LENA BLOG

I have a lovely male client who comes in every month for a facial. First I have to say that the fact he comes in regularly wins brownie points in my book. I’ve said many times that facials are genderless treatments. Similar to haircuts or massages, facials are good for the male of the species—not just the ladies. On his last visit, I was remarking about the improvement I saw in his skin, no doubt partly due to the fact he was no longer using a loofah on his face. Yes, on his initial visit when doing his intake form, I found out he was using a loofah sponge and water to exfoliate his face. I told him I was glad he was no longer using the “Tarzan Method” of exfoliation and it was definitely helping his skin . Sometimes (usually?) men tend to use a more, let ’ s say, practical, bare bones approach to things. Your s kin needs to be sloughed off , so you use a hard, stiff loofah sponge. Why not, it ’ ll get the job done, right? I ’ ll tell you why not: Using a loofah or any...

MAS QUE 103 , a clay-based mask from Yonka-Paris, is a great at-home treatment for breakout as well as for all-around clean, healthy skin. Clay absorbs oil and draws impurities to the surface while calming and reducing inflammation. Clay also stimulates blood circulation, getting oxygen and nutrients to the cells, which makes a clay-based mask good for all skin, no matter what “type.”  Masque 103 is best for normal to oily or problem, acneic skin . This version has a higher concentration of clay making it more detoxifying and clearing. (Masque 105 is better for true-dry and sensitive skin. With a lesser concentration of clay, it is perfect for cleaning out the pores of even the most sensitive skin. Even if you have true-dry (oil-dry) skin, you can always use a good deep cleaning.) All skin types can benefit from the circulatory acceleration that comes from using a clay mask.  Masque 103 can be used in several ways: As a mask , covering the entire face and left o...

What are pore cleansing strips?   Pore cleansing strips are a very well-marketed skin care fad. I wish I had been an investor in these products because I’m quite sure they have made millions. You can find a package of a dozen or so strips for under $10. If only a fraction of the country bought just one box, well, you can do the math. Years ago when these strips first came out, it seemed like every single client was asking me about them. I tried hard to find a store that had them in stock, but couldn’t. Finally when I found some, I immediately went home to see what all the buzz was about. I followed the instructions, and when all was said and done, I was not impressed. You are instructed to wet the pore cleansing strip and place it over your blackheads. (The first strips out on the market were specifically shaped for the nose. Now several companies make them for other parts of the face as well.) After the strip dries on your skin, it is ripped off (like a bandaid— ou...

Dermatitis is an umbrella term describing a general condition of inflammation ( itis ) of the skin ( derma ). If you think you have a form of dermatitis, go see your dermatologist. He or she will be able to prescribe medication (usually topical) that can help get rid of this often annoying skin condition. Let’s look at the different types of dermatitis. I first want to say that all of the photos in this post are very bad cases of each individual dermatitis. Many of you will only have shades of what you see below. I put the worst-case scenarios here so you can see what each skin condition looks like. Minor examples simply wouldn’t exemplify these skin irritations like the bad cases do. My hope is that you never have the type of severe cases shown here! Allergic contact dermatitis. This dermatitis goes by the names contact dermatitis , allergic dermatitis , and allergic contact dermatitis . No matter which name you prefer, the symptoms are the same. Allergic c...

Granted, most people will not be wearing this type of restrictive head gear. I put this photo here to make the point that pressure from gear + sweat can = breakouts. Football helmets , chin straps , and sweatbands are a few possible causes of pressure-induced skin problems. This type of sports gear can inhibit elimination, causing sweat to pile up in certain areas, which can cause irritation and potential breakout. Even continually sleeping on one side of your face can cause a kind of pressure breakout. Keeping any sweat from drying on the skin will help keep irritation and breakout away. Splash rinsing with water is your best bet to get all the sticky, sweaty goo off your face. No matter where you are, you’ll usually have access to water. Know that the longer the sweat stays (and dries) on your skin, the more potential for problems down the road. This is especially true if the drying sweat is an ongoing occurrence, like with sports that you’re involved with on a daily o...

Are you out of time? When you have an infant to take care of, you’re lucky if you can brush your teeth — f orget about your skin! I hear this over and over from new mothers. It seems there just isn’t any time to take care of yourself, your skin included. Perhaps adopting a revised attitude is in order. This attitude is similar to the Zen imagery of being a rock in a stream. You can fight against the water coming down around you, or you can just sit in the stream and enjoy the shower you are experiencing. “Go with the flow” is a more concise way of putting it. The first few months after the birth of your child, you probably won’t have time to do much. If you can brush your teeth, however, you can cleanse your face. When going to brush, take a few extra seconds and grab your cleanser. Put it on your face, brush your teeth, rinse the cleanser off, and you’re practically done. (This is a Cleansing Quick Tip .) After rinsing the cleanser off and drying your face, s...

I’m always amazed when I hear the term anti-aging . It makes aging sound like a bad thing. Yet this term is used every day in conversations and advertisements for products (not just skin care products). You name it—people view aging negatively. A client telephoned and asked me what anti-aging products I thought she should use. I told her the best recommendation I could give her for anti-aging was to step away from the mirror. The phone went silent, and I think I caught her off guard, but I was actually halfway serious. It is only because we see our reflections in the mirror that we know what we look like. The less you look in the mirror, you will see less of your so-called flaws. I promise I don’t say these things to trivialize your thoughts and fears about getting older. I say them in order to give a voice to the other side of the story. We are constantly inundated with anti-aging-this, look-younger-that, and I’m quite sure that will not be changing any t...

Jody came in to see me after reading my book [ Timeless Skin ] and realizing we lived in the same city. She is a 23-year-old with problem/acne skin. When she first walked in, it was obvious she had skin troubles; the whole bottom half of her face was red from blemishes and sensitive, irritated, skin. As I always do, I asked her a series of questions ranging from what her skin care routine consisted of to how much water she drank, what if any vitamins and herbs she might take, and what type of exercise she was committed to. She was aware of sugar in her diet, and in fact Jody said she had just given up putting two teaspoons of sugar in each of the 2-3 cups of coffee she drank daily. That she stopped this daily sugar habit is something to be congratulated. And because is was a recent change, her skin hadn’t had enough time to clear up significantly. What Jody hadn’t given up (yet) was a sugary cereal she was eating every morning for breakfast. At this point, she wasn’t abl...

Please first read Thoughts about Hair Removal Options for some important preliminary information. Epilation is a little known (and highly painful) way of removing hair from the root. I should know, I have used this technique. It is basically a mechanical form of tweezing. A small, hand-held device made of a series of high velocity rotating spring-coiled discs operates like tweezers, trapping the hair and pulling it out entirely. This system can remove even the shortest and thickest hair by the root. Epilady ® is the brand name of the machine I use, but there are several companies that offer this device. If you choose to try this method, the first time you do it you might want to have a cocktail, anything to numb the pain you are about to feel! If you use epilation consistently, it becomes less and less painful, though the very first time is quite uncomfortable. This technique is a great way to remove hair from the root, giving you a smooth, hairless surface f...

This past Saturday I put my beloved dog, Quincy Blu, to sleep. Full disclosure: I started writing this a little bit before I had to let him go. I knew I wouldn ’ t have the wherewithal to form a complete sentence let alone write a little piece to commemorate my sweet pup. For the past few weeks, more like the last several mo nths , he has been struggling with his health. It turns out his kidneys were giving out; I learned this is somewhat of a death sentence. Kidney failure in dogs is much more swift and severe than it is for cats, something I also have experience with. ’ ’ ’ ’ s obituary — several weeks ago when he started on the decline. After the shock of the death sentence diagnosis (kidney failure), I went through deep grief and sadness — and he was still alive! I kept myself from going “there," to the future. It was somewhat absurd, after all he was still here and although not in his usual capacity, still living and breathing and being the sweetest dog ever. ...

Are you suffering from the summer skin doldrums? Do you look in the mirror and see a sallow-skinned face looking back at you? If you need to give your face a new summer sheen, read on and learn some quick and easy tips to put the color back into your cheeks. First things first: exfoliate! This is something I talk to my clients about all year round. Excess dead skin buildup is one of the leading causes of sallow, pale-looking skin. Whisking away some of those dead cells can go a long way to helping you achieve that “healthy glow” we are all looking for. There are several ways to exfoliate. Most common is the use of a facial scrub . These products contain abrasive particles in an emollient creme base and are sold in drug, grocery, and department stores. These abrasive particles help to lift and remove flaky, dead skin as well as increase blood circulation, which contributes to the healthy look of your skin. If you have acne, raised pimples, sensitive or otherwise red or...