Spring to Winter Skin Tips

Coming to the end of our Winter months and moving into Spring there's a lot of dry, compromised and irritated skin out there! Keeping our natural protective barrier in tact while boosting the immune system is important in maintaining a healthy body. Here's a few things to consider.

Dry body brushing is an invigorating way to start your bathing routine. Use a natural bristle body brush BEFORE getting in the shower. Start at your feet, working your way up the body stroking the brush towards the heart. Feet to hips, clockwise circle in abdominal area, buttocks to upper back and hands to shoulders. In addition to sloughing off dead skin, you're increasing blood circulation, stimulating the lymphatic system which carries waste away, and enhancing your immune system. Not bad for a 30 second ritual!

You only have a few minutes after bathing to prevent water loss in the skin. Keep showers warm (not hot) and under 10 minutes. Pat yourself dry and immediately apply lotion to the body and serums, gels and/or moisturizers to the face. Try leaving your face wet when you get out of the shower tending to your body first, then move on to the face. This will keep your skin from becoming bone dry before applying a moisturizer. Don't be afraid to change your routine. You may need to change your cleanser and/or moisturizer or add a product to help boost your hydration. Spritzing the skin with Rosewater after you've cleansed is an uplifting way to hydrate your skin. Or applying a serum that offers a protective barrier to prevent moisture loss when you're skin is compromised and not doing the job very efficiently on its own. (Kimberly specialty products recommended: Nourish oil, Shield serum, Soothing Gel Mask).

Colloidal oatmeal is great for dry, irritated skin. Colloidal oatmeal is simply oats that have been pulverized into powder (this can be done with a blender or grinder). Colloidal oatmeal can be found in store bought skin and body care products. If you want to get creative at home, powder some oatmeal and whip up a facial mask or a soothing blend for your bath.

• My favorite shower gel is by Shikai, which can be found in most health food stores - big and small. Rainbow Grocery in SF sells it in bulk. To soothe itchy, dry skin take a bath with Aveeno soothing bath treatment. There are other brands of colloidal oatmeal bath powders on the market (I just haven't tried them yet).

• To make a moisturizing, soothing facial mask play around with combining honey, buttermilk, milk, yogurt or aloe vera gel with oatmeal that you've pulverized in your blender or grinder. The milks or yogurt will give you skin softening benefits from the lactic acid, aloe vera is cooling and soothing and the honey has antimicrobial properties to it as well as being a super hydrator. Play around with any combination of these ingredients. Wash your face, apply homemade mask, leave on for 10-15 minutes, rinse and apply a moisturizer.

To make your own colloidal oatmeal bath add 1 cup of pulverized oatmeal to a warm bath. Test a small amount of your oatmeal in a glass or warm water to be sure that oatmeal dissolves turning the water milky. If it's too chunky, blend some more.

Aromatherapy is great for EVERYTHING!

• Rose, chamomile, neroli, jasmine and lavender are a few essential oils that are good for dry skin. Add a couple drops to your lotion, oil or coco-butter before applying to your body or in a bath with a carrier oil. Moisturizing carrier oils are jojoba, avocado and almond. As I mentioned earlier Rosewater is a great hydrating toner for the face.
• Boost your immune system with essential oils in the bath; a couple of drops in the shower will provide an aromatherapy steam to inhale while bathing or use in a room diffuser. Some great immune boosting essential oils are: eucalyptus, lemon, peppermint, clove, grapefruit, cajeput and helichrysum. Kimberly Skin Care carried Moor Spa "Immune" aromatherapy blend.

Here's to a healthy transition from Winter to Spring for us all!

The Girl Effect

As a result of the years I've spent doing the work of helping women to feel good about being in their skin I have a reverence for the ability of women to grow through trying circumstances, cultivating their wisdom and sharing the gift of that wisdom with their community. One of the many things I'm grateful for is the opportunity to witness this commitment of spirit.

I am also grateful that my 9 yr old daughter is raised in a community of strong, positive role models whose lives represent the vast opportunity that life offers. Instilling a sense of self-confidence and self-worth in a girl is sometimes a daunting responsibility. There are many girls in the world who are not as fortunate as my daughter and will not be encouraged to find their gifts and passions to share with the world.

Some facts:

One quarter to one-half of girls in developing countries become mothers before age 18; 14 million girls aged 15-19 give birth in developing countries each year.

75% of 15-24 year olds living with HIV in Africa are female.

Medical complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death among girls ages 15-19 worldwide.

Out of the world's 130 million out-of-school youth, 70 percent are girls.

When a girl in the developing world receives 7 or more years of education, she marries 4 years later and has 2.2 fewer children.

An extra year of primary school boosts girls' eventual wages by 10-20%. An extra year of secondary school: 15-25%.

When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90% of it into their families, as compared to only 30-40% for a man.

There's no doubt that investing in creating a better life for the young girls of the world is creating a better life for us all.

My prayer and vision for young girls everywhere is for the world to hold them up so that their light can shine magnificently bright.

A solution: The Girl Effect (http://www.thegirleffect.org/question).

The Real Deal on Parabens

Increasingly we hear about products being re-formulated to be paraben-free or we see new product lines being marketed as paraben-free. So, you may be asking -- what are these parabens and what are they doing to my body? Well, parabens have been the most used antimicrobial preservative in cosmetics since 1938. It has been found to be one of the safest and least likely preservative to cause irritation or allergies on the skin, it's inexpensive and is derived from petroleum.

The "concern" began when a 2004 study by Phillipa Darbre of the University of Reading in England suggested that there was a possible link between breast cancer and deoderants/antiperspirants. Her study questioned whether parabens combined with other agents in underarm products, like aluminum salts may have significant effect on diseases like cancer. The study found parabens in 18 of 20 breast tumors, however, there are numerous reasons to question the suggested conclusion. For example, no history was taken of the tumor donors, the study did not state if the tumors were subjected to chemotherapy - which contains parabens, it didn't take into account that tumors commonly metastisize under the arms where the lymph glands are located AND the study didn't check deodorant and antiperspirants formulas for parabens (98% do NOT contain parabens).

Am I saying that there is no concern about using parabens? NO! And here's why: parabens are what is known as Endocrine Disruptors (sustances that act like hormones in the endocrine system and disrupt physiologic function). The estrogenic effect of parabens on the endocrine system manifests in adverse effects on reproductive organs, fetal development, hormone levels, cancers and more. Once parabens penetrate the epidermis (outer layer of skin) they become estrogen metabolites and are no longer estrogenic. (Have I confused you yet? ... Stay with me!) If parabens are ingested or injected into the body they are estrogenic (i.e. Endocrine Disruptor). What I am saying is that the parabens in your cleanser are not harmful when applied to your skin. When that cleanser washes off your skin and gets into the water system is when we are all being exposed to the negative effects of parabens through ingestion of the parabens that are now in our ecosystem.

So why not just ban all manufacturers from using parabens? That would solve the Endocrine Disruptor problem, right? Um, no. Parabens are 1 of over 8,000 Endocrine Disruptors in our environment. By choosing to use products that are paraben-free you are making a contribution to the over-all effort of creating a cleaner, safer environment for us all.

If we don't use parabens to kill potential bacteria, fungus and yeast in our products, then what are manufacturers using? Some ingredients naturally preserve themselves (i.e. AHAs, glycols). After three years of intensive research and testing the laboratory that created the Kimberly Skin Care Line has re-formulated the products with the following six preservatives: methylisothiazolinone, phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, sodium dehydroacetate and sorbic acid. Some preservatives are know to be formaldehyde releasing (known to be an allergen and irritant). Check to be sure that the following are NOT in your products: imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin, quaternium-15.

So many of us are trying to live more consciously in terms of protecting our environment and living longer, healthier lives -- I hope that this information helps to clarify the paraben "issue" for you and makes you a more informed consumer!

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REFERENCES:

Rebecca James Gadberry, Ingredient Review: Parabens, the California Safe Cosmetics Act and Organics, January 2006, Skin Inc. (http://www.yglabs.com/pdfs/10001.pdf).

Salynn Boyles, Antiperspirant: Link to Breast Cancer? February, 2006, WebMDHealth (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/524555).

Dana K. Mirick, Scott Davis, David B.Thomas, Antiperspirant Use and the Risk of Breast Cancer, 2002, Journal of the National Cancer Institute (http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/94/20/1578).