Every Friday we will be posting our favorite healthy skin snacks. First up is Kale Chips — if you’ve never made these before you have to try them! The best part is the entire process takes less than 15 minutes.
Kale is an excellent source of phytonutrients as well as Vitamins A, C, and K, and calcium, which represent some of the requisite nutrients for skin health. Kale is also one of the richest sources of lutein and contains beta- carotene, which improves skin elasticity and firmness.
In addition to using a moisturizer containing antioxidants (like Day 25), topical applications of highly concentrated Vitamin C has been shown to prevent premature skin aging by fighting free radicals, lighten skin discoloration and actually increase the sun protection in a sunscreen!
How it works
Vitamin C, when applied topically, has two primary benefits to the skin: the first is that it works to increase and strengthen the synthesis of collagen. The second is that it’s a powerful antioxidant that reduces skin damage caused by free radicals. The combined effect of Vitamin C on the skin is the reduction in skin wrinkles and improved skin texture. When using high quality Vitamin C skincare products, the results can de dramatic.
What to Look For Continue reading
In order to keep your skin clear and glowing, it’s critically important to maintain a healthy diet. (You can read our blog posts on this to learn more about the inextricable link between diet and skin here.) As a quick refresher, the top foods that you want to avoid for the sake of your skin are:
While most of us know that it’s important to eat well, not just for the sake of our skin but for our general health, it becomes very difficult when cravings take over. I understand this more than anyone; my personal weakness is sugar. Nearly every day I get an intense craving for something sweet (and they say that sugar cravings are stronger than a cocaine addiction!) And almost every time, no matter how hard I tried, I gave in. Then I went on a journey to try to understand why I was having such strong cravings. What I learned is that when we think we’re craving something bad, our body is really craving something else – typically nutrients that we are not getting from our diets.
The chart below is a helpful source in helping you to decode and get past your cravings. Now, when I am craving a cupcake I eat a bunch of grapes or a hard boiled egg instead and suddenly the craving is gone. I recommend that you print this and keep it with you so that you have it nearby in times of need.
Last week the Vasseur Anti-Wrinkle Beauty Pillow was featured on the Dr. Oz show. Watch the clip below.
Vasseur Anti Wrinkle Beauty Pillow on Dr OZ
To buy your pillow, visit: http://www.beautypillow.com
Exfoliation is the key to beautiful skin. Unfortunately, it is the step that most people miss in their weekly skin care routine. Here’s the good news: if you start properly exfoliating your skin, you will notice an almost immediate difference.
What is Exfoliation? It is a technique where the layer of mostly dead epidermal cells on the outer surface of the skin is removed to expose fresher mostly living cells. Exfoliating has a number of skin benefits: it will give you fresher, brighter looking skin, it will result in better penetration of the active ingredients in your skin care products and, for people with excessively oily skin, it will give you a varying degree of reduction in oil secretion.
Types of Exfoliation: There are two types of exfoliation, physical and chemical.
#1 Physical Exfoliation: includes the use of a scrub (like our Exfoliating Cleanser) or a microdermabrasion treatment. Not all exfoliating scrubs are created equal. When looking for a good exfoliating scrub, you want to use a product that uses polyethelene beads rather than apricot pits. Apricot pits are hard and gritty, and can actually rupture or damage the skin. Microdermabrasion is mechanical exfoliation that removes the uppermost layer of dead skin cells from the face, chest and hands. Microdermabrasion takes about 20 minutes and there’s no down-time for the skin to recover.
How Often? Physical Exfoliation: With physical exfoliation, I recommend exfoliating two times per week. Note: for those with extremely dry or sensitive skin, exfoliation may cause irritation. So if you have dry or sensitive skin, I recommend getting an enzyme peel in lieu of using a scrub.
Tip: When exfoliating, be gentle! Being too harsh with physical exfoliants can cause irritation and redness. Place a quarter size of the exfoliant in your hands and very gently buff the skin in circular motions for 30 seconds, then remove by rinsing the face 5-10 times.
#2 Chemical Exfoliation: You can also exfoliate the skin using chemicals, either by getting a chemical/enzyme peel or using skin care products with chemical exfoliates in them. With chemical exfoliation, the acids and enzymes work by loosening the glue-like substance that holds the cells together, allowing them to peel away.
Typical chemical peels use either salicylic acid, glycolic acid or fruit enzymes that are applied to the skin in high concentrations by an esthetician or dermatologist. Chemical exfoliants can also be found in lower concentrations in skin care products (like our popular Reveal 10 and Kiss Zit Goodbye).
How Often? Chemical Exfoliation: Depending on your skin type, we recommend getting 3 to 4 peels a year as the seasons change. In the hour it takes to get a chemical peel, you can take off five years from your face. Exfoliating skin care products should be used in the PM, 3-4 nights a week.
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