Earthly Beauty

Troubleshooting Acne

noreply@blogger.com (Studio Organics) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:43:00 +0000

These days it seems like everyone is fighting acne to one degree or another. Perhaps it's stress or our fast-food, modern lifestyles, but so many of my clients (more than ever) are feeling the anxiety of dealing with adult acne. Fine lines and pimples?! It's just not fair!

Unfortunately, there is no one-stop easy cure for acne. But there are several great, natural products out there that will improve the condition greatly. Here are some pointers for those suffering with adult acne. Remember, everyone is different, so it may take some trial and error to find a regimen that works for you.

Cleanse - This one seems obvious, but so many of us are guilty of going to bed before cleansing. Especially at night, acne-prone skin needs a good thorough cleanse--two to three minutes (not 30 seconds!) of gentle massaging.

Exfoliate - When dead skin cells trap dirt, oil, and debris, acne bacteria forms and--voila!--a pimple arrives. Regular, gentle exfoliation is a MUST for acne prone skin. If you have more than 2 or 3 whiteheads at one time, skip manual exfoliants (those are exfoliants with granules or beads) and opt for a gentle, weekly peel instead. For those who can handle it, a nightly cream with retinol can also do the job.

Kill Acne Bacteria - Oxygen kills acne bacteria. That's why benzoyl peroxide has dominated the anti-acne skincare market for so long. Benzoyl peroxide transports oxygen into the deep recesses of the follicle where bacteria thrives. Today, however, we understand that there are some negative side-effects to benzoyl peroxide. Luckily, there are organic alternatives, like tea tree oil, that can kill acne bacteria just as well. Look for spot treatments, masks, cleansers, or toners with this natural, acne-fighting ingredient.

Treat Inflammation - Acne is an inflammatory skin disorder (think about how red and inflamed a pimple can be.) Soothing and calming ingredients like aloe or willow bark extract take down redness and inflammation naturally.

Relax - Stress is a BIG acne trigger. When we are stressed, our bodies go into fight-or-flight mode and the adrenal glands start pumping. This can lead to overall oiliness, acne, and other skin disorders.

Stop Picking! - I know it's hard to keep your hands away, but picking will only make it worse. I tell my clients to follow the "two-nudge" rule: Wrap your fingers in tissue and give the blemish two firm squeezes. If it doesn't come out, leave it. Pushing harder and harder may damage or infect nearby follicles, only making things worse. Remember to treat the area with a spot treatment or toner after your nudges. (Oh, and get rid of the magnifying mirrors. No one ever looks that close!)

Here's one great example of a skincare routine for an adult with normal to oily skin suffering from acne using the pointers above:

Morning:

Cleanse - Cleanse once with Naturopathica's Aloe Cleansing Gel (deeply cleanses and aloe calms inflamed skin)

Tone - Use Suki's Balancing Toner (its willow bark extract calms skin and fights acne)

Moisturize - Apply Eminence's Rosehip Whip Moisturizer while skin is damp to seal in moisture

Protect - Brush Eminence's SunDefense Minerals on skin for SPF 30 protection

Evening:

Cleanse - Cleanse twice with Naturopathica's Aloe Cleansing Gel to ensure a deep cleanse before bed

Tone - Use Suki's Balancing Toner again for its anti-inflammatory ingredients

Treat - Instead of moisturizer, use Image's Total Retinol-A Creme. Retinol exfoliates and renews skin, fighting both acne and the signs of aging.

Weekly:

Treat - Twice a week apply a tea tree oil mask to kill acne bacteria.

The HOTTEST Treatments!

noreply@blogger.com (Studio Organics) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:01:00 +0000

A couple of months ago, I was watching an episode of Oprah about the beauty practices of women all over the world. It featured a segment on the Indian practice of incorporating fruit, herbs, and spices into facials. A few of my loyal, Indian clients have told me about these amazing food-based treatments offered in India and I find it totally inspiring.

At Studio Organics we've been using spices, particularly paprika, to bring a glow to the skin for years. One of my favorite facial treatments is our AHA/Paprika facial, which is a two-layer peel that exfoliates the skin with natural alpha-hydroxy fruit acid and stimulates the skin with an herbal mixture of paprika, rosemary, sage, and thyme. This treatment produces the most beautiful, rosy look to the complexion. And the gorgeous effects last for days.

My hottest new obsession is Eminence's Almond and Mineral Treatment, a weekly, at-home treatment for all skin types. The crushed almonds in this product revitalize the skin while the minerals nourish, enrich, and heal. But my favorite ingredient, of course, is the paprika. In just a few minutes, the heat from the spice brings a flushed look to the skin. Once removed, the skin calms and only a beautiful, healthy glow remains.

It seems like our obsession here in America is to peel, peel, peel away the layers of skin until we achieve a youthful glow. But all of that exfoliation can take its toll. Hot spices like paprika are a safer and quicker way to get a pretty complexion. Just take it easy at first. Your first experience with spice can be a shocking one. Be prepared for a bit of discomfort (you can even dilute your paprika treatments with water, toner, or tea to make it easier) but the beautiful results are totally worth it!

Organic and Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Studio Organics) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:57:00 +0000

As we all know, stress is bad for our skin and, of course, our overall health. So this holiday season we at Studio Organics are taking the stress out of gift-giving. Here's our top 10 list for the healthiest, greenest, most chic beauty gifts of 2008:

10) Erbaviva's Travel Set for Mommy and Travel Set for Baby
Each travel set includes four products from this totally organic, Earth-friendly line. My absolute favorite product called "Quease-Ease" (how clever!) is included in the Mommy Set.

9) Pure Inventions Antioxidant Fruit and Tea Extracts
Just a couple drops of this potent extract in your morning water or tea boosts your antioxidant intake by magnitudes.

8) Naturopathica's Aqua Latte and Creme de la Creme
Okay, I snuck in two here, but they are perfect together. Aqua Latte is an all-natural foaming bath with a natural and subtle (not artificial and overpowering) scent. Creme de la Creme is the perfect body lotion for dry, winter skin.

7) Whish Body Product Gift Trio
Whish body products are perfect for the girly-girls on your list. Adorable, pink packaging. Amazing scents. And, of course, totally natural. This trio comes with a body scrub, body wash, and body butter.

6) Combat Ready Balm, Lip Balm, and Bar
Great gifts for anyone, but I especially love these three for men. With rugged packaging and an amazing, heartwarming back-story (the creator and owner of this company donated her products to soldiers in Iraq), these three natural products are a great way to get the men on your list introduced to green products.

5) Yosh Perfume Sampler Set
I can't say enough about these all-natural perfumes. They are healthy, subtle, beautiful, and complex. They are seriously the ultimate luxury in fragrance. This sampler set includes five scents at an incredibly affordable price.

4) Yosh Perfume
This is my pick for the luxury gift of the season (ahem... note to my friends and family: I'm in love with Ginger Ciao.) Not only are the perfumes a work of art in themselves, but each one comes in the loveliest glass bottle.

3) Clarisonic Skin Brush
I know, I know. This is such a practical gift. But I'm including it on this list because almost all of my clients have said, "I'm asking for this for Christmas," after trying it. Trust me.

2) SukiColor
The BEST holiday gift I ever got was from my mother when I was 14. We didn't have a lot of money that year, so she got creative and put together a box of makeup products for beginners. I was thrilled! I felt so grown up! SukiColor is so natural and so subtle. Plus, it's basically foolproof--the perfect gift for a teen experimenting with makeup or for the young girl inside all of us.

1) Eco-Friendly Gift Baskets
This season at Studio Organics, we're offering eco-friendly gift baskets at a discount. Pick three products for our basic basket or five products for our deluxe. We'll help you create that perfect, personalized gift.

A More Holistic Approach

noreply@blogger.com (Studio Organics) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:41:00 +0000

With all the marketing aimed at selling beauty products, it’s easy to think that the answers to all of our skin woes are in a bottle. I can remember when products promised results in just 30-days. Then it was 14-days, then 7-days, and so on. Just yesterday I saw an ad on television promising younger, brighter eyes OVERNIGHT!

We’ve subsequently become consumers with pretty unrealistic expectations. Our common sense seems to go out the window when it comes to beauty product claims. Here are just a few of my favorites:

“The At-Home Alternative to Surgery”
“Rapidly Reduces Wrinkles in One Hour”
“Instantly Melts Away the Fatty Look of Cellulite”

Reading those claims out of context really emphasizes their absurdity, but we’ve all (myself included of course!) fallen for them in the right environment (beautiful store, big event coming up, a limited-time discount.)

I am most guilty of falling for ad hype during breakouts. I’ve tried just about every over-the-counter and prescription acne medication on the market, but, if I’m honest with myself, I know that none of them were truly fixes. The real answer is not so simple. The real answer is more complicated than one simple product (and it happens to be our mantra at Pilar’s): When health is the goal, beauty naturally follows.

In my experience my skin looks best when I eat whole foods, exercise regularly, and supplement that with a multivitamin and a basic, consistent skincare routine. Don’t get me wrong, my oily skin will always be more susceptible to breakouts, but I really notice a difference when I treat my body right. I’ve also learned that nothing causes me to breakout like stress and that’s where my yoga and nightly meditation in the bathtub come in.

Here are a few more health and beauty tips that work for me:

Dark circles are intensified by dehydration. Drink a glass of water first thing every morning (coffee will only further dehydrate you.)

Stress ages you! Chronic stress causes the body to forget how to repair itself. Meditate! Relax! Try valerian herb at night.

A probiotic supplement like acidophilus seems to help me control dandruff and seborrhea.

Essential fats are critical for health and beauty. If you’re not getting enough through foods like fish, try a supplement. And, if you dislike the smell of fish oil like me, try black currant oil instead.

Avoid petroleum-based lip balms for chapped lips. Instead choose balms with ingredients like calendula that promote healing.

A healthy lifestyle should be complemented by an organic skincare routine. For my breakout-prone skin that means an effective cleanser, a treatment gel with naturally-derived salicylic acid, and a moisturizer with a bit of retinol. Whatever skincare regimen you choose, be patient and consistent. It can take up to two months (not one night!) to see results.

For more information on a more holistic approach to total health and beauty, check out Pure Skin by Barbara Close (the founder of Naturopathica, one of my favorite skincare lines.)

Why We're Smiling

noreply@blogger.com (Studio Organics) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:24:00 +0000

Without sounding too smug, I have to say that I’m really delighted that Pilar and I made it into this month’s Washingtonian. Pilar’s Organic Skincare Studio has been mentioned in other publications before, but there’s something about this local, glossy mag that makes me feel especially proud.

The section we’re in, titled “Natural Beauty,” explores some really good issues such as sunscreen safety and the scary truth behind some of the most commonly used synthetic cosmetic ingredients.

Check it out! The July issue is on newsstands now.

Ain't Nothin' Like the Real Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Studio Organics) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:57:00 +0000

One of my favorite pieces of jewelry is a sterling silver circle ring with the tiniest of tiny diamonds situated a little off center. Despite the almost microscopic size of the diamond, I love it because it's the first real piece of actual designer jewelry I ever bought myself. There's something about the real thing that makes it special. I guess that's one of the reasons I spent my hard-earned cash this month for the privilege of carrying a designer handbag for 30-days (yes, it's rented.)

When it comes to jewelry, clothing, shoes, and handbags, most of us appreciate the real thing. So why should we settle for less when it comes to beauty products like perfume?

Our boutique just brought on Aftelier Perfumes, an amazing line of luxurious, all-natural fragrances. Yes, the perfumes are tiny. Yes, they cost more. But they are the real thing.

The process of creating an all-natural fragrance is complex and expensive. That's why most perfumes today are made from synthetic essences. While synthetic ingredients make perfumes more affordable and longer-lasting, they lack the intensity and depth of the natural ingredients they mimic. I recently had the opportunity to smell synthetic rose essence and actual rose essence side-by-side and was astonished that I'd ever settled for the cheap stuff.

Mandy Aftel, the creator of Aftelier Perfumes, compares synthetic perfume to Wonderbread--it's cheaper, lasts longer, but lacks complexity, texture, and freshness. I, for one, would rather have a fresh baguette.

Finding the Most Natural Mineral Powder

noreply@blogger.com (Studio Organics) — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:06:00 +0000

I love the idea of mineral makeup. I've been covering my occasional breakouts with it for years. But when more and more of my clients began to attribute blemishes and larger looking pores to their use of name brand mineral powders, I started to wonder if the makeup itself was causing the problem.

The leading brand of mineral makeup lists only five ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, mica, iron oxide, and bismuth oxychloride. A little investigation revealed that while four of these are actual minerals, bismuth oxychloride is not. It is a by-product of lead and copper metal refining made by combining the heavy metal bismuth with chloride and water. It's listed with the FDA as a “synthetic coloring additive” and is noted for its shimmery, pearlescent appearance. That shimmer is one of the reasons you’ll find it on the ingredient lists of so many leading mineral makeup brands. Bismuth gives skin that ever-so-coveted dewy glow.

Could bismuth oxychloride be responsible for my occasional breakouts and my clients' larger looking pores? The people at Suki, one of my favorite organic product lines, think so. “The powder has to be forced into the pores (hence the popular buffing technique of one leading mineral makeup line), otherwise it is capable of sliding off the wearer's face. Its heavy texture can result in clogged pores or irritated skin.”

Finding a truly organic mineral powder left me empty-handed. The most popular brands use bismuth oxychloride or the more expensive boron nitride substitute. Boron nitride is also synthetically derived, but, according to some, may be less of a skin irritant and potential pore-clogger. Perhaps the answer to my dilemma is compromise—finding the best, most natural option in an imperfect world.

Eminence Sun Defense Mineral Powder has been a favorite at Pilar’s for quite some time. It provides natural coverage while offering a sun protection factor of 30. The subtly fragrant powders are also packed with antioxidants. Bismuth is listed on its ingredient list, but further down and, therefore, in much less quantity. When I asked Eminence about bismuth oxychloride, they said, “There are reports of some people experiencing sensitivities to the ingredient, but the same can be said for most, if not all, ingredients out there.” True enough.

After all of the research, I was ready to give my skin a break from my “swirl-tap-buff” routine. I decided to completely switch from my bismuth-saturated mineral powder to Eminence Sun Defense. Within two weeks my skin felt significantly smoother and less clogged. I also love the handy applicator. Unlike the leading brands of mineral powder that spill or create huge, wasteful dust clouds, this powder goes on cleanly and neatly. My brief break has turned into a permanent switch and my skin is thanking me for it.

Green Inspiration for Your Beauty Cabinet

noreply@blogger.com (Studio Organics) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:45:00 +0000

It seems fitting that this blog should come to life in spring. Having spent most of my life in Florida and Southern California, actual seasons are new to me. I find early spring--especially in Washington, DC--absolutely inspiring. I love the early-season daffodils, tulips, and cherry blossoms. And I now have a true appreciation for the lengthening days.

I hope that this organic beauty blog will be just as inspiring for its readers. Because going organic is not just a trend. It's about the future of our planet. It's about our health. And, yes, it's about becoming beautiful too.

Perhaps it's time to do some beauty-cabinet spring cleaning (if only we could get our money back for all the serums, lotions, and potions that never actually did anything!). Our beauty products should complement the organic, eco-friendly lifestyle we're leading. Skincare should support our health and total wellbeing. Green ideas, information, and inspiration for your beauty cabinet. That's what it's all about!