by theglamscientist | | acne, hair follicle, pores, sebaceous glands, sebum, skin cell regeneration |
A few of you have asked me beauty questions regarding acne and acne treatments. I like to be thorough with my answers so now is the perfect time for a blog series on acne. We will start with the causes, after all, if you don’t know why it happens how can you treat it?
The source of acne lies far beneath the skin’s surface in the sebaceous hair follicles (also known as pores). The sebaceous glands produce an oil called sebum which is your skin’s natural “moisture” supply. If all goes well then when your skin cells die, they are sloughed off in your sebum supply. Sometimes, things go awry and your skin cells don’t slough evenly. Whatever is left of dead skin cells and bacteria etc gets sticky and clogs the sebaceous hair follicle(s). Overtime, there is a build up of sebum, dead cells and bacteria which presents itself in the form of a pimple or acne. In addition to the gookey stuff, the body will respond by sending an army of white blood cells to fight the bacteria– those get stuck too and while in battle increase pressure in the bump and cause it to hurt. Ultimately the factors that affect acne are your body’s rate of skin cell regeneration and sebum production.
The above is fact. The following is my educated opinion. I welcome my esthy friends to weigh in.
The consensus in the medical/scientific world is that dirt, food and most cosmetics do not cause or even affect the severity of acne. I beg to differ. Keeping in mind that acne is generally caused by dead skin cells and bacteria becoming sticky and clogging the pores, I can’t imagine how dirt wouldn’t get stuck in there too. I have the same theory for makeup that is applied in excess and not properly removed. In regards to food (junk food) our bodies get rid of toxins the best way they know how– secreting toxins through the pores is not a far cry. Consider this: How many of us have been able to smell garlic on a person’s body. I mean, they didn’t even have to speak and you just knew they had Italian food for lunch. Or how about the odor of alcohol radiating off of a person that has had entirely too much to drink… Its seeping out of their pores! My point is– all the chemical preservatives, fat and cholesterol that is ingested from junk food has to get out somehow and the normal exit is not always the most efficient.
So that’s acne in a nutshell. There is no real cure for acne, but there are treatments. Once successfully treated, prevention is key. We will discuss courses of action in the next post of the series.
Until then… Stay Glamorous, acne and all!
by theglamscientist | | scent inspirations |
Its been quite awhile since I’ve shared my scent inspirations with you all. The first was inspired by the feather fashion trend. That scent actually made it to my product line as Arabesque. I was later inspired by a funky piece of furniture. Today I called on my Twitter friends for inspiration from their favorite songs. Thanks to @_JenniferElaine, @Relax_Naturally and @Krissy90220 for playing along.
Purple Rain (Prince)
The music and the melody of this song inspire a deep, heavy, sultry blend. In my mind I see (smell)a heavy floral top note anchored by a touch of spice and rounded off with a hint of musk or vanilla. My florals of choice would be rose, tuberose and/or lavender. For a spicey note I’m leaning toward carnation. A leather note would be kind of sexy in this blend too but minus the vanilla or musk.
Money Honey (Lady GaGa)
This song is fun, but its hot too. I think a citrus blend is fitting. I imagine a combination of grapefruit and lime top notes, ylang ylang to add something sweet to the blend with ginger and balsam peru at the base.
Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel)
What a lovely song! I drew inspiration from the lyrics of this song because while listening to it I seemed to totally ignore the music. For me this song is the epitome of a mother’s love; constant, free and unconditional. This scent has to be warm, inviting and comforting. My vision is a benzoin and/or vanilla base, a nutmeg and clove heart and a touch of jasmine to make it complete.
I plan to experiment with each of these fragrances in the near future. I enjoy the creative process of turning my vision into reality.
Thanks ladies for the inspiration!
by theglamscientist | | Uncategorized |
Its been quite awhile since I’ve done a self-esteem post. One of my main goals in life and business is to help women learn to love themselves completely. A big part of loving yourself is celebrating the things you are good at and the things you have accomplished. Just as significant is creating new reasons to be proud of yourself. Humans are the most intelligent life forms. We have the ability to constantly learn, grow and change; meaning we have infinite opportunities to strive toward being our best selves. That means we should always set goals, accomplish them and set more.
I was watching my son move around a couple days ago, fascinated by his development, when I had a very intriguing thought. We teach babies how to walk, but we never teach them to crawl. How relevant that is to everyday life! Crawling is the first step to a person’s independent mobility. After we master crawling, we are ready to walk so we look to someone to teach us. Here’s my point: Do all that you can to help yourself achieve great things BEFORE you reach out for help. When you have first learned to crawl, you have increased confidence and experience the feeling of accomplishment which gives you the drive to achieve even more. It is inevitable that we will need some help getting to where we want to be, but we should never rely on someone else to get us started.
Its ok to get your knees a little dusty before you slip on those stilettos.
by theglamscientist | | lead, lipstick, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics |
Lead is not really a new fear factor. We have known for at least 2 decades that lead based paint is a “no-no”, especially if you have small children. In more recent years scientists and health professionals have begun to point out lead content in other items that are typically ingested. The FDA currently regulates lead content in candy and food/cosmetic dyes. Unfortunately, no level of lead is deemed safe for ingestion, so even with regulation, there is still the possibility of ill-effects. The real purpose of this post is to discuss the dangers of lead because it can be ingested from your use of lipstick.
It is estimated that over a lifetime, the average woman ingests 4-10 lbs of lipstick. That is an awful lot when you consider how little you put on at a time. Imagine for a second eating lipstick by the tube… each is probably about a half ounce (I don’t really know, just roll with me.) There are 16 oz in a lb… so 1 lb of lipstick is 32 sticks… times 10… that’s 320 tubes of lipstick!!! Enough of the numbers, my point is, eating that much lipstick with a lead content of any amount is playing with fire.
Lead is harmful in that it has been found to be a neurotoxin that hinders learning, language and behavioral development, lowers IQ, and can cause increased aggression in some individuals. The problem is so major because the body cannot process and eliminate lead, so what is ingested over time will remain built up inside you.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics conducted an in depth study of lead levels 33 popular lipsticks on the market. What they found is only 39% of the lipsticks they tested showed no detectable levels of lead. This means chances are, your favorite lipstick is toxic– Buyer BEWARE!
There are some natural alternatives that are lead free, but they are a little harder to find. My suggestion is to scour the internet and support your handmade cosmetic companies. Click here to view the full report A Poison Kiss: The Problem of Lead in Lipstick.
Intelligence is the ultimate glam accessory… don’t ruin it with lead exposure!
by theglamscientist | | foot mask, foot scrubs, foot soak, loofa sponge, pedicure, pumice stone |
This blog post is the result of numerous twitpics, tweets and comments regarding BAD FEET. While we are not all fortunate enough to treat ourselves to periodic spa pedi’s, there are plenty of cheap and easy ways to manage the condition of the skin on your feet. Here are just a few simple home remedies that will make even the most difficult feet presentable. Men, you can benefit from these tips as well!
The first step to decent feet is a good soak. Soaks are necessary to soften the cuticles, dead skin and callouses that form on the feet. You can find plenty of ingredients for a good soak right in your kitchen cabinet. Although I’ve never tried it myself, I’ve been told a mix of apple cider vinegar and warm water does an excellent job of priming the skin. Mix the vinegar and water in equal parts and soak your feet for 15-20 minutes. Be sure the water is warm, not hot. Hot water is drying to the skin. This soak has also been known to cure athlete’s foot.
Following the soak, use a loofa sponge, pumice stone or foot rasp to scrub the dead skin from your feet. Now would be a good time to also use a homemade salt or sugar scrub. Try brown sugar or sea salt with olive oil. I think a good ratio is 3:1 sugar/salt:oil but feel free to play around with the ratio until you get a texture that you like (or need). Here’s a tip: Never use a or let anyone else use a credo blade to remove the dead skin from your feet. It removes far too many layers of skin both healthy and dead. As with any healing process, the skin will come back more tough and thicker than before. The result is similar to the development of a scab when a cut or scrape is healing.
After a good scrubbing, your feet could benefit from a mask and a great moisturizer. A mixture of oatmeal, honey and olive oil makes a great mask to soothe and moisturize the skin. The key is to make it thick so that it sticks to your feet for awhile. Rinse feet with warm water and follow with your favorite lotion. Wear a pair of white cotton socks for awhile to lock in the moisture.
A little daily TLC for your tootsies will go a long way in preventing those embarassing “kicking flour” moments. My best advice is to keep a pumice stone and/or foot rasp in the shower right next to your razor.
Bad feet can ruin the hottest strappy stilettos and that’s not glamorous at all!
Here’s to the glam life!
