Category: Celeste’s Corner

CEO, spokesperson, health and beauty expert Celeste Hilling shares her experiences, insights, and stories about living the healthy skin lifestyle.

Are you committing Beauty Blunders?

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Celeste Hilling, Beauty Expert and CEO of Skin Authority, was recently invited to join the the Daytime Emmy Award winning show The Doctors to reveal three top Beauty Blunders!  Click here to watch The Doctors on air segment with Celeste. Celeste asks the question: "Are you diligently using skin care products, but still not seeing results?" It's possible that you're using the products incorrectly. Let's go through a few do's and don'ts of combining skin care products. Beauty Blunder #1: Don't combine Retinol with Sunscreen This is a two-strike beauty blunder. Retinol is a naturally occurring form of Vitamin A that is used as an ingredient in a lot of anti-aging and acne products. When sunlight hits Retinol, it renders it ineffective. That whole chemical process also breaks down the SPF in sunscreen. So you not only don't get the value of the Retinol, but you don't get the protection of the SPF. So if you want ...

Brighten Up!

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  Brightening Serum from Skin Authority on Vimeo. You know I love to share my tips about the one product that I can't live without, that always has to be in my bag. For me, that is definitely the Skin Authority Brightening Serum. The editors at Shape Magazine agreed with me because they voted it Best New Product! What makes this product so amazing and the go-to product that you need in your bag is that we combine three very powerful technologies into one formulation that makes an easy, single-step you can do to lighten, brighten, tighten, and even out your skin tone. So how do we do that? First, we tackle that red, inflamed, blotchy surface of the skin with a very advanced oligopeptide that calms inflammation, brings down the redness, and has an anti-inflammatory, soothing effect on the skin. We add to that a natural melanin disruptor using Alpha Arbutin to tackle ...

Reading Ingredient Listings on Skin Care Product Labels

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Questions answered by Celeste Hilling Why does every skin care product contain a list of two-dozen or more ingredients?  What are the common ingredients every skin care product contains? Today, most products are expected to: Be multipurpose (i.e. sunscreen moisturizer, shampoo/conditioner in 1, etc); Have a long shelf life; Be cosmetically pleasing (needs to apply smoothly, not change color, smell nice, etc). To meet these requirements, most formulations include several key ingredient families: Humectants, Emollients, Occlusives, Protein (Plumping) Agents, Surfactants and Preservatives. Humectants are used to draw moisture up to the surface layers of the skin. Common humectants ingredients are: AHAs, Glycerin, Glycerol, Elastin, Methyl Gluceth-20, Ceramide, Propylane Glycol, Lecithin, PEG-20, Urea, Sorbitol, Lanolin, Panthenol Vitamin B-5, Ceramide. Emollients create the feeling of smooth skin by lubricating or filling the cracks in the skin. Common emollients are: Oils from Avocado, Almond, Grapeseed, Sunflower, Jojoba, Sesame, Coconut, Cetyl Alcohol, Isopropyl Isostearate, Isostearyl Alcohol, Propylane Glycol, Squalene. Occlusives form a moisture barrier ...

Spring Revival: Getting a Safe Sunny Glow

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Is there a better time of year than spring? Everything is coming alive and people are so happy to escape from their winter cocoons. With the sun shining and the warmer temps, we’ve been receiving several questions about safe tanning. I am so thrilled that the message of safe, sunless tanning is resonating with today’s teens and 20-something’s as well as those of us who are a bit older and probably spent too much time in the sun when we were young! I invite you to check out and these quick tips to keep in mind with sunless tanning: Frequently Asked Questions About Sunless Tanners. I also have a short video on how to apply sunless tanners to get the best result. Here are some of the commonly asked questions I get about sunless tanners: Will the tan from a sunless tanner protect me from sunburn? No. Sunless tanners might provide up to an SPF 2 or ...

Seven Sun Safety Fails: Oops I Did it Again!

Do any of these sound familiar? Skipping sunscreen because you are running late. Digging to the bottom of your beach bag for last year’s bottle of sun protection and actually using it. Putting on self-tanner and sitting in the sun immediately after. You are committing sun safety fails! There are a lot of misconceptions and wives’ tales about sun safety, which can definitely harm you. One in five Americans are found to have skin cancer in their lifetime. While that number is epidemic, what is more epidemic is the fact that only one in five people wear sunscreen on a daily basis. (Source: Harris Interactive). I want you to be healthy, educated and free of sun spots. Here is the scoop on sun safety fails. These seven tips will help you be healthy, educated and free of sun spots Learn to read a label. Check the SPF number; those with SPF 15 or ...

The Science of Feeding your Skin: The Down-Low on Vitamins

After the crazy weather all around the country this winter, spring is finally approaching and everyone is rushing to pack in as much fun and activity as possible. In our hurry, we forget to wear sunscreen or stay hydrated. Perhaps we drink one too many sodas (or margaritas!). Just as we need to be conscious of healthy nutrition for our bodies to look fit, our skin needs its own forms of nutrition to maintain its healthy glow. I’m here to give you the dish on feeding your skin with vitamins. Skin is an organ and responds to healthy nutrition as positively as other organs in our body. It is challenging for our skin to get those vital nutrients from food because less than 1% of the vitamins we ingest ever make their way to the skin. This is why applying those vitamins topically is so important. Think of it as a ...

Tame Tension and Unleash Beautiful Skin

The secret new therapy for amazing skin? Tame tension! Stress damages the skin as severely as smoking and sun exposure. Stress triggers the elevation of adrenaline and cortisol increasing dryness, wrinkles, and acne. But relax, here are four tips that will not only calm your skin, but also your mind! Forgo Facebook for Face Time Anxiety increases as you gain more Facebook friends. The higher the number of friends, the more pressure you'll feel, even to the point of feeling failure. This kind of stress disrupts your hormone imbalance, causing unwanted congestion, breakouts, and even acne. On the other hand, hanging out in-person with your friends and family helps you release chemicals in the brain that ease anxiety, resulting in more balanced hormonal conditions reaching the skin, leaving the skin less stressed and more able to fight infections and breakouts. Tip: Schedule more time for group activities with friends: a yoga class, a community ...

SAD? Boost Your D

Does everyone around you to have the holiday spirit, yet you would rather hide under the covers feeling SAD? The cause may be seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Also known as winter depression or the winter blues, SAD affects up to 20% of people. The condition is four times more common in women than in men and is more prevalent the farther north you go. (Source: American Academy of Family Physicians) Low levels of Vitamin D contribute to SAD as well. It’s estimated that one billion people worldwide are vitamin D deficient; a number that goes up in winter. Vitamin D is only made in one place - the skin - and as a healthy skin care expert, I have spent considerable time researching the importance of D to mind and body. Vitamin D is critical for inside-out beauty, health and wellbeing. Vitamin D is the only vitamin which the body makes (all others ...

7 Resolutions for a Year of Healthy Skin

The new year is in full swing and my focus is to identify and avoid “hidden” sugars when choosing the food I eat. Not an easy task when on the road, but I can feel the benefits of sticking with it! Of course, any change to your lifestyle is a commitment. As a healthy skin expert, I hope you’ll consider embracing the simple daily steps to protecting one of your most important health resources…your skin. Here are 7 tips to set you on the right foot for skin care success. Resolve to: Wash your Face – Yes, it’s that simple! Cleaning your skin is one of the most important things you can do when you wake up and before you go to bed. Bacteria and dead skin build up can cause surface irritation and breakouts. Remove make-up and deep cleanse in one step by using cleansers incorporating AHAs which kill bacteria and loosen dead ...

The Power of Antioxidants

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Antioxidants are substances that prevent oxidation damage to cells. Some of the most well known antioxidants are vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and Pycnogenol®.  The highest concentration of antioxidants in the body is contained in the epidermal layer of the skin, forming a protective barrier for the living dermal layer and the internal body. With age, the concentration of antioxidants in the skin declines considerably. Without the protective capacity of this layer, damage to the skin increases. Only about 1% of orally ingested antioxidants will arrive at the skin. Antioxidants applied topically can help restore an effective barrier and help reduce further damage. By maintaining an ideal level of antioxidants at the skin level, we can control free radical and oxidation damage. The action of antioxidants can reduce or partially neutralize the harmful power of free radicals (FR). The combination of antioxidants and sunscreen is a powerful and effective way ...