There are no studies done to prove that turmeric powder lightens the skin, BUT turmeric is used today in professional skin care products as a potent anti-ager.  Turmeric is known to be a powerful antioxidant, anti-carcinogen, antiseptic, antibacterial, and it reduces inflammation.  Turmeric contains curcumin, a bioflavanoid.  A specific type of turmeric, known as “kasturi” turmeric has been known to be excellent at clearing acne, inhibiting the growth of facial hair, and brightens the complexion, all without the orange stain of traditional turmeric.  Kasturi turmeric is not edible and should not be used in cooking, only used externally.  A good at home mask to make utilizing the powerful attributes of turmeric is:

Mix chickpea flour or rice flour with turmeric powder in equal portions

Add raw milk, yogurt, or soy milk to 1 teaspoon of the powder mixture.  Apply evenly, allow to dry and rinse off with warm water.

Turmeric has traditionally been used in India and other Asian countries in religious ceremonies and specifically in South India to beautify brides.  They apply it the morning of their bridal ceremony to impart a beautiful glow to their skin, as turmeric is golden in color.  A modern day use of turmeric is in Jurlique’s    Intense Recovery Mask to protect and soften the skin as a potent anti-aging treatment.  

More expensive skin care products work better…is this true or false?

This can be true or false.  What I recommend is to get a customized skin care recommendation from a professional esthetician, such as myself.  A higher quality product will cost more to produce and will have a higher concentration of proven active ingredients.  Inexpensive products tend to be full of inactive fillers and artificial fragrances.  Getting a customized recommendation from an esthetician may seem expensive up front, but because you will be avoiding any trendy products of the moment you will be getting a much better value for your money.  You will be getting the peace of mind knowing that your designed skin care program will be the right one for your skin.  Your esthetician can also recommend the right treatments to keep your skin looking its best for years to come.  

Feel free to contact me for a personalized skin care recommendation.  

Visit my website www.tamaratownsend.com to make an appointment with me.

Although moisturizing is  a vital part of any home skin care program, only wearing a broad spectrum sunscreen daily will prevent your skin from aging.  

Tanning indoors or outdoors is bad for your skin and will cause you to age much faster than you would if you didn’t tan.  As you hopefully know from reading my blog, the sun and the damage it causes the skin is the number one ager.  If you go to a tanning salon to use the tanning beds, you have to sign a lot of paperwork that tells you how damaging indoor tanning is.  But did you know that if you tan in a tanning bed even ONE time before the age of 30, it increases your skin cancer risk by 75%!?!  I know when I watch the weather and the weather person says there is a 75% chance of rain, that’s almost a positive its going to rain the next day.  Please remember if you choose to sunbathe in a tanning bed that you are increasing your cancer risk  SOOO much.

Splashing your face with water is not cleaning your skin, and you should not be using a bar soap or a body wash, which brings me to the next mistake: using products made for the body on the face. This means “no” to using body lotion or petroleum jelly  to moisturize.  This means “no” to body scrubs to exfoliate your face.  Using any kind of harsh scrub will cause micro-tears in the skin that you can’t see with the naked eye, but can cause inflammation and allows acne causing bacteria into the skin.

The last skincare mistake I see made a lot are clients who have great home skin care routine, they use good products and follow all the steps. They cleanse, tone, exfoliate, use serums and moisturizers.  They put on their sunscreen, but then they apply pore clogging makeup.  Not all makeup is bad, in fact, I recommend using a high quality mineral makeup line, such as Rita Patel’s MiA BelleZZa Cosmetics, or Jane Iredale- The Skin Care Makeup.  Just don’t use makeup that is for film,tv, or high fashion photography.  It is only designed for special occasion, NOT everyday use.  Wearing pore clogging makeup will undo all the good you have done with your home skincare routine.

I know you guys love inexpensive product recommendations, so I wanted to share this awesome body cream with you.  I picked this up at Kroger for a mere $8.99.  It is LOVELY and I will definitely purchase this again.  This Aromatherapy Body Cream by Aura Cacia (a wonderful essential oil retailer) is fabulous!  It has no bad ingredients, is paraben free and the first few ingredients are water, aloe, and coconut oil, all of which are great for the skin. This body cream smells like REAL lavender essential oil, because it actually contains lavender essential oil (unlike a lot of lavender scented products that use synthetic fragrance).  This body cream applies smoothly, is not greasy and keeps me smelling good and my skin soft all day long.  I definitely think you will love this!  Enjoy!

I am going to tell you what THE BIGGEST SKINCARE MISTAKE IS.  If you only walk away with one tip today, let it be this.  

The biggest skincare mistake you can make is not wearing a broad spectrum sunscreen every single day.

Everything we associate with aging is sun damage.  Only 20% of skin aging is heredity. Eighty percent is your lifestyle and how you take care of your skin.  The sun causes:

• skin discolorations
• age spots
• dark spots
• wrinkles
• sagging
• redness
• permanent broken capillaries

The reason you need a sunscreen with the phrase “broad spectrum” on it is because it protects the skin from both UVA and UVB rays. Until June of this summer a sunscreen that doesn’t say “broad spectrum” on it is only keeping you from getting a sunburn from UVB rays.  It’s not protecting you from the UVA rays which cause premature skin aging and even skin cancers.  UVA rays get deep into the dermis negatively affecting the skin cells.

Splashing your face with water is not cleaning your skin, and you should not be using a bar soap or a body wash, which brings me to the next mistake: using products made for the body on the face. This means “no” to using body lotion or petroleum jelly  to moisturize.  This means “no” to body scrubs to exfoliate your face.  Using any kind of harsh scrub will cause micro-tears in the skin that you can’t see with the naked eye, but can cause inflammation and allows acne causing bacteria into the skin.

The 3rd biggest skincare mistake I see made a lot is not treating your neck, decollete, and your hands as you do your face.  Be sure to bring your treatment products and sunscreen down onto your neck, upper chest, and use the remainder on the backs of your hands.

One of the biggest skincare mistakes I see made is cleansing your face improperly,or not at all.  You should be using a cleanser for the face in the morning and at night before you go to bed.  You should be doing a double cleanse, which means washing your face twice in a row.  The first cleanse removes excess oil, dust, air pollution and makeup and the second cleanse gives a deep down clean.  I want to re-iterate here that splashing your face with water is NOT cleaning it.  You should not be using a bar soap or a body wash, which brings me to the next mistake…..see tomorrows post!

I want to thank everyone who attended my talk, “The Biggest Skin Care Mistakes and Myths”  at the Asian American Hotel Owner’s Association Women’s Conference.  It was last Friday, and I could not have had a better experience.  I felt so honored to be welcomed into the Asian American community.  Hearing the other speakers and being part of such a inspiring group of people was fabulous.  AAHOA gifted me with a beautiful pashima, soapstone aromatherapy burner, and an autographed hardcover book of India as a “thank you”.  It was so kind and shows how generous and lovely everyone was that put this on and that attended the conference. As promised, I will be posting all elements of the talk I gave AND the questions that I was asked. Hopefully, these posts will answer some of the questions you may have.  If you were an attendee of the conference, if you didn’t hear an answer or have questions I wasn’t able to get to, please feel free to private message me your questions and I will be sure to answer them. Otherwise, please enjoy!

” I am going to share with you the Biggest. Skincare. Mistakes.  I am going to dispel some common skin care myths that you have probably heard and may even believe yourself.  I want you to know that I want to share with you what I have learned through my years as a skin care therapist with you.  I have been practicing as a full time, licensed esthetician since 2005.  In my practice, I perform microdermabrasions, facials, chemical peels, and body therapies.  Two years ago, I received an award for my waxing techniques from a local Atlanta magazine.  I was one of the first esthetcians to bring the now popular service, eyelash extensions here to Atlanta back in 2006.  

At the beginning of last year, I saw a real need to educate my clients, friends and family on how to properly take care of their skin.  I created a skincare blog on the internet to help separate fact from fiction.  It’s called “Good Skin” and on my blog I have factual advice to help normal people get good skin.  

I want to stop here and remind you to check out the person’s credentials when you read something in a magazine, online, or in a book.  Also, because something works for the girl behind the makeup counter, for your best friend, or even your mom, doesn’t necessarily mean its right for you and your skin.