Retirement is Here!

GREETINGS ALL!

After 33 years as an aesthetician (24 years as a salon owner):

I have retired from the skin care industry effective May 2018!

 

This past March marked the 24th anniversary of my first Carolyn Ash Skin Care salon and commemorated my 33rd year as a working aesthetician. Now, after over 3 decades in skin care, it’s time to retire.

To all of my clients: I have loved helping you get through the trials and tribulations of problem skin, aging skin, and even no-problem skin and giving you facial treatments for all of these many years. I have written two (great!) books on the subject, done TV shows and seminars, and now it is time for me to change direction and follow a new path. And although I am leaving the skin care industry, I hope you feel wiser and well-educated in how to care for your skin long-term.

Along with closing all of my skin care offices, I have also terminated my mail order business, something I have operated for over 20 years. My website (www.carolynash.com) will remain “up,” however I have taken the shopping area off and no orders can be processed from there. As you can see, the website is a simple one-page announcement of my retirement along with a link to this blogsite.

Regarding this blog: I have worked for many years getting articles (over 700 and counting!) up on this blog to help you with your skin—with or without me. I still have dozens of articles left to publish, so keep checking in to get my advice. See Regarding this blog and its content (link below) to understand what my plan has been and is for continuing this blog—and for you!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for making my long career fruitful, exciting, and rewarding beyond my dreams. I wish you all the best of health—mind, body, and skin!

With deep love and appreciation for my wonderful clients and readers through all of these years,

BE WELL,
:+) Carolyn.

For more information, see:

• Regarding this blog and its content
• Videos: all links so far
• Interviews on radio & TV: all links so far

“I have rosacea—can I still get a facial? And should I?”

I am interested in finding an aesthetician, however, I have rosacea. Could you please tell me how you would treat this if I came in for a facial. 

This potential client has a very good question. And kudos to her for asking first before she booked an appointment. I initially emailed her back and requested a phone conversation. A question like hers is not so easy to answer in a concise manner. Nor did I want to do a cold email vs. having a conversation with her. Obviously she is concerned about how a potential facial professional is going to treat her skin, and I knew if I had an opportunity to actually talk with her I could ease any concerns she had.

One of her first questions is if I would use microdermabrasion on her skin. Apparently she had been to several aestheticians who (mistakenly) thought microderm and rosacea were a good combination. I explained I didn’t have microdermabrasion available, and if I did I certainly wouldn’t use it on a person with rosacea. Nor do I have a steam machine and—again—that would never be recommended for rosacea or in my opinion anyone. Steam produces heat, heat is not good for redness and/or rosacea.

In my facial, there are certain products I won’t use if I have a client with rosacea. Instead of the citrus gel peel I have (Yonka’s Gommage 303), I use one with stinging nettle and other ingredients meant to soothe redness (Gommage 305)*. There are a few mild liquid peels that I won’t put directly on the affected areas where the rosacea is located (Yonka’s MicroPeel and Alpha Exfoliator).

I have several clients with rosacea who come in for regular monthly facials without any problems. If you have rosacea, you can carry on a regular skin care treatment schedule; you just want to take extra care to make sure where you get your facials is helping to calm your skin down rather than causing flare-ups.
*Yonka has discontinued Gommage 303 and rebranded 305, which is now called Gommage Yonka and is the only gommage in the Yonka line now.

As I was explaining how I would treat her skin, I mentioned that in my experience 98% of rosacea clients leave my office looking less red with diminished inflammation. However, there is that remaining 2%. Once in a great while someone with severe redenss or rosacea will have an adverse reaction to the facial—as gentle as it is. I wanted to “warn” her just in case she was in this small percentile. Although she appreciated the heads up, she and I both felt that since she had had many facials in the past without a worsening of her redness, it was unlikely to happen in her facial with me.

The products I’ve used for over 30 years (Yonka-Paris) are great for even the most sensitive of skins. Contrary to what some think (perhaps people without firsthand experience), essential oils are great for redness and sensitivity. Paula Begoun and others think they cause redness, which they can, but that is not true for all essential oils. In the hands of smart manufacturers and knowledgeable aestheticians essential oils can help with all kinds of skin sensitivities. As you’ll learn from other articles on this blog, in less concentrated forms, essential oils are very soothing for redness as well as being anti-inflammatory agents.

Bottom line: If you have a skin condition, whether it is rosacea, breakout or another issue you’re concerned about, please do as this lady did and contact a potential practitioner and ask questions! I always appreciate a prospective client coming to me with their concerns. Usually—always—I can allay their fears and give them information that will help them make the decision to give my facial a try. And usually—always—they are happy with the results!

For more information, see:

• Sensitive Skin: Q & A
• Treating Rosacea: Eliminate? Control? Fix? Cure?
• Rosacea Q & As

Hair removal Q & A

I have hair above and below my lip and on my chin—yuck! I use a cream remover from Sally Hansen® right now. What do you think?

Instead of using a depilatory cream on your sensitive upper lip area, I recommend trying to lighten that hair with a facial bleaching cream. If the hair bothers you and dying it is not an option, as long as this depilatory cream doesn’t cause irritation on your upper lip (or chin), I guess that is the best option for you. Getting waxed is, of course, a very common practice, but I would use the depilatory cream before I would have those places waxed.

If the hair is really something that bothers you and needs constant attention, you may want to research getting either electrolysis or laser hair removal to eliminate the hair altogether. These are sometimes painful and expensive procedures, but either one can alleviate the need to be concerned about removing the hair once it is permanently removed.

Remember this important point: If you use a depilatory cream or wax the area, you will be taking off all the hair in that area, not just the hair you are concerned with—just like when you shave. In the waxing link below, I give more information on why you may not want to take this route for hair removal.

For more information, see:

• Shari’s (chin hair) waxing story
• Hair Removal Options: Electrolysis 
• Just Say NO to a Lip Wax!

Ageless or age less?

I ♥ Helen Mirren! A true example of aging gracefully—and beautifully

Ageless or age less?

Depending on where your head is at, you will look at these words and interpret them very differently. You may see the word ageless, and you might see the words age less. Which type are you?

It’s like the famous young lady/old woman perceptual illusion—where you are shown a picture and the brain switches (or can) from seeing two different women. Some people initially see an old woman’s face with a large bulbous nose. But other viewers see the profile of a much younger, beautiful woman wearing a hat. The picture can mean something different depending on the viewer’s interpretation. And so do the words age and less.

Put together, these two words form a philosophy and a concept of timelessness. It is a graceful term and is truly without ending. Ageless connotes quality and has an almost regalness to it. The words age and less convey the pervasive thought-form of society today. Age less could be the headline in a newspaper article or magazine. Age less could be a new scientific breakthrough to help you defy the effects of time. With ageless there is no time, just beauty.

Take a look and determine how you see and use these words: age and less. I prefer to live my life with ageless beauty vs. trying to age less. It’s semantics, just words, but it can have an impact on your life philosophy and world view.

For more information, see:

• To age or not to age: Is that the question?
• Aging, “Anti-Aging” and Beauty: Notes to My Readers
• Ageless Beauty—Part II 

Facial steamers & your skin

I’m using a facial steamer daily to help clear up congestion, and I’m somewhat concerned about what 15 minutes of facial steaming a day might be doing to my skin.

I have been giving facials and taking care of my client’s skin for over 30 years. I have many clients who have asked me the same question. My main problem with these at-home steamers is they require your face to be fairly close to the machine, similar to steaming over a hot pot of water. Because of this close proximity mixed with the heat of the steam, you can cause capillary damage very easily. Using these steamers daily—just don’t do it! Use only once a week if you must.

At-home facial steamers may seem like a great item to have around the house, but my recommendations are this: If you have to use it, put a clay mask on your face and then steam (never steam a bare face), or sell it in your next garage sale.

For more information, see:

• Is steam good for my skin?
• Steam rooms, Saunas & Your Skin
• Ideas on when & where to do a clay mask