Skin Care Essentials

The science and information behind the products, techniques, and tips that help you life the healthy skin lifestyle.

Spring Forward with Fresh Eyes

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The majority of the United States will be turning their clocks ahead one hour with Daylight Saving Time. The one hour less of sleep means your eyes will need extra attention! The skin around your eyes is the thinnest skin on your entire body, and it’s most susceptible to damage. Also, as you age, the tissue structures and muscles supporting your eyelids weaken. The skin may start to sag, and fat that is normally confined to the area around the eye can move into the area below your eyes. Also, the space below your eyes can accumulate fluid, making the under-eye area appear puffy or swollen. Several factors can lead to this, including: Fluid retention due to changes in weather (for example, temperature changes from forced heat indoors and frigid conditions outdoors), hormone levels, or eating salty foods Not getting enough sleep Allergies or dermatitis, especially if puffiness is accompanied … Continue reading →

The Basics of Acne

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The normal skin is composed of two parts. The upper part is called the epidermis and is composed of skin cells. These cells continually divide, grow, and mature. As they reach the surface of the skin they flatten, die and are then shed. The deeper part of the skin is called the dermis and is composed mainly of collagen, which supports the epidermis. Within the collagen are the nerves, blood vessels and other structures that comprise the skin.The whole surface of the skin, except for the palms and soles, is covered in small skin pores. Each pore is the entrance of a small, flexible tube that runs through into the dermis and represents the canal through which the hairs grow to the surface. Each hair canal is associated with a sebaceous gland, which produces an oily substance, called sebum. The sebum is pumped into the hair canal and from there … Continue reading →

DIY: How to Apply Superfoods for a Beautiful Glow.

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In a previous blog, we gave DIY tips for adding quinoa & avocado into your hair care routine, this time it’s skins turn! Quinoa & Avocado are fantastic to add topically as they provide elasticity, softness and resiliency to skin. The skin benefits of quinoa are: Quick healing of damaged tissue. It delivers lysine, a key building block of elastin & collagen. Builds elasticity & connective tissue. It delivers high levels of riboflavin, providing elasticity, softness, and resiliency. Rejuvenates the skin from within. Provides collagen to reduce wrinkles and keep skin soft, smooth and supple. Reduces brown spots & pigmentation. Decreases clustering of melanin granules. Treats acne conditions. Decreases sebum production, helps keep follicles clear. The skin benefits of avocado are: Enhances collagen generation. It triggers the skin’s production of collagen, counteracting age-related wrinkles, fine lines, and other aging signs. Hydrates skin. Through its remarkable capability of retaining water in the skin, it encourages supple and soft tissue. … Continue reading →

DIY: How to Apply Superfoods for Great Hair & A Healthy Scalp

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Superfoods are known for their nutritional value in food, but what do they do for your hair and scalp? In this blog post, I’m going to feature two superfoods: quinoa and avocado and the benefits of using these two ingredients together to rejuvenate your hair and scalp. What’s a tiny seed that packs a punch for beauty and grooming? It’s likely you’ve had this superfood in salads, but you may not have thought about trying on your hair and scalp. We’re talking about quinoa, which is delicious food grain known around the world. Quinoa has gone prime time for its amazing health, skin, and hair benefits. Here’s why: quinoa includes protein, vitamin A, calcium, manganese, zinc, fiber, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, and essential amino acids. What does that mean for your hair? Quinoa promotes growth, treats dandruff and seals split ends. Also, containing 15 percent protein, which is the highest among grains, quinoa … Continue reading →

Night & Day: How Your Skin is Different at Night

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In the last decade, dermatological studies have shown significant differences in the skin between daytime and nighttime. In the daytime, your skin goes into protective mode. More sebum (oily secretion from the sebaceous glands in the skin) is produced between noon and 5pm when sun is at its peak. During the night, your skin goes into renewal mode. Microcirculation increases and the skin increases moisture in the process. So you’ll want to use products that support what the skin is trying to do. Here are some nighttime skin care routine tips to support skin regeneration: Exfoliate. By helping skin shed the top layers of dead cells, you increase the speed at which the new, healthy skin cells migrate to the surface. Products with AHAs or Retinols are ideal for use at night and help increase cell turnover and the appearance of healthy skin. Nourish. Since your skin is in regeneration … Continue reading →

Turmeric: An ancient superfood in modern skin care

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With the attention being paid to turmeric, it may seem the spice recently became a trusted ingredient for health, well-being and beauty. In reality, turmeric has a long, rich history. Used in India and the Middle East for thousands of years, turmeric is now one of the most highly-prized spices in the world. The Skin Authority journey with turmeric started a few years ago when the brand’s Medical Director Dr. Munish Batra shared the medicinal benefits of the spice with our team. As is common in the Indian Culture, shortly before Dr. Batra was married, his beautiful bride was painted in a paste of turmeric from head to toe. This ritual was done as a way to make her skin flawless. We saw the results on the wedding day and, with our interest spurred, our team started testing turmeric to see how it could benefit the skin. We discovered turmeric … Continue reading →

The Benefits of topical probiotics to skin

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Based on recent positive studies, dermatologists are recommending topical probiotics as a component of an effective skin care strategy to combat four skin conditions:  acne, rosacea, eczema and aging skin. According to an American Academy of Dermatology (published 01-30-14), “skin prone to acne or rosacea has shown improvement with daily probiotic use, giving dermatologists reason to consider supplementing traditional acne therapy with a dose of this beneficial bacteria.” According to the article, there are different ways that topical probiotics can benefit the skin: Protective Shield In patients with acne and rosacea, living microorganisms on the skin are recognized as foreign by the body’s immune system. The immune system springs into action to counter this potential threat resulting in the inflammation, redness, or bumps common in these skin conditions. Probiotics applied topically sit on the skin’s surface and prevent the skin cells from seeing the bad bacteria and parasites that can cause this immune system response. This is … Continue reading →

How to Prevent and Treat Sun Damage

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Labor Day is the last hoorah of summer. Before you head out to the beaches, parks, swimming pools one last time this summer, read about how to prevent sun damage, and how to treat it if you do. I can’t emphasize this enough: protect the skin on a daily basis using a full-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. If you are active throughout the day, remember to reapply your sunscreen. The most effective sunscreen is useless unless you reapply after swimming, sweating and after an extended period of time. Just because you apply a higher SPF rated sunscreen doesn’t mean you don’t have to reapply as often. Powerful antioxidants like vitamin C help protect the skin against UV rays, too. The right Vitamin C can multiply the effectiveness of your sunscreen, so I urge you to apply a C serum daily underneath your sunscreen moisturizer. You should resurface the skin on a consistent … Continue reading →

Get a Deep, Rich Tan without Harmful UV Exposure

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A tan is bad news when it is the result of exposure to UV rays from laying out at the beach or from a bulb in a tanning bed. A recent medical journal study revealed: The number of skin cancer cases due to tanning is higher than the number of lung cancer cases due to smoking. In the US alone, 419,254 cases of skin cancer can be attributed to indoor tanning (beds). Out of this number, 6,199 are melanoma cases. Most dermatologists consider the sunless tanner mode of achieving that “sun-kissed glow” much safer than obtaining a tan from the cancer-causing ultraviolet (UV) radiation that comes from the sun or tanning booths. Self-tanning products are available as lotions, creams, sprays, and wipes. These products typically contain an ingredient known as DHA, a sugar molecule that bronzes the very top layer of the skin. The browning effect occurs within a few … Continue reading →

Double Cleansing…The Hot New Trend

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Double cleansing is the hot new trend with professional makeup artists, but the technique is nothing new. European and Japanese women have incorporated double cleansing into their routines for a very long time. Research has shown that double cleansing your skin makes application of anti-aging products more effective. Standing the test of time, this technique can make a world of difference if correctly used. THE FIRST CLEANSE. Smooth the Skin Authority Oil Nutrient for Face, Hair & Nails onto dry skin, circling it over face and eyes for about a minute before removing it with a warm cloth. This will lift makeup, dissolve impurities, and neutralize leftover products from the face and out of pores. Oil fights oil and is good for combating oily skin and breakouts. THE SECOND CLEANSE. Apply one of the Skin Authority water-based lathering cleansers as the key to removing excess oil from the surface without drying. Work … Continue reading →