The Story in Your Eyes

It's where we see the laughter and sorrow of our lives... in the delicate tissue around the eyes: crows feet, crepiness, dark circles and bags. Nothing gives away our age like our eyes. To increase our face value, we need to start here!

This post has been written with women of a certain age in mind, and while you may be looking into a mirror thinking that you're still too young to think about a simple makeup plan like this... just remember that it's info you'll need someday.

As mentioned before, using eye treatments that can tighten and firm the skin of the eye should always be used, and while dark circles can be hereditary, there are products that can lighten and diminish their appearance. Moving into cosmetics, using a highlighting creme or pencil to highlight the area under the eye, as well as the lid itself, will mute the darkness, visible capillaries, and otherwise prime the area for makeup.

Most fashion magazines tell women that there is no shimmer in their life after 50... literally, do not use shimmery products. I disagree. It's not about not wearing shimmer, but where you apply the shimmer.

Once your eyes have been primed, apply a sheer, shimmery tone... something soft and neutral to the lid. Don't apply it from lash line to brow, just the lid. This will really give a nice highlight to the lid... making your eyes appear to twinkle. Use a similar shade in a matte shadow to give base tone to the area between the crease and brow. Then using a slightly darker shade in a matte shadow, apply a contour to the crease, but be careful not to apply too much toward the outer corner where the product can slip into the fine lines and accentuate the crows feet. It's all about centralized placement... keep it on the center of the lid.

We're also changing our palette. Soft neutrals and pastels play best on aging skin. Dark tones that are used to create smoke and deep drama in the eyes of a younger client can be horrid reminders of just how old we are as those dark tones slip into the fine lines around our eyes and give bold definition to any sagging or drooping that may be occuring. By removing our darkest tones from our library, we're left with base tones and contour colors. Allow the definition to come from liner, and worry less about color.

Pencil Liners can be very heavy and sticky... and they pull the skin when applying. On an aging eye, when the tissue is thin and has less elasticity, the pencil line looks garish. It is a better idea to work with a liquid liner. The line tends to be smoother, and as long as you take your time, it can be a very fine line just along the lashes. That simple definition can make all the difference.

The same applies for the lower lash line. A pencil line will be too heavy and make your eyes appear to droop. Instead, use a fine brush and a shadow to create a soft, subtle line of definition under the lower lashes.

Before applying brows, use a highlighting pencil or creme to create a slim highlight under the brow and on the inner corner of the eye. Blended into your shadows, this can give the illusion of a lifted brow, and a wide awake eye. Subtlety is key to highlighting...if you get too heavy handed, you won't look young, you look like a drag queen.

Brows are also a dead giveaway to age. When filled in softly with a light brow powder, they can they be defined by using a brow pencil. be sure to apply the pencil is simple strokes, as if you were drawing indivdual hairs. When unsure of how dark they should be, start light and add... you can always add more, but it's a pain to have to start over if you've gone too dark. This applies to clients with strong brows or next to no brows... you must have them! It is a sin not to do your brows!

Lashes also make a huge difference to your face value, and a simple pair of demi-lashes on the upper lash line will give you a little added fullness and flounce. As we age, we can sometimes lose lashes and that sparseness gives away our age, too!

Finish the eyes with a volumizing mascara. Your lashes should look thick and defined. If you require more length, and false lashes aren't your game, apply a coat of lengthening mascara as your second coat over the volumizing product.

Again, this post is written for women of a certain age, but the simplicity of the concept is a good base for learning how to think about makeup in regards to aging... and we're all aging... have been since we were born! Remember... it's all about increasing your face value!

Some Tips Before We Proceed...

The end result of a good makeup is supple-looking, even skin, balanced features and a youthful appearance overall.



Now that you've taken the steps to revitalize your skin with proper skin care, and invest in your face value, it's easy to make a few small errors in your makeup that will age you more! Remember the blush... circular shapes on the front of the cheeks, not the angular line along the cheek bone...? Let's look ahead to developing our look, and skip the downfalls that could decrease your face value.



Priming your skin, choosing the correct foundation type, and applying a shade of blush that isn't too overpowering and placed correctly should give your skin an even and supple appearance. The idea is to have your makeup enhance your skin, not coat it like a clay mask. The less makeup you wear, the more natural it looks and the younger you appear!



CHOOSE A FEATURE:



When doing your makeup, you can choose to pull attention to your eyes, your lips, or balance the look with some focus on each.



Some women feel that to have one featured over the other that the eyes or lips must be darker in color. While this can work, using shimmers and colors that attract attention can work just as well as going smokey or vamp. In fact, lighter shades that reflect more light, make features appear larger and can attract more attention on a more mature face.



When doing your eyes, try not to use colors that are too dark or too glittery, and keep these products away from the outer corner of the eye. These colors will define any sagging or crepiness in the skin...settling into the fine lines, and exaggerating your age. Keep the color and shadow on the eyes focused on the lid, and under the brow...less on the crease and outer corner.



Lips should always be lined. Lining the lips and using a lipstick or gloss over a lip that has been filled in with a pencil will really help define the lip line, as well as keeping color from bleeding into the fine lines around the lips. You have to worry about this less if you wear neutral and soft shades.



Brows are also a feature that needs to be enhanced. Using two shades of powder or a combination of powder and pencil will give you a nice natural look, and frame your eyes...and highlighting the area under the brows can give you a bright lift that lifts and shapes the area around the eyes. In my personal opinion, youth is in the cheek and the brows!



Now with this in mind, let's move on to eyes...

Color of Youth...

Now that you're face has been properly cleaned, primed, and you've applied the perfect foundation product, the next step is brighten your complexion with a little blush or bronzer. It is the one product that can age you ten years, or increase your face value by a few!

Take a look at the following images:

This is an image with slightly exagerated blush. For most, this is how we were taught that blush should be applied: in an anglular shape from the side of the apple of the cheek blended up toward the temple, accentuating the line of the cheek bone.

The goal of this application is to "lift" the face, accentuating the angles in the contours, which works to also accentuate the loss of adepose tissue in middle-aged women, any sagging of the jowls, and, in the process... aging your face!

Doing your blush in this way can add up to 10 years to your face...decreasing your face value.

In this image, the same face, same blush, but look at the difference of face shape... notice how the cheeks look fuller, the face more youthful?

By applying the blush in a rounded shape, on the front of the apples of the cheeks, you create the illusion of rounded, cherubic face. This technique is used by a lot of actresses to play younger characters. If you take a look at Ashley Judd in DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD, she ages from 15 to 35... and the difference in looks?

You guessed it: blush position!

Blush and bronzer can be used interchangeably. I like looking for formulas that have some shimmer, they added glow really brings a angelic glow to your face...adds to your face value.

A tip about some bronzer: don't apply it as a foundation. Bronzer is meant to be a "highlight"...a way to make your face look as though it's gotten some sun, a little color...but not a full color base. That weird, orange tone is meant to compliment most skin tones on a SHEER level. It is not supposed to be a skin tone!

Young skin that is orange doesn't help your face value. Old skin that is orange doesn't help, either.

Face value is about standing out for the health and vitality of your skin, how young you look compared to your actual age. It's not about standing out for looking like an oompa-loompa, or for laying in a tanning bed until your skin looks like cheap leather. Here is another image to think about:

Not even a bold, fashionable bag, a cute bikini and a blonde do can increase your face value if you get this far!

Don't get this far!

No one should ever get this far!

Color Me Perfect

After applying primer to perfect the surface appearance of the skin, and highlighting or brightening flawed areas, it is now time to apply foundation for an even skin tone. This is not a maditory step...unless you are going to be in front of a camera, and let's face it, in these technologically savvy times, we're always on camera.

For those lucky folks that have clear, even skin, a light powder over a little highlighter can do marvelously well. For the rest of us, there are three types of foundation: creams/liquids, wet/dry pressed compacts, and loose powders.

As was true for cleansers, the same applies for foundation: choosing the best product for you is dependent upon your skin type. Creams and liquids were designed for those users with dry skin. The added moisture provides a "binding" benefit for the skin. Wet/dry pressed compacts tend to be the most versatile products, giving levels of coverage depending on whether they are used wet or dry with a sponge or a brush. These compacts are ideal for normal/combination skin. Loose powders are ideal for oily skin types. The powder absorbs oil, binding it to the skin for the longest wear without becoming shiny.

Foundation should be light on the skin, and hardly noticeable. Your skin should look soft, supple, and perfected...never dry, never oily, never painted on.

If you choose the proper product for your skin, the only other consideration is the proper tool for application. Brushes will give you the softest finish, and a light to medium coverage from most products. A sponge deposits the most pigment and provides a heavier coverage. Used together, a brush and sponge can create beautiful effects on the skin.

Don't be afraid to layer products to get the best coverage. If your liquid is too light, don't apply more liquid, but set the liquid with a wet/dry powder using a brush. The combined coverage of the two products will make a huge difference and provide a soft finish together.

Next up: Bronzers and Blushes

Highlighting Your Flaws = Younger Looks...?

Once your skin has been cleansed, treated, moisturized and primed, the next step is to highlight your flaws: dark circles under the eyes, broken capillaries, hyperpigmentation (sun/age spots) and blemishes.

It's okay, you can pick up your jaw. I heard it hit the floor.

Yes, I meant to write highlight instead of hide.

Most of these imperfections will show through foundations, and then we reach for concealer. This building up of pigment over these areas can lead to a heavy-handed look and can make them appear even darker. The idea is to mute these areas before applying foundation.

Some companies offer face primers in sheer tints... green to counteract red, mauve to counteract green, and yellow to counteract purple. It comes down to basic color theory... complimentary colors, those colors that fall directly across from each other on the color wheel, cancel each other out... create a neutral. For instance, using a green tinted primer over Rosy cheeks can mute the redness and allow for a more even color in the foundation.

If that's too much thinking for you, try using a highlighting pencil... make sure that it has a soft, creamy "lead" that can be easily blended with a concealer brush or fingertip. The brightening effect of a highlighting pencil can usually provide muted coverage for these trouble areas. Once, these discolorations have been highlighted, your foundation application will usually kick these highlighted areas back toward the shade of the foundation.

This is a technique that is very useful and cost-effective. You will hardly ever need concealer, or the tinted primers. If you bought every primer needed to balance all of the tonalities of your skin, you'd go broke!

The highlighting pencil has a lot of uses:

1. Highlighting Imperfections;



2. Lifting the Brows;



3. Making Eyes appear brighter;



4. Making Lips appear fuller;



5. Correcting noses;



6. Counteracting sinking cheeks...

... just to name a few.

So, before you apply foundation and grab the concealer, try highlighting those little imperfections and watch them disappear! It's a nifty trick that is inexpensive and can increase your face value.

Perfecting the Canvas

You may have already taken the steps to change your skin care regiment, thus investing in your face value. It is the essential step to looking younger and feeling better about yourself. The next step is makeup.

Cosmetics and using them wisely can go a long way to hiding the flaws and taking years off of how old you may look, increasing your face value. However, makeup also has the potential, no matter how young and fabulous your skin may look, to put you in a face value deficit! We've all seen the pretty young thing who, with the help of some bad makeup choices, looks like a fifty year old divorcee on a bender.

Once you've invested the time and energy into getting your skin to look amazing, your makeup choices should also reflect that same investment. Makeup alone can not save your face value. Think of it like this... using makeup alone to look younger is like spending your quarters and saving the pennies. It may work for a while, but debt (age) is going to catch up eventually!

The first step in properly using cosmetics to benefit your face value is to use a primer. Primers are designed to perfect the skin, giving you a soft, smooth surface on which you can apply makeup for better coverage, less redness and shallower lines and pores. Without primer, makeup goes on like watercolor on a stone wall. You'll see the color... and everything else!

Some companies use a plant-based silicone called Dimethicone as the base of their primer. This silicone acts as a barrier, a cushion over the skin, filling in fine lines and enlarged pores, giving you a smooth texture on which to apply cosmetics. Some of them contain tints of green, pink/mauve, and yellow to counteract discolorations in the skin. While they work well, these products require a few minutes for the silicone to set before applying a powder or liquid foundation over them.

Certain watchdog groups have alleged that Dimethicone, although plant-based can be toxic. Beyond this, the silicone does tend to break down in the oils produced by the skin, thus blocking pores and leading to irritation from it occlusive nature under makeup. While great for photo shoots, these primers may not be the best for all-day wear.

Other companies use botanical ingredients which act like skin treatments, fortifying the skin from the inside out. Usual ingredients in these products include Aloe Vera, cucumber and melon extracts, chamomile, hemp, and antioxidant vitamins. Due to their lightness, the ingredients are absorbed quickly and save time in the application process. Also, because these ingredients are absorbed by the skin rather than sitting on top of it, these primers tend to hold makeup and keep the skin looking smoother for longer periods of time.

Whichever you choose, a primer is necessary for smoother, younger-looking skin... and will give you the best results in using makeup to increase your face value!

It's Like Money In the Bank

The question has been posed: "What ever happened to the idea of aging gracefully?"

Making an investment in your face value is aging gracefully. The idea of spending thousands, hundreds of thousands even, of dollars to look younger is not a part of our philosophy. Increasing your face value isn't about injections and going under the knife, it's about caring for and enhancing your natural beauty without all of the fillers, inhibitors, nips and tucks.

What some people spend on a single injectible, could actually care for their skin for a year!

Skin that is damaged and looking old, can be synched, filled, and buffed, and the muscles paralyzed, but it's still going to be old skin. Gravity will still have its effects. However, utilizing a skin care regiment with products that can help to fortify your skin, change the way it functions, and correct damage can actually make your skin function and look like younger skin.

Sometimes grace needs a little help.

Genetics can only take you so far. Without proper skin care, contemporary environmental changes, medications and treatments, and even the air we breath can decrease our face value by speeding up the aging process. Growing old naturally doesn't mean the same thing as it did when our grandpaerents were young. We now have three choices; we can age "naturally", we can spend a fortune having injections and having our skin pinched, or we can take an active role in the aging process and invest time and care, rather than money, in our face value.

Increasing your face value, making that investment, doesn't mean breaking the bank. It's more an investment of time and being educated about your skin, about the ingredients to care for and repair the damage in your skin.

In the coming weeks, we will begin a discussion of makeup and how it can be used to enhance your natural beauty and make you appear more youthful!

To Serve and Protect

Sixth and Final Step: PROTECTION

The final step to any skin care regiment is to apply a layer of protection from the sun. Skin that has been deep pore cleansed and exfoliated is succeptible to damage from the sun; not just direct contact with sunlight, but the sun's reflection. It can also be harmful.

Skin that has been revitalized and refreshed can only stay that way if we take the proper provisions to protect it.

The sun not only hardens and knits collagen and elastin cells, forming wrinkles, but also activates melanin which can lead to hyper and hypopigmentation. Dehyration also occurs from sun and heat exposure. Healthy skin must be protected.

So, the billion dollar question... what is an SPF rating? How does it work?

SPF, or Sun Protection Factor, is essentially the base of an equation for the level of protection provided by a product or ingredient.

S x B = X... or Level of SPF (S) times the amount of time you can be in the sun before burning (B) equals how long you can now stay in the sun before burning (X).

If you can be in the sun for ten minutes before you begin to burn, and you apply an SPF of 30, that would mean that you can stay in the sun 30 time longer. You would now be able to stay in the sun for 300 minutes before you begin to burn.

That's 5 hours, folks! 4 hours and fifty minutes longer than without any sun protection.

So, when you're told that anything over an SPF of 45 is just a marketing ploy, the truth is that for even the most sensitive skin, there is hardly ever a time that you would need to be in the sun for 7 hours!

There are two types of SPF:

1) Physical

2) Chemical

Physical protectants include minerals like Titanium Dioxide, which reflect the sun off the surface fo the skin. Chemical protectants include compounds like Parcol 1789, which absorb UV rays. Some products contain only one or the other types of SPF, but the most successful protectants contain both, and provide what is called "full spectrum" protection.

Full-spectrum protectants manage to deflect and/or absorb UVA (aging), UVB (burning) and UVC (cancer) rays.

If you are concerned with tanning, and a person who is hoping to increase their face value is not, then you can apply an SPF of 15 to your body and SPF 30 to your face. You can still tan with SPF, it just takes longer. Which brings us to the next million dollar question... are tanning beds really that bad?

And the answer is: ABSOLUTLEY!

If the sun is bad enough on its own, what do you think putting youself inside a plastic tube with lamps radiating UV rays over ten times as powerful is doing to your skin... and in particular, your face?

For a healthy tan, there are definitely alternatives... sprays, cremes and gels... and times have changed. They no longer turn you orange. Powder bronzers give you wonderful layers of colors, too. There are alternatives to tanning.

However, before we get into bronzers and cosmetics, let's wrap up the skin care regiment. When you have finished the process of cleansing, exfoliating, balancing, treating, and moisturing your skin, take the final step and apply an SPF of 30. It's that simple. These six steps... a full skin care regiment... can do wonders for your face value.

Make the investment and start here. The results... younger looking skin... being mistaken for thirty-five when you're forty-three... is well worth it!

As Fresh As the Morning Dew

Let's chat moisture, folks.

There are a lot of misconceptions about moisturizers. Some people believe that without oil content, a moisturizer can't possibly work. Other think the opposite. What is the truth to this question?

Moisturizer... moisture... has to do with water content. Oil has nothing to do with hydration, but does meet a need in terms of lubrication and moisture retention, and to function properly, your skin needs both!

In order to clean deep within the pores, to break down the dirt and debris trapped in those tiny pockets of oil, we have to strip the skin of its oil content during cleansing. For someone with dry skin, they lack oil production and therefore also lack moisture retention. So, their skin readily accepts any moisture from the products used on it after cleansing, although without products that contain some oil, their skin will never hold onto that moisture.

For someone with oily skin, once their skin has been cleansed, their skin immediately begins to produce oil again. In this case, moisturizing is key. If the skin is trying to overproduce oil to protect the moisture balance, without applying moisturizer can lead to what can effectively be referred to as a grease slick!

The skin produces oil to keep the dry, flattened protein cells that make up our outer most layer of epidermis, called the corneum, pliable. This oil on the surface of the skin also helps to keep moisture from evaporating, and thus protects the skins moisture balance. If we don't drink enough water or spend a lot of time in a hot, dry climate, even oily skin can become dehydrated. The reproduction of skin cells and cell health does not require oil, but water.

So, how do you choose the perfect mositurizer?

If you have dry skin, meaning that you have very little oil production, you want to use a rich emollient. A heavy-weight creme that contains both oil and water. The skin will absorb the water, while the epidermis will stay lubricated and soft as it keeps this new dose of moisture from evaporating.

For somone with oily skinm stay away from heavy cremes and choose lighter moisturizers that are oil-free. You produce enough oil. What your skin needs is moisture, and this dose of moisture will keep your skin from overproducing oil to make up for a lack of water.

People with combination skin should choose a moisturizer that meets the need of the majority of thier skin. Combination types often lean more towards oily or dry rather than being an even split. So, combination skin types tending toward oily skin should use the oil-free moisturizer... the lighter cream. The combination type tending toward dry should use the heavier creme... the emollient.

Remember that healthy skin is well moisturized and lubricated. There has to be a balance of both oil and water for proper skin function!

We're almost to the last step: SPF!

Treat Yourself Right

Eye gels and creams, serums, complexes and masques are all treatment products. They contain active ingredients that further enrich or nourish your skin beyond just keeping it clean. These products can brighten skin pigments, even out tones, promote collagen and elastin production, decrease line and wrinkle depth and so much more.

Again, applying a treatment product to moist skin will ensure a deeper penetration. Massaging your face lightly with tapotement/percussion of your fingers to stimulate the skin will also allow for deeper penetration. Treatment products should never be smeared or rubbed into the skin, but pressed or tapped into the desired areas.

In some instances, a professional will use a form of direct current (and there are some at-home versions) to carry active ingredients on a current of electricity into the lower layers of the epidermis, and into the dermis itself. While home-care versions are hand-held, professional electrotherapy machines often consist of a grounding rod which is held by the "patient" and an active electrode that is rolled or smoothed across the skin. As the current travels from the active electrode to the grounding rod, it carried the positively charged active ingredients deep into the skin.

Common ingredients used in treatment products include botanicals and minerals, antioxidants and peptides. Vitamin C is very popular due to its versatility. It promotes collagen and elastin production, which leads to firmer skin, brightens pigmentation and evens skin tone, and fights free radicals! Vitamins A and E are also very popular. While E strengthens cell walls, A promotes cell turnover, which in essence keeps your skin active and youthful.

Peptides are strings of proteins that have the benefit of repairing damage on a cellular level, which can decrease, stop and reverse the signs of aging. Pairing two or more peptides forms complexes, and now through modern technology, ingredients like Pepsyn allow for a stable blending of peptides and botanicals for more powerful, natural treatment products.

While not a necessary part of the skin care regiment, treating your skin can do much in the way of increasing your face value.

Next up: Moisturizing.

A Healthy Balance

The third step in a skin care regiment is usually to tone the skin.

Toner and astringent are two very different things. While toner is used to remove excess residue from exfolients and cleansers, and to rebalance the pH of your skin, an astringent is used to clear away oil and cause a "flash" constriction of the pores. Astringent does not assist in rebalancing the pH levels of your skin.

A healthy pH balance must be maintained in order for skin to function properly. Water by itself is alkaline and can strip the skin of it's oil and moisture balance. Some cleansers can be too alkaline, while others are too acidic. That is why is so important to use cleansers that are pH balanced and developed specifically for skin care.

Toners can contain any number of ingredients, but most contain a humectant, which locks moisture into the skin without being occlusive. Some contain witch hazel or horse chestnut to act as anti-inflammatories and antiseptics. In nany case, they all serve the same purposes:

1. To maintain the pH balance of the skin;
2. To help with the absorption of treatment products.

Even if you don't use a treatment product, just a moisturizer, it is important to remember that moist skin absorbs. Applying moisture or treatment ingredients to skin that is already absorbing moisture ensures a deeper penetration of those ingredients.

Following toner, is the application of treatment products!

Revitalizing for Radiance

Step Two: EXFOLIATION

Exfoliation is an important step in a skin care regiment, although not a step that should be included on a daily basis. Even with the oiliest of skin types, three times a week is more than enough.

Exfoliation is the process of sloughing or buffing off the excess dead skin cells from the surface of the skin, revealing the fresher, younger cells beneath. While some cleansers contain acids that also affect cellular turn-over, a manual scrub can be used to finish the job. As the plump cells that are formed in the basal layer make their way to the surface, losing moisture and flattening out before finally setting on the surface, they can get caught up in excess oil, and need to be cleared away so that younger cells can take their place, and new cells can be formed.

As we age, the production of fresh cells slows, and exfoliation is the key to keeping the skin working!

Even for someone with dry skin, using a manual exfoliant once every few weeks will help to stimulate cell production and turn-over, leading to stronger, firmer, less sensitive skin.

Be careful not to use products that contain materials that are too sharp, like apricot kernels or walnut shells. While ideal for your feet, these may be too abrasive for your skin, causing microscopic tears in the skin. Instead, look for a scrub that uses jojoba beads, silica crystals or physician's grade microdermabrasian crystals to help buff away excess skin cells.

If you use an exfoliant that is too harsh or use it too often, your skin will be dry, irritated and red, and will not function properly. As nice as your skin feels after an exfoliation, too much of a good thing is definitely bad in this instance.

Next up, Step Three: Toning.

The Steps of Skin Care

There are six steps to a skin care regiment. They are not difficult, and not every step occurs each time you step up to the sink, but together, these basic steps will help you increase your face value!

1. Cleanse


2. Exfoliate


3. Tone


4. Treat


5. Moisturize


6. Protect

Starting at the beginning, let's discuss Step One: CLEANSING.

The purpose of cleansing your skin is to remove excess oil, dirt, debris and cosmetics from the surface of the skin. The goal is not to remove all of the oil on the skin, because remember, some oil is needed for skin to perform well. So, a tight sensation after cleansing may be a warning that your cleanser is too harsh and has stripped too much oil from your skin.

Never use soap or harsh detergents to cleanse your face. Always look for products that have been formulated specifically for facial use, and that have been pH balanced. Failure to do so could lead to a breach of the skin's Barrier Function. Remember that skin that has been stripped of its of oil, will take moisture to compensate, and causing the skin to over produce oil to compensate.

We choose our cleanser based on skin type, which maybe oily, normal/combination (tending either towards oily or dry), and dry/sensitive skin. While ethnic profiling is rude and uncalled for in most civilized settings, in a treatment room or in your bathroom, it's the easiest way to narrow down skin type!

Think of the globe, at the center lies the equator, and the people of this region have a thicker epidermis, darker melanin, and oilier skin. Just north and south of this imaginary line falls the sub-tropics, and we find the epidermis thinning, the melanin becoming slightly lighter, and their skin tends to be slightly less oily. Continuing north and south of the sub-tropics, we find the temperate zones with an even thinner epidermis, some melanin production, and the oil is balanced in their skin. Continuing again to the north and south, we find the thinnest epidermis, very little melanin production in the skin, and a lack of oil.

At a glance, a person's ethnic background can give you the most clues to their skin type, and aid in the selection of the proper products.

Pore size can also help to decipher the product code. Larger pores all over the face means more oil, and smaller, finer pores mean less oil. Seeing larger pores only in the t-zone and finer pores throughout defines normal/combination skin, and an increase or decrease in larger and smaller pores defines whether normal/combination skin will tend toward oily or dry.

People with oily skin face specific skin care challenges, such as skin that doesn't shed dead skin cells as easily, and oil holding other debris in the pores, which can lead to breakouts. Their skin requires a more aggressive cleanser that can cut through the oil and penetrate the pores for a deeper cleanse. Ingredients like lactic acid, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid are commonly used in tandom to loosen the dead skins from the surface of the skin, penetrate the skin to promote cellular turnover, and soothe the skin from such powerful ingredients. Some of these cleansers may also contain "beads" to buff and slough off the dead skin cells.

Those with dry skin also have specific skin care challenges. With less oil production, they tend to lose skin cells more quickly, sometimes too quickly, which leads to dry, cracked, red, irritated skin. The ideal cleansers for people with dry skin would contain citrus oils, aloe, and extracts that provide anti-oxidant protection. The goal of these cleansers is to keep the skin lubricated and soothed.

The fortunate few are those with normal/combination skin. They can use a wide variety of products, but may choose products for oily or dry skin, depending on the direction in whcih their skin has a tendency. Most cleanses in the market, especially those made available on the retail market are developed for normal/combination skin.

Remember, your skin shouldn't feel tight or irritated after cleansing. If it does, your product is too harsh, or there may be an allergic reaction taking place. Redness and irritation are not good, and should not be seen as "normal" or "regular" effects of a cleanser. It's a sign to discontinue use and find something else!

Next... Step Two: EXFOLIATION!

A world without skin care...

...would be a world of ugly people!

It's the question that the majority of Americans ask every time they hear about skin care: What's the big deal?

Your skin is the largest organ of the human body. Its purpose is to protect the musculature and systems underneath from the sun, from airborne pathogens, and dehydration. Taking a vitamin supplement or detox concoctions may fortify and enhance the performance of our internal organs, but what about the skin? It is abused far worse than any other organ on a daily basis.

Skin health, endurance and longevity are somewhat genetic, with people from warmer climates and darker skin tones getting the better genes. Heredity, though, is not a fail-safe for younger looking skin. External factors, like environmental pollutants and lifestyle, affect face value as well.

Environmental:

The sun has a great deal to do with the decrease in face value. Spending time, unprotected in the sun, depreciates your skin the same way that driving a classic car in a smash-up derby depreciates its value. UVA (aging), UVB (burning) and UVC (cancer) radiation are all bombarding our skin each day. While they may lead to a darkening of the melanin in our skin, leading to a beautiful tan, which is actually a safety protocol to keep the radiation from reaching our internal organs, other effects are also taking place.

Collagen production decreases, elastin proteins knit together creating wrinkles on the skin's surface, and melanin production can become irratic, leading to hyperpigmentation (sun spots) or Hypopigmentation (when melanin is no longer produced leaving pale white splotches on the skin, which cannot be corrected). All of these lead to skin that looks older than it is... and a decreased face value.

Environmental pollutants can also cause skin damage, like burning and cancers.

Lifestyle:

Medications, legal and otherwise, can cause skin damage by dehydration, hormonal imbalances and severe breakout. Alcoholic beverages don't just leave you with a dry mouth in the morning, but can severely dehydrate your skin as well. When the body is lacking moisture, it will take it where it can... even reallocating it from one organ to another.

Your skin requires a healthy balance of oil (lubrication) and water (hydration) to function properly.

Tanning and cosmetic procedures can also lead to skin damage. If the sun causes the most damage to the skin, imagine the damage that is being done when you increase the exposure to UV radiation to 3x the amount of the sun in order to tan faster. The perfect analogy for vising a tanning booth is placing a grape in a food dehydrator. This does nothing to increase your face value.

Some products that are found in the current skin care market are developed for the ideal skin type: normal/combination, tending toward oily in the T-zone. However, these ingredients are not strong enough to treat oily skin types, and are too astringent for drier, sensitive skin types. Other treatments, which may be marketed to solve acne and the like, may dry up the blemishes, but also strip your skin of oil and moisture, which leads to dry, sensitive skin, and in some cases even more oil production.

If redness or irritation that last longer than 5 minutes occurs after the use of any product, discontinue use immediately! In a professional setting, with an esthetician or dermatologist, therein lies the exception, although they too should be providing treatment maintenance products that would reduce the redness, irritation and swelling caused by the treatment.

The Big Deal...

Skin care is important to our overall health, because skin that cannot or does not function can lead to serious illness. It is one of the keystones to living a better, healthier life. Proper skin care fortifies the barrier function of the skin, which allows the skin to accept moisture, but keeps moisture from evaporating, and assists in the healing of breaches in the skin. It also provides avenues for the enrichment of the skin with topically applied vitamins and minerals to calm, soothe, and promote more efficient organ function. Skin care also provides the opportunity to add moisture to the skin, and to apply additional SPF protection.

Proper skin care is the most powerful ally in increasing your face value!

What Is Your Face Value?

Okay, to begin, this is not a scientific method. It's a concept that I've been working on to help inspire my clients to take better care of their skin. Face Value refers to the balance between your age and how old you look.

For instance: if you are 40 years old, but you look 30, then you have a higher face value than someone who is 40, but looks 45. The older you are, and the younger you look, the greater your face value. The goal of most clients is to look younger than their age, thus they are investing in a program of skin care to increase their face value.

Skin care is an investment. It has nothing to do with money, although some skin care lines can definitely break the bank, which isn't an issue if the product works, but proper skin care treatments and at-home maintenance require an investment of time and a commitment to being consistant. Just visiting a skin care therapist for a monthly facial isn't going to increase your face value. You have to maintain the health of your skin between visits, and take precautions to curb any future damage to your skin.

Increasing your face value is a time commitment, a financial commitment, and well worth all of it! Looking younger, being mistaken for twenty when you've just turned thrity-one is a huge ego boost. Not only will your skin be in better condition, but you will feel so much better about yourself.

What's your face value? Are you ready to make an investement...?