7 Signs That You have Gone TOO far with your Beauty Enhancements

We all wish we had Scarlett Johansson’s lips, the body of Jennifer Lopez, and the hip-shaking dance moves of Shakira. But most of us weren’t born with these blessings. Most of us have to work for weeks in the gym to get rid of a pound of unwanted tummy fat. We have minor procedures done, and do our best to follow the latest trends. But sometimes, the trends are misleading. And sometimes, we take them too far. Here are 7 signs that your natural beauty is not shining through:

Number 1: Fake Tans

Yes, the tanning bed is bad for you on a number of counts, but shining yourself up with spray tans is not the solution. Having spray tans applied every other day can leave you with the glow of Snooki and leave your brand new white jeans orange.

Number 2: Butt Boosters

Instantly enhancing your backside in hopes of getting curves like Beyonce is one high hope!  It’s all good until you find yourself on a beach trying to strut that same luscious booty in your bikini. Or until you want to get it on with that special someone. I hope he doesn’t feel your butt booster!

Number 3: The Duck Face.

We all can agree that a little pouty face from a 4 year old is cute, but unless you are under the age of 10, “The Duck Face” pout pose is entirely absurd and truly is not flattering.

Number 4: “The Duck Face” as a Result of Over-filling Lips with Collagen or Fillers.

There is such thing as too much. If your collagen injections become more frequent than your paychecks, you may be over doing it. And if your lips come together to form a duck face pose without attempting, it’s time to give it a break (and potentially find a new cosmetic specialist).

Number 5:  Too Much Perfume.

Women, naturally put off a scent to attract men. A scent that, to many men, is completely irresistible even though they don’t even know it. But, still women overkill with the perfume!  You naturally have the ability to attract the male species. Don’t ruin it with those fake floral scents that make it difficult for those of us around you to breathe.

Number 6: Obnoxious, Ridiculous Nails

We were all in grade school at one time. It was fun to have glitter-covered, bright, fun nail décor. But after high school that’s no longer acceptable.  Stick to the subtle nail colors and nail designs. Minimalism is attractive.

Number 7: Dying Your Hair the Opposite Color of Your Eyebrows

I loved dyed, highlighted, fun, crazy hair. But when you try to go be platinum blonde and you naturally have black hair… stop. Heed my advice and refrain from those drastic changes; it doesn’t match! Keep what works for you naturally.

If the above 7 tips apply to you, you are ready for a “make-under”. Take steps to tone it down. I can guarantee that you will love your new, elegant, demure self, and so will those around you.

Skin Food: Pomegranate

Pomegranates are one of the most antioxidant-rich foods, says Dr Sarah Freilich at Advanced Dermatology. “Recent research shows that they provide potent molecular defence and makes us less susceptible to free radical damage”.

Eat some fresh or use it as an age-fighting facial scrub. Available all year round, Pomegranates are one of our favourite fruits in Advanced Dermatology’s anti-ageing tool-kit.

Research has shown that Pomegranate has incredible anti-microbial, anti-ageing, and anti-inflammatory properties. These go a long way in encouraging super radiant skin, both when eaten and applied topically onto the skin. It also makes a great home-made face scrub. Keep reading for more tips.

 Pomegranate juice anyone?

Recent research shows that pomegranate fruit’s juice has more anti-inflammatory antioxidants than green tea and red wine. Its popularity has seen pomegranate juice available from most local supermarkets, but why not make some yourself? Most of us are afraid of the pomegranate eating challenge but this tip will help: try separating the rind from the seeds by opening up the Pomegranate, dividing it into quarters and then soaking them in water for 15 minutes. Most of the seeds will fall to the bottom making them much easier to separate, and those that don’t will be easier to remove as well. Then throw the seeds into your juicer or blender for a super antioxidant rich drink. We prefer using a high-powered blender over a juicer, because we find that it keeps more of the important nutrients in place. Here’s our technique:

1. Following our separation method above place separated seeds into a blender.
2. Pulse the seeds a few times to break away the juice. Don’t blend them for long period because this will cause too much seed breakage and cloud the juice.
3. Use a straining mesh to strain the pomegranate, leaving the seed pulp in the strainer.
4. Using either a potato masher or the back of a spoon push against the seed pulp left in the strainer to leash out as much of the remaining pomegranate juice as possible.
5. Pour out into a glass and serve chilled!

 Medicine of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks!

The pomegranate fruit is one of the oldest medicine remedies known to man. First documented in Egyptian texts over 3,500 years ago for its ability to treat a whole host of disease. Medical Physicians in ancient Greece prescribed the pomegranate fruit juice as a treatment for viruses, circulation disorders, digestion problems and arthritis. The fruit also has a lot of symbolism for the ancient Persians and significant meaning in the Jewish faith, being mentioned a number of times in the Torah.

More recently, it’s polyphenol and antioxidant properties have been studied extensively by scientists with some interested discoveries. The most studied of the polyphenols within Pomegranate is known as Ellagic acid, a powerful free radical scavenger it protects our DNA by increasing the body’s own in built antioxidant molecule, glutathione. It’s long been known that increasing Gluthione can have profound health and longevity benefits. These findings are so profound that some of the leading skincare brands have started incorporating it into their own skincare.  We’ve tested and reviewed many of these products at Advanced Dermatology, and find that the doses are usually not sufficient enough (sometimes as low as 1%) to produce a desired result.

 Homemade Pomegranate Beauty Scrub

Here’s a quick face scrub idea you can use to apply to your skin once a week to exfoliate away dead skin cells and provide a super dose of skin restoring anti-oxidant nutrients into your skin.

1. Cut open a pomegranate and break away the seeds (don’t forget our handy hint mentioned above to help you do separate the seeds from the rind).
2. Using a blender or food processor combine three heaped tablespoons of the pomegranate seed fruit with 1 cup of cooked oatmeal, 2 tablespoon of extra virgin organic olive oil and 1 tablespoon of raw honey (antiseptic).
3. Apply to the face for a 10-15 mins then rinse with warm water.

As you’ve discovered there are a lot of benefits to eating pomegranate, both eaten and applied to the skin. We hope you enjoyed our tips and would like to invite you to share your tips or thoughts in our comment sections below.  Spread the word by sharing  and recommending this post to your friends.

No Laser, No Light, No Problems! 

We’ve all heard about the vast number of Laser and Light based therapies out there that can help you achieve incredible skin. Some people aren’t so comfortable with going under a Laser device, and understandably so. The risks are minute, but we’ve all heard of them. Today we’re writing about a relatively new device, called Sublative Resurfacing using the eMatrix Fractional device.

Sublative Resurfacing belongs to a new class of Fractional technologies, like Fraxel and others, but it’s one of the more recent of those technologies. Fractional devices like Fraxel, and now Sublative, were designed to provided the benefits of traditional resurfacing laser like CO2 without the harmful effects. The design of fractional technologies like Fraxel were quiet a revolution for the cosmetic industry. It really was a strike of genius by the developers who took traditional resurfacing laser technology and fractionate  it.

How on earth do you  fractionate something? Well the inventors realised that instead of making the energy blast out in a single dose if you make it come out of smaller doses through well placed holes then the dose is more effectively managed. The same great results with less downtime!

So what is Sublative? Well not too long ago the engineers at Syneron took this innovation even further. Using radio-frequency as the new energy source the results have been profound. Throughout the course of your treatments you will notice improvements in textural abnormalities, wrinkles, sun spots, acne scars. Even after one treatment, there is considerable improvement.

Be sure to check out our Sublative page for more information.

Gentlewaves LED Therapy is another great alternative to many of the more intense clinical procedures. See LED Phototherapy for more information about this wonder treatment.