| (5) Broken Blood Vessels----These little squiggly red lines are actually enlarged, not broken, vessels. Most of the time, an extra dab of foundation is all that's needed to cover them up. For especially large or red vessels, use a green toned primer. Apply it to the area with your fingers, using short strokes. Buff with a cotton ball to blend in the edges. Apply foundation. (6) Undereye Crinkles, Lines----Avoid concealers in this area, their heavier formula tends to settle into lines and accentuate them. Instead, mix half moisturizer and half foundation in the palm of one hand. Pat on with a fingertip. Then take a fine makeup sponge and roll it back and forth to blot the excess. Dust with powder to set coverup. (7) Corner-of-eye Crinkles, Lines----To soften crow's feet, brush in a bit of pale powder. The pale color lightens the dark of the crease, visually flattening it. Apply eye makeup toward the center of eye to direct attention away from corners and also to lessen any clumping of shadow in creases. |
| # Skin Treatments # |
 |
| Steaming Facial Skin One of the time-honoured rituals for cleansing skin is steaming. The best follow-up to steaming is a mask or scrubbing cleanser--let it remove plugs. Any lesions still remaining should be left alone or examined by a dermatologist. If you want to steam your face, do it right! It is easy to drift too close to too-hot vapors for too long. You can burn your skin with steam! The skin-safe way to steam at home: Simmer a pot of water on the range and remove it from the heat. Let it cool for a few minutes, until it's still hot but not at boiling temperature. Place the pot on a counter where you can lean over it, but get your face no closer than twelve inches from the water. To keep water vapor from dissipating into the air, "tent" a terrycloth tower over your head and the pot. You can toss a few herbs into the water, but these just make the steam smell nice and have no direct effect on your skin. A typical steaming session should last about five minutes, but not all at once. Lift your head once in a while. Longer steaming is not better, and should be avoided in the case of active acre or troubled skin, too much can provoke a breakout, much like summer's humidity. Scrub-type Cleansers These cleansers exfoliate, or scrub away, built-up layers of dead stratum corneum cells. This makes the skin look brighter and translucent. Scrub cleansers consist of a lotion or creamy base with added abrasive material. Those for dry skin contain oil. Those for acne have a detergent base, polyexyethylene lauryl ether, for example. Some even contain salicylic acid, instead of or in addition to grains; it is a mild chemical exfoliant to lift away dead stratum corneum cells. They can also be purchased as dry grains you mix with water to form a paste. The scrub cleansers that lather really do clean thoroughly. They are especially recommended for oily skin, which so often looks dull. Surface oil aids the clumping of surface cells by literally gluing them together. Overuse will cause discomfort, stinging, chapping, scraped, abraded skin, and rashes. If you overdo it with a scrubber, pat the affected area clean with a clean washcloth and dab on some antibacterial ointment, and don't do it again! Discontinue scrubber use until the skin heals. Getting the best results from a scrubber: (1) It's a good idea to wash (and steam, if you like) your face first instead of slapping on cleansing grains first thing. At the very least, hold a warm damp washcloth to your face for several seconds. Softening the skin first, with moisture or warmth, facilitates the exfoliating process. (2) To prevent abrasion, massage gently, using plenty of water to "buffer" the grainy portion of the cleanser. (3) Don't concentrate on any one area, you can't scrub out a blackhead the way you'd scrub out a stain from the sink. (4) Remove with water splashes, not a washcloth, which might be too much exfoliation. (5) Don't ever use grains or grainy cleansers in sunburned, windburned, or otherwise sensitive skin. (6) Follow up with a moisturizer suited to your skin. Masks There are many mask products available, cleansing, exfoliating, moisturizing, firming, revitalizing, and medicated. Masks are quite good for brightening the look of the skin, because they remove some of the top layers of the stratum corneum, dirt, and makeup. Some masks make pores appear smaller, but this is only a temporary effect. Skin does glow after you use a mask. Skin-type recommendations----Masks are fine to use occasionally when you feel like spending some time on yourself. Keep an eye on the time, don't let a mask sit on skin longer than the recommended time. That can overdry or irritate the skin. Normal to oily skin can handle the type that dries or peels away once or twice a week. The exfoliating types can be used once a week on oily skin. Delicate and sensitive skin should use masks with caution. Once a week is not a hard and fast rule, you can use a mask once a month, for a special occasion, or seasonally, to "spring-clean" winter-dried skin, for example. |
| (Source: Smart Face by Thomas Goodman, M.D. and Stephanie Young) |
 |
 |