Skincare Q and A

I get questions all the time from (mostly) ladies who are confused about how to take care of their skin. I thought I'd address those here. Here are the first ones I have received. If you have a question for me you can leave it as a comment and I will answer it or email me at:
jen@skinrhythm.com

Q: Do I need to remove my makeup before compressing?

A: Absolutely. If you don't then you are basically pushing makeup and grime into your relaxed pores. You should remove all makeup with a creamy cleanser or plain jojoba oil. Then you can compress and then use the cleansing cream like usual if you are doing the Dr. Hauschka cleansing ritual or whichever cleanser/exfoliant you are currently using.

Q: Is it ever ok to mix and match products? If I am doing the Dr. Hauschka cleansing ritual does that mean I can never try other products?

A: This is a tricky question but I will give you my opinion, using examples from the lines that I use.
I think that a lot of brands create their products to work synergistically with one another so you will get the best results by using one brand that you trust rather than a bunch of random products.
That being said, if you decide you do want to change components of your existing skincare regimen, that can be possible if you keep a few key things in mind.
For example: Dr. Hauschka cleansers do not disturb the acid mantle, the protective layer that sits on the surface of the skin. So the toners do not Ph balance the skin because it is not unbalanced after cleansing. Grateful Body cleansers also do not disturb the acid mantle so you could use their cleansers interchangeably.
Mychelle cleansers do disrupt the acid mantle and so their enzyme mist is designed to rebalance the skin and prepare it to receive the serums and moisturizers. If you do not use the mist after using one of their cleansers, then you are not getting the best results from the products.
If you used the Mychelle cleansers and then a Dr. Hauschka toner then your skin would have to scramble to rebalance itself and could send messages to your sebaceous glands to produce more oil, possibly causing breakouts.
But, if you wanted to do the full Hauschka regimen or the full Grateful Body system but wanted to use a Mychelle hyaluronic acid serum or vitamin C serum occasionally you could fit that in during the day under your moisturizer and it would not harm the skin.
If you could use the fruit enzyme mist to set your makeup and that would be fine. Or if you wanted to use the blueberry mask for antioxident benefits or the pumpkin peel for vitamin A and to purify the skin post-menstruation then that would also work.
If you just use the serums you don't need to change your other products but for me, if I'm going to use a Mychelle mask then I use the rest of their products too, to maximize it's efficacy. So I would use the Honeydew cleanser, fruit enzyme mist then apply the pumpkin peel, compress off then more enzyme mist followed by the pumpkin renew cream.
Most cleansers do disrupt the acid mantle, GB and DH are pretty unique in the fact that they don't. Foaming cleansers almost always disrupt the acid mantle while some creamy cleansers can leave it intact.
When in doubt, find a line you trust and stick mostly with them. I love holistic products but for me, my three favorites are by far Grateful Body, Mychelle Dermaceuticals and Dr. Hauschka. I do use them all, for different purposes and after assessing my skin's needs.
If you are confused by what your skincare needs are, it's great to get a skincare consultation from a holistic esthetician who can get a good idea of what your skin needs are by touching and examining it, but if you have a question I will do my best to answer it.

For more information on the lines I have mentioned you can look at their official websites:
www.drhauschka.com
www.mychelleusa.com
www.gratefulbody.com

Skin-ku

I woke up today
and looked into the mirror
thank god for makeup

Where it all began...

I moved to San Francisco in 1997 when I was twenty. I had a shaved head. Let's just say there was no makeup in the black backpack I bought from the Army/Navy store for my adventure. I was living at Fort Mason in the Marina, I had a live-in job at the youth hostel there and was given a cute white house to live in with my never-home co-worker/roommate, Ted. It was a part time job and I was new to the city I was a bit bored. It was walking distance to Chestnut Street and so spent a lot of time there.
One day I decided to go into the Body Shop. It was during the summer and there were pyramids of candy-colored glycerin soap stacked everywhere. I can still remember the way it smelled. I bought a bottle of Leap! perfume (exclamation point theirs) and a Cinnamon stick (chubby pencil lipstick...not the right color for me)
One day I noticed they were hiring and put in my application. I wore a long black dress and a cardigan for my interview. I don't really remember what they asked me but the assistant manager, a guy named Ryan had the flu and looked absolutely miserable. I got the job and was excited. It paid something like $7.25 an hour.
The uniform was this great black wrap skirt and matching top with a mandarin collar. Who knows what kind of shoes I rocked back then. Doc Martens I'm guessing. I became friends with my co-workers. Marissa, Rebecca and Ryan mostly. We sang along to our favorite tape which we referred to as the "Chick Mix." I discovered a love for Motown. We dressed up as "Strong Women" and I was Princess Leia.
One night I was closing the store with a manager named David who had always been cranky to me. He was not my favorite manager to close with and one night he was in the back room counting the drawers a few minutes before we locked up and I was just finishing restocking. I had just placed a Vanilla Stick in it's place when I saw a man standing over me with a gun. Yes. We were robbed. He didn't hurt us but it seemed like a very real possibility at the time. After that day David and I were buddies and I still think of him as one of my favorite people in San Francisco.
A happier memory was when Marissa and I (was Rebecca there, too?) were chosen to go to a makeup training so we could do makeovers in the store. I discovered I was really good at it. We were also chosen to help out at a talk given by the sassy British founder, Anita Roddick. Afterwards we all went out to dinner with her. She was a riot.
I left the Body Shop after a year because they didn't promote me to assistant manager. I went across the street to work at Bare Escentuals. (over the years I worked all over that street later going to BeneFIT Cosmetics and Heaven Day Spa respectively)
Anita Roddick, the founder of the Body Shop died recently from complications from Hepatitis C. She contracted the illness after a blood transfusion after delivering her daughter. She lived with the disease for years without having any idea that she had it.
This is staggering to me. I hadn't heard the news until I received emails from my old co-workers and dear friends. We still keep in touch although we are all scattered around the country now.
Ryan is living in New York with his partner, Daniel after a three year stint in Maine. Rebecca is still living in San Francisco with her husband, a very nice man from England. Marissa is the one we all live vicariously through. She's impulsive and adventurous and I'm never surprised when she suddenly emails me from Alaska. Here is part of the very touching email she sent us:

"While  i was standing in the kitchen listening to the news on the radio my
mind was filled with such amazing memeories of our times together. From
sing-a-longs to theme days, crying and laughing until almost peeing, to
sales contest and make-overs, corn eye shawdow to fawn shimmer, all the
kooks on Chestnut Street, all the kooks on Castro Street....
Our times made me the woman I am today.
I miss you all and will never
forget Anita!"

To say that getting that job in the summer of '97 changed the course of my life would not be an exaggeration. I discovered a love of skincare and makeup artistry and made lifelong friends.
It was also the first time I had encountered the activism and ethics side of body care products such as animal compassion and fair trade.
Thank you, Dame Anita.

Makeunder Time

Anyone who knows me knows my love of a nice full brow and bold lips, but even I am a little disturbed by this look, sported by Miss Manners.

In case you were wondering....

Yes, I have bad skin days too. This is a nasty hormonal breakout from stress and PMS. Also, I have not compressed in a couple of days. If the excess sebum my sebaceous glands were pumping out had not have been blocked by a layer of dead skin cells I may not have broken out so severely.

Skincare Consultation

I have helped probably thousands of people pick out skincare products over the years.
For part of that time I was working in smaller stores that sold only their own brand and after that I was with a natural pharmacy and a natural grocer who both sold lots of natural skincare lines ranging from very inexpensive to top of the line.
At both of those jobs I was an esthetician which almost made it harder in some cases. I would ask questions and get a lot of "well....you're the professional, what do YOU think?" Or I would get customers that would misunderstand why I was asking certain questions and get defensive. Here is what I normally would ask. In parenthesis is what information I was really after.

1. What are you currently using? (what is your price range?)
I'm not judging you. I don't care if you are using Clean & Clear or La Mer, you don't need to tell me every single product you use, I just need a ballpark range. I don't want to show you the $50 eye cream if you only want to spend $7.

2. Do you prefer a foaming or creamy cleanser? (what kind of skin do you think you have?)
Someone who is normal/oily will usually want to use a foaming cleanser while a normal/dry or mature client will want creamy. I don't usually say 'what is your skin TYPE' because no one is in one set category their entire life. I will also never say 'I can see you have mature skin' or 'I can see you have acne.' I know that everyone is very sensitive about their appearance and I would never want to be insulting.

3. Going back to #1 this also tells me if this is a person who wants every serum and eye cream out there or just wants a very basic regimen. This also will tell me if they are on harsh prescription topical products. If so, I would never suggest something too "active." (glycolics, enzymes, etc.)

4. Do you use sunscreen? (please tell me you use sunscreen)
This is basically a chance to educate customers on the damaging effects of the sun. A lot of people will say they aren't 'in the sun' often. Most sun damage I see here in Texas is on the left side of the face, where the skin is exposed while driving.

5. Are you taking supplements? (a good multi-vitamin, fish oil, probiotics and antioxidants are great for the skin and if someone has a particular problem that is not going away, treating internally can really help.

6. Are you under a lot of stress? (do you manage your stress well?) Most people have stress in their lives, it's just how modern life is. If someone tells me they are really having problems with their skin, and also they have a really stressful job and don't exercise, eat right or otherwise manage it, then that tells me that maybe they need a yoga class, not a new moisturizer.

I am always amazed at what most people use on their skin. 'oh, just bar soap.' 'ummmm....I don't remember, just something from the drugstore' or the worst: ANYONE over fourteen using Clean & Clear or Biore pore strips. (don't get me started...that's a whole other blog)
Everyone knows their skin better than I do, especially under fluorescent lights and a coat of foundation. I've had customers get mad at me because I can't tell them what their skin is like. I would need to take off their makeup, touch their face, ask lots of questions and look at their skin under a magnifying lamp in order to have even the first clue. I'm an esthetician, not a clairvoyant. If I could ask one thing of my customers it would be to take back their power, get to know their skin and it's habits and to be open to making lifestyle changes. Not everything can be fixed by a cream in a pretty jar.
Oh! And don't fully trust people on commission or with no formal skincare training. They don't always have your best interest at heart.

"I call this look: I am ready to PAR-TAY!"

Top Left: Before! The rest: After
Thursday was my friend, K's birthday. We had coffee at Whole Foods and hung out a bit that afternoon.That evening she had plans to go out for drinks to celebrate.
I've never quite met anyone like K. She is contradictory by nature. She gets good haircuts at a trendy salon by a hot rockabilly guy and owns more vintage clothes and more shoes that anyone I've ever met. Yet she doesn't seem to think she is pretty. She is afraid of pants and refuses to wear makeup most of the time. If I could get her to throw on some lipgloss for work I'd be thrilled. She has gorgeous hazel-y eyes, great cheekbones and full lips but you will never catch her advertising this fact. I have been waxing and tinting her brows for about a year now and it makes a huge difference, if I do say so myself. I agreed to do her makeup' if she came over to my house before hitting the town.
She showed up around 8 (only half an hour late which, for her is good) in a little black dress and a push-up bra. Excellent. She wanted a smoky eye, but only 'if I thought it would look good on her.' *sigh*
So I got to work taking her from the clean-faced-just-got-back-from-the-farmer's-market look to flat-out smokin' hot mama. Did I mention she has great features? She had a patch of breakouts along her right jawline that she's been battling but the rest of her skin was smooth and freshly moisturized.
I used Dr. Hauschka Puncto concealer #1 (which I used to think was horrible but that worked like a charm. I used a brush with it when before I just tested it from the tube. Now I love it but it's discontinued) and Mineral Fusion loose powder foundation to cover the breakouts and faint undereye shadows and slight redness around the nose then toned down shine and primed the eyelid area with Dr. Hauschka translucent loose powder.
I then applied Bare Escentuals blush in Lovely on her cheeks. I highlighted with the nude color in the Smashbox highlighting quad and applied Glominerals fawn shadow as a base color on her lids. I then heavily applied BeneFIT Bad Gal chunky black liner along her the upper and lower lashline on the outer corners of her eyes.
She took this inopportune moment to look in the mirror. I had already smudged the liner but not cleaned it up yet. She looked (as I told her) like 'Courtney Love on a bender' which coincidentally was NOT the look she was going for. There is a moment in every makeup job where if the client looks in the mirror they would run screaming. The key to good looking makeup is blending and I had not blended yet. After blending, blending, blending with a smudger I took a sharp black thin pencil and applied it along the lashline and the inner eye to add depth.
Then I applied black shimmery shadow to the crease and highlighted her brow bone and inner eye with Nude Beach by Bare Escentuals. I went over the inner eye with Glominerals Peach liner, filled in her brows with Glominerals brow pencil in Brunette and applied Blinc Kiss Me mascara in black concentrating on the lashes at the inner corners. I finished up with a nude pencil and neutral shimmery gloss on her lips.
My boys were being super-cute, running around trying to imitate me by 'blending' her arms with brushes and sponge wedges. Alex also crammed several sponges into her super-exposed birthday cleavage. I thought she got them all out but she found out otherwise when she was getting undressed later that night.
So, she was happy with her makeup and so was I. It was my intention to show her that it is possible for her to look glamorous and foxy.Now all she needs is the confidence to back it up. Unfortunately I can't give that to her, but hopefully the above pictures and all the compliments she received that night will help!
I have been doing makeup for a long time and I know that for someone who is unfamiliar with all the products and techniques it can seem overwhelming. But even for the biggest novice, there are quick and easy tricks that are great for casual, everyday makeup-- if you are willing.