Category: Healthy Lifestyle

Information, tips, stories, and relationships necessary to live the healthy skin lifestyle.

The Dangers of Tanning Beds

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Can you believe it’s already mid-June? Summer officially starts next weekend, but don’t let that send you running to get your “base tan” before the pool parties, barbeques, and summer get-togethers begin. A tan is bad news, whether it is “real” from laying out at the beach or from “fake baking” in a tanning bed. The FDA recently mandated label changes on tanning beds, now requiring a black box label, their strongest warning. In 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organization) raised tanning devices that emit UV rays into the highest cancer risk category “carcinogenic to humans.” The more research that is done, the more dangerous we are realizing that these tanning beds are. So why are millions of people, particularly teenagers and young adults, still using them every day? What They Say With all of the information out there about the dangers of tanning, ...

Men’s Health Awareness Month

June is Men’s Health Awareness Month. Skin is the largest organ in the body, but men's skin health in particular needs more attention. Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, is one of only three cancers with an increasing mortality rate for men. Within melanoma cases, young men account for 40 percent of cases, but more than 60 percent of deaths. In fact, from ages 15-39, men are 55 percent more likely to die of melanoma than women in the same age group. According to a study done by the Skin Cancer Foundation, nearly 1 in 2 men surveyed said they had not applied sunscreen in the past 12 months, and only 32 percent considered themselves very knowledgeable on how to properly use it. Skin health isn’t just about protecting against skin cancers, it is also about getting your skin as fit as you can. Give your skin a workout with cardio, ...

Melanoma & Skin Cancer Awareness Month

May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month. For many, May is just the beginning of a long summer, filled with days spent at the beach or lake, lounging by the pool, or out at sporting events in the sun. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of getting a tan, but are those compliments on your “vacation glow” worth all of the risks and consequences of UV exposure? Luckily, sunless tanners have continued to improve over the last few years, so it is as easy to safely achieve that bronzed glow as it is to put on lotion. But even if you have started religiously applying sunscreen and taking precautions to limit your sun exposure, you still need to be on the lookout for warning signs of skin cancer. Here are some important prevention steps and warning signs: SPF 15+ should be used every single day. Whether you are outdoors, ...

Sunless Tanners — How do They Work?

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Although many people still desire a suntan, we now understand just how damaging exposure to the sun can be. Repeated sun exposure greatly increases skin wrinkling and may even lead to skin cancers. Adding wrinkles while trying to improve appearance is obviously counterproductive and has led to the popularity of so-called sunless tanning products. The active ingredient in sunless tanners is the compound dihydroxyacetone (DHA). DHA is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in externally applied cosmetics intended to impart color to the skin. A three-carbon sugar, DHA reacts with amino groups in the proteins of the top layer of the skin, called the stratum corneum (SC). The first step is known as the Maillard reaction, the same process that leads to the caramelization of sugars and the browning of bread. Sunless tans do not absorb ultraviolet light in the range that causes sunburn. They therefore do not protect ...

Ask a Skin Coach: What is your favorite product?

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Our skin coaches are constantly connecting with you via email, phone, FaceTime, and Skype to help you reach your skin care goals. While helping you, we often get asked questions about our own skin care routines. One of the most common questions we are asked is about our favorite products from Skin Authority. While it is really, really hard for many of us to narrow it down to just one, we're bringing you  a look into some of our favorite Skin Authority products and why we cannot go a day without them. Carrie, Skin Coach: "My favorite product ever is the Sunscreen Moisturizer! I love that it has a Dry Touch TechnologyTM finish and you can’t smell it on during the day. It is the most important product in preventing skin damage, which it is why it is my favorite anti-aging product! I always remind everyone to apply it to their neck, décolleté, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Plan Ahead and Transform Your Skin for the Wedding Day

As you prepare for marriage and your highly-anticipated wedding day, we urge brides to also think about another life partner – your skin. Just as brides-to-be trust hair stylists, dentists, make-up artists, and personal trainers, Skin Coaches can help transform brides and their skin before the wedding day. For best results, give yourself a six month head start, but if you don't have the time, we have tips and tricks for any time up to the day before. Skin Authority Skin Coaches have come up with 10 tips to help prepare for your big day: A bride’s best friend. It would be nice to go to the spa multiple times a month leading up to your wedding day. But we know that's probably not going to happen, so why not bring the spa experience to you? Masks are a great way to start. Look for masks made from clay, eucalyptus, and sulphur to ...

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 ...