TIP 1 : PEEL IT OFF
Did you know that there’s probably about 11 months worth of dead skin lying on top of your face at the moment? Yup! Not a nice thought!
You want to remove that dead skin through a skin peel to reveal the fresher, smoother complexion underneath. You can do this at home, a beauty salon or doctor’s clinic depending on the strength of the peel and level of skin renewal you desire.
Ideally, a proper skin peel program would consist of 4-6 sessions of peels which you can add complimentary treatments e.g. mesotherapy, light therapy and muscle tightening therapy but with the time ticking away before Christmas and New Year, even one session of peels will do wonders for your skin.
With a short time to refresh, a light-medium peel is good. You will have 2-4 days of light flaking but your skin will look clearer, softer, younger and smoother after one session. If exfoliation is mild, then you can even do the peel every week in the run up to your big party day!
If you’re doing this at home, try a fruit enzyme mask with mash papayas, oats, milk and honey together – the combination of enzymes make a natural light peel. Of course, if you’re not keen on messing up your kitchen, I would recommend a cosmoceutical range which is skincare that is not just nice to have or smell but an effective one to create changes in your skin e.g. Dr Murad, Neostrata, ZO SkinHealth and Nescens with AHA and BHA in them.
If you’re going to a beauty salon, they have different types of gentle peels – you want to get mild to medium strength glycolic peel. Add a light therapy and muscle tightening treatment too which will give you that extra Va-Va-Voom.
If you prefer to seek a doctor’s clinic like mine, we will be able to do a stronger peel e.g.Triple Perfection Skin Peel that’s a combination of Salicylic Acid to control the oil, Lactic Acid to exfoliate and Retinol to Regenerate.
So let your 11 months of dead skin peel away and let your youthful skin SHINE! SHINE! SHINE!
To learn more about peels, please click here.
TIP 2: ALKALISE YOUR BODY!
Our body runs on a delicate balance of acid and alkali. When we have too much acid e.g.from stress, excess sugar, protein and high GI carbohydrates, we build up acid in our bodies which causes us to wrinkle faster, get spotty more often, stubborn fat stored quicker, suffer from fatigue, joint pains, brain fog and emotional hormonal battles!
Acid quickly builds up especially during the festive season so it’s even more important to alkalise often.
When I go through an Elimination Alkalising diet with my patients especially in the new year when everyone is detoxing, it takes a minimum of 21 days to go through but if you have an emergency, even if you do an intense alkalising regimen for 3 days, you will look and feel better for it!
In a nutshell, you wake up with a mug of hot water with lemon followed by a green juice of fresh green vegetables e.g. celery, cucumber, spinach, wheatgrass if you can muster the taste and apple for sweetness. The greener the better. The more organic the better.
Avoid fruits, especially fruit juices which is high in sugar and easily converted into acid. Enjoy clear soups with low GI vegetables and legumes. If you HAVE to have meat, you can have white meat e.g. turkey or fish but limit that to once a day. Eat 5-6 times a day. Graze, NOT devour! Drink plenty of water (with a squeeze of lemon) and make sure you move to get the circulation going. Run, dance, skip, play tennis, squash….. anything to get your body moving!
If you’re highly acidic already, doing this short alkalising boost might make you feel lightheaded or tired. It’s a sign that the acid is being released from your body so persist with plenty of fluids and circulation so you can flush it away.
NB: Best exercise to increase circulation – SEX!
A study done in Denmark showed if you had sex 3 times a week (with a regular loving partner), you would look up to 10 years younger. That’s 156 times a year! If you’re not having much joy in that department, it’s a great goal to have for 2013. Remember to play safe!
To learn more about alkalising your body, please click here.
TIPS 3: VISIT YOUR ANTI-AGEING DOCTOR FOR A QUICK PICK ME UP!
Okay, I’m being slightly biased here but let me ask you:-
Do you have a personal hair dresser or makeup artist that you will never leave?
Do you have a dentist whom you have gone to since you were 5 and will never let another person look into your mouth the way they do?
Like a dentist, I feel everyone should have an anti-aging doctor as part of their maintenance and optimising team of personal experts.
Yes, you can see an anti-aging doctor for a quick pick me up but for most of my clients, I help them create an anti-aging program which we work through the year or even a few years so they can be confident of optimising the way they age, looking and feeling younger with each passing year. Even if you don’t have any treatments, we can help you choose the right cosmoceutical skincare range for you.
But what can you do in such short space of time that can take years off your face if you go to a doctor’s office?
A few things on the treatment menu:-
- If done well, Muscle relaxants or Botox can be used to relax your frown lines, softening it and giving an eye lift so you look more refresh, your makeup doesn’t cake up on your eyelids and you look like you’ve just been on holiday.
- Muscle relaxants can also be used for a Nefertiti lift which is a ring of small injections below your jawline to relax your neck muscles which pulls your face down so your facial muscles which naturally lifts can have a more lifting effect.
- Soft fillers to reduce your nose to chin lines and soften any lip bleeder lines so your lipstick doesn’t leak out. We use temporary hyaluronic acid fillers which is synthetic sugars that is similar structure to what you have in your skin, joints and eyeballs to maintain structure, moisture and volume.
- Lip fillers for lip definition, volume and hydration. Perfect if you want a cute little pout or just more kissable lips under the mistletoe.
- Volumnisation to replace any lost volume especially in your cheeks, giving you defined and beautiful cheekbones again
- Skin Boosting or PRP Mesotherapy to revitalise and rejuvenate your skin using your own blood growth factors and nutrients.
There are plenty of treatments to choose from – it can be quite confusing if you are new to what’s possible in aesthetic world. I’ve come up with an Easy-guide to Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures which you can watch here.
So in summary, 3 things you can do to look even more fabulous and stunning for the party season!
1. Have a skin peel
2. Alkalise your body
3. Make sure you have your anti-aging doctor on speed dial 🙂
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!