End-of-Summer DETOX! Your Skin Needs it.

Summer is winding down.  It's a little sad, isn't it?  All of that time enjoying the outdoors and long summer nights might be showing up on your skin: sunburns, wind, sunscreen, less sleep and passing out without washing your face will cause patchy skin, break-outs, dryness, oiliness, dullness and clogged pores.

Get back on track and get a professional DETOX FACIAL or BACK TREATMENT SPECIAL:

- Deep cleaning with steam and ozone

- Mild to deep exfoliation, depending on skin's condition

- High Frequency treatment

- Seaweed Mask with chamomile and aloe vera to nourish, detoxify, rebalance, hydrate and regenerate oily, congested skin OR

- Multi-Vitamin Mask to deeply hydrate and nourish dry, damaged skin

- Oil-free hydrating serum or Vitamin C Anti-Oxidant moisturizer depending on skin type

- Sunscreen

A professional Detox Skin Treatment will go the extra mile by not only deep cleaning the pores, but also by killing lingering bacteria beneath the skin's surface, and stimulating cell regeneration.  A professional esthetician can do this by using the ozone function on the facial steamer, combined with the high frequency machine.  Ozone is stimulated oxygen and has been used for many years to speed up stubborn break-outs and increase healing.  It doesn't hurt, is completely safe and healthy for your skin (but not to be used on pregnant women, people with large metal implants or pacemakers).

You can also do a Detox Facial at home if you don't have the time or money.  Check out my blog from last year with step-by-step instructions DIY DETOX FACIAL - Be a Bitchen Kitchen Beautician.

I'm offering a great END-of-SUMMER deal: Get a Detox Facial and Back Treatment for only $50.   Make it $65 and I will travel to your house (in Oakland/SF area).  The regular price for each treatment is $35.  You save $20!

DIY Brightening Facial with Sake Rice Wine

I was pretty excited to find an article in Skin Deep magazine today about the benefits of drinking sake, as well as applying it to your face.
A brewery in Japan conducted an experiment on it's employees after noticing how soft their skin felt.  They had the employees drink 10 ounces of sake a day and found the moisture content of their skin was 30% higher than the employees who drank regular booze.  This was not surprising, as it's been heard that Geishas used to bathe in it.

The molecular structure of Kojic Acid

The results of this experiment inspired more research and they found that the fermentation process breaks down the rice acids and enzymes to a low molecular weight.  This is crucial, as it allows beneficial ingredients such as B complex vitamins, minerals and kojic acid to penetrate the skin down to the keratin layer.

I always knew that kojic acid is a natural skin brightener available in many over the counter products, but I thought that it was only derived from mushrooms.  Rice enzymes are used in my favorite professional exfoliator for facials, Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant.  As a skin exfoliant, enzymes gently digest dead skin cells (without physical exfoliation, or "scrubbing").


I am a fan of kojic acid and other brighteners, since my face has stopped getting "tan" and during the summer, ends up with a lot of spots and blotches.  As an esthetician, I know that hyperpigmentation is a major concern for a lot of people, so any home treatment that we can create in our kitchens is always exciting.


Internally, rice increases the production of ceramides, which are natural fats that help hold the cells together and lock in moisture, slowing the aging process.


So I just high-tailed it to the Korean market and bought a huge bottle of sake (I bought Yaegaki Sake, created by Reiko Kushibiki, the first female sake master in the U.S.).

With a little more research, I created a really EASY Do-it-Yourself face mask.  This mask left my skin super smooth and soft and it does look a little more even.  I have sensitive skin and it did tingle a little, but was not uncomfortable or red.  Other articles suggested that we use the mask a couple of times a week until skin reaches your desired goal.

Sake Skin Brightening Mask
1 tsp sake (flitered)
1 tsp plain yogurt (contains lactic acid, another brightener)
1 tsp organic honey (anti-bacterial and hydrator)
1 tsp white kaolin clay (or green if you skin is oily)
1 - 2 drops rose and/or geranium essential oils (for dry / mature skin)
1 - 2 drops lavender and/or rosemary essential oils (for oily / combination skin)


Spread evenly with a brush over cleansed, dry skin, leave on for 15 - 20 minutes.  

Kanpai!

WE'RE GETTIN' BOMBED

I'm having my first DIY Beauty Night on Thursday, November 17th.  Our first project will be BATH BOMBS.  It's going to be fun!  I experimented the other night and my first bath bomb turned out great!  Will update after the event with recipes and tips.  Next event:  Lip Balm.

DIY Beauty: Learning from my Mistakes at 2am - Face Serum and Body Scrub

I stayed up until almost 2am on a product-making mission:  Face Serum and Exfoliating Body Scrub.  


First, the serum:  It came out way too thick and oily.  I wanted it to be super rich, but not too greasy or drippy.  I combined two previously-made recipes, one a serum, and the other a face cream.  Now I have 10 ounces of "balm" that will create an oil slick on most people.  I have dry skin, but I don't imagine most people will tolerate it, even as a night treatment.  I put it all over my face, especially around my eyes before bed, and woke up with really nice, dewy skin.  I honestly believe that my crow's feet have vanished!  But I have a stained pillow and a greasy hairline.  Not good.  Today's rainy day project is to keep a little bit of the balm for the eyes, then throw the rest back in to the double-boiler, melt it down, and whip in more aloe vera juice and fresh aloe vera gel from our giant aloe plant outside.


I could just toss it, but the ingredients are expensive and I had to special order them.  You might recognize some of these from other expensive products:  Meadowfoam seed oil, shea butter, plum kernel oil, carrot seed oil, avocado oil,  neem oil, aloe oil and rosehip seed oil, plus essential oils of chamomile, lavender, geranium and lemon.  Then, to give it emulsion:  aloe vera juice, glycerin, distilled water infused with green tea and bees wax as a thickener.  I created a balm, not a cream or a serum.  So, back to the laboratory!  Maybe aloe will come to the rescue.  That's what aloe does, right?


For the body scrub: I found a bunch of cocoa butter and shea butter body balms that I made a while ago.  It was just too rich to use on a daily basis, so it sat in my room feeling neglected.  I melted it all down again, whipped it for a while with the stick blender to give it emulsion and body (like whipping oil to create mayonnaise), added a little liquid soap to cut down the greasiness (and slipping in the shower).  Finally, I added a bunch of white and brown sugar and spearmint essential oil.  It's a chocolate-mint treat!  Now, I won't feel guilty about slathering it on in gobs, because the shelf life on the shea butter is winding down and it needs to get used in the next few months.  It's a great excuse to be indulgent and scrub off my summer-weathered skin at the same time.  My next recipe will use healthy carrier oils like olive, jojoba or avocado.  Shea and mango butters are pretty expensive and better for lotion-making.  I don't like to wash money down the drain.  One of the many benefits of DIY beauty is saving money, especially when you're still in the learning stages.  I promise to share my recipes when I get it right!

Update: 9/16/09 - My face "balm" made me breakout!  I have more pimples that I did when I was a teen!  Livin' and learnin' the hard way...