5 Things Women With Perfect Skin Always Do

image by Eric Cassee

5 Things Women With Perfect Skin Always Do

We all know them – women with perfect, gorgeous, flawless skin.

They all live in different places and use different skin care products, so the answer isn’t a magic serum or lotion or potion. (Although I swear by all the lotions and potions that I use, and won’t trade in a single one of them!)

There are 5 things that women with perfect skin all do, and that no matter which skin care products you are using, if you’re not doing these 5 things you won’t make it to skin care perfection.

They Exercise

They all do some form of exercise regularly. (Not necessarily running marathons – you have to be super careful as an outdoor runner to keep your skin and yourself hydrated and to be saturated in facial SPF) Be it yoga or spin class or hiking or going to the gym, girls with perfect skin all move their bodies one way or another.

They Drink Lots Of Water

You can’t have perfect skin and be dehydrated. It’s a simple equation – great skin needs tons of water. Just for basic good health your body needs 8 glasses of water each day, great skin likes a little more.

Girls with perfect skin tend to shy away from high sugar drinks, avoid sodas, limit coffee and tea and only drink alcohol sparingly.

They Make Sleep A Priority

Image via davelackie.com

Without enough sleep you will never have perfect skin.

JLo, who is famous for her spectacular skin says she gets 10 hours sleep per night. I cannot even imagine what it must feel like to have the kind of support with home and children that enables you to just rack out each night for 10 hours! For those of us that fall into the mere mortal category 8 hours each night is the ideal for good health and for great skin.

They Eat Clean 

What you put into your body will be reflected on your skin.

Women with perfect skin tend to eat a pretty clean diet, most of the time. The occasional slice of pizza or drive through meal probably doesn’t hurt, but in general these women avoid those foods like the plague, opting instead for diets rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, quality fats (like avocado).

They Use The Right Cleanser

I can’t stress how important this is! Sensitive skin, dry skin, irritated skin so often are caused and exacerbated by using the wrong formula of cleanser. The wrong cleansers can strip the good oils from the skin, sometimes making the skin desperately make more oil, other times leaving it roughed up and dry. Women with perfect skin use cleansers that dissolve and remove makeup and cleanse away impurities and balance their skin.

My favorite cleanser is Memebox I'm Cleansing Oil, available online at Memebox.com

7 Simple Things That Help Your Skin Look Fabulous

There is no better time than now to refresh your skin and get it looking gorgeous. I always think that mid-winter is when our skin looks its absolute worst, so lets have a look at 7 simple things you can do to help your skin look fabulous.

7 Simple things That Make Your Skin Look Fabulous.

Get More Sleep

I so envy JLo. Not for the career or the money or the clothes. I envy her because she gets 8 to 10 hours sleep per night. 
How do you even do that?? As a single mom I get 5, which is really bad on so many levels. 

One of the best things you can do for your skin is get ample sleep each night. Ample being a good 8 hours.

Additional sleep (like JLo apparently gets) makes your skin look even lovelier.

Drink More Water

We all already know about drinking more water, but plenty of us still don't drink enough. You need to drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water per day just for good health. Doing just that will make a difference to your skin, adding a couple more glasses will improve your skin's clarity and texture hugely.

Be Pillowcase Pretty

There are 2 significant things you can do in pillowcase-land to significantly benefit your skin.

The first is to invest in a silk pillowcase. 

Sleeping on silk stops (or at least reduces) waking up with creases pressed into your skin. (Sleep creases have been likened to ironing wrinkles into your skin.) Irritated skin feels soothed after a night on silk, possibly due to the lack of friction associated with regular cotton pillow cases. 

You'll see noticeably less puffiness when you wake up, and after a few days your skin will feel softer too.

The other thing you need to do is change your pillowcase out every few days. Sleeping on dirty pillowcases can contribute to acne and skin irritation, and can prolong the healing process.

Clean The Right Way

Make sure you are using the right cleanser for your skin type, and be gentle with your skin. Don't rub and scrub it, instead massage cleanser into your skin and gently rinse it away with a warm washcloth.

Typically foaming/wash style cleansers are better for oiler skins while cleansing milks are lovely for a drier complexion. 
I love oil cleansers for all skins. Try Malin and Goetz Facial Cleansing Oil, suitable for all akin types.

Only Exfoliate Gently

Try an enzyme mask instead of a scrub exfoliator. Scrubs tend to rough up the baby skin underneath, keeping you in the cycle of irritated or roughed up skin.

If you do go the scrub route, use one with super fine grains and use it gently.

Add An Oil

Adding a facial oil into your skin care regime will keep your skin soft and supple and give it the most gorgeous glow. Look for an oil with a dry finish if you are worried about looking shiny.

I've been using Tatcha Camellia Beauty Oil for a while now. This dry finish oil gives your skin luscious nourishment and makes your skin both look and feel amazing.
It is also a fantastic skin rescue product, if you are feeling any dryness or irritation from the cold weather. 

Clean Your Phone (And Your Glasses!)

Keeping your cell phone and your glasses clean is nearly as important and cleansing your skin. 

New Year New You ~ What Is Ultherapy?

So what exactly is Ultherapy?
The quick answer is simply the most amazing thing I have ever done!
Ultherapy is for anyone who wants pretty much any area from their decolletage to their hairline lifted, smoothed, reshaped.
It can lift brows (in doing so opening the eye area), chisel jawlines, reshape chins, smooth undereye areas and much, much more.
It is for both men and women, of any age group.
I had Ultherapy 6 months ago and the results were spectacular from the start, and only got better. My clinician, Sandra Caldwell and the Blume Skin Centre in Scottsdale AZ told me that it may not even have reached it's final point yet! 

I originally wrote the post below two weeks after the treatment, but wanted to re-post it now, as so many of us look to make big improvements at the beginning of a new year.

What Is Ultherapy?

It is the only non invasive treatment that is FDA cleared to lift skin on the neck, under the chin and on the eyebrow. It is also approved to improve lines and wrinkles on the decolletage.
You have no down time, no redness, no bruising - nothing. It is amazing!

Ultherapy before and after. Magic, no?

(By the way, none of these images are pictures of me.)

Before Ultherapy if you needed your neck tightened or lifted, if you maybe had a double chin or unattractive under-chin or jawline profile, or maybe your eyebrows needed lifting, the only option was to go under the knife. It was costly, there was a danger element involved - any time you have an elective surgery there is a risk, and on top of that we have all seen face-lifts gone wickedly wrong.

Ultherapy involves no cutting and stitching, no slicing out unwanted flesh, and no battered and bruised visage to wait out the healing process.
Ultherapy delivers focused ultrasound energy to the same foundation layer typically addressed by surgeons during plastic surgery, without cutting or disrupting the surface of the skin.
The energy initiates the body's natural response to stimulate the growth of fresh, new collagen and to strengthen weak collagen.
Some patients see an initial effect right after their treatment, but the real result happens over the coarse of 2 or 3 months as the new collagen builds, gradually lifting and tightening the skin on the face and neck, and smoothing the skin on the chest.

Unlike lasers and radio frequency therapies, Ultherapy bypasses the surface of the skin and delivers ultrasound energy at the optimal depth, temperature and precision. It also uses ultrasound imaging which allows your technician to see the layers of tissue they are treating, ensuring that energy is both delivered safely and to where it is most beneficial.
The technician draws a grid on the area she is working on and is able to direct the treatment to exactly where it is needed.

Unlike lasers and photo-facial treatments Ultherapy is a perfect treatment to have over the summer, because it is not photo-sensitive, the procedure does not affect the skin's surface and you have no down time.
Think of the treatment like the foundation of a house - it holds everything up and in place.

Ultherapy before and after chin and jaw

How Did I Discover Ultherapy?
As a makeup artist I am always looking into ways for my clients to achieve balance in their faces, and to capture youth without looking like they have had surgery. For years now I have been taking clients, both local Arizonians as well as clients from California and Texas, even as far away as Calgary to see the amazing Dr Blume at the Blume Skin Centre in Scottsdale Arizona. 
Dr Blume and his clinical manager Sandra Caldwell take care of my celebrity clientele and my brides, and everyone in between. 
During visits there I started noticing everyone looking younger, and looking revitalized, and I also started noticing double chins disappearing and necks becoming smoother. Whatever was going on with the staff and the customers in the waiting room, I wanted in on the action!
My clients started having Ultherapy and I would see jawlines becoming crisper, collapsing brows lifting back up, and everyone looking sensational. I watched the progression of people's results over the course of several months, and found the results to be universally sensational.

Ultherapy chin and neck before and after

How Long Does Ultherapy Last?
As with anything you do to your face, be it botox, fillers, lasers - any treatment, the result is 100% dependent on the skill of the technician performing the treatment. If your Ultherapy is performed by a master technician, like Sandra Caldwell of the 
Blume Skin Centre you can expect results to last up to 5 years if you are under 50, and 3 years if you are in your 50's

Ultherapy before and after chin lift

Who Is Ultherapy For?
Ultherapy is not necessarily age specific.
It will lift skin, and especially when combined with fillers can replace or stall the need for a face lift. 
But it is also for people who are not looking for a facelift alternative.
Ultherapy is a fantastic option for anyone who has a double chin or a chin/jaw/neck profile that needs trimming or lifting.

Ultherapy before and after under chin

Ultherapy is also an amazing option for anyone wanting a brow lift. That can be someone who as a part of the aging process has eyebrows that have dropped, or anyone who has a heavy brow that is creating excess skin folds in the upper eyelid. 

Ultherapy before and afteer brow lift

Can Young People Have Ultherapy?
Yes they can. Ultherapy is not age specific.
For brides Ultherapy is a wonderful way to correct or enhance the jawline (think of all those profile photos!) and also to waken and revitalize the eye with a brow lift.

Ultherapy before and after chin lift

How Do You Choose A Technician?
This is the single most important decision to make when choosing Ultherapy. 
Avoid Groupon deals (like the plague!) instead opting for a Certified Advanced Technician who can show you before and afters of numerous clients she has worked on. 
There are substantial costs involved for the office performing Ultherapy, so the only way to cut the price is to reduce the amount of energy the technician uses on a client, which in turn will give a marginal result.

I went to Sandra Caldwell, Clinical Manager at the 
Blume Skin Centre in Scottsdale Arizona. Not only is Sandra a Certified Advanced Therapist, but she has performed hundreds of treatments (including treatments on my clients) and her results are consistently amazing.

What Should You Watch Out For?
Watch out for cheap deals. This applies to anything you are having done to your face. I never see fabulous "bargain" botox or filler jobs, in fact discount facial injecting invariably makes up some of the very worst I see. Allowing for the fact that your results will last up to 5 years or more you want to make sure you are going to someone brilliant with a sharp eye for balance and aesthetic beauty.

How Many Treatments Do I Need?
This is a one time treatment. Depending on the area or areas you are having worked on the average treatment will be in the vicinity of an hour. If you are just having a brow lift you will need less time, a full face,neck and decolletage will take a little longer.

Ultherapy before and after brow lift

What Does Ultherapy Cost?
The cost of Ultherapy depends on which areas you are having worked on.
A brow lift runs around $500, which means you will save a huge amount of money versus Botox brow lifting when you consider it will last you around 5 years!
A neck treatment should be around $1500, a full  face costs around $5000

Ultherapy before and after chin and jawline

My Story

I didn't like the way my neck and jawline were looking. My jawline had lost it's crispness, and I felt that my neck was starting to look lined and fleshy. I was also noticing that my brow was dropping, causing the skin on my upper eyelid to look heavy. Which are both signs of having left our 30s.
It was made worse when a local Cosmetic Surgeon cornered me at a social event, telling me I absolutely had to have a brow lift done.
I was horrified!  
I talked to Sandra and Dr. Blume about it for months, going over the best options for me. We looked at the before and after pictures of other Blume Skin Centre clients who had had Ultherapy, but not being one to race into anything I still took my time to make the decision.
I saw a difference within a couple of days of the treatment. 
My neck immediately started looking firmer, smoother and tighter. My jawline is already starting to resemble it's former sharp self and although I never had a double chin, nor was I aware of excess flesh under my chin, the smoothing and firming of that area is sensational!
Everywhere I go people who know me are telling me I look revitalized. I am asked if I have been on vacation, if I have had extra sleep, if I am using a new eye cream. The subtle lifting of the brow area is taking away the heavier upper eyelid, making my eyes look bright and awakened. It's fabulous!
And I only had my Ulthrapy less than a month ago.

Ultherapy before and after chin and neck (with awful lipliner)

Ultherapy before and after chin and neck

Ultherapy before and after brow lift

Ultherapy before and after chin and neck

If you are thinking about having Ultherapy, and are either in Arizona, near Arizona or willing to travel to Arizona (well worthwhile - this is your face afterall!) call or go see the experts at the Blume Skin Centre. 

Blume Skin Centre
(480) 699-7999
8575 East Princess Drive, 
Suite 123
Scottsdale Arizona