Sunburn - Quick fix

"Summertime...And the livin' is easy"
Gershwin, 1935

It's Summer - time for bikinis, sand castles, beach volleyball, sandals, shorts, and the outdoors. More outdoor activities mean more sun exposure. Hand in hand with sun exposure comes the risk of sunburns.

Sunburn

It comes suddenly, resulting from over exposure to the sun rays without sunscreen protection. Sunburns are ugly, painful and dangerous -with an increased risk of skin cancer. It can happen to any skin type and white skin is more susceptible.

The purpose of today's discussion is to give tips on how to manage it in case it happens. Skin redness, pain, sometimes with blisters - these tips will help you to relieve the pain and get rid of the heat. For extreme sunburns, you should also seek out professional help.

Sunburn - Quick Fix tips

While the skin has to have its own time to heal, the following treatments will relieve the pain and help to protect the skin throughout the healing process.

Aloe Vera - Used externally to treat skin irritations for its antiseptic properties. Aloe is used to treat sunburns and also poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumak, and eczema.

Chamomile - known for its natural anti-inflammatory properties. How to use: brew the tea and allow it to cool down. Pour it into a spray bottle, shake, and spritz it on your sunburn. Ingredients in the chamomile tea will calm and sooth the skin. This is one of my favorite solutions.

Peppermint - the cool tea has a refreshing effect that will help to sooth the skin.

Lavender - use a solution of lavender oil and water, 20 drops per 1 cup of water. Use a cotton ball to gently apply the solution on the affected area. Lavender has calming and soothing properties and is also a natural mosquito repellent.

White vinegar or Lemon - Dissolve in water in a proportion of 1:5. Use a cotton ball to gently apply the solution on the affected area. It will cool the sunburn and act as a disinfectant.

Calendula - Calendula is a healing plant. It has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antiviral properties.

Cucumber - Rub cucumber slices on the affected area for a cooling effect.

While you're still healing, avoid hot baths and showers, treat the affected area, and avoid exposing it to the sun again.

Don't allow a sunburn to ruin your fun - pick a good time to go to the beach, use sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, light clothes, hydrate well and...

Enjoy your Summer!

Vanessa

Even Skin Complexion - Pigmentation Control

Skin Whitening

WITHOUT being too philosophical about it, as a friend once said, "beauty is subjective," referring to the fact that we live in a diverse world, with different values -what is beautiful to me might not be to you.

Regardless of our reasons or preferences, we can use cosmetics to change our appearance as we desire - hair dying, curling, straightening, skin tanning, skin whitening, etc.

Talking about skin whitening, there are effective treatments that help to minimize the appearance of uneven skin pigmentation that affects most people, regardless of ethnic background, skin color or age. Skin may either appear lighter or darker than normal; there may be blotchy, uneven areas, patches of brown discoloration, or freckling.

Skin pigmentation disorders occur because the body produces either too much or too little melanin. Melanin is the pigment triggered by the enzyme tyrosinase, and creates the color of a person's skin, eyes, and hair shade. Most skin-lightening treatments, which can reduce or block some amount of melanin production, act by inhibiting the enzyme tyrosinase.

Many treatments use a combination of topical lotions or gels containing melanin-inhibiting ingredients along with a sunscreen, an exfoliating agent, and sometimes even laser treatment. Our options range from a group of active ingredients that are known to be effective, but present some toxicity, and others that are safe, without being as effective.

Skin Whitening agents

Hydroquinone: it's a very effective, popular whitening active ingredient that should be used with caution due to its toxicity. The treatment can be combined with a corticosteroid to decrease local irritation. The cosmetic concentration is up to 2%; above this concentration, the product is available from a physician or by prescription.

Azelaic acid: 15% to 20% concentrations with a decreased risk of irritation when compared to hydroquinone.

Kojic Acid: form a chelation with copper ions, which affect the activity of the enzyme tyrosinase preventing the formation of melanin. It's not very popular due to its stability.

Vitamin C: some research shows the vitamin to be an effective agent for inhibiting melanin production.

Peelings and laser: used for complementary action; these treatments will not be discussed in this posting.

Sunscreen with Anti-UVA and Anti-UVB: the most typical cause of darkened areas of skin, brown spots, or areas of discoloration is unprotected sun exposure. Refer to previous sunscreen posting for products. Always check for professional advice for your particular case - get to know your options.

We live in a big and diverse world, and should take advantage of the easy interaction available these days - browse the internet, learn a different language, another dance, read different authors, and...

Vive la Différence!

Vanessa

Helpful link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_whitening#Uses

Brazil with Bossa

“Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking, and when she passes each one she passes goes - ah. When she walks she’s like a samba that swings so cool and sways so gentle that when she passes each one she passes goes - ah.”
Vinicius de Moraes, Girl From Ipanema

You might have heard about Brazil through a beauty salon that offers the popular Brazilian Waxing, seen Brazilian top models in Victoria's Secrets ads, or heard the famous Bossa Nova song, "Girl From Ipanema" on the radio. This post is dedicated to telling you a bit more about Brazil.

Lula and the Brazilian Way

Brazilians are known to be very friendly, compared to other cultures. Lula is the President and the capital of is Brasília, located strategically in the middle of the country. Brazilians are good workers, dedicated and positive, and the economy is rocketing.

Girl from Ipanema and Bossa Nova

In Brazil, to do something with "Bossa" is to do it with a particular charm and natural flair, as in an innate ability. The first thing it comes in my mind when we talk about Bossa Nova is the image of the "Girl of Ipanema" muse, whose walk and smile, inspired Vinícius de Moraes to compose one of Brazil's most famous Bossa Nova songs. João Gilberto, Vinícius de Moraes, Sylvinha Telles, Carlinhos Lyra, Nara Leão, Luizinho Eça, Roberto Menescal are some of the Bosssa Nova composers. Bebel Gilberto is our recent reference - she lives in the US and plays in a soft and cool Bossa Nova lounge style. Besides Bossa Nova, the range of dances and music style is wide, with lambada, samba, pagode, axe Bahia, forró, among others.

Brazilians love sports

Soccer, beach soccer, volleyball, beach volley, formula 1, triathlon, swimming, marathon, capoeira, jiu-jitsu are our favorite sports. You see action everywhere you go. If you are going to work-out, the verb used is "marombar" or "malhar." At the beach, girls wear bikinis and boys wear speedos. Fashion trends change every season; even the size of the swimwear - that's why we have Brazilian waxing.

Rice, beans, and açaí

Brazilians cook every day fresh food: rice & beans, a portion of meat, some veggies and a salad, all in one plate. After the gym, you eat açaí, the cherry-like fruit smoothy mixed with guaraná syrup, banana and granola that you eat with the spoon. Açaí is a fruit known to be one of the most rich and powerful antioxidant and is a trend that started in Rio de Janeiro.

Paradise for personal care

Brazil is a tropical country, extremely hot in the Summer -3 to 4 showers a day is a must. Make-up tends to be natural during the day and heavier at night. Sunscreen, creams for the body, neck, face, hands with natural ingredients...It's the paradise for personal & beauty care!
Plastic surgery is very common, and one of the best plastic surgeons in the world is Brazilian. Funny thing: in the 90's, Brazilians did breast reductions; now it's all about enhancement!
Brazilian girls dye the hair with a special honey color - but just the girls! I was in Brazil with my hubby, and he noted that Brazilians have a very unique honey hair color. I asked him to find any men with the same "special" color. He couldn't...

Caipirinha, Baby Doll parties, and more parties!

The national drink is caipirinha, made with cachaça, sugar, and lemon. Carnaval is in February...Meanwhile, you have parties to attend: Vital, PJ's party, Baby-doll's party, Club Big Beatles presentation at the beach... and more parties!

Next time you meet a Brazilian be sure to say, "Tudo bom?" You'll bring a smile to their face and make your first Brazilian friend!

Vanessa

Music of the day - links:

http://www.radioblogclub.com/open/115432/vinicius_de_moraes/Vinicius%20de%20Moraes-Garota%20de%20Ipanema http://www.radioblogclub.com/open/115432/vinicius_de_moraes/Vinicius%20de%20Moraes-Berimbau%20-%20Consola%3F

Summer Countdown - Beauty Tips

Hair, that Hair and Skin

The Summer is around the corner, so it's the excitement with all activities of the happiest season of the year! Because we tend to expose our bodies more than other seasons, with enough protection and care, we can go through it with minimum damage.

Hair

Dye, chlorine from the swimming pool and sports clubs, sun exposure will have a damaging effect on the hair. Once damaged, the only thing left to do is to let it grow again and cut the damaged portion. Preventing the damage is possible, with the use of the correct product and avoiding sun exposure. A nice hat might help, so as the use of a good routine with a shampoo & conditioner specific for your hair.

Hair dye: always go to a good professional and if you are doing it by yourself, respect the time for each step instructed by the manufacturer.

Chlorine: damaging effects of chlorine is easy to see, specially if you have colored or blond hair, where it turn into green; the texture of the hair will also be affected, with visible dry-out. To prevent damage from chlorine, you can use a conditioner with silicone before going to the water. Wash the hair thoroughly with a good shampoo and conditioner afterwards. There are few shampoos specific for swimmers available.

Waxing & razor: legs, underarms and pubic area - are more visible with clothes used in the Summer and we want to always have a smooth and hairless skin. Options: use of the razor, waxing, and/or laser.

Pros and cons of using razors: it's fast, you can do it yourself with no appointments, no pain and much cheaper than any other option. However, results last for 2 days only and there is a bigger chance to have ingrown hair. The hair growth is not as flattering - it looks like the spears of a cactus.

Pros and cons of using waxing: Hair takes longer to grow and it reduces the chances of ingrown hair. The hair growth is much less visible, softer and the best, since it takes the hair out by the root, the hair takes much longer to grow. Cons: it needs an appointment, is more expensive than using the razor, the pain involved, and the baring yourself factors. Also, you have to allow the hair to grow to an ideal length in order to be able to use the wax.

Once you decide to do the waxing, you should try the Brazilian waxing. There are options among this style and you should discuss it with your esthetician - I personally don't like the complete "all out" style... After considering pros and cons, I stick to the waxing.

Skin

Sun protection: the skin needs sun protection anti UVA & B, as a first line of protection, to prevent aging and other serious conditions caused by the sun exposure. Clothes also offer extra protection for the sun - use a good sunscreen on the exposed areas and reapply it at list every 2 hours.

Moisturizer: keeping a good moisturizer for each part of the body is essential - face, neck, eyes, body, feet, hands. Products vary for each skin type, specially for the face - some products can clog the pores and cause pimples

Exfoliate face, body, and feet: The exfoliation will help with the natural skin cells turnover. Important to use specific products for each area of the body. Excessive exfoliation can make the skin sensitive to the sun exposure, specially the face. Love your feet for the Summer: sandals can promote hardening of the skin, promoting unpleasant pain and dryness feel. Exfoliation will take the excess of this hard skin out; use a good poms stone and a moisturizer - and make sure to have nails done with a fun color.

It's Summer after all!!!

Vanessa

Sunless tan - Viva the Fake!

I defend originality and ban "fake" behaviour most of the time. However, when we talk about the self-tanning trend, I am absolutely "Pro" fake! The most effective products available are sunless tanning lotions that contain sugar-like ingredients, such as dihydroxyacetone (DHA) and erythrulose.

These active ingredients are approved by the FDA and considered non-toxic and skin safe, without the damage associated with UV exposure. The tan results from a chemical reaction between the active ingredient and the amino acids in the dead layer on the skin's surface. Erythrulose works identically with DHA, but develops more slowly. The association of both active ingredients in a product will determine a better result.

Important steps for a successful application and lasting effect:

1. Wear dark clothes during application;

2. Exfoliate your skin prior application;

3. Apply uniform amount of the product on the skin;

4. Remember: thicker skin, such as hands, knees, feet, and elbows, contains more keratin and will react more easily with the active ingredient! Apply carefully, avoiding these areas. Wash your hands immediately to not allow the palms of your hands to become colored;

5. Try using use H2O2 (peroxide) or self-tan removers to clean your hands and nails. It's a great solution to avoid unwanted orange hands! Be careful and avoid contact with your eyes;

6. Best results are obtained when applied to clean, dry skin. Bathing and swimming should be avoided until the product is fully absorbed (1 to 6 hours);

7. As with any product, test prior to using it and do not use it if you have signs of an allergic reaction. First time users should apply the product to a small patch of skin and wait 24 hours before applying to their entire body.

The tan is temporary and will fade gradually over 3 to 10 days. The final color and results will depend on the concentration of the active ingredients as well as the processing time. Follow each product's instructions and choose the color suggested by the manufacturer.

Products available to be applied at home: gels, lotions, mousses, sprays, and wipes. Professional applications offered by spas, salons, and gyms in the form of UV-Free airbrush spray tans and spray booths, which distribute the sunless tanning solution over the entire body.

Enjoy your tan and Summer glow throughout the year!

Vanessa


Music of the day - links:

http://www.radioblogclub.com/open/115432/garota_de_ipanema/Vinicius%20de%20Moraes-Garota%20de%20Ipanema

http://www.radioblogclub.com/open/115432/garota_de_ipanema/Vinicius%20de%20Moraes-Berimbau%20-%20Consola%3F

Sunless Tanning favorite links:
Beauty.com
http://www.drugstore.com/search/search.asp?searchtype=1&trx=28198&trxp1=9730&ipp=20&srchtree=8&search=sunless

Drugstore.com:
http://www.drugstore.com/search/search.asp?search=sunless&srchtree=1&trx=SEARCH-0-VADDITIONAL-DSCM-TOP&trxp1=1&trxp2=sunless

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunless_tanning