Why Are You Getting So Red in the Face?

When you were young, a flushing of the skin was considered attractive. The pink disappeared as fast as it came.

As a young adult, the redness can still not be tempoary. It can now appear when you are being emotional, using irritating skincare products, eating spicy foods or drinking alcohol.

As you age, the causes of the redness grow to heat, extraneous exercise and consuming hot foods and drinks, cigarette smoke and other chemical inhalants. You may even suffer redness when stress or lack of sleep. The medications prescribed to you can be another trigger.

Also as our age advances, the redness becomes more chronic and at times seems to make our faces puffy looking.

Redness is more widespread in the summer due to the higher heat and humidity exacerbating the other triggers for redness. Summer heat and sun exposure can easily increase the area of redness and the length of time of the redness.

Puffy red cheeks may be unattractive and take attention away from the beauty of your eyes. But the real reason to act is because you want to correct the situation the redness is warning you about.


Why do we get red?

How prone we are to redness is genetic. Those of us who are predominately Pitta or have a Pitta imbalance will get red from a trigger more easily than those of us who are predominately other doshas.

The skin appears red but the redness is really in the dilated capillaries that have not return back to stasis due to inelasticity or weakness.

How do we prevent or reduce redness?

We should reframe from doing the things that cause our capillaries to dilate. Most of them are within our control. We can start by reducing our consumption of spicy and hot foods, and of stimulating foods like caffeine and alcohol. Dilated capillaries cause dehydration of the body due to poor circulation.

Avoid white sugar, cigarette smoking and stress as they can over stimulate the adrenals and cause dilation of the capillaries.

In addition to dilation of blood vessels, Cigarette smoking adds toxins into the blood stream and depletes the body of vitamin C, which helps keep skin and capillary wall elastic.

Detoxification can reduce redness as it removes toxins from the organs so that excess toxins in the bloodstream can be filtered. There are many ways to detox - from fasting (http://www.webmd.com/diet/fasting), to herbs/teas ( go to Thunas for a customized blend http://www.astoriamills.ca/thunaherbals), to manual detoxification with Chi Nei Tsang (http://www.chineitsang.com/cnti/About.html ). Also when organs are too toxic to function properly, toxins can be offloaded into bloodstream. An overloaded blood vessel can remain dilated leaving skin chronically redness and hyper sensitive to heat.

Don't use aggressive skincare. Find skincare for rosacea and sensitive skin at (http://bit.ly/ijPIwu) Too much chemical peeling and continual use of irritating ingredients like retinal or AHA in skincare products can result in chronic redness. Don’t trading acne or wrinkles for red ness.

Avoid other ingredients that cause skin irritation and allergies like petroleum derivatives like propylene glycol, sulfates like sodium laurel sulfate and Vaseline (Petrolatum) and mineral oil (Paraffidium) in cleansers and creams lotions.

Extra help for summer heat can come from your diet. Eat sweet juicy fruits like melons, papaya, and grapes. Eat salads and raw vegetables with lemon juice based dressing instead of vinegar. Eat cooled or cold foods and drinks. And enjoy sushi.

Carry an Organic Lavender Hydrosol with you to keep skin cool and inflammation away. Get a pocket size at http://bit.ly/j1h4ia. Keep a bottle of Organic Witch Hazel Hydrosol http://bit.ly/jxu2O5 in your refrigerator to give you a quick pick me up.

Exercise indoors or in shade. Cool skin down immediately with the chilled hydrosol to reduce redness.

Now you can enjoy the warm weather!

Beautiful Skin in the Summer

Summer is fast approaching with its changes in weather conditions. To achieve true proactive anti aging skincare, you need to keep your skin healthy and moist. So to do this naturally and well you should change your skincare routine in response to the higher temperatures and humidity of summer. This summer it is forecasted to be more hot and humid than normal.

The net benefactor of the summer weather are those who are Vata http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/04/ayurvedic-doshas.html dominant. Summer's humidity and heat are perfect for a Vata who's main characteristics are cold and dry. so Vata skin types need to do very little to balance skin in relations to the weather. Vatas can choose to lower heaviness of their cold weather moisturizer. Since Vata skin is thin and dry, sun protection is a must to prevent further long term damage and dehydration to their skin. Choose between a natural sunscreen with minerals with a sun protection factor of 30 or a hat with a wide brim.

Vatas need to watch out for dry windy days. On those days it is advisable to pump up the moisture of skin by adding a face oil after the serum and before the moisturizer and for extra dry skin take time out for a relaxing mask. Carry a hydrosol http://www.pureandsimple.ca/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=551&Itemid=27 to use when your skin is dehydrated throughout the day. Drink more and warmer liquids along with avoiding dry foods will keep skin more moist looking. This will keep Vatas thinking and behaving more grounded as well.

The warming weather is also great for Kaphas http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/04/ayurvedic-doshas.htmlwho have thicker, oilier skin. The warmer weather stimulates a quicker metabolism and circulation which improves moisture and hydration of the skin of extremities like hands, feet and face. Kaphas tend to be believe they do not need to do much with their skin due to its oiliness. And while Kaphas do tend to have the potential to age more slowly, if Kaphas that do not care properly for their skin, they will find their skin will look the most unattractive with orange peel textures to deep wrinkles and leathery reptilian looking skin.

Rainy days can be cooler causing Kapha skin to become acneic or suffer surface dehydration. On those days make sure you use a good hydrating lotion. Kaphas should drink pau d’arco tea to counteract the tendency for increase in candida http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidiasis

Summer is an unsettling time for Pittas skin and personality as the hot humid climate unbalances their elemental energies of fire and water. Pitta skin care needs to promote cool and calm.

Make sure skin is hydrated and moisture loss is minimize to lessen redness, acne and other unhealthy skin conditions. The goal is to keep skin calm and less red. This will in turn prevent broken capillaries and acne.

Cleanse with a gentle gel cleanser. Make sure you have your organic chamomile hydrosol http://bit.ly/kmjh4X to cool skin throughout the day. Use a serum to ensure healthy hydration levels http://bit.ly/kPGGdV and a light moisturizer http://bit.ly/aFfyEJ to slow down moisture loss.

So the goal of your summer skin depends on the type of skin you have. Balance your skin to the weather conditions to ensure continually moist smooth skin. Skin that is moist will suffer less damage from the environment.

Is Your Liver Making You Angry?

Most of us know that the liver is one of our body’s main filters. But it is much more than that.

Mantak Chi in “Chi Nei Tsang, Ci Massage for Vital Organs” better explains what the liver does for us.

“The liver store large quantities of blood, minerals and vitamins. It prepares carbohydrates by breaking them down into more simple sugars. It is incharge of protein and amino acid production… It also produces bile salts, which are distributed by the gallbladderinto the small intestines to aborb fats from food consumed. It produces wood chi as well”

He also helps us become aware of how the affects our appearance and behavior in the following from the same book,

“If liver chi and blood are health, balanced and abundant, then the nails will be health, vision clear and nerves calm, and sinews and tendons will have sufficient energy.

The positive quality of the emotion in wood is kindness tempered with intelligence. A person with this quality tends to be coolheaded, discreet, relaxed, clearheaded, creative, progressive, constructive, conciliatory and willing to work with others.

The negative qualities of wood phase’s emotions are anger, violence and making big plans without knowing what you e doing. A person with these qualities tends to be opportunistic, short tempered, ar hotheaded, loud, tight, pressured, rough, obsessed, stubborn, pedantic, formalistic, competitive, and antagonistic.”

A weak or over loaded liver can affect the function of the reproductive organs and cause infertitlity and impotence.

An over stressed liver affects Kidney function as anger can cause fear

A struggling liver can be detected when there is yellow in the whites of the eyes. Dark circles around the eyes. Vision can become blurry.

Another symptom of a toxic liver is a pronounced vertical wrinkle on the right side of the area between your eye brows.

Skin tone can be yellowy, orange.

Sore stiff tendons with chronic pain in the neck shoulder area can be another clue to the state of your liver. Massaging the nape can relieve headache pain.

Daily care of the liver includes eating green and bitter foods like bitter melon, dark greens, and dandelion greens and roots.

The gallbladder likes regular meals at consistent times to prevent clogging of the liver ducts with gall stones, which are hardened bile.

You assist the function of your liver by massaging the area below your right rib cage. Soreness or hardness in this area will indicate the need to do Chi Nei Tsang here daily.

You can supplement the daily care of your liver with herbs like Banyan Liver Formula. Find it at http://www.banyanbotanicals.com/prodinfo.asp?number=1181

If you have neglected you liver longterm and you have many of the above symptoms try the Liver Gallbladder Flush by Hulde Clark. Find it at http://www.drclark.net/en/cleanses_clean-ups/liver_cleanses/advanced_livere_cleanse.php

How to be Radiant without Redness

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How to Survive Summer Heat when you have Sensitive to Rosacea Skin.

While summer is a welcomed reprieve from the long still cold of winter, it is not so true for those who suffer from the heat.

For those of us with Pitta imbalances, the heat makes us tired, irritable and it can be seen in our red and puffy faces. And to really make summer life more frustrating the redness can be the accompanied with acne.

What causes this Pitta Imbalance?

In Ayurveda, Pitta is heat. We all have this in our individual make up. Those of us who genetically have it in abundance can claim to be a Pitta - secondarily or primarily.

It is only an imbalance when we suffer from unhealthy or unwanted symptoms of this heat energy. Any one can suffer from a Pitta Imbalance. And a primary Pitta does not necessarily suffer from a Pitta Imbalance

Over abundance of Internal heat that imbalances Pitta can be caused by a stress out or aggressive lifestyle, an unbalanced diet of too many heating foods, medication, alcohol, caffeine, smoking, menopause, extreme exercise, a high level of toxins and aggressive skincare and over sun exposure.

Air conditioning can give us some reprieve as it cools down our bodies but the dehydration just worsens the appearance of our skin.

So how can we improve our plight in such an otherwise delightful time of the year?

From the list of causes, it is wise to start with diet. Any book on Ayurveda will list the foods for Pitta. They are cooling and alkaline foods which are great for any summer meal. Star foods are cucumbers and melons. Substitute coconut oil for your salad oil. You can cook with it but eat as much raw food as you can. Favour lean light proteins like white fish. If you want your omegas then eat either low salt smoked salmon or go for sushi. Avoid high oil foods including meats, salt and acid foods like vinegar. Replace it in salads with lemon or lime juice.

Raw foods can be a challenge as Pitta imbalance can come with digestive problems. Usually if you suffer from rosacea or redness in the cheek area your body is telling you,”you do”. Pittas are also more sensitive than other Dosha dominant types so are more prone to allergies. Make cucumbers more agreeable by removing the seed section.

The best solution would be to get advice from a naturopath or an alternative allergist. I am currently experiencing great reduction in my food allergies and great improvement in my digestion with Dana Zangari, a Registered Holistic Allergist and Nutritionist. You can find her at http://www.pandechiropractic.ca/Dana-Zangari/dana-zangari.html

To decrease stress and other extreme behaviors, find relaxing exercise like Yoga or Tai Chi and find time to do daily meditation.

Try to avoid excess sun and heat exposure by choosing shadier and greener paths to your destination.

Once you have lessened the macro causes of your internal health, you can start to repair the visual damage this energy has caused by reducing the redness and puffiness in your skin.

Redness in the skin is an indication that your capillaries are dilated and your circulatory system is not working properly. This is due to the capillary walls being dry and inelastic.

This compromised circulatory situation results in less moisture and nourishment being delivered to the skin cells in the area- in turn this causes more inelastic capillaries and more redness.

The puffiness and acne is caused by the inactive circulatory and lymph system. The result is excess toxins and fluids left in the area which causes localized edema and breakout when stress or body heat -as in PMS- is increased.

The ideal solution is a facial treatment that will turn around the situation. The best facial to quickly reverse the dehydration redness spiral is our Deluxe Lumi-Lift Facial. It will stimulate circulation and drainage with micronized current while improving skin hydrating with galvanic current improving the effectiveness of our own collagen gel mask . While you may breakout after the first facial due to the increased circulation and hydration - the end result is both less redness/puffiness and less breakouts. Another bonus of this facial is better facial tone and less wrinkles. It is not a one off deal though if you want long term effects. Depending on your skin condition and the results you want you will need to have a series of the facials weekly. It can vary from 3-10 per week. http://www.pureandsimple.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=103&Itemid=42

For those who are more timid to try new things you can choose any facial treatment that will clean your pores, hydrate up your skin and include a good face massage like our Super Hydrating Facial. The hydration effect of this facial is pumped up with a collagen sheet mask and oxygen treatment. Again if you are doing these facials with results in mind you will probably need to do a few of thsi facials weekly for 3 weeks or more. http://www.pureandsimple.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=5&Itemid=42#SuperHydratingFacial

Then get advice from a knowledgeable skincare expert on creating a daily care routine. Beautiful healthy skin comes with a seasonally adjusted daily regiment that includes gentle cleansing, hydration and protection. A must-have item for all that want hydrated skin throughout the year, is our facial serum Collagen Elastin Plus. It is not only our best selling item but it has the most loyal client following.

This serum with a suitable moisturizer for your skin type will keep your skin hydrated without a lot of fuss throughout your day. http://www.pureandsimple.ca/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=553&Itemid=27

For more detailed advice on the above please feel free to contact me or any of our professional staff.

Too Brainy to be a Beauty?

So has science unknowing provided an argument for the cliché of separating beauty and brains?

Richard Wrangham, a biological anthropologist at Harvard University, proposes that we have evolved to be the dominant specie by virtue of our bigger brain. His book, Catching Fire, http://www.powells.com/biblio/9780465013623 claims that this was the direct result of lessening the energy needs of our digestive system.

So we grew to be skillful masters of our destiny and our culture has evolved from the dominance of “might” to that of “bright”. (some corny humour before we talk about aging). This change has brought women growing equality and the right to work ourselves to poor health. (some self deprecating humour)

As a happy workaholic, I find the demands of beauty a nuisance. I am not talking about the superficial preoccupation with make up, hair (styling/colouring) and nails (manicures/pedicures). But the dominance of my brain along with a great relationship with my cute Sony Viao has curbed my time and efforts at the foundations of beauty like proper diet (no- not everyone thrives on broccoli and salmon and some people can be healthy with coffee and dairy), relaxation (even your brain needs a break), adequate sleep and exercise, spiritual practice (I am referring to feeling connected not joining a cult) and facial treatments ( yes - to have beautiful skin you need to take care of it regularly).

My workaholism, mainly driven by my desire to find skin solutions that are successful for both her staff and clients, is a prime example of knowledge not being enough. Have our brains become too powerful?

As a human that needs more evolving, my improved lifestyle is spurred by my fear of aging too quickly. And my ability to accept my aging body is slower than the signs of aging cropping up. So my short sighted vision now requires I cheat Mother Nature with help from some of the safe and proven technologies in skin rejuvenation.

The principle goal of rejuvenating skin is to stimulate or increase collagen production in the Dermis layer of your skin. This will increase your skin cells’ ability to retain moisture. The difference in the appearance between the skin of a 16 year old and that of a 60 year old is the amount of moisture in her skin cells not the number of skin cells. Fine wrinkles and dryness appear when skin cells shrink due to the low moisture content of the new skin cell and the slower turnover rate of the cell’s life-cycle. The cycle of a 20 year old skin is 28 days while that of a 45 year old depending on her lifestyle can be 40 days or more.

The second goal is to rejuvenating elastin in the Dermis. As elastin degenerates skin loses tone and deep wrinkles form. Young skin has more and healthier elastin fibres than aged skin. Premature aging can occur with over exposure to the elements (pollution, sun, wind) and poor protection from them (inadequate moisturizer and sun screen).

Therefore the successful skin rejuvenation technologies target the dermis to rejuvenate collagen and elastin fibres.

While results are the goal, for long term skin beauty, safety is the first consideration. Those of us in the market for this technology have experienced the folly of exclusive short term gain. After those two considerations, our personal preferences, budgets and time constraint can have a strong say in the matter.

4 safe technologies that I have found to give you good long term results are
• Light Emitting Diode (LED)
• Micro Current Facial (MCF)
• MicroDermabrasion
• Intense Pulse Light (IPL)

All 4 will cost you the same in the long run but the gentler treatments will take more of your time and spread your payments over a longer period of time . For example; while IPL treatments are the most expense, you will need only 3 to 6 treatments a year to get good results while for the same results with MCF requires 2 treatments a week for 6-10 weeks then monthly treatments to maintain results. Both will end up costing about $2000. - $3,000.00 depending on your needs.

Personal preference can determine choice as LED treatments can be therapeutic for the mind as well as rejuvenating for the skin. The healing red light is an enjoyable experience for clients while MicroDermabrasion can be jarring to their skin and psyche.

If you are in the market for safe preventative treatments you have the luxury of choice but if you have been abusive (over sun exposure) or negligent (I just don’t have time to moisturize) you may need to do a combination of the 4 technologies to get the results you want.

So what are these 4 treatment technologies?

LED treatments comprise of putting the skin under the healing coloured lights that are chosen to penetrate skin to the dermis layer to bolster healthy collagen production. While clients see improvement in their skin after one treatment it is far from dramatic or satisfying enough. This gentle therapy needs repetition to successfully give skin a long-term rejuvenated appearance. Therefore it is recommended that candidates do an initial course of treatments weekly for 7-10 weeks. For better results 2 treatments a week are recommended. After the initial treatment course, monthly treatments along with facials are needed to maintain results.

This treatment is beneficial and safe for all skin types. This technology was first used by NASA for healing then the technology was transfer to the market to treat skin cancer. As a spa treatment, LED light can rejuvenate skin cells using the red spectrum. To treat mature skin that is sensitive, a green light can be used as well. The blue spectrum is used to reduce skin’s tendency to blemish.

The second choice, MCF improves muscle tone and decreases wrinkles. Electrical current stimulates collagen production and improves skin tone to improve its appearance. Our MCF includes a second phase of applying HF current to stimulate muscles fibres and increase skin healing abilities.

The initial course of treatment is similar to LED. While once a week for 10 weeks is adequate; the best results for those of us over 50 can be attain with twice a week treatments for 10 weeks. Maintenance protocol is monthly treatments but celebrities, who are the shining examples for this technology have weekly treatments for maintenance. Those of us who are very meticulous about their appearance will want treatments at least twice a month.

It is not recommended for those who have very sensitive skin or Rosacea.

MicroDermabrasion rejuvenates aged skin by stimulating cell turnover, collagen production and minimizing facial lines. The treatment removes the top layers of the Epidermis causing the dermis to speed up cell turnover. We use the safer medium of sea salt instead of corundum -- which is a more attractive name than aluminum. While sea salt is safer, it gives better results too. I know what you are thinking – I am with you on this one. So why is anyone bothering with using aluminum as an anti-aging treatment?

Sea salt is purifying to the skin and increases its ability to retain moisture. It is less expensive for the client as it requires fewer treatments to attain the same results. Great results can be achieved with as little as 3 treatments; 2 weeks apart. Older skin should expect to do the initial course in 6 – 10 treatments. Monthly treatments are recommended. MicroDermabrasion is safe and beneficial for all skin types.

IPL is the strongest technology giving the quickest results so best for those of us who want the biggest changes yesterday. Youthful appearance can be maintained Anti-aging results with as little as 3 treatments annually. Those us, who have let our skins age more before starting, will need more treatments to jump-start our dermis in giving us younger looking skin.

IPL treatments rejuvenate our skin by emitting a high intense light into the dermis to stimulates and improve collagen production. This produces smoother, tighter skin with a decrease in visible pore size. IPL is an evolution of laser therapy to offer clients less painful and shorter treatments.

Treatment time, quality and comfort vary with the different makes of IPL machines. The spa’s investment in research and in finance does pay off for the client as end results will vary as well.

IPL dramatically improves photo-aged skin (prematurely aged appearance from sun exposure and poor lifestyle) while naturally aged skin will receive more subtle results. IPL skin rejuvenation is best for lighter skin tones. This treatment is not recommended for higher than Fitzpatrick type 4 (the scale is from 1-6) with most IPL machines.

Explore your options with your trusted esthetician. At Pure + simple, you can make a complimentary appointment with any esthetician (I work Sundays in Toronto and Saturday in Oakville) or me. We all start with your vision of how you want you skin to look and then take in consideration your time commitment and budget. Then we design a suitable plan of treatments and lifestyle to get you there. We monitor progress and alter treatment and advice as your skin dictates.

Yes, if you are serious about maintaining a youthful appearance you need to contribute with the more difficult undertaking of lifestyle as a healthy foundation to the above treatments. You will find them is my past blogs and they are individualized with your esthetician during your consultation as we help you focus on the one are most important in rejuvenating your skin and your health.

Please let me know if you have any questions. If you cannot leave your comments here email me at jean@pureandsimple.ca

Help for Chronic Sensitive Skin

Get Negative for Sensitive Skin

Lovers of great art know that it is the negative space that is the key to a masterpiece. So it is that it is the ability to relax the key to healthy skin and overall health.

Sensitive skin resulting in skin redness can result in dehydrated skin, rosacea or acne. At Pure + simple (http://www.pureandsimple.ca/ ), we have had much success in improving these skin conditions with hydrating skin with a natural collagen serum and a protecting it with a natural moisturizer. For even better results, clients follow a Pitta diet (see http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/06/foods-for-pitta.html ) that cooled their bodies with a higher ratio of vegetables. A Raw food diet is great way to balance Pittas with cooling foods and a vegetable based diet.

Lately I have been challenged by some clients who had very sensitive, very dehydrated and acneic skin. These cases were not responding to the good skincare and since the clients were already eating a great diet similar to the Pitta diet, I empathized with their frustrations.

As I traveled from the Scientific Seminars in Chicago to the Cosmetic Ingredients Show in Munich, I kept these special clients in mind. But anti-aging was the buzz so there was no new information to help.

But serendipity occurred. I found a skincare and supplements line that touted the benefits of alkalizing to improve sensitive skin. I immediately bought the face cream, body lotion and the alkalizing supplement and tea. This serendipitous discovery spurred me to re-read “Alkalize or Die” by Dr Theodore A Baroody. You can buy the book at http://www.amazon.com/Alkalize-Die-Theodore-Baroody/dp/0961959533

My skin had suffered from acne, skin sensitivity and with all the healthy diets and skincare, I still live with dehydrated skin with hyper-pigmentation. Even when I followed a vegetarian diet, I found that my ph constantly tested acidic.

So perhaps alkalizing was the key to help these very sensitive and inflamed skin clients’ get healthier and get more beautiful skin.

I tested the products I bought and followed the alkalizing diet. I found I was feeling better and my Pre-menstrual Syndrome was less severe. Yes I know, it’s about time for menstrual periods to abandon me.

I contacted some of those clients and offered them a sample of the face cream and suggested they follow the diet.

These clients couldn’t understand why they were afflicted with problem skin when they were disciplined with their diet, lifestyle and exercise. If these clients find success then the stubborn skin problems are a warning of declining health due to their body’s acidic ph and diet is only a component.

Could the other part be an over disciplined stressed life. These clients did not give themselves timeout from stress. Stress creates acidic ph levels. This over acidity leads to allergic reactions like eczema, heat and dehydration skin redness inflammation. As it becomes more chronic it can lead to poor digestion, arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

So how does one better help to alkalize one’s body? Meditation is that negative space that alkalizes our system to neutralize the acid that is the result of stress or negate ve emotions.

For those of us who find diet can only help so much, meditation is may help to successfully balance our body’s ph. Some of my clients are so driven that when I suggest meditation, they respond they already do Yoga. And they are not the referring to the most relaxing Yoga, Hatha Yoga but the more athletic ones of Moksha and Ashtanga.

Meditation is freedom from physical and mental effort. For you those of who need something to keep you focused in meditation try Chi Kung. For information on Chi Kung and classes go to http://www.shaolinwahnamcanada.com/classes.htm.


The general rules for an alkalizing diet are vegetable and fruits are highly alkaline while vegetable proteins are neutral and simple carbohydrates and meat are highly acidic. For more information go to http://www.sethigherstandards.com/energize-your-life-by-alkalizing-your-body/

Please let me know if this helped you fel and look better.