LENA BLOG

What do masks do? What types of masks are best for each skin type? Are they worthwhile? What a mask does depends on what kind of mask it is . Hydrating masks help to soften the skin by increasing the amount of moisture on the surface. Cleansing masks generally contain a large percentage of clay(s), which helps to clean out the pores. I am a proponent of clay masks for almost every skin type. Clay is beneficial for oily or problem skin, helping to soothe infections along with loosening debris held in the pores. For a drier skin type, although a hydrating mask would be fine, clay not only gets the skin clean but helps to step up circulation due to clay’s stimulating effects. I tell my clients that if they feel they need to use a hydrating mask, what they really need to do is exfoliate. Feeling dry on the surface is usually more a matter of dehydration than oil-dry skin. See Is Your Skin Truly Dry or Just Thirsty? (link below) to understand the difference between dehydrat...

UPDATE 4/2017:   OK, yet another change in the Y onka line.  Now Serum Vital is called ELIXIR VITAL. Same formulation and price, just (in my  opinion   unnecessary  and less appealing) a name change. I will keep this article as it is — just know  that  the name is the only thing that has changed with this product . Several years ago (2012), Yonka went through a package change as well as  removing parabens from all of th eir products.   O ne of my favorite products,  Mesonium 1 & 2 , also went through a change: they combined the two bottles into one and gav e it a new name:  SERUM VITAL ( now Elixir Vital) . I n the past, I called  Mesonium  “ a facial in a bottle. ”   When I used this product, usually in the  winter  months, I really felt it ma de my skin look as though I had just had a facial  treatment . I am happy to say that after using Serum (Elixir) Vital for a 2-week experimen...

Alternative medicine encompasses everything from homeopathy to herbal therapy, acupuncture to massage. To me, alternative or complementary medicine is anything that keeps my body well and on the road to balanced healing. Not to denigrate modern medicine, but many drugs that are commonplace today can actually cause imbalances and keep us from achieving our highest states of health. This, of course, is not always true (especially in cases where health is severely compromised), but on a day-to-day basis, I reach for the alternatives to the drugs and medicines you would find at the pharmacist or doctor’s office. Alternative medicine, to me, would more accurately be termed original medicine . If you read back in the annals of medical history, herbs, essential oils, and medicines that were completely organic were the norm for centuries. Granted, there were diseases and epidemics that ran rampant and ended lives by the thousands. I certainly wouldn’t want to go to the dentist or ...

Some skin specialists recommend using oil-free products, but others even advise not using moisturizers on enlarged pores to avoid shininess. What are your thoughts on this? Enlarged pores are one thing, clogged pores are another. The question you need to ask yourself is: are your pores just enlarged with no congestion, or are they filled with debris? Debris means anything that may be nestled in the pore, which could be oil and dead skin or environmental debris from the air. Congestion, therefore, is stuff (debris) clogging your pores. There isn’t much you can do about the enlargement that has already occurred. Once the pore is stretched, it can’t shrink down to a smaller size. However, using appropriate moisturizers can help cut down on future enlargement. If you are using a moisturizer, oil-free or not, that is too much for your pores to handle, you could cause enlargement to occur. If your pores are clogged, it will determine what type of moisturizer y...

I'm not a fan of the “dotting” method How to moisturize. When applying moisturizer, you may put dots of cream on different parts of your face and then smooth them in. I propose an alternate way to apply your moisturizer. Although it’s a small change, it can make a big difference. Put a peanut-sized dollop in the palm of one hand, then rub your hands together to emulsify and warm the cream. Smooth the cream over your entire face and neck using both your hands (palms), not just the tips of your fingers. Applying the moisturizer this way increases your chances of getting the cream on all parts of your face evenly. This is important. The connect-the-dot method can cause an uneven application; some areas will have a concentration of moisturizer while others will hardly have any. If your nose tends to get oily during the day, bypass it when applying the cream. Just lightly go over the nose area as you finish smoothing the cream over your face and neck. This should help to...

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...

The following email is from my niece, Nicole. She was 14 when she wrote this, and I think she exemplifies a lot of teenage girls and their quest to learn about skin care. She did have a skin care routine, but didn’t have a lot of guidance as to what to use other than from magazine ads and TV commercials. Here is her email, with her teenage humor intact. So about my skin, it is pretty good. It’s normal and “well.” The only places that I have problems and have to watch are around the creases of my nose and the “middle line” on my chin. My forehead isn’t really a problem, and my skin is all around okay. I wash both morning and night with Oxy Balance ® Deep Penetrating Facial Cleansing Wash that contains 2% salicylic acid. It is a gel cleanser and it works pretty well. I also use a Clearasil ® Stay Clear Zone Control Clear Stick. It also has 2% salicylic acid. Now that I am thinking, the rest of the ingredients (which aren’t on the package) are probably just a...