Case study: Paige’s hormone(less) breakout

One of my clients, Paige, suddenly noticed her skin breaking out, and she couldn’t figure out why. Nothing had changed in her diet, and her stress levels were unchanged as well. After further investigation, asking Paige about anything that might be new or different in any area of her life, she finally came up with the answer to her skin care problems.

Earlier she found out she had an ovarian cyst. Rather than operate, her treatment consisted of a shot that would stop her periods for perhaps an entire year, which would reduce and hopefully eliminate the cyst. Her skin was breaking out because her body’s hormonal balance was out of whack. Not having a menstrual cycle is a big deal! Women menstruate for a purpose, so not having this release can wreak havoc with your skin.

Paige had to basically wait out the year and contend with her new skin problems. Like with pregnancy, there wasn’t a lot she could do because of the course of her medical treatment. She continued to get her monthly facials and did a lot of at-home extra care for her blemishes. I recommended acupuncture to help Paige’s body adjust and get her back in balance, as well as previously mentioned helpers for her actual breakouts. Eventually her skin cleared, and I am happy to report her cyst disappeared.

I keep saying the breakouts you are experiencing are there for a reason. In other words, you are not breaking out for no apparent reason; it just may not be apparent to you—yet. Ask yourself questions to help determine the cause of the “sudden” breakouts:

• What has changed in your life recently or at the time your skin problems started appearing
• Look at what you are eating to see if there is a correlation to the breakouts you are experiencing

Usually you can figure out the cause of the problems by going back in time to when the breakouts began and what was going on in your life at that time. 

For more information on breakouts, read through the many categories in this blog pertaining to problem skin issues if you haven’t already. Through reading the different sections, hopefully you will have a better understanding of what might be causing your breakouts as well as how to go about clearing up your skin.

For more information, see:

• Why you want to get Acupuncture
• What is causing your breakouts?
• Problem Skin Q & As—Monthly Breakout

Become a skin care detective for your skin.

Cleanse once? Twice? How often and why

You want to cleanse both morning and evening. Here’s why:

• Washing your face in the AM: Even though your body goes into a more regenerative (less active) mode overnight, you still want to wash your face in the morning. This way you’ll have a fresh, clean start to your day. You clean your teeth in the morning even though you brushed them the night before, and you should clean your skin too.

• Washing your face in the PM: The need to cleanse in the evening may seem a bit obvious if you’ve been wearing makeup all day. But even if you don’t wear makeup, you still have a buildup of debris, sweat, and oil as well as pollution from the environment that needs to be removed.

A big mistake makeup-wearers make is to not clean their skin thoroughly. It’s not enough to just remove the day’s makeup, you must also clean the skin underneath. If you wear makeup, you’ll want to cleanse twice at night. Once to get the makeup off, and the second time to get your skin clean.

And don’t get me started on those of you who don’t wash your makeup off at night. I won’t write much about this subject assuming you already know it’s bad to sleep with makeup on.

For more information, see:

• Is it OK to use a washcloth on my face?
• Removing eye makeup: Part I
• CLEANSERS 101: What IS a cleanser? What to look for and what NOT to use—updated 

Yonka Products for Crow’s Feet, Dark Circles & Puffiness

I wanted to post some information to help you with Yonka products if you have simple crow’s feet or issues with puffy eyes and/or dark circles.

Click on any product name to be taken to its corresponding article on this blog.

I have crow's feet/fine lines around my eyes:

• Nutri-Contour or Alpha-Contour or Men’s Undereye Gel
• A new and wonderful eye cream from Yonka: Excellence Code Contours
• Nutri+ (formerly Yonka Serum). Some clients add one drop of this true oil into their eye creams, although caution should be taken since oil can cause puffiness—something you want to avoid.

 

I have dark circles and/or puffiness under my eyes:

• Phyto-Contour or Men’s Undereye Gel

For more detailed information on Phyto Contour, see the following plus other helpful articles regarding eye area concerns:

• An effective treatment for puffy eyes using Yonka’s Phyto Contour
• Crow’s Feet Q & A
• Will my puffy eyes ever go away? Help!

PLEASE DON’T DO THIS! A personal note about your skin and airplanes

Please: Don’t assess your skin 

in the bathroom of an airplane!

I always laugh when I’m traveling, in flight, and see my face in the mirror of the plane’s bathroom. I look at least 10 years older! I see things that on a normal day, in normal light, under normal circumstances, I don’t see. For starters:

• You are looking very close up
• Your skin is probably severely dehydrated during your flight
• You are looking at yourself under the worst kind of light possible: fluorescent light 

Therefore it is so unfair to make any assumptions about what your skin really looks like after seeing it in the mirror of an airplane bathroom.

Please do not use these reflections as real and valid. You are in unusual conditions, and these images of your skin are unreal!

For more information, see:

• Airplanes, travel, and skin care: Help for dehydrated skin
• Airplanes, travel, and skin care: Help with internal hydration
• Dehydrated Skin Q & A

Tips & Skin Boosters for anyone stuck in an office all day

The recycled air found in most offices and work places is no friend to your skin. A daily work life spent indoors can often leave your skin dull, dry and irritated. Makeup can turn blotchy and will often require frequent retouching. The good news is there are easy ways to combat the ravages of dry office air. If you are eager to recapture a glowing, healthy look to your skin, try adding one or more of the following tips into your daily or weekly routine.

• Do some form of stretching exercises once or twice during the work day to improve circulation. This will give an energy boost to all parts of your body—including your skin!

• A lunchtime break spend outside has many benefits. The extra oxygen in the outside air can give your skin a healthy glow. Breathing in fresh air is invigorating and can help you face the afternoon’s work with more energy. (Don’t forget to wear a cream with SPF!)

• At night, cleanse your skin twice. The first time to remove any makeup you may be wearing (especially foundation), and the second time to get your skin really clean. For a relaxing treat: Take a clean, warm (not hot!) washcloth and place it over your face before cleansing to help lift off some of the makeup and to prepare and soften your skin for deeper cleaning with your cleanser.

• Stimulate blood flow to the face by exfoliating (sloughing off dead skin) 2-3 times weekly. Yonka’s Gommage is my personal favorite and an excellent choice. (See link below.)

• Give yourself an at-home facial. Start with a thorough cleansing, use an exfoliant, and follow with a mask that suits your individual skin type. A clay (cleansing) mask is my favorite recommendation. Then, take a relaxing bath while masking. After your bath, remove the mask and follow with a spray toner and moisturizer.

• Water helps to hydrate the tissues and aids with detoxification. Drinking more water and eating high-water content foods like raw fruits and vegetables helps the body’s eliminating organs do a more efficient job. Many people are surprised to learn that our skin is the body’s largest organ of elimination.

• Vitamin C helps in the manufacturing of collagen, a protein essential to the healthy elasticity of the skin. Vitamin C also aids the body in detoxification. When the body is free of toxins, you are more energetic, feel less bloated, and your body performs optimally so you look and feel healthier.

Think of these tips as “skin boosters.” A little care can go a long way in getting rid of the office’s drying effects on the skin and helping to keep your skin healthy from the inside out. Practicing these steps on a regular basis will give you visible benefits to enjoy while at the office 9 to 5, but really 24/7—365.

For more information, see:

• The Basics 1-2-3 Program for proper skin care
• What IS Gommage?
• At-Home Facials—A DIY How-To
• Tips to help you Drink More Water!