Let's Face it-we can't always get a professional skin treatment....

So here is quick and inexpensive "boot camp" to refresh your dry, flaking winter skin! First you need a good home exfoliation product- I recommend the Kinerase Instant Radiance Peel pads. You can buy these at Sephora but I think you need to purchase an entire box of 15, which is $75.00. I sell individual ones at Clearly You (www.clearlyyouonline) which you can order for $5.00 each. These lollipop-shaped pads are very easy to use- after you wash your face (discontinue using any prescription products such as Retin A, Differin, Tazorac 3 days prior), you open the packet and wipe the moistened pad over your face and neck. I have found that there is usually enough liquid left to use the following night-just put in a little ziplock bag. Don't wash it off your face-you sleep with it on. Then in the morning you rinse and put your seums/moisturizers on. Don't forget sunscreen! (Anthelios SPF 15 is great). You use the peels for 5 days in a row, you won't experience any major peel but you will notice tighter, smoother skin. The following week put on a heavy moisturizing mask (I like the SkinMedica TNS Hydrating mask-about $48.00 for 8 oz) for 10 minutes-then rinse it off or rinse off in the shower. You can do the home peels every 3 weeks.

Let's Face it-we hate dry, chapped, peeling lips!

This one is so easy to prevent-start with a nighttime exfoliating cream-I like Glytone's Nighttime Lip treatment with salcylic acid ($10.50)-put the cream on at night and use either LaRoche-Posay's Ceralip repair cream ($11.00) during the day or a good lip balm with sunscreen. If the exfoliating cream is too strong-use every other night. If you have vertical lines around your lips, especially upper lip area, then use Kinerase Lip Treatment with peptides ($38.00). This cream you rub into both the lips and skin around the lips. At Clearly You I try to help my clients eliminate annoying little conditions, we are all so busy, it's nice to have one less problem to deal with!

Let's Face it- we hate hairy, prickly underarms!

Wouldn't you like to wake up in the morning and not have to shave your underarms? With so many hair removal options out there, how do you chose which is best for you? Let's talk about the basics of laser/IPL hair removal. This is the most common form of permanent hair removal. Do understand that the term "permanent hair removal" refers to a reduction in the regrowth of hair, it doesn't mean that you will get rid of every hair for the rest of your life if you undergo laser or IPL hair removal. I generally see a good response by the 3-4th treatment and each subsequent treatment results in less hair regrowth. The best candidates for this process have dark (brown/black) hair patches and pale skin. I began my own treatment about 5 years ago and have incosistantly kept up with it-I don't know why, sometimes I just get busy and forget. But boy when I do a treatment or two-what a difference it makes!
So what do you feel- some may be squemish at the tought of underarm hair removal but it really is no big deal- with my machine (SpaTouch by Radiancy), you feel a pinprick of heat. I personally am a wimp so I put a coating of LMX numbing cream on about 1/2 hr before I do it.