Winter Itch A friend once took her 5 year old son to the Emergency Room because after his bath he broke out in itchy painful hives. The culprit? Dry skin.
You’ll find major changes in your skin as the seasons change. Where sun-kissed skin looks tanned, toned and terrific, as cooler weather approaches, skin can become dry, flaky, rough to the touch and discolored. Fall marks the start of nature’s renewal system. Like Autumn leaves, summer skin dries, loses moisture and its luster and needs to be removed. Oil and sweat glands that were overly active in summer’s heat slow, so oils solidify and block pores, especially in the T-zone. If you don’t have a trusted esthetician or skin care specialist to treat your skin professionally, you can manage by adding a couple of key products to your skin care regimen. If your skin is dehydrated/mature: Use gentle cleansers and add Vitamin C(known to help reverse sun-damage) and/or a retinol to your routine. A moisturizer rich in water soaked hyaluronic acid plus anti-oxidants like green tea, grapeseed extract, olive extract, vitamins and soothing botanicals will help protect cells and nurture new cells. If you have oily/dry skin: Start using a gentle cleanser in the AM and exfoliating cleanser PM for deep cleansing. Start using a mild exfolient like lactic acid, to remove dead surface cells 3 times a week and more if needed to help loosen clogged pores and smooth surface skin. Use your water based moisturizer AM and PM to keep skin hydrated. For acne/oily skin: Oily skin needs special care because as the weather cools, skin gets dehydrated and dead cells accumulate even more around pores. Oil can’t escape and solidifies causing plugs that combined with bacteria (which is found all over our body)cause blackheads, pustules and sometimes cysts. Drying out the oils in your skin with harsh over the counter products will further irritate the condition. Use a moisture balanced acne cleanser that contains 2% salicylic acid and AHA’s. The salicylic will help kill bacteria while working with the alpha hydroxyl acids to remove the surface cells and unplug pores. If skin is not inflamed, add a topical exfolient or retin A daily to further exfoliate surface cells. A water based moisturizer will actually help suppress oil production and keep skin moisture balanced. Look for a water based moisturizer with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, calendula, arnica, and tamanu to help soothe and heal skin while keeping it hydrated and healthy looking. Start now to get your skin looking flawless and fabulous before the start of the winter holidays. For more assistance or recommendations for dermHA products to meet your skin care needs, call: 1.877.9dermHA Stay beautiful,Millie
“When you look good, you feel good” is what they say. I can’t answer who they are but it is a true statement. A new pair of shoes, favorite eyeliner, or even a successful day at the gym can generate a certain happiness that shines a little brighter. Although beauty starts within, we all take time to enhance our exterior on a daily basis. As I sit and write, I have an avocado mask on my hair to promote health and growth. While waiting, I plucked a couple of incoming brow hairs to keep my arch looking good! Each of us has things we like to do to stay beautiful. My mother has always stressed the importance of a polished appearance when in public. It affects how people treat you and, in essence, affects the end result of what you may want to accomplish in a day. I see a drastic change in how I’m treated the days I noticeably leave the house in a hurry versus those in which I take time to put together a decent “look”. People by nature categorize others according to their shells. One day I could be perceived as polite and intelligent. The next I could be thought of as ignorant and ill-mannered, all without saying a word. For this reason, many of us consciously or subconsciously get prettied up for onlookers. Now that’s power. Most of us, self-included, ensure that every angle is perfect if we know we will see a certain someone (this is where my dermHA products come in!) We think, “if I wear this color or accentuate that curve, he’s mine.” The irony is that we are often most appreciated in our not-trying-so-hard state. I used to think heels were key in getting male compliments. In reality, I’ve received just as many when wearing sneakers. That’s the beauty of natural beauty. So, is beauty ever bad? Well, technically no. However, the idea of beauty can become bad if its vision is homogenous. Some time ago I had to phase out the “what was he/she thinking with that outfit” reactions to what was not part of my norm. Now I’ve learned to embrace individuality and even be inspired by it. Unfortunately, there are many that have only one idea of “acceptable” hues, face shapes and hair textures. Yes, we all have our own preferences. But that’s all they should be – ours, not a median requirement. If beauty can heavily impact your emotions, routines and lives, I would say it is one of the most powerful things we encounter. With that said, it must be approached with sensitivity and openness. In a perfect world, we would all walk with our very own barometers of beauty and they’d all read something different. Even better, they’d all be loved. Be Beautiful,Jeta Jeta is from from Coatesville, PA and studied Public Relations and Spanish at Temple University. She has been using dermHA for many years to compliment her natural beauty. Her interests include reading, writing, laughing and traveling. She is currently enjoying life as a Cultural Ambassador in Madrid, Spain.
dermHA loves to share thoughts and comments about beauty and its impact on our lives. Please take a moment to hear GG Renee’s musing on the ‘Power of Pretty’. ************* “Almost always it is the fear of being ourselves that brings us to the mirror….” I’ve never liked my toes or my knees…I have my reasons. My arms and hands are so long that my fingertips are ridiculously close to reaching my knees when I stand with my hands at my sides. My forehead selfishly stole a good inch from my scalp that it really didn’t need. I’m in my thirties, but I still have acne-prone skin. And somewhere inside there is still a 13 year old, insecure girl who wants bigger breasts, clearer skin and smaller feet. This girl in me wills me to compare and contrast myself to other girls and wonder what it feels like to have all the physical qualities that I have told myself will make me feel more desirable. I know this girl very well. We go way back.I have recently acquainted myself with a newer part of me that is spreading a different attitude and becoming the Girl to Watch among all the little girls that make up the woman that is me. Word on the street is that nobody can do what I do quite the way I do it. My long body, sensitive skin and big head are mine to love and carry with grace. I’m finally believing the idea that there is no benchmark for beauty and that how I feel about myself determines how I look. It’s my business to feel good on my own terms without apology or fear of judgment. This is the hottest trend , the fashion must-have, the magical beauty secret of all fabulous women: Believe you are beautiful and beautiful you will be. Let’s not make it more difficult than it needs to be! Who is the fairest of them all? The one whose mirror reflects self-love, self-awareness and the boldness to live out loud. GG Renee GG Renee loves to write and advocate for the success and emotional well-being of the modern woman. She infuses the concepts of self-love and personal development into everything she creates. Based in the Washington DC area, she does relationship management for a financial services company by day; while her free time is spent studying the complexities of love and life. She is a peace warrior, a dancing queen, and a scribe hopelessly devoted to personal freedom. GG is one half of the duo behind the happiness blog, Peace Love and Pretty Things. She also shares her personal journey of transformation on her blog, The Write Curl Diary.