Iris Oil is extracted by steam distillation of the roots. Pure Iris Oil is extremely rare. It's fragrance is sweet, warm, and comforting. Iris Oil helps balance the mind, dissolve mental and emotional blocks as well as inner hurts. It helps stimulate creativity, intuition, and love!
In perfumes, it is used as a fixative. It is a luxurious and powerful way to pamper your skin too!
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- The Wandering Aesthetic
One of your healthiest options for topical sun protection is Non-Nano Zinc Oxide.
Being in the sun is still an important and enjoyable part of many people’s lives. You don’t have to give up the outdoor activities that you love, just stay protected and educated. I recommend Zinc Oxide as a healthy and effective option.
Zinc Oxide is a healing mineral with anti-inflammatory properties that is used for sun protection. It helps to reflect both UVA (aging) and UVB (burning) rays, making it a broad- spectrum sunscreen ingredient. Upon application, zinc oxide particles sit on the outermost layer of your skin, where they scatter and absorb ultraviolet radiation, protecting your skin below.
In non-nano particle form, it is considered to be safe for all ages and skin conditions. It’s important to make sure the zinc oxide in your sun protector is NON –nano zinc oxide. A nano particle will enter the blood stream but a non-nano will not.
Chemical sunscreens, containing nano particles, will enter the bloodstream and that is why DNA altering ingredients like oxybenzone has gotten such a bad rap.
Using non-nano particle zinc oxide is a safe and truly effective alternative to chemical sunscreens.
Enjoy the rays...
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- The Wandering Aesthetic
Transform your bathing ritual into a beauty ritual!
Sprinkle in some rose petals, goat's milk, ghee or my favorite bath salts - Ormaus Bath:
Ormus Bath Salts are a blend of rare, ancient, highly mineralized pink salts – Pink Himalayan, Bolivian Rose,Peruvian Pink – & Dead Sea Salts. This bath salt mixture is naturally high in super-conducting ormuz elements and infused with frankincense & rose oils.
Make this an elevating ritual for your body, mind & spirit!
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- The Wandering Aesthetic
Dermal needling treatments have been successfully used in skin care to address multiple issues, including acne scars and anti-aging. I have had tremendous success integrating dermal needling into my practice, and I have to credit Dr. Lance Setterfield for adding to my knowledge and enthusiasm about this results driven technique.
I felt extremely honored that Dr. Setterfield agreed to take the time to sit down with me for an interview!
Wandering Aesthetic: How did you discover, and later decide to study needling so comprehensively?
Dr. Lance Setterfield: Having grown up in South Africa, I have significant photo-damage, including skin cancer. While researching options to treat myself, I came across dermal needling. Initially I was skeptical, but became convinced when, after dermal needling one of my patients with a genetic connective tissue disorder, she responded positively; theoretically she ought not to have.
This inspired further studies.
WA: What's the history of needling?
DLS: Initially, in the late 1990’s Dr Camirand noticed overall skin improvement in his patients that were treated with cosmetic tattooing for hypopigmentation and scars. It was also noted that some of the normal pigment returned. Since then, various devices in the form of rollers, stamps and electronic pens have been created to facilitate skin rejuvenation.
WA: Who’s the best candidate for this type of procedure?
DLS: Medical (in-clinic) microneedling works best for anti-aging (wrinkles and brown spots), and scars (surgical, acne, trauma, burns). It may be effective for hair restoration and stretch marks, but results are more variable in these patients depending on underlying causes and other factors.
WA: What are your thoughts on using the patients blood,ie Vampire facials, versus topical vitamins and peptides?
DLS: Platelets are "envelopes" found in blood containing chemical messages that are released at the time of emergency (crisis after wounding) to facilitate repair. Think of these molecules as the smoke that sets off the smoke alarm. The molecules are designed to trigger inflammation which in turn draws other cells to the region with this call for help, e.g. white cells to kill bacteria that enter the wound, or fibroblasts, which are the cells in skin that make collagen and elastin. In theory, the more molecules there are to call for help, the more fibroblasts, the more collagen. So how could this not be a good thing? This brings us to quality versus quantity. The fibroblasts called to an area of crisis are called myofibroblasts, and they are designed for quantity to fill a hole. As a result, the collagen fibres are formed parallel to each other, which is known as scar collagen. Normal skin has these fibres woven together like a basket to give ideal strength and flexibility.
Instead of focusing on the message system that platelets provide, there is more benefit to focusing on what the various skin cells need to support "optimum" repair and function. Although Vitamins A and C have been around forever, they play an essential role in cell physiology. There are several ingredients to consider in this phase of treatment, besides vitamins, but the scope of that discussion is immense and cannot be covered here.
In summary, platelets therapy promotes scar collagen, whereas vitamin therapy combined with needling produces normal collagen, and therefore skin that will function optimally over time.
WA: How then, is needling different to platelet therapy, after all, the process releases these same molecules from platelets with injury during treatment?
DLS: Platelets contain molecules that are predominantly inflammatory. This is where the balance of nature comes in. Needling stimulates other cells to release chemicals that are anti-inflammatory, and the molecule most credited with this action is TGF-B3. It is thought to be the off-switch for the alarm that allows the white cells to go home when the coast is clear (once the hole is closed and there is no longer chance of bad bacteria getting in). TGF-B3 is associated with normal basket weave collagen production which is found in normal skin.
WA: What are the benefits of needling vs. lasers.
DLS: Laser and other heat inducing treatments cause an injury in skin via increased heat. Temperatures above 43 degrees Celsius produce heat shock protein 47 that is associated with an increase in collagen production. Temperatures greater than 45 degrees lead to shrinkage and denaturing of collagen which gives a tightening effect, as well as collagen production due to the inflammatory response. So isn't this everyone's dream in the anti-aging department? The unanswered question is what will the skin look like, and will it function optimally in (5-10)15-20 years from now? With needling, this anti-inflammatory response is averted, thanks to TGF-B3. The other "plus" with needling is that any protein molecules needed for repair are not damaged in the heating process, as is the case with the other treatments mentioned above. Finally, darker skin absorbs more heat, just as a black car compared to a white one. This heat damages, or excites, the cells that make pigment, or worse still, results in a burn and possible scarring. Thus, needling is safe to use in all skin types if no other influencing factors are present. To keep things in perspective, laser may still be needed to treat blood vessels and brown spots, but then the negatives can be countered by doing a needling treatment 2 weeks later.
WA: How does needling improve scars?
DLS: Needling improves scars in three ways. Firstly, it physically breaks down scar tissue. Secondly, enzymes are triggered that dissolve or remodel the scar. Thirdly, microneedling triggers new collagen growth to fill things in.
WA: What should a patient expect post treatment?
DLS: Patients typically look as though they have severe sunburn after treatment, and they will feel flushed and hot in the region treated. LED immediately after microneedling helps reduce the redness and calms the inflammation. Occasionally, mild bruising and swelling may occur. The skin feels tight for about 3 days. Flaking is the major feature for about five days and this is easily hidden with the correct products for adequate moisturizing. Makeup also allows return to normal life in a day or two.
I hope you enjoyed!
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- The Wandering Aesthetic
Montreal is known as a city that honors and preserves the best of the its past and embraces the all that the present and future have to offer.
I was so excited to visit Montreal for the first time! Throughout my career I had heard that Montreal was full of beautiful food, architecture and people. Although I have traveled extensively throughout my life I had never thought to make a visit to our neighbors in the North. Just across the border I found a blend of old world charm aligned gracefully with cutting edge beauty treatments. It was exactly what this wandering aesthetic was hoping for.
The beauty industry in Montreal is praised for it’s conservative natural aesthetic, using state of the art techniques.
My favorite “Skin Saver” in Montreal is Jennifer Brodeur! Jennifer owns Bella Clinique, a recently revamped chic skin clinic which caters to VIP celebrities and politicians. Some fly thousands of miles to be treated by her capable hands.
Jennifer and her husband Charles have created the most effective and advanced light therapy machine, MAX LED. Jennifer travels the world educating her colleagues and clients about the benefits of light therapy and aesthetic oncology.
Jennifer is a well rounded skin care professional who has mastered all aspects of this industry. She has created skin saving technology, opened her own clinic, worked tirelessly to cultivate long lasting relationships with her clientele and recently found the ‘extra time’ to develop the JB skin care line, which recently launched to rave reviews!
While researching the benefits of adding light therapy to my own practice, it became very clear to me MAX was the only choice. Minutes into my first conversation with Jennifer, I knew we were going to become skin sisters! I was immediately inspired by Jennifer’s depth of knowledge regarding all areas of ‘skin saving’, partially stemming from her chemistry background. She radiates passion for changing the lives and experiences of her clients through her work. Jennifer’s focus on proactive skin health and maintenance in order to reveal her client’s beauty potential was so refreshing!
On my way to Bella Clinique, I embraced all the beauty that Montreal had to offer. My experience in Montreal was not that it was a harsh contrast to Los Angeles (my headquarters) but a gentle reminder that tradition does not mean outdated, that natural does not mean plain and that a taste of Europe does not require one to cross an ocean. Montreal courted me with a sweet understated romance and within minutes I knew this was a town I would long to return to. Around each corner I found quaint coffee shops, bike riding, friendly people, impeccable streets and the ability to integrate nature and agriculture into the urban environment.
Bella Clinique is on the second floor of a discreet urban walk up located in the heart of hip Griffintown. As I opened the door I entered another world! Bella Clinique is a sleek and chic hideaway where skin saving and life changing happens. Jazz, Jen’s client coordinator welcomed me warmly. She’s a beautiful, unique, and intelligent woman that keeps the clinic (and Jennifer) running smoothly. I immediately ask her which piece from the new line is her favorite. Without missing a beat she smiles and replies “It’s the Serum Hyaluronique. My skin drinks it in!”
Jennifer invites me into her room to meet her client. She’s an International businesswoman who will be in Los Angeles next month and wants to ensure that I can give her a MAX treatment at my clinic in Beverly Hills. This client has experienced the benefits of consistent MAX usage here at Bella Clinique and the results have turned her into (in her enthusiastic words), a “MAX addict”!
Click here for more info on MAX.
After completing her session with the client, Jennifer takes me out to Le Local. in Montreal. Le Local is an urban concept in the heart of traditional Montreal, and only deepens my new found infatuation with Montreal. After some light catching up, we discuss business.
Wandering Aesthetic: What was your inspiration to launch your own skin care line
Jennifer Brodeur: It has been a long time coming. In 2003 we launched Max, I have always been an ingredients girl. I refer to myself as a skin nerd.
The deal was after max the products would come. It just took a lot longer.
My inspiration came from profound desire to have clean and simple products at reasonable prices with RESULTS!
WA: What is the most common mistake people make when creating their home skin care routine?
JB: Trying everything as once! Throwing everything at your skin, event he kitchen sink isn’t the way to go. Also most clients are influenced by glossy magazines, TV shows you name it.
It important for me to make them comprehend all products are GOOD, however not good for everyone.
WA: You travel extensively for your work. What are some exciting trends you see happening in skin health?
JB: I am starting to see the less is more phenomenon. Which I am very happy about.
WA: How did your aesthetic oncology course come about?
JB: It was started by someone I am privileged to call a friend, Morag Currin. Strongly felt I had to dome share!
We have recently taken over the french side of things. Proud and honored to say we launched the first french class in April with 18 graduates.
WA: Your daughter is thinking of getting into the business. What advice do you have for her or any other skin practitioner just starting out?
JB: I have 3 brilliant daughters, my eldest and youngest both want to enter this incredible field. I just want them to be happy.
I feel my eldest will end up working in some way shape of from in the business but more from a marketing or sales perspective. I am urging her to continue her studies for a higher education in business.
My youngest Erika Rae has had aesthetics in her blood since birth. I see her in the future working at Bella and taking over at some point. The best advice I can give them or anyone else:
BE PASSIONATE about skin. Being a skinsaver is a full time job, if you are not passionate its hard. Passion enables us to strive without feeling as if we are working.
Continued education is KEY. This industry evolves and changes rapidly, important to stay up to date and miles ahead of the trends.
We call it a night and get our beauty sleep before we spend the next day saving skin ;)
Montreal is such a special place where I plan on Wandering to on a regular basis.
xx
- The Wandering Aesthetic