Years ago I heard the statistic that stay-at-home moms have a significantly higher rate of getting cancer than working moms because of all the chemicals they use during the day. Bleach, for example.
This morning I finally got around to Googling about that to find out more. Several websites tout the statistic and refer back to a 1989 report from The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). I spent an hour trying to trace it back to a real report on the internet. I can’t. Probably because 1989 was more than 20 years ago (GASP!).
But I’m willing to accept it as a fact because it does make sense just based on my own experience as a mom and as an esthetician doing a fair amount of hand treatments.
I remember when I was changing so many diapers that when my knuckles would accidentally hit the door jamb, they’d crack open and bleed. You’re probably not impressed, though, because you’ve had the same experience. Not only is it painful and unattractive, but it also opens us up (quite literally) to germs. It’s not much of a leap to believe that we are also absorbing chemicals through the skin—and fissures—on our hands!
Dear Mommy, you OWE it to yourself to buy and use gloves! In my mind there are 3 levels of glove usage.
First, you need a pair of dishwashing gloves that you keep right by the sponge. Use them as much as possible. When your hands are in crisis, don’t allow yourself to rinse even one dish for the dishwasher or one jar for the recycling bin without having gloves on. This makes a surprisingly big difference.
Second: gloves for cleaning. Multi-use gloves for this are ok, but I find that the chemicals I use cleaning make the yellow dishwashing gloves gummy. I prefer a box of single-use gloves for cleaning. I buy nitrile ones at Costco. I do this because it’s cheaper and because latex can have its own set of issues. Just to be on the safe side, I buy nitrile or vinyl and don’t give it another thought. Set them out on your counter and do not allow yourself to touch anything stronger than dish soap unless you have a glove on.
These gloves also make sense for childcare tasks. Changing diapers, of course, but also when wiping a child’s nose since winter brings cold and flu season along with dry weather and indoor heat that make our hands even more susceptible to cracking. I’m finding that I’m washing my hands even more now that my youngest is potty-training. I might wash my hands 2-3 times in one “event”! Use gloves to save yourself at least one time of soap or hand-sani.
Finally, on the days that my hands need some serious TLC, I put on a thick moisturizer, then clean cotton gloves and then my disposable gloves on top of that. I wear this get-up as long as possible. The disposable glove becomes my skin, and I wash my hands as normal, being careful to keep the cotton glove dry. Even if I can keep this on a few hours, it buys my skin the time it needs to recover.
I get that there are some tradeoffs. You might be wondering about the impact of disposable gloves on the environment. Or even more importantly, the impact of these chemicals on the environment and overall health of our family. These are thoughts totally worth pursuing. But in the meantime, while you sort it out, you are worthy of sound hands that can care for all the people you care for day-after-day including yourself. It’s a simple fix that will bring you so much comfort!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Things That Go Bump
The number one question I hear in my office is, “Do you have any idea what this bump might be?” While there’s a handful of bumps I’m willing to name, my best answer to that question is, “I’m not sure, but if it were on my skin, I would see a dermatologist about it.” Here’s why.
First, if a disease has decided to throw a party in your body, your skin has probably been invited. By that I mean that things that are going wrong with a person’s health usually give clues on the skin. You need to be showing that bump to the person who can see it in the context of your whole health and history. It might be the last clue that leads to the diagnosis of the mystery illnesses that’s been plaguing you, or it might be the first clue of something you’re catching in its early stages.
Second, estheticians are not supposed to diagnose. No matter how experienced and knowledgeable we might become, diagnosis is outside the scope of our license. Once a condition is diagnosed, we support the client’s healing and/or symptom management.
That said, here are the top three kinds of bumps (besides acne) I see (but don’t diagnosis) in my office.
Actinic Keratoses. These are small, rough spots occurring on skin that has been chronically exposed to the sun. They often occur against a background of other sun damage like leathery skin and superficial blood vessels. Common locations are the face, especially the cheeks and bridge of the nose, scalp, back of the neck, upper chest. Although actinic keratoses are precancerous lesions, relatively few of them actually become cancers, a process that typically takes years. Your dermatologist should look at these annually to make sure they are not growing in number or size. Your doctor may also remove them by cutting, freezing or burning them off.
My clients have had great results using BiON’s Bio-Replenish A-C-E Sun Damage Repair Cream to improve the texture and color of their sun-damaged skin including actinic keratoses. I also read recently that a study published last year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consumption of oily fish once every 5 days reduced the risk of developing actinic keratoses by 28 percent. That’s a piece of cake up here in the Pacific Northwest!
Keratosis Pilaris. Little red bumps in patches on your upper arms, backside, or thighs that resemble chicken skin and occasionally itch can be caused by a genetic skin disorder called keratosis pilaris. It is a very common annoying-but-harmless condition that stars in adolescence and gets worse (at puberty) before it gets better (in adulthood). It is an excessive accumulation of keratin around the rim of hair follicles. The bumps can contain a hair that is trapped beneath the keratin debris, but not all bumps have associated hairs underneath. There might also be mild inflammation around the hair follicles. There is no universally effective treatment, though it is generally well accepted that unclogging pores and reducing inflammation can make a significant difference.
If you have these rough patches, scrubbing probably seems like a good idea and might even be working in the short-term, but you might be making the problem worse by increasing inflammation. Plus you can’t scrub down into the mouth of the follicle where the keratin is forming. BiON’s Salicylic/Glycolic Gel clears the debris in the follicle, has antimicrobial properties, and has anti-inflammatory properties. It’s not a cure because the condition is genetic, but it provides great relief to the symptoms.
Pickers’ Nodules. OK. These are difficult because they are really a psychologic process with dermatologic manifestations. These bumps (also known as neurotic excoriations) usually start as literally nothing or practically nothing. Maybe an insect bite, in-grown hair, or acne. Or it can be just a little imagined spot like where your shirt tag touches. A person will seek out texture and then pick at the area until s/he can pull material from the skin. So it’s resolved, right? But lo and behold a few minutes/hours/days later, there’s something “gettable” again so the person picks it off. Ultimately a scar builds up and the bump is there to stay. They occur anywhere a person can scratch, but particularly on the face, chest, arms and upper back.
The best way to avoid pickers’ nodules is to buy some cotton gloves at Bartell’s and keep them wherever you seem to have the habit. Since it’s common to do it while driving, studying, watching TV, and using the computer—any place or time when your mind wanders, you’ve got at least one hand free, and you’re either stressing or decompressing—keep a pair in your car or in your backpack or in the cushions of the sofa. Be vigilant about putting on a pair of gloves before you crank up the car, computer or TV. It will take the gratification of the process away and in the meantime will protect your delicate skin from your nails because seriously: once the nodule forms, it’s yours to keep.
If you have something that seems like one of these three conditions: “If that were on my skin, I would see a dermatologist about it.” Through tests and/or knowledge of any risk factors you might have, s/he can rule out more serious conditions that manifest similarly. Then I hope you’ll let me support you as you get your skin into a comfortable and healthy condition you feel great about!
First, if a disease has decided to throw a party in your body, your skin has probably been invited. By that I mean that things that are going wrong with a person’s health usually give clues on the skin. You need to be showing that bump to the person who can see it in the context of your whole health and history. It might be the last clue that leads to the diagnosis of the mystery illnesses that’s been plaguing you, or it might be the first clue of something you’re catching in its early stages.
Second, estheticians are not supposed to diagnose. No matter how experienced and knowledgeable we might become, diagnosis is outside the scope of our license. Once a condition is diagnosed, we support the client’s healing and/or symptom management.
That said, here are the top three kinds of bumps (besides acne) I see (but don’t diagnosis) in my office.
Actinic Keratoses. These are small, rough spots occurring on skin that has been chronically exposed to the sun. They often occur against a background of other sun damage like leathery skin and superficial blood vessels. Common locations are the face, especially the cheeks and bridge of the nose, scalp, back of the neck, upper chest. Although actinic keratoses are precancerous lesions, relatively few of them actually become cancers, a process that typically takes years. Your dermatologist should look at these annually to make sure they are not growing in number or size. Your doctor may also remove them by cutting, freezing or burning them off.
My clients have had great results using BiON’s Bio-Replenish A-C-E Sun Damage Repair Cream to improve the texture and color of their sun-damaged skin including actinic keratoses. I also read recently that a study published last year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consumption of oily fish once every 5 days reduced the risk of developing actinic keratoses by 28 percent. That’s a piece of cake up here in the Pacific Northwest!
Keratosis Pilaris. Little red bumps in patches on your upper arms, backside, or thighs that resemble chicken skin and occasionally itch can be caused by a genetic skin disorder called keratosis pilaris. It is a very common annoying-but-harmless condition that stars in adolescence and gets worse (at puberty) before it gets better (in adulthood). It is an excessive accumulation of keratin around the rim of hair follicles. The bumps can contain a hair that is trapped beneath the keratin debris, but not all bumps have associated hairs underneath. There might also be mild inflammation around the hair follicles. There is no universally effective treatment, though it is generally well accepted that unclogging pores and reducing inflammation can make a significant difference.
If you have these rough patches, scrubbing probably seems like a good idea and might even be working in the short-term, but you might be making the problem worse by increasing inflammation. Plus you can’t scrub down into the mouth of the follicle where the keratin is forming. BiON’s Salicylic/Glycolic Gel clears the debris in the follicle, has antimicrobial properties, and has anti-inflammatory properties. It’s not a cure because the condition is genetic, but it provides great relief to the symptoms.
Pickers’ Nodules. OK. These are difficult because they are really a psychologic process with dermatologic manifestations. These bumps (also known as neurotic excoriations) usually start as literally nothing or practically nothing. Maybe an insect bite, in-grown hair, or acne. Or it can be just a little imagined spot like where your shirt tag touches. A person will seek out texture and then pick at the area until s/he can pull material from the skin. So it’s resolved, right? But lo and behold a few minutes/hours/days later, there’s something “gettable” again so the person picks it off. Ultimately a scar builds up and the bump is there to stay. They occur anywhere a person can scratch, but particularly on the face, chest, arms and upper back.
The best way to avoid pickers’ nodules is to buy some cotton gloves at Bartell’s and keep them wherever you seem to have the habit. Since it’s common to do it while driving, studying, watching TV, and using the computer—any place or time when your mind wanders, you’ve got at least one hand free, and you’re either stressing or decompressing—keep a pair in your car or in your backpack or in the cushions of the sofa. Be vigilant about putting on a pair of gloves before you crank up the car, computer or TV. It will take the gratification of the process away and in the meantime will protect your delicate skin from your nails because seriously: once the nodule forms, it’s yours to keep.
If you have something that seems like one of these three conditions: “If that were on my skin, I would see a dermatologist about it.” Through tests and/or knowledge of any risk factors you might have, s/he can rule out more serious conditions that manifest similarly. Then I hope you’ll let me support you as you get your skin into a comfortable and healthy condition you feel great about!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Sunscream
First day of May my first-born girl asks the question most dear to all children: "How many days until summer?" Since she's not in school yet, what she really wants to know is how long until she can wear shorts without asking. Until the backyard pool gets blown up. Until mom lets the family leave the house without a light jacket AND a winter coat in the car just in case for everyone involved. Dissatisfied with our explanation that "it's complicated" she pushed us for something concrete that she could hold us to. We panicked and gave her the solstice date. Every day since, we--and everyone else who'll make eye contact--gets the current count-down status. Father’s Day was T-minus-one-day and still 51 degrees and rainy.
A more reliable predictor of summer is the sudden flood of sunscreen "information." Email, magazine articles, local news. The information we get has been so processed and repackaged that it hardly resembles the original research. You and I couldn’t even understand the original research, much less figure out what we should do based on it. You can barely find a citation. What we do get, we get because months ago someone wrote "sunscreen" next to June on their marketing or story-planning calendar.
Still, cynical as I am, the very volume of information demands that I do something. But what? My own first-born-girl, concrete-craving brain can't make sense of all the contradictory info. Page 108 of RealSimple says that *any* sun-induced change of skin color is an injury. Flip the page and here's the swimsuit coverup that will best show off my "sunkissed shoulders."
The next best thing to black-and-white is a framework. That way only the information that matters has to be looked at, and I get to choose what matters. Everything else falls off the table.
So here. Let me fling my own heap of "information" devoid of citations into the teetering pile. It's a framework I've come up with for choosing--or changing--the sunscreen(s) you'll use this summer.
And the categories are:
Health and Safety
Lifestyle Choices
Skincare Goals
Immediate Gratification
If you, like me, are a self-improvement junkie but still fail to "put first things first," you'll be relieved to see that I will discuss the categories in the order in which you and I will actually consider them. We might as well be honest with our unimproved selves.
Immediate Gratification. Yea! One of the best ways to choose your sunscreen is to choose based on how it smells. Choose lime and coconut and you are perpetually on vacation; essential oils you love and your spirits are lifted. Or choose based on slip. Does it feel like a million bucks going on? If it burns your eyes, you aren't going to be that into using it on your face (she said as her own eyes complained about the sunscreen she bought while waiting for the ferry). Or are you chintzy? If you know you will mentally weigh the cost of applying that shot glass full of sunscreen every time you do it, choose economically. Consider the packaging. Are dropping brand names important to you? All these (and add your own) factors make the very act of using the sunscreen the payoff, and its actual benefits are just incidental. Just the way we pleasure-seeking pain-averse people like it!
Skincare Goals. Five years ago my skincare goal was to resolve my acne and scarring. Today I'm trying to reverse all these brown spots I picked up with sun exposure, age, and the hormonal fluctuations involved with a couple of pregnancies. The appropriate sunscreens are very different: oil-free, non-irritating, with just enough SPF back then compared to the bullet-proof Kevlar stuff I wear today. Vanity will make you do just about anything. Might as well make that work for you.
Lifestyle Choices. Do your summer plans include moments on the water? In the water? Sweating? Hiking? Air travel? There are specialized sunscreens that are waxy like chapstick that you can put on your forehead and eyelids so that it won't run into your eyes while you're delivering that backhand shot. Some sunscreens attract bees, which can "bee" alarming if you’re hiking. Sunscreen wipes are light enough to tuck into your backpack. Or into carry-on luggage. Or into your purse for spontaneous romantic lunches at sidewalk cafes. Hey! It's summer! Anything can happen!
And finally Health and Safety. There’s really only one thing you need to remember here: do not rely on sunscreen alone to protect your skin. That’s because while the research is conclusive that almost all skin cancer is caused by exposure to UV radiation in the sun’s rays, the jury is still out on how effective sunscreens—individually or as a whole—are for preventing it. I KNOW! It’s hard for me to believe it myself. But as an example of the gray area, your sunscreen’s SPF rating only measures protection against UVB. The labeling of “full-spectrum” that some sunscreens use is meaningless because there is no standard for measuring UVA protection. The FDA made a proposal for updating its testing and warning information back in 2007, but I can’t find anything more current. S-l-o-w.
What’s fast is the excited jumping up and down by watchdog groups and the watchers of watchdog groups. They are legitimately jumping up and down about side-issues involved with sunscreen. Like the other ingredients in sunscreens: Some companies will throw retinyl palmitate, a form of Vitamin A, into their sunscreen because of its anti-aging properties, but research indicates it may actually speed growth of tumors and lesions when exposed to light. Or delivery systems: How does spray-on sunscreen affect one’s lungs? Or consumers’ false sense of security: Do people rely on sunscreen to protect them, increase their exposure to sunlight accordingly, and end up absorbing more radiation than they otherwise would have?
On this front you always have to think about who is delivering the message, where they got it, and what they have to gain if you believe it. Then you have to calmly make decisions based on what you know at the time, common sense, and the level of risk you’re willing to live with. Sticking your head in the sand might protect your face from the sun, but you’ll still need to CYA.
The summer my step-dad was diagnosed with melanoma I was already pretty careful about not getting sunburned thanks to the day at the water park when the tops of my boyfriend's feet got so sunburned they turned blue. But Jerry’s death… That was life-changing and behavior-altering. It was agonizing and about 30 years premature. And his Texas sunbaked shoulders looked an awful lot like my own. My perceived risk there feels pretty high, so for *me*, my face gets whatever SPF is in my makeup, my pinto-bean-lookin’ eye area gets a higher SPF formula by a brand I trust, and my back and shoulders get clothes. Period. I’m the gal by the pool with the towel around my shoulders and happy to be that.
All my other body parts are on their own, and I'm willing to accept that level of risk.
Ambivalence. A very grown-up word. It means I can hold simultaneous and contradictory attitudes about one object. Sunscreen is helpful--and profitable. Gobs of money will continue going into sunscreen research--and sunscreen marketing. The suncreen knowledge-base will continue to evolve slowly--and be spun frequently. Still I have choices to make about it that will affect my health and my children’s health and attitudes. It’s complicated! So I go after the concrete the best I can and try not to knee-jerk too much.
Say, anyone know how long until the autumnal equinox?
A more reliable predictor of summer is the sudden flood of sunscreen "information." Email, magazine articles, local news. The information we get has been so processed and repackaged that it hardly resembles the original research. You and I couldn’t even understand the original research, much less figure out what we should do based on it. You can barely find a citation. What we do get, we get because months ago someone wrote "sunscreen" next to June on their marketing or story-planning calendar.
Still, cynical as I am, the very volume of information demands that I do something. But what? My own first-born-girl, concrete-craving brain can't make sense of all the contradictory info. Page 108 of RealSimple says that *any* sun-induced change of skin color is an injury. Flip the page and here's the swimsuit coverup that will best show off my "sunkissed shoulders."
The next best thing to black-and-white is a framework. That way only the information that matters has to be looked at, and I get to choose what matters. Everything else falls off the table.
So here. Let me fling my own heap of "information" devoid of citations into the teetering pile. It's a framework I've come up with for choosing--or changing--the sunscreen(s) you'll use this summer.
And the categories are:
Health and Safety
Lifestyle Choices
Skincare Goals
Immediate Gratification
If you, like me, are a self-improvement junkie but still fail to "put first things first," you'll be relieved to see that I will discuss the categories in the order in which you and I will actually consider them. We might as well be honest with our unimproved selves.
Immediate Gratification. Yea! One of the best ways to choose your sunscreen is to choose based on how it smells. Choose lime and coconut and you are perpetually on vacation; essential oils you love and your spirits are lifted. Or choose based on slip. Does it feel like a million bucks going on? If it burns your eyes, you aren't going to be that into using it on your face (she said as her own eyes complained about the sunscreen she bought while waiting for the ferry). Or are you chintzy? If you know you will mentally weigh the cost of applying that shot glass full of sunscreen every time you do it, choose economically. Consider the packaging. Are dropping brand names important to you? All these (and add your own) factors make the very act of using the sunscreen the payoff, and its actual benefits are just incidental. Just the way we pleasure-seeking pain-averse people like it!
Skincare Goals. Five years ago my skincare goal was to resolve my acne and scarring. Today I'm trying to reverse all these brown spots I picked up with sun exposure, age, and the hormonal fluctuations involved with a couple of pregnancies. The appropriate sunscreens are very different: oil-free, non-irritating, with just enough SPF back then compared to the bullet-proof Kevlar stuff I wear today. Vanity will make you do just about anything. Might as well make that work for you.
Lifestyle Choices. Do your summer plans include moments on the water? In the water? Sweating? Hiking? Air travel? There are specialized sunscreens that are waxy like chapstick that you can put on your forehead and eyelids so that it won't run into your eyes while you're delivering that backhand shot. Some sunscreens attract bees, which can "bee" alarming if you’re hiking. Sunscreen wipes are light enough to tuck into your backpack. Or into carry-on luggage. Or into your purse for spontaneous romantic lunches at sidewalk cafes. Hey! It's summer! Anything can happen!
And finally Health and Safety. There’s really only one thing you need to remember here: do not rely on sunscreen alone to protect your skin. That’s because while the research is conclusive that almost all skin cancer is caused by exposure to UV radiation in the sun’s rays, the jury is still out on how effective sunscreens—individually or as a whole—are for preventing it. I KNOW! It’s hard for me to believe it myself. But as an example of the gray area, your sunscreen’s SPF rating only measures protection against UVB. The labeling of “full-spectrum” that some sunscreens use is meaningless because there is no standard for measuring UVA protection. The FDA made a proposal for updating its testing and warning information back in 2007, but I can’t find anything more current. S-l-o-w.
What’s fast is the excited jumping up and down by watchdog groups and the watchers of watchdog groups. They are legitimately jumping up and down about side-issues involved with sunscreen. Like the other ingredients in sunscreens: Some companies will throw retinyl palmitate, a form of Vitamin A, into their sunscreen because of its anti-aging properties, but research indicates it may actually speed growth of tumors and lesions when exposed to light. Or delivery systems: How does spray-on sunscreen affect one’s lungs? Or consumers’ false sense of security: Do people rely on sunscreen to protect them, increase their exposure to sunlight accordingly, and end up absorbing more radiation than they otherwise would have?
On this front you always have to think about who is delivering the message, where they got it, and what they have to gain if you believe it. Then you have to calmly make decisions based on what you know at the time, common sense, and the level of risk you’re willing to live with. Sticking your head in the sand might protect your face from the sun, but you’ll still need to CYA.
The summer my step-dad was diagnosed with melanoma I was already pretty careful about not getting sunburned thanks to the day at the water park when the tops of my boyfriend's feet got so sunburned they turned blue. But Jerry’s death… That was life-changing and behavior-altering. It was agonizing and about 30 years premature. And his Texas sunbaked shoulders looked an awful lot like my own. My perceived risk there feels pretty high, so for *me*, my face gets whatever SPF is in my makeup, my pinto-bean-lookin’ eye area gets a higher SPF formula by a brand I trust, and my back and shoulders get clothes. Period. I’m the gal by the pool with the towel around my shoulders and happy to be that.
All my other body parts are on their own, and I'm willing to accept that level of risk.
Ambivalence. A very grown-up word. It means I can hold simultaneous and contradictory attitudes about one object. Sunscreen is helpful--and profitable. Gobs of money will continue going into sunscreen research--and sunscreen marketing. The suncreen knowledge-base will continue to evolve slowly--and be spun frequently. Still I have choices to make about it that will affect my health and my children’s health and attitudes. It’s complicated! So I go after the concrete the best I can and try not to knee-jerk too much.
Say, anyone know how long until the autumnal equinox?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Brow Intervention
More than ten years ago someone talked me down from some tweezers, saying "Friends don't let friends over-tweeze." Having spent a few thousand dollars on beauty school and having seen hundreds of brows up-close-and-personal, I see the wisdom--and beauty--of her words.
When it comes to brows, as with most things in life, we start with the hand we're dealt. The good news is that DNA tends to give each of us the brow that complements the overall package: subtle and blonde for the fair- skinned and small-featured; stronger brow for the curly-haired free spirit. And when nature gets a wild hair, the results are most often breath-takingly beautiful.
Enter teens, tweens and their tweezers.
I don't know when it starts, but we get an image of the perfect girl and try to control the parts of us we can into that shape. The most obvious place to start when you spend many, many hours a day two inches from the mirror? Brows, baby! And eyeliner.
The problem is that while eyeliner washes off (eventually), brows stand the chance of not growing back to their fullest potential so that when the teen finally grows into the aha! moment--that there isn't just one beautiful--it's harder for her to fully possess her own personal beauty.
Because she has *WHACK EYEBROWS*! I'm just sayin'...
So. Brow intervention. If it's your teen daughter or niece we're most likely talking about "too thin." I took a great class on brows from the woman who travels with Christina Aguilera as her personal esthetician. Can you imagine traveling with Christina Aguilera or even having a personal esthetician? Anyway, she said that other clients came to her wanting the Christina Aguilera brow. She said it was her responsibility to talk them out of this because "even Christina Aguilera shouldn't have a Christina Aguilera brow." I'm not sure Christina is the big deal anymore, but in any case, maybe you could use some help convincing someone that too thin is never in.
But then maybe you could use an intervention, too. The most common problem I see is the 40-something who has been maintaining the good shape an esthetician gave her, but hair by hair the arch has traveled toward her nose until it's even with the inside white of the corresponding eye. As they'd say in Texas: "That ain't right." Come in and let's start with what you have. A little wax, a little brow pencil for this in-between time, and you'll be back to your best shape in no time.
Second most common problem: brows that stop short. Most often this results in one brow being noticeably shorter than the other. While I totally get the concept that brows should be "sisters, not twins," I don't take much comfort in that adage when it comes to boobs or brows. Symmetry=Beauty. Most often. And while making the brow accentuate the eye beneath is lovely, if symmetry is possible, why not? My best tool toward this is tinting. As we age, the outer portion of the brow both lightens in color and thins in terms of hairs-per-square-inch first. Tinting those graying, depleting hairs will show you what you have to work with toward restoring balance to your face.
I could go on and on, but alas, the glass at Macaroni Grill is empty and a make-up application at the MAC counter beckons.
I hope to see you and yours--a daughter, a niece, or a BFF-- for a brow intervention soon. Because (say it with me!): Friends don't let friends over-tweeze!
When it comes to brows, as with most things in life, we start with the hand we're dealt. The good news is that DNA tends to give each of us the brow that complements the overall package: subtle and blonde for the fair- skinned and small-featured; stronger brow for the curly-haired free spirit. And when nature gets a wild hair, the results are most often breath-takingly beautiful.
Enter teens, tweens and their tweezers.
I don't know when it starts, but we get an image of the perfect girl and try to control the parts of us we can into that shape. The most obvious place to start when you spend many, many hours a day two inches from the mirror? Brows, baby! And eyeliner.
The problem is that while eyeliner washes off (eventually), brows stand the chance of not growing back to their fullest potential so that when the teen finally grows into the aha! moment--that there isn't just one beautiful--it's harder for her to fully possess her own personal beauty.
Because she has *WHACK EYEBROWS*! I'm just sayin'...
So. Brow intervention. If it's your teen daughter or niece we're most likely talking about "too thin." I took a great class on brows from the woman who travels with Christina Aguilera as her personal esthetician. Can you imagine traveling with Christina Aguilera or even having a personal esthetician? Anyway, she said that other clients came to her wanting the Christina Aguilera brow. She said it was her responsibility to talk them out of this because "even Christina Aguilera shouldn't have a Christina Aguilera brow." I'm not sure Christina is the big deal anymore, but in any case, maybe you could use some help convincing someone that too thin is never in.
But then maybe you could use an intervention, too. The most common problem I see is the 40-something who has been maintaining the good shape an esthetician gave her, but hair by hair the arch has traveled toward her nose until it's even with the inside white of the corresponding eye. As they'd say in Texas: "That ain't right." Come in and let's start with what you have. A little wax, a little brow pencil for this in-between time, and you'll be back to your best shape in no time.
Second most common problem: brows that stop short. Most often this results in one brow being noticeably shorter than the other. While I totally get the concept that brows should be "sisters, not twins," I don't take much comfort in that adage when it comes to boobs or brows. Symmetry=Beauty. Most often. And while making the brow accentuate the eye beneath is lovely, if symmetry is possible, why not? My best tool toward this is tinting. As we age, the outer portion of the brow both lightens in color and thins in terms of hairs-per-square-inch first. Tinting those graying, depleting hairs will show you what you have to work with toward restoring balance to your face.
I could go on and on, but alas, the glass at Macaroni Grill is empty and a make-up application at the MAC counter beckons.
I hope to see you and yours--a daughter, a niece, or a BFF-- for a brow intervention soon. Because (say it with me!): Friends don't let friends over-tweeze!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Questions, Anyone?
The question everyone can't help but ask (about Brazilian bikini waxes) even though they know the answer: "Is it going to hurt?"
Yes. Like hell. Next question.
"How often should I do it?"
Now that's a good question! Because it's the key to your long-term satisfaction. If you will do it about every 28 days, the pain on subsequent visits will be nothing like the first time. Once all the hairs are on the same growth cycle, you will be hair-free for longer periods of time and your appointments might start being around every 6 weeks or so. I give a pretty descent discount to clients who maintain regular appoints because it makes my job so much easier, and I pass that savings on to the client. And you know that if I’m putting forth less effort and am able to move more quickly there must be less pain for the client.
“What can I expect on my first visit?”
Your esthetician will have you complete a client in-take card that will include questions about your habits and history that impact your skin's ability to tolerate waxing including some health questions. Your answers to these questions help protect you and your esthetician. For example, if you are or were recently taking Accutane, you should not get any kind of waxing service because your skin could tear. On the other hand, if you have genital herpes or are HIV positive, you should be honest so that you esthetician can decide if s/he feels comfortable proceeding with the service. Good, honest communication—-including a form to bring these issues to the surface--is the foundation for a safe and satisfying service.
This would also be a great time to tell her about your expectations, especially regarding the all-gone vs. mostly-gone versions of the Brazilian bikini wax.
You will then be left in a small treatment room to undress from the waist down. Before she steps out, your esthetician should tell you whether you should keep your underwear on, wear disposable panties that she will provide or be completely nude from the waist down. The norm is to not wear panties but some estheticians actually specialize in panties-on Brazilians. So don't be shy about asking! She should give you a towel to drape over your pubic area while you lay there on the treatment table and wait for her to return. Side note: there might be a towelette for you to freshen up a bit if you want especially if your appointment is later in the day. Or maybe you want to do that in the restroom before you even check in at the front desk.
Anywho...
The esthetician will return, and the torture and humiliation will begin. If this is your first wax--and I assume it is since you've wasted an awful lot of time reading this if it’s not--she will begin by trimming your pubic hair down to about a quarter-inch. Some places actually expect you to do this before the appointment; some go as far as charging you extra if you don't.
Next the esthetician will use a tongue depressor to spread a thin film of wax on your skin in same direction your hair is growing. Then she will press a strip of paper into the wax a few times until it adheres. She will hold onto one end of the strip and then quickly, but smoothly pull the strip of paper off your skin in the direction opposite to how the wax was applied. If you look at the strip you will see that the hair has been pulled out of the follicle, bulb and all. your esthetician will repeat this process section-by-section, having you hold your skin taut to prevent bruising, having you move your legs this way and that so that she can access all the areas efficiently as possible.
Finally you will flip onto your stomach for one final, mortifying moment: the waxing of your butt crack. ("Oh, my gosh. Can you believe this is my job?!?!")
She will ask you to get on all fours or hold your cheeks apart. I'm a "hold your cheeks" kind of gal. I hate even having to ask that, but there's just no way around it. I gotta have a little help. The good news is that it hardly even hurts. The bad new is that yes, you most certainly do have hair back there. If you've had kids you've already made that horrific discovery.
At this point you are done. Hopefully she'll clean you up a bit with oil so that you're not uncomfortably sticky anD apply a soothing cream. If you are able to put on some fresh, preferably cotton underwear, your skin will love you for bringing those a long. Loose fitting pants or a skirt will feel best, too.
In the 24 hours after your wax, bacteria and irritation are the enemy. Try to avoid any activity that involves sweat and/or chaffing like exercise, sex, or traveling. Warning: meeting your hubby at the door with "Guess what I did today!" is not a good way to avoid sex. Also avoid soaps and fragrance in the bikini area because those can be irritating. Swimming can be problematic, too, because of irritating chlorine, salt water, and sun as well as bacteria from lakes and lounging in a wet suit. These are important considerations as you plan your wax in conjunction with travel.
Yes. Like hell. Next question.
"How often should I do it?"
Now that's a good question! Because it's the key to your long-term satisfaction. If you will do it about every 28 days, the pain on subsequent visits will be nothing like the first time. Once all the hairs are on the same growth cycle, you will be hair-free for longer periods of time and your appointments might start being around every 6 weeks or so. I give a pretty descent discount to clients who maintain regular appoints because it makes my job so much easier, and I pass that savings on to the client. And you know that if I’m putting forth less effort and am able to move more quickly there must be less pain for the client.
“What can I expect on my first visit?”
Your esthetician will have you complete a client in-take card that will include questions about your habits and history that impact your skin's ability to tolerate waxing including some health questions. Your answers to these questions help protect you and your esthetician. For example, if you are or were recently taking Accutane, you should not get any kind of waxing service because your skin could tear. On the other hand, if you have genital herpes or are HIV positive, you should be honest so that you esthetician can decide if s/he feels comfortable proceeding with the service. Good, honest communication—-including a form to bring these issues to the surface--is the foundation for a safe and satisfying service.
This would also be a great time to tell her about your expectations, especially regarding the all-gone vs. mostly-gone versions of the Brazilian bikini wax.
You will then be left in a small treatment room to undress from the waist down. Before she steps out, your esthetician should tell you whether you should keep your underwear on, wear disposable panties that she will provide or be completely nude from the waist down. The norm is to not wear panties but some estheticians actually specialize in panties-on Brazilians. So don't be shy about asking! She should give you a towel to drape over your pubic area while you lay there on the treatment table and wait for her to return. Side note: there might be a towelette for you to freshen up a bit if you want especially if your appointment is later in the day. Or maybe you want to do that in the restroom before you even check in at the front desk.
Anywho...
The esthetician will return, and the torture and humiliation will begin. If this is your first wax--and I assume it is since you've wasted an awful lot of time reading this if it’s not--she will begin by trimming your pubic hair down to about a quarter-inch. Some places actually expect you to do this before the appointment; some go as far as charging you extra if you don't.
Next the esthetician will use a tongue depressor to spread a thin film of wax on your skin in same direction your hair is growing. Then she will press a strip of paper into the wax a few times until it adheres. She will hold onto one end of the strip and then quickly, but smoothly pull the strip of paper off your skin in the direction opposite to how the wax was applied. If you look at the strip you will see that the hair has been pulled out of the follicle, bulb and all. your esthetician will repeat this process section-by-section, having you hold your skin taut to prevent bruising, having you move your legs this way and that so that she can access all the areas efficiently as possible.
Finally you will flip onto your stomach for one final, mortifying moment: the waxing of your butt crack. ("Oh, my gosh. Can you believe this is my job?!?!")
She will ask you to get on all fours or hold your cheeks apart. I'm a "hold your cheeks" kind of gal. I hate even having to ask that, but there's just no way around it. I gotta have a little help. The good news is that it hardly even hurts. The bad new is that yes, you most certainly do have hair back there. If you've had kids you've already made that horrific discovery.
At this point you are done. Hopefully she'll clean you up a bit with oil so that you're not uncomfortably sticky anD apply a soothing cream. If you are able to put on some fresh, preferably cotton underwear, your skin will love you for bringing those a long. Loose fitting pants or a skirt will feel best, too.
In the 24 hours after your wax, bacteria and irritation are the enemy. Try to avoid any activity that involves sweat and/or chaffing like exercise, sex, or traveling. Warning: meeting your hubby at the door with "Guess what I did today!" is not a good way to avoid sex. Also avoid soaps and fragrance in the bikini area because those can be irritating. Swimming can be problematic, too, because of irritating chlorine, salt water, and sun as well as bacteria from lakes and lounging in a wet suit. These are important considerations as you plan your wax in conjunction with travel.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
And Now for Something Completely Different
One of the wackier parts of my job is doing Brazilian bikini waxes. I've been doing them long enough that I don't giggle anymore, but sometimes I do have to fight the urge to ask my client, "Oh, my gosh. Can you believe this is my job?!?" Cause that just wouldn't be professional.
I'm surprised by how many I do especially since they aren't on my menu. That's because I prefer to do a regular bikini the first time I work with a client so that both of us are more comfortable doing the more intense Brazilian.
So just what is a Brazilian? Basically a Brazilian bikini wax is what you'd do if you wanted to wear a Brazilian-style (thong) swimsuit out in public. Your front pubic hair would be waxed completely off or just a small amount left, but the labia and your behind would be completely free of hair.
From what I can tell, the truest Brazilian has a thin rectangle of hair; most people I work with want it all gone. Then there are stenciled shapes, dye jobs, and "wigs" but that's a whole other article...
Now most of us would not want to wear a thong swimsuit in public. So how do you explain the popularity of Brazilians?
Most of my Brazilian clients fall into two categories: young single collegiate-to-early-professionals and moms in their early 40s. For both groups, Brazilians are a great way to feel sexy. I've thought a lot about why this is, and I've decided that it's because it makes you stop thinking about this particular body part in terms of function only and you start thinking of it more as a feature. Or maybe it's that you go from not thinking about it at all to putting some intention and energy there and confidence follows, which is sexy in itself. It also feels daring.
Husbands generally respond well, although I would definitely gauge his interest beforehand if you're thinking about surprising him. I don't want you in tears on you 15th anniversary because it’s not his thing!
Now WHY do husbands tend to find this sort of thing attractive? Does it mean your husband is really attracted to pre-pubescent girls? No. No matter what you do downstairs, you aren't going to pass for pre-pubescent, honey. He'll be being attracted to you--his hot little wife who did something a little risky, a little different. It's not any more pre-pubescent than hairless underarms or legs.
I'm surprised by how many I do especially since they aren't on my menu. That's because I prefer to do a regular bikini the first time I work with a client so that both of us are more comfortable doing the more intense Brazilian.
So just what is a Brazilian? Basically a Brazilian bikini wax is what you'd do if you wanted to wear a Brazilian-style (thong) swimsuit out in public. Your front pubic hair would be waxed completely off or just a small amount left, but the labia and your behind would be completely free of hair.
From what I can tell, the truest Brazilian has a thin rectangle of hair; most people I work with want it all gone. Then there are stenciled shapes, dye jobs, and "wigs" but that's a whole other article...
Now most of us would not want to wear a thong swimsuit in public. So how do you explain the popularity of Brazilians?
Most of my Brazilian clients fall into two categories: young single collegiate-to-early-professionals and moms in their early 40s. For both groups, Brazilians are a great way to feel sexy. I've thought a lot about why this is, and I've decided that it's because it makes you stop thinking about this particular body part in terms of function only and you start thinking of it more as a feature. Or maybe it's that you go from not thinking about it at all to putting some intention and energy there and confidence follows, which is sexy in itself. It also feels daring.
Husbands generally respond well, although I would definitely gauge his interest beforehand if you're thinking about surprising him. I don't want you in tears on you 15th anniversary because it’s not his thing!
Now WHY do husbands tend to find this sort of thing attractive? Does it mean your husband is really attracted to pre-pubescent girls? No. No matter what you do downstairs, you aren't going to pass for pre-pubescent, honey. He'll be being attracted to you--his hot little wife who did something a little risky, a little different. It's not any more pre-pubescent than hairless underarms or legs.
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