Summer is here! As if the warming weather and the surge of visitors to our Hawaii home wasn’t enough of an indicator that summer has arrived, the grocery store check out lines are full of magazines touting diets that will make you look great in a bathing suit – in only 2 weeks, no less! They don’t seem to realize that it’s not always a few extra pounds causing discomfort in a bathing suit or backless dress or, for the guys, with shirts off. Body acne can be just as much of a bathing suit deterrent during the summer months as the stubborn 5 pounds we try to lose in April and May.
Body acne or “bacne” does not discriminate by age, gender or hygiene habits and can be more difficult to treat than facial acne simply because it is harder to reach. If you have a roommate or family member who can help you treat it each evening until it disappears, that is great! If not, read on for some tips to treat this difficult area.
- Exfoliate. This is key for every inch of our skin. Dead skin cells tend to build up in areas that we don’t exfoliate. A great shower tool is a long exfoliating towel / cloth you can find at health food stores and most drug stores; loofahs and many back scrubbers harbor bacteria and should be avoided. Dry the exfoliating cloth on a towel bar every time you shower so bacteria do not have a moist place to grow. You can also throw this in the washer or soak it in hydrogen peroxide to kill any bacteria.
- Cleanse. Wash your back with an anti-bacterial or acne cleanser formulated for the face. Avoid regular soap and products that strip moisture from the skin and dry out everything they touch.
- Treat. If you have a family member who can help you, use acne spot treatments on any back breakouts at night after a shower. Make sure to let the spot treatments dry before putting clothes back on.
“Bacne” is stubborn, but it can be treated both at home and with the help of a skin care expert. At Pure Skin by Maggie, we have modified our signature bio peel to help clients see beautiful skin on every inch of their body. This treatment utilizes natural spongilla crystals blended with vitamins and minerals to penetrate the skin, deeply stimulating the body’s innate healing abilities and collagen production. The crystals remain in the epidermal layer up to 48 hours, extending the intense healing process long past the time you are in the spa.
Hard to reach or not, don’t let “bacne” get you down or keep you indoors! Find what works for you & you’ll soon see beautiful skin everywhere you look!
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We see clients come into our Honolulu facial every day that have lost confidence because of skin damage or conditions that they believe cannot be corrected. Our job is to find the solution to their particular needs, help their skin to heal (beyond what our client’s expect!) and bring out their natural beauty. Beauty isn’t just about perfect skin or looking young forever, it is also about the confidence to face the world with a spring in your step because you look and feel your best!
Our bodies have an incredible ability to remodel and heal from both major and minor wounds. Utilizing these natural responses helps us to promote the results that our clients want to see – whether their concern is the visible signs of aging, large pores, acne scarring, surgical or burn scarring, stretch marks, or other damage that has occurred over time.
We are excited to announce a new treatment at Pure Skin by Maggie, our all new Skin Remodeling Treatment. Harnessing the body’s natural responses, this treatment is gentler than a laser with fewer side effects, and produces dramatic results in the surface of skin. Using a controlled, precision micro needling technique, this treatment allows all three phases of natural collagen induction to occur effortlessly. Depending on the condition you want to treat, best results can be seen with one treatment for large pores or six or more treatments for scarring. Without using heat, chemicals or the trauma of a laser treatment, your skin can be smoother & the fresh first impression that you want to show to the world.
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If you are at all interested in natural or alternative health – whether internal or external – you have probably noticed products that specifically say “sulfate free”. Are you wondering what sulfates are and what’s the big deal about avoiding them? At Pure Skin by Maggie, we are committed to not only providing you the best and most pure products and services available but also knowing WHY we avoid certain ingredients. It’s not just what is in the products we use on our skin, but what is not in the products we use that determines their impact.
Basically, we use the word ‘sulfates’ to refer to a group of detergents (or surfactants if you want to use a fancy term) that are used in innumerable products we use on a daily basis. Dish soaps, hand soaps, shampoos, body wash, face wash, toothpaste. Most of the cleaning products we are surrounded by have sulfates like sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate.
What do they do? Sulfates produce the lather that we have come to expect in products intended to clean. Originally, these cleaning agents were only included in industrial strength cleaning products because of their corrosiveness and strength. But as we became used to high lather and expected that, sulfates were added to more and more of our everyday products until we all associated the lather with clean. Kind of scary, huh? From industrial strength cleaning to your skin… They are cheap and give consumers what they expect…right? The fact that they are harsh and strip hair, skin and mouth of invaluable moisture and natural protective barriers doesn’t really come into play for many companies.
We’re not going to get into the toxic by-products produced by sulfates (but just so you know, they are there). Instead, let’s take a look at the effects on our body.
Hair: Sulfate molecules are smaller than the hair molecules, leading to more porous strands, but without the necessary moisture. The sulfates rough up the cuticle of the hair, causing dull, dry, damaged hair and eventually leading to breakage, frizz, unmanageable hair, and they’ve even been linked to hair loss.
Mouth: Toothpastes containing sulfates have been linked to canker sores and lesions. Sulfates eat away at the outer layers of protective skin cells and irritate the tissues.
Skin: Our skin’s natural moisture balance relies on a casing of protective lipids (fats). When sulfates strip this away, the balance is disrupted and skin becomes unnecessarily dry. “Squeaky clean” skin or hair has actually been stripped of its natural moisture.
Basically, sulfates are the cheapest way to get lather. But are they necessary for us to be clean? By no means! The superfluous use of sulfates did not even begin until the 1930’s. What did we do before that? We used natural astringents that cleanse without stripping necessary moisture or protective barriers that are necessary to moisture balance. And these gentle astringents still provide the foaming that we associate with cleanliness.
The next time you go shopping for shampoo, body wash, facial cleanser, or other products, take a look at the ingredients. Skip the high-lather, cheap fillers and look for products by companies that are ethical and committed to giving you quality products. Try them – but don’t be surprised if your hair is healthier, shinier, your skin glows and feels vibrant, and your mouth feels fresher and cleaner.
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We meet a lot of men at Pure Skin by Maggie who are a little put off by the idea of getting a facial. It has become more popular in the metropolitan areas of the mainland, but many men are still a little hesitant to try it out.
Sorry to break it to you, fellas, but skin is skin, whether it’s on a guy or a girl, and it all needs to be taken care of. In some ways, your skin gets more abuse than women just with daily shaving. No matter how good the razor, those blades are not nice to your skin. Add in the fact that most of you don’t have a daily skin care routine other than washing your face in the shower – and admit it, you’re probably using the same shower gel or soap that you use on the rest of your body – and rarely use lotion.
We’re not trying to attack what you see as a perfectly normal skin care regime; we get it. Time is short, you like a simple routine, and don’t see the point. But what if we could show you a good reason to at least take the time every so often to treat yourself to a facial? (Not that we don’t also want to encourage you to start using a gentler cleanser and some moisturizer every day…but, one step at a time!)
First, as we mentioned before, shaving is pretty rough on your skin. Aftershave only serves 2 purposes – as an antiseptic (usually witch hazel) and to clot blood if you cut yourself (typically alum). So, those irritations that are there every day are not really being addressed by standard shaving gear. The right facial directly addresses bumps, treats inflammation, and helps skin heal. Your skin can feel incredibly soothed and look as healthy as the day you first picked up a razor.
Next, impurities. Maybe women focus on these more, but we all have them. With all of the toxins that are in the air and the fact that our skin is designed to remove bad stuff from our body, impurities can just get stuck in the middle…in our skin & pores. Facials go deeper and further than your shower gel for a thorough clean that leaves your face refreshed, but not stripped of its natural moisture.
Last, but not least…ahem, wrinkles. None of us want to get older – if we could keep the skin, body & health we enjoyed in our twenties, we wouldn’t really mind aging. Instead, we focus on aging gracefully while reducing the damage of living as much as possible. Wrinkles may be character lines, but better someone gets to know us than just assume from the quantity of wrinkles on our faces. Regular facials can not only reverse some of the signs of aging but prevent them as well. We love to be outside enjoying the sun here in Hawaii, which requires that we take a little more thought to prevent damage and accelerated aging from the sun.
Have we convinced you yet? Are you re-thinking your “less is more” stance? Take a little time to take care of yourself & reap the rewards later. Choose a reputable spa and talk to your esthetician before your treatment to find out exactly what is involved. Pure Skin by Maggie is a boutique spa in the Ward area of Honolulu, and the experience is a bit different than a salon full of women. Come check us out & discover a new way to relax & unwind!
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