DIVINE ALCHEMY!!!

PUCKER UP!

I'm a fan of an exaggerated lip, I've been known to put bold red lipstick on just to go get a cup of mid-day coffee. Bold and colorful lips are very Hollywood to me, remind me of my Grandma Emma and is the easiest way to jazz up a look your not %100 about. Let talk about our lips, they get a lot of attention but maybe not enough to ensure they are healthy and serving us the best they could. Our actual lips are some of the thinnest skin on our face, they are prone to becoming dry, irritated, bruised, burned, chapped and rough. Chronic dry lips is are sure indicator you are not drinking enough water so lets start with that being a basic easy step to keeping our delicate lips healthy. If you are a person who loves using lip balm or chap stick take a look at what is exactly in that little tube you can't live without....here are two major ingredients you should always AVOID: Alcohol, this acts as a great solvent for other ingredients but does noting but strip the natural oils in the tissues of our lips. Petroleum, this is one of the most common ingredients used for its ability to help a product spread and feel smooth on the skin, in this case the lips. Yes, Petroleum feels nice, silky and smooth on the surface but what happens over time is it actually "suffocates" the skin causing it to become dryer(if you are one of those people who is ALWAYS applying lip balm this may be why) and to boot Petroleum is a non-renewal resource so once we have no more that's it! Look for a product that has more ingredients like Coco or Shea Butter, Almond, Coconut or Tanamu Oil, these ingredients are not only super moisturizing to the lips but will also protect and heal the delicate skin. A few winters ago I got into the habit of weekly exfoliating my lips, it takes a 5 minutes and makes a world of difference. Start by making sure you have no residue on the lips and they are dry, take your ring finger dip it oil(Almond or Olive)then dip it sugar, I like the raw sugar cause its free of dyes and has a courser cut, GENTLY rub into your lips for 60- 90 seconds, rinse off and follow with a nourishing salve or balm. This little step will get rid of dry, dead skin and allow the properties of the salve or balm to penetrate deeper to heal from the inside out. Back to lipstick...I learned a great trick for applying lipstick from dear friend and added a little twist to it. To keep your lipstick from running and lasting longer first make sure the skin AROUND THE LIPS is moisturized and supple, this will make sure any tiny cracks around the lips are sealed, next prime the lips with a balm or salve, next apply a liner if you do, then a dab the lips with baby powder to help the lipstick set better, then apply your lipstick and finishing steps like gloss, shine or if your a product geek like me I set my lipstick(and all my make up with a spritz of toner)....then go put those juicy lips to work!!!

SPIDER VEINS...not so pretty!

In my practice I get a lot of questions about spider veins, many women myself included have issues with this very problem. Spider Veins are dilated pre existing small blood vessels. These small blood vessels can become dilated due to several things, the ones I find to be the most common are: lifestyle...ex if you are living in city and your on foot most of your day pounding the the pavement, condensed pressure of airplanes, standing for extended amounts of time with not enough support from your shoes or the floor your standing on, wearing pumps...sorry ladies! Our vascular system is fragile and prone to becoming dilating and erupting if too much pressure is placed on it. There are very simple and user friendly remedies to help prevent and alleviate spider veins...my most favorite would be the classic "legs up the wall pose" this will help release the the pressure on the walls of the small blood vessels as well as encourage the blood to flow up towards the heart. Topically you can make an oil blend of 1 tbsp of Juniper essential oil, promotes healthy circulation and acts as an anti-inflammatory mixed with 8 oz of Almond or Jojoba Oil, shake up vigorously and massage into affected areas.

You can also treat the condition on an internal level by taking a tincture or capsule of Horse Chestnut, this is a plant remedy that has properties to help strengthen  the walls of blood vessels protecting them from dilation and swelling.***if you a re taking other medications please consult your health care provider*** With any of these remedies the key is to be consistent to see a change in the condition at least once a day to see any improvement.

ALL THINGS JUICY!!!

I was blessed this holiday season with a gift of a new juicer... and since I can not enough fresh goodness into my system I wanted to share some skin focused juice blends you can use as a part of a treatment series or just use when needed or desired. The great thing about juice and our skin is that we do not have to use tons of energy to break juice down and extract the beneficial properties, this is important because our skin is the last aspect of our organ system to receive anything from what we eat(this is why it is so important to "feed" the skin topically)so the properties of the juice  really reach the layers of the skin from the inside out. HAPPY JUICING!

SATIN SKIN
5 carrots
1/2 apple
1/2 inch slice of ginger

BLEMISH BUSTER
3 carrots
4 sprigs of parsley
3 kale leaves

BODY CLEANSING TONIC...great for everyday recipe
4 carrots
1/2 cucumber
1/2 beet with greens

*ADD 1 TLBSPN OF FIBER TO ANY OF THESE TO AMP UP THE CLEANSING BENEFITS
*IF ACNE IS CHRONIC ADD PROBIOTICS TO YOUR DAILY DIET TO BALANCE BACTERIA GROWTH

BYE BYE DRY SKIN

This post comes from a recent text conversation from one of my biggest supports!

Beating dry skin is just not about loading on heavy moisturizers to cover the ashy dry look or feel of the skin.  Alleviating dry skin is imperative too healthy skin maintenance, it allows the skin to breath and function better, retaining its own moisture as well absorbing and attracting natural occurring moisturize in the air. The first step needs to be a form of exfoliation or shedding of the dry(and dead)skin.  My most preferred method of this is would be dry brush exfoliation(you can buy this at your local pharmacy or health food store) Using upward movements gently brush your skin from head to toe. This will not only remove any built up skin but also stimulate the movement of your lymph, circulation and ama(a thin layer of toxins that gather on the surface of your muscles). Following this you can apply a medium that will hydrate and moisturize the skin. I suggest using coconut, sesame or jojoba oils, these are consider to be "bio available" this means your skin will easily absorb them drawing them into all 7 layers of the skin for a true deep nourishing level of hydration and moisturizing. Now if you want to make something like this part of your daily regime do these two steps BEFORE you get in the shower. The idea behind this is that the pores of the skin respond to the warmth created my steam and water, they open up more and the oil is penetrated into the skin...yes it does sound divine!

You can use this as a daily treatment to keep the skin moisturized, radiant, firm and healthy or just in the colder months when you may experience higher levels of dry skin.

ADORE THE SKIN YOUR IN!