Blog - Page 5 of 5 - TheSkullKisses

To Peel Or Not To Peel … Let Me Answer That Question

When someone says Chemical Peel an automatic red light flashes – Danger Danger!!!

Why is that? Are we so afraid of the word Chemical that some of us won’t even explore the possibility of its benefits in the skin care world?

It’s true that the word “Chemical” has developed a bad reputation. With the world going green and organic it’s no surprise that the term has lost most of its positivity. But what about in skin care?

Did you know that many of the chemicals in Chemical Peels are derived from natural ingredients? It’s true!

Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) are acids derived from foods, and, as it turns out a type of acid that’s safe to apply to our skin. Lactic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid; Lactic acid is found in sour milk, but you may have also heard of or tried other AHAs, such glycolic acid, from sugar cane, which is also a popular ingredient in anti-aging topical skin care products.

Sure, acids can be aggressive but the benefits can be long lasting and feel really great afterwards. Think about it, a simple facial though relaxing cannot penetrate the skin deeply enough to make a noticeable impact.

A Chemical Peel is considered a luxury type of facial because of the benefits, chemicals when used appropriately can remove the outer most layer of skin (which is mostly dead skin) and help rejuvenate healthier, smoother skin.

Chemical Peels can treat a wide range of skin conditions from acne to brightening to overall clearer looking skin. And who doesn’t want that right?

So before saying absolutely not to a Chemical Peel, read about it and who knows a Chemical Peel may be right for you!

There are two specific peels that I want to talk about in particular.

Green Peel – New Skin in 5 Days

I was introduced to the Green Peel when I started working at Laserlicious. The Green Peel is a propriety skin care and product line from Dr. Schrammek. The Green Peel is a facial treatment that works on deeper level than traditional chemical peels.

The Green Peel is a Herbal Peeling Treatment which helps people with various skin problems to get a clean and even skin. The basis is a mixture of eight selected herbs containing enzymes, minerals and vitamins, which are massaged into the skin. Varying amounts of the herbal plant mixtures allows the Green Peel Herbal Peeling Treatment to be adapted to individual skin conditions and the personal treatment goals.

As an aesthetician, I have seen what the Green Peel can do for clients with different skin goals. Because this treatment and skin care line is proprietary, I had to be fully trained to be able to offer this treatment. I went for training and learned a lot about what this treatment is and how it can treat different skin conditions from acne, pigmentation and wrinkles. There are three Green Peel treatments, Classic, Fresh Up and Energy.

The Green Peel Classic is the most aggressive of the three, the Herbal Peeling mixture is intensively massaged into the skin. Blood circulation is increased, the supply of oxygen and nutrition is improved and skin renewal is stimulated. This effect is stopped after two to five days depending on the skin texture with a more or less strong peeling process of the skin. Another reason why this treatment is unique is that you cannot wash your face for five days. The Green Peel is still working even after the treatment is over. I know this sounds tough, not washing your face for five days but the process and results are worth it.

Green Peel Energy is the medium level of the Green Peel treatments. This treatment with natural herbs noticeably provides energy. It stimulates blood circulation and metabolism and thus leads to a natural improvement of the skin texture without any peeling effect. Green Peel Energy provides your skin with the natural energy it needs to renew the cells. It helps to reduce age-related skin appearances as well as impurities, scarring and pigment disorders. The treatment visibly improves the skin’s appearance and harmonizes its surface. This treatment is ideal for those people who don’t want the aggressiveness of the Classic but want a noticeable difference.

Green Peel Fresh Up is the lightest peel of the three. With this method, there is also no peeling effect. Instead, the skin is stimulated and refreshed with natural herbs. Blood circulation is stimulated, pores open and the skin is now able to optimally absorb the ingredients of the subsequent skin care. The complexion appears brighter and fresher. Green Peel Fresh Up vitalizes the cells and your skin glows with a new freshness. This treatment is a perfect pick me up for the skin versus a traditional facial.

My Experience with Green Peel

When I went for the training for the Green Peel, I was also given the treatment of the Green Peel Classic. The steps for the treatment are pretty straightforward, same steps as a proper skin treatment what is different is the mixture of the herbs, the concentrate and foaming cleanser that is massaged in a specific way on to the skin. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. The sensation I felt during the herbal massage felt like pins and needles on my face, which means it was really working. I felt good after the treatment; my skin felt fresh but tender. I remember that I got home and my face was a little swollen which is a normal reaction to the treatment. The five days after were an adventure especially going back to work and not washing my face every day, putting on makeup and having my face shed dead skin. I survived the treatment and the peeling aftermath and my skin has never been better!

The Glow Effect

Chemical peels work by deeply exfoliating the surface layers of skin forcing your body to quickly replenish it with new cells. When peels are performed regularly, the skin gets used to this process and begins to rejuvenate itself like younger skin. To be sure that the body doesn’t react to this deep exfoliation as it would to trauma, which can lead to pigment changes, exfoliation must be introduced gradually giving the skin time to adjust.

By now you have probably heard a lot about the new line AlumierMD and its signature Glow Peel.

The reason why it’s all over the media is because of its amazing results.

The Glow Peel targets an array of skin imperfections including: acne, scars, pigmentation and overall texture of the skin.

About two years ago I had really bad skin, during my time in aesthetics school my skin had gone through a lot of ‘abuse’, the constant skin treatments really did reek havoc on my skin. The breakouts were a lot and I was feeling super self conscience about my face. Fast forward to when Juanita from AlumierMD came in and introduced us to the amazing treatment – The Glow Peel.

After just one treatment my skin cleared up almost completely, after having a second Glow Peel my skin was back to its former glory – CLEAR SKIN

I couldn’t be happier

Some common peeling ingredients include alpha hydroxy acids, beta hydroxy acids, trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and retinol. Alpha hydroxy acids include glycolic acid (from sugar cane), lactic acid (from milk), citric acid (from oranges and lemons), malic acid (from apples and pears), tartaric acid (from grapes) and mandelic acid (from bitter almonds). Salicylic acid is the only beta hydroxy acid. The strength of a chemical peel is determined by the type of ingredients used, their concentrations and the pH of the formulation.

Another ingredient worth mentioning is Soy Amino Acids. Soy Amino Acids are extracted from yeast and in skin care is used to stimulate cell renewal resulting in brighter and smoother skin for which I benefited from and grateful for.

The Glow Peel does as it name says, it allows the dead skin to peel off the face while leaving fresh new skin glowing. With its clinically proven formulas, this peel will have everyone peeling and glowing with happiness!

I will be sharing my experiences with different peels in the future. Have any questions? Drop me a line!

Skin Care – The Essentials

It can be extremely overwhelming looking through different skin care products, ones that are for night time, ones that are for day time, ones that can only be used twice a week, ones that are intended for sensitive skin, ones for combination skin.

How does one know what product is right for them?

What ingredients should we look for?

What ingredients should we avoid?

My skin was never as good as it is right now. I wasn’t taking care of it as I should and I wasn’t using the right products. It wasn’t until I went to school for Medical Aesthetics that I truly understood and appreciated skin care.

I always thought that I had sensitive skin. The redness, the break outs and the overall sensitivity of my skin. I never thought that I would be anything else. Enter, skin care part one. Turns out that the best way to determine your skin type (oily, dry, sensitive, combination) is after you cleanse your face, how do your cheeks feel? It’s normal for our T-zone to be oily (hence the normal part of the combination) but our cheeks are a different story. If you feel tight and rough you have dry skin; if you look and feel shiny then you have oily skin.

What if I have sensitive skin? Let me answer that question by explaining what sensitive skin really is. There is a difference between sensitive and reactive skin. Reactive skin is when skin is extremely delicate to products and treatments. The skin reacts in a negative way, whether by breaking out, turning red and possibly getting an allergic reaction. I used to be this way, my skin was very reactive. It still is to a certain degree, but not as much as it used to be. What I did to counteract the reactiveness to my skin was using the right products at home and getting the proper treatments for skin. Sensitive skin is skin that is prone to redness, broken capillaries, and mild breakouts.

Now if I can battle my bad skin back to good health you can too.

What is most important to understand that great skin is two fold – One, proper skin treatments. Skin treatments that target the biggest issues and then maintain the results. Two, proper home care. Home care is so important, treatments will help solve issues but proper home care will maintain and prolong the results of the treatments and trust me, speaking from experience, it will improve your skin so much.

Skin care should be an essential part of life. I know that proper products and treatments can be costly and it is an investment. Remember – you wear your face everyday. Take care of it.

I suggest starting with the essentials in home care and building on to it when you’ve established a routine. It’s the best way in my opinion to train yourself to take better care of your skin.

What to start with … The Big Three

Cleanser – it is critical to have the proper cleanser for your skin. We need to cleanse twice a day. Using soap, or a cleanser not for your skin type will cause more damage than good to your skin. Our skin has a natural barrier to protect it from free radicals (the environment etc) if we strip that barrier with chemical infused, improper cleansers we are killing the one thing that is intended to help us have great skin.

Moisturizer – it’s always important to keep our skin hydrated and fresh. A proper moisturizer will do just that. It’s extremely important to use moisturizer that is suited for your skin or else your skin will react negatively. In my experience, when I used the wrong the moisturizer on my skin, I broke out from access oil on my skin. It wasn’t pleasant. Use the moisturizer best for your skin type.

Sunscreen – Short-term sun damage shows as a sunburn. Long-term, unprotected exposure causes gradual damage to skin known as sun damage and accounts for about 90% of the signs of skin aging. I cannot stress this enough, we all have to wear sunscreen all the time year-round. The sun although we love, causes damage to the skin. It’s not that we have to stay inside at all times but we all need to protect ourselves all year. Proper sunscreen is an essential in skin care, a physical sunscreen is the best to have in your skin care roster; it protects against UVA and UVB rays.

My Essentials

Here is what I am using – thanks to the awesome people at AlumierMD my skin has been at it’s absolute best!

Side Note: I do use other products, quite a few actually. I will get to everything I use, I promise! What I am sharing is literally the foundation of Skin Care.

Cleanser – AlumierMD’s Purifying Gel Cleanser is a pH balanced foaming cleanser that gently and effectively cleans skin by removing impurities and excess oil, leaving it smooth and soft. Coconut and plant-based surfactants gently cleanse. Chamomile, aloe and opuntia ficus-indica soothe and hydrate for skin that feels fresh, supple and comfortable. I love this cleanser, it keeps my skin hydrated and it feels amazing every time I use it. I’ve tried many cleansers in my lifetime and this one is by far the best.

Moisturizer – AlumierMD’s HydraDew Moisturizer is an intensely rich formula that moisturizes, nourishes and improves skin texture using soothing and moisturizing ingredients like sodium hyaluronate, shea butter, aloe and niacinamide (vitamin B3). Powerhouse peptides stimulate collagen and elastin, firming the skin and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Antioxidants protect and neutralize free radicals formed from the sun and pollution restoring a healthy radiant complexion. This moisturizer is the perfect one for me as I am more dry than oily. The application of this product is seamless and light despite the richness of it.

Sunscreen – AlumierMD’s Moisture Matte Broad Spectrum SPF 40 Sunscreen provides powerful broad-spectrum protection against harmful UVA and UVB rays using a combination of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Antioxidants like caffeine, silybin and knotgrass extract protect skin from UV and IR (infrared)-induced free radical damage. This formula lightly moisturizes to smooth and hydrate, while absorbing excess oil to create a matte finish. Cutting-edge, color-encapsulated beads blend on the skin, creating a sheer tint and healthy glow. Offered in ivory, sand and amber tints (because one shade doesn’t suit all skin tones). TIP: Save time and use this tinted sunscreen as your daily foundation. I personally have never been a fan of sunscreen and never used it. But this formula has changed my perspective on sunscreen. These products are so concentrated that I really only ever need a pea-size of each product to cover my entire face. This particular product is also used as my moisturizer in the morning so it works out really well for me in the morning.

I eventually started including more products such as serums and eye creams which I will talk about in future posts.

Need more advice and/or help?

I offer virtual consultations over Instagram or via email. Feel free to drop a line. I’d be happy to help!

My Journey of Losing Weight

Before I dive into my experience in beauty and skin care; it’s important to me to share my weight loss journey with you as it plays a huge role into how I ended up in the beauty industry.

Ever since I can remember I have always struggled with my weight. I was always the big girl, but strangely enough I was never treated unfairly by a lot of people (something that I am very grateful for) But I knew that there were always going to be limitations in my life in things that I can and cannot do.

My high school days were pretty awesome. I had amazing friends, incredible teachers that were positive influences. But there were times where certain situations would come up that I would be excluded because of my size. I couldn’t really figure out why I was as big as I was. I wasn’t eating unhealthy food, I was active (not as much as I should have but enough) even with all of that, I was getting bigger and me not knowing was stressing me out. While figuring out what I wanted to do after high school I was also trying to figure out why my body was acting the way it was.

My journey to trying to figure out what was wrong with my body lasted nearly ten years. My weight struggle gotten worse, in the span of ten years I had gained one hundred pounds. Within that time I had gradually lost my monthly cycle. When I lost it completely I felt like less of a woman. I was gaining weight and I had reached a point where I didn’t care so I stopped taking care of myself.

Years passed and I was still the big girl, the big girl who wasn’t really a girl. I had counted on both hands twice how many doctors I have seen trying to figure out what was wrong with my and my body. Nothing was helping, after countless doctor visits and money spent on medications I had given up. It wasn’t until my last ditch effort to see a reproductive endocrinologist and within two weeks, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Now that I had something to work with, I was slowly working my way to live with my new condition. With the decline of my self confidence and health I had hit rock bottom. I was nearly three hundred pounds, I was all alone and my health was at an all time low. It wasn’t until I went to Italy with my best friend that I had really realized how low I had gotten.

My trip to Italy was one that I will never forget. It was both amazing and depressing all at the same time. It was amazing because I was able to see and experience things that I never thought I would. It was depressing because I felt like I couldn’t keep up, I was constantly out of breath and felt like I was going to pass out. It was not a pleasant experience in that regard, I hated myself for not being able to follow through with everything that was happening around me. The biggest thing was climbing the stairs at St Peter’s Church in Vatican City. It was not a pleasant experience for me, I was winded, I couldn’t catch up and by the time I was up at the top I felt sick and couldn’t enjoy it. When I came back from the trip as happy as I was to have had the opportunity to see a beautiful country I was also very depressed that I couldn’t maximize the opportunity I was given to the fullest.

View From Top of St Peter’s – Vatican City June 2013

The real depressing part was actually my trip to Florida for a wedding. We decided as a group that we wanted to hit Disney World and Universal Studios which is always a good thing. The trip was fun but again I still felt like I couldn’t keep up. It wasn’t until we were in line for a roller coaster and when it was our turn when the worker said I couldn’t ride the roller coaster because I was too big. I was so embarrassed that I just ran off to the bathroom and cried my eyes out for nearly ten minutes. Even writing about it now makes me emotional. It was a rude awakening for me. I knew at that time I had hit rock bottom.

I knew that simple dieting, exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle was not enough for me. With having PCOS it was very hard for me to lose weight, if I wanted my cycle back on track I had to lose weight; it had become a vicious circle for me. I was already getting screened for diabetes and heart disease, it totally freaked me out. I needed something drastic and a tool to help me get to where I wanted to be health-wise. I had met up with a friend who had gone through a similar situation and she talked to me about the bariatric clinic, we discussed having gastric bypass surgery. I knew it was a big thing to do but I was wanting to move forward with it.

I went through the whole process and I was pleasantly surprised on how comfortable I felt. I wasn’t too fond of the dietician but everyone else was easy to deal with. The process was tedious but worth it. It wasn’t until I met with the surgeon that I truly felt that this was going to work for me. My family wasn’t very supportive at first, no one outside of my brother and sister and my parents knew I was going through with it. I knew that my parents were scared for me, my brother being a personal trainer wasn’t keen on the idea of it and my sister was on the same page as my parents. I knew I just needed one person to be on my side, that person was my sister. I brought my sister with me to my appointment with my surgeon; I told her that she could ask any questions and say anything she needed to say and she did. My surgeon was impressed with my sister and she with him. It was after our appointment that my sister turned to me and said ‘okay, I’m on board, let’s do this’

Even though I had my sister who was on my side, there was someone else who was a rock for me in the background which is my now sister-in-law, Kaitlyn. You will hear a lot about her, she is the bestest friend, sister and confidant anyone could ask for. She was in my corner throughout this whole process and she continues to be and I am forever grateful.

The day of my surgery was an interesting one, even as I was leaving the house my dad said to me ‘you know you don’t have to do this, you can stay home’ Needless to say I didn’t listen to him. It was actually my brother and his then girlfriend (now wife, my sister-in-law and best friend) who brought me to the hospital. I was so grateful that my brother was with me and was supportive, he stayed with me up until I was called into the operating room. The surgery lasted about four hours and I was in the hospital for three days. The recovery was a slow process but I was handling it well. My surgeon told me that if I listened to him and followed his exact regime I would be able to run up the stairs at St Peter’s. I listened to his advice and I was gradually losing the weight.

Fast forward to now, it’s been nearly six years since I’ve had my surgery and I feel great. Since I have been able to join a gym, eat better and actually be able to keep up with things. My family is so supportive now, I have been cleared of all health issues and now I am able experience new things like classes at the gym and go shopping without feeling depressed about it.

I am enjoying my life so much more now. I am able to keep up and I feel like I finally conquer the world.

My First Blog

Welcome to my First Blog!

“You May Say I’m A Dreamer, But I’m Not The Only One” John Lennon
Strawberry Fields – New York

Thank you for taking the time in reading what I have to say. The intention of this blog is to give you a glimpse into my world and the journey I have gone through to get me to where I am today.

The reason why I wanted to start this is to be able to express myself, to tell my story and share my journey with the world. I want to have outlet to write freely and share my thoughts with who ever is willing to take a read. One goal is to be able to experience and see new things and share them with the world, to be able to show people what I see. To be able to share everyday life from my perspective is a true blessing. I am very grateful for this opportunity.

My life has been a rollercoaster for the last few years to say the least. And yet, I managed to come out on top with a little help from my friends.

I’ve been through a lot in my personal life as well as my professional life, I do believe that things happen for a reason and if it wasn’t for the path that I was on I would not be here to tell my story today. You will see in my My Story section that I have had quite the journey health wise and career wise. I’ve been through hell and back when it comes to my weight and self confidence. I had to really work on myself and really get to know myself which was a real learning experience for me.

On my path to self discovery I learned a lot about the world that I live in and the people around me. I realized that it was okay for me to be selfish and to do things for myself. I am still kind of a people pleaser but now I do come first most of the time. I do consider myself a kind and generous person but I do have to take care of myself. My philosophy on that is simple “Take care of myself first, so I can take care of others later” I am really no good to anyone if I am not taking care of myself. I believe this 100%

I am all about being positive and having a positive outlook on life. What you give out to the universe the universe will give it back. I am here to express myself in a positive and fun way. I don’t like negativity or people who drain you because of their negativity. I choose to be a positive person and live my life accordingly.

Once I started doing things for myself, people around me treated me with more respect; they didn’t really get mad at me for being selfish but rather okay with it because I was taking the time for me. I have been told on many times that I should always take some ‘Me’ time. I finally listened and honestly, it’s been the best thing ever!

Starting this blog site is the big ‘Me’ thing that I have done and I have no regrets. I am so excited to get this started and see where this journey takes me.

Thank you so much for visiting and reading!