Author: Katie Hitchcock

Things We Love Thursday: Fitness

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Fitness is a huge part of the Healthy Skin Lifestyle. We are lucky to live in San Diego, so we have a lot of varied types of fitness that we adore. From yoga to paddleboarding and cycling to hiking, we have many loves in the fitness department. Although we switch it up a lot to keep our muscles guessing and to fend off workout-boredom, these are some of the things we are loving (or loving to hate) in fitness right now:   Iris, Esthetics Expert "I love triathlon training! SWIM-BIKE-RUN provides a mix in exercise! I love the feelings of having training "breakthroughs"- knowing I'm improving. I love to hate the constant feeling of soreness."     Cortney, Sales Director Pacific Southwest Region (and our Fit Friday Yoga Instructor!) "I am able to share my passion for yoga with my Skin Healthy Lifestyle Team at the office.  I love being able to practice what I preach!  Plus in ...

10 Easy Tips to Improving Your Healthy Skin Lifestyle

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We have 10 quick and easy tips you can use right now to make simple improvements to your healthy skin lifestyle: Wash your face every night. No excuses. Wear a Vitamin C under your sunscreen to enhance the protection Don’t always think, “less is more.” Count nutrients instead of calories to make sure you are getting what you need. Consistency is key. One workout won’t make you fit, just like one salad won’t make you healthy. (But remember it goes the other way too: one bad meal or missed workout won’t be the end of the world) Don’t wait until you have deep-set wrinkles to take action—use preventative measures. Learn to love your veggies. Take every opportunity to be thankful for what you have. Someone else is happy with less than what you have. Don’t only rely on cardio to burn calories. Strength training builds muscle and muscle burns more calories. Drink. More. Water. Fats are your friends. Eat healthy ...

The Transformative Powers of Vitamin D

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Vitamin D has amazing transformative powers. For years, many people have looked to Vitamin C for both skin care and its immune system boosting capabilities, but Vitamin D is even more formidable in terms of immune health.  Many people commonly associate D with laying out in the sun, but we have partnered with the Dole Nutrition Institute and have found a new inside-out approach to Vitamin D sufficiency that does not include the risks of sun damage. When talking about beauty, most people automatically think of what you see on the surface.  While topically applying products to the surface is a vital step to a healthy glow, the layers of your skin that you can touch and feel are all dead, so we need to come at them from both the surface and below. With a topical application of Vitamin D, you can get an even, glowing skin tone and help improve ...

Fact Friday: What is Resurfacing?

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By Iris Mata, Skin Authority Skin Coach During a recent trip to England, I visited William Shakespeare’s hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon. His childhood home was built in the 1600s and had long housed a beautiful wood dining table that was restored for display. Like most fragile antique pieces, a sign was posted, “Please do not touch.” No real repairs were needed, but its surface was freckled with dings and dents, scrapes and scratches, all which added character and uniqueness. Its beauty emanated from its age. I can imagine the process of resurfacing that went into this fragile, yet enduring piece: a sensitive buffering, adding a layer of hydration to the exposed wood to soften the surface, and a protective coat of color and sealant. This idea of resurfacing isn’t to cover its age but by definition: to put a new surface on (something); to refinish or repair the surface of (something).* Similarly, we can ...

Fall into Fabulous Skin with Five Insider Secrets

The newest fall fashions won’t look as glam if your skin is post-summer dull. After all that summer sun, serious skin damage control is in order. Just as you swap out your shorts for sweaters in anticipation of cooler temps, do the same with your skin care products. Become a skin care superstar with these five tips: Use the change of season to inventory your skin care stash, toss old items and figure out what you truly need. When it comes to products - forget hoarding 20 - you only need two or three. In the morning, I suggest a mild gel cleanser, an antioxidant such as Vitamin C, and a sunscreen moisturizer. Before going to bed, use resurfacing ingredients such as AHAs and retinols in addition to restorative peptides. Fall brings dry air, allergies and reduced exposure to sunlight, all of which affect your skin. To counteract the dryer air, take ...

Fresh Food and a Feast

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Although many of us have assumed a correlation between nutrition and cosmetic appearance, in the past, true clinical studies to support this conclusion have been virtually non-existent. Recently however, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition actually published clinical results with studies establishing direct connects between proper nutrition and signs of aging. Regardless of sex, age, race, or health condition, people with proper levels of Vitamin C present in the skin had less wrinkles than those without proper levels of Vitamin C. People who had diets high in carbohydrates had advanced signs of aging as well as skin atrophy. As I’ve looked at how to enhance the healthy eating rituals in my family for better health and skin beauty, all roads lead back to eating what comes directly from the earth. Fresh produce is not only healthier for you but it also tastes amazing without a lot of preparation. I was never a huge tomato fan ...

Monday Motivation: Inspire Yourself

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We love Mondays. And that’s not some joke setting you up for a witty punch line. Don’t get us wrong, we are huge fans of Fridays, adore days off, and rarely want the weekend to end. But to us, Mondays are like a little New Years Day each week. No matter what happened last week, we are able to start with a clean slate and set whatever new resolutions and goals we want for the week ahead. It is okay that you only went to the gym once last week; you can pledge to hit kickboxing class three times this week. It is okay that you indulged a little too much at the backyard barbecues you attended this weekend; you can devote yourself to prepping clean, feel-good meals for the week ahead. Every Monday, we set goals for the week. Some weeks we aim to go to spin 3 times, use ...

Natural Beauty in the City That Never Sleeps

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Every time I am in New York, I am reminded of how much I love the energy of the city. It truly is a city that never sleeps. Sleep is something the makeup crew at MSNBC doesn't get much of. I was at 30 Rock bright and early this morning to participate in a couple of segments on MSNBC's business show. The lovely woman doing my makeup had been on the set since 3:30 a.m., prepping the morning news team. Despite her early start, she looked radiant. She wasn't wearing any makeup. No foundation, no mascara, no lipstick: just raw natural beauty. Her hair was closely cropped in a boy cut and her skin was as smooth and transparent as a toddler's. The catch is that she was no toddler, but probably in her early 60s, but she looked 15 years younger. She had fine natural lines so it was ...

Fact Friday: Skin Care Systems

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If you wander down the aisles at your local beauty supply or drugstore, you are bound to see hundreds of different skin care products. You want to try many of them, mesmerized by the different benefits that the packaging claims. You think that if you purchase one product from each of the lines you are dying to try, you will get all the benefits from each of those pretty little bottles. You see that the back of the packaging recommends that the products work best if followed by a few other products from their line, but, as usual, you ignore it. Next time you purchase skin care products, instead of shrugging off the recommendation as a marketing gimmick, you should take the suggestion of a system more seriously. Why is a system important? When it comes to skin care, it is a common misconception that you can treat your face like you ...

Helping Our Daughters Attain Skin Health And Self-Esteem

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As a parent, all the milestones pass so quickly: The first birthday, walking, talking, homemade mother's day cards. Each step you are there to guide and protect. Before I could blink an eye, high school has arrived. I am now officially the mom of a freshman. It is a time when a little separation begins to occur and parental input is not as quickly accepted. It is a time of seeking independence yet definitely wanting to blend in. Through constant communication via Snapchat and other tools, the girls know ahead of time what to wear, who will be there, where to meet, etc. Perfectly coordinated to not stand out in the crowd. That same technology also creates an almost unobtainable sense of perfection. They can photoshop away imperfections to project a perfect image in their digital worlds. In the real world of meeting face to face, it is not so ...