Microdermabrasion

This summer has been a summer of skin preservation!

I've gone out of my way to wear sun block every day, to drink tons of water and now am sluffing off dead skin to obtain a healthy glow... Yes sluffing off dead skin via Microdermabrasion.

One of my very best friends manages a day spa in Salt Lake City, The Seven Club Spa.  She mentioned to me in passing that my skin would love a little micro treatment, after weeks of thinking about it, I finally broke down and got it done.

7 Club Spa, Salt Lake City

Microdermabrasion is a minor cosmetic procedure used by exfoliating the outermost layer of dead skin cells from your skin.  If you think about it microdermabrasion is a way of gently removing skin “plaque” and skin debris from off your face, almost like brushing your teeth removes plaque from your teeth.  It is used with a machine which sandblasts the dead skin cells on your face, it honestly feels like a cat is licking your face.  When I did this, the esthetician was worried that it was painful to me, while it was uncomfortable, I wasn't in extreme pain. 

That night I gently cleansed my face with a non abrasive soap and then applied 100% Aloe (Via my Aloe Plant) and Vitamin E Oil to my face.  I just let the Aloe & Vitamin E soak in over night and washed it off in the morning.  To avoid irritation the next day, I used a little Coconut Oil and applied light make up on my eyes only.  My face was a little red as if I had been out in the sun and felt a little irritated but not bad at all.

A few years ago, I had the same procedure done and my skin totally broke out.  The reason why is because all the impurities are being brought to the surface of you skin.  It hasn't happeded this time around, so I guess I got lucky.

The esthetician told me to do a natural sugar scrub the next night and so that's what I am going to do.

My Sugar Scub:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1T
Sugar 3T
Honey  1T

Directions:  Wash your face and leave it a little damp, apply mixture to your face using a curcular motion.  Leave on for 15 minutes and then rinse with luke warm water.  I like to splash a little cold water on my face to close my pores after I rinse it.

Hair Removal

Tweezing - Ah the old standby, honestly the only thing I pluck these days are my eye brows. I wax them every couple months and in between, I keep them groomed with tweezers.  If you choose to shape your own brow please do not over pluck! If you do, it will make you look harsh and like a control freak. Remember unnaturally natural is your goal, use extreme prudence when you groom yourself.

My favorite tweezers are the angle ones they seem to grip better.

Photo's by Me, Ashlee B.

Waxing - This procedure is painful but very effective. I wax my eye brows every couple months and in the past have done several other wax treatments. Waxing is great, I mean other than it being super painful, it is the best/quickest way to get all the hair temporarily removed.
About the pain, eye brows are moderately painful but the other wax treatments can be amazingly painful (Example: bruising). All in all I have been happy with the results.

Above are before and after photo's of my brows after being waxed.

Please note : hair grows back in 3-4 weeks so the upkeep can get expensive. After about 6 months of waxing my legs and a few other treatments, I decided that it might be best to invest my money into laser hair removal and for big occasions wax for a finished look. I’m super happy I invested in laser hair removal and believe waxing has its place (eye brows and special occasions).

Shaving - Even if you do laser hair removal chances are you will still have to shave. The cost is the most wallet friendly and if done right the results are great. I try and always have my legs wet with luke warm water and put either shave gel or cedaphil on my legs to help the shave go smoother. Please take your time and do this right (More than a few times in college I cut my ankle by shaving too fast and have a few scars to prove that shave wounds can be a bloody mess).

Nair- I have done this to remove peach fuzz from my face... all in all it was effective but I worry that putting strong chemicals on my face wasn't the best idea. I have since stopped and will probably never go back.

Laser Hair Removal - This is my preferred hair removal method. It can be expensive and painful but is very effective. Please note: It only gets rid of dark hair, so don't feel ripped off if you still get light hair on your legs, armpits, face or other area's you have done. I have been getting the treatments done for over a year in various places and have loved the results. Also note : don’t get this done to area's which have been tanned by the sun recently; the extra pigmentation will cause the laser to burn your skin. Try and be as light as possible, it will work best if you do it in the winter time and enjoy the benefits in the summer time. For Laser Hair Removal to be effective you will have to go in for several treatments, usually it takes 6 treatments and several touch ups.

Electrolysis- This is supposed to be the one method that will permanently get rid of your hair. I haven’t done it yet but will probably do it sometime in the future, for those light hairs that the lasers can’t get.

Medical Spa Treatments

Microdermabrasion- I have tried this and was not happy with the procedure. I know that it is removing a dead layer of skin and as a side effect it will bring things to the surface. That being said I totally broke out and it took a week to get my skin back to normal. I was not happy at all.

Chemical Peels- I have been happy with this the two times I tried it. Be prepared for it to be super hot on your skin like your face is melting off. Be prepared for your face to be red for a few days and don't try to apply anything harsh on your skin which will aggravate the healing process. I suggest Extra Virgin Olive Oil as a moisturizer and just using eye make up till it heals. Be prepared for your skin to peel off at least once. Be gentile and patient and expect a week for it to heal and stay out of the sun while it heals. Note there are different levels of peels light to strong, become aware of what you want to accomplish and plan accordingly. A light peel might just dry up acne where a deep peel will literally burn your skin to stimulate regrowth. This could have bad side affects so research it before you do it.

Laser Resurfacing- Much like a chemical peel but done with a laser instead of chemicals. There are three levels; a light one will usually not change your appearance just clear up some acne. A medium one if done regularly will slightly change your appearance help even out some old scars, soften lines. A deep one is very painful and if done regularly will affect your appearance. Please note that this is an expensive procedure and it is very painful, you will have at least a week recovery time for a light to medium peel and I’m sure a deep peel is much longer/painful recovery.

Botox- Best thing I have invested in for the appearance of my skin. I started using this when I was 28 because I had a deep crease in the middle of my forehead. After almost 4 years of using Botox I have no visible signs of that crease. Botox gets a bad rap in the general media, whenever there is someone on TV who has noticeable "work" done I always hear my friends blame it on Botox. Most of the time you notice someone has had something done it isn't botox. If it is botox then find out who they went to and warn all your friends to stay away from them.
Note : The most important thing you do in regards to getting Botox is getting the right doctor/nurse practitioner to apply it. If you get the wrong person applying your Botox you could be in for problems, poorly applied Botox can lead to droopy brows, a frozen surprised look with your brow and other issues. I've been lucky, I go to Treasure Morgan at Elase Medical Spa (Sugar House, Utah) she is the only person I will go to at Elase. She follows my belief of making things look natural; I still have movement in my face and no one would know I have Botox.
In my opinion Botox is preventative and should be used on the onset of noticeable lines in the forehead, around the eyes and between the eyes. Most people think "well I might try it when I’m older" (40 or 50). By the time those people finally try Botox they expect it to do what fillers do. Botox is not going to fill in your winkles, it is just going to freeze your muscles so your wrinkles don't get worse. Cost: Botox for me costs $350.00 - $500.00 depending on what I'm having done and how much I’m paying per unit, it lasts about 4 months so it can get expensive. Make up your mind and budget for what you want to achieve. If you don't want to be applying it 3 times a year and are looking for applying 2 times a year learn to train your muscles to not move as much.

Fillers- I have not tried fillers yet but am saving up to get some in my cheeks and my nasal folds. At this point I will not need much probably 1 syringe. I have researched fillers and the one that looks the best to me is Radiesse. Please note that fillers are not permanent they last about a year, so for your first time go light and see if you like it... the next time around you can always get a little more but once it's applied you are stuck with it for a while. Also note : I would research a plastic surgeon who can apply this right. There are a lot of scary doctors out there who will mess you up and then tell you they did what you wanted. This is expensive and will alter the way you look, so if you do it... DO IT RIGHT! Please remember unnaturally natural you still want to look like you just soften some lines. (Cost $500.00 - $1,000.00 and last's up to a year.)