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Feast Your Way to Beautiful Skin

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Soon you’ll be feasting away this holiday season, indulging in yummy treats, traditional eats, and those classic homemade specials. But who would think that you could benefit from pre-feasting! By eating right before the holiday season kicks off, you’ll be able to prime and prep your skin. And just in time to show off that flawless glow. Find out what nutrients could help you smooth your complexion this winter.

Tackle Wrinkles

A number of factor play into creating those unsightly creases. And sun exposure hits the top of the list. Photodamage, often not taken so seriously in our youth, is a major factor is forming those funny furrows. So put the brakes down now by giving your body what it needs to fight of the wrinkle-causing free radicals of photodamage. Antioxidants are known to do the trick. Try substituting green tea or white tea for your morning coffee. If you need a stronger caffeine kick than a simple cup of tea, try the Japanese favorite: a full-bodied matcha tea in powder form. You’ll get that super caffeine kick that coffee offers, but the 10 times the antioxidant power of a single cup of normal green tea. Also take vitamin C and vitamin E supplements. The two together have been shown in medical research to play a part in collagen synthesis and protection against oxidative damage.

Even Out Splotchiness


Splotchiness can be genetic and it can be caused by physical factors. But did you know splotchiness can also be caused from the inside? Eating lots of sugar can cause insulin spikes, which in turn gives your skin many problems. Insulin spikes are believed to cause skin inflammations and acne in some. By avoiding sugar kicks and making your that you ingest sugar with or after a balanced meal, you could fend off that skin-damaging insulin spike. For rosacea sufferers, red splotchiness can be caused by other dietary triggers like alcohol and caffeine. Try to detect what food may cause your red splotchy skin and moderate your intake.

Reverse Acne

Like sensitive skin flare-ups, acne breakouts often have triggers too. Some common acne-triggers are high processed foods, greasy meals, and sugary snacks. To help calm your skin, repair it from the inside with healthy nutrients. Kick up your portion of veggies and steer away from the convenience of processed foods, at least until your skin clears. Try making meals wholly from the produce section—where you’ll find all the nutrients your skin needs to heal. To give it an extra boost take vitamin B5 (panthothenic acid), vitamin A, and zinc. While panthothenic acid is known for improving skin quality, vitamin A and zinc are known to calm sebum overproduction.

Heal Dry, Flaky Skin

Many women suffer from dry, flaky skin. In many cases, this could simply be genetic. In other cases, it could be caused by hormonal swings, namely estrogen drops. Estrogen drops occur right before a menstrual period, after childbirth, and throughout menopause. The estrogen drop is a big factor in breakouts and dry skin during these periods. Evening primrose oil is a natural supplement which is a rich source of gamma-linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid. Clinical studies have demonstrated GLA helps stabilize hormones at key times, which can help fend off dry skin. Additionally clinical studies have demonstrated a strong link between taking evening primrose oil and an improvement in eczema dryness.

Filed Under: acne, anti-wrinkle, dryness, healthy diet, rosacea Tagged With: , ,

Personalized Guides for Perfect Skin

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s at the top of everyone’s wishlist. A healthy complexion—smooth, lustrous, and glowing. The wish may be simple. The steps to get there, not so much. Sorry, Santa, it looks like you’ve got a difficult task this year!

Wish all you might. But there’s no magic bullet for perfect skin, no one-regime-fits-all when it comes to glowing skin. Each woman is so unique that the hurdles we must cross to reach perfect skin are drastically different.

But, hark! What’s this? Personalized Skincare Guides for every skin type pulled together by the experts at BodyLase. No need for Santa to pull overtime this year. BodyLase has saved the season. Here’s a guide to flawless velvet complexion just for you.

Acne-Prone Skincare Guide


The trick to managing acne-prone skin is balancing cleanliness with moisture. Acne often occurs because of bacteria and oil production. To ensure your skin is free of all acne-causing bacteria, your must cleanse. And to ensure your skin doesn’t produce too much oil, you must not forget to moisturize.

Morning Routine

Wash your face with a gentle cleanser that contains bacteria-fighting and sebum-managing ingredients. Salicylic acid is a favorite among acne-prone women. After cleansing, pat skin dry and immediately apply a light moisture-locking face lotion (with SPF, of course!).

Evening Routine

After you’ve spent so much time and effort putting on your makeup, to simply wash it away in 5 minutes seems like hassle. But off it must come if you want to maintain a healthy complexion. Clarisonic skincare brushes are an easy, fun way to clean skin gently and thoroughly. As a bonus, the light exfoliating action helps scrub away any excess skin cells, another common acne-causing villain.

Lifestyle Tip

Perfect for teens struggling with less-than-perfect skin is the Glytone Acne Kit, which offers a formidable acne-fighting trio. Glytone Exfoliating Gel Wash features a 4.7% concentration of glycolic acid that effectively clears away dead skin cells and balances oil production. Glytone Acne Cleansing Toner includes 2% salicylic acid, which delivers a deep cleanse to congested skin. Glytone Acne Gel, with 10% benzoyl peroxide, is the perfect spot treatment. Alternatively, Glytone Acne Gel can be applied as a very thin layer all over to manage breakout-crazed skin.

Special Treatment

Fulfilling your dreams of wanting to simply zap the acne out of your life is DUSA Blu-U. This blue light treatment delivers a unique fluorescent light that kills bacteria-causing acne. Painless and effective, this treatment clears acne with 17-minute sessions twice a week. Smooth breakout-free skin is usually achieved around 5 weeks.

To fulfill your glowing wishes with a Clarisonic brush or Glytone Acne Kit, come by our BodyLase spas or give us a call.

Combination Skincare Guide


Dry patches and a grease slick, oily skin and flakes. Oh, the woes of managing combination skin! These problems often plague women in their twenties, still battling acne as the onslaught of dryness and wrinkles only just commence. The trick with combination skin is figuring out your different zones and treating them accordingly.

Morning Routine

After cleansing apply a light face lotion all over. You should select a lotion that’s so light that it won’t clog your oily areas. Then focusing on your dry areas, pat a more substantial moisturizer like a serum or moisturizing gel. The extra moisture will help keep these areas flake-free.

Evening Routine

Though it’s tempting to ignore your oily regions, don’t forget to apply your moisturizing lotion once again. Skipping the moisturizer altogether could make your oily regions more oily as they try to overcompensate for the dryness. But keeping it light on the oily regions will stop these regions from clogging. Now for the fun part: carefully smooth a rich night cream into your dry regions only for extra comfort.

Lifestyle Tip

Unfortunately, combination skin gals need a double-time skincare routine since combination skin needs a little from both ends of the skincare spectrum. So be sure to have some eye creams and acne-fighting cleansers at hand. The eye cream will help you fend off dry, wrinkly skin around your eyes, while acne-fighting washes will help you decongest your oily regions when a breakout threatens.

Special Treatment

A great balancing treatment for combination skin is the VI Peel. This treatment reduces fine wrinkles and sun damage while simultaneously clearing up breakouts and acne scarring. For the holiday season, the VI Peel is a great way to get fresh faced before your string of parties. And lucky for you, this peel is especially loved because it delivers in just one session! Just be sure to schedule your VI Peel a few weeks before you want to unveil you new smooth complexion.

Want to smooth and even out your complexion with a VI Peel? Contact us to schedule your consultation.

Aging Skincare Guide


Though it’s now recommended that anti-aging precautions be taken earlier than ever, it’s never too late to start fending off wrinkles. Even at the first signs of aging—faint wrinkles, a decrease in collagen, and some sightings of photodamage—the right routine can give you the perfect glow. In the beginning phases of aging, your skin is still naturally resilient. As a result, it will respond well to a cocktail of resurfacing and renewing products.

Morning Routine

Let your skincare routine work for you throughout the day. After cleansing, apply an alpha hydroxy acid cream and then slather on a moisturizer with UVA/UVB protection. Alpha hydroxy acid cream will help reduce fine wrinkles by prompting collagen formation.

Evening Routine

Don’t lose an opportunity to regenerate new skin at night! Integrating a retinoid cream into your nightly routine can help reduce photodamage. As an essential antioxidant, retinoids not only counteracts sun damage, they also prompts your skin to regenerate skin cells faster. This gives your skin a youthful, healthy glow while also reducing wrinkles. Just be careful to restrict retinoids for evening use only, as they increase sun sensitivity.

Lifestyle Tip

The bronzed lure of tanning is probably not so strong now the realities of sun damage have started to appear. So though you probably don’t need reminding, we’ll say it anyway: be sure to use sunscreen daily and avoid prolonged, direct sun exposure. For those who can’t avoid the warm glow, we think it’s high time to invest in some cute cover ups.

Special Treatment

As the first signs of aging set in there are slew of problems to juggle. Luckily, microdermabrasion is an excellent exfoliating renewal treatment that will tackle all these skin problems. A series of microdermabrasion sessions can smooth and improve dull, aging and hyperpigmented skin. With gentle, yet effective exfoliating crystals, this treatment reduces fine lines and poor texture, while stimulating the production of collagen.

To find out more about our favorite AHA creams and retinoid creams, get in touch with our skincare specialists.

Mature Skincare Guide


Fending off wrinkles becomes quite the feat once menopause commences. Deeper grooves settle in and a natural drop in estrogen prompts a dry skin phase, making wrinkle-management a tricky task. The constant use of acids won’t be enough to rejuvenate your glow. So while an amped up dosage of retinoids and topical vitamin C is recommended, deeper moisturizers are a must. Look to rich creams and serums—they’ll be your very best friends!

Morning Routine

After cleansing, use a rich moisturizer and topical vitamin C. As a rich moisturizer, we recommend SkinSelect MD Honey Soy Crème. This rich formula is designed to add moisture to dry, dehydrated skin, making it particularly beneficial for those experiencing hormonal fluctuations during menopause. Soy isoflavones, honey and bee pollen extracts work to balance skin while Siberian ginseng extract revitalizes. Vitamin C, on the other hand, is an effective antioxidant that will tighten your skin, stimulate collagen production, and brighten and balance skin pigmentation.

Evening Routine

Amp up the use of retinoids and the results will be visible. Retinoids, which prompt your skin to produce new skin cells, will help your skin regenerate faster. Prolonged use of retinoids decreases fine wrinkles and smoothes your skin texture.

Lifestyle Tip

An active lifestyle isn’t only beneficial for your health and your body. Integrating running or cycling into your weekly schedule can actually help your skin glow brighter. Aerobic exercise prompts blood flow to the skin and boosts the rate of new cell growth. As a result, wrinkle formation can be prevented with good exercise habits. And in the meantime, you can enjoy the healthy, vigorous glow that each workout gives you.

Special Treatment

Age and gravity have one thing in common: with time they make things falls. Mature skin often sees that the areas around our eyes, cheeks and jaws begin to drop, wrinkle, and hang. Though topical creams may not be much use to these regions, Thermage is a perfect option. A single Thermage session delivers a non-invasive skin-contouring laser to those lackluster regions and tightens, firms and smoothes them. Alternatively Fraxel is a great treatment for rejuvenating lackluster skin that’s plagued with bad texture, hyperpigmentation, and wrinkles.

Deeply hydrate your skin with SkinSelect MD Honey Soy Crème and our choice of vitamin C serums, by stopping by our BodyLase spas.

HOLIDAY SPECIALS

FRAXEL FACE

To help you get that wonderful holiday glow, this season BodyLase is offering a special on one of our most popular treatments: the Fraxel Face. Regularly offered at $850, our best-loved Fraxel Face session is available through the end of November at only $499. (Hurry! Offer expires 11/30/11).

MICRODERMABRASION

For those looking to resurface and rejuvenate their skin, you can grab 6 Microdermabrasion sessions for $499 (regularly $600). Alternatively, for the peel lovers out there, you can grab 6 peels for $499 (a savings of up to $400). And for those who love to mix and match, you can customize your resurfacing session by snagging 3 Microdermabrasion sessions and 3 peels for $499. (Hurry! Offers expire 11/30/11)

Filed Under: acne, anti-wrinkle, beauty products, dryness, facial peel, Fraxel, Microdermabrasion, skin rejuvenation Tagged With: , , , ,

Celebrity Skin Foods

February 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Bringing skin up to red carpet standards requires taking care of yourself from the inside out! Nutritionists are discovering more and more that our food choices are written all over our faces. So after putting all that thought into moisturizers and cleansers, we should also evaluate our eating habits. Do your meals benefit or harm your skin?

Discover how celebrities nutritionally combat some of the most common skin woes. And learn how to eat your way to a beautiful visage!

Eat Away Your Facial Collagen

Renowned celebrity dermatologist Dr. Jessica Wu shares some great tips in her latest book Feed Your Face. She explains why snacking does a body good: healthy snacks every 3-4 hours can help you stave off any indulgent food choices. (Um, donuts and Frappuccinos, we’re mainly talking about you!) But even healthy foods can be dangerous.

Foods high in fructose “eat away skin’s collagen and elastin, which can cause thinning and sagging as well as fine lines and wrinkles,” says Dr. Wu. So she warns busy actresses who go through their work days only on apple slices. Why apple slices? The amount of fructose in two apples equals the amount of sugar in a can of soda!

To preserve collagen does Dr. Wu recommend avoiding fructose all together? She says when eating high-fructose foods, eat some protein and healthy fats to reduce the harmful effects.

Are you an apple lover? What other kinds of high-fructose foods are you guilty of eating frequently?

Irregular Meals Cause Mystery Rash

Dr. Wu says that eating irregularly or meal skipping can cause insulin levels to spike. Insulin surges, she states, have been linked to acne, rashes, redness and wrinkles. And apparently dairy products can also cause insulin levels to rise drastically—resulting in increased oil production. That’s why she recommends that fashion mogul and former model Kimora Lee Simmons not skip morning and afternoon meals in lieu of her beloved mocha Frappuccino.

Will you try tackling any mystery skin problems by eating regularly and laying off the sugary slips and snacking sprees?

Drink Your Way to Dry Skin

Celebrity aesthetician Kate Somerville helps celebrity clients achieve glowing, hydrated skin not only with her miracle products, but also with helpful nutritional tips. First, the fundamental tip we know so well: drink plenty of water so that your skin gets hydrated! But what if you’re a hydration-maniac but you still suffer from dry skin? Perhaps your favorite morning pick-me-up is reversing the benefits of hydration. Somerville says that coffee and soda contain a lot of caffeine, which as a diuretic can lead to dehydration. “If you’re not eating right and you’re drinking a lot of coffee,” Somerville explains, “your skin is the first thing to show it.”

Despite those wise words, however, it looks like the clinical verdict is still out on this one. So it might be safe to say that you can take the back-off-the-coffee advice with a pinch of salt for now.

What are your thoughts? Does your skin looks dehydrated after a highly caffeinated morning? Can you see the benefit of drinking water?

Lean Meats Means Youthful Skin

Ever wonder why celebrities are so into eating lean proteins, nuts, and vitamin C in vast quantities? Dr. Wu says that eating protein helps boost the production of collagen and elastin, which are proteins that keep your skin taut and healthy.

The nutritional protein lysine lends a helping hand to our body’s collagen production. So for your next meal, slap some more proteins (lean meats, soy products and nuts) onto your plate. And don’t forget your daily dose of vitamin C, which is needed to convert lysine into collagen.

What about you? How do you integrate proteins into your meals? How about your snacks?

Yo-yo Nutrition and Pre-Mature Sagging

Our busy schedules often mean that we skip meals, which can lead to overindulgent food choices like mega-proportioned lunches and gigantic desserts. Healthy snacks can help us avoid the “I’m starving” vs. “I’m so ridiculously full” cycle.

Beware: yo-yo nutrition is a slippery slope towards yo-yo dieting! Fluctuating within the same 10 pounds via super-harsh diets followed with overindulgent eating can cause skin sagging. This can have more harmful effects on your skin than losing or gaining weight at a healthy rate.

To help celebrity clients stick to a healthy weight, Dr. Wu regulates their eating habits with frequent healthy snacks. For Cougar Town actress Christa Miller a healthy snack is made of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, dried cherries, and a dash of maple syrup and sprinkle of sea salt for flavoring.

What’s your fave healthy snack that helps you stave of hunger and indulgent eating?

Avoid Crash-Diet Acne

Dr. Wu once saw a patient’s diet ruin her nutrition and her complexion. Comedienne Nicole Sullivan crash dieted her way to a slim figure. Throughout her severely regimented diet, she suffered chronic cystic acne. It was only after she starting eating more healthfully that she got her skin back under control.

Do your eating habits cause you to break out? Share your thoughts below or on our BodyLase Facebook page!

Have another skincare question? Don’t hesitate to ask our skincare experts at BodyLase.

Filed Under: acne, anti-wrinkle, dryness, skin rejuvenation Tagged With: ,

Expert Advice for Winter-Proofing Your Skin

December 22, 2010 By 2 Comments

Do you know how to take care of skin in the winter? How do you avoid drying, peeling, redness or dullness? Karen Albright, president and owner of BodyLase Skin Spa, shares winter tips that we bet you didn’t know!

Tracey Early’s interview Karen Albright for an In-Depth segment on Carolina’s Channel 14 News. Watch the interview here. Or check out Karen’s tips below.


Tracey: With all this recent cold weather, many of us are cranking up the heat and taking extra hot showers. But this is kind of leaving our skin dried and irritated, so how do we winterize ourselves? Karen Albright, President of BodyLase Skin Spa based in Raleigh, joins me now with more. Karen, thanks for being here.

Karen: Thank you for having me.

Tracey: Do you guys get this problem of people calling in with a lot of irritated skin.

Karen: A lot of people call with dried out skin. When we go inside the air is much hotter and it sucks the moisture out of our skin as well the essential oils. Even by taking hot showers we can really strip the skin of these essential oils that we need to keep our skin hydrated.

Tracey: To get it back, moisturizing skin is basically just a moisturizer or cream? What do you recommend?

Karen: Yes, if you’re using a light lotion, we recommend that you switch to a thicker, heavier cream—even an ointment-based moisturizer. Limit your showers to 5 minutes, if you can. Try to make the water lukewarm and not hot. And exfoliate, it’s important to exfoliate your skin this time of year because the dead cells will pile up and the skin can’t accept what you’re putting on.

So, you want to exfoliate the skin with something as easy as a dry brush or a scrub. And your skin will be able to better accept all the moisturizing that you’re doing to it.

Tracey: And the exfoliating and the cream you mentioned, is that something we should be doing daily, once a day, twice a day?

Karen: Yes, you can do it daily. At least once a day, possibly twice a day.

Tracey: And Karen you mentioned before this interview that it’s important to remind people to use SPF in the winter, which I always forget about.

Karen: A lot of people don’t think they have to use SPF because it’s not hot. You’re not outside at the beach, however the sun’s rays are just as dangerous in the winter as they are in the summer. The UVA and the UVB are rays are present—and mostly the UVA rays are mostly present in the winter. Those cause ageing. So you want to make sure you protect yourself against the ageing rays. It’s very important to use sunblock in the winter.

Tracey: Very good advice.

And what about the itchy scalp from those hot showers and hot blow-dryers and whatnot.

Karen: Well, try not to blow-dry your hair as much as you usually do, if you can. You can use a leave-in conditioner. If you want, you can use a home treatment such as coconut oil. Rub that into your scalp in the evening and wash it out in the morning.

Tracey: So you kind of sleep on it?

Karen: Yes!

Tracey: All this advice, we hear a lot about this for women but is this good for men as well?

Karen: Absolutely, men need to take care of their skin just as much as women do.

That’s quality advice for winterizing your skin and scalp. Do you have any winter-proofing tricks you use at home? Or have any other winter skin questions that weren’t covered here? Let us know in the comments below!

Filed Under: dryness, skin rejuvenation, winter skin Tagged With: , ,