Just a little something to remind you about the importance of good skincare. Ladies, if you don’t take care of your skin now, you could be doing this song and dance later. … Enjoy!
Oh, and we love Anita Renfroe’s sense of humor about her aging skin, but — if you’ve used the ZO Skin Health products than you know — IT’S NEVER TOO LATE FOR WRINKLE PREVENTION!
If you had heard the words “anti-aging” five years ago you probably would’ve thought of protesters outside a retirement home before you thought of the beauty industry. Today, however, it’s a household term. Personal care and cosmetic brands are hailing the anti-aging bandwagon and will do anything to jump aboard. But, how many of them deserve a ride?
We recently came across an anti-aging fragrance — yes, fragrance — that claims to make you SMELL youthful. Like us, you’re probably wondering what youth smells like. Well, pink grapefruit, mango, pomegranate and musk, of course. The same ingredients half the fragrances on the cosmetic counters contain.
There isn’t a personal care or cosmetic item too far-fetched for the anti-aging stamp. Nail polish has thrown its hat into the ring. Mascara wasn’t far behind. We’re waiting for deodorant, lipstick and mouthwash to get in on the game.
Those are just flat-out ridiculous examples, but other products trying to encroach into the niche we’ve mastered make a more convincing case. For instance, toothpaste. We all know teeth lose their strength and whiteness as we get older. Hair care products also have some legitimacy. Your mane slowly becomes a mop over the years. But, guess what? People who have the misfortune of aging teeth and aging hair have the good fortune of veneers and Raquel Welch wigs.
Let’s face it: Skin is the hands-down most telltale sign of aging on your body. Unlike your hair and teeth, you can’t put on a new face. Not even with the best plastic surgeon money can buy. That’s why skincare lines with ingredients recognized by the FDA to fight signs of aging are legitimately entitled to the anti-aging label.
Dr. Zein Obagi and ZO Skin Health can help you fight aging, but we can’t help you sort through all the anti-aging claims. Exercise wise consumerism. Your skin will thank you for it.
If you know how to do five things at once, most business professionals would refer to you as a fine multitasker, but you know better. You know it actually means you’re a fine example of today’s modern woman. You know that to get everything you want out of life, multitasking isn’t a choice, but a requirement.
The same can be said for your skincare. To get everything you want for your skin, your products simply must multitask. If anyone can appreciate this concept, it’s today’s modern woman: YOU.
That’s why Dr. Zein Obagi created products like ZO Skin Health’s Oraser Body Emulsion. Similar to your Blackberry, it accomplishes a multitude of tasks at once. We’re talking hydration, exfoliation, hyperpigmentation reduction, wrinkle prevention and wrinkle reduction. How? The ingredients are your personal skincare dream team: Retinol; Lactic Acid; Glucosamine; Vitamin E and Coenzyme Q10.
Dr. Obagi formulated this product with supreme efficiency because he could. When he sees an opportunity to give you the kind of product that works as hard as you do, he seizes it. He firmly believes that if skincare companies truly want your skin to have it all, they need to start giving it their all.
That was his thinking when he formulated Oraser Daily Hand Repair SPF 20. This product is a workaholic. It improves age spots, wrinkles and hyperpigmentation. At the same time it’s protecting your hands from free radicals and blocking UVA/UVB rays. Oclipse Sunscreen + Primer SPF 30 gives 200 percent, too. It protects your face from the sun’s harmful rays AND acts as a primer under your makeup. We’re not done. On top of that, it’s tinted, so that natural glow you’ve got? You’re welcome.
You know what it’s like to work hard. Isn’t it time you knew what it’s like for something to work hard for you? That’s what we thought.
When you get serious about skincare, ingredients become priority number one. As a formulator, that is the way I develop my products. I don’t have time to waste on the ineffective stuff and neither do you. But I often hear women express that they just don’t know which ingredients are the real deal.
Is it pure caviar, shavings of 14 karat gold or particles from an exotic fruit everyone seems to pronounce differently?
None of the above. It’s much more simple than that — and nowhere near as sexy. Take a look:
Let’s start with the anti-oxidants. They protect your skin cells from UV damage, pollution and free radicals. The most common ones (and the most important !) are Vitamins A, C and E.
Retinol (aka Active Vitamin A): This ingredient’s main function is skin cell turnover, which produces collagen — the stuff your skin had a lot of in its prime. If you’re familiar with my skincare philosophy then you know the key to younger looking skin lies in keeping skin cells active. When they go to sleep — a result of aging —fine lines, dull skin and wrinkles form. Retinol is like a bucket of cold water to sleepy skin cells. Continued use of it in high concentrations wakes cells right up and puts them straight to work.
Active Vitamin C: This is another antioxidant, but it works differently — it helps synthesize collagen. This property lends a very valuable feature to your skin in that it stabilizes free radicals and in doing so protects healthy cells from getting damaged. In English? It’s an excellent preventative measure against wrinkles as well as the photoaging sun exposure can cause.
Vitamin E: It helps protect the skin from UV rays and, as an added bonus, softens and smoothes, too.
Be advised: Retinol is a pure and active derivative of Vitamin A. If you use a synthetic form of Vitamin A, or take oral supplements of these vitamins, you simply will not achieve the same results. It just doesn’t work that way.
Be advised: Vitamins A and C have to be properly stabilized, packaged and stored. They can’t be exposed to light or UV rays or the formula could turn colors, or just go inactive. If isn’t stabilized then it oxidizes and turns yellowish or dark when exposed to air or water, essentially spoiling it.
When spring arrives you can’t help but store the sweaters, pull out the beach towels and put the top down. But what are you doing to get your skin ready?
According to Dr. Zein Obagi, world-renowned dermatologist and creator of antiaging skincare line ZO Skin Health, it takes hard work to get great skin and preparing it for the changing seasons is no exception.
“Your skin isn’t your cell phone. It doesn’t automatically adjust itself after Daylight Savings,” says the world-renowned dermatologist. “You need to do the initial work and it will respond.”
But, you need to do the right work, which is why the first step to transitioning your skin from winter to spring is to amp up on SPF and cut back on moisturizer. The SPF will protect you from the harmful UVB rays your skin will be seeing more of in the months ahead and less moisturizer will activate your skin cells, the key to Dr. Obagi’s healthy skin philosophy.
“Too much moisture trains the skin to rely on outside sources for hydration instead of producing it from within,” says Dr. Obagi. “In trying to counteract the dryness with a lot of moisturizer, you’re actually perpetuating it.”
Less moisturizer isn’t always received with open arms, but neither was Dr. Obagi’s healthy skin concept 30 years ago. Today it’s mainstream.
The second step in preparing skin for spring is much easier to swallow. It comes in the form of berries. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries —they’re all in season and great for your skin. Each is high in antioxidants, which protect skin cells from the damage increased sun exposure can cause.
Next up is your cosmetic bag. If not cleaned out regularly, it can be a breeding ground for bacteria and germs that will ultimately transfer to your face. Pay special attention to water-based products, which degrade and become useless after a year at the longest. Mascara has a 3-month life span. Anything without water — powder, eye shadow, etc. — can last up to two years.
Once you’re done trashing the expired products, thoroughly clean your brushes. Wash them with shampoo until the water in the sink drain runs clear. To make this process easier, keep a brush-cleaning spray like Brush Off handy and clean off your brushes after each use.
The final step for prepping your skin for spring is exfoliation. After months of exposing your skin to heated indoor air, the dead skin cells accumulate at the surface. According to Dr. Obagi, if your skin has seen signs of aging then your skin cells have already slowed down the natural sloughing off process, making your need for exfoliation even more urgent.
Your skin needs epidermal turnover, something ZO Skin Health’s Exfoliating Polish earns praise for. The round magnesium crystals and Vitamins A, C and E in the product put in overtime to banish the skin of dead skin cells.
“Collagen gets a boost and cells become active,” says Dr. Obagi of the exfoliation process. “When you put in the work it pays off. The reward is beautiful, healthy skin.”
ZO Skin Health
deborah
