If you’ve been following the skin and rejuvenation tips I share, you already know the importance of a solid medical-grade skin-care routine covering the essentials like cleansing, moisturizing, sun protection and exfoliation. However, during the drier winter months and even drier indoor electric heating, it’s not a bad idea to bump up your hydration levels on-the-go with a mist hydration spray. Who wants to reapply their moisturizer and SPF on top of their already applied make up? A spray hydration product like the Copper Firming Mist is my go-to spray at the moment. Keep in mind my skin care product and healthy living tips may change based on new and improved formulations and devices that are constantly evolving and improving.
I often meet with clients and they share that they are more diligent with their SPF use during the summer months. If you look at the nanometer penetration of certain wavelengths into the skin, UVA rays (the cloudy days making up most of our “aging” rays) actually penetrate the skin even deeper than the UVB rays which we see more of on the nice sunny summer days.
What’s shown up through research is the impact of blue light from our devices on our skin. Wearing your SPF daily is key. Some of my favorites right now are the Tizo3 primer/sunscreen and the Tizo LipTect. I literally keep this lip protectant with me everywhere I go and I think in 10 years I’ve gone less than five days without sunscreen. Protecting the skin while at home is actually very important now more than ever with being on our devices more and more!
Did you know that the fall/winter months are the best time of year to receive rejuvenation treatments? This is the BEST time of year to receive certain types of laser treatments to reduce things like brown spots, red acne scars, broken capillaries, and promote collagen. Why is this? Some treatments require your tan to have fully faded before treatment because some lasers can’t tell the difference between a brown spot and a tan. I recommend using these colder and darker months as a time to repair sun damage and promote collagen.
I’m a HUGE fan of being consistent with healthy living, having a solid, clinically effective, skin-care routine, and incorporating at-home dermal rolling. This little gadget does however come with a caveat. You most certainly want to get this from a professional who really knows what they’re doing and can provide you with helpful guidance. I’ve been working with dermal rolling clinically now for almost 10 years, and just today I saw a lovely client in their 60’s who’s been consistent with their dermal rolling and during their HydraFacial, the amount of collagen I felt in their skin actually felt like I was working with a client in their 30’s. Not to mention the barely visible brown spots that can actually be improved by communication with the skin’s keratinocytes and other important skin structures while using actives like copper peptides, vitamin a, glutathione, hyaluronic acid, and lactic acid to help reduce photo damage like brown spots and promote collagen in the skin.
A word to the wise, don’t just buy a roller off of a random third-party website because up close those needles might actually be blades, and the metal might be an alloy instead of just surgical steel. Dermal rolling is definitely something you’re going to want professional advice on how to do it, get access to safe and clinically effective products, and not just watch some random person on YouTube show you how to do it!
With fall and winter being the colder and darker months, sometimes a little bit of heat can be enough to lift our moods, sweat out toxins we might have received from our environment, and promote healing. I LOVE contrast therapy. I practice contrast therapy by spending about eight minutes in the ocean up to the top of my neck and jawline and then use the sauna. Cold water exposure is free, but when it comes to infrared saunas, like dermal rollers and your skin care, you generally get what you pay for.
I get asked all of the time, can I dermal roll in the sauna, and can I dermal roll with my red light therapy and have answers to these questions! I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicole from Sunlighten and we answered FAQ’s we both get in regards to skin health and the benefits of sauna therapy. Be sure to check out my episode on the Rachel Varga Podcast and YouTube channel to learn a few nuances about integrating the use of a sauna into your routine.
What blew my mind in this interview with Sunlighten was that most saunas are actually being produced by a handful of manufacturers and sometimes a big problem that can arise is “off gassing.” I’ve experienced this first hand with a cheap personal sauna that cost me about $300. As soon as I turned it on, I started to smell some pretty pungent chemicals radiating from the mini sauna that was covered in a metallic casing. I literally couldn’t even use it indoors as the off gassing was so terrible! It’s really important to be aware of “off gassing” because toxins in our environment absolutely can interfere with and accelerate our aging process. What I love about Sunlighten is that they are extremely particular with manufacturing materials and understand that “off gassing” poses a health risk and ensure that materials used in the manufacturing of their saunas aren’t going to contribute to your toxic load. This is really important to me that companies actually care about this. What’s the point of buying a skin or health product like a dermal roller or sauna to “make things better” when in fact it could potentially make you sicker?!?
I recommend using your wise discernment with products and gadgets and becoming a more conscious consumer. Do things that are in alignment with your budget and lifestyle, and if that means saving up a little longer for something backed by years of research – that may be the better option for you in the long run.
