Soothe Your Skin During Allergy Season

Allergy season is upon us and for most, there’s no dodging the sore throat, sneezing, itchy, watery eyes and sniffles. What’s worse is, our skin falls victim to these ailments as well. We’ve all seen and can relate to the Kleenex commercials with the little cartoon character sporting the bright pink nose. Well, I’m not a doctor, so I can’t cure your allergies. But I can give you some tips to help comfort your sore and tender skin while you wait for the season to pass. Read more

Skin Care Travel Essentials

Christmas day is rapidly approaching. Everyone is in a frenzy to get their Christmas shopping done. In addition, many are also preparing for that long awaited Christmas vacation, or simply ready to travel back “home” to spend the holidays with friends and family. That means, not only is there stress in having to bring along all of your holiday gifts, but there’s also your own personal belongings to pack up. As someone who travels a lot, I’ve learned what skincare and beauty items are essential to have while traveling, without going overboard or leaving anything behind. Here are my tips to packing light, while keeping your skin happy.

First and foremost, prepare your skin for the long trip by drinking lots of water. Several days before you intend to travel, drink even more water than the recommended daily consumption of 64 ounces. I know, that’s a lot of water, but the benefits are so worthwhile! Exposure to the very dry cabin air while traveling via airplane is extremely dehydrating. You will not only feel the effects of dehydration in your skin, but also throughout your body. Have you ever wondered why you tend to experience bloating, puffy eyes, chapped lips, and swelling of wrists and ankles after a flight? These are all symptoms of dehydration! The body will actually retain extra water in those particular areas in an effort to prevent total loss of hydration. The best way to avoid dealing with these discomforts while traveling, is to start hydrating your body beforehand.

Be prepared for possible travel delays or detours. Put together a travel size (3 oz or less) skincare kit which you can take along in your hand carry bag to include your facial cleanser, toner, moisturizer, sunblock and lip balm. If you don’t have time to venture out and find travel size containers for your skincare kit, consider a travel kit such as the MD Formulations Travel Essentials Kit.

Carry your toner in a small spritzer bottle. During your travels, a quick mist of your toner will help to revive tired and dehydrated skin.

Your hands will also need some TLC. Include a small instant hand sanitizer gel and a travel size of your favorite hand cream. While traveling, I find myself washing my hands more than usual. So when a sink is not available, I take comfort in knowing that I have my handy hand sanitizer. With all the hand washing and drenching in hand sanitizer, it is important to have a good and heavy hand cream to keep your skin moisturized.

If you are like me, then you cannot travel without your makeup. Here are a few suggestions for condensing your makeup bag. Consider a tinted moisturizer with SPF, such as the Juice Organics SPF 30 Light Tint Moisturizer to take on the job of your moisturizer, sunblock and foundation! A creme blush like the DuWop Blush Therapy For Cheeks, Elixir (natural taupe pink) or NARS The Multiple Multi-Purpose Stick, South Beach is great for your cheeks, lips and even eyes! Be sure to choose a fairly neutral color with just a hint of pink. Lastly, don’t forget your brow brush to keep those brows tamed and mascara to complete your look.

For those of you who can’t leave the house without wearing makeup, then a portable makeup remover like the Revlon Makeup Eraser Pen is a must-have. This convenient beauty tool works great for making small corrections to smudged or running eyeliner or mascara without having to wash off all of your makeup.

There are just so many things to worry about when traveling, especially during the holidays. Ease the burden by using my tips above to keep yourself looking and feeling great, while on the run.

Healthy Holiday and Seasonal Skin

Autumn has arrived and soon enough so will the holidays. Now is the time to prepare for the holiday season. With so much to do, priorities tend to shift usually leaving skincare last on the list. Unfortunately, fall and winter weather takes a major toll on our skin, often causing excessive and unusual dryness and dehydration. Most people slap on some heavy cream and go on about their holiday madness. But I say, put the heavy cream down and slowly back away. Are you sure that heavy cream is what your skin really needs?

Before getting into my usual list of topical cures, I must lay down the law with rule #1. Water, water and more water. You must drink your water! Dehydrated skin is inevitable during the fall and winter months. Cold climates are tough on all skin types, including those that are more prone to oiliness. Staying well hydrated with water is one of the most effective and simple ways to combat skin dehydration.

How do you know if your skin is dry or dehydrated? Skin dehydration can be easily identified by the appearance of tight, flaky and patchy skin. When your skin is dehydrated, there is a lack of water moisture. We can all fall behind on our water intake, which is why we are all at risk of skin dehydration at sometime or another. In order to re-hydrate your skin, it is advisable to incorporate a hydrating serum or masque into your daily skincare regimen, in addition to drinking more water. A highly effective hydrating serum such as the Murad Cellular Replenishing Serum will help to quench your skin’s thirst for more water. The Murad Cellular Replenishing Serum is formulated for all skin types specifically to hydrate and relieve the skin of superficial lines, flakiness and tightness caused by dehydration. You should also consider using a gel-based hydrating masque like the Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Masque . This masque is so yummy to the dehydrated skin that most of the gel will quickly absorb into your skin leaving little residue to rinse away. I highly recommend enhancing your skin’s hydration with the use of skincare products like the Murad Cellular Replenishing Serum and Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Masque on a regular basis. Your skin will be thankful for the boost of hydration it so badly craves and you will be thankful for the more comfortable feel of your skin.

When your skin is dry, not only will you have all the symptoms of dehydrated skin, but you will also begin to show the signs of premature aging. Dry skin is differentiated from dehydrated skin by it’s loss of oil moisture rather than water. The dreaded onset of deep lines, or wrinkles is also a prime suspect of dry skin. Obviously, wrinkles will come with age, but there can be other causes of premature aging such as the use of inappropriate skincare products, certain cosmetics and medications, or extreme climates. Dry skin requires more moisture-rich and cream-based skincare products. The combination of a cream cleanser and moisturizer such as the Decleor Cleansing Cream and Decleor Vitalite Nourishing Firming Cream will work wonders for dry skin. A botanical skincare line like Decleor is fantastic for dry skin because of it’s very delicate and nourishing ingredients. Complimented with ingredients to encourage accelerated skin renewal, the Decleor Vitalite Nourishing Firming Cream will not only restore oil moisture in your skin, but will also aid in bringing to life new skin cells. This dual action results in well-moisturized and younger looking skin.

This holiday season, don’t forget your body’s largest organ and give to it the gift of tender loving care. Endless exposure to the outside world requires your skin to be continuously nurtured. The reward of your skin looking and feeling it’s best will be yours to keep for seasons to come.