Got Chapped Lips?

One of the most unattractive things is to walk around with dry, chapped lips. I mean who wants to kiss anyone with crusty lips? I know I don't. So, for all my males & females please take the time out to tend to your lips. Especially since it is now fall and winter is quickly approaching.

With the cool autumn breeze and those harsh winter winds on the way your lips can catch quite a chill. The best way to take care of chapped lips is to exfoliate them. The purpose of exfoliation is to remove dead skin cells and soften skin.  It's quick, it's easy, and it only takes a few minutes.

There are a range of different products to use for your lips.  You can purchase a lip exfoliant at your local skin care/cosmetic store such as Lush, or you can make your own.

Sugar Scrub: Olive Oil & Sugar

1. Mix a little olive oil and brown sugar or regular sugar until you have a semi-thick paste
2. Rub the mixture onto your lips. You can use a washcloth or your hands (whatever works for you) and rub in circular motions.  The longer you exfoliate the better the results. 
3. Rinse the mixture off
4. Apply a hydrating lip moisturizer

Petroleum Jelly Scrub: Petroleum Jelly & Toothbrush or Disposable Mascara Wand

1. Apply a nice semi-thick layer of petroleum jelly onto your lips
2. Brush is circular motions using either your toothbrush or disposable wand (whatever works for you)
3. Take a damp washcloth and wipe the excessive petroleum jelly off, but you can leave enough on so that the rest substitutes as a hydrating lip moisturizer

NOTE: You can also you a sugar and honey scrub and follow steps 1-4 of the sugar scrub. 

Common Skin Care Ingredients

Okay so when shopping for skin care products it's a good idea to know what your looking for.  Like I have stated before, first you need to know your skin type.  Once you know your skin type then you need to know what ingredients will help with your skin type, which in the end will result in finding a perfect product(s) for  your skin.

For Oily or Acne Prone skin:

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS TO LOOK FOR

• Salicylic Acid
• Benzoyl Peroxide 

CLEANSER INGREDIENTS

• Sodium laureth sulfate
• Sodium cocyl isethionate
• Cocomidopropyl betaine
• Disodium cocamphodiacetate 

You want to AVOID any moisturizing products like:

Shea butter, mineral oil, perolatum, paraffin, beeswax, etc.

For Dry skin:

CLEANSER AND MOISTURIZER INGREDIENTS

• Shea or cocoa butter
• Lanolin
• Paraffin 
• Beeswax
• Almond, Coconut, Jojoba, Sesame, and other plant oils
• Olive oil

You want to AVOID any drying product like: Isopropyl alcohol, sodium chloride, AHA acids, Salicylic acid, sodium laureth sulfate, etc. 

For Sensitive Skin: 

CLEANSER

Polysosrbate 85 or 60

MOISTURIZER

• Shea or cocoa butter
• paraffin
• beeswax
• olive oil
• Triethylhexanoin
• Squalene
• Almond, Coconut, Jojoba, Sesame, and other plant oils

HUMECTANTS 

• Glycerin
• Sorbitol
• Urea
• Allantoin
• Sodium PCA

You want to AVOID irritating or harsh products like: sodium chloride, AHA acids, Chemical sunscreens, salicylic acids or willow bark, isoproyl alcohol 

Sleeping Beauty

Are you one of those sleeping beauties, who sleeps with their makeup on?  Well if you are, let me just tell you that you are committing a beauty crime! One of the biggest beauty crimes actually.  Now, whether we want to admit it or not I know we all have slept in our makeup at some point in our lives. Maybe you were too tired to take it off, forgot you had it on, or just fell asleep in it.  I mean hey it happens, but the important thing is to not get into a happen of sleeping in your makeup.  Makeup is meant to help make you feel more pretty and help bring your inner beauty onto your outer canvas. However, if you get in the habit of sleeping in makeup, it will do the exact opposite.

Although makeup makes us look and feel pretty, it also clogs the pores.  Our skin is covered in pores and these pores are what allow us to sweat and produce sebum.  [ Sebum- is a natural moisturizer and waxy lubricant that our body produces in order to help protect and rid the skin of dead skin cells and other unwanted irritants.] When we fall asleep in makeup it blocks the sebum production and causes a buildup, which in turn causes skin to breakout.  Have you ever went to sleep in makeup and then woke up with a pimple on your face? If so, that's because of clogged pores.

If you won't to prevent waking up with unwanted pimples then I suggest you remove your makeup before going to bed.  There are a number of ways to remove makeup before bed.  The best is cleansing your skin, using a toner, and then moisturizing, BUT if you just don't feel like taking all those steps then choose one of the following:

• facial wipe
• make-up remover
• cold cream 
• cleanser 
• toner 

Remember sleeping in makeup can cause: irritation to skin, an allergic reaction, and infection (if eye makeup is left on.) 

      

To be or not to be ashy? That is the question?

It's goodbye summer, hello fall.  Now, that the weather is changing and the temperature is starting to drop it's important to know that your skin is going to be more dry than it has been.  You don't want to get caught walking around ashy.  Take a look at some of my favorite "ash be gone" products.

Good moisturizing products:

GIRL TALK

This Thursday, October 4th Join Ms. Jennah & Ms. Cassie on Ladies Tell All. They will be starting off the fall season bringing in a house of "HOT BEAUTY" with owner/operator of Consumed by Beauty Ms. Tiffany Latrice, Atlanta's new up and coming MUA/Esthetician. She will be chatting it up with the ladies dishing out all the do's and don't's on make-up and skin care.

To tune in go to www.blogtalkradio.com/ladiestellall or call in to 805-727-7101

Breast Cancer Awareness

OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH! 

Check out your local Ulta for amazing deals on makeup, skin care, and other cosmetic products. Show your support and give for the cause by shopping pink or donate with a kiss! For more information on how to do so go to: www.ulta.com/donatewithakiss

Ingrown Hairs...and what they really look like

Ingrown Hairs

These unsightly and painful ingrown hairs are come in both men and women particularly in the face (for men) and the bikini area (for women).

An ingrown hair is nothing more than a hair that has gotten trapped into the hair follicle or grown down back into the skin as a pose to growing upward.  How do you get ingrown hairs? Ingrown hairs come from improper shaving, shaving to close to the skin, cut, dull blades, and irritation from going over the same area too many times.

Preventing Ingrown Hairs:

1. Using proper shaving techniques will help lessen your chances of ingrown hairs.  I know most people have no clue what I'm talking about when I say proper shaving techniques, but there is one and it's really simple.  Just like with waxing, you want to shave against the direction of hair growth.  For example: If you take a look at the hair on your legs, you will notice that more than likely the hair is growing downward.  Instead of shaving downward like your hair growth.  You need to take your razor and shave upward using light smooth strokes. 
2. Having a good shaving cream that is moisturizing and has salicylic acid in it will help has well.  Salicylic acid is an exfoliating product that opens up pores and will help free up any trapped hairs.
3. Exfoliating one to two days after shaving will remove any dead skin cells, soften skin, and open those pores to allow the skin and hair to breath and grow in an upward position.  Notice, I said to exfoliate one to two days after shaving, and the reason being is because any type of hair removal is a form of exfoliation.  You don't want to over exfoliate the skin.  Besides, using a sugar or salt scrub right after a fresh shave may cause irritation, burning, redness, and or light swelling. 
4. Always use a brand new blade or razor.  When using a dull razor you may have to go over an area more than once and you may have to shave closer to the skin which are two things you want to stay away from.

Products to help get rid of Ingrown Hairs:

• Tea Tree Oil is a wonderful product for ingrown hairs because not only does it tones the skin leaving it feeling refreshed, but it is also an antiseptic with anti-fungal properties.
• Pure salicylic acid.  Again this exfoliating product will open up pores and help free up any trapped ingrown hairs. 
• Witch Hazel is just like tea tree oil in the sense that it is an antiseptic and will help rid your skin of any bacteria.  
• Sugar or Salt scrubs are great exfoliants for ingrown hairs.  They open the pores, remove dead skin cells and leave skin feeling soft as a babies bottom.  
• Gently tweezing ingrown hairs out and then treating with any tea tree oil, salicylic acid, witch hazel, or sugar scrub will give you great results as well. 

Note: Stay away from alcohol when dealing with ingrown hairs.  While alcohol will dry up the bump, it won't get rid of the hair or probably.  What alcohol will do to an ingrown hair is cause the hair to only get trapped deeper into the skin by drying out the bump.  

What are your favorite skin care or make-up products?

Tell me 2 of your favorite skin care or make-up products and I'll tell you mine.

Aveda Lavender Oil is absolutely one of my favorites, this product is perfect for calming, soothing, and healing the skin. This plant based essential oil is used for various different skin problems such as: sunburn, chafing, eczema, wounds, cuts, and rashes.  It's antiseptic and anti-fungal properties are what make it so unique and useful to the skin. After any type of hair removal always apply a little lavender oil to help heal and soothe the area.

Aside from me loving the name of this MAC Lipstick called "Lady Danger" I just love the color pigmentation and how long it stays on my lips.  It's very bright, bold, and edgy.  Lasting up to at least 3-4 hours without having to reapply.  This reddish/orange lip color is sure to spice up any make-up look, but you can't be afraid to wear color.

WAXING VS. SHAVING

While, there are many methods out there for hair removal, I want to talk about the two most common.  Waxing and Shaving. Which do you prefer? 

Waxing.  Well first, what is waxing? Waxing is a semi-permanent form of hair removal that is either hard or soft and can be used on just about any part of the body including: eyebrows, cheeks, lip, chin, legs, arms, underarms, abdomens, bikini, and feet just to name a few.  

• When using soft wax you will take a wooden (disposable) stick, spreading a thin layer of wax over the area with the unwanted hair going in the direction with the hair growth.  A paper or cloth strip is then pressed down and taken off in the direction against the hair growth.  
• Unlike soft wax, hard wax utilizes itself.  Meaning, there are no strips needed in order to remove hair.  YOUR WAX IS YOUR STRIP. You will spread a thick layer of wax over the area with the unwanted hair and let it cool down so that it can harden.  Once the wax has harden the wax is easily removed by pulling the wax off the skin.

Pros

1. Waxing can last anywhere between 4-6 weeks depending on hair growth.
2. Reduces chances of getting ingrown hair bumps
3. Over a period of time frequent waxing will weaken or completely damage the hair follicle causing the hair to soften, thin, or stop growing. 

Cons

1. In order to have a successful wax application you need at least a quarter of inch of hair (which means you have to walk around a little hairy in between waxes)
2. Waxing can be painful slightly or very painful depending on a persons pain tolerance. 
3. Expensive
4. If your being waxed at a salon or spa your putting yourself at a higher risk to being susceptible to skin infections or possibly disease if the place is not sanitary.  
5. Unlike shaving you can't keep going over the same are until the hair is gone.  With waxing you have once, maybe twice to get a clean hair removal otherwise you may cause irritation, redness, bruising, and swelling. 

Shaving.  What is shaving? Shaving is the easiest and most common temporary method for hair removal, used with a razor or any other kind of blade implement.

Pros

1. Pain-free
2. Shaving is easy, convenient, and can be done at anytime.  All you need is some shaving cream or body wash.
3. Inexpensive and doesn't take a lot of time.  You can shave your legs or any other body par in about 5mins or less. 

Cons

1. Shaving means simply cutting the hair off the surface of the skin, and because your only cutting the hair and not removing it from the follicle it causes rapid re-growth.  Unlike waxing, shaving only last for a few hours-day before hair stubble begins to form. 
2. If your not careful when shaving or using a dull blade (which makes it harder to glide across the skin) you can easily cut yourself and cause bleeding and scarring. 
3. Shaving causes uncomfortable itching when the hair begins to grow back and puts you at a higher risk of ingrown hair bumps.
4. Compared to other hair removal techniques like waxing, shaving actually causes the hair to grow back stronger, thicker, and more dense.
5. Frequently shaving can also cause ingrown hairs as well as irritation and redness. 

Knowing your Skin Type

Knowing your skin type is important and very necessary in order to make the proper decisions when choosing skin care products, treatments, and home care regimens suitable for your skin.

Do you know your skin type? Well, if you don't I'm about to help you figure it out.  There are 5 basic skin types: Normal, Oily, Dry, Combination, and Sensitive.  Now of course skin can be way more complex than that, but for the sake of keeping things simple and learning the basics we are only going to categorize skin by those 5 types.  Now, let me break each one of those skin types down for you.

• Normal Skin- Now normal skin is something we all want to have.  This skin type is the least problematic, very vibrant and has good elasticity.  It's also healthy, clean and has good circulation.  Maintenance for this skin type is just that, MAINTENANCE!  
• Oily Skin- If you fall in this category your skin will most likely have a greasy look or a constant shine throughout the day.  You'll generally have larger pores and are prone to breakouts or acne, which can be problematic. However, the good thing about oily skin is that it is less likely to have wrinkles and tends not to age.
• Dry Skin-If you fall in this category your skin will mostly likely feel tight after washing it, you may or may not have flakiness, small pores, and an ash look. Dry skin can be, but is not known for being problematic and is prone to wrinkles, irritation, and aging.  Hydrating this type of skin is the most important thing.
• Combination-The most common skin type for most people.  If you have combination skin then your skin is dry and oily at the same time.  Typically oily in the T-zone area (forehead & nose) and dry around the eyes and on the cheeks.  
• Sensitive-If you have this type of skin then your skin is the most problematic and fragile of all skin types and you really have to be careful how you treat it and what you use on it.  Many people with sensitive skin have tight skin and the skin is EASILY irritated and inflamed.  Prone to reddish areas on the face as well as scaly and breakouts in spots.  

DO YOU KNOW YOUR SKIN TYPE NOW?