Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Seasons Change - It's time to change your skincare with it...

The leaves are changing color, the mornings are feeling crisp and clean, our days are getting shorter, you guessed it Fall is here! Time to pack up the fun, light weight summer clothes that we all have been wearing for the past few months, and time to bring out the sweaters, jackets, and warm clothes for a cooler time of the year. We all go through these changes every single year, we all know what we have to do after Labor Day, pack up the whites and get out the jackets. I bet there is one thing that you haven't thought about yet, your skin care. Have you packed up your summer skin care to prepare your skin for Fall and Winter? It's one thing we often forget so easily about, because we wait until we need it, instead of preparing our skin ahead of time for the climate changes. During Summer our skin need UV blockers, and protection from the Sun damage, but we also need less moisturizers and less pampering to be perfectly honest. This is the time of year when you are madly scrambling around to find that much needed jacket to help keep you warm, now imagine how your skin feels... our skin is our first line of defense against the harsh elements, it feels the cold first, our skin endures the dry climate that makes our skin so dry, and tight feeling. What can you do to help your skin through this tough time? For starters, remember to change your skin care approach when you change your clothing apparel, as you bring out the sweaters and jackets, think that your skin need a 'sweater and jacket' also. No now i don't mean to go out and find a face mask to wear outdoors, but consider the moisturizers you use, they are your face's sweater/jacket. The soap you use is another one, if you use a certain kind of soap during summer but find your skin so tight and feeling like it is going to crack during the colder months of the year, then you should consider changing the kind of soap you use on your face during the Fall & Winter months to a much more moisturizing formula, I will recommend my Goats Milk and Pumpkin Puree bar. You are still going to need UV protection, when the snow flies those harmful rays are reflected off of the bright snow and will actually cause those harmful UV rays to reflect back to your skin like a magnifying glass. Also the cold dry winds, burr, they will burn your skin as much as the ultra bright UV rays will during Fall and Winter, extra moisturizing is much needed. Depending on your skin type, sensitive, dry, oily, combination, or normal, expect changes, if you have normal skin in the summer your skin may change to a more dry-sensitive skin during the Winter months, don't wait until winter gets here to try to 'fix' it, instead change with the weather. Make the necessary changes along the way, adjust your skin care line and make-up to more suit your changing skin. If you use a non oily foundation during summer because of too much oil, then start now to switch to a foundation with more oil in it to help maintain your skins natural look, moisturize your skin little by little to help keep it at a constant level. If you don't, playing catch up can take a long time! This is something I really like to let people know, your soap is your first step, simply because it is the main thing you use on your skin on a daily basis, sometimes up to 2 times a day, so start with your soap. Then move onto your toner, if you don't use one, i suggest you purchase one, it helps to keep our pores tight, the wrinkles away, and it also adds that little bit of extra moisture to our skin on a bare necessity basis, I personally like to use 'Witch hazel' it is an astringent, which helps to tighten skin and reduce the size of your pores, it lifts that extra dirt and oil off the skin after you have washed your face, and helps to minimize the first signs of aging. if you have skin like mine and have extremely sensitive skin, I highly suggest using a Witch Hazel with aloe in it, to help moisturize your skin but still keeping your skin taught, without that cracking feeling. I can also say you can make your own toner, by using apple cider vinegar and infusing it with dried lavender, calendula and rose petals to help moisturize your skin, but water the infused apple cider vinegar down to a 50/50 solution, 50% water to 50% vinegar, add the water after you have infused the vinegar with the dried herbs and flowers. I HIGHLY suggest the use of Calendula petals for unfusing, because calendula flowers are used on all skin types and work extremely well for sensitive skin types even baby's can use calendula infused oils. Calendula is also known as 'Pot Marigold'. After using a good toner you are going to need a lite moisturizer during he day and a heavier moisturizer at night, this will help to keep your skin from looking like you have an oil slick going on. Lite during the day under your make-up, now remember we have already bumped up your liquid foundation to one with a little more oil in it, so we don't want to look like we have rubbed a greasy porkchop all over our faces, we just want our faces to not flake or dry out, especially when you are enduring the harsh elements on a daily basis out of doors. A good grade light moisturizer should be more than enough, if you have changed your soap and used the proper toner for the season. Washing your face every morning and going through the process of wash with a good moisturizing soap, followed up with a good toner, then a light moisturizer, now your make-up ready! When your home in the evenings, it's the same thing, make sure you clean your face every single night before you go to bed, NO LEAVING YOUR MAKE-UP ON OVERNIGHT! That is the first rule to good healthy skin! Wash your face with your moisturizing soap, follow us with your toner then use a more heavy moisturizer over night, this gives your skin time to really replenish itself without having to fight the elements. We can't talk about good skin care without talking about diet, your skin is a direct result of your diet, drink plenty of water, keep hydrated and stay away from greasy and salty junk foods is key to keeping your skin looking beautiful, bright and glowing! Remember your skin is the largest living oganism in/on your body, treating your skin right is like keeping your heart healthy. It takes a little work and a mindful consiousness, with a little planning and some much needed common sense, your skin can and will be as healthy as your heart is!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Body Butters and Lotions

Do you know the difference between a whipped body butter and a lotion? Whipped Body Butters Body butters or whipped body butters are made up of pure oils and butters that have been heated and melted together, fragranced and packaged. These are more for extreme skin cases, I like body butter simply because they are pure oils and butters, they are fast absorbing on the skin, and they penetrate deep into the many layers of skin. I also like them because I can put them on once during the day, after a shower or bath, or in the evening and I not only feel softer skin the next morning but I can smell it on my skin the following day also! Lotions Lotions are not by far my favorite, not since I have tried body butters. But they still have their use, body butters are firmer, so they are nota easy to just grab and take with you in your purse, lotions are great for 'on the spot' pull out the little tube and use, uses. Both can have wonderful fragrances and scents to them, however lotions have a liquid base, whether it be water, aloe, witch hazel, or whatever you can get a lotion to hold. I like lotions for lighter applications on my face, where I like more of a light airy type of moisturizer instead of the heavier feeling of pure oils like in a body butter. Bottom line here is this Both have their use in bath and body care, lotions to me are more for your face, under eyes, and when you DON'T want a heavy oily feeling. Although body butters do not always leave a 'heavy oily feeling' on your skin either, it all depends on the maker and the type of base they are using... Don't be fooled I have seen body butters on sale at Bath and Body Works, one of their main ingredients is 'water' well that is not a body butter, because body butters don't have water or liquids like water in them, that classifies as a lotion! Don't be fooled! A true body butter is simply whipped butters, oils and a fragrance oil, no water..... A true lotions is the same as the whipped body butters but it contains water, or a liquid like water, be it witch hazel, or aloe juice or distilled water! Don't fret, not all body butters leave a greasy feeling on your skin, mine don't, they will however leave a feeling of pure moisturizing, quenching your skin's thirst for moisture through it's many layers. There is a big differenece when it comes to a whipped body butter, in the different butters that can and are used! Cocoa Butter- We have all heard by now of the wonderful skin healing abilities of Cocoa Butter, how it helps to reduce and remove stretch marks within the skin, by adding more elasticity to the skin. But Cocoa Butter is a much much thicher type of butter, giving you a much much deeper moisturizing than Mango or Shea Butters! I rate this base butter a Deep moisturizor. Mango Butter- This is a gift from the gods when you stop and thik about it. Mango is fast absorbed into the skin, and will give you a more medium strength type of moisturizing ability to your skin's needs. Leaving your skin feeling soft and supple this butter is incredible when your not needing a deep penetrating butter like Cocoa butter, but are looking for a middle grounds tpe of moisturizer. Shea Butter- Now this butter is very fast absorbing into the skin, and when whipped is ver smooth and creamy, a nice light moisturizor. Perfect when you don't want or need anything heavy on your skin. All of the above butters are excellent for your skin, all are extremely moisturizing and will give you lasting skin softening and soothing effects and feeling. I like to use Cocoa Butter based body butters when I was pregnant and after I was pregnant to help with stretch marks. I also like cocoa butter body butters when it is fridged cold outside during our winters here in Wisonsin, they last a long time and offer me the added moisture when I have to go outdoors in the extremne weather. On the flip side I still like my Mango and Shea Butters for other months of the year. Mango for Fall and Spring, and Shea for Summer, if I am tanning I will also use the Mango butter based body butters to help rid my body of the moisture loss duing tanning. I do not use moisturizers on my face during the Summer months, as my face does not require them, I simply use an Aloe Gel on my face for a very light skin quencher. However Fall through Spring I do tend to use light lotions on my face as I tend to get extremely dry skin in the general T zone on my face. I also very much like the extra use of an aloe and/or witch hazel lotion under my eyes to help releive the signs of squinting and/or aging, those nice fine lines we all know and have come to know as 'crows feet'. The use of Aloe gel with a very light moisturizer under the eyes will help to reduce if not elliminate those little nasties. I also use my cucumber and oats soaps to help keep my skin tight my complexion fair and even. Stay tuned for more help with reducing the signs of aging! More hints and tips coming soon!