Holiday Skin Stress Get your Glow Intact

Holiday Skin Stress? Get your Glow Intact

Holiday stress, too many goodies, and a whole lot of celebrating can take a toll on your skin.

Shopping. Cooking. Cleaning. Celebrating. It’s the holidays, replete with food and drinks and too much to do on too little sleep, all taking place during a sometimes harsh, wintry weather season. The end result: Just when you want to look sparkly and terrific, your skin gets the holiday blues.

From dark circles under the eyes to a decidedly “green in the gills” complexion to bloated, puffy, swollen eyes and zits when you least expect it, for many women seasonal skin problems can abound.

The good news: Not only are there things you can do right now to ensure your angelic “glow” during this season, but there are also some cosmetic tricks and tips to keep your holiday glow going clear into the New Year.

Take a look at some quick fixes and new ways to glow through the season.

  • If you think you’re going to be partying a lot, start ahead of time to make your skin look healthier. Laser treatments can help do that, but so can topical creams, particularly serums containing vitamin C or creams containing retinol.
  • When it comes to puffiness, particularly puffy eyes, cold is the answer to it all, and there is no better treatment than cold packs.
  • To decrease the look of sleepy, tired eyes during the day, skip liner and mascara on the lower lid, which can make puffy eyes look (and feel) worse.
  • If you are going to be drinking alcohol, it’s best to stick with skin products that are cream or gel based because they dehydrate your skin less.

The best place to begin is with some preventive care, starting as soon as possible. Let’s get you started at Shinagawa Aesthetics!

Call our Patient Care Lines: (+632) 7-368 5238 l (+63) 917 862 7454 l (+63) 921 217 0517 for inquiries, questions, and appointments or talk to our consultants via LiveChat at https://shinagawa.ph so we can address and answer them for you.

Ways to Prepare Your Skin for the Holidays

Ways to Prepare Your Skin for the Holidays

The holiday season is all about love and cheer, but we can’t forget what cold weather, added stress and dietary changes can do to your skin.

Add in the holiday parties where it’s hard to not take eating and drinking to the extreme, and even your skin will start to rebel.

To make sure your skin stays in the best shape for the holiday season, we’re here to offer some ways you can prepare for the yuletide season ahead.

  1. Bulk up the Hydration

As the cooler temperatures roll in, it’s time to bring out the super hydrating products and add a thicker moisturizer to your skin regimen. While you’re ramping up the moisturizing game, be sure to pay attention to how your skin starts to react.

Also, adding a Vitamin C serum can help brighten and diminish any hyperpigmentation spots the summer sun may have caused. And don’t forget the delicate eye area – be sure to introduce a moisturizing eye cream to keep those peepers pampered!

Staying hydrated from the inside-out should be a priority all seasons as well, so make sure to drink enough water to keep your skin glowing year-round.

  1. Reduce Exfoliation

With the drier weather comes the dreaded drier skin. Exfoliation is a key component to containing any dead skin buildup, but you must proceed with caution.

You can exfoliate, but you want to be careful not to over-exfoliate, because you could be doing your skin a disservice and doing the opposite of what your skin really needs.

  1. Polishing Peels

The holiday season is a key time to indulge in any treatments you regrettably had to avoid during the sunny summer months. Treatments like the Halo Hybrid Fractional Laser, which combines two-hybrid fractional lasers to take years of damage off the skin (with less downtime than traditional laser treatments); an IPL treatment which uses broadband light to alleviate sun and age spot damage; and Microneedling, which uses small needles to prick the skin and generate new collagen and skin tissue.

All are great options to give your skin the regular polishing it needs to really glisten.

To get the most out of your luminous look, we recommend doing these procedures two weeks before any major event or an upcoming holiday.

  1. Keep Using Sunscreen

A big mistake we see people make is decreasing the use of sunscreen as the winter months roll around. Don’t let the cooler days fool you! The sun is still throwing down damaging UVA and UVB rays, and the skin is still absorbing it.

We always recommend using a separate sunscreen and not relying on what’s solely in your moisturizer or makeup. That is never strong enough!

  1. Our Experienced Medical Professionals Can Help

If your daily skincare routine could use some Holiday inspiration, our Medical Professionals at Shinagawa Aesthetics can help give it a boost.

We can provide the treatments, tips, and tricks needed to keep your skin looking and feeling its best.

Call our Patient Care Lines: (+632) 7-368 5238 l (+63) 917 862 7454 l (+63) 921 217 0517 for inquiries, questions, and appointments or talk to our consultants via LiveChat at https://shinagawa.ph so we can address and answer them for you.

Does Sunscreen Prevent Tanning

Does Sunscreen Prevent Tanning?

There’s no better feeling than coming off the beach after a day spent basking in the sun. Your hair has that natural beach wave to it and your skin is sun kissed. The tan you get after a day in the sun is like none other.

That is, until that tan turns into a sunburn and that sunburn turns into permanent skin damage. Yikes. Tanning isn’t all that it’s made out to be. Tanning can seriously damage your skin, which is why it’s so important to put on sunscreen every single day.

But how much sunscreen should you apply? And does sunscreen prevent tanning? In order to keep your skin healthy and glowing, it’s important to know how sunscreen works and how it affects your ability to tan.

Sunscreen works like a shield for your skin. It blocks out UV rays before they can reach your skin. Wearing sunscreen is the best way to protect your skin from sunburn and skin cancer, as well as skin aging and wrinkles that can also come from sun exposure.

But while sunscreen does a great job protecting your skin from harmful UV rays, it also affects your ability to tan. Sunscreen protects your skin, but you can still achieve a tan to some degree. It just won’t be as dark as if you didn’t wear any sunscreen. However, it should be more a concern that you’re protecting your skin from harmful UV rays than it is that you’re getting bronzed. You can still achieve that sun kissed look, while still protecting you from sun damage.

So, does sunscreen prevent you from tanning? Essentially, the answer is yes. But if you’re asking “does sunscreen prevent tanning at all?” The answer is no. That’s because it doesn’t protect you 100%. Sunscreen acts like a shield for your skin, but that doesn’t mean it’s impenetrable. UV rays can still reach your skin and cause a tan, even when you’re wearing plenty of sunscreen.

In order for your skin to be effectively protected from UV rays, you have to apply your sunscreen correctly, reapply it often, and wear a high enough SPF. Even SPF 100 only blocks 99% of UVB rays. So basically, it’s virtually impossible to achieve total and complete protection from the sun. There’s always a risk of sun exposure, which is why putting on sunscreen every day is so important.

Any amount of tan is technically considered sun damage, so the goal of sunscreen is to actually prevent you from getting a tan. Fortunately, there are other ways to achieve that golden glow that don’t involve damaging your skin.

Call our Patient Care Lines: (+632) 7-368 5238 l (+63) 917 862 7454 l (+63) 921 217 0517 for inquiries, questions, and appointments or talk to our consultants via LiveChat at https://shinagawa.ph so we can address and answer them for you.

Busting Acne Myths

Busting Acne Myths

You might believe some old acne myths that are sabotaging all your efforts. It’s not your fault. Acne is a very common condition that affects pretty much everyone at some point or other. Yet, there’s so much misinformation about how to get rid of it.

All the acne myths out there make it impossible to figure out what works from what doesn’t. Time to bust them, don’t you think? 

So, here are some acne myths you need to stop believing right now, so you can finally treat acne the right way and get your clear skin back:

Washing Your Face Often Prevents Breakouts

Washing your face 10 times a day to make it squeaky clean won’t make your acne go away. It’ll just irritate your skin and inflame your acne even more. Ouch!

Here’s the deal: your skin is covered by an acid mantle that’s NOT bacteria-friendly. When you raise the pH up several notches – this happens EVERY time you wash your face with a high pH cleanser or even water alone – you’re weakening the acid mantle.

What to do Instead:

Wash your face twice a day, morning and evening, with a gentle, pH-balanced cleanser that removes all dirt and impurities without drying out your skin.

If You Have Acne, You Can’t Wear Make-up

Who came up with this nonsense? Of course, you can wear makeup! And nope, I’m not talking just about those thick, full-coverage foundations you use to cover your acne up. You can wear any makeup product you want – as long as it does NOT contain any comedogenic ingredients.

Little disclaimer: comedogenic ingredients aren’t a problem for everyone. If you have oily skin, you can slather your face in coconut oil and not get a simple pimple. Oily skin isn’t that lucky. Your skin is already producing way more oil than it needs. So when you’re using makeup high in oils and other occlusives, you’re clogging your pores. And clogged pores ALWAYS lead to acne.

What to do Instead:

Use non-comedogenic makeup products. But, don’t trust the labels. Instead, opt for mattifying and gel products over moisturizing creams. They help keep the shine at bay and help you put your best face forward.

Tanning Helps Heal Acne

Don’t use acne as an excuse to get tanned! Sure, a tan will cover up the redness… and dry out your skin, inflame it and give you wrinkles and dark spots. And don’t get me started on skin cancer.

Here’s what no one tells you about a tan: that sun kissed glow is a sign of sun damage. Your tan is your body’s self-defense mechanism. When your skin darkens, it’s your body’s way of telling you that UV rays are damaging it. Destroying your collagen. Generating free radicals. Killing cellular DNA. 

What to do Instead:

Wear sunscreen every day. First off, it protects your skin from UV damage and the inflammation it causes. Inflammation is the main cause of cancer, so you need to tone that down ASAP or even the best acne medications won’t work. And while we’re on the subject, those acne medications often make skin more susceptible to the sun, so this isn’t optional.

Popping Pimples Is the Best Way to Get Rid Of Them

Popping a pimple is NEVER a good idea. I know you hate seeing that big zit on your face and that seeing all that gunk ooze out gives you a weird sense of satisfaction. But this is a case where instant satisfaction leads to long-term issues.

When you pop a pimple, you’re just spreading bacteria all around your skin, slowing down the healing process and possibly even causing scars. And those are way harder to treat than a pimple. Not worth it, is it?

What to do Instead:

Try a spot treatment with benzoyl peroxide or sulfur. They have antibacterial and peeling properties that kill acne bacteria and exfoliate skin to get rid of pimples faster.

Having Acne = Bad Hygiene

This is one of those acne myths that just won’t die – and it’s NOT true. Having acne doesn’t mean that you’re dirty or have bad hygiene. Quite the opposite.

Data actually shows that those who have acne tend to over-cleanse their skin to reduce oil production. And that’s not good either. Over-cleansing dries out skin – triggering your body to produce more sebum (its natural moisturizer) to restore the balance!

Cleansing too often also won’t get rid of acne because dirt is not what causes acne! Acne forms when excess sebum gets stuck in your pores. There, it mixes with dead skin cells, forming a mixture acne bacteria love to feed on. This usually happens when your hormones go into overdrive and trigger the production of too much sebum. So addressing that and exfoliating often to keep your pores clear from clogs is what will make your acne go away.

What to do Instead:

Cleanse skin twice a day – once in the morning and once in the evening. Every other night, exfoliate with salicylic acid. It gets inside your pores, removing everything that’s clogging them up and speeding up acne recovery.

If you’ve been falling for these acne myths, don’t feel bad. With so many misconceptions out there (anyone can write anything on the internet), it’s hard to know what to believe. But now you know the truth, you can course correct and take proper care of your skin, so you can finally give acne the boot.

Seeking expert advice is definitely essential in terms of keeping acne away. Consult ours!

Call our Patient Care Lines: (+632) 7-368 5238 l (+63) 917 862 7454 l (+63) 921 217 0517 for inquiries, questions, and appointments or talk to our consultants via LiveChat at https://shinagawa.ph so we can address and answer them for you.

Achieving Beauty to the Max with GMAX Pro

Achieving Beauty to the Max with GMAX Pro

Be at your most beautiful with the help of an advanced derma ally!

The GentleMax Pro™ is a dual platform laser that allows a wide range of effective derma treatment options.

What can GMAX Pro do for you?

  • Permanent removal of unwanted or excess hair in all skin types
  • Removal of benign keratoses and/or sun spots on all parts of the body
  • Correction and rejuvenation of areas with diffuse sun damage on the face and body
  • Treatment of facial redness and broken blood vessels
  • Skin tightening

Hair Removal

The GentleMax Pro™ is the gold standard for effective hair removal in skin types I-VI, which includes most skin types. The GentleMax Pro™ excels in providing safe, high speed, effective laser hair removal with high patient satisfaction and comfort. Typically, permanent hair removal requires 4-6 treatments, but some patients require more. The fee for hair removal depends on the size of the area, and we are happy to provide you with more information when you call. View pricing for laser hair removal.

Sun Spots and Benign Keratoses Removal

The GentleMax Pro™ can effectively remove unwanted brown sun damage spots and benign keratoses without scarring. The late fall and winter are the best times to start treatment of these lesions since the skin should be shielded from sun exposure before and after treatment for the best results. Some spots may require more than one treatment.

Color Correction and Rejuvenation of Skin with Diffuse Sun Damage

The GentleMax Pro™ can also treat diffuse sun damage which is often seen on the face, neck, chest and arms. Depending on the extent of sun damage, a series of treatments may be necessary, but significant improvement is seen with each treatment.

Treatment of Facial Redness and Broken Blood Vessels

The Gentlemax Pro™ can treat the background redness and broken blood vessels on the cheeks, nose and chin. Because the background redness and broken blood vessels are a result of broken blood vessels, you should expect to have some redness, swelling and possible bruising for several days after the treatment. We suggest that you do not take aspirin or NSAIDS (ibuprofen, Aleve, Advil, Motrin Meloxicam, Celebrex) for 1 week prior to your procedure if medically allowable. We do not advise any patient to stop any blood thinners for this procedure.

Skin Tightening

The GentleMax Pro™ performs skin tightening on the face and lower jawline over a series of treatments every 4-6 weeks. This procedure does not require sedation and there is no downtime.

We have special packages featuring GMAX Pro! Reach us!

Call our Patient Care Lines: (+632) 7-368 5238 l (+63) 917 862 7454 l (+63) 921 217 0517 for inquiries, questions, and appointments or talk to our consultants via LiveChat at https://shinagawa.ph so we can address and answer them for you.