Author: Dr Barry Eppley The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances (Paperback)
In this thorough, practical guide, writer and registered nutrition specialist Gabriel (Clear Skin) recommends subjecting everyday cosmetics to the same scrutiny with which we subject our food: "each cosmetic chemical ends up in thousands of hungry mouths covering our skin-pores." Navigating labels is a true problem, because cosmetics come under no government regulation, unlike food and drugs; as such, skin products sold as "natural" or "organic" may contain numerous unsafe chemicals, with a few token ingredients to justify their claims. Gabriel provides a list of dangerous ingredients to watch out for (and why), identifies the safest products on the market (free from "synthetic dyes, fragrances, preservatives or detergents"), and takes readers step-by-step through cleansers, toners, facials, moisturizers, sunscreen, hair care and baby care. Her sophisticated daily regimen (two daily cleansings, exfoliation, toning, moisturizing and sun screen) may be too much for some readers, but those with the wherewithal will also find some useful, surprising tips for home-brewed cosmetics (eggs for masks, lemon and sour cream for exfoliants, organic mayonnaise for a moisturizer and foot mask). Though aimed at women, Gabriel also covers products used by men and children, including shaving cream, soap, shampoo and powders. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances
As a plastic surgeon, I see many patients for facial surgery who often ask about their skin care. Or more specifically, what can they do to improve their skin either before or after surgery. Skin care is a very bewildering world for all patients with ten of thousands of products available in stores and on-line as well as cosmeceutical ads which have no boundaries to claims given that they are retail beauty products and not FDA-sanctioned pharmaceuticals. Where does the patient start and how do they work their way through the skin care maze?
First and foremost, like all things in medicine, a diagnosis has to be made. You can't very well select the right treatment if you don't have a working diagnosis as to the skin problems. THis can be done in two ways; being evaluated by a very experienced aesthetician who has a lot of medical experience (i.e., working in a doctor's office preferably a plastic surgeon or dermatologist) and/or getting a Visia skin complexion analysis. Like a CAT scan for your skin, this computerized digital skin analysis system evaluates everything from wrinkles, pore size, to the amount of sun damage...and documents it photographically. This provides not onlya set of diagnoses for the skin but also becomes a reference from which to judge the results of any future treatments.
From a product and treatment standpoint, there are only 5 things you can do to your skin...that's it! All skin care products and even more invasive skin treatments attempt to address one or all of them..as there is nothing topically more that can be done. These five functions include: cleanse, hydrate, protect, exfoliate, and stimulate. All of these different effects combined create smoother and tighter skin. If all five functions are achieved in a skin care program, then the best results can be obtained. If only one or two of these product functions are done, then the skin results will be less. Simplistically, a cleanser is needed morning and night, a daytime moisturizer/sunscreen protectant, and noctural regimens of exfoliation (e.g., AHA, lactic acids, Retin-A) alternating with stimulants (e.g., Vitamin C and peptides) comprise a basic program. The most variable part of this regimen is what you do at night with exfoliation and collagen stimulation. Getting professional aesthetician help is critical. Many product lines today already have it laid out for you in kits or steps. As you can see, thre is no good reason for more than 5 to 7 skin care products, if they are properly selected and monitored. And the good news is....it is no more expensive to get a good medical line than buying that big jar of hope sold over the counter at the department or drug store by someone who has no idea, really, about comprehensive skin care.
The fundamental concept in medical skin care to day is....simplify, a focused approach, and monitor the results and how you react to them. If you then add in regular exfoliations with microdermabrasions and chemical peels....with an injectable filler or a little Botox if needed...you are on your way to better-looking skin with a good return on your investment.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/the-basics-of-medical-skin-care-362569.html
About the Author:Dr Barry Eppley is in private plastic surgery practice at his medspa locations at Clarian Health in Indianapolis. To learn more about the latest trends in plastic surgery, spa therapies, or skin care, go to his daily blog, http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com .
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