Tag: glycolic acid

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BLOG SITE SKIN GAB POST SECOND ARTICLE ABOUT VIVIAN MORENO

We’re worth this pampering
  About two years ago the blog site SkinGab posted a second article regarding Vivian Moreno’s thoughts and approach to skin care.  This this was part 2 of a previous post from the bloggers point of view . . . So last week, I did a post about Vivian Moreno, an esthetician I met some years ago who suggested I minimize the use of water on my face.  You can read that post here: http://skingab.com/water-ruining-skin/
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PHOTO JOURNALING… A VISUAL WINDOW TO ANTI-AGING

The best thing I ever did was to keep a photo journal of my skin. My skin care journey started when I was 33 years old. I used the BEST QUALITY Skin Care possible, BIOKORIUM of course, followed a regimen of cleansing, toning, exfoliating moisturizing and hydrating. I then believed I was doing everything possible to slow down the aging process

At 62 I knew my skin was looking and feeling a little tired. I came to the realization that my skin was out of control then took a current photo and compared it to a photo taken 10 years before. WOW! I was a mess. I had all the 7 signs of aging* on my face plus a couple extra. What went wrong? I am sure there are many women just like me that spent years following a skin care plan trying to do all the right things in order to have beautiful skin only to wake up at age of 60 plus realizing you look and feel old!

I had no other choice but to figure out if Anti Aging of the skin was a real possibility or a figment of everyone’s imagination.

Trying to turn the clock back on my skin was fascinating, exciting and a little bit scary because I had no clue what I was getting into. I could not have done it without the help of my photo journal. It helped me take a closer look at the changes occurring in/on my skin and I could tell what products and processes worked the best. After 1 week of my new improved skin care plan I saw some changes happening slowly on my skin, but after 3 weeks I knew I was finally practicing Anti-Aging.

Losing weight and Anti-Aging in my opinion are very similar. When you want to lose weight your first step is to set a goal; something like I want to lose 10 pounds. Then you may decide what diet and exercise program you are going to try to achieve that goal, then step on a scale to get that bench mark number, your starting point, your actual weight. After a week or two you may step back on that scale to determine if the diet and exercise plan you selected is actually working.

When Practicing Anti-aging or starting a new skin care program you need to set goals as I would like tighter skin or I would like to get rid of the discoloration on my face. If you don’t know what issues you have, go to the 7 preconceived-industry-standard signs of aging* to determine what it is that is happening to your skin then get your benchmark by taking a series of photos. This way you can actually determine if you are getting little, no, or major results. Then determine what skin care diet or program you are going to try. You can check in with your local Dermatologist, Plastic Surgeon or try your local skin care professional. You can even go to your local drug store to pick up all the products you may need to start practicing Anti-Aging RIGHT?…..Well….maybe? It almost becomes a crap shoot when deciding what treatment procedure or product series will be right for your skin. There are millions of products to choose from. Some products are to strong some are too weak. Here is how I know if a product or procedure is working for me.

In my opinion it takes no longer than a week or less to determine if the program you choose is the right fit. When losing weight in the first week you probably feel better. Well the first week of Skin care is the same. Does your skin feel better? If your skin is red or dry and feels a bit uncomfortable you may need to change your program. Your best bet is before starting or investing in any new skin care regimen start a photo journal. Be sure that new skin care plan is working.

Here are some tips on photo positions I take to keep in my photo journal.

Face Front eyes open

Face neck and chest

Face front eyes closed

Face Right Side eyes open

Face Right Side eyes closed

Face Left Side eyes open

Face Left Side eyes closed

Then week to week, month to month you can see what changes are happening to your skin. Keeping a journal is not only important when choosing the right plan, but also tells the story of your skin care journey.

*Seven Signs of Aging:

  1. Dark spots: Dark spots, also called hyper pigmentation are caused by a variety of reasons. It could be caused by sun damage, inflammation, skin injuries or even acne.
  2. Sagging Skin: Ageing as well as the act of gaining and losing weight reduces the tautness of skin and gives an impression of loose skin and a perpetually tired look.
  3. Dull Glow-Less Skin: Dryness is exacerbated by wind, extremes of temperature and air-conditioning. It causes the skin to flake, chap and feel tight.
  4. Lines & wrinkles: These are a natural, unavoidable part of ageing. But, young people may get wrinkles way before their time due to excessive damage from the sun or by smoking.
  5. Dry Skin: Apart from being uncomfortable, dry skin creates scaly lines and wrinkles and is not to appealing to look at. Fortunately, most dry skin results from environmental factors that can be wholly or partially controlled.
  6. Patchy Skin: It is generally caused by differences in melanin content in different parts of the skin, but could also be caused by vascular (blood vessels) changes or the growth of foreign organisms on the skin.
  7. Open pores: Open pores are sometimes referred to as a “strawberry nose”. However they can occur anywhere on the face, back, chest or upper arms.

 

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WINTERTIME: THE BEST TIME FOR CHEMICAL PEELING

By Vivian Moreno, Esthetician

This is one question I get a lot, simply because everyone wants to have a chemical peel in order to improve their appearance.  We’ve been told it’s an easy and quick solution for our facial woes.  But depending on the season, a peel may not be conducive to receiving optimium results, and aren’t results what we expect?  Therefore, the time of the year is important because Chemical Peeling  is as if your putting your skin thru a major workout, its trauma to the skin and the conditions for recovery is what’s equally important.

I have already begun my chemical peel for the winter.  Because of my age I will try to fit in at least 3 peels for the season. I will Include some spotting especially around my mouth and eyes. Check with your Doctor or Skin Care Professional if you are planning to do your eyes. I recommend the eyes for some of my clients but not all of them. People want  to peel and get the results, but what they don’t  realize or understand is the healing process.  The detail is in the healing not the peeling. No one teaches us this, even the professionals don’t, some clients will freak out during recovery. The whole idea with a chemical peel is to create a wound so that the skin can go through the healing process. There are 3 to 4 stages of healing (depending on who you ask) so it does take some time. If the skin heals up properly the collagen will rebuild and strengthen the skin, Awsome! If the skin is left vulnerable and  healing is interrupted problems can occur.

Skin redness, heat bumps, tightening, itchiness, and dry cracked peely skin, are all common after a chemical peel.  The deeper you take your peel the more activity will occur.  This is the natural inflammation process at work, which initiates the process of healing.  All these sequences need to be understood in order to make the final goal productive.

Now lets look at why Winter peeling  is more beneficial than Summer Peeling.   The Summer Season consist of more sunshine therefore more heat and sweat. which is not as conducive to a chemical peel, especially in regards to the healing aspect. With heat there is more opportunity for infection as well as its effect on nerve endings, causing more pain, discomfort, and irritation.  With more sunlight there is the opportunity for skin complications including discoloration. In the summer I like to use a light glycolic acid or a pumpkin enzyme for maintenance. If I am in need of a peel I will stick to a lunch time peel or a light peel that I really won’t have any down time or problems.

The Wintertime is the  perfect time to prepare your skin for the following summer by doing a peel. I will in fact try to get as much peeling in as possible.  It’s the perfect time and seasonal environment to build skin strength and skin immunity which leads to skin health.  What I mean, is that if you have skin health, your skin will have the strength and ability to endure and absorb the challenges of the following summer season.   The cool temperature of winter feels better on your skin and  is less irritating when your skin is healing. There is a reason why most surgeries are done in sub normal temperature environments.  A cooler surgery room means less chance of infection and other anomalies. In the cold winter months you are more likely to stay indoors and out of the sun during the healing process.

If you decide on getting  a professional peel this winter, be sure your Skin care professional is highly skilled.  A chemical peel performed correctly will lift and tighten the skin, add amazing clarity, reduce and eliminate fine lines and wrinkles, and most importantly, bring your skin back to better health.  That’s why the professional you choose to perform this procedure is important.  A Chemical Peel done wrong may cause deeper wrinkles, dry your skin out, increase the opportunity for discoloration and age the skin faster by the very anti-aging methods used, causing faster sagging of the skin. Remember the detail is in the healing not the peeling.

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WINTER DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR SKIN

WWWintertime is not only a beautiful season but an unforgiving one when it comes to skin care. Depending on what part of the country you are from will directly relate on the severity you will experience. Indoor hot, outdoor cold, your skin is constantly exposed to variations in temperature. Outdoor winter weather comes low humidity, cold temperature, icy snow, cold rain, sleet and wind. Indoors, your skin is exposed  to hot temperatures, low humidity, and dry heated air. All the moisture is sucked out of the environment causing an uncomfortable dryness to the entire body. Some people experience more sever problems in the winter the skin becomes so dry it will flake, crack, peel and itch. Even worse it can become inflamed,  irritated,  and possibly infected.

A skin care regimen in the winter  is all about hydration, hydration, hydration.  Do you apply cream on dry skin and your done? Most of us do. Its not enough especially if your over 40. My recommendation would be to use a 5% or 7% glycolic body lotion this product you can use on your face as well. Then moisturize with the Skin Water . If you live  in Aspen, New York or Montana,  you need to seal it all up with a bit of Waterscreen.

A hot delicious shower can be the worst thing for your skin in the wintertime.I know you don’t want to hear  this but you need to shorten the shower time; yes hot showers feel good, but they also draw all the  moisture out of the skin, a warm  5 min. showers is the best. A regimen I use at BioKorium is to seal the skin before a shower  especially in the winter. Before showering apply  a quarter size amount of Waterscreen to the face neck and chest.  If you have areas of the body that tend to have dry skin issues like exema or psorsis seal them up as well.this will help to retain moisture in your skin.
It’s all about the weather your skin is exposed to, not only outside but indoors during the wintertime. Low humidity environments suck the moisture  right out of your skin, creating dry wrinkly skin. Weatherizing your skin is essential to your over all health.

We recommend and use glycolic acid, because of its safety, extraordinary results and its hygroscopic ability to draw even the littlest amount of moisture from  the air to increase skin suppleness. Use glycolic on healthy skin, check with your physcian for use  on severely dry, scaly or irritated skin. After applying  glycolic, your skin will have a greater ability to absorb moisture from lotions and hydration creams such as our Skin Water. Don’t forget the  lips, Use soap free washes to prevent stripping your skin such as our Original Facial Wash.

Its important to remember hydration is  the answer to healthy winter skin. You must exfoliate correctly with the proper product, such as  glycolic acid, and seal with  products  to maintain moisture . Skin health is power to resist environmental challenges, and in the end, this would be the ultimate result most people are looking for, because the ultimate skin care is no skin care at all..

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HOW TO SELECT THE BEST PRODUCTS FOR YOUR SKIN

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With the hundreds of thousands of ingredients available to a normal consumer how do you decide what is the best fit for you?  Even before you select the right skin care products you have to decide what your skin care goals are.  Just as you would set up a healthy diet plan to lose weight, you have to set up a regimen plan for healthy skin.

Do you need treatment, moisturizer, peptides, anti-oxidants or peeling agents?  Do you need to see the family doctor, Dermatologist or a Skin Care Professional?  And above all, what’s this going to cost?

The array of skin care products can be overwhelming.  How are you going to choose when every product claims to be the latest and greatest?  Many products are overpriced, make claims that they can’t support, are misleading and ineffective.  You can pick up a product that works great for a couple of weeks then it stops working.  Skin care is not one size fits all.  The skin care consumer has to be educated enough to know what ingredients work and how to work those products to get the maximum benefit for your skin and your overall health.

Here’s the thing, you have to know what your skin care goals are before you can pick the right product.  A product that has the statement ANTI-AGING is just one piece of the puzzle.  What ingredient makes it anti-aging?  Is it a treatment ingredient like glycolic acid, that make the skin move?  Or is it a peptide that’s a cell communicator.  Purchasing skin care products is like grocery shopping.  You know what you want to ear.  You should know what ingredients you need to apply to your skin.  Choosing the wrong product can cause more skin care problems even accelerated skin aging.

My personal Skin Care Plan and the products I use deliver the results I am looking for.  I’m very specific about how I want my skin to perform.  I don’t want my skin wrinkling, sagging, or discolored, I want a healthy glow and I want to look 40 when I’m 60.  Be specific about your goals even if you think there unattainable.  Just as a diet plan whereby you set a goal to lose 10 lbs in 1 month, you have to create a regimen plan for healthy happy skin.

The first step is to ask and answer a couple of question:

  • What are your skin issues?  Such as acne, acne scars, rosacea, dark spots, wrinkles, pigmentation etc.
  • Do you have any sensitivities?  Is your skin on the red side?  Does your skin burn easily?
  • What is your age?
  • What color is your skin?
  • What’s your nationality?
  • What skin program have you been on for the last 6 months?
  • Have you used a treatment product in the last 6 months?  Such as glycolic acid, Retin-A, microdermabrasion etc.
  • Are you taking any medication for your skin?
  • What brand of make-up have you used in the last 6 months?
  • What skin type do you think you have?
  • Do you just need a simple skin care maintenance program?
  • Do you need a complete skin makeover?

If you have skin issues or are aging over 40 you have to treat the skin.  If you don’t have issues and are young, you need to moisturize.  There are all kind of variables that I have to take into consideration when designing the right skin care regimen for each and every one of my clients.  The product, plan and percentage of ingredients has to be the right fit.  I use 6 products for almost everybody I treat.  A facial wash, Glycolic, microdermabrasion, Skin Water, Waterscreen, and an Anti-Oxidant.

Here’s a simple regimen I would design for a person with light color skin, age 19 to 25 with no real skin care problems:

Morning:  No facial wash, after shower gently dry off the face.  Apply a bit of Skin Water and a bit of Anti-Oxidant.

Evening: Original Facial Wash, apply a bit of Skin Water.

Here is a daily skin regimen that is for a client with more skin problems:

Morning Regimen: Before shower or bath apply just a bit of Waterscreen.  This is probably the most important step to take.  (Do not wash your face in the shower).  After shower, gently dry off the face.  Apply a bit of Skin Water and a bit of Anti-Oxidant.

EveningRegimen:  Facial wash.  Apply 5% Glycolic Acid, apply a bit of Skin Water, Seal with Waterscreen.

The following is a Treatment Plan which can be done twice a month:

Evening: Facial wash.  Apply Microscrub, massage into skin until all waxy build up seems to be gone, then rinse gently.  Apply 7% Glycolic Acid, let sting for 3 to 5 minutes.  DO NOT REMOVE.  Apply Skin Water like a mask.  Let set on face for about 20 minutes. Gently dry off any excess with a dry towel.  Apply a bit of Waterscreen.

Skin Care Products/ Ingredients have to make sense when applying them, and have to deliver the results.  If you would like me to write you a Skin Care Plan, answer the questions above, include your skin care goals and send me a photo to biokorium.vivian@gmail.com