Control Seasonal Skin Freak-Outs

It’s getting colder now.  You change your clothing style to stay warm.  Why not change your skin care style to keep healthy skin?

A week ago, a lady walked in.  She told me that three months ago the products that I recommended work perfectly for her but now they make her skin dry and red.  I asked her if all products, regardless the brands, behave like that for her.  Bingo!  Turned out that she had been switching brands every year because of this.  I recommended her a few different products and she called me today to thank me for solving this problem that had been bothering her for years.

Climate and our bodies are the two main factors that affect our skin.  To be honest, I am not a big skin-type person.  Our skin changes as our bodies age.  When you are a teenager, every gland and organ in your body is at its peak.  That means you are more active, more energetic, and more likely to be classified as oily skin (or combination).  As you age, your metabolism declines and your skin tends to become dry and sensitive.  The season and regional climate do similar things to your skin.  In warmer days, you are likely to have oily skin and lots of acne-related problems.  You have more problem with dry, rough, and sensitive skin in the winter.

As you put on more clothing for the winter, you need to apply heavier, stronger moisturizers to protect your skin from dryness.  In cold weather, the sebaceous glands (responsible for secreting oil to prevent water in your skin from evaporating into the air) in the skin are less active thus leading to skin’s inability to retain moisture and dry skin.  The first alarm that we receive from dry skin is itchiness.  Do not scratch!  DO NOT SCRATCH!!  Our fingernails not only are hard enough to scrap off layers of skin cells but hides a lot of bacteria also.  Scratching irritates the skin and invites bacteria to have a Christmas party on your skin (and bacteria respond to this by giving you patches of redness and swells).  Just apply very gentle and hydrating moisturizer when your skin is itching.

If you ever live at a cold place or been through some chilly winters, you would know the key to dressing for cold weather is layer up.  And that is your rule of thumb for skin care in the winter.  Layer-up just means you are adding a few more steps to your summer daily regimen.  For example, I like to use toner and then serum in warmer days.  Now I add day and night creams to my daily routine.  I do not recommend a full-on switch because any unfinished products goes to waste and the skin takes some time to adjust to a new product.  I will highly recommend that you adjust your own routine as your skin sees fit.  If you have break-outs on your forehead/nose when you use facial cream, start applying the cream on your cheeks only or switch to a thick serum.  For how to pick a good cream for your skin, check out Picking THE Facial Cream.

Make good habits a part of YOU (Part 3)

Three simple (and obvious) lifestyle tips to have great looking skin--drink plenty of water, exercise, and eat right.

At this point you are probably thinking: “ok, that’s what EVERY beauty expert would say, but it’s not easy to do!”  Here is my honest advice--Make them a part of you.  To adopt a habit comes down to nothing but repetition.  

Eating Right
Healthy diet doesn’t just apply to people who are overweight.  Eating right promotes smoother brighter skin, prevents illness, improves mood, and boosts energy (it’s just like exercising).  And you are what you eat.  The best news--to have a balanced diet doesn’t mean you have to give up what you like to eat completely.  You also don’t need to be a chef or a nutrition scientist to know what’s good for you.  Just listen to your body.

I eat just about anything.  I love food.  I love desserts.  I LOVE chocolate.  I just watch when I eat certain food and how much/often.  I never deny my cravings because my body doesn’t listen to my logic.  It’s better to get the craving out of the way ASAP then dwelling on it (and leading to binge eat).  When I eat the food (usually chocolate/dessert) I crave, I eat very very very slowly because 1) I get to enjoy the food and 2) I can tell myself to stop after a few bites.  Every bite of food takes time to travel into your stomach.  After the food gets into your stomach, it takes time for your body to release a chemical to tell your brain to “snap out of the cravings now!”  So portion control is all about eating slowly.

My rule of thumb for food type is: protein in the morning, carbs throughout the day, and fibers at night.  That means in the morning I usually eat plain Greek yogurt with granola.  Lunch is my happy hour (and when I fill my cravings).  I eat whatever I want and usually a lot of carbs.  5pm is my daily work out hour.  So before working out I would eat a snack if I am hungry.  After working out, I would eat salad or fruits or grilled salmon for dinner.  When I am stressed and need something to chew on, I eat baby carrots (no dressing).

That is what a typical day is like for me.  When I am out with friends, I don’t watch what I eat but I do control my portion.  The easiest way to do that is...have a few bites and talk for a couple minutes.  This way I give my body a chance to tell me that I am full.  Once I feel that, I stop eating.  Eating until you have a food coma (or feel like you are bursting) is definitely not what your body likes.

So...slow down and listen to what your body really wants.  You don’t have to deprive yourself from the pleasure of tasty food or turn down your friends when they want to go out.  Keeping a balanced diet can be very simple and you can feel/see it almost...immediately!   

Make good habits a part of YOU (Part 2)

Three simple (and obvious) lifestyle tips to have great looking skin--drink plenty of water, exercise, eat right, stay happy, and know moderation.

At this point you are probably thinking: “ok, that’s what EVERY beauty expert would say, but it’s not easy to do!”  Here is my honest advice--Make them a part of you.  To adopt a habit comes down to nothing but repetition.  

Exercise
Exercise increases our circulation, controls weight, helps us cope with stress, improves mood, prevents a lot of diseases, boosts energy, and much much more.  As I can list many advantages about exercising, I can come up with even more excuses to not exercise.  I have so much other things to do; I hate getting sweaty; driving to the gym is too tiring; running hurts my knees; my workout buddy moved...  These excuses all come down to two things: laziness and laziness!  First, eliminate your excuses.  And then combine exercising with things you love to do.

1. The gym is too crowded, too far, too expensive, etc.  I have a treadmill at home, so no more excuses for me about the gym.  If you don’t have exercise equipments at home and don’t want to get anything large/hard to move, get a yoga mat and an exercise ball or a jump rope.  When I used to live in a smaller place, I used to run back and forth in the hallway or up and down a small step stool.  I find that if I bring the exercise home, all my excuses regarding not liking to leave the house are eliminated.  Keep in mind that beautiful skin and body are at stake and go do something about your excuses!

2. I don’t have time to work out.  Yes you do!  We all do, and we just choose not to make time for working out.  I work on average 60-90 hours a week, but I still find at least an hour a day to exercise.  I just combine it with things that I love to do.  I love watching TV.  On my day off, I’d lie on the couch and watch shows all day.  So...I made a rule for myself.  If I want to watch TV, I have to be on the treadmill and walk at least 3mph.  Combining the things you like with something very painful is the best motivation for getting into a habit.  I didn’t have time to work out, but I would make time for TV.  Now I combine TV-watching with exercising, I have to make time for both.  So if you like to dance, join a dance class.  If you like to read, read while walking/biking in the gym.  If you like hanging out and meeting new people, join a rock-climbing gym or a dance class.  This combining what you like with exercise method also eliminates the working-out-is-sooo-boring excuse.

In the beginning, there is no rule about exercising as long as you make an effort keep at it everyday.  As you become better at it, set goals you want to accomplish (and combine goals with easy rewards).  For example, I push for the last half a mile because I want to see the ending of an episode.  And one very important thing to keep in mind is--just because it works for someone else doesn’t mean it works for you.  So stick with your lifestyle (but do workout for at least 20 minutes a day).  I know I am not a morning person, so I stop trying to make myself get up hours before work to work out (these are the kind of exercise plans that fail very quickly for me).

(To be continued...)

Make good habits a part of YOU (Part 1)

Three simple (and obvious) lifestyle tips to have great looking skin--drink plenty of water, exercise, eat right, stay happy, and know moderation.

At this point you are probably thinking: “ok, that’s what EVERY beauty expert would say, but it’s not easy to do!”  Here is my honest advice--Make them a part of you.  To adopt a habit comes down to nothing but repetition.  This is almost like having a new color to your room.  Say it’s a color you don’t like.  First month you hate it.  Second month you dislike it.  Third month you guess you will live.  After a year, you probably don’t think about it anymore.  If you keep at something everyday for a period of time, you will get used to doing it.  So let’s get down to how to start good habits and slowly make them a part of you.

Drink plenty of water
Water is 70% of our bodies.  Water takes away toxins in your bodies and helps with many discomfort and sickness, including constipation.  And...I don’t like the taste of water and I am too busy to remember something like drink a glass (1/2 pint) every 2-hour.  But I do like the taste of tea, soda, and coffee!  I also notice that I would unconsciously take tiny sips if I use straws.  So here’s what I did.  

Every morning before I drink my coffee, I drink 250 mL of room temperature water.  It begins with a rule--if I really want to drink coffee, I have finish the glass of water.  At first, it takes me...20 minutes to drink that glass of water and I hate every second of it.  Now I do it every morning without thinking about it.  I actually feel like I cannot wake up if I don’t have my glass of water in the morning.  Drinking a huge glass of lukewarm water first thing in the morning can help lubricating your throat (so virus and bacteria don’t get too comfortable hanging out there and give you a cold/flu) and waking up your digestive system (diluting excessive stomach acid and helping with constipation).

From the list of beverages I like, tea is about the healthiest one.  I make batches of unsweetened iced tea and drink it throughout the day.  I can drink about 2000mL of tea ( = 8 cups of water)  in a day.  This part of the drinking-water-habit is easy to adopt because I love tea.  It’s not all about torturing yourself to adopt a habit.  It’s fitting a good habit into your lifestyle.  I’d recommend if you don’t like water, find the best substitute for it.  There are plenty good choices other than tea; for example, carbonated flavored water with zero calories is a great substitute for soda-lovers.

I like drinking with straws (as weird as that sounds).  Instead of setting an alarm clock to remind myself to drink every 2-hour, I just use straws to drink tea.  Even as I am writing this post, I am...*sip*...drawn to...*sip*...drink...*sip*...more...*sip sip*...fluids!  What makes you wanna drink more water?

( I am trying not to write very long posts...and failing at it.  So you can stop here if you’d like or go on and read other parts of this.)

Less carbs = less breakouts

Most of us think of low carbs diet as a good way to stay skinny, but recent research has shown that low carbs diet may also improve acne.

Dr. Alan Shelita at SUNY Downstate Medical Center theorized that people with pimples may have hyperinsulinemia (Oh no, really big word!!).  Basically, when we eat carbs (sugar, rice, bread, milk, chocolate, and deep fried food all have carbs), our bodies produce a hormone called insulin.   Insulin cues the body to remove broke-down carbs from our bloodstreams and store it as energy.  So, eating lots of carbs makes our bodies produces lots of insulin, and we are considered to have hyperinsulinemia when our blood has too much insulin.

Now we can see why chocolate and fries may be the cause of acne.  Choclate has carbs and fries is nothing but oil and carbs.  To prevent horrible breakouts, I highly recommend following three general rules.

1.  Keep a regular schedule and don’t over-stress your body.  Don’t pull an all-nighter for whatever reason.  It’s not only bad for your pimples but for your liver also.
2.  Have healthy light meals.  This is not just for keeping you in shape.  Eating better will help you become more productive, have better moods, and stay away from bad breakouts.
3.  Start a good skincare routine but don’t overdo it.  Here I have the MEOW routine, which is generally how I keep my skin clear.
-- Moisturize often to neutralize the oil on your face (and this will help build a barrier to prevent bacteria from attacking your skin).
-- Exfoliate your skin to keep dead skin cells from clogging your pores (again, don’t overdo and take away the healthy cells too).  
-- Oil-free products only.  Look for products that are labeled “non-comedogenic” (meaning “won’t clog pores”).  You also want to stay away from mineral oil/petroleum oil products.
-- Wash your face at most twice a day and use gentle cleanser (the strong ones take away your skin’s natural defense against bacteria and weather).  

Benefits of keeping your skin hydrated

The human body is made up of 70% water.  Doctors recommend us to drink 8 cups of water every day.  Water is important for all living beings...and our skin!  Yes, the key to beautiful healthy skin is drinking plenty of water.  Water can help transport waste and toxin out of our bodies.  But do you notice that when you have dry skin drinking water doesn’t help much at all?

I know...you’d think...duh! That’s what lotion is for.  It’s great for repairing dry and cracked skin, so you use lotion only when your skin is cracked (daily use is for girly girls who like to smell nice).  Wrong!  Using lotion, moisturizer, or serum to keep your skin well-hydrated can prevent a lot of unwanted skin issues.  Here I just want to name a few benefits of having a good habit to keep your skin moisturized.

1. Balance out the oil on your skin.  On a hot or humid day, your skin would naturally secrete oil to help form a protective layer on your skin.  The oil is only one component of your protective layer, and it takes time for all the components to mix together.  The first reaction that people have toward an oily face is to rinse it off or use facial blotting paper.  That just makes it worse because your skin reacts by giving off more oil (it still wants to form that protective layer).  But if you use a light-weight moisturizer along to help expedite the forming of the protective layer, your skin will gradually stop secreting too much oil and your skin will look supple.

2. This one is for the girls who have everything.  Normally when you look for a new skincare product, you look for functions/results.  You seek words like “age-defying”, “oil-control”, or “reduce visible pores”.  Those are all good things but skipping out on moisturizing means none of the wonderful ingredients can enter your skin.  Human epidermis is consisted of many cell layers, but the outermost layers are all dead skin cells.  In well-hydrated skin, those dead skin cells can protect living cells underneath from premature death.  If too many living cells die early, more layers of dead skin cells are formed blocking all the ingredients from seeping into your skin.  Well, in short, don’t skip moisturizing after you wash your face.  Otherwise, more dead skin cells equal to rougher skin, and that equals to useless skincare products and lots of disappointment.

3. Reduce and prevent enlarged pores.  I mentioned premature skin cells deaths in 2.  Some of the dead skin cells may clog your pores, leading to clogged pores (comedos and some of them blackheads).  The clogging also stretches your pores.  To avoid blackheads, comedos, and ultimately, acnes, keep your skin well-hydrated!   The other cause for enlarged pores is dehydration leads to shifts in skin’s tissue structures, resulting in visible pores.

These are only a few benefits explained in details.  Other benefits are preventing sensitive skin, delaying wrinkles and fine lines formation, protecting skin from environmental damages, soothing skin after exposure to the sun, etc.  So...grab a bottle of moisturizer and quench your skin’s thirst!