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Category Archives: Skin Care

Refresh Your Skin for Spring

   Skin Care  Apr 09, 2022  Comments Off on Refresh Your Skin for Spring
Refresh Your Skin for Spring

Spring is a time for a fresh clean start and renewal, which includes your skincare routine.

Change up your routine to face the season with a vibrant, healthy springtime glow!

Weather Changes that Affect Skin

As the weather heats up, skin is more prone to become oily and sweaty, which causes breakouts and acne. Spring is also a season ripe with pollen and airborne allergens, triggering skin allergies or irritation.

Spring Skincare Routine

With more humidity and natural oils returning to your skin, it’s time to tweak your skincare routine. Try these spring-friendly tips.

Toss Old Makeup and Skincare Products

If you haven’t used certain products in a while, toss them.

Old makeup is a breeding ground for bacteria which you’d be applying directly to your skin. This could cause breakouts or skin infections.

It’s important to either wash your makeup brushes once a week or toss the old shabby ones. Washing your brushes with lukewarm water and a gentle soap takes only minutes.

Exfoliate

Cooler temperatures and heated air dry out skin, which is why it’s important to exfoliate. In the colder months, your skin dries out, flakes and looks dull with a buildup of dead surface skin cells.

While at-home exfoliation efforts help, chemical skin peels go deeper to improve skin texture, appearance, reduce breakouts, and clear away dead skin cells.

Chemical peels remove top level skin layers to treat and correct skin imperfections, and promote cell regeneration which reveals fresh, healthy skin underneath. Skin peels clear the way for skin to better respond and absorb nourishing and hydrating skincare products.

Moisturize

Switching to a lighter moisturizer in warm weather helps skin look hydrated and moisturized instead of greasy and heavy. A lighter moisturizer consistency helps keep pores clear allowing the skin to breathe.

Use More Sunscreen

With warmer temperatures and more sunshine, skin exposure to UV rays increases.

Since the sun is one of the top culprits for damaged and prematurely aging skin, it’s critical to slather on a 30+ SPF sunscreen. A broad spectrum sunscreen helps protect from both UVA and UVB rays.

Protect Your Eyes

Wear sunglasses to provide extra protection around the delicate skin around the eyes. Eye protection cuts down on squinting which causes wrinkles and fine lines.

One of the ways the sun’s UV rays damage skin is by breaking down collagen, so keeping the eye area moisturized, hydrated and protected is a good defense to combat damage to the skin around the eyes.

Add an eye cream or gel to your skincare routine to give you more protection for this highly delicate and easy-to-wrinkle area.

Brows and Hair Removal

Cleaning up your look and getting ready for revealing more skin means hair-free, smooth skin. If you haven’t booked a waxing appointment, call an esthetician for lasting, professional results.

While at your appointment, consider cleaning up your brows and removing any facial hair.

Less is More: Makeup for a Fresh Spring Look

Wearing heavy foundation and powder in warmer weather can spell big trouble for your skin. The heavy makeup clogs pores and leaves skin more prone to irritation or acne.

Instead, choose a lightly tinted sunscreen or face powder.

Wash all your makeup off each night and follow up with a creamy night moisturizer and soothing eye gel.

Conclusion

Put your best skin forward with a visit to Laura Skincare in Petaluma, CA. From chemical peels to waxing, our experts are ready to jumpstart your spring skincare routine.

Caring for Dry Skin

   Skin Care  Mar 19, 2022  Comments Off on Caring for Dry Skin
Caring for Dry Skin

Even if you’re one of the lucky ones who has never had a problem with dry skin, it can become more of an issue with age, especially without a good skincare routine.

Let’s take a look as to the reasons dry skin issues can sneak up on you and what you can do to keep skin hydrated and healthy.

What Causes Dry Skin?

A hot, dry climate can not only dry out your skin, but you’ll be battling against those extremely damaging UVA and UVB sun rays.

Another culprit is age. Skin becomes dry due to years of sun damage catching up to us, hormonal changes, slower skin cell turnover and less production of natural oils.

Here are some ways you can care for dry skin.

Caring for Dry Skin

Cleanse

Although a hot, steamy shower or face wash might sound relaxing, using warm water is much less drying for your skin.

Along with a gentle, exfoliating cleanser, you’ll get clean without stripping the skin of much-needed natural oils.

Use a gentle touch when cleansing your skin and always pat, not rub, your skin dry.

Avoid Harsh, Oil-Stripping Skincare Products

Don’t use harsh alcohol-based astringents or toners on your skin because they strip away too much of the natural oils your skin needs to stay plump and moisturized. Stay away from fragrance additives.

Moisturize

Using hyaluronic acid on slightly damp skin, along with a creamy night cream, goes a long way to keep skin hydrated during the night. When you sleep and are at rest, your skin is busy with cell renewal and rejuvenating itself. Nighttime is the best time for your hydrating creams to soak in and combat dry skin.

Using body and face creams containing ceramides also works to fight dry skin. Ceramides are a type of fatty molecule that are found in up to 40% of your epidermis, or outer skin layer, which is most prone to dryness. Ceramides help lock in moisture to keep skin hydrated.

A gentle retinoid, a derivative of vitamin A, is not only great for boosting skin’s collagen for a firmer look, it also helps combat the effects of past sun damage and keeps wrinkles and fine lines at bay.

A topical retinol cream at night also helps minimize pigmentation issues like age and sun spots.

Sunscreen

Damaging UVA and UVB rays from the sun dry skin out. You’ll know you’ve had too much sun when your skin feels tight or becomes flaky.

Sunscreen prevents immediate skin cell damage in addition to protecting skin from damage in the future.

Use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 and by using a creamy sunscreen, you get the extra benefit of a moisturizer.

Steam / Humid Air

Dry skin responds extremely well to a light steam. Steaming opens up your pores and following up with a topical hyaluronic acid or ceramide cream keeps moisture locked in.

A humidifier works well in spaces where the air is dry. Even running a desk-size mini humidifier keeps the air moist and keeps the dry air from air conditioners or heaters from drying out your skin.

Skin-Saving Vitamins

Vitamins A, C, E and CoQ10 contain powerful antioxidants that fight off free radical damage, which ages and dries the skin due to cell and tissue damage.

Try adding fatty omega-3 or omega-6 supplements like flax or fish oil which help replenish skin’s natural oils.

H20

Drinking more water not only keeps skin plump and hydrated, but also eliminates toxins in the body.

Conclusion

If you are struggling with dry skin, let the experts at Laura Skincare in Petaluma work with you for a one-on-one consultation and complete treatment plan.

LED Light Treatments for Your Skin

   Skin Care  Feb 19, 2022  Comments Off on LED Light Treatments for Your Skin
LED Light Treatments for Your Skin

You may have heard about the benefits of LED light treatments during facials to treat skin conditions. However, the type of LED light treatment varies based on the skin condition needing correction.

What is an LED Light Treatment?

LED, or light-emitting diode, treatment involves directing different waves of LED light to penetrate layers of the skin. The idea is to penetrate into deeper layers of the skin to trigger cells to begin the rejuvenation process, which ultimately shows up on the surface layer of the skin.

LED light therapy treatment has shown positive results in both the growth of healthy human tissue and healing wounds.

Types of LED Light Treatments

There are several different LED lights used to treat skin conditions, but two of the most popular are blue or red light therapy.

LED Blue Light Treatment

One of the most common skin conditions for people of all ages is acne. LED blue light therapy has been shown to reduce the oil-producing skin glands, known as sebaceous glands, which when clogged, result in acne.

By using blue light therapy, the treated glands produce less of this oil, which reduces the number of oil-blocked pores, which helps reduce and improve acne symptoms.

Blue light therapy may also help kill off the acne-causing bacteria in the skin which causes inflammation and produces acne symptoms.

LED Red Light Treatment

Red light therapy gets the green light when it comes to improving other common skin complaints such as scarring, fine lines and wrinkles.

The reason for this is that the red LED light targets the skin cells which produce collagen, also known as fibroblasts.

As we age, collagen production slows down and due to less collagen to keep the skin tight and lifted, we experience sagging and wrinkles. Collagen is also needed to heal skin.

Red light therapy also helps reduce other skin inflammation conditions.

Skin Condition Benefits

The beauty of LED light therapy is that it penetrates into deeper layers of the skin, promoting better health and rejuvenation of skin starting at a deeper level.

Some of the skin conditions that benefit from LED light therapy include:

  • Acne
  • Aging (wrinkles, age spots)
  • Sun damage
  • Scarring
  • Rosacea
  • Eczema
  • Psoriasis

In addition, LED light therapy can help improve the appearance of overall dull, dry skin and other skin inflammation conditions.

Why LED Light Therapy?

Aside from the improved condition of many skin conditions, another huge perk of LED light therapy is that it’s safe.

LED light therapy does not involve damaging UV rays, nor does it potentially burn sensitive skin like a chemical peel or laser treatment.

Need to Know Tips

While LED therapy is a safe and effective skin treatment plan, it may require several sessions to see dramatic improvement and require follow up appointment for maintenance.

Professional LED light treatment sessions are more effective than at-home treatments.

Because of the non-invasive nature of the treatments, there is no downtime after sessions.

If side effects occur, they are typically short-term and mild such as slight tenderness, redness or rash.

LED light treatment can be used not just on the face, but mostly anywhere on the body such as neck, chest and hands. These areas are among the first to give away your age.

Wrap Up

To schedule a skin treatment consultation and LED light therapy session, reach out to the professionals at Laura Skincare in Petaluma, CA.