LENA BLOG

If you don’t already have some cellulite, consider yourself lucky (or young). If you are a woman approaching your 40s who doesn’t have cellulite, you soon will. If you are one in a million, you might not, but most of us ladies (and some men, too) will see the ugly monster present itself at some point in our lives. Although men do develop cellulite on certain parts of their bodies, I think it is predominately a woman’s issue. My feeling about this “malady” is really no different than how I feel about wrinkles and the aging process in general. Cellulite isn’t the end of the world, it is just your body going through the motions of aging and storing fat. It’s doubtful you can get rid of cellulite completely, even with expensive procedures; in time the cellulite will most likely return. I doubt my point of view will make you feel any better, but it is an attitude that I have decided to adopt, knowing there isn’t a lot I can do about cellulite. Honestly, I just don’t let it b...

Yes, even dogs can get folliculitis. Folliculitis is a persistent infection caused by either bacteria or possibly a fungus within the hair follicle. It occurs due to shaving , long-term irritation , or even restrictive or tight clothing . Folliculitis should not be confused with pseudofolliculitis barbae , otherwise known as ingrown hair . This happens due to hair curling back down into the follicle wall instead of coming up out onto the skin’s surface, which is the reason pseudofolliculitis barbae tends to occur more often with African-American males or any men with curly hair. Believe it or not, there is a condition called hot tub folliculitis or pseudomonas folliculitis . Like standard folliculitis, it is a bacterial infection within the hair follicle, but as the name implies, it is contracted by sitting in a hot tub! Usually the infection is located where the water meets the skin; around the neck, upper arms, and upper back areas. I actually know several client...

Seborrheic keratoses, sometimes called seborrheic warts or even barnacles (I’ve heard a few dermatologists use this term) are simply skin growths that show up due to age or sometimes for no reason at all. They come in the form of darkened skin , occasionally flesh-colored or brown or black , that resemble small, raised moles or are flat like a wart. They can also feel scaly , although not always. I have several of these “barnacles,” mostly concentrated around my lower jawline and one above my eyebrow. They all have a scaly texture, and because of this I went to have them checked out by my dermatologist. I just didn’t know if they could be trouble (cancerous) in the future, and I wanted to find out for sure. They turned out to be seborrheic keratoses. Seborrheic keratoses are noncancerous skin growths. In other words, they aren’t a problem, they just aren’t very attractive. They can be burned off at your dermatologist, or liquid nitrogen might be used. But please know, ...

I have this red, rashy breakout around my mouth, but it’s only on one side. What is causing this? Believe it or not, I see this quite often. Whenever there is breakout on one side of the face, it’s time to ask yourself a few questions. First, do you talk on the phone a lot? If so, on which side of your face do you hold the phone? And further, do you let the phone rest on your face? Telephones get dirty quickly. Even if you are the only person using a particular phone (a land line, for instance), oil and debris collect on the receiver, and especially if you rest the phone on your face, this will easily get transferred to your skin. Sometimes the oil will cause breakouts, and sometimes constant handling of the phone can cause contact dermatitis , a skin inflammation that is caused by contact with offending materials. If your “rash” is indeed dermatitis and not a true breakout (congested oil that has become infected), I will be posting an article specifically for h...

Chemotherapy is hard on the entire body, not just your skin. If you are currently undergoing chemo, you are undoubtedly experiencing severely dried-out, dehydrated skin among other things. Your face may look hard and dry , and the skin may be flaking . The two most important things to do for your skin while on chemotherapy are moisturizing and exfoliating . Exfoliating will help to rid your skin of a lot of the dry, flaky cells while helping your moisturizer do its job. Because the chemicals being introduced into your body may make your skin very sensitive, finding an exfoliation process or product that works without irritating your skin may be a challenge. Usually abrasive scrubs will be too harsh and cause redness. You can try a scrub meant for very sensitive skin and see if your face will tolerate it.   Gommage, one of my favorite Yonka products, is a non-abrasive gel that does a great job of exfoliating. There are also enzyme peels that can rid dead cell buildu...

When clients come in who admit to eating sugar but have no outward signs of excess sugar consumption (like breakouts, for instance), I will not only ask if they get frequent headaches, which many times is a side effect of excess sugar, but also do they get canker sores inside their mouth or on their tongue? Your body simply cannot throw off sugar into thin air. The toxic residue from this “white devil” has to be eliminated somehow, some way, somewhere. I believe these inner-mouth sores (sometimes called ulcers or technically aphthous ulcers ) are actually similar to blemishes—like a zit inside your mouth. Why? Once again, from my own life experience, these sores arise in relation to the amount of sugar I have consumed. I am not saying that every canker sore’s appearance is due to sugar. I am simply trying to give you my own personal experience with these problem spots and why I have discovered they occur. You may find other offenders and have a different experience than I ha...