Valentine's Day primer for your skin!

http://www.naturalingredient.org/Articles/real_truth.html
http://www.cosmeticscop.com/ingredient_dictionary.aspx?lid=498
http://www.swallowhealthydiet.com/pdfs/AubNatInt.pdf

Hi & Happy Valentine's Day!!  This day and weekend of love is one I want to have last all year long, especially as you, my readers,  see yourselves with love.  And that starts with beautiful, clear, healthy, smooth & moist skin.  Your skin should be healthy, meaning its' Acid Mantle is a PH of 5.5 for most individuals, and your collagen & elastin (plump, juicy and elastic) is in great condition.  Your sebum is important, and it keeps your epidermis healthy by secreting through your follicles, which you don't want to have build up and become clogged with comedones, acne, which can come from different sources, including your over doing it sometimes, over exfoliating, using the wrong products for your type of skin & condition.  Your skin type is yours always, but your skin's condition can change due to many reasons including hormones, the seasons, your diet, etc.  Your Acid Mantle is your protective armor.  Your skin is the largest organ and keeps out sooooo many micoorganisms so you stay healthy, and it needs the proper hydration, exfoliation, and of course, cleansing, toning & moisturizing and SUNSCREEN. 

I have been studying this in my Aesthetics classes, and now Chemistry is making so much sense to me as part of our every day lives.  I have attached a few links above if you, like I, now have great interest in checking out the products you are using.  Anyone, (and I always knew this) can have individual sensitivities.  People who have Fibromyalgia have to be very concerned with knowing what they are putting on their skin as far as skincare and makeup, as we all ingest quite a lot each year from what we use daily, weekly, repeatedly.... 

The first link with the article Real Truth is a fantastic read.  It pares chemistry down to its' basics in this article and is extremely fascinating to read.  I think you will all get so much out of this. 

The other two links are two cosmetic ingredient dictionaries that I found online that really look quite good, and I have used them this past week in my study of ingredients, especially breaking down one of my products to see how the top 10 descending ingredients are broken down.  What are they, what do they do--as an ingredient and to us possibly.  Then, decide if you want to use it or not...

Because it is so cold outside, and I get extremely dry skin in the winter on my body, I was using a very light seemingly natural oil from Neutrogena, their Light Sesame Oil.  Now for most people, this product would probably be fantastic, and I applied it while I was still damp from the shower.  My skin became so soft, but I also started to get strange red marks, open, itchy & crusty....Sesame oil can cause contact irritant dermatitis!  And it did on me.  So I stopped it, and now am using a more pure Shea Butter cream from The Body Shop, so I think I will be okay with that.

I know many of you look at your labels when you food shop, and I hope you will get interested in looking at your labels on your skincare and cosmetics, and decide for yourself what you will and will not allow on your skin.  Be as savvy as possible...it's like going to the Doctor....you know yourself better than anyone else and can tell when something is going on, and you have to be proactiv in recognizing changes.  Something like an ingredient that is going in your skin/on your skin for years can be doing something to your coding inside...that is what chemists are trying to replicate and get deeper in to in order to make products "anti-aging"....

I am not saying to be afraid of everything you use in your daily life...just as with food, water, etc. make wiser choices by being more informed.  Certain ingredients that may sound toxic as written by one source and perhaps not another,  are used in such small quantities, but some of us are more sensitive and finely tuned than others, and what will affect one person may never affect another....or we may never know.

I hope you will enjoy getting smarter about what you use, and still have fun with your makeup!  I want you to live a long and joy filled life, and that includes looking and feeling your best and showing the world who you are by how you present your face to the world.  That, like your skin's condition, can change, but whenever your spirit demands it.

Warmest wishes for a love filled and bliss filled Valentine's Day!!