What Is Lipstick Made Of?

A basic lipstick is made of waxes, oils, and pigments. They have fillers such as mica, corn starch, and rice starch. Bismuth oxychloride can irritate skin and is found in mineral cosmetics. Carmine, which is an insect derived pigment. Many lipsticks contain titanium dioxide which can block harmful sun rays but most glosses do not.

How Does Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics Make Their Products?

Good Question!!! Here is a really cool video showing how the Brazened Honey Fresh Face Mask is made.

When Should You Start Using Anti-Aging Products?

Wrinkles and signs of aging are a result of the breaking down of collagen in the skin. Collagen is the protein responsible for giving skin it's structure. As we get older our collagen, or scaffolding, starts to degrade and we see wrinkles and drooping where smooth and perky used to be.

This process usually starts in the late twenties to early thirties depending on lifestyle and genetics.

The old adage "A stitch in time saves nine" truly applies here and prevention is key. Start treating skin at the first signs of aging with retinols, antioxidants, and collagen boosters.

Beauty Products: Why Less Is More

If you are anything like me, a heaping pile of skin care products warms your heart. I love to try new products, experience the different textures, and revel in the glow of a good purchase. But the truth is, less is more when it comes to products. Have a million lipsticks, but keep your skin care regimen to a limited number of products.

Why to minimize the number of skin care products you use:

• If you have irritation or a reaction it is easier to identify the offender
• The less steps (products) in your skin care regimen, the more likely you are to use the products and stick to your regimen
• Less products means less opportunity for adverse reactions
• You'll be able to tell what is working and what isn't 
• You'll save heaps of money

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Aging

Intrinsic aging is determined by our genetic code. Without the proper products and health decisions intrinsic aging can be somewhat mitigated. The components of intrinsic aging are:

• The outer barrier of skin weakens
• DNA repair slows
• Blood flow decreases
• Chronic inflammation increases

Extrinsic Aging is determined by environmental factors. Photoaging (sun damage) is the number one cause of extrinsic aging. Components of extrinsic aging are:

• Sun damage
• Smoking
• Stress
• Poor nutrition
• Sleep deprivation

Don't fall into the play now, pay later skin care mentality. I was recently on a cruise and saw two young early twenty somethings slathering on the oil and tanning accelerator, their skin already dark crispy brown. It took everything I had not to lean over and tell them how much they would regret all this sun exposure once they reach their thirties!

The 4 Types of Moisturizers

Creams:

• white and thick, oil-in-water emulsions made with mineral oil or lanolin

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, $26.50

Lotions:

• light and translucent, these have lots of water and an extra ingredient (usually a silicone, hydrogel, or PEG) to give them a nice smooth feel

Vaseline Intensive Rescue Clinical Therapy has a high water content and glycerin

Gels:

• clear and thick, made up of polymers, hyaluronic acid is a common ingredient that helps to hold moisture

Kate Somerville HydraClear Hydrating Acne Gel, $65.00

Serums:

• clear, translucent, or creamy, can be very thin even runny. Serums are an incomplete mixture of oil and water or cyclic silicones.

Clarins HydraQuench Intensive Serum, $59.00

Only those with severe acne and extremely oily skin should skip moisturizers. As with cleansers, there are many moisturizers that have been around for generations and work quite well, just ask your Great Aunt Ethel. Also, many of the more expensive products offer a way to combine skin care regimen steps into one product, for example, by combining a moisturizer with sun protection.

Recommended Reading : The New Science of Perfect Skin

5 Step Skin Regimen

Step One: Cleanse

• Clean skin gently with a mild cleanser to avoid stripping skin of necessary oils.
• Skip the costly cleansers and go with the economic choice from the drugstore here. All you need is something to clean your skin. After a few moments on your face you are literally sending your money down the drain.
• For dry sensitive skin use a cleanser that is fragrance-free, nondrying, and noncomedogenic (noncomedogenic simply means it will not clog pores)
• For oily or acne prone skin use an exfoliating cleanser with salicylic acid to remove dead skin cells and bacteria from the surface of the skin.

Step Two: Moisturize

• Keep skin hydrated and protected
• Hydrate while skin is still damp from the shower
• Invest in a quality moisturizer; a good one will hydrate skin, treat wrinkles, increase strength, and give an overall healthy glow

Step Three: Reprogram DNA

• Slather on that fancy anti-aging potion you spent your last paycheck on
• a good DNA enhancer combined with antioxidants with improve cellular functioning, increase collagen production, and improve blood flow to the skin- all in the name of preventing and reversing wrinkles. Can I get an amen!

Step Four: Sun Protection

• Use sun screen to combat the damaging effects of sun exposure
• this should be done DAILY and YEAR ROUND

Step Five: Brighten (optional)

• Using a combined brightener, retinol, and exfoliator can even skin tone
• brighteners should not be used more than twice daily
• retinol and exfoliators should not be used more than once daily
• always apply sunscreen before going outside

How To Control Asthma Triggers

[Source: Healthy Times Blog]

Not all of my random knowledge is self taught. Shocking, I know. I am a Certified Asthma Educator and spent years in one of the nation's highest volume pediatric centers for asthmatics in Washington, DC.

Asthma is all about control. By identifying, avoiding, and managing triggers, along with knowing when and how to take breathing medications, asthma can be controlled. What may be a trigger for one person may not be for others and it is important to know what irritates your airways. This is  a list of common environmental triggers and how you can control them.

From the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program's Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma

Tobacco Smoke

• If you smoke, ask your doctor for ways to help you quit and ask family members to join or support you in your efforts.
• Do not allow smoking in your home, car, or around you. If you are the parents of asthmatic child that is exposed to caregivers to smoke, ask them to speak to their doctor about trying to quit. If this is not possible ask that they smoke outside and that they wear a coat while they smoke and take it off before they come back inside.
• Be sure no one smokes at a child's daycare or school.
• Secondhand smoke is not only associated with asthma in children but also in an increase in ear infections.

Dust Mites

• Dust mites are tiny bugs you cannot see that live in carpet and cloth.
• Encase your mattress in a dust mite proof cover
• Encase the pillow in a dust mite proof cover or wash it weekly in water hotter than 130 degrees to kill the mites. Cooler water with bleach is another alternative if washing in hot water is not possible.
• Wash the sheets and blankets each week.
• Reduce indoor humidity to less than 60%, ideally 30-50% by using a dehumidifier or central air conditioner.
• Try not to sleep or lie on cloth covered furniture.
• Remove carpets from bedroom and those laid on concrete if possible.
• Keep stuffed toys out of bed, or wash toys weekly in hot water or in cool water with bleach. Placing toys and pillows in the freezer or dryer may also help. Prolonged exposure to dry heat or freezing can kills mites but does not remove the allergen.

Animal Dander

• People are allergic to the flakes of skin or dried saliva from animals
• Keep pets with fur out of your home
• Keep pets out of the bedroom and keep bedroom door closed
• Keep pets out of rooms with carpet or upholstered furniture

Cockroaches

• Many people are allergic to the droppings and remains of cockroaches
• Keep food out of your bedroom
• Keep garbage in closed containers
• Use roach traps or poison (boric acid)
• If using an aerosol or spray poison, stay out of the room until it has dissipated

Vacuum Cleaning

• Ask someone else in the family to be responsible for vacuuming. Stay out of the room while being vacuumed and for a short while afterwards
• If you vacuum, use a dust mask and a vacuum with a HEPA filter or double layer bag

Indoor Mold

• Fix leaking pipes or other sources of water
• Clean moldy surfaces
• Dehumidify basements

Pollen and Outdoor Mold

• During allergy season or when pollen counts are high:
• keep windows closed
• stay indoors during midday and afternoon (pollen and some mold spore counts are highest at this time)
• ask your doctor about taking or increasing anti-inflammatory medications before allergy season starts

Smokes, Strong Odors, and Sprays

• Avoid wood burning stoves, kerosene heaters, fireplaces, and unvented gas stoves
• Avoid sting odors or sprays- perfumes, talcum powder, hair spray, paints, new carpet, particle board

Other Things That Can Irritate Asthma:

• Sulfites in food: beer, wine, shrimp, dried fruit, processed potatoes
• Cold air
• Other medications: tell your doctor about other medications you take including cold medications, aspirin, and even eye drops

What The Heck Is This Thingy? And What Do I Do With It?

This thing-a-ma-bob you see here is called a comedone extractor and it is used to extract blackheads and whiteheads from the skin. Comedo is the medical term for a follicle clogged up with skin debris and oil. The plural of comedo is comedones. They can be open and appear as a blackhead or closed over by skin and are whiteheads. Comedone extractors should be used to attempt to extract blemishes and NEVER the fingers.

• Prior to using this handy gadget you'll want to wash your face with warm water (note: not hot or cold). This will help to open the pores. If you have rosacea, avoid the heat and steam therapies.
• Make sure your extractor is cleaned between uses but to ensure cleanliness, sterilize your extractor by cleaning each end with an alcohol saturated cotton ball for 30 seconds.
• Choose the end that is closest in size to the target (blemish you are looking to demolish) and place the rounded loop over the offender.
• Press the extractor into the skin while applying pressure in a downward movement.

After the nastiness of the blemish have been extracted, cleanse the area to remove the bacteria from the surface of the skin. This will prevent future blemishes. Light bleeding can be expected and is normal.

Allow the pore to heal by not touching or picking at it. Do not use heavy cremes after having pores extracted because they will just clog the pores again.

Refrigerate Your Beauty Products

Most people keep their skin care products in the same place the use them, the bathroom. But you could be doing your skin a disservice and wasting money.

The warm and humid environment of a bathroom is a perfect breading ground for bacteria and germs to grow in your beloved cremes, serums, and skin care products. These microbes can damage your skin and the product itself.

Heat and light exposure can also cause the active ingredients to destabilize and breakdown leaving them less effective; particularly the retinoids in anti-aging products. This is even more important in organic products that do not have preservatives. Homemade and DIY concoctions should be treated as food and any leftover should be discarded.  As a rule of thumb however, opened products should be discarded after three months.

A solution: keep them nice and safe in the refrigerator and the cool cremes will feel refreshing on your skin, especially if it is a jarred product, lipstick, or one that you don't use daily. Cold eye creams are fantastic for reducing inflammation and chilled sunscreen and aloe will be your best friend during the hot summer months.

How To Become A Nurse Injector

A nurse injector is a specially trained Registered Nurse or Aesthetic Nurse Specialist that specializes in non-surgical aesthetic procedures such as facial injectables, laser and light therapies, neurotoxins, body contouring, and skin care.

Training a nurse injector can greatly help a busy dermatology or plastic surgery practice to offset the increasing demand for non surgical procedures. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reports that in 2010 12.6 non surgical cosmetic procedures were performed with 2.6 of them being provided by nurse injectors and physician's assistants.

Those interested in being trained as nurse injectors must be highly motivated to learn, driven, self-starters that are willing seek out educational opportunities and are passionate about the cosmetic industry. An outgoing and pleasant disposition are also essential in working with clients.

If you want to start a career as a nurse injector you can start by doing some self education in the following areas:

1. Become well versed in the anatomy and physiology of the anatomic regions where toxins or fillers are injected.
2. Understand the major chemical properties of the agents you will be working with. Know how they work and know the differences between all of the different products available on the market.
3. Familiarize yourself with the trials and outcomes that lead to FDA approval for different products.
4. Be aware of clinical differences and indications for different products so you know when and why you are using them.
5. Learn both the on and off label uses for all products.
6. Learn to prevent, identify, and manage complications.
7. Always be willing to continue to learn, grow, and practice to improve your skills.

Article: Becoming An Injector: How One Practice Did It Successfully

#Puddles

Choose Happiness

Bracelet and Earrings by Kate Spade, Necklace by Talbots

Perricone MD: Nutritive Cleasnser

There are few cleansers I am willing to shell out more than a hefty ten bucks for. Let's face it (no pun intended) but a good cleanser doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg and there are excellent options on the drugstore shelf. One luxury brand cleanser I do indulge in from time to time however, is Perricone MD Nutritive Cleanser. After using it my skin feels clean, smooth, and soft. Some have complained that the cleanser has a 'fishy' odor; I haven't noticed anything noxious enough to halt my use but the smell does grow stronger over time.

Take A Day Trip

Currently crushing hard on this Smocked Jumpsuit from Forever 21

Sand Under My Toes

Oh what I would give to be on an island. Most recently on a trip to St. Thomas I revisited the popular Magen's Bay. It is a tourist hot spot as all of the cruise ships suggest it for excursions and taxi cabs are readily available to shuffle you over the island to take a swim. While Magen's Bay is a beautiful beach, if you are staying on the island I recommend renting a Jeep and doing some independent exploring of the less advertised beaches. At most you may have to pay a few dollars for parking at some of them but it is well worth it to spend some time on the less trafficked beaches.

My Witness Is The Empty Sky

Jack Kerouac

I'm In Lust: Bobbi Brown Beach

I'm swooning over this little bottle of magic. With a heavenly blend of essential oils (olive, sesame, avocado, and jojoba) and Vitamins C and E this body oil moisturizes and leaves you with a light beachy fragrance to sweep you off to your favorite island getaway!

Travel Far Enough

It's A Ruff Life

These two little monsters have stolen my heart...and my bed.

If You're Derm Isn't Checking These Spots, You Need A New Doctor

There are so many places we don't think to check but this diagram stresses the importance of being examined thoroughly. I have surely never thought to check between my toes!