THE WANDERING AESTHETIC: ON BUILDING A TRAVEL BEAUTY ROUTINE
Planning to get away this weekend? Whether you're globe trotting or a quick road trip, it’s important to prepare your wandering beauty routine.
PREPARATION
First, make sure to eat healthy a few days before you leave. Eat lots of leafy greens and stay away from foods and drinks high in sodium and carbohydrates that will dehydrate your skin.
Try and book a hydrating facial a day or two before you depart. No treatments that entail heat or heavy exfoliation. Oxygen infusions, LED, hyaluronic and peptide masks are go-to treatments at my practice.
If you want to pack light, coconut oil is a great option. Although I’m not a fan of frequent use of coconut oil on the skin, you can apply this head to toe as your moisturizer, use as a cleanser, a lip balm, and apply to the tips of your hair if you need some extra conditioning.
Cleansing wipes are great for the late lazy night when you don’t want to have to take the time to wash your face.
Remember to pack your probiotics! Keeping your gut clean while you travel will make your skin happy. Or you can eat foods with probiotics and drink organic probiotic drinks.
For a simple and fun make-up look, go for a bright lip color, mascara and a bronzer with SPF. I prefer powered SPF when I travel. I don’t have to deal with reapplying layers of cream and I don’t have to worry about the powder getting hot and breakings down like liquid sun protection.
Leave your harsh products at home. Strong glycolics, retinols, etc. These don’t travel well and can make you more sun sensitive. If you have sensitive skin its good to discontinue these products a few days prior to your departure.
EN ROUTE
If you’re flying, try and stay away from alcohol, but if you have to take the edge off, order a greyhound. The grapefruit helps to keep you face from getting puffy.
Apply a good occlusive hydrator as soon as you buckle up. This will prevent your skin drying out via the strong air conditioning.
Pack a skin-friendly satin pillowcase in your carry on. This way, if you want to rest your cheek on the headrest, or the airplane pillow, you can make sure your skin stays clean and no harsh irritants from the fabrics will bother your skin or cause a breakout. You can also replace the hotel pillowcase with yours during your stay. Stiff, cheap pillowcases can be rough on your hair and skin.
Try and listen to soothing music or a guided mediation on your way to your destination. Skin doesn’t like stress! I always travel with my favorite lavender oil. I put a drop on the bottom of my neck. This way I only smell something beautiful, this is especially helpful when you’re in tight quarters with other travelers.
BUMPS IN THE ROAD
I’ve had patients call me in a panic that have used eye masks that made their eyes swell or ate something that made their face swell up. If this happens take a Benadryl and use cold compresses that you can chill in your hotel ice bucket.
If you’re going to have drinks with limes in them, be careful not to get lime juice on your hands or skin and then exposing it to the sun. Some people can hyperpigment from this.
Too much sun? Chill some aloe vera gel and keep reapplying. Make a cool bath for yourself, even add ice. Get an oatmeal soothing bath mix from the drug store or you can add a cup of apple cider vinegar. You will feel instant relief.
If you find yourself jet lagged and bored in the middle of the night, try not to sit in front of that high intensity magnifying mirror and get too excited extracting every pore. If you do, make sure to apply an anti-bacterial gel so you don’t cause a major break out.
Wishing you all safe travels, and remember to leave beauty wherever you go!
Mia Belle
Photo courtesy of LVBX Magazine!
Growing up, I loved old Hollywood. I was watching a documentary and saw Bette Davis dipping her face in a sink full of ice cubes. This was a tried-and-true beauty ritual of many actresses and actors, including Paul Newman. I right away ran to the freezer; grabbed all the ice cubes I could find and tried it for myself! It felt shockingly cold, but it was invigorating and gave me an extra “glow”. Okay, granted I was in the 1st grade, but it did make me feel very glamorous. Maybe it’s the Swedish in me, or growing up in the cold Santa Cruz Ocean, but I’ve always loved the powerful feeling of the cold.
Today, Crotherapy, ice baths and freezing facials have been gaining more and more popularity and media attention.
So why does the cold feel so good and how does it create health and beauty?
Let’s start with our beauty sleep.
Sleep cool. Over a 24-hour period, our body temperature naturally peaks and declines. While we sleep, our bodies naturally cool down. Helping your body get to that lower temperature faster can encourage a deeper and more restorative sleep time.
This deep sleep will allow your body to release more melatonin, one of our best anti-aging hormones. Another perk! Studies show that sleeping in a 60-67 degree room makes you burn more calories than while awake, and can inspire your body to burn more calories the following day.
Air conditioning can create a dry and dehydrating environment, so I recommend keeping a bedroom cool by opening windows, sleeping naked, using light bedding, running a fan, and keeping your feet out of the sheets. You can also purchase a “cooling pillow” to help naturally draw the heat away from your body.
Cooling ingredients in skincare create comfort and beauty.
Sensitive skin especially loves feeling relief from heat and discomfort. Whether it’s caused by rosacea, post treatment inflammation, eczema, dermatitis, etc., there are products that can deliver the cool! Peppermint, violet-Viola Odorata Extract, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, and menthol are extremely effective. When topically applied to the skin, menthol produces a cooling sensation by blocking a current along the nerves responsible for detecting temperature, triggering a response in nerve endings that makes the body think it’s cooling down. Cooling ingredients can also improve the flow of blood to the skin causing a temporary plumping effect. Love the plump! Starting to see now why cold is such an essential beauty tool?
Another point to consider when it comes to the power of cool; many products heat up their ingredients to be able to mix them to achieve a certain texture or to bottle the product more efficiently. This, just like when we over heat food, can kill vital nutrients and change the product on a molecular level. Do your research on how your product is created.
CryoFacial: Next level skincare.
This is the “Bette Davis ice dip” on steroids!
Benefits:
–Reduces inflammation, which supports our own anti-aging mechanisms.
–Relieves edema/swelling. AKA puffy face.
–Makes your pores look tight and your texture smooth and firm.
–The treatment creates a vascular reaction that enhances the penetration of products, creating better hydration and performance of topically applied vitamins and nutrients.
It not only stimulates collagen but also the Queen of Youthful Skin: elastin.
Cold promotes cell repair, making it a game changer for healing, especially post-procedures. The treatment flushes your skin with healing blood and nutrients making it feel revitalized.
How it works:
Therapies that use cold temperatures stimulate circulation.
The cold causes the blood vessels to contract and then dilate. This improves the oxygen and nutrient supply to the skin’s surface, making it appear more youthful.
Skin cooling increases the amount of neurotransmitters in the nerve fibers. This speeds up the metabolism and enzymatic cellular processes.
Therapies that use cold stimulate the release of good growth factors, including cytokines. The signs of aging in the skin can be attributed to a breakdown of collagen and elastin, which gives way to fine lines and wrinkles. Studies show that when the surface of the skin is cooled during cryofacials that the layers beneath are disrupted, and respond by increasing production of elastin, collagen and anti-aging growth factors. This results in brighter, firmer skin as it regains elasticity.
The anti-inflammatory responses of the skin by this cold are also a very effective in caring for chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis, dermatitis, and eczema.
Self-care.
You can do many things at home during your beauty routine to benefit from the effects of cold.
Don’t want everyone to know you just injected your lips?
Ice rollers have been popular in Asia and Europe for years, and are now gaining popularity in the States. Retailed Cool Globes are filled with water and gel that you keep in your fridge or freezer and can be used to relieve inflammation in general but are very beneficial following clinical procedures such as lasers and injectables, especially for the extra vascular lip area. Just lightly roll the globes over the entire face and neck or just apply in a specific area.
Big night/Big pimple? Use an ice cube!
Ice reduces the redness by diminishing swollen tissue and any possible weakened capillaries. It can also help to reduce the production of excess oil and acne-causing bacteria. Wrap the ice cube in some gauze soaked in witch hazel for 3-5 minutes.
Too much fun in the sun?
Soaking in a cold ice water bath can provide instant relief. Not only will it alleviate the heat and swelling, but also slightly numb the pain and soothe irritation. Add a cup of apple cider vinegar or an oatmeal bath recipe with some organic chamomile oil and you will feel instant relief.
Have morning after eyes?
Cold Eye Rollers to the rescue! Because blood pools around the eyes and causes dark circles, specially designed cold eye rollers can restore a healthy appearance by reducing swelling and inflammation. Applying a great eye gel with vitamin K will give you even better results.
Keeping it cool.
Simply keep certain products like gel masks, eye treatments, toners and spritzers in the fridge! You can also create your own mask. Try making a mask consisting of Greek yogurt, cucumbers and strawberries. Using cooled products is a simple way to make your skin feel amazing and awake. It can also add to the life and vitality of many products.
Go ahead, enjoy these last days of summer, and just remember to stay cool.
With grace,
Mia Belle
Photo courtesy of LiveBoxMagazine
Want to achieve sufficient exfoliation without using chemicals that will make your skin more sun sensitive?
Derma planing is a manual exfoliation technique used to gently and effectively remove the outermost layers of dead skin cells from the face using a customized medical grade blade. Utilized by a medical practitioner, it can also remove vellus hair or the “peach fuzz” on the face.
It improves texture and lightens up the appearance of hyperpigmentation. This type of exfoliation is suitable for sensitive skin because it’s not aggressive or harsh on the tissue.
There’s no downtime, your products will penetrate more efficiently and your makeup, especially bronzers, will go on smoother.
Dermaplaning is a Summer-Smart choice because chemical peels create heat in the skin and can create an ongoing flaking, making your skin more sensitive to the sun.
I prefer this treatment to other manual or physical exfoliation treatments like microdermabrasion. With microdermabrasion, you’re creating pressure with a vacuum that’s bringing up heat and leading to erythema. With dermaplaning we use a gentle blade on dry skin with light pressure, leaving the skin more resilient against the summer sun and heat.
With smart skin choices, you can have a healthy glow all summer long!
Why does our skin love cold treatments so much?
A few reasons:
It reduces inflammation, edema and pore size. It stimulates collagen and promotes cell repair.
A CryoFacial will flush your skin with blood and nutrients making it feel vital and cool!
"Get Your Skin summer Ready!"
Most of us take great care in keeping our faces looking their best. Then, all of a sudden, we notice our body isn’t looking quite so good.
Many of my patients, like many of you reading this, want to feel empowered with knowing what we can do to get our bodies looking as vital and youthful on the outside to match how vital and youthful we feel on the inside.
There are many options for treatments, but you will get the most out of them if you prepare properly first. This is an important step many patients skip in their treatment plan.
Start four weeks prior with supporting your skin from the inside with high performing supplements such as:
Omegas: to protect from mitochondrial breakdown.
Antioxidants: to protect from cell damage and collagen and to support our connective tissues. Make sure that in particular, your digestive system, liver and adrenal glands are healthy and supported so they’re not draining your bodies natural rejuvenation processes.
Add electrolyte water and beauty foods high in vitamin A such as, sweet potatoes, carrots and butternut squash. Lessening your sodium and alcohol intake is one of the most important diet changes you can make to see a difference in the hydration of your skin.
Make sure you’re exfoliating! Our cells turn over at a slower rate each year, so we need to help inspire new cells with daily exfoliation. You can use a homemade sugar scrub, practice dry brushing, or purchase a mechanical body brush.
Exfoliating creates a prepped canvas for your topicals. I’m a huge fan of serums versus old school body lotions. Your skin can more readily absorb and utilize them. Use serums packed with fatty acids, powerful antioxidants, hyaluronic acid, and vitamins, my favorites are B3, B5, C, D3, E, and K.
Add yoga or pilates to your exercise routine. You have to support all the layers of the body to have the fittest skin, from the inside bones to the epidermis. These disciplines help strengthen the connective tissues and help make everything look tight and right!
Now your skin will be ready to get the most out of clinical body treatments.
Different areas of the body tend to respond better to certain treatments or modalities.
The knees and elbows improve the most with muscle lifting treatments and peels. (Ulthera, microcurrent, cosmelan peel.)
Muscle laxity will be more visible in these areas and you need to make sure you target both the muscle and the skin to get real results.
The abdomen responds well with heat therapies such as radio frequency and ultrasound. (Thermage, venus freeze) The heat inspires the heat shock proteins and the fibroblasts to create collagen. A lot of patients want to also target fat burning in this area, but you have to consider that any volume loss can create laxity in the skin.
The thighs and buttocks respond well to heat and suction. (Viora) Make sure the suction isn’t too aggressive, this can lead to weakened blood vessels and more trauma than desired to the tissue. The suction can help lessen the appearance of cellulite and help relive water retention, creating a more pleasing aesthetic to the eye and be smoother to the touch.
Keep in mind that if you’ve had liposuction in these areas, the integrity of the tissue can be a bit compromised and you may have to be more patience before you see results.
LED treatments have become trendy for the body. You want to make sure the bulbs are binned to create the perfect therapeutic wave length for real results. The photodynamic light therapy helps regenerate the skin by stimulating collagen and elastin production. (best on market MAX LED technologies)
It has also been proven that certain wavelengths, such as 635 nanometers, can trigger the body’s own natural ability to breakdown fat; a process called lipolysis. During this process the body can release fatty acids which are then used by the body during exercise. Although, I believe it’s best utilized for skin rejuvenation.
Cryotherapy is also trending as an anti-aging skin treatment. This “cold therapy” stimulates growth factors and relieves the body of depleting inflammation. Freezing temperatures send the body into a “survival mode,” which causes blood supply to flow to the most vital organs to relay more oxygen and nutrients. All this supports and feeds the skin.
Some patients respond very well to a mix of modalities. I’ve seen great results with mixing radio frequency and CIT, or needling in the same treatment , or hand piece to tone the skin. This is also especially helpful in wound or scar revision where there’s a loss in pigment, or hypopigmentation.
Keep in mind that your body is half of the chemistry. You need to do your part in prepping for these treatments and you might have to spend a little time and money before you find what works best for you.
Remember to enjoy your body and be grateful for it everyday. Be gentle and loving to yourself, knowing that living a vital lifestyle is truly a beautiful venture.
-Mia Belle
Photo courtesy of LVBX Magazine
POWER TO THE BROW!
The way humans read/scan other human faces is beyond fascinating. The space between our eyes, the length of a nose, the bow of a lip, all create a reaction in the human mind. We will observe, take in data and create an idea of that person coming from our understanding of spirituality,politics,aesthetics,community,intellect and our past experiences. Next time you look at a face, allow yourself to be conscious of how you're taking that person in!
View:
http://www.attn.com/stories/3987/eyebrows-and-feminism?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=internal
HUM nutrition creates some of my fav supplements!
I joined a team of health care experts including, nutritionist Alex Caspero, and holistic medicine physician Dr. Agarwal for HUM's latest article on healing and preventing dry skin.
Check out the full article at :
https://www.humnutrition.com/blog/truth-dry-skin-care-guide/
Just a taste:
In addition, sun exposure in the summer along with dry, arid climates can damage cells and limit the skin’s ability to hold onto moisture or repair itself. Mia Belle, Paramedical Aesthetician and CEO of Mia Belle skin, describes the process. “Your body via the organ of the skin will try to keep itself hydrated by absorbing water from its external environment. If you live in a dry environment, it will have to grab more water internally to keep hydrated, eventually creating epidermal water loss.”
So happy to have been able to help celebrate Francesca Camp in Malibu's article on her skin treatment "face camp".
The product was created around the amazing helping properties of niacin on the skin. I've used vitamin B complexes to heal wounds, balance out acne, and smooth out scars and fine lines. It's also part of many of my body treatments. Great for cellulite!
Read below to check out Derm NZ's info on test recently done on the use of B complexes.
And check out face camp @ http://www.francescacamp.com/feel-the-burn.html
xo
-Nicotinate, has been shown to be effective in clearing acne. In a controlled clinical trials nicotinamide gel was found to be as effective as topical antibiotics. The study concluded that the anti-inflammatory properties of nicotinamide may have contributed towards its success in acne.
Nicotinamide also reduces facial sebum production.Nicotinamide gel is marketed as an over-the-counter treatment for acne in Canada, Australia, NZ, UK, USA and Ireland.
Nicotinamide has anti-aging benefits. It serves as a precursor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP), which are co-enzymes essential for numerous metabolic pathways. These co-enzymes play a key role in the metabolism of glucose, cellular energy production, and synthesis of lipids. The levels of NADH / NADPH (the reduced forms of NAD and NADP) decrease with age, and topical nicotinamide appears to reverse the decline.
In multiple clinical studies, topical nicotinamide improved fine lines and wrinkles, hyper pigmented spots, red blotchiness, and skin sallowness (yellowing) as well as elasticity. One study showed nicotinamide to increase the skin's production of ceramides, which are natural emollients and skin protectants, thus improving skin hydration.
Nicotinamide is well tolerated and often can be used by those who cannot tolerate topical retinoids or fruit acids.
Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a major risk factor for skin cancer development. The mechanisms by which UVR leads to cancer are complex including direct damage to DNA and effects on the immune system. Nicotinamide has been shown to enhance the repair of direct and oxidative DNA damage in human keratinocytes and in human skin. A reduction in skin cancers has also been observed in high-risk sun-damaged patients treated with nicotinamide.
