Nutrition and Skin Health-supplements for all skin problems

Good nutrition is vital for skin health

Nutrition is such a fundamental part of our health and well-being. Without proper nutrition our bodies cannot function properly and we will get ill.

I cannot stress it enough; we need to eat well to be well. With that I mean fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds in their raw states where possible. Drink plenty of water and limit alcohol and fizzy drinks. Eat much less meat, sugar, saturated fats and dairy. 

Nutrition is very important at every stage of our skin development. For healthy skin we need collagen which our bodies make from Vitamin C. To maintain healthy collagen and elastin we need anti-oxidants which our bodies get from Vitamin A, C and E and others. We need fatty acids to keep our skin’s sebum in good health which we get from nuts and seeds. I can go on and on….

As we all know by now, we don’t always get enough vitamins and minerals from our diet and therefore it is a good idea to supplement as well with at least:

• A good multivitamin and mineral from a natural source
• 1000mg Vitamin C
• Cal/Mag in the correct ratio 1:2 ie 400g magnesium to 800g calcium
• Omega 3 and 6
• PLUS any other vitamins as discussed under each skin type/condition/problem

Eat healthy

Ageing skin

According to Dr Nicolas Perricone “ageing is just an inflammatory process”

So, we need to slow down inflammation in our bodies. With this mind, we need to look at nutrients that are anti-inflammatory and that will give our bodies the best change to fight oxidative stress.

The ideal anti-ageing diet will therefore be rich in Omega 3, 6 and 9 and anti-oxidants.

For optimal skin care we need to supplement with the following:

• Vitamin C buffered with Calcium -1000mg
• Omega 3 –loading dose followed by maintenance load*
• Good multivitamin of natural origin
• Vitamin A-2000 to 2500 iu

Remember to take your supplements

Dry Skin

Contributing factors for dry skin (lacking in oil) include a lack of essential fatty acids, Vitamin A as well as water.  Diets should be high in essential fatty acids from seeds and their oils, but low in saturated fat.  Eat lots of fruit and vegetables that contain large amount of water. Limit alcohol and coffee intake.

For optimal skin care we need to supplement with the following:

•  Essential fatty acids such as flax (omega3) and evening primrose oil or borage oil (omega6)
• Vitamin A 5000iu                  
• Vitamin E 200 to 400 iu
• Vitamin B6
•  Zinc
• Vitamin C buffered with Calcium -500mg
  
  
  

  

  Fresh food is best!

Oily Skin

In treating oily skin we should respect the oil/water balance of the skin in order to reduce the oiliness, but keep the skin healthy and comfortable. By removing too much oil topically, the skin will try and re-adjust the lipid levels and produce more oil. It is much more effective to also help from within.

For optimal skin care we need to supplement with the following:

• Lecithin capsules- 400mg
•  Vitamin C buffered with Calcium -1000mg

Acne skin

Acne-prone skin should ideally be treated both topically and systemic. Vitamin A plays a major role in treating acne. Vitamin A has been used for many years and is a tried and tested regime. It, however, important to note the following:

Vitamin A is an oil-soluble vitamin and is stored in the liver.  Therefore it is possible to take too much and poison your body (hypervitaminosis). 

All Vitamin A therapies are prohibited for the following individuals:

• Anyone who has been on Roaccutane or similar treatments within the last 3 months
• Anyone who is trying to fall pregnant within a few months’ time.

Fruits are needed for good health and well-being

For optimal skin care we need to supplement with the following:

• Vitamin A therapy
•   Lecithin capsules

After the Vitamin A therapy to control breakouts:

• Vitamin B3
• Zinc

Please contact me for an appointment so that I can discuss the therapy with you and monitor your progress

Which Facial for my Skin Type?

This is a question many of my clients always struggle with. I offer quite a lot of  facials from 5 different product houses, so yes, it can be a bit confusing.

I tried to streamline the process and hopefully it will be easier to choose a treatment in future.

How to choose a facial:

What is my concern about my skin?
Is it oiliness, dryness, breakouts or is it in need of a deep cleanse?

What is my skin type?

Normal skin: This is the ideal skin type and you should thank you stars, your mother, father and their forbearers for gifting you with these genes. It is fine and even textured, firm, supple and has a good balance of moisture and oil secretions. The skin looks clear, without any impurities or blemishes and slightly warm to the touch. Pale skins will be pink in colour, and darker skins will have a mauve hue.

Dry skin: This skin type is caused by too little oil secreted by the skin. It has a very fine texture with no visible pores and may have a thin, almost transparent look. It will often feel tight and slightly hot and is prone to early, very fine lines and expression wrinkles. It is often sensitive to cold and wind, air conditioning and needs lots and lost of moisture/ oil combination creams.


Oily Skin: This skin type is caused by too much oil secreted by the skin. The skin texture may look shiny and uneven, having large pores with black heads (comedones) or even pastules (inflamed spots). It is difficult too keep clean but also very important not to over clean and dry out the skin. The good news is that oily skin tends to age slower because the sebum (oil) naturally prevents water loss.

Combination skin: This type of skin has both oily and dry patches. The oily part usually forms a “T” zone across the forehead and down the nose and chin. There may be enlarged pores over the oily part but the rest of the face and neck will be dry or normal.

Mature skin: This, to me is not a skin type but a skin condition as we were not born with mature skin but this (as we all surely know) develops slowly over time as we grow older. I will
describe the ageing process in another blog post.

Sensitive/ allergic skin: There is still a bit of debate going an about the difference between these two. However, I have always been able to contribute this problem to the use of incorrect products and it always disappears when the client uses the correct home-care products! It is usually dry with fine pores and may have red patches over the cheeks and nose. It may react to heat, cold, pressure, irritation or nervous conditions. It often responds to an allergic stimulus.

What is my budget?
There is always a facial for every budget. It may not always be the best facial available but it will address all your concerns and leave your skin comfortable and soft.

Which product range should I choose from?
If you are already using one of the product house's home care products, say Vitaderm, it is best to stay with that range and use one of the facials that they offer.

If you are not using any of the product houses that I stock and cannot decide on this,  please discuss it with me and I will find the best one available for your budget and concerns.

Please follow the links provided to help you choose a facial just for you:
Description of facials on offer

Please feel free to contact me at 082 398 9817 or gerda@agbeautysalon.co.za for more information.

Related article; http://agbeautysalon.blogspot.co.za/2016/09/different-skin-types-different.html

Why do I need a toner in my beauty routine?

The beauty industry use different names for the same product; toners, clarifiers, fresheners, refiners, tonics and astringents.  No matter what it is called, it is a must-have in your daily beauty routine. All these names refer to the product that you use after you have cleansed your skin. 

Toner

A well formulated toner is extremely beneficial for your skin and will improve your skin condition with regular use. 

There are so many beneficial products that can be added into a toner, that it will be easier to list those that should NOT be there:
• SD alcohols, especially denatured alcohols, as it dries the skin out and cause white patches on the skin
• Volatile plant extracts- it can cause allergic reactions
• Ammonia-is a CORROSIVE CHEMICAL and can irritate and burn the skin and eyes, leading to permanent damage.
• Camphor- Large amounts of camphor, even applied only to the skin or inhaled, can be toxic. Do not consume camphor or use it on cuts or broken skin. It may produce allergic reactions in some people, advises Drugs.com.
• Petrochemical like mineral oil, since they tend to cause superficial hydration with long term use and occlude the pores
• Chemical colours and fragrances. Some perfumes contains synthetic estrogen that interferes with your normal hormones. 
• Harsh preservatives like diazolidinyl urea and imidazolidinyl urea. Both are antimicrobial preservatives and act as formaldehyde releasers.
• Skin drying sulphates- Sulphates are a salt of sulphuric acid they create a lather and help strip away oil.

A good toner should:

Help to remove the last traces of make-up:
Just in case you missed some during the cleansing, the toning step will remove the last traces of make –up.

Help to refine pores:
Ingredients like mastic resin extract and witch hazel help to reduce pore size!

Witch Hazel Flowers

Help to reduce inflammation and irritation: 
In the case of compromised skin it should soothe and heal. Ingredients such as cotton seed extract, Green tea extract, Chamomile and Aloe vera are ideal for this.  

Chamomile flowers

WESSON Therapeutics has an excellent product range specially formulated for sensitive/compromised/reactive skin!

Restore the pH balance of the skin.
Our skin pH is about 5.5. This is the optimum level as it means that the skin is neither too dry or oily and can better absorb any treatment products that are used afterwards.

Helps with hydration:
Some toners contain ingredients such as avocado, palmarosa and rose geranium extract which helps to restore hydration to the skin as this product is not washed off after application. 

Rose Geranium

Control the oil/water balance:
It is very important, even for oily skin, to have the correct oil/water balance in the skin. 
Many toners for oily and combination skin will do just that with ingredients such as Ylang-ylang and Juniper berry extract. 

Many clients are very sceptical about the use of toners, but I would rather skip the morning cleanser and only tone if I am in a hurry. I use bottles and bottles of the stuff in comparison to my cleanser usage. 

Once you have found the correct one for your soothe any irritations, increase the efficiency of the moisturisers, and improve your skin condition, you will probably never go without it again.

As with the cleansers you should use toners that are skin-type specific and preferable one that compliments your cleanser. In other words, if you use a cleanser from a range of products for dry skin types, the toner that is in this range will 9 out of 10 times be the one that is right for you. 

However, do not hesitate to use a sensitive range toner with a dry skin or a combination range toner with a normal skin. 

I found that if you use a cleanser for your skin type and a toner for your skin condition, you will be happy with the result.

Salon products that I can recommend:

Normal Skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: Balancing Toner

Vitaderm Conditioning Toner

Dry skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: HydraVine Toner

Oily /Acne Skin:
Vitaderm: Antiseptic Toner, Regulating Toner
Theravine: Balancing Toner

TheraVine™ Balancing Toner

Combination skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: Balancing Toner or HydraVine Toner

Sensitive/ allergic skin:
Wesson Calming Facial Mist

Wesson Therapeutics for Sensitive Skn

Mature skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: Balancing Toner or HydraVine Toner
Phytomer: Ogenage Toning Cleansing Emulsion
Essel: DNA Epinew Rejuvenating Spritzer

Phytomer Ogenage Toning Cleansing Emulsion

Please read our articles “The importance of cleansing your skin” and “What is in a good cleanser?” to further help you to correctly cleanse your skin.

If you need any further information on how to choose your home care products, please contact us at 082 398 9817 for an appointment or if you want to know more about the products that we stock in the salon, please visit our website @ http://www.agbeautysalon.co.za/

Different Skin Types, Different Treatments

At Beauty College, I was taught that skin types can be classified as normal, dry, oily, combination, mature and sensitive. Skin types are seen as intrinsic factors that we are born with and these cannot change during our life time. Skin conditions are classified as dehydrated, acne, allergic, seborrhoeic and oedematous. Skin conditions are seen as temporary problems that we experience at any given time due to factors such as environment, diet, stress, hormonal imbalances, etc.

We were also taught that when you analyse a client’s skin you need to hold up a mirror, point out and tell her absolutely everything that was wrong with her skin. Imagine me sitting there and showing her every spot, pimple, wrinkle, freckle, dry patch, red patch, oily patch and every other patch you can think of. I never do this in my salon, as I am quite sure that this would end up in disaster.

Various beauty products

In various training manuals and beauty books, that I bought and read since then to try and make sense of this varied and complex subject, the classification of skin types differ depending on the author’s believes, training and experience. According to Florence Barrett-Hill in her book “Advanced Skin Analysis” only three basic skin types exist: Permanent Diffused Redness, Lipid Dry and Lipid Oily. 

What I now rely on, in conjunction with my very long and detailed questionnaire, when analysing a client’s skin, is to ask her how she experiences her skin and what her concerns and expectations are. Listening to her and taking it all into consideration, is as important as all my skin analysing techniques and training.

Here are short descriptions of the different skin types as used in most salons and these are terms that the clients are most used to and familiar with:

Normal skin: This is the ideal skin type and you should thank you stars, your mother, father and their forbearers for gifting you with these genes. It is fine and even textured, firm, supple and has a good balance of moisture and oil secretions. The skin looks clear, without any impurities or blemishes and slightly warm to the touch. Pale skins will be pink in colour, and darker skins will have a mauve hue.

Vitaderm has an Introduction Kit for every skin type

Dry skin: This skin type is caused by too little oil secreted by the skin. It has a very fine texture with no visible pores and may have a thin, almost transparent look. It will often feel tight and slightly hot and is prone to early, very fine lines and expression wrinkles. It is often sensitive to cold and wind, air conditioning and needs lots and lost of moisture/ oil combination creams.

Oily Skin: This skin type is caused by too much oil secreted by the skin. The skin texture may look shiny and uneven, having large pores with black heads (comedones) or even pastules (inflamed spots). It is difficult too keep clean but also very important not to over clean and dry out the skin. The good news is that oily skin tends to age slower because the sebum (oil) naturally prevents water loss. 

Essel Range of Products. 

Please contact the salon for prices

Combination skin: This type of skin has both oily and dry patches. The oily part usually forms a “T” zone across the forehead and down the nose and chin. There may be enlarged pores over the oily part but the rest of the face and neck will be dry or normal.

Phytomer CityLife for environmental stressed skin.

Mature skin: This, to me is not a skin type but a skin condition as we were not born with mature skin but this (as we all surely know) develops slowly over time as we grow older. I will 
describe the ageing process in another blog post.

TheraVine™ Products

Sensitive/ allergic skin: There is still a bit of debate going an about the difference between these two. However, I have always been able to contribute this problem to the use of incorrect products and it always disappears when the client uses the correct home-care products! It is usually dry with fine pores and may have red patches over the cheeks and nose. It may react to heat, cold, pressure, irritation or nervous conditions. It often responds to an allergic stimulus.

The quick route to do-it-yourself analysis:

In his book “Facelift at your fingertips”, Pierre Jean Cousin, analysed skin as follows: 

• Clean your skin with warm water and cotton wool balls. 
• Dry lightly with a towel and wait 30 minutes. 
• Cover you face with one layer of paper tissue, press lightly and leave for about one minute. 
• Remove and examine it. 

Results:
Oily stains over most of the tissue: your skin type is oily
Oily patches at side of nose, around mouth and forehead: Your skin type is combination
Faint oily traces over most of the tissue: your skin type is normalNo oily traces: your skin type is dry

Although this is far simpler than we were taught, and my lecturers will surely miss a few heartbeats by me mentioning this, it is a good start for those who need to know their skin type and can’t be bothered with lengthy and sometimes costly salon skin analysis.

Please keep in mind that when you have a skin problem like acne, very sensitive, allergic or pigmented skin, rather consult a good beautician to guide you about the care and the correct take-home products that will treat the problem and keep your skin in excellent condition. 

Whatever you skin type and condition, please treat your skin gently and remember: no tanning allowed!

For a consultation contact me at gerda@ agbeautysalon.co.za, or for more information visit our website at http://www.agbeautysalon.co.za/ .

Thanks to the following authors for their hard work in writing the books that helped me to be a better skin analyst:
Florence Barrett-Hill, Advanced Skin Analysis, Virtual Beauty Corporation Ltd, 2004
Pierre Jean Cousin, Facelift at your fingertips, Quadrille Publishing Limited, 1999
Ann Hagman, Aesthetics for the Therapist, Stanley Thornes ( Publishers) Ltd 1991
William Arnould-Taylor, Physical Therapy, Stanley Thornes ( Publishers) Ltd 1997

Sensitive skin-the good news!

If you describe your skin as sensitive, whatever the reasons may be, do not despair!  We have a product range that will assist you in getting rid of the redness, the patchy spots, the itching and burning.

What is sensitive skin, exactly? Although there is no dermatological definition for sensitive skin, the term is used to describe the skin condition of people who easily break out in rashes and get blotchy, itchy, or stinging sensations.

Our skin is a wonderful organ that protects our bodies from the outside elements, but in order to do so, it needs to be kept healthy, moisturised and oiled. However in our daily lives our skin is exposed to various conditions and products that affect the healthy barrier that makes our skins happy.

Once our skin’s natural protective barrier is damaged and compromised, it warns us by breaking out in rashes, itching, redness, swelling and pain. Finding out exactly what is causing the “skin freak-out” can be very difficult and a large number of conditions, beauty and/or cleaning products can be the culprit.

A compromised skin condition usually refers to damage of the outer epidermis due mechanical (physical) injury to the skin.

A client with a truly sensitive skin is someone who genetically has been predisposed to sensitivity. By this we refer to an easily stimulated, irritated, thin and translucent skin.

A sensitised or reactive skin is not necessarily a sensitive skin.  Sensitised skin usually has its origin in an overexposure to a chemical product, for example a chemical peel, etc.

What causes these skin conditions?

Medication and medical treatments-sensitised
Chemotherapy-sensitised
Cancer radiation-compromised
Cholesterol medication-leads to reduced oil production-sensitised
Diseases like diabetes-sensitised/compromised
Over-exposure to chemicals-sensitised
Nutritional deficiency-sensitised/compromised
Stress-sensitised

If the skin is then already compromised, the choice of skin care products becomes problematic and it is difficult to find a skin care range that will not aggravate the problem

The good news…
Wesson Therapeutics (the manufacturers of Vitaderm) has launched a range specifically formulated for sensitive, reactive and compromised skin.

The Wesson Therapeutics Range of products is ideal for treating all these conditions:
• It has an instant soothing effect
• The formulations have been screened for all known irritants including colourants and fragrances
• It contains specific botanicals to soothe-the main active ingredient is Cotton Seed Extract which promotes skin healing
• Ideal for Roacutane users.


The Retail Range consists of the following products:

Product                              ml Retail Price
Emollient Gel Wash              100 119
Calming Facial Mist              100 123
Repair Serum                        30 280
Recovery Cream                50 270
Squalane Complex                30 260
Micro Exfoliant                        50 180
Hydrating Gel Mask                50 240
Sunscreen SPF30                50 103
Multi-purpose Cream      100 115
Multi-purpose Cream      100 115
Ozone Balm                        15 135
Soap Bar                         150gm   43

Wesson Sensitive Facial Treatment 60 minutes R 400
This treatment offers the ultimate care for sensitive, re-active and sensitised skin conditions. Containing Cotton Seed Extract, this treatment will promote skin healing and also has an anti-inflammatory effect. It will calm and sooth dehydrated and very dry skin. It is an ideal treatment for Roacutane users as it will not sensitise the skin .


Prices correct as at 1 May 2016

Please contact me at agb111@mweb.co.za

or 082 398 9817 for more information.
Please also visit our website at: http://agbeautysalon.co.za