Let's Be Merry

And sometimes do our best Janis Joplin imitations. Whoops! Hopefully a bad case of Hangover Face is the worst thing you woke up with. Not that I'm accusing you; perhaps you know a friend that's suffered from the telltale symptoms? Puffy face, puffy red eyes, dry dull skin, dark circles, possibly also bags the size of steamer trunks.

What to do? Er, to tell your friend 'Jane' to do?  First of all, did she take her makeup off, or faceplant directly onto the sofa?  If the latter, start with a quick detox mask.  In the meantime, park either Peter Thomas Roth's Cucumber mask in the refrigerator, or a washcloth soaked in that handy mix of green and black tea that I mentioned in a previous post.  Remove the detox mask, and cover your face with PTR mask (even around your eyes), put in moisturizing eyedrops, and drink this concoction:  12 oz glass of water with one tab Berocca, one tab Alka-Seltzer, chase with a milk thistle capsule.  Alternatively, smooth on a soothing/hydrating gel (even plain aloe vera gel works), and cover with the chilled washcloth.  Put teaspoons over your eye sockets (yes, the convex bowl parts).  Emerge 10 minutes later miraculously de-puffed and on your way to sort-of normalcy.  Now get in that shower and get to work!

Random Thought Bubble

My friend Y never wears sunglasses. This drives me bats. The skin around our eyes is super delicate, and needs as much protection as we can offer. As a result of her irrational refusal to submit to my demands, she's the only person I know who has every burnt her eyelids. She claims that she doesn't burn them every time she's out in the sun because she normally wears a lot of dark eyeshadow. True or urban myth? True. Colored makeup pigments frequently have a lot of minerals, which are natural sunscreens. That being said, wear sunglasses!

Now if you do manage to burn your eyelids, brew a strong cup of tea, using one black and one green tea bag. Let it cool, then refrigerate. Soak two cotton pads in the tea, and place them over your eyes for ten minutes. Repeat an hour later, and before bedtime.

Tis the Changing of the Seasons

And potentially the end of the world, based on the weather we're having here in New York. But is that important? No! What's important is how dry our skins get as soon as the weather turns and the heat goes on. I don't know about you, but one day I wake up and my legs itch, my face feels too small, and my feet? Ugh.

A humidifier is your best friend, full stop. But you need to tweak your routine as well.

This is going to sound strange, but if you drink coffee, replace half your consumption with green tea. Really, it makes a huge difference. No idea why. Add moisturizer (or a richer version) under your sunscreen in the morning, and on top of your anti-aging cream at night. Don't hesitate to add oil during the day, and humidity as well. 

What works you ask?  Glad you did.  :-)  For body, Amlactin is the king of lotions.  Its available at every drugstore on earth, is super hydrating, lasts all day, AND is the best weapon on the market for combating KP (keratosis pilaris, aka lots of little red bumps that look like a rash, often appearing on backs of arms and/or tops of thighs, or, if you're super unlucky like me, the sides of your face.)  Downsides:  it smells funny, and the ultra-high dosage of lactic acid may be too strong for some.  To combat the funny smell, I combine it 2:1 with a scented lotion, and if its super dry outside, I make that scented lotion Malin + Goetz Vitamin B5 body lotion, which smells nicely of Bergamot plus has the hydrating benefits of B5.  At night, I put on either Aveeno Positively Ageless Firming body lotion or Weleda Sea Buckthorn Body Oil, and wake up fabulous.  Possibly also looking younger.

Under sunscreen, I use SKII hydrating serum, Sunday Riley Juno oil, or my all-time hydrating favorite, B5 gel by DermaQuest or SkinCeuticals.  Downsides of all of the above:  price tags are astronomical.  At least they all require a very tiny amount to be effective, small comfort that when you're trying to justify the insane amount that you've just spent on some tiny vial of something.  Demand samples of masks at the SKII counter to help yourself get over the sticker shock.

And finally, those feet that more closely resemble hooves:  Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme.  Accept no substitutes.  Plus socks.

The Big Reveal

Probably sounds sexier than it is.....exfoliating.  Do you need to exfoliate?  How often?  With what?  What if you're already using a retinol?  Yes, depends, personal preference and skin type, and yes.

Exfoliation helps to dislodge the skin that's ready to shed faster.  If you use a retinol, that process is already being accelerated, so you do need to slough off regularly.  If you suffer from blackheads, exfoliating helps your pores to unclog themselves by removing any surface blockages.  What's not to like?

How frequently to exfoliate depends a lot on your skin type, and the method that you choose.  If you use the sonicare brush and you use a retinol, once a week is plenty.  And skip the retinol that night.  (In fact, for most, skipping the retinol the night you exfoliate is frequently a good idea, your skin may be more sensitive than it usually is.)  No sonicare?  Use a grainy scrub (I like Juara's Rice Facial Scrub and Aveeno's Daily Face Brightening Scrub) three times per week.  Alternatively, you can try a wet washcloth with gentle cleanser every morning.  This is also a great option for those with compromised skin, or anyone prone to rosacea.

Pucker Up

I love fall.  I really do.  Its my favorite season.  EXCEPT that my chronic chapped lips come back with a vengeance, made worse by even the slightest hint of dehydration.  For some mysterious reason, I spent virtually my entire childhood dehydrated, and my lips were frequently so chapped that they would crack and bleed.  It was so bad that my father bought me a grape flavored Bonnie Bell Lip Smacker and made me wear it around my neck on a string so that I would remember to reapply it constantly.  It helped, a bit, until my little sister ate it.

Anyway, things have changed quite a bit since then, but also not really all that much.  For one thing, who the heck uses grape anything?  But we still use beeswax based products on our lips (and hands, and feet....) all the time.  If you're like me, and are prone to monumentally chapped lips, you've probably tried everything.  And you probably think that pretty much nothing works.  I was you not so long ago.....layering Aesop Tuberose Lip Heal under something waxy kept desperation at bay, but nothing got rid of flakes and peeling.  Ugh.  Forget my beloved red lipstick, it just wasn't happening in season.

But then, then....I found.....salvation.  Salvation in the form of an outrageously priced pot of lip love.  Sarah Happ The Lip Slip.  I was in the Denver airport (yes, the Denver airport) suffering from a Defcon 5 chapped lips situation.  I could have been sold pretty much any snake oil at that point, but fortunately, the little beauty boutique carried Sarah Happ.  With much complaining (about the price, about the super-wasteful packaging) I bought it and greedily gooped it on, only to find that.....it worked.  It really worked.  No more cracks.  No more flakes.  No more peeling.  If I'm really in a bad way, I still layer my Aesop oil underneath, but then I'm guaranteed to be in good shape the next day, not just sub-optimal but almost manageable.  Sarah Happ, I love you.  Smooch!!!

Take It Off

One would think that we all know to wash our faces before we go to bed at this point.  And, if pressed, we all do, 100% of the time, plus floss twice daily.  Except when we drink an entire bottle of wine and do a faceplant on the sofa instead.  (Not that I ever do such things.)  I had a roommate in my 20's who NEVER washed her face, and a friend who is quite a few years older than that who still doesn't wash her face.  They both looked, and look, sort of fine.  So what's the big deal?

The big deal is that pollution in the air gets stuck to your face all day.  And if you wear makeup, triple the amount.  Makeup itself can oxidize during the day, compounding the trouble.  Prone to acne?  You don't need me to answer this question for you.  Plus, you're wasting expensive anti-aging products if you pile them on top of a layer of old makeup and dirt.  They just won't work as well.

So what's the best way to wash your face?  The way that gets your makeup off and doesn't leave a residue or a film on your skin.  You can wash in one step, or two steps.  Doesn't really matter as long as it works.  If you're a dedicated one-stepper, Neutrogena Foaming Cleanser is pretty awesome:  dissolves all makeup, even eye makeup, (without stinging!) and leaves skin clean but not dry.  If you're a two-stepper, (I am), IMO you can't beat an oil for dissolving makeup.  Shu Uemera makes the all time classic, but L'Oreal, killer of all cult brands, has pulled it from the US, and its now online only.  A number of other brands have stepped up with their own offerings.  Cetaphil, the warhorse of dermatologists' offices and drugstores, does a more than fine job of removing makeup in addition to being one of the best uber-gentle cleansers on the market.  Love wipes?  IMO, unless you're a two stepper, they're for washing your face only in the aforementioned faceplant situation.

The actual washing part (or, if you don't wear makeup, the only part) offers so many options that its almost dizzying.  That should probably tell you how important it is to wash your face (J and C, are you reading this??)  Use something with salicylic acid a few times a week if you're acne prone, but don't get crazy with it. Dry, red and peeling isn't a good sign.  I have been using Shiseido Foaming Cleanser since I was 20, and haven't found a reason to switch yet, since one tube lasts about six months (!) and its thorough but still gentle.  I also love Mario Badescu's Enzyme Cleansing Gel, which comes in a giant bottle, is priced right, and works for virtually every skin type.  I know more devotees of the Clairsonic cleansing brush than I can keep track of, and I agree with the philosophy, but don't own one.  I use a manual brush.  The Clairsonic obviates the need for a manual exfoliating product (for another post), but does cost over $100.  And for whatever reasons, users tend to abuse them, and are back to the lovely red, peeling skin issue.  If you're not price sensitive, and can control yourself, by all means, knock yourself out!

Airplane Face

Can it be avoided?  Does jetlag make it worse?  Can anything be done?  Sort of, yes, and yes. 

Unless you've never taken an airplane, you're familiar with this syndrome.  A face that feels too small, but somehow seems sort of....greasy.  Burning eyes.  Ashen pallor.  The wonders of stress and seriously low humidity at work.  We all know to guzzle water, avoid salty snacks and alcohol while flying (as if that's going to happen) and to wear noise-cancelling headphones.  So let's say that you actually followed these edicts, including the ban on booze, and still look and feel like crap when you land.  Why?

"Guzzle water" may mean much more than you think it does.  Airplanes are even drier than the driest desert, and your lungs need to humidify the air you breathe.  If it isn't in the air they take in, the necessary water will be pulled from your system.  Thus the "my face is too small" phenomenon.  Drinking a LOT of fluids, which don't include coffee or soda, helps to maintain a somewhat adequate hydration level, which allows your skin to hang onto at least some of the water normally allotted to it in a moister environment.  During the flight, periodically mist your face with something like Eau Avene Thermale, which not only helps you to feel a bit more hydrated, but has an oddly soothing effect, and if you apply additional moisturizer, helps it to cling better.  Speaking of additional moisturizer, definitely do so.  SkinCeuticals B5 Hydrating Gel is an absolute must (don't bring the whole bottle of course, get a tiny apothecary bottle from the drugstore with a dropper and just bring that.  A little bit of this stuff goes a long way.)  Then add more sunscreen; you're way, way up there, where the air is super thin, and airplane windows don't offer all that much protection from UV rays.  Controversy aside, I use a sunscreen powder to combat the inexplicable grease that appears despite the dry skin factor. [What's the controversy you ask?  For one thing, its easy to inhale powders as you apply them.  Be very, very careful about this:  titanium dioxide can accumulate in your lungs.  I don't breathe while I'm applying, and I forcefully exhale through my nose when finished.  For another thing, the powder can float off around your skin rather than settling onto it, giving you far, far less than the advertised SPF, AND increasing your risk of inhaling it.  Don't wave and flick the brush around your face and neck like a silent movie star; instead, press the bristles gently against your skin.]

Keep lubricating eye drops and a pair of giant sunglasses handy and just pray you're not seated behind a screaming two year old. 

If you have to go directly to a meeting from the plane, I'm sorry.  That sucks.  "Bronzer" is your best friend, right up there with your life partner, "undereye concealer".  But if you have a chance to get to your hotel, give yourself a quick rescue mask.  Going skiing?  Pack a hydrating mask.  To Mexico City, Beijing or LA?  An anti-oxidant mask or detox mask.  SKII's all travel like champs since they're single use linen sheets, but may require a loan on your 401(k) if you develop a habit.  If you've checked your luggage, my top picks are Peter Thomas Roth's Oxygenating Mask, Malin + Goetz's Detox Mask, Dermalogica's Antioxidant Mask, and Juara's Turmeric Antioxidant Radiance Mask, and the B5 hydrating masks from SkinCeuticals or DermaQuest.