Beauty basics 1

The following articles are designed to help you get on the road to beautiful skin by covering the basics of skin care.


Face Washing Do's and Don'ts
Beauty consultants might recommend a facial treatment trifecta — cleanse, tone and moisturize — but dermatologists say that comfortable-for-you cleansing is key, and moisturizing may help some skin types.

First and Foremost: The Cleanser Itself
Use a gentle, water-soluble cleanser to avoid irritating the skin — not one that needs to be wiped away with a tissue or washcloth.
Besides the fact that it washes away with water (use tepid, not hot), all you need to know about a cleanser is that it makes your skin feel soft, clean and neither dry nor greasy. Experts' picks for efficient, mild cleansing: Cetaphil, Aveeno, Neutrogena and Eucerin brands.

Second for Some: A Separate Toner
If you feel you need a toner, think about finding a better-for-you cleanser instead.
A toner's role is to remove oily residue and provide a fresh feeling; it does nothing to firm the skin long-term. With today's rinse-off cleansers, you'll rarely need a toner — you might want one, though, if your face has become oily over the course of the day.

Last but Not Least: Should You Use a Moisturizer? Maybe.
For dry-skin sufferers, a moisturizer can soothe and protect — the test is whether your skin feels too tight. There are many effective moisturizers — try one (sample size available?), then listen to your skin. These brands come recommended: by day, Oil of Olay; while you sleep, Estee Lauder.

Additional Products: A Matter of Preference
To exfoliate or not?
Removing dead skin cells can make your skin look less dull, but go easy or you could injure skin that's sensitive. Instructs dermatologist Lisa Donofrio, M.D.: Use a little grapeseed or olive oil, a non-soap cleanser like Burt's Bees or Cetaphil, or a cold cream such as Pond's, and with the rough side of a washcloth make small, gentle circles all over your face.

Can creams turn you into a cover girl? These three ingredients are common in face creams:
Retinoids - For rejuvenation of photo-damaged skin, these members of the vitamin A family (the best-known being Retin-A) are effective — in prescription concentrations, at least — in reducing wrinkles, as well as clearing up acne.
Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) - Also known as fruit acids, these can give the skin a luster by keeping the skin free of dead cells. Over-the-counter preparations don't make as dramatic a difference as the ones used by dermatologists.
Antioxidants - The vitamins A, C and E are said to have the ability to protect and possibly repair the skin by fighting destructive molecules called free radicals.


Looking Good Naturally
On Friday afternoons, Kathlyn Quatrochi walks through her garden in Southern California with a group of women, gathering herbs and talking about the chemical properties that enable the plants to cleanse and heal the skin. Later, inside her cozy inn with its stuffed chairs and mahogany tables, Quatrochi shows her guests how to mix the herbs with ingredients like oats, buttermilk or perhaps whipping cream to make facial treatments.

Sounds appealing. But who has time for a getaway? It's actually closer than you might think. Many of the ingredients for the facials that Quatrochi prepares at her Sage Herb Farm are in your kitchen and possibly your garden. And the treatments, say Quatrochi and other natural skin care experts, are better for you than most of the cleansers and toners that you buy at the drugstore.

Open up the cupboard and look around in the fridge; cast a fresh eye on the herbs that grow in your garden. The right mix of oats, parsley, dried chamomile and hot water makes a nice cleanser. A mixture of sage, peppermint, lemon juice and water is a refreshing toner for oily skin. Quatrochi includes these recipes and more in her book, "The Skin Care Book: Simple Herbal Recipes", published by Interweave Press. Quatrochi, a master herbalist and a doctor of naturopathy, says that natural remedies are much kinder to the skin than synthetic products. Quatrochi started researching natural skin care about 20 years ago, after her younger sister was diagnosed with heavy metal poisoning that was traced to cosmetics she had used.

Fascination with Nature
Growing up, Quatrochi had always been fascinated by the natural remedies created by her mother and grandmother, concoctions that included mustard plasters, potato poultices, oatmeal masks and vinegar hair rinses. Over the last two decades, Quatrochi has developed her own line of natural skin care products and a philosophy that encourages women to take time for themselves. "Women are under a lot of stress," says Quatrochi. "When a woman doesn't take time, time takes the woman."

Aging, the environment, improper diet and stress take a toll on the skin, the largest organ of the body. Glands in the skin produce oil and sweat, which create a film on the surface of the body called the acid mantle. The slightly acidic pH of the mantle supports healthy bacteria and wards off harmful bacteria. Herbs have hydrophilic (water) properties and lipophilic (oil) properties that help the skin to maintain the acid mantle.

A Few Simple Remedies
You'll need a few simple supplies to get started: a few spoons and whisks, a couple of small glass bowls, a small electric food processor or chopper, a few small jars with lids and zip-lock sandwich bags. Quatrochi's book is a great source for recipes. Some of the recipes call for oats, buttermilk, apple cider vinegar and honey. If you're a gardener, you might already have some of the herbs, like lavender, lemon verbena, sage and thyme.

For those looking for a shortcut to natural skin care, Ruth Ann Kondylas sells natural products from plants that she grows on her Everlasting Herb Farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her products are seasonal, depending on what's growing at the time. During the summer, Kondylas sells products like rose water and dill soap at the outdoor FreshFarm Market in Washington D.C.

"There are a lot of things from the garden that you can safely put on you body," says Kondylas. "We live such fast-paced lives. We want everything quick, and often we don't think about what we're using on our bodies." Kondylas, who learned to garden growing up in the Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia, cultivates herbs on about 1½ acres. She says, however, that you don't need a lot of space to grow enough herbs to suit your needs.

"It's amazing what you can do with what you cut from a small planter box," she says. "When I sell my products, I try to introduce what a wonderful thing it is to have a garden. It's just so nice not having to buy everything in the grocery store."


Beauty Starts With Healthy Skin
Maybe it's true for some that age is a case of mind over matter — if you don't mind it doesn't matter, as Jack Benny's well-known quote goes. Easy for Benny to say, if there's any truth to another famous saying, from 19th-century English poet Mortimer Collins: "A man is as old as he's feeling, a woman as old as she looks." If it matters to you to look as youthful as you can, healthy skin's the ticket — skin's the thing that can either give away your age or belie it.

The skin is a cloak that shields our internal organs from the elements — it protects us from bacteria, chemicals and the sun's UV rays — while it regulates our body's heat and signals pain to protect us against injury. Three layers make up the skin — the top layer called the epidermis is where skin cells and pigment are made; the middle layer called the dermis contains the supportive collagen and the elastin that makes the skin snap back into place; and the cushiony bottom layer called the subcutis consists largely of fat cells, along with some blood vessels and nerve and muscle fibers.

Pretty Important Body Part
Beyond the biological, the skin plays a second important role — the body's thin blanket is the wrap we show to the world, causing some to say that healthy skin is where beauty begins.

To keep your skin looking taut and smooth, take steps to help this outermost organ stand the test of time.

Cleansing. Wash your skin the way that feels best — choose the products that feel pleasant and wash the number of times that makes your face feel fresh. (See "Face-Washing Do's and Don'ts.")

Moisturizing - If it ain't dry, don't moisten it. But many skin types get dry and cracked if you skip this step. (See "Face-Washing Do's and Don'ts.")

Sun protection - No two rays about it — for all skin types, and at every age, slathering on an SPF 15 or higher is a have-to habit, to protect against the UV rays that cause wrinkles as well as skin cancer.

Eating — and drinking — right - In general, protein is a plus and carbohydrates can be bad. Water has been described as the elusive fountain of youth. Knowing what to eat — and why to avoid skin-damaging sugar — can restore life to a dull complexion. (See "Diet Dos for Glowing Skin" and "Shun the Sugar for Sweeter-Looking Skin.")