Hyperpigmentation

What is hyperpigmentation? It is the darkening of the skin aka scars, sunspots, liver spots, melasma, etc. The color is caused by melanin, a substance that gives our skin color. People with darker skin have more melanin. It is known to protect the cells and tissues of our skin. When we are exposed to sunlight, our melanin kicks into gear and acts as an umbrella to shield our cells (which is why we get a tan) but if the melanin gets damaged or overused, it does not know how to retrieve back into the deeper layers of our skin and that's when it becomes a visible hyperpigmentation.

Melanin is an important substance in our body because it helps with protecting against skin cancer and it is also an anti-aging tool for our skin. It is the reason we get post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, since it is programmed to be our bodies defense mechanism when our cells and tissues are or can potentially be damaged in any way. Picking or squeezing your pimple is irritating an already infected area so in doing so you are creating a deeper scar that will be harder to get rid of. To avoid scarring from breakouts, here a several tips you can try:
-if the pimple is new and still very deep under the skin, try icing it. Calming the inflammation will allow the pimple to mature quicker and raise to the surface of the skin. The sooner it starts to heal, the less scarring you will have.
-apply a spot treatment (ie 2% salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide) when the pimple has come up to an head, meaning you see the white puss. Or you can use a clay mask as spot treatment if it is a stubborn one.
-great tip for breakouts, crush some aspirins, mix w/ water and apply as a mask.**only use when you have a breakout and not daily** Salicylic Acid is derived from aspirin and is usually mixed with alcohol when purchased in the form of salicylic acid, doing this is a more gentle way without the alcohol.

Here are some tips to avoid and correct hyperpigmentation:
-USE sun protection!!! SPF 30 is recommended, rain or shine! Layering your sun protection is the best coverage, ie Vit. C, SPF, mineral makeup or makeup with a little spf in it.
-Vitamin C not only helps boosts your skin's ability to protect itself from the sun, but is also an antioxidant fighting the free radical process that naturally happens in our body causing liver spots, age spots, or hyperpigmentation caused from hormones (sometimes called the pregnancy mask) usually seen as a darkening on the upper lip or along the cheek bones. It is also a skin brightener to help lighten the damage or hyperpigmentation that is already there. It is normal to feel slight tingling for the first 10 or so days of applying Vit. C, just as long as it doesn't itch or develop a rash on the area applied.
-Hydroquinone or arbutin (natural form of hydroquinone, extracted from the bearberry plant) are stronger forms of skin lightening, it suppresses the formation of melanin. Must be used under the care of a skin care specialist or doctor.
-Use products with other botanical brighteners such as bearberry, kojic acid, licorice, etc.
Once again, SPF is very important while using any of these ingredients. It would make no sense to correct the damage when you are not preventing more damage from happening. As I always say, prevention is much easier than correction! Til next time, happy holidays and I will see you again on my journey to beautiful skin~

Nutrition and Skin...

My will power was put to the test on my fabulous tour of the Tsing Tao beer factory...no...I didn't get drunk off of the unlimited supply of beer, it was their tasty roasted peanuts that I couldn't resist! As I was telling my family that I can't eat peanuts because they make me break out, I found myself reaching out for one. The moment I popped the first one into my mouth, I found myself reaching for a second, third, fourth, etc. It was over, there was no stopping me. It's like grabbing the first handful of popcorn in the theater and before you know it you've hit the bottom of the bucket only half way through the movie, popcorn isn't even that good to begin with! Of course the inevitable was bound to happen, literally the next day I wake up finding sprouts of pimples all over my face. I was very proud of myself for maintaining my skin to be acne free for most of the trip (considering that I almost always break out when I travel, thanks to inheriting sensitive acne prone skin), but WHY...why did I have to do that to myself!?!
I'm not allergic to peanuts, like my throat won't swell up or I won't break out in hives or anything, I know those are the common allergic reactions to peanuts. When I request no peanuts in my food at restaurants, it's usually followed with the waiter asking, "are you allergic?" No..but yes? How do I explain...? I won't die if I eat them, but I break out. Why do I break out from eating peanuts? I don't have this problem with almonds, macadamias, cashews, etc. How about chocolate, pizza, fried foods, dairy?? Does what we eat have any effect on our skin?
I did some research on peanuts and acne, it seems to be a common occurence for people who are acne prone to notice a break out after eating peanuts, yet it is still a debate that has no answer to. Some speculate that it's because of the fatty oils, or that it's due to peanuts being grown under the ground, or even because they are high in testosterone. Whatever the case, I know for sure it makes me breakout. I remember growing up always hearing certain foods will cause a break out, especially junk food...then reading in many magazines that it actually is a myth. In the Chinese culture, they believe that when you eat too much fried or processed foods our bodies "chi" (natural energy) becomes thrown off. This natural energy is a balance between hot and cold energy, acne is a result of too much hot "chi". I correlate hot "chi" as inflammation, and acne is an inflammation that our body's natural immune system will try to fight off. That is the reason we get a brown spot after the pimple has calmed down even if we didn't pick at it, it's what we call "post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation". The melanin in our body gets fired up...on my next post I will go into detail about melanin and hyperpigmentation. All in all, I believe that everybody's body is different and some foods might cause a breakout for some but not for others. I always suggest that you keep track of what you eat and what causes a breakout for you. Thanks for readying and I'll see you on my next journey to beautiful skin!

Spa Week- pt. 2

It's been two weeks after I received all the treatments listed in my last post and I promised to talk about how the experience was...so here goes...

Herbal body wrap- my friend and I went in not knowing what to expect, all we knew were the pre-prep work that had to be done. Shower and exfoliate 2hrs prior and avoid putting on any lotions, wear a bikini, and USE the bathroom before getting wrapped!
We go into individual stalls and the technician comes in to explain the process. First she asks me where my problem areas are and applies a cellulite balm onto those areas, then she starts wrapping me up like a mummy with cloth that is soaked in a herbal infused soak. Soak consists of:

Horse Chestnut-astringent and anti-inflammatory to help to help tone vein walls.

Burdock Root-removes toxins and purifies the blood.

Bladderwrack Seaweed-high in iodine, helps soothe and calm the irritated tissues of the body.

Devil’s Club-member of the ginseng family and helps with eczema and external infections.

Echinacea-healing agent.

Lavender-relieves pain, disinfectant, enhance blood circulation

Green Tea-antioxidant and antibacterial

Marshmallow Root-anti-inflammatory

Yarrow-antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, contains salicylic acid

Cayenne-stimulates blood circulation

Baking Soda-maintains pH equilibrium

Epsom Salts-soften and exfoliates skin

Rosemary Essential Oil

Lavender Essential Oil

(the benefits are accumulated through research online and by no means are claimed accurate facts from me, if you are considering using any of the herbs please do your own research and definitely consult a physician prior to use)

After being wrapped like a mummy, a plastic coat was put on us and we laid in a relaxing room for about an hour. They put socks over our feet and gave us a 5min. light foot massage, emphasis on the word light. Considering that I'm the type that likes deep tissue massage, I was going to tell her that she can use a little more pressure, but I realized that she was probably using lymphatic drainage techniques (which usually consists of light touch to move fluids in the body).

The wrap claims to work for seven days after the treatment and although I can't say that there was much of a difference in inch loss, my skin definitely felt softer. Being in this industry I know that technicians are not miracle workers, so I didn't expect to see full results after one treatment, but it definitely is a treatment I would consider doing again prior to travelling.

Intuitive massage-not much to say, but good massage. Main thing I want to put out there is, DON'T be afraid to communicate with your technician. They'll appreciate you telling them what you like and dislike, that way you'll most likely leave with a satisfying experience.

1. Facial-Same advice as massage goes here, communication is key to achieving the results you want. I broke out a bit after the facial, but that is usually expected for my skin. I would say that is one of the most commonly asked question I get and here is my answer...it is perfectly normal to have a minor breakout after a facial (note: keyword minor). Facials act as a detox for your skin and sometimes there are cloggings in the deeper levels that estheticians can't get to during your treatment. So the facial will actually excelerate the process of your skin's natural exfoliation and pull those impurities up to the surface of your skin. This is a good thing, you should see that those breakouts should heal a lot faster than a regular breakout. It lessens the chances of more inflammation, which can cause post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is the reason we still get a brown mark after the pimple heals even if we didn't pick, inflammation causes stress to your skin and the pigment that comes up is our bodies natural way to fight the stress.

On my next blog I will go into more detail about hyperpigmentation (aka brown spots or scarring), so once again, join me on my journey to beautiful skin!

Spa Week!!!

I am sooo excited that it is spa week in San Francisco. That means I can do market research, "aka" pamper myself, without guilt!!! Although my impressions of these shortened treatments are that they don't and won't give the actual experience justice, it'll be enough for me to get a sense of how the spa itself is. I never needed a reason to do myself good, but with spa week, an owed graduation gift to one of my gf's, and in preparation for my 15 hour flight to Asia next week (screech for dehydrated skin), it didn't take much for me to pick up the phone and make those appts.

I did my research and chose the treatments that sounded the most interesting to me, here's the lineup: 90mins. body wrap, 45mins. intuitive massage, 60mins facial. (I will not mention the name of places visited for integrity purposes, the review will solely be on the actual treatment and not the spa or technician)

90mins. body wrap: claims to "tone skin, eliminate water retention and inflammation, reduce cellulite, and gently detoxify" (spa's website)

45mins. intuitive massage: claims that "the practitioner will listen to the body and determine what modality will best serve the client resulting in a massage that's not only relaxing, but lastingly transformative" (spa's website)

60mins facial: by a very well known esthetician in the SF area...there's always something new I can learn from another fellow estie!

I'm super excited and will definitely be sharing my experience on the treatments, benefits of the ingredients used, product recommendations, and most importantly the efficacy. Lots of yummilicious info, so don't forget to follow my journey to beautiful skin!

The beginning...

Growing up with "not so great" skin has made my passion and entire career path to helping others achieve beautiful skin...in return, learning more about skin and, ultimately, achieving perfect skin for MYSELF!! ^_^*

I've been in the skin care industry for 12yrs and a licensed aesthetician/makeup artist for 5yrs, and there still hasn't been a day that's gone by where I discovered something new about skin. The 1000's, if not more, of different types of skin and the many ways of treating it.

On here I will chat about the common and uncommon skin care issues, discover and test treatment techniques from different cultures of the world, research and learn about new ingredients, attempt and adapt to a new lifestyle that will improve and maintain my skin, etc.....my point is, anything and everything that will make us look and feel better!

So come join the fun and follow me on my journey to beautiful skin~