Beauty at its Best in sickness and in health:

As you may know, Lindi Skin is the first full line of skincare products designed to ease the burden of skin related side-effects from cancer treatments and by those who want the best in skincare. Those going through chemotherapy and radiation are still aware of putting their best face forward. Feeling good and looking good is universal.

The press release below refers to an article published in Supportive Care in Cancer, which reports the results of a study made possible by Lindi Skin and Cancer Care. The survey breaks new ground in understanding not only the physical but also the psychological impact of these side effects.

Please be sure to read this article and go to www.lindiskin.com to see the complete line.

SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER UNVEILS A LANDMARK STUDY REPORTING PATIENTS’ UNANTICIPATED SKIN TOXICITIES FROM ANTICANCER THERAPIES

NEW YORK & PHILADELPHIA (January 6, 2010) – In a first-ever initiative, renowned health-care providers identify and describe how cancer treatment-related toxicities have a negative effect on quality of life from the perspective of patients and survivors. The findings of this study, made possible by CancerCare and Lindi Skin, are now available exclusively from the medical journal, Supportive Care in Cancer, at http://www.springerlink.com/content/9n31658g173g1277/.

“The impact of dermatologic toxicities was found to be unanticipated prior to cancer treatments, to a greater degree than gastrointestinal and constitutional side effects” stated Dr. Mario Lacouture, Associate Attending Physician, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. “Since these events have a negative effect on survivors’ lives, pretreatment counseling and effective interventions are vital in order to maximize quality of life and minimize unnecessary treatment interruptions or discontinuations.”

This landmark skincare study was pursued by medical leaders and centers including: Mona Gandhi, Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine; Karen Oishi, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; Beth Zubal, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; and Dr, Mario E. Lacouture SERIES Clinic, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, now at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Advances in cancer treatments have greatly improved survival rates for many diagnoses. Yet, the lingering side effects of many cancer treatments have only recently begun to be addressed,” said Rosalie Canosa, Program Division Director, CancerCare. “This survey breaks new ground in understanding not only the physical but also the psychological impact of these side effects from the patient’s perspective, and what can be done to help alleviate them.”

The results of this breakthrough study released by Supportive Care in Cancer articulate that cancer survivors reported an increased concern regarding dermatologic toxicities, including irritated and dry skin, after receiving their cancer treatment. These events had a negative effect on their lives.

CancerCare is a national nonprofit organization that provides free, professional support services to anyone affected by cancer: people with cancer, caregivers, children, loved ones, and the bereaved. CancerCare programs—including counseling and support groups, education, financial assistance and practical help—are provided by professional oncology social workers and are completely free of charge. Founded in 1944, CancerCare provided individual help to more than 100,000 people last year, in addition to the more than 1 million unique visitors to its websites. Find out more about CancerCare by calling 1-800-813-HOPE (4673) or at www.cancercare.org.

Remedies for Porous Hair

My hair has really been dealt a damaging blow after I unwittingly colored the base color myself, and then only days later went and got it highlighted. I think the stylist also over highlighted my hair and let it develop to too light a color as well, but at any rate, my hair isn’t looking too good these days. In fact, it’s looking downright porous and fried on most days when I blow it dry. Especially on my wash days.

I have to use a ton of hair product just to cover up the damage, so that’s when I started doing some internet searches on good remedies for extremely porous, dried out hair.  I came up with some really good natural ones actually that I hadn’t heard of before to help treat this condition. I already have a million conditioners in my collection, but what I need was an intense treatment or remedy directed at porosity, which was my problem.

So I found a few that I’ll share with you today. Obviously, the first one is to use an extremely emollient, thick conditioner. Try using a conditioner that is “deep conditioning” or is for damaged or dry hair specifically. This helps to fill in he porosity and make your hair “whole” again.

Porous hair also responds horribly to moisture in the air (humidity).  Because it is so porous and “holy”, it soaks up moisture, and expands rapidly, making your hair look big and frizzy – not a good combo.

Ok, here goes the remedies I found for porous hair then. The first one is apple cider vinegar, or ACV.  If you spritz this in your hair as a rinse, and can stand the bitter smell (beware not to get it in your eyes), then you will notice a difference in the shine and reduced porosity in your hair.  It’s got a great natural acid in it that helps seal and coat the hair shaft to reduce porosity. It’s cheap, and it’s all natural.

Another natural remedy for porous hair is coconut oil. I know, you’re afraid it might weigh your hair down, right?  Just use it sparingly, or use it as a night treatment and then be sure to rinse it out in the morning if you like.  Coconut oil is a great beauty remedy to have around for a plethora of other problems as well. Some even use it as a natural sunscreen and moisturizer for their skin.  If you don’t like oil, you can try cocoa butter, just be sure to get the real stuff.

In addition to an apple cider vinegar rinse, you can also try a beer rinse.  The hops and natural acids in the beer do the same thing as apple cider vinegar, they help to nourish and coat and protect the hair.

It’s called Glossblossom by Mark, and it is supposed to do something pretty cool, although of course there were some mixed reviews on what it does, although I must say a fairly impressive amount of the reviews were positive.  It is supposed to go on clear, then “blossom” on your lips and create the perfect pink shade for your complexion. Some of the lip plumpers on the market do that, they go on clear and make your lips turn a deeper color, but it is because they make them fill with blood and plump up, and they also irritate the top layer, making them appear red for a while.

Well, first of all, I’m skeptical that a product can know what your complexion is and therefore become just the right shade of pink to match your skin tone, and second of all, I thought it must be some sort of plumper formula, maybe with cinnamon or some other irritant, which is usually drying, to be able to “gradually” make the lips a stained color.

A lot of reviews on Glossblossom said that it turned their lips a perfect shade of pink, but there were a few women who said they were naturally very pale and that Glossblossom actually made their lips too dark of a pink color and looked bad with their skin tone. The majority of women though liked the pink color that it turned their skin, so that wa s good sign. I did read several reviews of Glossblossom that cautioned users to put on a good moisturizer or extra lip gloss with the product because it did dry their lips out fairly quickly.

The problem with most lip stains seems to be that because they absorb so completely into the lips due to their thin, liquid nature, they tend to dry out the lips as well. There is not a great formula yet that can make the lips a deeper but natural looking color, but also not make them appear dried out and even chapped after you apply it.  If anyone has tried a great lip stain or lip tint – one that also plumps the lips would be great- that gave them naturally pretty results and also didn’t dry the heck out of their lips, please share that with us here.

Other than that I can’t tell you much, other than that there are a few good natural self tanners that I like to use, and some of them work better than others, so let’s hope this one is worth the price tag, which is a bit higher than some of the cheap shelf names you can get at your drug store.  I’ve used everything from high end to low end, so it certainly doesn’t bother me to spend the extra money as long as I’m getting good results from a self tanning product.

It’s the middle of the winter now, but I still use self tanners as a means to improve the way I look. Self tanning makes you look thinner, makes your face look more evenly toned, healthy and vibrant, and gives you a definite pickup when you’re not feeling so attractive during these dreary, depressing winter months. I love to have a little color, it makes me look ten times better.

Heck, sometimes it makes me look like a whole different person. It’s just that I’m not willing to damage my skin to attain that color, and self tanners are perfect for those of us that look a lot better with a tan, but who don’t want to ruin our skin with ultraviolet exposure, which not only can lead to cancer but also can lead to premature aging of the skin.

It’s very dry now, because I colored it at home with a base color, then I went and got it highlighted at the salon. I think it was just too much processing for my poor hair to handle in just a short week, and now I’m suffering the after effects of dullness and breakage.

So, I was on the lookout for a product that would help mend my hair and make it look healthier, bouncier, and shinier, and also help to strengthen it’s now poor resolve.  I have noticed quite a bit of breakage right around my face, to the point where when I put my hair up, there is a section that completely sticks out because it broke off, that didn’t stick out before.  Needless to say, that’s definitely a sign that your hair is pretty weak and brittle.

I happened to find the Chi Keratin Mist on sale for $7.99, so I picked it up. It was actually a generously sized bottle, so I was surprised that it was so cheap, especially considering Chi makes the best selling and most acclaimed flat irons out there.

I had hopes, but not high expectations, that this product might help to infuse some much needed strength into my hair since that is how it is advertised, as a strengthening product with keratin protein chains.  SO, I’ve only tried it twice. I think I like it, but there is definitely a few things I don’ t like about it. It did seem to make my hair drying less time consuming, and it did seem to make my hair feel softer, but it didn’t make it LOOK any softer or healthier, which was what I was after. I’m hoping with more treatments it will actually make my hair look less frizzy and dry, but thus far it has not performed that way.

I did not like the heavy cologne-like smell of the product, it made me feel like I was spraying all kinds of heavy chemicals on my head, and the nozzle needs to dispense more product at once, it’s kind of a pain to keep pressing down with very little coming out, you feel like you have to spray it twenty times just to get enough product coverage.

I’ve long converted to natural deodorant, because I believe that the heavy metal aluminum and other nasty ingredients that most commercial deodorant contains just don’t belong anywhere near my armpits, where there are several clusters of important lymph nodes that can carry them throughout my system, and I’ve also converted to all natural body lotions.

I’ve found that natural soaps and body washes also deliver great results without drying out your skin or compromising it’s safety by adding harmful, potentially toxic, chemicals to it.  I thought I would hate natural lotion, but quite to the contrary, I’ll never go back to using the traditional commercial brands again. I’ve found that it is superior in it’s emollient and moisturizing capacity, and never smells harsh or perfumed, and it also helps keep my skin soft and supple, without having to reapply it a hundred times.

Tree Hut products are great, because not only are they very reasonably priced, while most naturally derived body care products are outrageously priced for the sheer fact that they are natural, or organic, or don’t have this ingredient or that ingredient in them, but they are also great products to begin with.

I’ve tried their body lotions. Right now, I am using their Hawaiin Kukui lotion, which has none of the typical artificial ingredients that you find in so many other lotions.  It also has a great, almost chocolatey smell to it, but nothing that is too strong, it’s an all natural, pleasant smell that isn’t overpowering.

It’s extremely moisturizing, and it’s a great lotion to keep by the sink when you wash your hands, to replace the moisture lost after washing and keep it in there.

The other products I’ve tried are their body washes. Right now, I’m using the Coconut Lime scented one, with shea butter.  This is one of the best body washes I’ve ever used. It’s very smooth, smells great without smelling offensively strong, and it does not have any parabens, sulfates, or other harmful chemicals in it, and yet it lathers up very well, without drying the skin out.

It’s PERFECT for the winter time especially, when your skin tends to dry out at the first glimpse of a drying soap or skin care product.  Their body washes come in an almost 18 oz. size, which lasts forever, and they cost under five bucks, at least at my Wal-mart, they did.  Very good, cheap product!

New Procedure for Smooth Belly?

There are quite a few women, and men too, who are really not happy with one particular area on their body. The belly fat is the number one complaint on the body between women and men, and the reason that typical tummy tuck surgery is still one of the number one requested cosmetic surgeries today. Tummy tucks though, are actually quite invasive procedures.

They not only suck the fat out from underneath the skin, but they also take some of the skin off as well because often times people who request tummy tucks have excess body fat and therefore have stretched, excessive skin that needs to be removed as well. After all, we weren’t born that way, that stomach had to have gotten stretched out over the course of our lives due to genes, poor eating and exercise habits, or child birth.

A cosmetic surgeon named Dr. Schulman has now come up with a new procedure that is made to help patients who request to have a flatter stomach, and yet are not so severe that they need a full on tummy tuck. This new procedure is something he has coined the “smooth tummy tuck”. It allows him to do agressive liposuction, and also remove any hanging skin in one operation, whereas other operations may take several to get the right, smooth and natural look, which means, yep, you have to go under more than once and why would you want to do that more than you have to?

The difference is that there is no muscle repair involved because the muscles were not invaded, fat was just sucked out, so your recovery time is a lot less, and your scarring is more minimal, making for an overall more desirable procedure as well as a more desirable overall effect. It may even reduce the look of cellulite since it sucks out excess fat, and therefore would also of course minimize the straining of the fat against the skin.

The new technique takes about two hours, and recovery takes about five days total. The patients see and feel an immediate result which is what leaves them so very happy. Hey, if I had problems in that area, I might think about it! Maybe some day, when I get tired of my saddle bags, this type of procedure is something I’d treat myself to

Vitamin A is the same vitamin that is used in highly concentrated, pharmaceutical form, in both Retin-A cream and the controversial but many times effective acne medication Accutane.

Dosing your daily diet with Vitamin A orally has been linked to lower incidents of skin cancers, and topical application of retinols and Retin-a has been linked to wrinkle and fine line softening and reduction, so using these vitamins is a great idea for your skin care routine. Only trick is you can only use them at night because they lose their effectiveness from sunlight. It destroys them, and renders them inert, so only apply retinol at night.

So, I bought the Good ‘n Natural retinol cream online. I started using it about a week ago, and here’s my review of it.

It’s a very thick, emollient based, which I don’t mind at all, except when I wash it off in the morning, it does feel like it didn’t properly sink in, because it is like a layer of slickness that washes off my face. I wonder if the ingredients are being properly delivered to my skin at night, because it does somewhat feel waxy, like it’s just sitting on the surface of my skin in the morning.

I tried to look up information on whether or not 100,000 IU’s per ounce was good in a skin cream, and came up with nothing. I will continue to use this for another few weeks, but will probably revert back to a more absorbable brand of retinol afterwards.

I bought the Voluminous mascara by L’Oreal about two weeks ago, figuring I’d give it a try since I’d been using Lash Out for so many weeks now. I also happened to have a coupon for $1.00 off any L’Oreal eye product, so that was a bonus, and I figured if I didn’t like it well then I’d spent a buck less on it and wouldn’t be as mad.

I bought the mascara in the #380 version, called “Blackest Black” or Noir Profond in French – remember, they are a French company

The mascara advertises as being able to build lash volume, lash by lash, for a defining effect. It showed a picture of the soft brush on the packaging, and that sold me too because I only like the wands that are very fine and separated. The wands actually make a lot of the difference in how the mascara is applied, how well it separates the lashes, and how well it makes the mascara itself adhere to each individual lash.

It’s been my experience that only these fine, many-bristled soft applicators really get the job done best. So when I saw that, and knowing that it was by L’Oreal, who makes several of my other lower cost eye makeup products, I was sold. It cost about $6 with the coupon, which wasn’t bad at all.

So, I threw away my old, dried up Lash Out which had gotten goopy on me because I’d gone longer than the 2 months to get rid of it and replace it, and applied this mascara for the first time before going to work.

WOW, it really is excellent. It is a great formula first of all, not too thick, so it doesn’t clump easily, but also it’s not too thin to where you feel like you have to apply five coats to even see a difference in the thickness of your lashes. It separates, defines and lengthens all at the same time, and in record time too, with minimal reapplication. I’m sold, and I’ll be buying this stuff again. It wore well too, all day long without smudging or running or flaking.

This just helps to ensure that you won’t get mildew growth on the sponge if you decide you really like this makeup application technique. Of course, you also want to regularly wash your sponges as well, I like to hand wash them with some soap and let them air dry, this also help discourage bacteria and mold growth, and ensure that you are rubbing a safe sponge on your face every day.

So, what does wetting your foundation sponge do for you? Well, it makes you foundation look much more sheer, instead of cakey, and it tends to give a more natural, dewy look to your skin. Why? Because 1.) It helps to ensure that you are not putting too much foundation on your face by diluting it. The water soaks up the sponge a bit, so the sponge is not as porous and cannot over-absorb the foundation, so you end up with less spackle on your face and 2.) The water dilutes the foundation and imparts a more natural, sheer look instead of the opaque or matte look that is really out today. Today, makeup is all about sheer, natural, dewy and fresh looking, not procelain and matted looking, which was in back in the eighties and nineties.

If you use this technique for applying your foundation with a sponge, then you really are going to make it look the most sheer, natural and becoming color and tone that you can. I tend to like foundations that are anti aging and anti wrinkle in nature, and they can tend to look a bit heavy if they are not diluted. Not only that, your face won’t feel bogged down by too much foundation, and you will find that it blends much more readily, reducing the likelihood of the splotched or smeared look if it dries too quickly and doesn’t go on evenly.

I’ve seen this on my own face when I forgot to use the water, and it’s hard to re-blend it correctly so it looks natural again. The water is a great, cheap way to get your foundation on, looking the best it can.