Skin Care Tools That Really Work, According to Pros

This medical-grade silicone device “improves how you clean your skin and helps products penetrate better, giving you more rapid results,” says cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Jason Emer of Jason Emer MD in West Hollywood.

Budget-Friendly Skin-Toning Device

conture device- beauty tools rollout

For patients who are looking for a more affordable anti-aging solution, Dr. Engleman says, “this is a fantastic tool for reducing signs of aging and contouring the face and neck. I see results in a short time span when my patients use it.”

4 Essentials for a Killer Complexion

All of the skincare creams and serums and washes and exfoliants in the world can’t beat the complexion that a healthy diet can give you. But, if you’re not entirely ready to trash your chips and chocolate, start small by incorporating these yummy foods into your diet.

Sunflower Seeds
Keep your skin pimple-free and prevent wrinkles by adding sunflower seeds to your yogurt, salad or basically anything that you want! Sunflower seeds are filled with vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps protect the skin from free radicals while boosting your immune system.

Orange Fruits
With orange fruits like mangoes, peaches and apricots you get so many benefits. Not only are they super delicious and good for your health, but they’re also good for your skin! Orange fruits are filled with beta-carotene, a compound your body uses to make vitamin A. Eating a lot of these orange fruits helps to fight acne and psoriasis.

Green Tea
Green tea has a multitude of benefits for your whole body, including your skin! Green tea is very high in antioxidants, especially one named EGCG, which is proved to reduce redness and keep a healthier complexion.

Luminess Airbrush Makeup

Effortlessly achieve flawless, flattering results and truly radiant skin with our age-defying airbrush cosmetics systems.

 

Simple Ways to Prevent Acne

We’ve talked about how to heal your acne, but now, let us take you through how to prevent it in the first place. Though there are several things you can, and should, do regularly to prevent acne and breakouts, they all boil down to three basic principles: hygiene, health and products. Throughout your skincare routine, be sure to check the labels. You always want products that are hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, and water-based (not oil) when possible. Avoid fragrances and irritants such as citric extracts, menthol and denatured alcohol.


Keep it Clean

  • Wash your face. Dermatologists suggest washing your face in the morning and before bed. While you’ve likely always heard to wash your face with hot water to open your pores, exposing your skin to extremes can cause irritation, excess dryness and blood vessel ruptures. Always wash and rinse your face with lukewarm water. If your skin runs dry, take care to select a cleanser and products that have moisturizer. Contrastingly, if you have oily skin, be sure to avoid overly moisturizing products.
  • Wash your hands. It’s important to avoid touching your face as much as possible, but when you have to do it—such as when washing your face or applying sunscreen or moisturizer—wash your hands first. Dirty hands can transfer bacteria, causing breakouts, irritation and possibly infection.
  • Moisturize. Ensuring your skin is properly hydrated is as important as making sure it’s not oily. Apply moisturizer after every face wash to avoid dryness and irritation. If you have oily skin, choose a gel-based moisturizer, which will provide hydration without overdoing it. If you have dry skin, use a cream-based moisturizer that will, by nature, be heavier and longer-lasting.
  • Exfoliate. You may have read blogs from women who talk about exfoliating as part of their daily ritual (we’ve seen our fair share), but over-exfoliating can irritate your skin, cause excess dryness and make your breakouts worse. You should exfoliate, at most, once a week, to remove dead skin and unclog pores.
  • Take it off. Removing your makeup at the end of the day is one of the most important steps of your skincare regimen. Sleeping in your makeup can clog your pores and worsen your breakouts. Even sleeping in mascara can cause little infections in your eye area. It’s important to wash your face after removing your makeup to remove all traces of makeup.
  • No touchy. As we said earlier, touching your face—with your hands, brushes, sponges or anything that could potentially harbor dirt or bacteria—can cause breakouts and infection. This especially means no popping your pimples, as the dirt from your fingers can get in the open sore and worsen the blemish.
  • Sleep clean. While you sleep, oils transfer from your face to your pillowcase, causing dirt, grime and dead skin to spread night after night and cause acne. Try washing your pillowcases once a week. If that’s not enough, wash it more frequently and switch the side of the pillow you use every night. If you don’t have time to wash it frequently, keep several pillowcases you can alternate.


Diet and Exercise

  • Protect your skin. You know you need to wear some kind of sunscreen daily. Do you do it? Probably not. But did you know wearing daily SPF not only helps protect against skin cancer, but can also prevent acne? Overexposure to the sun can exacerbate acne, redness and irritation.
  • Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. Staying adequately hydrated throughout the day helps your body function better, increases your metabolism and clears up you skin. When you don’t get enough water, your body can build up toxins and excrete them through your skin. Drinking at least eight cups of water each day will help your body flush the toxins the way they’re supposed to. Think of it as a daily detox.
  • Eat healthy. Eating a balanced diet rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, zinc, vitamins and minerals helps prevent acne by keeping your skin healthy and functioning properly.
  • Avoid potential irritants. While modern scientists put much less stock in the idea that chocolate causes acne than scientists of the last century, certain foods can worsen your acne or cause breakouts. Every person is different, though. Try cutting out different potential risk foods—dairy, sugar, legumes, high-glycemic foods and wheat—from your diet to see what does and doesn’t work for your skin. Cut out each food (one at a time) for two weeks for the best analysis.
  • Get the patch. You know smoking and drinking are bad for your health, but they’re also bad for your complexion because the toxins in tobacco and alcohol can act as skin irritants or contribute to the unhealthy toxic excretion that happens when you’re not your healthiest you.
  • Lace up. Stress is a huge contributing factor to your acne. Putting on your sneakers and getting outside, up and moving can relieve stress and help acne. Even better, regular exercise will help your heart, overall health and mortality.
  • Catch your zzz’s. Just like exercise, proper sleep can help your body function better and reduce stress which, in turn, helps prevent acne. Each hour of sleep lost beyond your normal allotment can increase your stress level by up to 15%. Aim to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night (9-10 if you’re younger than 18).

 
Finding the Right Products

  • Benzoyl Peroxide is a common ingredient in acne medication because it kills the bacteria that causes acne. Look for products with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide concentration; less won’t be as effective, and more can irritate the skin. It also removes dead skin to reveal brighter, rejuvenated skin.
  • Salicylic Acid also helps kill acne-causing bacteria. It causes the skin to shed more rapidly and promotes the growth of new skin. Apply small amounts to affected areas after you wash your face at night.
  • Tea Tree Oil is a natural home remedy that acts as an anti-inflammatory, making pimples less noticeable in size and redness. The oil is often concentrated, so be sure to dilute it with water before applying to affected areas with a cotton swab.
  • Airbrush Makeup is one of the best and simplest ways to prevent acne. Using airbrush makeup on a daily basis keeps your skin hygienic (no dirty hands or brushes touch your face), moisturizes your face (it’s water-based and so hydrates your skin), covers current blemishes without being heavy and improves skin texture. Check out these other benefits to airbrushing.

What are your tried-and-true methods to preventing acne?

Airbrush Away Your Acne

It’s no secret that makeup can be bad for your skin. We know makeup can clog our pores, cause infections or even wrinkles, but we still apply it daily. Whether your style is natural or glam, there is a way to make your cosmetics work for your skin.

Airbrush.

Airbrush makeup has the daunting reputation of being a product used only by professionals or for special occasions. We argue that it’s for everyone. With light, water-based formulas ideal for any skin type, and an easy on/off button, an airbrush makeup system is perfect for everyday use, whether you’re young with acne-prone skin, mature with fine lines and wrinkles, or anything in between.

No dirty brushes. Raise your hand if you should be more diligent about cleaning your makeup brushes. Don’t worry. Our hands are raised, too. Most women don’t regularly clean their makeup brushes and sponges, which can transfer bacteria onto your skin, worsening your acne and even causing infections. With airbrush, you simply put a few drops of makeup into your stylus and let air do the work for you. There is no need to touch your face with dirty hands, brushes or sponges; it’s completely hygienic. Bonus: Because you’re never touching your face, you’re also never pulling on your face, so you won’t develop wrinkles from makeup application.

Your skin can breathe. If you have acne or even a minor breakout, chances are you also have a full face of makeup to conceal the blemishes. When you pile on makeup to cover up pimples, though, you’re only making it worse. Most makeups are oil-based and comedogenic (meaning they clog pores), so they block your current blemishes from breathing and healing, and clog your pores, causing more pimples. Airbrush makeups are lightweight and made with water, so they allow your skin to breathe while providing perfect coverage. You can use airbrush eraser, concealer, or just foundation to cover up your acne, and you’ll be left with a flawless finish that lets your skin heal itself.

Get flawless coverage. As mentioned above, you never have to sacrifice perfection for lightweight coverage. With airbrush makeup, you can apply as little or as much foundation as you want. You’ll always look flawless, and your skin will always be able to breathe.

No irritation. Luminess Air airbrush makeup contains no fragrances, citrus extracts, menthol or denatured alcohol, which are the most common skin irritants found in cosmetics. While you should always check your skincare and makeup products for ingredients you may be allergic to, you never have to worry about common irritants from us.

How to Heal Your Acne with 6 Easy Tips

Acne can feel like the seventh circle of hell (and, probably the fifth, too). It’s painful. It’s embarrassing. And it never seems to go away.

Lucky for you, we have six tried-and-true methods to heal your skin for a clearer, more beautiful you.

Drink more. Water, that is. Water is paramount to your skin’s health, as it refreshes and revitalizes your entire body and helps it perform its functions better. Staying properly hydrated helps your body process and clean out toxins. Often, when our kidneys are overloaded with toxins, they’ll expel them through our skin. Drinking plenty of water helps flush them out.Experts recommend drinking half an ounce of water for every pound of your body weight. So, if you weigh 130 pounds, you should be drinking 65 ounces of water every day for adequate hydration.

Take it off. Always, always, always remove your makeup before bed. Sleeping in your makeup once in a while won’t necessarily cause a breakout, but it’s best to consistently be in the practice of taking it off first. Sleeping in your makeup can cause bacterial infections and clogged pores, making your acne worse. Wash your face after removing your makeup to ensure you get all of the concealer and foundation off.

Baby your skin. While acne can be exacerbated by a poor skincare regimen, it’s not caused by dirty skin. People who believe otherwise often end up over-washing their faces, or using harsh chemicals and treatments that only irritate the skin more. As important as it is to wash your face before bed and in the morning, it’s just as important to be gentle in your washing. Over-exfoliating can dry out your skin and cause “microcuts,” through which bacteria can enter and, again, worsen acne. For a gentler exfoliation than grainy scrubs, use a salicylic- or glycolic-acid cleanser. Start using one of these three times a week, alternating with your regular cleanser, and adjust depending on your skin’s reaction. Avoid getting a daily cleanser with fragrance or harsh soap. If you have dry skin, try a cleanser with shea or glycerin. If you have oily skin, try a foaming wash to help your skin feel cleaner.

Toss your brushes. Most women don’t clean their makeup brushes regularly or take any extra precautions to ensure their brushes and sponges are hygienic. They leave them in the bathroom, in the open air, etc. and never clean them. When you apply makeup with dirty hands, brushes or sponges, you’re transferring bacteria to your face which can clog pores and, sometimes, lead to infection. Using an airbrush system to apply your makeup means you never have to touch your face and make your acne worse. Just drop your makeup into the bowl of the stylus, pull the trigger, and let air do the application and blending work.

Check the label. There are many chemicals and factors in the ingredients of your skincare products that can actually irritate your skin more. Check the labels of skincare products for known irritants like essential oils, citrus extracts, menthol, denatured alcohol and, obviously, anything you might be allergic to. These can cause daily irritation that only lengthens the amount of time before your skin can heal and your breakout clear.

Check your makeup. Oftentimes, the relationships we create between acne and makeup is a vicious cycle. We have a little breakout, so we cover it up with oily, pore-clogging (comedogenic) makeup. The makeup makes our breakout worse, so we cover it with more caked-on heavy makeup. And the cycle continues. So, break the cycle. Using a water-based, non-comdedogenic airbrush foundation provides a light (yet acne-concealing) coverage that allows your skin to breathe and, therefore, heal.