Are Hand and Face Moisturizers the Same?
Kay’s question… Is there a difference between moisturizers for your hands and for your face? Relatedly, is there a reason to use specially formulated anti-wrinkle creams rather than ordinary moisturizers that you would use on your hands?
The Right Brain saves face:
Yes, Kay, this is one of these cases where there is some really science behind the marketing hype. Here’s why facial lotions should be different than hand lotions:
1. Skin on hands and face are different
Skin is very thin on your face and thicker on your hands. Also, your hands don’t (usually) develop acne or blackheads. Therefore, they need to be treated differently.
2. Drying conditions are different for hands and face
You may wash your hands in harsh soap many times a day; you may only wash your face once or twice with a gentle cleanser. Hands are in and out of dish water or laundry water, your face is not. The cumulative effect is that your hands can be much dryer, even cracked and bleeding, and therefore they need stronger moisturization.
3. Hands and face have different cosmetic needs
You might want to tighten the little crows feet wrinkles around your eyes but this isn’t the case on your hands.
The Beauty Brains bottom line:
For the reasons above and more, you need to use products designed to suit your skin’s different needs. Hand lotions should be heavier barrier creams to protect from harsh conditions. Facial moisturizers should be lightweight, noncomedogenic, and may have film forming agents that tighten skin to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
While hand and face products may share some of the same basic ingredients, the functions they need to perform can be significantly different. Using the right product on the right skin will give you better results.
Sleeping
People underestimate the power of sleeping for at least eight hours a day all the time. It is actually one of the most basic secrets to staying young and beautiful of all time. When you are sleeping at night, your cells regenerate, you body is rejuvenated. Meeting the required amount of sleep a day, which is a minimum of eight hours for adults, not six as some workaholics claim, is essential to looking young and fresh. The idea behind sleeping you daily doses away is to give your body enough time to recover from the stress of the day. If you find yourself unable to sleep for one reason or another, it may be because you have not fully consumed your day as you should. This is why we are advised to have a daily exercise regime, this will exhaust our bodies in a way that it will want to rest at night.
Project Runway Season 7
Copyright © 2010 Christina. Visit the original article at http://www.christinaloves.com/2010/01/29/project-runway-season-7/.
Are you still watching Project Runway like you used to? I admit, they lost me last season, with the move to Lifetime and to Los Angeles. I started watching at the beginning of the season, but am sad to say, I got no further than the first couple of episodes, and the last couple. Not sure why, but I do think the fussing and fighting took something away from how special the show was for me.
I am watching this season though, and it feels more right. Not sure if it is because of being back in the good ol NYC, because I am moved into my new home with 1,000 TV’s in it (convenience), or just because I missed the fabulousness that is Project Runway, but it feels good. I am not sure who I love or hate just yet, but am glad Ping hit the road, it was time. Who do you love? Hate? I think I love Anthony, he is so smiley and expressive. I keep waiting for Mila to turn into a megabitch (I think because she reminds me of Katinka from Zoolander), but so far, not so much.
Tell me, what do you think about season 7 so far?
The Beauty Brains Blog Blast
It’s a Friday focus on our favorite fashion and beauty friends. Click away!
Stylebakery Beauty is excited about new scents for 2010. Check out her list of fragrant faves.
Talking Makeup is talking about Vera Farmiga’s golden globes.
Temptalia asks “What’s your philosophy on makeup?”
The Beauty Stop has a big M.A.C. attack.
The Beauty Brains can’t stop blabbering about bath bombs.
Bath Bombs – How To DIY
After our post on the Top 5 Bath Bombs, we had a follow up question about how many bath bombs would it take to make you float in your tub. Since then we’ve had several emails asking how you can make your own bath bombs. There’s a ton of info on the web, so to save you the trouble of Googling yourself (that sounds dirty, but it’s not) we thought we’d list our favorite sources for Bath Bomb DIY info.
Build your own bath bombs
- Teach Soap has a nice description of the ingredients and how to mix them but they’re a bit sketchy on details for the molding process.
- Better Homes and Garden’s version is good, but not great, mainly because it lacks pictures.
- CSIRO has a nice, simple version for kids that also provides some basic science background.
- Not Martha is by far the best with an incredible, step by step description and great pictures.
- Finally, here are some cool Google videos to show you how the process works.
Have you ever tried to make your own bath bombs? What about other cosmetics? Leave a comment and share your DIY daring with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
Beauty Science App For Your iPhone
I’ve been more obsessed than usual lately with beauty science gadgets. So of course I have to blog about this new iPhone application that warns you about ‘dangerous’ cosmetic ingredients.
iPhone ingredient info
CosmeticsDesign reports that the app, from the firm Cosmetifique, has a searchable database of over 5,000 ingredients in the International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients format, the official naming convention for cosmetic ingredients. You simply type in the ingredient of choice and the search results show up as red, orange or green to indicate whether the ingredient is great, good, or bad.
Sounds good, huh? I thought so too until I read the following quote from the application designer Alfredo Delli Bovi:
“We talked to make-up gurus and 90 percent of them preferred natural ingredients, so we don’t suggest chemical ones like dimethicone.”
So it looks like this app is based on the the same crappy “natural is good, synthetic is bad” premise that we’ve blogged about before. Suddenly I’m not so excited anymore.
What do YOU think? Would you buy a beauty science app for your smart phone (assuming it was based on real science and not propaganda? Leave a comment for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.