Is There A Benefit To Alcohol In Products?

Everyone has their favourite toning solution as part of their skin care routine. But are you aware of some of the effects you will encounter by having alcohol in your toning solutions?

What about the awareness of what alcohol actually does to your skin, in terms of regenerating the skin's epidermis?

Let's start off with why it is important for you to use a toning solution after you cleanse your face.

It is very important to use a toning solution because once you wash your face and remove the elements of the day (eg. make-up  pollution, dirt, debris, oils etc. ) you need to replenish the moisture that has been lost due to the cleansing of the face. You need to bring your skin's pH levels back to normal in order for your skin to get the healthy complexion and clear skin.

The reason we need to keep the moisture levels at par, are in fact, going to slow the production of wrinkles and slow the ageing process. Also, 70% of wrinkles are due to sun damage and not taking the proper steps to help block the sun's rays from our faces and bodies.

Which brings me to the reasoning why you shouldn't use a toning solution with alcohol in it.

Alcohol is a very drying solution and you are applying that to your face after you have stripped the skin of it's natural oils by washing it. You are not replacing the moisture that has been lost you are just stripping the skin of the layers and causing the skin to become more dry, which will lead to the opposite effects you truly wanted.

Invest in an alcohol- free toning solution because those have moisturising ingredients incorporated into them. Whether the ingredients are natural plant extracts or natural/organic fruit extracts, those are the best ingredients for your skin that will help with healing and replenishing the moisture loss.

Next time you are looking to invest in a skincare line, pay close attention to details. Check the ingredients that you are going to be putting on your skin. Keep an open mind!

The Simple Daily Routine

The most important things that will have you feeling amazing and healthier in your daily life!

* Keep your hydration up! Drink lots of water and if you don't like plan water, try Coconut Water! Great replacement and full of healthy nutrients and benefits!

* Eat natural sugars, so load up on fruits and vegetables in replace of artificial sugars! When cravings hit, grab a piece of fruit or a few vegetables.

* Cleanse your skin daily 2x a day minimum

* Moisturize accordingly to your skin type.

* Make it a routine to exfoliate 2x a week to get rid of dead skin cells and introduce a fresh, healthy layer of skin to the surface and have a beautiful glow to your skin.

The biggest mistake the average person makes when it comes to their Skincare routine is consistency!  For a balanced and fresh look you should make sure to cleanse 2x a day, moisturize 2x a day and exfoliate 2-3x a week depending on your skin's condition.

Skin Consulting 101

I would like to take a moment to discuss something that is very important to myself as well as the clients I work with everyday.

It is called a Skin Consultation. One of the MOST IMPORTANT steps in finding a solution for clients who need direction on their skin care routine.

I cannot stress this enough in my everyday life especially when I have clients approaching me, asking me things like;

* "This cream is making me breakout"
* "I am finding that this product is burning my skin"
* "I don't know how to use this"
* "What is this suppose to do for my skin again?"

The question I ask them is, " Did someone sit down with you and do a skin care consultation?" And 8/10 times they say no and have no idea what a skin care consultation is.

As a professional, you have to recommend products for clients everyday. Also, you have to make sure it is going to work for them before they walk away from you. It is so important to learn about their skin as well as educating them on procedures, techniques and solutions to help them get back to a state of mind that they feel comfortable with themselves.

I see too may Consultants that just spend 2-5 minutes with a client and then a week later that client comes back with one of the questions quoted above. You are only taking credit off of yourself as well as losing the confidence that the client saw in you.

If I was to walk into a place that sold products and someone took the time out of their day to understand my needs and wants then I would forever remember that experience, oppose to walking in, being recommended to use a certain item, take it home and have a reaction right away. And don't forget I would then have to take time again out of my day to deal with the issue, that could've been avoided.

Treat others how you would like to be treated in situations because it gives you a true appreciation of the industry and of the person.

Find out what the needs, wants and outcomes your clients have laid out and educate them on how they can reach those goals. They are putting their trust in you so you need to show them.

Create a relationship with your clients, it is #1.

The Battle Between Hand Sanitizer Vs. Washing Your Hands

When you wash your hands you use soap and water you are removing the dirt and debris from the days activities. Correct? 

Now think about this, when you use hand sanitizer it seems like a really great idea in the little moments when you are no where near a bathroom or sink right? Well the bigger picture is that hand sanitizer doesn't really clean your hands the way they should be cleaned. Hand sanitizer is made up of mostly alcohol in a gel form and well alcohol is a very abrasive solution and really isn't the best way to clean your skin.

Where does all that dirt go after you sanitize? It doesn't evaporate into thin air like the hand sanitizer does. I see people using hand sanitizer more then they should be actually washing their hands and it bothers me because society has made it seem like it is Ok to replace actual soap with hand sanitizer.

Another key reason why using hand sanitizer isn't safe all the time is because if you use it too often you can build a barrier where it won't work for you anymore because you have used it too much. Also, alcohol is not the best solution to always be applying to your skin because:

A) It will dry your skin out and you will develop itchy and peeling skin

B) On your hands there are tiny open pores that you cannot see with the naked eye and you are allowing the alcohol to enter potentially into your blood stream and under your skin's epidermis(layers).

Please if you have a bathroom near by use that and use your soap and water rather then pumping hand sanitizer into your skin.

Sanitizing Your Tweezers

If you are using your tweezers to pluck your eyebrows because you haven't got up the courage to get them waxed or you are just using them to touch up any hairs that randomly show up, you need to properly sanitize, clean and take care of them.

I do not expect you to have the big named chemicals and disinfectants like Barbicide but if you have mild liquid soap, nail brush (local dollar store) small candle holder and rubbing alcohol will work just perfectly and be affordable.

Before you put your tweezers into the rubbing alcohol you need to scrub your tweezers with the mild soap to remove any excess hairs, skin debris, dirt, oil etc. Rinse them with warm water and set the tweezers into the glass with the end you remove the hair into the alcohol solution.

Its important to do this because each time you are removing the hair follicle you remove a part of the hair (ball of the hair) that was under the skin and you have now exposed your open pore to dirt and debris, you just want to make sure every thing is sanitized and clean so you do not develop infections, ingrown hairs or spread any infections that could be contagious.