Here are some skincare tips that will help you close off the year the right way!

With the new year upon us, it's a great time to look over your beauty routine and see if there are any resolutions you can adopt for even better skin in 2018. In some cases, the best thing you can do is avoid pitfalls of the past to make sure you're setting your skin up for success. 

• Beauty Shouldn’t Hurt

Regardless of what beauty magazines and well-meaning skincare professionals say, skin shouldn’t get worse before it gets better. Red, sensitized skin is always a sign of distress—if your exfoliant, retinol, or skincare product causes this reaction, it’s time to change your routine. It could be as simple as switching to a lower-strength exfoliant, but check all your products’ ingredient lists to be sure skin-sensitizing ingredients (like denatured alcohol) aren’t to blame. 

• Play it Cool While Cleansing

Avoid using hot or ice-cold water while cleansing: Both are damaging to skin, can lead to lingering redness, and prolong the staying time of acne. Lukewarm water should get the job done with any type of cleanser—and be sure to gently dab, not rub, your skin dry with a soft towel. 

• Skip the Long Bath

Long baths are relaxing for your muscles and your mind, but prolonged soaks stress your skin! When skin shows visible "pruning," it’s a sign of a compromised skin surface—Surprise! Too much water is damaging to skin. Too much time in the tub literally breaks down skin, keeping its surface from holding on to healthy substances like cholesterol and ceramides. These serve as the mortar that holds the "bricks" (the protein portion of your skin) together, keeping it feeling smooth, soft, and pliable.

• Kick the Addiction to Scrubs

Scrubbing away at skin like you’re trying to remove bad wallpaper is one of the most common ways people hurt their skin—it’s an antiquated way to exfoliate.

While AHA or BHA exfoliants are the best way to exfoliate skin, you don’t have to give up using a scrub altogether—just avoid those that are overly harsh, abrasive, or otherwise poorly formulated. Think of scrubs as an extra measure of cleansing, and always be gentle when using them on your face and body. 

• Pass (on) the Bar Soap

Bar soaps are always a bad idea for skin because of the residue they leave behind—blame the ingredients used to keep them in solid form: This filmy residue can initially feel good on skin, but with regular use it can worsen dry skin. If that weren’t enough, the alkaline pH level of bar soaps sensitizes skin. 

• Dump Your Abusive Skincare Products

Moisturizers, serums, sunscreens, and other products that contain skin-aggravating ingredients (like alcohol or fragrance) are easy to fall for. But, over the long-term, their drawbacks far outweigh any benefits—and your routine becomes a cycle of treating one concern (for example, acne) while developing another (for example, dry skin). Kick these abusive beauty products to the curb and don’t look back! 

• Perfume Has Nothing to Do with Skincare

We’ve all said it at least once in our lives—"I love this moisturizer, it just smells so good!" Unfortunately, what pleases your nose doesn’t make your skin happy. Highly fragranced products (whether from "essential oils" or other sources) may smell lovely, but they stink when it comes to keeping skin in top shape. 

• More is Not Always a Good Thing

Even a well-formulated product has the potential to do harm if it’s overused, so heed the directions for your exfoliant, retinol, or anti-acne solutions and experiment to find the balance that’s right for your skin.

Signs that your skin has had enough include a tight, lined, or pulled appearance (especially on waking up in the morning), redness, peeling, or sensitivity.

• Peel Now, Pay Later

Whether done at home or in a professional setting, facial peels can be a helpful part of a routine, especially when uneven skin tone is a concern. However, if you’re getting AHA, BHA, or other types of peels too frequently (or opting for ones that are too strong), their benefits can backfire.

Mild peels done at home should not be performed more than once or twice per month; deep peels performed by a doctor should be limited to once per year at most. The goal is to never tip the scales in favor of sensitizing skin, so use this type of exfoliation in moderation.

• Sunscreen is the Best Anti-Wrinkle Cream

Sunscreen is not nearly as flashy as the current beauty products being hyped on the market, but sunscreen has anti-wrinkle benefits that no other skincare product can touch. Unprotected sun exposure is the #1 cause of early skin aging, including wrinkles, sagging, and uneven skin tone. Want to look as young as you can as long as you can? Sunscreen is a daily necessity, 365 days per year, even if it’s cloudy—and your anti-aging products will work much better if you routinely shield your skin from ongoing exposure to daylight.

Health and Beauty tips

Liz Skincare 

2200 SW 16 ST Suite 224 Miami, FL 33145

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These are the things you should be eating for great skin!

Nutrition is a key factor for a healthy life; as an unhealthy way of living can damage your metabolism,  cause weight gain and even affect organs such as your heart and liver.  In this blog we will be sharing what are the fundamental things you should be including in your meal plans to achieve a healthy diet and amazing glowing skin!

Fatty Fish:

Fatty fish including anything from salmon, mackerel and herring, these are excellent foods for healthy skin. All rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids. These acids help maintain skin thick, supple and moisturized. In fact lack of this particular acid can cause dry skin. Also helpful to reduce inflammations which can be the cause of redness and acne to even make your skin less sensitive to the sun's harmful UV rays.

Avocados:

Being that avocados are filled with healthy fats, the body takes advantage of these fats for benefit of many functions; including the health skin. Getting enough of them can keep your skin flexible and looking at its best. As well as being great providers of Vitamin E which is an important antioxidant it is also the nutrient that Americans don't get enough of.

Another component that could lead to the best skin possible is Vitamin C, lack of it can cause dry, rough, scaly skin that bruises easily; as well for protect from the aging affects of the sun and environment. 

Walnuts: 

Walnuts have many characteristics that make them an excellent food for healthy skin. They are a good source of essential fatty acids, which are fats that your body cannot make itself.In fact, they are richer than most other nuts in both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

A diet too high in omega-6 fats promotes inflammation, including inflammatory conditions of the skin like psoriasis. Omega-3 fats, on the other hand, help reduce inflammation in the body, including in the skin. 

While omega-6 fatty acids are plentiful in the Western diet, sources of omega-3 fatty acids are rare. Walnuts contain a good ratio of these fatty acids, and may, therefore, fight the inflammatory response to too much omega-6.

Sunflower Seeds: 

In general, nuts and seeds are good sources of nutrients that are important for healthy skin. Sunflower seeds are an excellent example. One ounce (28 grams) of sunflower seeds contains 32% of the RDI for the antioxidant selenium, 10% of the RDI for zinc and 5.4 grams of protein. 

 This amount also contains 37% of the RDI for vitamin E, which is a great way to make sure you're getting enough of this important vitamin and antioxidant.

Additionally, sunflower seeds are an excellent source of linoleic acid, an essential omega-6 fat that helps your skin stay thick, flexible and moisturized . 

In a large observational study of more than 4,000 women, a high intake of linoleic acid was associated with a lower risk of dry and thin skin as a result of aging.

Sweet Potatoes:

Beta-carotene is a nutrient found in plants.

It can be converted into vitamin A in the body, and it's found in orange and dark-green vegetables such as carrots, spinach and sweet potatoes. Sweet Potatoes are an excellent source of it. One 1/2-cup serving (100 grams) of baked sweet potato contains enough beta-carotene to provide nearly four times the RDI of vitamin A.

Carotenoids like beta-carotene help keep your skin healthy by acting as a natural sunblock. When consumed, this antioxidant is incorporated into your skin and protects your skin cells from sun exposure. This may help prevent sunburn, cell death and the resulting effects of dry, wrinkled skin.
Interestingly, beta-carotene may also add a warm, orange color to your skin, contributing to an overall healthier look.

Red or Yellow Peppers:

Like sweet potatoes, bell peppers are an excellent source of beta-carotene. One cup (149 grams) of chopped, red bell pepper contains the equivalent of 92% of the RDI for vitamin A.

They are also one of the best sources of vitamin C the antioxidant that's necessary for creating the protein collagen, which keeps skin firm and strong. One cup of bell pepper provides an impressive 317% of the RDI for vitamin C.

A large observational study in women found that eating plenty of vitamin C was associated with a lower chance of skin appearing wrinkled and becoming dry with age.

Broccoli:

Broccoli makes the list because it is full of many vitamins and minerals important for skin health, including zinc, vitamin A and vitamin C.

It also contains lutein, a carotenoid that works like beta-carotene. It protects the skin from oxidative damage, which can cause skin to become dry and wrinkled.

But broccoli florets also contain a special compound called sulforaphane, which seems to have some impressive health benefits. It may even have anti-cancer effects, including on some types of skin cancer.

Sulforaphane is also a powerful protective agent against sun damage. It works in two ways: by neutralizing harmful free radicals and turning on other protective systems in the body.

In the lab, sulforaphane reduces the number of skin cells killed by UV light by as much as 29%, and the protection lasts for up to 48 hours. There is also evidence that it helps maintain collagen levels in the skin.

Tomatoes: 

Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C and contain all of the major carotenoids, including lycopene.

Beta-carotene, lutein and lycopene have been shown to protect the skin against damage from the sun and may also help prevent wrinkling.

Because tomatoes contain all of the major carotenoids, they are an excellent food for maintaining healthy skin. 

However, carotenoids need fat to be absorbed, so be sure to pair tomatoes with something like cheese or olive oil.

Soy:

Soy contains isoflavones, or plant compounds, that can either mimic or block estrogen in the body. They may have several potential health benefits, including possible benefits for the skin.

One small study of women in their 30s and 40s found that eating soy isoflavones every day for 8–12 weeks improved fine wrinkles and skin elasticity.

In postmenopausal women, soy may also help improve skin dryness and increase collagen, which helps keep your skin smooth and strong.

These isoflavones not only protect the cells inside of your body from damage, but also protect your skin from damage from harmful UV rays. This may even help prevent the development of some skin cancers.

Dark Chocolate:

As if you needed one more reason to eat chocolate, the effects of cocoa on skin are pretty impressive.

One study found that after 6–12 weeks of consuming a cocoa powder high in antioxidants, participants experience thicker, more hydrated skin.

Their skin was also less rough and scaly, less sensitive to sunburn and had better blood flow, which brings more nutrients to the skin.

Another study found that regularly eating just 20 grams of dark chocolate high in antioxidants per day could allow skin to withstand more than twice as much UV radiation before burning, compared to eating chocolate low in antioxidants.

Several other studies have produced similar results, including improvements in the appearance of wrinkles. However, it is worth mentioning that at least one study did not find significant effects.

Evidence shows that cocoa may be a powerful tool for keeping your skin young and protected from damage. Make sure to choose dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa in order to maximize the health benefits and keep added sugar to a minimum.

Green Tea:

Green tea may also have the ability to protect your skin from damage and aging.

The powerful compounds found in green tea are called catechins, and they work to protect and improve the health of your skin in several ways.

Like several other antioxidant-containing foods, regularly consuming green tea can help protect your skin against sun damage.

One 12-week study in 60 women found that drinking green tea daily could reduce redness from sun exposure by up to 25%. It also improved the moisture, roughness, thickness and elasticity of their skin.

While green tea is a great choice for healthy skin, you may want to avoid drinking your tea with milk. There's evidence that milk could reduce the beneficial effects of its antioxidants.

Red Wine:

Red wine is famous for containing resveratrol, a compound that comes from the skin of red grapes.

Resveratrol is credited with a wide range of health benefits, and reducing the effects of aging is one the most well-known.
The skin has specific binding sites for resveratrol. When applied to the skin, this compound has been shown to slow skin's aging. When consumed, it's also able to reduce the production of harmful free radicals, which damage skin cells and cause signs of aging.
Unfortunately, there's not much evidence that the amount of resveratrol you get from a glass of red wine is enough to make a difference in your skin. And since red wine is an alcoholic beverage, there are negative effects to drinking it in excess.

It's not a good idea to start drinking red wine just because of its potential health benefits. But if you drink in moderation anyway, you might want to consider red wine as your drink of choice.

Health and Beauty tips

Liz Skincare 

2200 SW 16 ST Suite 224 Miami, FL 33145

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I hope you’ve found some of my tips helpful!

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Here's how a Colon cleansing can help your skin...

What is a Colon Cleansing? 

A colon cleanse is the process of internally cleansing your intestines (bowels) by alleviating bowel discomfort, aiding the peristaltic functions, softening stool, and overall assisting in more frequent and comfortable bowel movements. Cleansing methods range from natural herbal formulas and careful, restrictive dieting, to enemas, hydrotherapy, colonoscopy, or other methods.

Some people cleanse to “help out” their bowels from consuming junk food.

Others, as you might, do it to figure out how to achieve healthier skin.

Benefits of a Colon Cleanse for Skin

The benefits of a colon cleanse for your skin are sundry. From the way your skin looks to the way your skin feels, a colon cleanse can tackle almost every facet of healthy skin.

Remember: the skin is just the tip of the benefits iceberg of colon cleanses.

• Colon cleanses can help reduce acne and blemishes.

While many people assume eating “junk food”–like fast-food burgers, french fries, and chips–contributes to acne, that’s not entirely true.

What is harmful, though, is getting grease on your face, drinking excessive diary products (milk, yoghurt), or consuming too much sugar.

When your body consumes sugar, it can spike your body’s blood sugar.

• Colon cleanses can help relieve inflammation.

When your intestinal functions are not playing at their A game, your body can shoot back with vengeance at your skin, and cause unsightly inflammation.

For example, some people unfortunately suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Because of an imbalance in their digestive track, they can experience a host of skin ailments, such as “metastatic lesions, reactive processes to the intestinal inflammation,” and other side effects.

The body then reacts to your body’s intestinal imbalance between the “mucosal epithelium, intestinal microbes, and host immune response“). The antigens between the bowel bacteria and skin don’t agree, essentially, and your skin may react negatively.

• Colon cleanses can help heal your skin.

Have you heard of “gut flora”? If you haven’t, I’m surprised. It’s been a hot topic since people have been hopping on the trend of probiotics.
Your gut is a microcosm of bacteria responsible for maintaining a healthy pH balance in your digestive tract.

• Colon cleanses can help overall physical health.

Your physical health is something to be enshrined. You don’t want to be sluggish, debilitated, or unable to do anything as you age. By helping your intestines more efficiently eliminate the waste that gets built-up in your bowels, you’re doing your entire body a favor.

And it’s not just your skin or your colon that benefits from a colon cleanse: it’s your entire body.

• For example, when people eat too much sugar and acquire Diabetes Type II, they suddenly have a higher chance of colon cancer.

While natural colon cleanses neither prevent nor treat colon cancer, it does demonstrate that your body needs all of your organs to function as best as they can; and when you allow your colon to be built up with junk, you risk your entire body’s health.

• SOURCES

https://www.dermcoll.edu.au/atoz/skin-structure-function/
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/acne-foods#1

https://www.rush.edu/health-wellness/discover-health/eating-healthy-colon
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3273725/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2731177/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3645662/

Health and Beauty tips

Liz Skincare 

2200 SW 16 ST Suite 224 Miami, FL 33145

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Skin Redness

From a sunburn to an allergic reaction, there are many situations in which your skin can become red or irritated. It may be because extra blood rushes to the skin’s surface to fight off irritants and encourage healing. Your skin can also become red from exertion, such as after a heart-pounding exercise session.

It’s not always cause for concern, but skin redness can be irritating and uncomfortable. It can also be accompanied by other symptoms. Figuring out its underlying cause can help you treat your skin and keep it from happening again.

What are the symptoms of skin redness?

The main symptom associated with skin redness is varying colors of redness on the skin. The redness can occur in varying degrees and on different portions of the body. Here are some examples of symptoms that you may have along with red skin:

• Blistering
• Bumps
• Burning
• Flushing
• Hives
• Itching
• Rash
• Warmth in your skin
• Sores
• Swelling

What are the causes of skin redness?

Causes of skin irritation vary drastically and can include irritants, the sun, and insect bites. Examples of skin conditions associated with skin redness include:

• Atopic Dermatitis 
• Bites
• Cellulitis 
• Contact Dermatitis
• Diaper Rash
• Eczema
• Heat Rash
• Medication Allergy
• Psoriasis
• Ringworm
• Rosacea
• Scarlet Fever
• Shingles
• Skin Burns
• Skin infections
• Sunburns

Skin redness can be a temporary, or acute, condition. It can also be a chronic condition that constantly reappears.

When do I seek medical help for skin redness?

You should get immediate medical attention if you experience any of the following symptoms associated with skin redness:

• a burn that’s twice the size of your palm
• difficulty breathing
• extreme pain
• loss of consciousness
• the redness is near or on your eyes and is affecting your vision

You should also get medical attention if you have an animal bite, even if you’ve had a tetanus shot.

See a healthcare provider or dermatologist for other symptoms that aren’t considered a medical emergency.

How’s skin redness treated?

Treatments for skin redness depend on what’s causing it. Examples can include avoiding the irritant or allergen that caused your skin redness in the first place.

Other treatments for skin redness can be:

• cleansing the affected area with soap and water
• medications like antihistamines to minimize irritation
• topical skin care applications like calamine lotion to reduce skin redness

Keeping the affected area clean and dry can usually help reduce skin redness. If an infection is the cause of your skin redness, your healthcare provider may prescribe antibiotics to reduce the infection’s symptoms.

Health and Beauty tips

Liz Skincare 

2200 SW 16 ST Suite 224 Miami, FL 33145

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Do Women of Color Need Special Skincare Products?

It surprises many people when they learn that darker skin tones do not require special skincare products. It seems contrary to what you would expect, but the fact is skin color is not a skin type! 

None of the research indicates that skin color has anything to do with the skincare products you need. It's not that darker skin tones don't have some physiological differences from lighter skin tones; it’s just that those differences don't impact what products you should be using. 

Skincare is Color Blind

When it comes to skincare needs, skin is skin—no matter the color. Think of it like your diet: Regardless of our ethnic background, we all need the same nutritious foods that supply antioxidants, vitamins, and omega fatty acids to be healthy. The exact same concept applies to skin. 

Skin is the body’s largest organ, which is why everyone’s skin needs the same helpful ingredients to address issues like dry skin, clogged pores, signs of aging, sun damage from unprotected sun exposure, uneven skin tone, oily skin, sensitive skin, and so on. All of those problems affect every ethnicity in the same way with only minor variations, but those variations don’t affect how you take care of your skin. 

It is also important for everyone, regardless of skin color, to avoid problematic, skin-aggravating ingredients such as SD and denatured alcohol, menthol, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemon, lime, and natural or synthetic fragrances as well as scrubs and stiff-bristled cleansing brushes. Exposure to these skin-provoking ingredients will exacerbate any skin problem you have or create skin problems you don’t want. Bad products and unhelpful ingredients don’t care what color your skin is!

What You Need to Know

• Always use a gentle, water soluble cleanser (avoid bar soaps; they are too drying, can clog pores and cause skin to look ashy and feel dry).

• Always choose products that are appropriate for your skin type (i.e. gels and serums for oily or combination skin; creams and lotions for dry skin).
• Always use a well-formulated sunscreen during the day (the most typical cause of uneven skin tone for women of color and the appearance of signs of aging is sun damage).
• Always use products loaded with state-of-the-art ingredients including antioxidants, skin-replenishing ingredients, and skin-restoring ingredients.

These are the universal basic needs for all skin types regardless of ethnic background or skin color. This is the essential diet everyone’s skin needs, just like everyone’s basic diet for a healthy body has the same food group needs.

Dark Skin and Sun Damage

Having darker skin color does have an advantage over lighter skin tones because darker skin color does offer some amount of protection from sun damage. Essentially, the darker your skin tone, the more natural defense your skin has against the sun. 

Applying a broad spectrum sunscreen 365 days a year, rain or shine, is as basic as it gets to having beautiful, healthy skin. Even if you’re inside all day, the silent but skin-damaging UVA rays of daylight come through windows. Sun damage isn’t pretty for anyone. Uneven skin tone, early signs of aging, rough skin surface, dry skin, mottled skin, and loss of firmness will occur for everyone if skin isn’t consistently protected.

Having the best skin of your life truly starts with sunscreen. Believing darker skin will somehow protect your skin from visible damage is dangerous thinking. No matter what skin color you have, it can absolutely be damaged by the sun. We repeat: Everyone needs to apply and reapply broad-spectrum sunscreen every day of year.

Health and Beauty tips

Liz skincare

2200 SW 16 ST Suite 224 Miami, FL 33145

Please “like” & share! Thank you!

I hope you’ve found some of my tips helpful!

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