What to expect at the esthetician?

I am going to tell you what's happening at the esthetician when someone gets a facial.

The first thing is the greeting. This is an important step towards professionalism: offering a refreshing glass of mineral water or tea for the client is stress-relieving.

Before starting the treatment the client gets a dress or gown. It's not just for the comfortable feeling, but to protect the client's clothes and lets the esthetician to massage your neck and shoulders easily. The client can change her clothes in a room (but sometimes it's enough to take off just the shirt if it's a facial, bra can stay, but you have to remove the strap) and the esthetician will leave the client alone. The client will get a headband or a cap to protect her hair. Few minutes later the esthetician gently knocks on the door to ask if the client is ready.

When the client is ready, the esthetician will ask her about her lifestyle, skin care routine, skin history, present skin care concerns, if she takes any medicine, if she smokes, which product she uses, how often she gets facial, etc.

How to choose an esthetician (aka Aesthetician, skin care therapist)?

When I was in high school and I had my first facial I didn't know what to expect. No one told me before what makes an esthetician good or bad and I didn't know that not all estheticians are the same. I had good and bad experience and now I can see it from both sides: as a client and as an esthetican.

First of all when you choose an esthetician you want to find someone who fits for your concerns and needs. One esthetician could be good for your friend, but not good for you.

The bad news is, you can't really be sure if she will be the right for you until you go in and experience any kind of service. Definitely a good point if she has a website, because you can get a picture of the salon and of her, you can see what kind of services and treatments she offers, what lines she carries and hopefully you can see the prices too. (I don't like spa websites without prices.) On this basis you can decide if you want to give it a try or not.

The fundamental question is what kind of service you want. The expectations are different depends on the service you want, eg. waxes, makeup, eye lash and brow tinting, or facial treatments.

Razor, wax, cream, laser - Hair removal solutions

Hair on my body (except on my head) is my all time enemy. Since I was a kid I was fighting against my "fur coat". I remember I was 13 years old when I told my mom: "That's it, I can't live with my hair on my legs and on my armpits anymore, where is the razor? And my mom gave me one, she showed me how to use it (I was a kid, so who knows what I could do with a razor) and when I was done I was the happiest girl on the earth. I enjoyed my smooth legs and hairless armpits.

When I attend esthetician school, I've learned a lot about hair removal techniques and methods.

Hair Structure

Hair follicle

A hair follicle is a stocking-like structure that contains several layers with different jobs. The hair follicle can be recognized as a separate entity within the skin with formation and maintenance based on interaction between dermal and epidermal components.

Hair papilla

The papilla is the very bottom portion of the hair follicle that contains the blood supply and the matrix. The matrix consists of cells that actually form the hair shaft. The papilla is active during the anagen phase, is separated from the hair shaft during the catagen phase, and is completely inactive during the telogen phase.

Sunscreens and the secrets of healthy tan

I don't know about you guys, but I love summer. Summer means hot sun, ice cream and beach (at least for me). The main source of vitamin D in the body is sunshine too. The nature is beautiful, birds are chirping, soft breeze touches your face, the sun is shining, we can enjoy BBQ and I am sure everyone wants to do outdoor activities.

Since I was a child my mom and my grandma always told me don't go out without a sunscreen, wear hat, seek the shade and if you can, don't go in the sun between 10am-4pm.

Many years ago I thought if I put a sunscreen on me and I repeat it in every hour I am safe from the harmful UV light. I was so wrong.

After my esthetician school and many researching and learning, I realized that there are lots of harmful and not effective sunscreen. I had to admit if I don't use the proper sunscreen, I am not protected at all.

So first we have to get to know better UVA, UVB and UVC and their effect to the skin.

UVA

It penetrates the skin deeper than UVB and it plays a major part in skin aging and wrinkling (photoaging). UVA damages skin cells (called keratinocytes) in the basal layer of the epidermis, where most skin cancers occur. UVA is the dominant tanning ray.

How many synthetic fragrance/parfum do you use a day?

I remember once someone told me she doesn't use perfume at all, so she doesn't have to worry about the synthetic fragrances. I asked her: are you sure about that?

I am not going to write about colognes, but fragrances/parfume in our everyday products.

Few days ago I've read an article (on a Hungarian site) about a person's average day and how many chemicals she/he uses in general.

This made me think and I found it interesting enough to write about it.

You maybe don't even think about it, unless you use natural products for your skin, body and for your household that you use lots of synthetic parfum. And there is a chance that you don't even know about it.

But what is fragrance/parfum?

In some of my posts you already could read about it, but if you didn't have the chance, then let's talk about it a little bit.

The term "fragrance" or "perfume" on a cosmetic ingredients list usually represents a complex mixture of 4000 of chemicals and there is a very big chance that some of them are toxic and harmful.

The U.S. FDA has reported that the symptoms could be headache, dizziness, allergic rashes, skin discoloration, violent coughing, vomiting and skin irritation.

Product review- Eye Tuck from Skin Doctors

The first time when I heard about Eye Tuck it was in March, 2012 on a forum for men. Andrew Petrou (Skin Doctors) highly recommended this eye cream there to everyone who has wrinkles or fine lines, so I decided to dig a bit deeper in this product.

It's a very expensive eye cream, so you may think it should work. Well, not quite. As I mentioned in my other post, price generally has nothing to do whatsoever with effectiveness.

But back to the subject. I was so excited about this eye cream, because puffy eyes and dark circles are a common problem among men and women.

As a professional esthetician I always need to be up-to-date about these things and new treatments.

Eye care specialist Andrew Petrou looks like someone who knows a lot about skin care.

This is why I don't understand why he finds this product effective? I started to have a tickling feeling that it's again just about money and there is nothing behind the big words.

Product review- Dove go fresh Revive Body Wash

Dove campaign for real beauty is a very nice mission. In their commercial they always show real women and not models that gives us a positive feeling. 

Besides, Dove wants us to accept ourselves as we are and it's inspiring. They try to build our self-esteem that makes them different from other big companies.

But I don't find their products as good as their mission and unfortunately they are not different than other brands which use harmful synthetic ingredients...

Ingredients:

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), Sodium Lauryl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Lauric Acid, Stearic Acid, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Parfum /Fragrance, Sodium Isethionate, Lauryl Alcohol, Tallow Acid, Sodium Chloride (table salt), Palmitic Acid, Guar Hydroxypropyltimonium Chloride, DMDM Hydantoin, Methylisothiazolinone, Propylene Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Etidronic Acid, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), CI 17200 (Red 33), Titanium dioxide (CI 77891)

Product review- Burt's Bees Rejuvenating lip balm with acai berry

I have to tell you guys that I am not a big fan of Burt's Bee, because their certain products are not 100% natural and they use harmful ingredients. That's the reason why I don't really buy their products. One day I will make a product review about their Conditioner, so you will see what I am talking about.

When I used a lip balm back then, my lips always felt dry after, so I had to re-apply over and over again. (Nivea, Lypsyl, Lip medex, Labello, Balea, etc.) I was wondering why. Then I realized: those lip balms contain petrolatum, paraffin and mineral oil which actually create a lip balm addiction without moisturizing. These ingredients dry out your lips, creating more need for their product. The result: dry lips and lip balm addiction.

Menthol, camphor, phenol or alcohols ingredients are used "to make the consumer think something is happening." says Paula Begoun, author of The Beauty Bible (Beginning Press, 2002). These lip balm ingredients aren't helping your lips, they are drying them and worsening the chance of lips cracking, peeling or bleeding.

Eczema- Causes and treatments

As an esthetician I face with this problem a lot. Almost every second person suffers from eczema, including me too. My eczema started when I was a kid. The doctors said to my mom I will outgrow it by early adulthood. Well if my mom had known what I know now, I have not suffered from eczema in my entire childhood. Doctors still do not treat the the actual cause of the eczema, just the symptoms, because they don't focus of the person's lifestyle and diet.

What is eczema?

It's not a disease, but a warning symptom of the skin, which is trying to warn us that something is wrong inside. The eczema is the most common reaction when we suffer severe nutritional deficiency, or when too many toxins accumulated in the body. It could appear if you have psychological problems, because psychological reasons - physical symptoms go hand in hand. Skin problems symbolize the relationship with the outside world.

In general, it starts to "flourish" for extremities, such as cold, heat, chemicals and cosmetics. It's simpler to reconnoiter the reason of the contact eczema, because it appears when the skin contacts to the allergen.

My personal favorite Certified Organic brands Part II.

Here is my second part of my personal favorite certified organic brands in skin care. As I was doing the first part I just realized how many "so-called" organic and natural companies are out there. My list was extremely long in the beginning, but after I read every single ingredient list of every single real and not real organic companies, only this much left. But quantity over quality, right? There are also so many good companies that I can't post, because they don't ship worldwide, or although their ingredients are natural, their process (how they make their products) isn't clear in front of me (eg. they use direct heat and kill the benefits of the natural ingredients). I hope you will like the second part too!

Ava Anderson

About the company: "Ava Sprague Anderson Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Director of Product Development discovered at the age of 14, the issue of chemicals in personal care products and their hazardous health effects. After months of research, Ava realized that she needed to create her own products. Through a family friend, she located a manufacturer with research facilities that could develop and produce products to her standards. It was a great challenge to develop these revolutionary formulas, but with her vision and persistence she succeeded. Ava’s personal care company. was launched in December 2009.

My personal favorite Certified Organic brands Part I.

Today I just wanted to collect my personal favorite certified organic brands in skin care. It's just a collection and a quick review. The reason why I chose the following brands is because of their mentality, their goal and mission, their natural, raw and organic ingredient list, their certifications and last, but not least because they have effective products. I am sure this list will grow by time. I also hope that this little guide will help you to chose that brand(s) that fit(s) you the most, if you just decided to use natural products and/or to get to know some other brands that maybe you've never heard before.

Lily organics

About Lily organics (from the website): "Lily is a USDA certified organic grower and a USDA certified organic manufacturer of natural and USDA certified organic skin care products. Lily was the pioneer in organic skin care in Colorado, since 1986. Lily Organics was the first and original Colorado organic skin care company.

Product review - Clarins eye contour gel

After my previous post, Anti aging creams: are they effective or not it's time to write about an eye contour gel.

What should we know about Clarins?

I found these claims on their official site:

• They were the first french company in 1987 to ban animal testing and has also banned the use of cellular extracts of animal origin since 1991
• Clarins set a global objective to reduce greenhouse gases by 20% by the year 2012.
• The safe use of every Clarins product is at the center of the Laboratory’s concerns.
• Clarins prefers to use raw plant ingredients, natural ingredients from organic farming practices, and plants grown locally or from a Fair Trade program
• Overall weight and volume is reduced, recyclable material is reused, new printing techniques are always being investigated
• Today, if given a choice between a synthetic ingredient and its plant-derived equivalent, we always choose the plant
• etc

It sounds so amazing, doesn't it? A company who puts their consumer's interest into the first place, uses plant-derived equivalent, raw plant ingredient and natural ingredients from organic farming practices is rare treasure lately.