Rosacea Triggers

Today I got the lovely news that I have Rosacea. This skin disorder typically begins after age 30 and the tell-tell signs are redness on the cheeks, nose, chin or forehead that may come and go. Eventually the redness becomes ruddier and more persistent. In other words you look like a hot mess, and not like the picture! I had a feeling this would be my diagnosis but I was in denial and wanted to stay there. I had been using very aggressive products with a bunch of retinals and AHAs to combat this 'condition' I felt I had, only to find out that I was using the exact opposite of what would be helpful. So today I have been studying up on what causes rosacea and what triggers it. According to the National Rosacea Society, there are 16 million of us being diagnosed. With summer in full swing, (heat and sun being big triggers) I thought I would share what I have learned from my doctor and from the wonderful world wide web!

1. Hot Temperatures. This can be anything from a hot bath, sauna,  exercise, or too much sun. The one thing the dermatologist stressed to me is that I NEED to be wearing my sun screen even if I am not going outside. People with rosacea are very sun sensitive. 
2. Skin Care products that cause stinging or redness. Stay away from drying cleansers, retinols, alpha hydroxy acids, glycolic acids, and the like. Be kind to your skin and use hydrating cleansers and anti-inflamatory cosmetics and moisturizers. 
3. Vitamin D. A new study is being considered now. One study group found that patients with rosacea had an average vitamin D level 25 percent higher than the healthy individuals in the group. Something to consider. I am faithful with my daily D3, but now that it is summer and I am getting more D naturally I think I will back off of it for a bit and see if that helps.
4. Beverages. Alcohol, especially red wine, (excuse me while I sob into my pillow for a bit), beer, bourbon, gin, vodka, or champagne. Hot drinks including, hot cider, hot chocolate, coffee or tea. Ok, my tea is usually luke warm by the time I drink it so I am safe there, but my wine, oh, this could be problematic. Have to work on that one. ;)
5. Foods. Wow! The list of foods that I found really shocked me. Here is the complete list. (Note that not all foods effect all people with rosacea the same way. The recommendation is to keep a food diary and make note when you get flair ups).  Wouldn't you know it, chocolate is on the list along with spicy foods!! OMGosh! Life is not fair! 

Okay, my pity party is over now. I just thought I would share this little tidbit that I learned today. I will be on the look out for more information on the subject. Gratefully, I have found a new skincare line that will be aiding me in my skin's recovery. Lira Clinical, as I mentioned in last week's post ,actually has an anti-inflamitory line which is specifically what my dermatologist suggested.

Let me know if you have had anything that has worked particularly well for you or any of your family members that may have had to deal with this disorder. I would love to hear it. Please share this with a friend or to Facebook or any place your like to share.

Thank you for stopping by my blog.

Have a great week!

Sincerely, 

Michon :)

State of the art skincare!

What else would I rather do than go to a class on skin care on my day off? Not much. Well, maybe... a day at the beach could win out now and again. But honestly I had a fantastic day Monday at the Grand Sierra Resort learning about all the newest, most innovative, natural and cutting edge products on the market as of December 2012! Yes! Brand new and nothing else in skin care like it anywhere! I would like to highlight just a few of the magnificent ingredients that will now, be the only things I will be putting on my face.

• Mastiha is an ancient arabic gum that is antibacterial, anti-fungal and contains antioxidants. It is not hard to imagine why having such an amazing product in your skin care line would be beneficial. 
• Collodial Gold and Silver are minerals that are highly beneficial to the skin. They stabilize the collagen, stimulates the glands, are anti-bacteral, kill viruses and speed up healing. 
• Copper is a mineral that strengthens the blood circulation, improves elasticity and is also anti-microbibial. 
• Teprenone is an anti-aging ingredient that it designed to keep your telomeres from shortening. Telomeres are the end of the strands of DNA for your skin. (imagine that little plastic end of your shoelace that protects them from fraying). Those are what telomeres are to your skin. 
• Plant Stem cells are primary cells from which life is born. Stem cells have the capacity of self-renewal and producing identical cells.
• Progeline and Cyclopeptide-5 are the newest peptides on the market. These peptides communicate directly with the cell and slow the aging down by reducing the toxic protein Progerin. 

If you are a person that enjoys using quality products on your skin and you enjoy products you can't get at Walmart you need to look into this line. The price point is very comparable to anything you will get at the high end stores but the ingredients are far superior and clinically prescriptive. So at the end of the day I have to say that I feel incredibly lucky. Lira Clinical has some amazing products that I am taking back to the studio with confidence that I am doing the absolute best thing I can with the technology available at the this time for my clients skin. 

If you have any questions or would like to hear more about this amazing new skin care line please just drop me a line and I will hook you up with free samples. 

The product will sell itself to you! It is amazing!
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Sincerely,
Michon :)

Remembering Dad is Beautiful Thing

We all know the saying, "Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Daddy."
Daddy's are special. And fathers are, without a doubt, the hardest working members of the family. At least that is how it is at my house. Not only does mine work 40+hours a week, but on the weekends he is also our gardener, mechanic, plumber, electrician, handyman and the escort, for whichever female is most in need of male attention... (with 3 daughters and my mother living with us, my poor husband is drowning in estrogen). So we tend to spoil Daddy a bit around here. Dads are not only hard working but also equally hard to buy for. So I came up with a few ideas for you, from cheap as can be, to a little more expensive but not over the top. Starting with the more expensive possibilities...

• Soaring NV~ We did this a few years back and totally surprised him! We bought him a glider ride over Tahoe. A glider, or sailplane, is a type of aircraft that does not have an engine. Usually an airplane tows the glider aloft, to pull it into the air. At the desired altitude, the glider pilot releases the towline, and begins to glide. Hence the name "Soaring NV"! He had an amazing ride and was ready to do it again immediately!  Gift certificates are available online and they are a super nice local company, located in Minden. This is a gift sure to keep him on cloud 9 for a while! 
• V& T Railroad or the Nevada State Railroad Museum are both great options that many folks in the area forget about. We loved our trip to Virginia City last year on the V&T line. Plan on having lunch up in VC and plan on bringing an umbrella and extra water. It gets hot. But climbing the hill from Carson to Virginia City feels so nostalgic in that steam locomotive that your "historian dads" are going to feel like they have gone back in time. This is a super fun trip for the whole family if your man is into trains and times of old. 
• Truckee River rafting is a great way for you to pull your dad away from the chores of the weekend and the heat of the day. Have him floating down the river to cool off, with the cares of the world behind him! Make sure you wear cloths and shoes that can get wet when going on this trip. Double, Ziplock all your phones/cameras in baggies if you must have them with you and trust mom to guard them, (she will likely, and mysteriously be the least wet person in the raft). This weekend will be crowded so jump online today if you want to book this! 
• Dash for Dads if your dad's idea of a fun day includes a healthy run, this is the event for you! This is a 5K Walk/Run for Adults and Kids to raise awareness for Prostate Cancer.  This run/walk encourages healthy living for all ages with a special focus on the special men in our lives.  Dash for Dads will be held at the Sparks Marina. Registration is from 7am - 8:30 am. Race starts at 9. Check the link in the title for more details. 
• Massage is the ultimate in relaxation! If your man is one that works hard and plays hard this is a very reasonably priced option for you! Peggy at Image Artistic only charges $40 an hour and she is amazing! Nothing tells you, you are loved, like being massaged from head to toe. Gift certificates are available at the salon Tuesday through Friday. Drop in and get him some relaxation time he can't refuse! 
• Pinterest page for Father's Day!  Okay, I have to admit! Of all the things listed above there are a TON of things on this page that I plan on incorporating into my man's day! From simple to more complex, you need to check out this page! Fun stuff resides!! 
• Do some chores for him. This is my least favorite option but sadly IT IS the one we are all doing this year for him. We have 3 acres of weeds that need tending to and he is only one man, and we of course are super girls so we are going to band together to help make his life a little easier. It is  the cheapest one, but honestly it is also the one that he will value the most. He knows we hate it, so it must mean that we really love him.

Those are my best tips for last minute Father's Day gifts here in the Reno area! I hope you enjoyed them and found them helpful in some way. I would love to hear what you are doing to treat your Daddy-O to some goodness this weekend. Leave me a comment below. Share this post with your friends that are at a loss! ;)

Thanks for stopping by! 

See you next week, 

Michon :)

Summer Hair

I think with the 96 degrees being predicted this coming weekend it is safe to say summer is here at last! Yeah! I love to get out and walk and run a bit in the warmer weather. I did my first 5K in years last weekend, the Run or Dye 5K. Maybe you saw all the crazy looking, dyed people running around town last Saturday? (“Color stations” are placed on the route and volunteers were there throwing dyed cornstarch at us).

 Anyhow while running it I was watching these women with that ever so popular “white” platinum blonde hair and thinking “OMG! This is not going to end well!” Well, sure enough, I had stained armpits still and some red looking stain left on my hair after my first shower. My hair is not platinum so by the second shower the red is gone from my hair. (Not the pits though! I may be wearing long sleeves to work all week). Anyhow this whole thing got me thinking about all the fun things we do in the summer and the havoc it can wreak on your expensive hair color. Here are my best tips on protecting your tresses while enjoying your summer.

• Running/walking is one of the most popular sports this time of year. The thing to think about when doing any sports is the constant tension you are putting on your hair when it is in a ponytail all the time. Make sure you are using cloth bands and not rubber, and be sure to not to wrap them too tight. When hair gets wet it swells and can cause breakage if you are putting rubber bands or wrapping the cloth ones too tight. Try an occasional braid to give that same hair a chance to recover now and again. 
• Sun and surf are very damaging to your hair. If you are highlighted, be sure to use a leave-in filler in your hair to protect it from further damage, my favorite on is Pureology’s here. If you are sporting red or any rich brown colors you want to be sure that your leave in protection has sunscreen in it. These products will save your hair from getting over-processed or washed out with all the UV rays it will be soaking up. This one is brand new on the market and amazing!
• Swimming in chlorinated pools is death to your hair if you don’t take special measures so protect it! First thing you need to do is get your hair saturated before jumping in the pool. Even better, if after wetting you add a conditioner for increased barrier and then a cap. If a cap is not practical at least wet it well, cover with conditioner and braid it to protect it. Also do not over use swimmer’s shampoo. This type of shampoo is very high on the pH and is designed to “strip” your hair of chlorine, which in turn, of course will strip your hair of color as well. So use weekly at the most.
• Camping is a great summer activity that our family loves. Remember going with your family as a kid and your mom always had a bandana on her head? Bandana’s are great for protecting your hair from the camp fire smell saturating it too much and also from the those pesky no-see-ums that show up at night and bite at your scalp. Spray bug spray on the bandana instead of directly on your hair to protect your hair and scalp from the direct assault of deet. Bandanas are very retro and back in style baby! ;)

I know there are many more sports that I am missing here but the issues with cycling, hiking, golfing and boating will all be a repeat of what I have said above. You get the gist right? 

Oh, and Color Me Rad is coming up in September so if you missed the fun Run or Dye 5K you might want to jump in on this one. I would suggest platinum girls wear a baseball cap and I did actually see one woman run by me with her hair in a plastic processing cap under her baseball cap to protect every last inch of her beautiful blonde! Here is the short list of marathons/running opportunities around the Reno/Tahoe area this summer. Whatever you do for enjoyment this time of year make the most of it! It is a short 3/4 months before we may see snow again! 

If you have suggestions for how you protect your hair during your summer play leave us a comment below. And please be sure to forward this or email it to any of your friends that you think would enjoy this article. Have a great week! 

Michon :)