Wear It!: Beauty, Skin

So ladies and boys, here is a common winter wardrobe question; winter acne. How to avoid it and is it caused by wearing wool?
Acne aside, irritated bumps on the skin surface after wearing a certain kind of fabric is usually a sign of either heat rash or an allergy. Some people are allergic to wool and that is that. Luckily there are all kinds of other choices for warm winter knits these days. If you are possibly allergic and still insist on wearing wool like people who insist on eating shell fish regardless as to how swollen their tongues and eyelids will get then you should try a wool blended with some other fiber and never go commando under your knitwear.

Body Acne:

For those who aren't sure or are not allergic, acne is caused by clogged hair follicles and pores. Body acne happens for a couple of reasons; for instance when friction caused by clothing against the skin surface exfoliates dead skin cells and then rubs them back into your pores and follicles mixed with sweat such as under the elastic band of your pants, or under the bra straps on your shoulders. If the wool sweater you are wearing is under a purse strap or rubbing into the skin of your back such as in an office chair at work then the skin will eventually respond in those areas with irritation and possibly acne. This is gross and damages the garment too. Try to wear a light weight camisole or short sleeve tee underneath and exfoliate in the shower regularly. For shoulders and chest try a fine granual body scrub like Skin Prep Scrub by Dermalogica or Apricot Scrub by St. Ives (not for your face) and moisturize these areas before donning your winter wardrobe.
Dreamstime_1640619 Exfoliating and moisturizing can be done all year round to avoid acne from stress, hormones and friction (like too tight jogging shorts that are your inspiration to keep on jogging). This is preventative and will help dramatically reduce unexpected pimples under your warmest layers. Make it a part of your shower routine and please don't wear wool if you think you are allergic to it, you'll continue the itchy wool stereotype we try so hard to break!
LenaWalkerSmith P.S. To speak with an expert click on this link: Elena

Acne is common and to some extent preventable. Simple things can be done to quell your skin's deepest needs without going broke, but please remember only an aesthetician can really analyze your skin for cleansing and anti aging products and only a dermatologist can address serious issues like skin moles or changes in skin health.
I am a trained aesthetician but have struggled with acne forever. In the past, as a model and actress it was really important to have consistently good skin. I was constantly trying new products to help the break outs but not really learning to prevent them.

Well dames and dolls I have taken care of business and these days my face looks clear most of the time because I use a brand name micro-exfoliant with benzol peroxide, 2.5% and I keep my skin moisturized and yes I still wear my sunscreen 7 days a week. The trick I learned was that my exfoliant choices were always too rough (the grains were too large) and did not provide the medicine to cure the pimples. What you should look for is a micro-exfoliant. Micro-exfoliants are so tiny that the grains are almost too small to see with your eyes. The treatment that I use has suspended micro-exfoliant in a benzol peroxide solution. I can't recommend a specific brand for you, only suggest that you look into the products available by reading the label for "active ingredients" which will list ingredients like benzol peroxide and the percentage used. Please, by all means visit an aesthetician! The solution that I found seems to do the trick for me but not without an occasional facial.

The reason why is that only thorough deep cleansing gets rid of the oil (sebum) in your facial pores and follicles (peach fuzz). So regular steam and deep cleansing treatments provided by an aesthetician can almost completely remove this nasty stuff and make the other acne treatments much more effective, thus saving money and concealor in the long run.

It boils down to this folks; If I trust my aesthetician Elena with my face, my money maker, my brand stamp to the world shouldn't you try one, too?

Here is the mini facial guide approved by myself and Elena:

Steps to giving yourself a mini facial, and please remember this is not a replacement for a real facial, just an in between maintenance step:

1) Before you begin use a makeup remover or PreCleanse solution from Dermalogica to massage into your face and neck in little circles with your fingertips all over your oily hot spots, nose, around the nose, forehead, brow t'ween, chin and jawline. This really does the trick and should not be left out!

2) You'll need clean hand towels or wash cloths and a bowl of steamy hot water. There are two ways to do this; either dip hand towels into the steamy water and test them on your wrist or neck first, we do not want to burn skin, keep it steamy not boiling. Lean way back in a chair or on your bed, now lay the hand towels around your face avoiding your nostrils and eyelids in a complete cirlce but don't leave out the tip of your nose. Leave the towels on until they cool to the touch.

Second option; take a large towel just like you do when you have a cold and create a tent around your face while leaning over the bowl. Seal yourself in there for about five minutes or until the water begins to cool and quits steaming.

3) Now you are ready to cleanse and exfoliate. Do not use a rough granual exfoliant, this is key. You actually do more damage than good when you either exfoliate too often or with an overly rough product. Look for a micro-exfoliant. Ask your aesthetician if you are unsure which to use. Remember she sells these products so will be familiar with what will work for your special skin type, but beware the hard sell, a good aesthetician won't over sell the product, it's her knowledge and service you are there to buy.

Begin by using small amounts (nickel sized should do) of exfoliant in circles in your oily hot spots and move outward with your fingertips. Don't strip the paint, just massage the skin evenly.

4) Rinse completely with cool water and use a moisturizing toner to shrink your pores back down. You opened them up with the steam and now need to close them to keep dirt and sebum out. Toner and cool water do this for you. A very important step!

Now stop touching your beautiful face with your dirty, acidy, oily fingers!

Don't forget a little moisturizer with titanium dioxide or zinc oxide to protect your freshly revealed skin when you go outside.Just so you know, aestheticians usually give deep discounts when you buy several future facials at once, so now you know what to ask for for your birthday; a pretty face! If you live any where near Phoenix, try Elena .