This wicked winter weather seems to be never-ending!  Given the ongoing below-freezing temperatures and the snow piling up, people are spending more and more time in the drying heat of their homes.  As a result, we’re hearing quite a few complaints about dry, itchy, crusty skin. While an early spring would bring an end to the misery on many fronts, here is a quick review of how you can get dry winter skin under control fast.

1.  Humidify your home.  Adding a portable humidifier to your bedroom will start correcting the problem at its root and will give your skin a break while you sleep.
2. Eliminate products containing fragrance for the time being.  This includes perfumes, body products such as lotions that are scented with any fragrance other than essential oil, and fabric softener.  Most of the time, you can begin using your favorite products after the warmer weather returns, but synthetic perfumes are going to be nothing more than an additional irritant to overly-dry skin.
3. It’s certainly not appealing on a ten degree morning, but keeping your shower short and cool will also help enormously.  Hot showers promote further moisture loss from the outer layers of your skin.  If you just can’t give up this part of our routine, then apply a fragrance-free body lotion immediately after showering while your skin is still damp, and cover it up right away to trap moisture next to your skin.
4. Ease up on the alcohol; increase H2O.  Exchange that second glass of wine for water – and hydrate from within.
5. Don’t scratch.  Pick up a tube of 1% hydrocortisone at the drug store and slather it on before bedtime.  This over-the-counter strength is not harmful, but avoid long-term usage (more than 10 days).  Hydrocortisone will ease the itchy feeling, and most brands are available in an emollient base that will also help moisturize.

Great Cold Weather Skincare:

Here are our ‘staff picks’ for heavy-duty hydration through the next month:

NIA Intensive Recovery Cream -  This is a best-seller that not only inhibits moisture loss, but also delivers pro-Niacin directly to the skin.  Niacin is a strengthener – and the result is firmer, stronger, supple skin.  Great for face, neck, chest and hands; and we’ve heard it puts LaMer in the corner when it comes to hydration.   110.00

Jan Marini C-Esta Cream – Time and time again, guests return to this tried and true favorite during the winter months.  The heavier base is great for all but oily skin types, and makeup glides on over the top of this cream making it as ideal for day as it is for night use.  We’ve not found a product yet that beats it for firming.  90.00

Aveda’s Tourmaline Hydrating Cream – This product gets kudos for being a great bargain as well as a super treatment cream.  Tourmaline is ideal for giving skin ‘radiance’ – or that glowy look that we crave in the dead of winter.  As a cream-based product, this one also hydrates extremely well – great bang for your buck.     35.00

For more information on treating your ‘winterized’ skin, please contact us today!

Andréa Bradley-Stutz, Director

Ology Spa/Aesthetics/Medicine

Info@ologymd.com

Glowing skin starts at Ology

My favorite combination of products to use during treatment is Jan Marini Clean Zyme / Skin Zyme enzyme therapy combined with the Jan Marini Factor A mask. Both of these clinical products deliver results- and really change a relaxing Ayurvedic Facial into a super-charged Treatment Facial.  This has been my ‘go-to’ combo when wanting to provide my guests with an immediate, dramatic glow. The enzyme therapy products digest dead skin cells- without irritating the skin. I love to use this product combination with steam before using a gentle granule exfoliant, and before performing extractions. It immediately increases skin clarity and improves the texture of the skin.

The Factor A mask contains Azelaic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Kojic Acid, and the highest percentage of retinol available which improves acne and helps improve photo damaged skin. Some people experience mild tingling with this product, but for most people the warmth decreases after a few minutes. Guests see improvement in acne and fine lines immediately.

The combination of these products leaves the skin looking luminous and healthy, while calming down inflammation from breakouts. By finishing with a vitamin C product, the skin feels plumped and hydrated for days.

Best of all, the results can be maintained by using these products at home in between facials. These products are a staple in my own home regimen, especially when I feel a breakout coming. For my oilier skin type, I can use the products several times in a week to help control a breakout or when I want my skin to look its best. I will even use the Factor A mask to spot treat a blemish.  Email me directly for more product combo ‘tricks’ to deliver glowing skin for the holiday party season!

Kimberly Dine, LE

Licensed Aesthetician – Ology LLC

kdine@ologymd.com

“How do I get rid of these brown spots!?”      

Whether you call it a freckle, age spot, sun spot or a liver spot, it’s all the same animal: HYPERPIGMENTATION.  This dreaded, spotty darkening of the skin is caused by increased melanin production – a direct result of increased UV or sun exposure.  The melanin in your skin is produced by melanocytes, located in the epidermis layer of the skin.  When these melanocytes are stimulated by UV light, the areas in the skin that are denser will form hyperpigmentation.  Over a lifetime of aging and exposure to the sun, we see these brown spots occur.  Even though sun exposure  is the number one cause for hyperpigmentation, there are other ways it can form as well.  Injuries to the skin like a burn or acne vulgaris can also leave hyperpigmentation behind. There are also some skin disorders that can cause pigment change. One of the most common is melasma (aka: chloasma)- patchy hyperpigmentation usually seen in pregnant women.  Some women will also notice melasma after they start taking birth control pills. It seems like melasma is the hardest pigment disorder of all to treat, in the sense that the pigment lies deeper in the skin.

Which leads me to the magic question- how do you get rid of hyperpigmentation?

My first recommendation, which is the fastest and closest to a permanent solution is through Broadband Light (BBL™) therapy.  BBL™ or Photo Rejuvenation Therapy is also called ‘pulsed light’ therapy.  A device similar to a laser produces wavelengths of light that heat the layers of skin and target unwanted melanin. BBL™ is our most popular clinical treatment because it works extremely well for most skin types. There is very little down time and fairly rapid results. Plus you get the added benefit of stimulating skin cells and generating new collagen. (The more collagen, the tighter the skin!)  Now BBL is not for everyone, unfortunately.  Individuals with darker skin tones such as African American, Middle Eastern, or Hispanic skin types may be better off using a topical skin lightener.  Yes, there are many over the counter products for lightening the skin, which is what makes it so hard to know which one is the right one.   These specific ingredients are those you want to look for:  hydroquinone, azelaic acid, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), tretinion (retinol) and even licorice root.  All of these ingredients are great for helping aid in the lightening of hyperpigmentation. Your results will depend on the percentage of the ingredients in the product and how often you may have to use it.  Many of my patients undertake both BBL™ & a topical lightening product for the maximum benefit.  Additionally, prescription-strength lightening agents such as TriLuma Cream (a combination treatment) are very popular with our patients.

Whichever treatment you decide is right for you, please remember one critically important thing… Don’t forget to wear your SPF DAILY!  Rain or shine- protect your investment by protecting your skin.  I always tell my patients, the more religious you are about wearing daily SPF, the less you are going to see of me!

Kimberly Ross, LE

Aesthetician

(317) 814 4100 Ology at Clarian North

(317) 217 2200  Ology at Clarian West

kross@ologymd.com

Step One:  Weight and Fitness

Nine to twelve months prior to the wedding date, take an assessment of where you are physically, where you would like to be, and where your lifestyle will likely allow you to be on your big day.  While you may have chosen your dress with a final fitting scheduled months down the road to ensure it  and your body are in harmony, it’s also the time to take a look in the mirror at your neck, arms and face. 

Nine to 12 months is plenty of time to change your fitness routine to make sure your upper arms are ready to go ‘sleeveless’,  but at the same time, note if there is fullness under your chin, and whether your face feels too round or full.  If you’re contemplating major changes such as arm or chin liposuction, now is the time.  You will need a complete six months of recovery – and post surgical exercise- to get these areas smooth and firm as possible.

Step Two:  Body Art – or Your Mother’s Worst Nightmare

So maybe you never told your Mom about that butterfly tattoo on your back.  Now is probably not the time either, but nothing says ‘spring break mistake’ like a brightly colored tattoo peeking out below your updo.  While laser tattoo removal has come a long way in the past several years, it’s not yet perfected, and chances are you’ll need at least 5 treatments to get results.  Plus, most lasers have trouble effectively removing certain colors and you may be left with what looks like a ‘paint smudge’ in the treated area.  To remove your art or not is up to you, but plan ahead of time to have a makeup artist cover the area on the day of the wedding.  A dress rehearsal is absolutely necessary – especially if you’re planning to do some sunless tanning so that colors are matched perfectly (NEVER succumb to the tanning bed temptation!  It’s simply not worth the risks – or the damage.)  Typically, an experienced makeup artist will need about 20 minutes to ensure good coverage, and she or he will use water-proof makeup to ensure that your secret is safe regardless of the temperature or weather.

Step Three:  Skin – 6 Months Out

Now is the time to work on two major issues for maximum ‘glow’ on the big day- color and texture.  Broad-Band Light (also called BBL™) or IPL treatments are the most effective way to get rid of both brown spots or patches and redness or broken capillaries.  You’ll need to budget and plan for 2-4 treatments spaced at least two weeks apart, and don’t forget your neck and décolleté (As Grandma would call it- your craw)!  Brown spots will get markedly darker right after being treated and will gradually slough off.  It’s also not uncommon to develop some serious swelling in the treated areas post-procedure, so don’t think it will be ok to try this a couple of days before the ceremony – you won’t like the outcome, and there will be some major re-touching on your wedding photos.

The MicroLaser Peel™ is also ideal for smoothing out fine lines and banishing rough texture.  This erbium laser peel – sometimes called ‘The Weekend Peel’ will  require a few days of looking less than your bridal best as your skin heals and sloughs, but is unbeatable when it comes to eye-catching results.   Again, like most of these new-fangled ‘non-invasive’ treatments, results are best when you can commit to at least 2 sessions pre-wedding.   If you’re a blushing bride over 40, the combo of BBL™ and the MicroLaser Peel™ will give you at least five years back – if not more.

A word about your protecting your investment:  If you’re planning to spend your hard-earned dollars to improve your skin, why in the world would you ever venture outdoors unprotected?  Invest immediately in two excellent quality sunscreens- one that you will use daily (religiously, rain or shine!), and one that you’ll use for the times you plan to be outdoors and need some extra care. Be sure to cover your neck and chest as well.  Hats are coming back – have you heard?  Try on as many as you like and find one you are truly comfortable in so that you’ll wear it anytime you’re outdoors.

Step Four:  Finishing Touches- Two or Three Weeks Out

Since you’ve got rehearsal dinners, and maybe a few family gatherings to attend, now is the time to get your Botox™ and dermal fillers.  There is definitely a reason Botox™ has become a household name – when done correctly, it works brilliantly and will last up to four months.  Make sure you schedule your appointment with your plastic surgeon or dermatologist well ahead of time – and again, a dress rehearsal treatment several months ahead of time is the best plan so that you and your physician can determine exactly where you’ll be treated and the number of units necessary.  First time Botox™ treatments can sometimes cause a pretty serious headache as a side effect, so putting this off till the Friday before the ceremony is not a good idea.  Plus, Botox™ begins to be effective after about 72 hours, and gets more effective over the course of seven days – it’s not an immediate fix.

One note about ‘Bridal’ Botox™ parties:  If your finances allow, treating your bridesmaids is a wonderful gesture; however, it should never be done in an informal ‘party’ location or when anyone has consumed alcoholic beverages.  Keep in mind that Botox™ is extremely safe to use in the minute amounts indicated for wrinkle treatment, and in a medical setting, but it is still one of the most powerful poisons on the face of the earth.  A non-physician provider, or a provider that sees no harm in injecting patients who have been drinking (and whom are legally unable to sign the required consent forms) is best avoided.  Your physician will likely be happy to coordinate a group discount for your visit to his or her office, and going out for a round of cocktails afterwards is fine.

If you prefer to skip the Botox and fillers, it’s  still time for a Facial or Microdermabrasion treatment to ensure your skin is at its best.  Facials tend to cause some post-treatment inflammation at times, so one to two weeks ahead of time is ideal.  Microdermabrasion should be done no closer than 10 days prior to the wedding.  After this time – and this is important – do not change your skincare routine!  Allergic reactions or sensitivity can trigger redness, swelling , watery eyes and a host of other conditions that are not conducive to glamour on your wedding day.  Don’t be tempted – stick to what works for you and what you know.  You can always visit your Aesthetician for a post-honeymoon, detoxify session after the event.

Last Details:  Semi-permanent eyelash extensions were simply made for your wedding day.  Eyes ‘pop’ open, less makeup is needed to achieve a ‘finished’ look, and they are a huge time-saver.  Have your full set applied, or your current set filled 10 days to one week prior to the ceremony.   Don’t forget to pick up two sets of lipstick and gloss – one for your ‘getting ready’ bag, and one to go in the bag your maid of honor will bring to the reception!

Andréa Bradley-Stutz, Director

Ology Spa – Carmel & Avon, Indiana

www.ologyspa.com

Relax, get gorgeous and be at your most beautiful on your big day. 

Ology Spa has great deals on some of our most popular Bridal treatments.  Whether you’re planning to de-stress and unwind, need to fill-in those smile lines,  or want to start working on achieving ‘picture perfect’ skin, our vast treatment menu has you covered.

Treatments are available Monday through Saturday at our Carmel, Indiana and Avon, Indiana locations.  Print your e-coupon today and call or email us  for your reservation at info@ologymd.com.