Simple Skin: Immediately after your shower, make sure to apply a good layer of moisturiser (on your face AND body). Make sure to apply before you leave the steamy bathroom, too: After showering, your skin is dewy and hydrated from … Continue reading
Therapists will always tell you not to squeeze pimples. Me, unfortunately… I’m going to put up my hand and say i’m also one of those naggers. Sunscreen, and zits are the two things I like to rant about.
But, being the bright spark I am, (or mainly becuase I am the exact same), I know it won’t actually stop most people. So, I will instead explain how to do it properly.
Think about what a pimple is (ok, so maybe turn off from now on if you are squeamish)… it’s a blocked pore. Plugged in the top with skin cells, sometimes with quite a layer stopping it from getting out. It is actually very easy to squeeze a pimple out the wrong way. Yes, it sounds gross, and really, it is! (I did see a friend do this after I warned him. Right in front of my eyes. He used tweezers to squeeze and it burst straight into his skin!) it takes a long time to heal!
First and foremost, decide if it is worthwhile touching it. If it’s small and hard (or with a white head and close to the surface), it’s probably safe to ‘extract’. Deeper, red inflamed babies should stay where they are unfortunately. Busting them open is really only going to create a lovely scab that is much much harder to hide with make up than a smooth bump. The best thing to do for those ones is to actually give your face a really good (but gentle) cleanse, then with a little extra moisturiser (yes you heard right), massage over the area gently but firmly. This may feel strange (just be careful if the pimple is sore), but it creates circulation which helps to assist healing faster. Also, if it’s going to come out, it will help it towards the surface much quicker. Massage also aids healing post-squeeze, too!
If it’s a popper, you will need two things. Tissue, firmly wrapped around both popping fingers. This serves a purpose, to stop your fingers from sliding while extracting. Also, a needle (sterilised of course!), it may be necessary to very gently just pop the very top off the blockage (be very careful! I’m talking about the tiniest nick right in the very top of the pimple) – this just makes sure that when pressure is applied, the blockage is more likely to bust through the top and not the bottom.
Position your fingers as close as you can to either side (a lot of people don’t have their fingers close enough when squeezing so it just doesn’t come out). Gently, push the skin down either side, and as you do, wiggle gently inwards towards the middle of the pimple. Sort of making an under-then-upwards motion, sort of ‘scooping’ it out. Keep doing this gently until the pimple comes out.
Afterwards, apply an anti-bac. This helps to prevent any p-acne bacteria from spreading and creating babies on your face. If you don’t have anti-bac, cleanse again, give your skin a good wipe and be very sure not to touch. Pop a good dab of moisturiser on too to help healing.
Please think of me next time you go to squeeze pimples… or at least think what might happen if it busts the wrong way!
Hyaluronic acid was a bit of a buzz word recently. It seems to have been forgotten a little bit, but here’s why it can make a massive, noticeable difference in any skin type:
Hyaluronic Acid is found all throughout the body, particularly in the eyes, throughout the skin and in cartilage. It’s known in the body as Hyaluronan. It’s one very special ingredient, as it holds up to 1000 times it’s own weight in moisture. When you think about it, that’s going to be a great thing for cushioning those parts that are protected by cartilage, great for keeping the eyes sweaty (as I describe it, anyway!), and when it comes to skin, it makes magic. Applied to the skin, it penetrates deeply, creating a breathable layer (allowing our precious oxygen to flow free, effectively delivering nutrients to the skin), which plumps up as it soaks up and holds moisture from within the deeper layers, (also preventing dehydrated skins from moisture escaping due to evaporation).
It also has great healing benefits, which translates very well into a skin prone to breakout. Dehydrated skin tends to breakout much easier. Hyaluronic Acid can help reverse this. It’s also great for healing, so is fantastic defence against the infection that causes acne.
It’s also used in cosmetic injections, namely fillers – Restylane (which is a brand of filler and lip plumper) is actually made from Hyaluronic Acid!
Nail Art for Beginners Thought that I might give nail art a go, it’s not something that I have ever been trained in, or particularly into, but after noticing such a trend lately, I thought I might give it a … Continue reading
To top or not to top? Many people have very set preference when it comes to waxing the top of their brows. There’s an old wives’ tale that suggests we should never shape above the brows, but here’s the reality of it:
Some people, need the tops done. Their hair just simply grows from the top of their brow to the start of their hairline (lucky them! They have hair to play with!) it’s the only way they will get definition in their shape. Other, not-so-luckies… The ones that want more thickness or ‘oomph’, should probably avoid waxing above. If you don’t have the bulk in the eyebrow, then waxing above, no matter how neat it might make it, will make it look thin.
First and foremost, there are plenty of oil glands at the top of the brows (much more than underneath), its very common to breakout.
Another good reason to keep the above if you’re worried about bulk, is that eyebrow powders will grab any baby fluff hairs, so if you’re colouring them in (don’t worry, I fall into this category too), brow powder will happily stick to those baby fluff hairs, so best leave them. Don’t be afraid to be vocal with your therapist, too. After I’m done telling you about brows you will be such an expert that any therapist will be too scared to not let you leave with amazing eyebrows! Stay tuned!
Oil is one of the best things you can cleanse your skin with. Especially if you have oil issues… just think, if you put some oil in water, it just floats on the top. the only thing oil will actually mix with is other oils. It’s the same for your skin. An oil cleanser will help dissolve the excessive oil build up in an unbalanced skin, and add nourishment to dry patches. Persevere and you will notice a big difference!
It’s very possible. Not enough people treat themselves to facials. Me being one of them (before I owned my salons or worked in the industry I had never had a facial). But those that do, know the feeling, that plump, pleasant feeling on the skin. Most of the ingredients to do these treatments yourself at home are readily available. But most people that do their own facial routine at home notice that their skin never gets that glow that comes from a salon treatment. Yes, it is hard to replicate yourself and nothing will replace the result that having someone else touch your skin creates, but I’ll tell you what the big difference is
It’s logical when you think about it. All the things that we love in life can have a negative effect on the skin. Drinking, smoking, partying until the wee hours of the morning… A lot of these things restrict blood flow to the surface of the skin, and weaken capillaries. Massage stimulates this blood flow, bringing fresh oxygen to the surface of the skin, breathing new life into it. Fresh, healthy skin is balanced, doesn’t break out (unless there is another underlying issue) and maintains it’s hydration.
It is best to do this with an oil or serum. If you don’t have money to spend, try it with olive oil (cold pressed or organic is best). After freshly cleansed skin, pop on your serum or oil (or, 1 pump of serum with a light coating of oil over the top), and massage your skin for a couple of minutes. Morning and night. Use flat palms to create friction, and circular movements around your eyes with your fingers. You will notice a red flushed tone to your skin afterwards, this is good! It means you are bringing that blood flow up, exactly what we want.
Don’t be scared if you breakout when you first start trying this. Don’t give up, either. It’s just your skin getting rid of the underlying breakout that’s been building under the surface of your skin. You’ll notice as soon as it clears, your skin will be looking the best it ever has!
Ok, grab a calculator. Oh, and a picture of yourself, unless you want to go round in circles trying to measure your face in the mirror. Bear in mind that this should only be done for fun, of course everyone is beautiful (political correctness much!?)!
I used an iPad with my picture and a drawing app (I get a bit app-crazy with my iPad, this one actually had a measuring feature). I did this a while ago, for a radio segment… my face is off-centre I know, but I compensated for that in my measurements. Best to have a face shot that is facing directly forward. Write all the measurements down and calculate at the end…
Now, for each step, take the bigger number, and divide it by the smaller one. There should be 7 numbers somewhere around 1.5 – 1.6. Add all 7 of them together and divide by 7 (this gives an average). The closer you are to 1.618, the more “beautiful” ie. aesthetic, your face is!
Here’s another interesting face about the golden ratio, the proportion of distance between Mecca and North Pole to the distance between Mecca and South Pole is exactly 1.618.
There are some more freakishly uncanny examples here
In YOU: Being Beautiful, expert researchers have sifted through decades of research, sought out experts and determined what it is that makes us beautiful. Dr Mehmet Oz says that “looking at appearance is actually our hardwired, instinctual way of determining the health and fertility of a potential partner. Before you could draw someone’s blood or look at their DNA or get an x-ray, we could – in a quarter of a second – look at each other and say ‘I want you to have my child’ what that means is that you can find beauty immediately.”
True beauty is about being healthy, inside and out. it’s something we are hard-wired to see immediately when we meet somebody, this is why first impressions are so important.
“Beauty”, as discovered through this research, can be quantified. The professionals that put this information together didn’t claim to ‘see’ beautiful things to compare them, they used this simple mathematical equation to determine pleasing aesthetics.
They concluded that beauty depends on ratio. This ratio is dependent on symmetry and proportion. We are naturally hard-wired to find someone more attractive if they are proportionate to the rest of their features. The golden number that was the conclusion of this research on how to measure facial prettiness was 1.618, “The Golden Ratio”. This number is well documented and used throughout history. The Parthernon was said to be modelled off this ratio, which is said to have harmonious proportions which can be translated into human features.
Next article, how to calculate how ‘pretty’ you are
Our loved Italian food staple ingredient has a whole new level of benefit for our skin, too
Unfortunately, there are a lot of natural things working against our skin in winter. Beautiful hot showers being one of them. The pH in hot water doesn’t agree with your skin, too much can lead to dryness and irritation problems. But, knowing that this won’t stop anyone (me included), there are simple tricks to give your skin a hot water defence.
Massaging in an oil before showering is the easiest way to help protect your skin’s natural protective layer. Olive oil is fantastic, because along with creating a barrier of protection, it also has vitamin’s A and E, and anti-oxidants like Hydroxytyrosol (rare and powerful anti-oxidant widely found in olive oil), helping to fight free-radical damage to the skin. It’s also been noted to have anti-ageing and anti-acne effects.
A small amount before each shower will make noticeable difference in skin texture, try it for a week and you will see it, I promise!
Faceted (beauty) Design 