Eczema, dryness, cracking, peeling:  it all gets worse during the wintertime.  Personally I have extremely oily skin but even I experience wintertime dryness as the temperature turns colder and the indoor heat gets turned on.

WebMd’s #1 tip for controlling your dry winter skin?  See a specialist.  Even if you’re a drugstore kind of gal the rest of the year, it’s a good idea to see a dermatologist or esthetician at this time of year who will advise you on the types of products you should be using.  In my opinion you should never purchase skin care products at the drugstore: you won’t get a 100% satisfaction guarantee, or unlimited phone and email access to consultants who will make sure your products work for you.  So if seeing a dermatologist or esthetician isn’t in your budget, consider a skin care consultant (like me!).  In 2010 I’m offering something new:  a “facial in a bag” combined with video chat facials!  Sign up for an appointment with me and I’ll send you a facial in a bag in advance with samples of skin care products I choose for you based on questions I ask you about your skin.  Once you receive this packet by mail, we get on skype video chat together and you try the products while I walk you through a full teaching facial– I explain each product’s features and benefits.  Can’t get THAT from a drugstore product!  Email me at heatheramyprice (at) gmail (dot) com to take advantage of this free opportunity.  The appointment with me is completely free– no obligation to make a purchase (of course I hope you may be tempted. 

Here’s another tip for controlling dry, winter skin.  Learn the difference between moisturization and hydration.  I think of it as the difference between drinking water and tossing water directly on your skin– great for two different purposes.  One deals with the dermis and one deals with the epidermis.  In the winter, make sure you’re doing BOTH.  Your regular moisturizer might not be enough.  You may ALSO need a hydrating product.  Email me and I can help you choose a product which best meets your needs— sometimes I recommend an oil based product and sometimes I recommend an oil free gel– it depends on your skin type and how acne prone you may be.

Tune in next time– we’ll talk about winter hand care!

Thanks for reading!

Heather Price of Cleveland, OH, has been a skin care and beauty consultant since August of 2000. Have you ever wished you had a skin care program that was personalized for your needs by a personal consultant? That’s what Heather does- she sends you home with skin care and color products that meet your specific needs. The result is smoother, softer, younger looking skin. Clients feel better about their appearance which gives them the self confidence they need in their lives. You can join Heather’s email list at http://freeskincarehelp.com – she answers every email response personally.

drumroll please?

badum badum dum dum dum.  oh shooooot it’s after midnight and my kids are sleeping.  ok shhhhhhh……. QUIET drumroll…….

The winner is…. Anne-Marie Tvete!  Comment number 18:

Anne-Marie T says:
January 26th, 2010 at 9:15 pm edit

Following you on Twitter (@amt946)

Anne-Marie, email me please at heatheramyprice (at) gmail.com and give me your address and I’ll get your microdermabrasion set in the mail to you!  Thank you so much for entering, everyone!  I enjoyed our first giveaway!  I’ll do another one soon, I promise!  Stay subscribed to the list and to the blog and stay tuned!

–Heather

Who wants to win some AWESOME skin care products?????  I’ll give away something different each month.  This is our very FIRST giveaway, as this is a fairly new blog.

This giveaway is for a home microdermabrasion set with two steps.  One step refines the skin with aluminum oxide crystals and one step replenishes your skin afterwards.  The set has about 20 applications in it and is worth $55.00  — it’s yours free if you win this drawing!

To enter, put your name and email address over there (see me pointing?) at the top of the right hand column.  You’ll be on my email list and will hear about great sales and new product launches that way.

Are you babying your skin this winter?  We’ll get back to YOUR skin in future posts, but for now, let’s get back to our discussion of baby skin.

Eczema:  Common locations for this thick, dry, scaly, and/or red, itchy rash include the elbows, chests, arms, and behind the knees.  The best treatment is to avoid any triggers such as soaps or detergents which are found to be irritants.  Aside from that, moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

Cradle Cap: This waxy and/or red rash is also called seborrheic dermatitis.  Cradle cap is generally caused by excess oil and clears up within the first year of life with or without treatment.  Mostly, it shows up on the scalp, eyebrows, and sides of the nose.  Baby oil can help with cradle cap, but for a severe case, consult your pediatrician because a special shampoo may be necessary.

Suncare:  Keep your infant out of direct sunlight for his/her first 6-8 months of life.  When you’re ready to expose baby to the sun a little bit, use baby sunscreen and a hat.  For a mild sunburn, you can apply a cool cloth.  For a more extreme sunburn, it’s time for a trip to the pediatrician. When choosing a baby sunscreen:  no dyes or fragrances, please!

You know your baby better than anyone— if it looks like a sunburn but you know it isn’t (s/he hasn’t been exposed to sun– it’s the middle of winter), your baby could have an underlying condition that changes the color of his/her skin— this happened to my daughter and it turns out she has a fairly severe case of vascular instability– not so much a skin problem as a circulation problem– but her skin turns funky colors!

When To Call the Pediatrician:  If the skin has small,purple dots, or yellow fluid-filled bumps (these are called pustules), or if s/he is lethargic or has a fever, it’s probably time to call the doctor.

I hope this was helpful!

Heather Price of Cleveland, OH, has been a skin care and beauty consultant since August of 2000. Have you ever wished you had a skin care program that was personalized for your needs by a personal consultant? That’s what Heather does- she sends you home with skin care and color products that meet your specific needs. The result is smoother, softer, younger looking skin. Clients feel better about their appearance which gives them the self confidence they need in their lives. You can join Heather’s email list at http://freeskincarehelp.com – she answers every email response personally.

Hat tip to Alyson of the Gloss Menagerie – this rocks!  I can tell you the month, date, and year any product is produced that you purchase from the brand that I sell because I understand my company’s date coding.  However, I cannot tell you how often someone comes to me to match a lipstick shade and she pulls her “other brand” lipstick out of her purse to show me the color and I can smell it from three feet away.  “It’s too old!” I say.  You need to toss it NOW– I know you’re trying to get to the end of it, but WHEN was this lipstick made?  She doesn’t know.  They never know!  So often my customers can’t even narrow it down to a five year period.  “hmmmm was this lipstick from my wedding, or my sister’s wedding???”  So now we can know for certain for many popular brands.  Calculate your makeup dates and let’s get tossing!
—-I just found out about this spiffy website, the Cosmetic Wizard date calculator. You can input the batchcode on your makeup product and it will tell you when it was made so you can find out how old it is. Cool!

Smooth as a baby’s bottom! We all want our skin to be just like a baby’s, right? From time to time, though, babies have skin irritation too. Generally a baby’s skin is very delicate and soft, but there’s nothing like cradle crap, diaper rash or excema to make your perfect baby just a bit imperfect.

So how do you diagnose and treat baby skin problems?

Diaper rash: Diaper rash is generally caused by a too tight diaper, an allergy to a particular diaper brand, or a wet or dirty diaper left on too long. Treatment for a mild diaper rash can include leaving the diaper area open to the air (but please protect your floors and furniture!), changing your baby as soon as s/he is wet or dirty, and applying a gentle diaper rash cream. I prefer the Desitin brand as do my babies. If the rash is more serious than mild and lasts for more than a couple of days, please check with your pediatrician: there are some forms of diaper rash that require prescription creams. Before my twins were about six months old, I had NO IDEA that babies can get yeast infections!

Baby acne: Baby acne starts in the womb! It is caused by the mother’s hormones. Mom’s hormones boost oil production, clogging baby’s pores. Acne on a baby is usually at its height right at birth and clears by itself within a few weeks. Every baby I’ve known with baby acne has a case at birth and is fine by a month old. There is no reason for any treatment– no adult acne medication or cream will be sensitive enough for baby’s delicate skin. Just leave it alone.

Birthmarks: Birthmarks are not inherited and can be present at birth or show up weeks or months later. Generally there is no reason to treat a birthmark as they cause no harm. If the birthmark is large or colorful, however, a minor procedure can be elected. I was born with a purple birthmark under my nose. Even though I’ve had nose surgery in the past, I opted to keep my birthmark– it gives my face character! My son has a very large hemangioma on his back- it’s a red color and raised. At this point, he’s a toddler and I don’t see the need to remove it but perhaps in the future he’ll want it removed for aesthetic purposes. We’ll discuss it at the “mom, the guys in gym class made fun of me” years.

Next article, we’ll discuss eczema, cradle cap, suncare, and when to call the pediatrician….. but for now I’ll leave you with a tip about powder. Babies can inhale the very fine grains of talcum powder. This can cause many lung problems. So please avoid using talcum powder. A safer option would be corn starch based powder. However, yeast feeds on corn starch and yeast can cause diaper rash. In general it’s best to skip baby powder.

Heather Price of Cleveland, OH, has been a skin care and beauty consultant since August of 2000. Have you ever wished you had a skin care program that was personalized for your needs by a personal consultant? That’s what Heather does- she sends you home with skin care and color products that meet your specific needs. The result is smoother, softer, younger looking skin. Clients feel better about their appearance which gives them the self confidence they need in their lives. You can join Heather’s email list at http://freeskincarehelp.com – she answers every email response personally.

Thank you to Paula Begoun for distinguishing between seborrhea and acne!  This is very informative!  You can read the whole article here.

From Paula…..

Seborrhea is a skin disease of the sebaceous (oil) glands marked by an increased secretion of sebum (oil) or a thickened sebum discharge. It can resemble acne and blackheads. One of the differences between acne and seborrhea is that in seborrhea the increased oil production is often accompanied by a scaly, thickened skin, especially on the scalp, and the oil itself can have a strange, viscous texture. However, in seborrhea—and sometimes in acne—the sebum (a firm, wax-like substance in the pore that liquefies into oil on the surface of the skin) in the sebaceous gland accumulates, causing the gland to become swollen and filled to the brim. When this overproduced sebum is covered over by skin, it forms a small, firm mound called a whitehead. When the sebum is exposed to air (not covered by skin) and the duct fills with dead skin cells, the sebum turns dark from oxidation and the blemish becomes a blackhead. The size of the eruption, the texture of the oil, and the flaky skin are what differentiate seborrhea from acne.

MANY MANY Thank yous to Traci Bisson of The Mom Entrepreneur for posting this great interview with Celeste Hilling of Skin Authority!  I participated in the Mom Entrepeneur Coop Shop Twitter Party and won an awesome Well Being Retreat Bath Soak from Celeste and Skin Authority!  I have NO qualms about recommending other skin care products OTHER than the ones I sell as long as they are good quality products!  This seems to be a solid company with a neat twist:  they offer you free phone and web support by a professional skin care coach!  Very similar to what I do!  So no more excuses for purchasing skin care off a shelf with no consultations or support.  You can use me and my products, or Celeste and her products— but no matter what you do, make sure that someone knowledgeable in skin care is helping you choose and use your skin care products!  Here’s the interview.

——————–

Got wrinkles? It’s cute for dogs and babies to have them, though the lines and creases are not so attractive on adults. With mom entrepreneur’s faces constantly ending up in photos and on video in today’s technology-driven culture, we should all be looking for ways to improve our skin.

Thanks again to Celeste Hilling of Skin Authority for more great advice about preventing wrinkles. I turn 40 in January and I feel very fortunate to not have any wrinkles yet. I know they are coming. I thank my mom – something in the genes!

In this Q&A post with healthy skin care expert Celeste Hilling, this Skin Authority CEO explains that while there are no miracles in waging the war on wrinkles, there are some smart tools that you can place in your arsenal.

TME: What Causes a Wrinkle?
Celeste: To put it simply – a wrinkle is a fold where the dead skin has sunk into the face. Hilling shares a helpful analogy to help you understand the cause, click HERE.

TME: How does your family tree affect skin health?
Celeste: Each of us has unique skin needs based on the affects of age, ethnicity, health and hormones. Click HERE for more insight into how your family tree plays into your skin health.

TME: What advice do you have about using sun screen?
Celeste: Use sunscreen each and every day – rain or shine. To determine the quality of a sunscreen, check the SPF number (it must be SPF 15 or greater). The active ingredient label should list UVA-blocking ingredients of either titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, and/or those in the avobenzone family. More sun sense tips can be found HERE.

TME: Do moisturizers eliminate wrinkles?
Celeste: It’s important to use a soothing, lightweight moisturizer twice daily on your face and neck. Moisturizers alone do not eliminate wrinkles. Click HERE for more information.

TME: How about the eyes? That seems to be where wrinkles always start.
Celeste: The No. 1 selling skin care products are those for the eyes. And, in addition to products, there are several quick tips to help the skin around the eyes.

TME: Can you tell us about your Wrinkle Reversing Serum™?
Celeste: My team created a way to get rid of crow’s feet and worry lines without needles, downtime or thousands of dollars. Wrinkle Reversing Serum™ is the first in a range of products to incorporate SGF-4 Technology™. Derived from four natural, nourishing proteins, SGF-4 Technology was developed specifically to target and reprogram the aging process of skin cells. To learn more about SGF-4 Technology and to see the results of Wrinkle Reversing Serum, watch this video.

Great advice Celeste, and thanks for the informational audio links. Just a reminder that Skin Authority’s Beauty Workout Holiday Boot Camp continues until the end of November. For a listing of events in your area and to register, click here…>

About Celeste Hilling
Celeste Hilling is the host of the syndicated Internet radio show “Skin Health TODAY” and the Founder and CEO of Skin Authority, the leading skin care lifestyle company. As a respected speaker on beauty, health and self-esteem, Hilling is a recurring skin care expert for FOX News iMag, Spa Magazine and Les Nouvelles Esthetiques. More details on Hilling and Skin Authority online at http://www.skinauthority.com/.

How about a miracle in a month?

Whether or not you’re already using my products I’ve got a new fun idea for you.

You get a travel size of our best selling product which includes a cleanser which cleanses, exfoliates, and freshens, an age fighting moisturizer, and two solutions- one for daytime and one for nighttime.  The one you use in the morning protects against UVA rays that age and UVB rays that burn.  The one you use at night helps exfoliate your skin while you sleep.  PLUS you get a replenishing serum which includes pomegranate extract and vitamin C  (which helps improve your skin’s collagen) for a discounted price of $90. You get weekly check in calls from me to make sure you’re using the system correctly and that it’s continuing to work well for you. Take a before and after photo for my portfolio and you get treated to a free lipstick and lipgloss at the end of your Miracle Month PLUS a discount on the full size of these products for your next 3 months. Call me today to begin your miracle in a month!

I look forward to helping you work MIRACLES with your skin!

Best wishes

Heather Price
(216) 870-3142

The pore is a hole in our skin through which a hair emerges.  The hair coming through the pore acts as a medium to transfer oil from the body.  Pores that are very large and open tend to get gunk stuck in them, causing whiteheads and blackheads.  So why do we need to open our pores?  It is our job to open our pores to make sure that sebum, oil, and bacteria do not get trapped.  Cleansing the skin is great for the surface of the skin, but to get at what’s trapped underneath, we need to open the pores.

By the way, I’m writing this article as a clay mask is drying on my face.  Having said that, let’s talk about HOW to open our pores.  One way is by using a mask.  I use one that specifically helps mattify the skin and control oil for many hours.  After I wash off the mask, my oily skin is normal again.  If you have dry skin you’ll want to use a moisturizing mask.  But DO mask.  If you’re gently exfoliating daily with a cleanser that exfoliates and tones, you won’t need to mask daily.  But two or three times a week, a mask is important for most skin types.  Another way to open your pores is to give them a steam bath. You’ll want to put your head over a bowl of boiled or VERY hot water.  Use a towel to cover your head and the bowl and let the steam blow all over your face.  This will open your pores nicely.  A quick way is simply to use warm water and when you cleanse, cleanse in an upward, outward motion to make sure the cleanser goes into the pores.  AFTER you have nice clean skin, close your pores by using cool water and applying your foundation in a downward motion.

Not sure which mask to use?  Not sure how often to open the pores?  Just email me at heatheramyprice@gmail.com

Heather Price of Cleveland, OH, has been a skin care and beauty consultant since August of 2000.  Have you ever wished you had a skin care program that was personalized for your needs by a personal consultant?  That’s what Heather does- she sends you home with skin care and color products that meet your specific needs.  The result is smoother, softer, younger looking skin.  Clients feel better about their appearance which gives them the self confidence they need in their lives.  You can join Heather’s email list at http://freeskincarehelp.com – she answers every email response personally.