My Name is Free Radical and I Suck!

All you hear people talk about are free radicals, and antioxidants.  So what are these pesky little blood suckers?  I decided to write this post because a lot of every day consumers have no idea what free radicals are.  All they know is that FR are bad.  I was also surprised to find that many estheticians only know a small bit about FR.

Brief Information About Atoms(I know, I know, trust me this will help you understand)
The basic building block of all cells is the atom.  All Atoms have protons, neutrons, electrons and a nucleus.
Electrons hold atoms together to make a molecule and orbit the atom in one or more shells (rings around the atom)  The inner shell is full when it has two paired electrons. When the first shell is full the electrons move to the second shell.  The number of electrons in the outer shell determines the chemical behavior of an atom. The goal of an atom is to always be balanced.

How Free Radicals Form
Molecules create cells.  Free radicals are created at the molecular level and then when the damage is not repaired it affects living cells.  A free radical is any molecule that has one or more unpaired electrons, they react with a healthy molecule in a destructive way.
The goal of an atom is to always be balanced. Free radicals are molecules that have at least one unpaired electron and then go around just taking electrons from other healthy molecules causing damage (oxidative stress).

Did You Know: The body produces free radicals naturally.

- Breathing- Oxygen is a potential free radical accelerator.

- Inflammatory Immune Response

- Production of Energy- when the universal energy  molecule used by the body is produced, free radicals are

released.

A healthy body can naturally neutralize free radicals, but a body under stress must have help to neutralize them.  The damage that free radicals cause can be minimized by antioxidants.

How Do Free Radicals Damage The Skin

Free radicals cause damage to the DNA in the cells and the fibroblasts that produce collagen.  Free radicals also produce biochemical damage that can lead to eventual skin cancers and abnormal growths.  The end products of this inflammatory biochemical reaction can cause the skin to produce self-destruct enzymes such as collagenase, elastase, and hyaluronidase, which destroy collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid (hydrates our skin and cells).   This destructive assaults to the skin happen every day.  When enough of this damage accumulates, we see signs of wrinkles, elastosis (sagging skin), dehydration, and skin cancer.

A Short Film About Free Radicals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn8TvZxTqow&feature=g-upl

What you have to look forward to (Aging)

Signs of Aging

• Dry skin increases. As we age our oil production goes down.  When our  skin is dry  wrinkles show more.
• The signs of photodamage becomes more apparent, such as  hyperpigmentation & hypopigmentation, texture roughness, precancerous lesions, and increased bruising.
• Thinning of the dermis- reduced as much as 20 % .
• Decreased cell turnover.  Rate slows from 30% to 50% between ages 30 and 80.
• Reduced ability to repair damage.
• Loss of temperature control.
• Reduced immune response.
• Collagen content per area of skin surface decreases at 1% per year as we age, and dermis develops fragmented elastic.
• Elastin structure changes, and the diminished capacity to support microcirculation, and skin strength.
• Melanocytes decrease 8 % to 20% per decades which leads to increased cancer risk.
• Hormones- estrogen slows during perimenopause and stops after menopause.  Skin is directly affected by the reduction of estrogen and has its own estrogen receptors.

Antioxidants- What are they?

Last week I talked about free radicals.  If you didn't get a chance to read it or watch the video you should. Now I would like to talk about Antioxidants.  We all know that they are found in vitamins, minerals, fruits, and vegetables.  As I discussed in my free radical post, antioxidants stabilize damaged cells by giving them electrons. Antioxidants are naturally occurring chemicals in foods that help to counter the harmful effects of oxygen free radicals, which form during normal metabolism and through external factors.
Did You Know

• A healthy body can naturally neutralize free radicals, but a body under stress must have help to neutralize them.   The damage can be minimized by antioxidants known as free radical scavengers.
• Not all antioxidants will neutralize free radicals.  If an ineffective antioxidant is used, higher damaged producing free radicals will be converted.

Nutrition and Skin
How the skin reacts to diet and hormones is important for the esthetician to understand when designing a healthy aging program for the client.  An acupuncturist once told me that we need to start thinking of food as medicine.  It's so true, everything we take into our body shows in our skins complexion.  Food is the best way to get all over our antioxidants. It is recommended that a blend of multiple antioxidants be taken internally to minimize free radical damage. Every fruit and vegetable has a variety of different antioxidants. These nutrients are designed by nature to work together in your body, and research studies have shown that antioxidants are much more powerful when they are consumed in combinations.

• Beta-carotene -- Found in dark green, dark yellow and orange vegetables and fruits.
• Selenium -- Found in meats, fish, cereal, dairy products, Brazil and some other nuts.
• Vitamin C - Found in orange juice, kiwi, grapefruit, strawberries, watermelon, green peppers, cauliflower and broccoli.
• Vitamin E
  

Brightly colored foods like tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries, and apples are excellent sources of antioxidants.
Almost all fruits and vegetables lose at least some level of antioxidants while cooking. The smallest loses were recorder with artichoke, green beans and garlic.
The fruits that are very rich with antioxidants are popularly called „super fruits“. Blueberries are usually most talked about super fruits.
Herbs and spices are excellent sources of antioxidants which means that adding them to your food may protect your organism against different diseases.

Do you like Pina Coladas? Coconut Oil

Well, this post isn't about how Pina Coladas are good for your skin, but I  really wish they were. My number three all time natural ingredient for the skin is coconut oil.  This year I went to a big spa trade show and all people kept talking about was coconut oil, so of course I had to try it.  I have rid my cosmetic closet of a lot of things because I simply did not need them anymore after using the oil.  I use it for leave in conditioner, shaving creme, body lotion, lip treatments, I even use it in my green tea that I drink.


It's better than the average drug store facial moisturizer, hair serum, and body lotion.  If you look at a lot of products on the market the first ingredient is water, water is the universal solvent in products and is very important.  When it comes to having water in moisturizers and lotions though, water makes the skin feel like it is being moisturized but as soon as the water dries, your skin becomes dry again.  Some commercial lotions and moisturizers also contain petroleum-based ingredients that suffocate the skin.  Coconut oil has been used in many countries for thousands of years.

What to look for when buying:  Look for extra virgin, that has not been bleaches, refined, or deodorized.  And just so you are not surprised it is not in liquid form, it is solid. When you manipulate it in your hand it turns to liquid. Warning! A little goes a long way, it takes a little getting use to how much you need to use. A spoon full is enough to moisturize your whole body, the tip of your pinky will provide enough for deep conditioning treatment, and half of that is good for your face and leave in conditioner.

Uses

- Hair-  It is wonderful for hair for giving it a  shiny complexion.  Regular massage of the head with the oil ensures your scalp will be fee of dandruff and even lice.

- Skin- It helps in treating various skin problems including, psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis.  Coconut oil is wonder for people that have chronic dry skin.  Warning- If you have sensitive facial skin and are prone to acne it is probably not a good idea to use.  People say it is fine for acne prone people, but I was not able to use it on my face.  If you want to try, you should do a patch test on one area of your face for a few days. Also, the oil is great for hydrating your cuticles.

-  Bruises- Works great as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissue.

- Fungi-  Coconut oil is effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, and diaper rash.

- Weight Loss- It is easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes.  It increases metabolism by removing stress on the pancreas. Warning- You don't eat the coconut oil buy the spoon full, you cook with it.

- Kidneys-  Coconut oils helps in preventing kidney and gall bladder diseases, also helps to control blood sugar and improves the secretions of insulin.

-Chronic Chapped Lips-  Use a old toothbrush and exfoliate your lips with it, then apply a tiny bit of coconut oil onto your lips and massage it in.

Why So Blue? Aging & Self-Esteem Part 2

I JUST WOKE UP ONE DAY AND I WAS OLD!- What your client is going through.
“Mid-life astonishment is characterized by an amazement and despair at loosing one’s physical and sexual attractiveness, multiple losses accompanied by age, awareness of accelerated aging both physically and mentally, and recognizing our culture’s stigmatization of aging.   This process can lead to a loss of self-esteem, shame, depression, and social isolation.”
In our culture there’s a great deal of emphasis on youthfulness and appearances.  Clients often describe appearance changes caused by aging this way: “ I woke up one day and all of a sudden I looked old.”  They come to the esthetician to try to change this before trying something more invasive.   For some, the thought of getting work done or going under the knife is uncomfortable and vain.  They feel some guilt when starting to focus on themselves and are unsure about what’s normal for an aging face. 

What We Can Do.
Working with clients that have hit the realization that they are getting old can sometimes be difficult because they want it fixed now.  It doesn’t help that our culture gives women a false sense that all of their aging problems will be going in one bottle.  It is our job to be honest with clients on what we can help with and what we can’t.   The goal of a standard esthetician is to improve how the skin functions.  We cannot take a person that has elastosis, and hyperpigmentation and make it go away, it’s not possible.  I have an apron that says, “Esthetician not a magician”.  When I started practicing, I noticed every time I had a new client that was dealing with age related issues, they would leave happy with the results, but there was always a small level of disappointment.  I quickly figured out that clients experience a level of disappointment after a facial, because in the back of their mind they believe that when they get up from the table all of their wrinkles will be gone.  They are happy that their skin is glowing and feels great but those gosh darn wrinkles are still there.  Clients see on TV that they can get great skin from a 30 dollar bottle of moisturizer, and they just paid you 60 so they should be looking good when they leave your table.  It's our job as estheticians to help them understand that it takes time to help improve their skin, and know that we cannot fix 30 years of damage in one day.

In Summary 
1) Educate your clients
2) Be Honest - Set realistic expectations
3) Take before and after pictures so they can see the changes
4) Be Compassionate- Listen to them and be compassionate

Theories of Aging

There are many theories about how we age. Is aging a disease or an inevitable process that all biological creatures must experience, or can it be prevented?

Intrinsic aging defines the natural signs of aging as a genetic process.
Extrinsic aging refers to the visible signs of aging as a genetic process.

Internal and external factors directly relate to two separate groups of aging theories.

1) preprogrammed Aging that is due to genetic factors.  It suggests that aging is determined by a predetermined biological clock that starts at conception, and that genes play a strong role in the aging process.
Theories associated with preprogrammed theory include- Programmed Longevity, Telomerase Theory, Immunological Theory, Pacemaker Theory, Genetic Theory.

2) Damage-Based Theories- These theories refer to aging that is influenced by environmental or lifestyle factors that cause damage to cells and body systems.  These theories focus on the damage that happens at the molecular level then move outward.

• Free Radical Theory- states that aging is caused by accumulated free radicals attacking the DNA, proteins, and fats of living cells, causing cell death.
• Membrane Theory- states it is the damage done by free radicals in the cell membrane that causes change in the cell's ability to transfer chemicals, heat, and electricity.
• Cross Linking Theory- (Glycation) Relates to the binding of protein and simple sugars (glucose) to protein.  When cross linking occurs, protein is damaged and unable to perform as intended.  The result is thick, dry,sagging, yellow skin.
• Wear & Tear Theory- indicates the war and tear on our whole body system accelerates the aging process.  This theory lead the way to the free radical and cross linking theory.
• Inflammation Theory- This theory is new.  It states that chronic inflammation result in accumulated damage to the body.  The theory explains that the inflammation cascade is a long strenuous process on the body, cells and tissue.  Once the inflammation cascade is started it should end when the immune response is activated without an invader or does not receive the signal from T-cells that tells the immune cells to stop.

Conclusion
If we take a cross-section of all the theories you can see that no one theory is independent of the other.  They all lead to aging.  We cannot always see the decline of our bodies, but eventually all damage will become apparent.  Depending on your theories about aging changes how you approach treating clients.  If you believe in the pre-programmed approach, you have to ask yourself can we even help aging skin?   The reality is that no one theory can stand on its own, they depend upon one another.
What is your opinion?
Resource-  Milady's Aesthetician Series, Aging Skin, Susanne Schmaling.

How to Handle Emotions in The Treatment Room

This is the second part to treating aging clients. As I said in the last post, aging clients are going through a lot of emotions because so much is changing in their life, and you have to be able to handle strange emotions that may arise from them. We as estheticians deal with the power of touch, when we touch a person they feel a since of security, comfort, and compassion, which can lead to expressing emotions that we put deep in our subconscious .  Most estheticians who have worked with clients for years will have stories of emotional breakdowns on the treatment bed, or the disclosure of uncomfortable information.  Estheticians are not therapists but are often put in the position of therapists.

Most estheticians get into this field because we love being around people, and we love to make people happy and feel better about themselves. I am the type of person that wants to help people when something is wrong.  At one point in the beginning of my career I was going through some boyfriend problems. I was talking to a coworker about my issues and every time I would make a statement she would quickly say, “you should have done this, and you should have said that.”  It was really frustrating because deep down I just wanted to talk to someone, and that is when I realized that all people really need is someone to listen to them.  When you see a therapist they don’t tell you want to do, they let you talk and guide you to figure it out yourself.   It can be very uncomfortable for us when dealing with emotional clients.

We have all had those clients that never stop talking when they get on the table, and I would always think that I was not doing a good job because they couldn't relax.   A lot of women hold their emotions in and don’t tell even their closest friends what is going on because they don’t want to be judged; therefore they talk to us and that’s OK.  Our job as an esthetician is to care for their skin, help them relax, and proved a place of solace for them.
Guidelines for Working With Emotional Clients

1.  Stay Calm
2.  Don’t try to solve the clients problem
3.  Use good listening skills and offer support when appropriate.
4.  Do not give advice; stay neutral.Most of the time, they just want someone to listen.
5.  Don’t try to be a therapist.
6.  Try to limit the conversation.The best thing you can do is say little and give them an excellent treatment. Direct them to breathe and relax during their treatment.