Lighten Dark Spots Naturally

Home remedies for age spots are not overnight successes, and if patience is not a virtue possessed then it may be best to visit your dermatologist for medical treatments.  Home remedies can take from six to eight weeks before results are noticeable.

 

 

CITRUS

The simplest is applying a lemon slice directly on the spots you want lightened. Apply up to two times every day. Leave in place for five minutes. Rinse thoroughly.
A mixture of 1 tsp. each of orange and lime juice with 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar can be applied and rinsed the same way.
Citrus applications can dry and irritate your skin after prolonged use. It recommends a quality skin lotion after each rinse.

 Another common food equaling a lemon’s acidity is the red onion. One slice of red onion, rubbed into the skin daily is also touted with natural bleaching abilities for the skin.

 

NATURAL VITAMIN E

Natural Vitamin E consists of several compounds which include alpha, beta, delta, and gamma tocopherol. However, the most important ingredient is alpha-tocopherol due to its antioxidant properties. Alpha-tocopherol had been shown to reduce significantly the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, freckles and dark spots on the skin.

NUTGRASS ROOT

 It is a natural whitening ingredient that can brighten skin effectively by reducing melanin up to 40% without any harmful side effect. Clinical trials have shown that Extrapone nutgrass is effective in reducing freckles and dark spots due to its ability to inhibit the formation of the skin pigment melanin.

 

SHEA BUTTER

Shea butter, if applied in its natural form, on the affected skin area, can be very effective.  In addition to aiding in dark spot removal, shea butter also helps moisturize and hydrate the skin, rejuvenating and refreshing it.  ‘

 

BUTTERMILK

Buttermilk contains a natural bleach that will gradually fade the dark spots on your skin. Buttermilk helps your skin cells regenerate at a faster rate, helping replace the damaged cells in your dark spots and fading their color. Buy buttermilk at the grocery store, soak a cotton ball in the liquid and rub it on your dark spots. Hold the cotton ball on the dark spots for 10 minutes.

 

CHEMICAL PEELS

Try glycolic facials, which are offered by many spas and salons.  These facials help remove ark spots as glycolic acid is the main component used in these facials.  Glycolic acid helps in removing dead cells and the upper layer of the skin, thereby aiding in dark spot removal.  

 

ALPHA HYDROXY/RETINOL

Dermatologists often recommend applying a retinoid or retinol directly on age spots. A prescriptive retinoid is more effective and provides a faster result that the OTC retinol. The spots should diminish or even disappear in a few months.

 

An important drawback is that it also makes skin more susceptible to damage from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, which could make your age spots or scars darker. You must stay out of the sun while using lotions formulated with this ingredient to experience optimal fading of skin blemishes.

 

CHINESE HERBS

A natural remedy based on traditional Chinese herb lore is homemade ginsing and gotu kola cream. Mix 1/8 tsp. powdered ginseng root with 1/8 tsp. gotu kola. Moisten the blend with ginseng tea to form a paste. Apply directly on your pigmented spots, then rinse with cool water after 10 to 15 minutes. Use this preparation twice a day. Repeat until you see the degree of lightening you want.

 

Although home remedies are considered safe, there are side effects to be wary of as with any treatment. Natural acids from onion and lemon are completely safe for ingestion and topical application however when used for extended periods of time and in excess, skin burns can occur. Other factors to consider are over bleaching of your skin. This could leave age spots whiter than your other skin once treatment is complete.

 

You may prefer organic products formulated to diminsh dark spots naturally:

https://us.nyrorganic.com/shop/skincarebydonna/product/0568/wild-rose-beauty-balm-1-76-oz/?a=12&cat=0&search=rose%20blam

Contains 30% Rose Hip Seed Oil which is a natural retinol.

 

Organic Skin Brighteners

https://us.nyrorganic.com/shop/skincarebydonna/product/0037/brightening-serum-1-01fl-oz/?a=12&cat=0&search=brightener

 

https://us.nyrorganic.com/shop/skincarebydonna/product/0583/daily-brightening-3-38fl-oz/?a=12&cat=0&search=brightener

When life gives you lemons….Make skincare

Lemon is an amazing fruit. It is good for you on the inside and out. I had no idea that lemon could do so many great things to make my skin look and feel better. Check out these 8 ways lemon is truly a miracle fruit.

Fade age spots – Just apply straight lemon to the areas before bed and wash off in the morning with cool water. After a week or two, the lemon will have cleansed the skin and lighten the color. If you want an all over body treatment, just add 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice to your bath and soak for 20 minutes.

For brighter, softer skin use fresh lemon juice on any area of your body, including the knees, elbows, and face to brighten up and soften your skin.

Get Rid of Blackheads If you rub lemon juice on the area with your blackheads, it should make them disappear. Do this every night and rinse with cool water in the morning until blackheads are gone.

Make a moisturizing mask for dry skin by mixing equal amounts of honey, lemon and olive oil. Apply the mixture to dry areas on the skin and allow it to dry thoroughly for about 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water.

As a toner for oily skin, combine 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons vodka, 1 tablespoon distilled water, and 1 teaspoon witch hazel. Apply with cotton balls and rinse with cool water. If you store in the refrigerator, it should last up to a week.

To exfoliate dead skin cells rub a cut lemon dipped into a half-teaspoon of sugar over your face for a few minutes, or create a mild mixture by using lemon juice, sugar and a small amount of water. Do this once a week to help remove dead skin cells and refresh your skin.

To make a lemon anti-wrinkle mask mix a teaspoon of honey, a few drops of lemon juice and a drop of sweet almond oil. Apply this mixture on the face and allow it to dry for 20 minutes and wash off.If your skin is sensitive to the citric acid in lemons, you can dilute the juice with some water. Using a cotton ball to apply is the best way. Try not to use lemon juice on your skin before any sun exposure since it will make your skin more sensitive to the sun.

Source: Perfect Skin Magazine

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Acid Mantle? What is an Acid Mantle?

 

Have you ever heard of an Acid Mantle?

Yes! You have one… and caring for it is critical for maintaining healthy, beautiful skin.

The Acid Mantle is a very thin layer, a barrier that lies on the surface of the skin. This acidic barrier is a mixture of sweat, sebum, oils and salt which is excreted naturally by our skin. The acid mantle naturally protects the skin by killing bacteria before it can get inside the skin. It also helps the skin hydrate and maintain it’s moisture.

The acidity of the acid mantle is measured by its pH. pH is measured on a scale of 1 to 14. Healthy skin usually has a pH between 4 and 5.5. Skin pH can vary in different parts of the body.

It is very important not to strip the skin with harsh alkaline soaps / cleansers. Doing this will allow for bacteria to enter the skin ~ disturbing the acid mantle leads to skin conditions such as dermatitis, eczema, rosacea and acne.

Your dermatologist, Esthetician or even your local pharmacy can recommend skin care products that are pH balanced. At-home PH testing kits are also available.

Balance=Healthy, beautiful skin!

 

 

6 Easy New Year’s Resolutions for Your Skin

1.  Never skip your skin routine at night.  It is critical to remove all traces of dirt, debris and makeup each night.  Look for a cleanser that also removes your makeup.

2.  Schedule regular facials.  Monthly facials deep clean your skin, prevent signs of aging, and improve imperfections.  Commit to following your home care recommendations as well for maximum benefits.

3.  If you’re over 35…..add an anti-aging serum to your routine. The active ingredients in a serum will bring anti-oxidants to the skin and stimulate cell renewal.  Prevention is always easier than repair.

4.  Commit to using sunscreen daily.  Everyday. And reapply as directed.

5.  If you wear foundation…..add a primer.  Primer will provide a smooth canvas for better makeup application.  Applying primer also locks in your serum and moisturizer so they work more effectively.

6.  Always follow directions on your skin care exactly.  Use the recommended amounts…don’t skimp or you will not receive the true benefits of your products.  Leaving a product on longer than instructed does not make it work better.

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Winter Skin Care

With the drop in temperature, your skin also starts to get dry and rough.  Just like your wardrobe, your skin care needs to adapt to the colder temperatures and drier air as well.  Here are some basic tips to keep your skin soft and hydrated during the winter months.

Drink plenty of water: It is important to stay hydrated during the winters. Usually you tend to get dehydrated during the colder months due to the lack of moisture in the air. Not only does it keep you hydrated but it also keeps your skin glowing and healthy.

Get a facial: Getting a facial during the winters is a great way to clear out your skin. As the climate changes, your skin also start showing a change in terms of getting dry and dehydrated. A facial ensures that your skin gets its dose of moisture and does not start peeling off.

Stay away from petroleum: Your skin and your lips tend to become extremely dry during the winters. Do not neglect your lips. Keep a lip balm with you and keep applying it as and when your lips become dry. But stay away from petroleum. It tends to clog the pores in your lips and skin and makes it hard for the moisture to seep in.

Remember to apply a sunscreen: Do not forget to apply a sunscreen before stepping out into the sun during the colder months. During the winter, the UV rays of the sun tend to affect your skin all the more, making it more susceptible to damage.

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How to Treat Blackheads

Blackheads, or open comedones look like black bumps or plugs and are caused by excess skin oil that accumulates in the sebaceous glands’ ducts. Sebum (secretion of the sebaceous glands) and keratin (specific substance found in the dead outer skin tissue) are collected in pores and oxidized (that’s why they look blackish in color). However, when you extract the blackhead it can appear to be yellow or brown.

It’s much easier to prevent blackheads than to treat them. Here are some tips:

• Keep your skin clean and breathing. Wash your face regularly with a gentle exfoliating  scrub that contains salicylic acid. Salicylic acid does wonders in preventing and getting rid of blackheads, acne and pimples.
• Don’t be overzealous with your make-up, especially if you can see the first signs of skin’s problem!
• Use products specifically for oily skin. Remember, excess oil is the cause of blackheads! Improper products will clog pores and only contribute to blackheads.
• Wash your face with a good organic acne cleanser twice a day.
• Make a habit of applying an oil-absorbing clay facial mask once a week. It is very effective as it penetrates into pores, absorbs excess skin oil and unclogs pores.
• Launder your pillowcase at least once every week.

Do you already suffer from blackheads?  Try the following……

1. Do not squeeze!!
2. Wash your face with a good acne cleanser and scrub it properly.
3. Make a warm water compress to the area affected with blackheads for 15-20 minutes to open the pores. You can also fill a container with hot water and lean over it for the same time (15 minutes). The steam will open your pores.
4. Dry your face with a clean fresh towel. Now when your skin is dry and pores open, the blackheads are closer to the surface of your skin. This is the best time to apply an oil absorbing facial mask.
5. Take some green clay and add rose water. Mix the substance until smooth and apply onto your nose. The mask provides a stunning effect in removing blackheads as well as unclogging the pores. Leave the mask until it is firm to the touch, and then wash it off with warm water. You can also try a honey mask- just warm some honey, apply it on your nose for ten minutes or so and then wash it off.
6. Once your skin is clean and breathing,  and your pores are open, use a specially formulated blackhead cleanser on your face to get rid of extra blackheads.
7. Wash your face with cold water to close the pores. Apply a quality oil-free non-comedogenic moisturizer.

Come by the spa and check out our organic products and treatments to help you address all your complexion concerns.  We offer complimentary consultations to determine the best treatments for you!

 

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Beauty Tips and Tricks

First in a series.

 

Always, always put sunscreen on your hands and neck. They’re just as important as your face, and they show aging the fastest!

The best way to fight aging and prevent pimples is to use a retinoid serum, cream or lotion. You’ve likely heard this, but have you tried it? It is honestly the one thing that will make a huge difference in the appearance of your skin.  It helps smooth wrinkles, prevent blemishes, keep pore size small and fight sun damage. Just be sure to also use SPF religiously with it — another tried and true tip.

 

You can use your eyebrows to make dark under eye circles less noticeable. Just tweeze your brows so they’re more straight-across than arched. When they’re arched you get a complete circle effect (your brows and the dark circles below) and that exaggerates the dark circles, but if your brows are straight across, it breaks up that shape and de-emphasizes the circles.

 

If you have zero time to do your makeup, focus on your brows — just fill them in and brush them, then throw on some lip gloss. This is the fastest way to look ‘pulled together’.

 

Always use your ring finger to apply moisturizer or concealer to the eye area. It puts the least amount of pressure on the skin.

Powder is the only makeup or skin care product applied with a downward motion—you do this to smooth down facial hairs.

Exfoliate with a body scrub once a week to slough off dead cells that make skin look dull. When skin is freshly exfoliated, lotion and oil are better absorbed

Mix cooled coffee grounds with any oil (I like coconut) to make a cellulite-reducing and exfoliating scrub for your body!

 

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Overnight Skin Care

After a day of coming in contact with harsh environmental conditions, our skin has been exposed to a lot of harmful elements. Over time this can result in damage to the skin and cause pre-mature aging. Because of the harm, it is important to take care of your skin. The benefits of a night skin care routine include improving skin tone and color, reducing skin blemishes, and hydrating and rejuvenating the skin. Establishing a night skin care routine will allow the skin to breathe, heal, and restore to a healthy young glow

At night, skin experiences several changes:

• Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) increases, causing the skin’s protective hydrolipid barrier to weaken, allowing for greater penetration of active ingredients.
• The skin’s own natural antioxidant levels increase.
• Skin repairs from the day’s damage from exposure to environmental aggressors, such as UV rays, smog, nicotine, etc. and rejuvenates itself.
• Stress hormones decrease during sleep, so the skin is better able to repair itself.
• Oil production is two times lower at night than during the day.

The time that the body spends sleeping is one of regeneration. It is the time that your body can undo a lot of the harm that you encounter during the day, and it is this time that a night cream can attempt to manage the harm done to your skin. While a day cream is suited towards protection, guarding you from the various effects of your environment, including harsh light from the sun and pollutants you may encounter, a night cream should be oriented towards healing what you encountered in the time available.

What are the benefits of a dedicated nighttime skin care plan?

Night creams and serums are especially designed to improve your skin while you sleep. Packed with vitamins and active moisturizing ingredients, night creams or serums are especially beneficial for those past the age of 30 when skin begins to show the first signs of aging. That’s the time when fine lines appear, the skin becomes drier and less elastic, and skin begins to look dull and patchy.

In your 30s, opt for an anti-aging eye cream. In your 40s, night is a good time to apply your anti-wrinkle cream.  It’s important to avoid applying eye cream too close to the lash line as the product will actually end up in your eyes, picked up by your eyelashes. Every time you blink the hairs will lift microscopic amounts of product and it can eventually deposit into your eyes.  Anything that enters the eyes can be an obvious irritant and cause unnecessary puffiness

Use products with performance ingredients – During the day your skin requires environmental-protecting ingredients but at night when your skin is regenerating, look for repair, exfoliating and anti-inflammatory ingredients.

-Repair ingredients like glycolic acid, retinol, Peptides,and Red Marine Algae to encourage collagen activity.
–Exfoliation to stimulate new, healthy skin cell growth while removing surface dry skin cells. Skin rejuvenation is all about “out with the old, in with the new.”
-Soothing ingredients like White Tea Extract and Azulene to provide anti-inflammatory relief.

Get your beauty sleep – There is no doubt that getting enough sleep every night can offer many skin benefits. Sleep can reduce dark circles because a lack of sleep compromises your body’s circulatory system and you get stagnant blood in the vessels under the eyes because it hasn’t properly drained. Lack of sleep also causes the skin to look pale and tired because the circulation has been impaired. In addition, it’s important to get a good night’s sleep because sleep deprivation also causes stress, which can aggravate all skin conditions, including acne, eczema and psoriasis. Bottom line: when you’re tired, you look it!

Last but not least,

 Change your pillowcases frequently – Why? Bacteria and oil may get reintroduced into the skin when you sleep so it’s always suggested for acne-prone skin to have a fresh, clean pillowcase to sleep on.

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How to Look Great at Any Age

As a general rule of thumb, here is what you should know to care for skin at any age:  

30s: In your 30s, your skin loses its ability to retain water as it once did. Its renewal powers also slow down and it starts producing less collagen and elastin. Due to these factors, fine lines can start to develop, skin tone can turn dull and skin can begin to obtain a rough texture. Another common problem for this age group is increased skin sensitivity or conditions like rosacea.

40s: When we are in our 40’s, the aging process becomes more evident. You are more likely to have wrinkles and deep-set lines caused by exposure to the sun, pollution and stress. Skin also loses some of its elasticity. You may experience dry, chapped skin and discoloration. Try to avoid sun exposure and use other products to minimize the effects of aging before they become too difficult to get rid of!

50s: As you enter your 50’s, your skin has also gone through five decades of wear and tear and will show clear signs of aging, such as wrinkles, fine lines, age spots and more. It’s time to acknowledge that you can’t get back the flawless skin of the past, but you can take steps to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and lines. To keep your skin looking luminous, try updating your skin care routine, invest in effective anti-aging products and make sure you moisturize.

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