot weather, long exposure to the sun, stress and spicy food. Other foods you may want to avoid include dairy products, chocolate, eggplant and beans. Some fruits such as plums may trigger an outbreak as well as coffee. It is also recommended to avoid smoking and alcoholic beverages until the flare-up has passed. Different things can trigger problems for different people which is one of the reasons Rosacea can be so hard to control.

It is important to get treatment to relieve your symptoms and there are many options available to you. You can take medicines which can be topical or oral and there are also laser therapies available. Some of the oral medicines include steroids that have to be closely monitored by your doctor for side effects and are usually discontinued after initial use. The new laser therapies are very promising to help you cope with Rosacea skin problems that can't be helped with ointments or pills. You may to shop around for topical treatments first and see if this works for you.  

Skin Care and Beauty Books- Are they Right For You

Skin care and beauty books can be a great purchase to keep up on the latest products and techniques. Are
you interested in new tips and improving your appearance and the best skin care products for you.? If you are you may have turned to the internet or magazines but never really considered buying a book or you may be wondering if they are worth the investment.

When it comes to determining whether or not skin care and beauty books are worth the money there are a number of important factors that should be taken into consideration.  If you are looking for a skin care book that explains the proper application of make-up you may want to see drawings or pictures.  Not all books will contain detailed pictures or drawings. Also, is the book current or so outdated the products recommended no longer exist? This may be the problem if you pick the book up at a garage sale. Does the book cover your type or color of skin?

A good way to decide which skin care book to purchase is to visit the online book website There you can look at a large selection of books and read the reviews posted. You can even peek inside and see some pages of the book. This information will help you determine which book will be the best puchase for you for the best price.

Another advantage of a book is you actually have a resource you can easily refer to again, underline and highlight passages, take anywhere with you and easily share with a friend. As a long time lover of books I think having a "hard copy" is worth the price.

Natural Care For Your Lips

Fall is here and along with the changing season is my favorite game watching sport - football. I love the crowds, the school spirit and the testosterone driven game of football. Nothing beats attending a game in person, instead of watching it on TV, but you don't want to come away with chapped lips or a sunburn so you need to take care.

Your lips lack natural oils and melanin, the pigment that the rest of your skin has to protect you from sun damage. The sun combined with strong winds or cool weather can cause your lips to become chapped. Our instinct is to lick our lips but this just causes the lips to dry out faster. Here are some tips to help keep your lips smooth, sunburn free and kissable:

Frequently apply a lip balm or lipstick with a SPF of at least 15. You can go for clear or many fabulous colors.

Another alternative is an old standby, petroleum jelly, which works great for both men and women. And it is cheap too!

If you are in a pinch and forgot your lipstick, chap stick or lip balm you can run your finger along the edge of your nose and pick up a little oil this way to apply to your lips.

Now go out and enjoy the fall weather!Dr.Hauschka Skin Care Lip Care Stick .17 oz (4.9 g)

Sun Protection You Can Wear: Clothing – Jill Sung

This JUARA Girl's got it covered!

What should I wear? I go through this decision process on a daily basis – and there’s no limit to how many outfit changes I can make just to go to the grocery store… But what I should be thinking, and have been more, is how much UV radiation is out there and what’s the best way to protect myself from sun damage.  (For those of you just joining this UV foray, find out more about UV rays how to check the amount you’re receiving in last month’s blogs.) Moving on, did you know that clothes offer UV protection? It’s actually pretty easy to incorporate into your daily summer wardrobe.

UPF indicates how much of the sun’s UV radiation is absorbed. A fabric with a rating of 50 will allow only 1/50th of the sun’s UV rays to pass through. This means the fabric will reduce your skin’s UV radiation exposure significantly, because only 2 percent of the UV rays will get through.

Tightly knit/thickness: Lightweight and loosely-woven fabrics do NOT offer much protection from the sun. A white T-shirt provides only moderate protection from sunburn, with an average UPF of 6 (16% of sun’s rays pass through). On the other hand, a dark denim has about  UPF 1,700 – basically complete sun block. In general, clothing made of tightly-woven fabric best protects skin from the sun. The easiest way to check fabric protection is to hold it up to the light. If you can see through it, then UV radiation can penetrate your clothes – and your skin! And thicker fabrics such as velvet in black, blue or dark green have an approximate UPF of 50. Also, if it doesn’t cover your skin, it’s not protecting you! Long sleeves are obviously better than short sleeves…

Color: Darker-colored fabrics are more effective than lighter ones at blocking out the sun. For example, the UPF of a green cotton T-shirt is 10 versus 6 for white cotton.

Fabric Content: What the clothing is made of matters. Unbleached cotton contains lignins, special pigments that absorb UV. Shiny polyesters and even thin, satiny silk can be highly protective because they reflect radiation.

Activity: If your clothes gets stretched during activity, like yoga, the fabric will lose some of its protective ability because it becomes thinner and more transparent to light. Also, wet clothing can lose up to 50 percent of its UPF, so a wet T-shirt provides a UPF of only 3, allowing 33% of UV rays through to your skin. (Thanks to Skin Cancer Foundation for all their help!)

Not only can you buy high-tech sun protective clothing made of special weaves with colorless dyes that provide UPF of 15-50 protection, you can actually wash sun protection into the clothes you currently own, and for cheap! $2 buys you a colorless additive, Sun Guard, that provides a UPF of 30 (blocks more than 96% of UV) to your laundry for up to 20 washings!

Next up, what else to wear…with clothing must come accessories! What else can you do? Any more fun sun facts we should share?

Tags: clothing, fabric, SPF, sun guard, sun protection, sun protective clothing, Untraviolet Protection Factor, UPF, UV rays

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 at 10:06 am and is filed under Health & Fitness, Lifestyle, Products. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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Don't Forget Your Neck!

Have you ever met someone new and you were curious about their age? One of the easiest ways to gauge someone's age is to look at their neck. Like many women we often forget in our rush to get ready in the morning or tuck in for the night to lavish care on the neck area and our neck skin is a prime age revealer. Our neck skin has practically no oil glands and it is very vulnerable to dryness and sun damage. To help stop further damage to your neck start using your cleanser and regular moisturizer and apply with gentle upward strokes and do the same thing on your chest area. There are many great products on the market, the main thing is to consistently take care of this area and you will see improvement in the way your neck looks. And don't forget that you can always accessorize your outfits with lovely scarfs, jewelry or shirts with collars to hide any wrinkles or blemishes to this area.

Tips for summer pimples

Summer is here and it’s time to enjoy the warm weather and the long days of sunshine. But for pimple sufferers, summertime also means oily skin, blackheads and breakouts.

Why do we get more pimples during the summer? Sudden change in temperature and extended exposure to the sun can damage the skin. Also, sweat may exacerbate acne when salty sweat mixes with dirt and oil on skin which can irritate and clog pores. Only one or two days of hot weather can lead to pimples. A few changes in your skin care routine can ensure that acne will stay away.

1. Control oil by washing your face: Oil glands overwork with heat and humidity. To control oiliness, wash your face thoroughly with a foaming facial cleanser to get rid of the dead cells and dirt. Keep the cleanser gentle so it doesn’t overstrip and irritate skin, making it overproduce more oil. I love the JUARA Rice Facial cleanser which is sulfate and oil free, takes away makeup, dirt and oil but keeps skin super soft with the rice starch.

2. Choose the right sunscreen: Using a daily sunscreen is a must to avoid sun-damaged skin. But sunscreen may contain oil which is just as bad for the pores as sebum. Go for a noncomedogenic, oil-free sunscreen of at least SPF 15 (SPF 30 is even better), and make sure you put enough on! Check for UVA protection ingredients such as Avobenzone or Mexoryl. A fave: La Roche Posay’s Anthelios has a nice oil-free, light textured, water resistant sunscreen. Or try Paula’s Choice Essential Non-Greasy Sunscreen SPF 15

3. Lighten up your moisturizer: During the summer, go for a light-weight moisturizer, noncomedogenic and oil-free. Also, moisturizing lotions can be a good switch as they’re much lighter than creams. As an oil-free moisturizer alternative, try the JUARA Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner – an oil-free, alcohol-free toner serum that hydrates skin, giving it a drink of water – and feels like silk!

4. Don’t wipe after you sweat, wash! Refrain from wiping your face frequently as you’re sweating because it can irritate acne, as dirt accumulates on your skin. Sweat should be washed away gently with a non-drying acne wash or with lukewarm water. Also, shower after working out or after you’ve been sweating.

5. Reduce sun exposure: Many people believe that the summer sun is good for their skin since it tends to burn off pimples, but prolonged exposure to UV radiation is dangerous for your health. Keep in mind that the sun simply burns the topmost layer of the face skin and doesn’t deal with the true causes of acne.

6. Eat more fruits: Try to eat at least 2 fruits a day to keep your skin healthy. Strawberries, Watermelons, and Mangoes are examples of fruits rich in vitamin A (control of skin cells) and C (protects collagen). Make sure your fruits are fresh to keep their antioxidants intact.

7. Drink 8 cups of water a day: A good hydration plays a major role in keeping your skin away from acne. Water also helps cells move nutrients in and toxins out.

8. Honey: Rubbing honey on your skin can help to get rid of the pimples. Honey is a powerful antibacterial agent and it does not cause unpleasant side effects such as dry skin, itchy skin or allergy. Choose a high quality honey, warm it, leave it on your pimples for 10 minutes and watch the results!

Summer is the season when our skin is the most vulnerable. The strong UV rays and sweat give your skin a hard time, which needs extra care.

So be sure to protect your skin and have an enjoyable pimple-free summer!

Products Recommended:

- Juara’s Rice Facial Cleanser

- Paula’s Choice Essential Non-Greasy Sunscreen SPF 15

- JUARA’s Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner

- La Roche Posay’s Anthelios SPF45 or Anthelios XL

Tags: acne, blackheads, breakouts, juara, oily skin, pimples, summer

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 at 11:20 am and is filed under Beauty & Skincare. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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Treating adult acne the natural way – Yoshiko Roth-Hidalgo

When you are past your teens and still or again battling break-outs, you are in good company. One in five women between the ages of 25 and 40 suffers from adult acne. Adult acne is not different from teenage acne in that the same key factors are involved: Hormonal activity which has an effect on our oil glands, blocked pores, acne bacteria and inflammation. What makes adult acne tricky is that the skin of a person in his/ her 30s or 40s is different from teenage skin. Some people suffering from adult acne may not have oily skin, their skin might be more sensitive, and they are likely concerned about fighting skin aging.

One way to fight adult acne is with over-the-counter medicated products, but there are also a number of natural remedies that can effectively prevent and treat break-outs. Whether your skin is too sensitive to chemical acne-fighting agents or you are simply interested in alternative options, here are some tips and product recommendations for how to fight adult acne the natural way.

Nature’s solutions
A number of natural and botanical-based ingredients help with the causes and symptons of acne, including:

Naturally antibacterial and antiseptic: Willow bark, tea tree oil, ginger, green, white and black tea extracts.

Reduces redness and inflammation: green, white and black tea extracts, aloe

Exfoliates and free blocked pores: Manuka Honey, alpha hydroxyl acids from milk (lactic acid), fruit (fruit acid), apple (malic acid) and sugar (glycolic acid)

Reduces excess oil production: Avocutine, derived from avocados as well as pumpkin seed oil curbs sebum production in the pores.

Cleansers: Keep it gentle
Contrary to a stubborn myth, acne is NOT caused by dirty skin, so stay away from harsh cleansers that strip skin. In fact, dehydration can prompt your skin to produce even more oil and at the same time exacerbate the appearance of roughness, lines and wrinkles. Here are some good options:

Avene Cleanance Soapless Cleanser, 6.76 oz, $17: Contains Pumpkin Seed Oil to reduce excess sebum.

ARCONA Raspberry Acne Bar, 4 oz, $38: Contains lactic acid and fruit enzymes to exfoliate and free pores.

Toner/ Treatment: Look for multi-taskers
Be good to your skin by targeting breakouts as well as aging and other skin issues. If you use a toner, stay away from alcohol-based formulations that unnecessarily strip and dehydrate skin. Here are some good options:

Juara Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner, 4.75 oz, $27: Contains green, white and black tea extract to combat acne bacteria and well as provide antioxidant benefits and reduce redness.

Boscia Willow Bark Breakout Treatment, 0.5 oz, $25: Contains natural antibacterial willow bark as well as Vitamin C and E for antioxidant protection.

Hydrate and fight aging
It’s tempting to not moisturize when you see pimples, but it’s important to keep skin hydrated, no matter what your skin type, even if you have break-outs. If you are concerned oiliness, choose an oil-free moisturizer with hyaluronic acid, which draws vital hydration to the skin without adding oil, while plumping lines and making skin supple.

Juara Sweet Black Tea & Ginger Mattefying Moisturizer, 2 oz, $48: Anti-aging & oil-control benefits in one. Contains fermented sweet black tea to reduce signs of aging, ginger to purify, hyaluronic acid to hydrate and avocutin to reduce excess sebum.

Astara Blue Flame Oil-Free Moisturizer, 2 oz, $42: Hydrates with hyaluronic acid and totara tree essence to purify, while soothing with aloe.

Put break-outs on the spot

Juice Beauty Blemish Be Gone, 0.27 oz, $15: Multiple natural alpha hydroxyl acids free blocked pores while Coenzyme Q10 helps fade discoloration from past breakouts.

Jurlique Blemish Cream, 0.5 oz, $28: Contains tea tree oil for antibacterial benefits. Plus the slightly tinted formulation helps cover up existing blemishes and redness.

bareMinerals RareMinerals Blemish Therapy, 0.07 oz, $28: A unique powder formulation applied with a makeup brush, that treats break-outs with tea tree oil, helps absorb excess oil and covers redness and blemishes.

Any natural acne products that you swear by? Let us know!

Tags: acne, breakouts, health, juara, oily skin, pimples, skincare, yoshiko

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 at 4:19 pm and is filed under Beauty & Skincare, Health & Fitness, Products. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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Sunlight Can Be Your Skins Best Friend

Everywhere you go you hear that sunlight is dangerous and to slather yourself with sunscreen. We are told the sun will age us prematurely, wrinkle our skin, and increase our chances of getting cancer. But if you have been keeping up with the news all the experts are talking about the importance of vitamin D, and your best source of vitamin D is 15 minutes a day in the sun. Ultraviolet light stimulates a chemical process in your skin that produces vitamin D and wearing sunscreen blocks your body's production of vitamin D. Of course, over exposure to the sun can give you sunburn, which is not good for the skin. The sun is a powerful source of energy and that needs to be respected. As in most things moderation is the key. Your body makes all the vitamin D you need that protects you from cancer and other illnesses by spending a little bit of time in the sun each day. Don't forget to wear hats, sunglasses and loose clothing if you are going to be exposed for longer lengths of time. And read a good book on the importance of vitamin D!

Tips on how to fight adult acne – Yoshiko Roth-Hidalgo

When you are in your mid-thirties and you are like me, still battling or again battling pimples and break-outs, you are in good company.  One in five women between the ages of 25 and 40 suffers from adult acne.  Adult acne is not different from teenage acne in that the same key factors are involved:  Hormonal activity which has an effect on our oil glands, blocked pores, acne bacteria and inflammation.  While teenage acne is the result of hormonal changes as a person enters puberty, adult acne is the result of sometimes unexpected hormonal fluctuation, for example due to stress, reaction to birth control, pregnancy, etc. 

What makes adult acne tricky is that the skin of a person in his/ her 30s or 40s is different from teenage skin.  Some adults may not even have really oily skin, their skin might be more sensitive, and they may also be very concerned about fighting aging in their skin.

So while we certainly know how to fight blemishes with over-the-counter acne products we get at the drugstore (medicated cleansers, purifying masks, salicylic acid creams, benzoyl peroxide spot treatments, etc.) the challenge with adult acne is how to most effectively treat the blemishes while respecting more mature skin, and just as important, help it look and feel young. 

Here are some tips how to approach adult acne with a skincare program.

First of all:  If you have persistent pimples or inflamed cysts, you should see a dermatologist as soon as possible to avoid scarring and further damage to the skin.  Severe acne is a medical condition that needs to be treated with prescription ingredients like retinoic acid (e.g. Retin-A, Tazorac).  For blemish-prone skin and occasional break-outs, a good skincare program and over-the-counter products usually bring significant improvement:

Cleansers:  Keep it simple and gentle

Contrary to a stubborn myth, acne is NOT caused by dirty skin, so stay away from harsh cleansers.  Also, if your skin is dry and sensitive, skip the medicated cleanser and stick with a simple, gentle, sulfate-free cleanser that will cleanse thoroughly but won’t strip.  No matter how convincingly medicated acne cleansers promise not to dry out your skin, I find that they do and that the subsequent dehydration exacerbates the appearance of roughness, lines and wrinkles.

Exfoliate in moderation

Freeing skin of dead skin cells that can clog pores is crucial in preventing blemishes from forming.  Gentleness and moderation are key.  Exfoliate no more than 2-3 times a week.  If you have sensitive skin, no more than once a week.  Choose scrubs with perfectly round exfoliating beads or alternatively, if your skin is not overly sensitive, alpha-hydroxy or beta-hydroxy peels.  However, if your issue is not occasional blemishes but inflamed acne pimples and lesions, stay away from scrubs altogether.  Scrubs can further exacerbate the inflammation of the skin and spread the bacteria.

Hydrate without oil

It’s tempting to not moisturize when you see pimples, but it’s important to keep skin hydrated, no matter what your skin type, even if you have break-outs.  If you are concerned about clogging pores, choose an oil-free moisturizer that hydrates with hyaluronic acid.  This wonder-ingredient draws vital hydration to the skin without overwhelming with oil, plumping lines and making  skin supple.

Spot treat – in more ways than one

Salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide are proven pimple-fighters, so use them for targeted spot treatments on clean skin before you put on moisturizer or sunscreen.  At the same time, do spot-treat age-prone areas or dry areas unaffected by pimples, with products that are more emollient or more concentrated.  Examples are the eye area, the area around the lips, forehead, etc.  This way, you can effectively combine your acne treatment and anti-aging treatment.

Protect from the sun

A tan may make pimples look less prominent, but there is actually no clinical evidence that sun exposure helps acne.  Unprotected sun exposure does raise the risk of skin cancer and premature aging the sun damages.  Plus, many acne treatments make skin more sensitive to sun light.  Therefore, apply a sunscreen of at least SPF15 daily that is oil-free and light in texture.

Green tea extract – a super multi-tasker?

While green tea extract has been clinically proven to have great anti-aging, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, recent research suggests that it also has anti-bacterial properties comparable to benzoyl peroxide without the common side effects.  While more research needs to be done to prove this effect, this is still promising news for people with sensitive skin and adult acne. 

High-tech gadgets

For high-tech lovers, a few electronic devices have popped up on the market that promise to quickly clear up pimples, such as Zeno’s Pro Acne Clearing Device ($185), a battery-powered medical device to treat inflamed acne pimples.  It delivers a targeted dose of heat to the acne pimple, which kills the bacteria and is said to significantly clear the pimple within 24 hours.  Sounds like the perfect solution! 

At the end of the day, there is no one magic bullet for adult acne, but rather, a multi-pronged approach involving gentle and multi-tasking products, targeted medicated treatments and a balanced life-style.

What is your secret to fighting break-outs?  Let us know!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 14th, 2010 at 6:41 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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Hi,

Welcome to my skin care blog! Just getting set up but you will find plenty of great information here to help you address all of your skin care needs. Whether it is exceptional product recommendations, home remedies for special conditions, aging skin, complimentary services or other needs I will cover it here. You can read about the latest skin care treatments and products, natural and organic, helpful supplements and solutions for acne, skin allergies, psoriasis and other common problems. Stay connected!