Monday, July 13, 2009
Summer tips for your skin
Summer time has always been my favorite time of year (at least until I moved to Phoenix). All that time spent outdoors swimming, planting flowers and just enjoying the long beautiful days. Vacation time takes many of us to the beach. We want to look our best, but the sun, chlorine, dirt and salt water take their toll on our skin.
Let's break the body down......
Hair: I use a great shampoo made of botanical products and follow it up with a detox hair mask left on for a minute while I am washing and rinsing the rest of my body. It helps to eliminate the effects of chlorine and keeps my hair soft and shiny.
Body: I never, ever, ever use soap or anything with chemical fragrance in it. The goal is to keep the pH of my skin at normal. When I am swimming, I use a great cleansing gel that is made up of ingredients from the sea - also a detox item. I also begin the process with a sea salt scrub. This will help get rid of any dry, dead skin and add a lot of moisture to the body.
After showering, I use a good body lotion or body butter. That makes all the difference in the world. My arms and legs stay soft all day long. Make sure you use nothing with petroleum, mineral oil or parrafin as that only coats the surface of the skin and doesn't allow the moisturizer to penetrate deep into the skin.
Heels: Summer sandals can give you terrible-looking heels. Begin by scrubbing with a good sea-salt scrub and then follow up with a vitamin C based serum and lotion. The difference will be amazing.
Hands: Keep lotion on your hands throughout the day. Again, no mineral oil, petroleum, parrafin etc. Hands are exposed to so much water etc. that it is important to keep nourished. Always take care of your hands before bed as well. A good scrub helps here too. I use a wonderful skin conditioning oil on my nails and cuticles to keep them fresh and from drying.
Face: My moisturizer and foundation both contain spf protection. As much as I am exposed to the sun, my face is still very light. I use no other spf products - so THEY WORK!!! I switch back and forth btween a liquid foundation and a mineral powder foundation. The powder foundation is better when the Arizona humidity picks up.
SUNSCREEN protection: It is important to keep our skin protected from both UVA and UVB rays. The sun is the number one thing that causes premature aging of our skin. And if that doesn't concern you, skin cancer should. However - one caveat, since we have become so diligent in coating ourselves and our children with sunscreen, many people are deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D is very important to our bodies, not only for strong bones, but also a deficiency of such is linked to auto-immune diseases such as MS and other disorders. It only takes a few minutes of sun exposure to get the required amount of Vitamin D. You can't get the same benefit by drinking more milk, or eating dairy products. The sun gives us what we need.
My rule of thumb is spend 15 minutes unprotected early in the day. I swim without sunscreen early in the morning so that takes care of that.
It has been shown that people who live in the northlands that get limited sunshine have higher incidences of MS and other diseases linked to Vitamin D deficiency.
To see what products I use go to http://www.lyndar.myarbonne.com/ and click on products.
Let's break the body down......
Hair: I use a great shampoo made of botanical products and follow it up with a detox hair mask left on for a minute while I am washing and rinsing the rest of my body. It helps to eliminate the effects of chlorine and keeps my hair soft and shiny.
Body: I never, ever, ever use soap or anything with chemical fragrance in it. The goal is to keep the pH of my skin at normal. When I am swimming, I use a great cleansing gel that is made up of ingredients from the sea - also a detox item. I also begin the process with a sea salt scrub. This will help get rid of any dry, dead skin and add a lot of moisture to the body.
After showering, I use a good body lotion or body butter. That makes all the difference in the world. My arms and legs stay soft all day long. Make sure you use nothing with petroleum, mineral oil or parrafin as that only coats the surface of the skin and doesn't allow the moisturizer to penetrate deep into the skin.
Heels: Summer sandals can give you terrible-looking heels. Begin by scrubbing with a good sea-salt scrub and then follow up with a vitamin C based serum and lotion. The difference will be amazing.
Hands: Keep lotion on your hands throughout the day. Again, no mineral oil, petroleum, parrafin etc. Hands are exposed to so much water etc. that it is important to keep nourished. Always take care of your hands before bed as well. A good scrub helps here too. I use a wonderful skin conditioning oil on my nails and cuticles to keep them fresh and from drying.
Face: My moisturizer and foundation both contain spf protection. As much as I am exposed to the sun, my face is still very light. I use no other spf products - so THEY WORK!!! I switch back and forth btween a liquid foundation and a mineral powder foundation. The powder foundation is better when the Arizona humidity picks up.
SUNSCREEN protection: It is important to keep our skin protected from both UVA and UVB rays. The sun is the number one thing that causes premature aging of our skin. And if that doesn't concern you, skin cancer should. However - one caveat, since we have become so diligent in coating ourselves and our children with sunscreen, many people are deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D is very important to our bodies, not only for strong bones, but also a deficiency of such is linked to auto-immune diseases such as MS and other disorders. It only takes a few minutes of sun exposure to get the required amount of Vitamin D. You can't get the same benefit by drinking more milk, or eating dairy products. The sun gives us what we need.
My rule of thumb is spend 15 minutes unprotected early in the day. I swim without sunscreen early in the morning so that takes care of that.
It has been shown that people who live in the northlands that get limited sunshine have higher incidences of MS and other diseases linked to Vitamin D deficiency.
To see what products I use go to http://www.lyndar.myarbonne.com/ and click on products.
