How to get rid of hard white spots on the face

So what are these pesky white hard lumps under the skin?

Their official name is "Milia".

They are hardened balls of keratin that are basically trapped between the bi layers of your skin. They seem like hard white lumps under the skin. They do not sit in your oil (sebaceous) glands, so are an entirely different skin condition to acne/problematic skins.
They like to present themselves on the upper cheeks, around the eyes,  edges of the nose, cheeks and less commonly on the other areas of the face. They can grow to 1-2mm in size. 

From my experience the only way to get rid of Milia is to book in with an Aesthetician (Skin Specialist) who has experience in Milia removal and get them professionally removed. I strongly advise against attempting to squeeze them out your selves as you will only damage the surrounding skin in the process.
As they sit between the bi layers of the skin, they do not have a natural exit point, so you will squeeze and squeeze to the point where you start to remove the surrounding skin.

Milia is one of my specialties! Just so you know what to expect when you see your Aesthetician. The skin will be:

• cleansed
• exfoliated for a more efficient Milia removal
• Then I lance the Milia ever so slightly to allow an exit point, then the Milia can be lightly pressed out
• Serum or mask applied to reduce redness and promote healing

Typically you will only be left with a pin prick for approx 24-48 hours. There is no major redness or inflammation post Milia removal. 

Milia extractions is not a painful process, you may feel the odd prick here and there, but it is something that I really recommend as it is quick and very effective. 

Why are Milia formed in the first place?
It's all well and good to remove the Milia, but it is very important to know why you are getting them so you can prevent recurrence. When you have your Milia extracted. Ask your Aesthetician to give you a skin diagnosis so he/she can advise you where you are currently having imbalances in the skin.

Osmosis Immerse

 One of the most common reasons people get Milia is due to a Omega 3/essential fatty acid deficiency, both in the skin and diet. I put my clients onto fish oil/omega 3 capsules and an essential fatty acid serum to create balance in the skin with the Osmosis Immerse. This is suited for ALL skin types and is very well regarding amongst industry professionals for maintaining the healthy balance between lipids and water in the skin.



Feel free to ask me any questions you have on Milia!

Happy Skin Days!

Sarah Wilkinson
Skin Matrix
www.skinmatrix.com.au

Tips to avoiding Skin Problems at Work

As the holiday season comes to an end I wonder if your skin has changed over the holiday break??
Is it looking fresher, brighter and generally healthier?
Being outdoors  and more active during the holiday period generally leads to a more lustrous skin, now as work looms over us and our ever friendly air conditioning that saves the day by keeping us comfortable whilst working, could actually be working against us. ..... in terms of keeping that lustrous holiday skin!

As it is difficult to change your working environment, you can make some small changes that will keep the L in Lustrous for you this working year.

• have large bowls of water around the office (in conspicuous places is always good) 
• open windows where possible
• take regular breaks outside
• avoid cigarette smoke when you finally do make it outside
• apply moisturiser every morning before going to work
• spritz the face with Jane Iredale D2O cool, refreshed and hydrated - perfect over makeup
• have techniques available to deal with stressful situations such as 10 slow deep breaths in the bathroom!

Some great products to hydrate the skin before your day at work are:

• Osmosis Immerse Serum - 1 pump on its own, or with any other serum/moisturiser
• Osmosis Quench Moisturiser - 1-2 pumps morning and night
• Botanical Blessings Blue Chamomile Cream - for the driest of driest skins

To enable the above products to penetrate deep into the skin, it is always recommended that we exfoliate our skin at least once a week to give us smooth, soft and supple skin that absorbs products effectively.

• Try my famous facial scrub - Sandalwood and Geranium
• For people who have sensitive skins or don't like physical scrubs, you will love the Osmosis Polish

Do you have any skin tips/tricks that keeps your skin looking fabulous??


Happy Skin Days,

Sarah Wilkinson
www.skinmatrix.com.au

A Sunscreen Pill?!

Within 5 years scientists from the Australian Institute for Marine Science believe there will be a pill that will give you UV protection.
They have analysed coral samples from the Great Barrier Reef and have discovered the way that coral shields itself against the harmful UVA/UVB rays.
This pill will prevent sunburn which I believe is beneficial to all, considering our lack of ozone layer.
They are saying the pill will most likely be on prescription only to stop people from overdosing and harming their health.
My only concern is vitamin D. We all need vitamin D for strong healthy bones and to get Vitamin D we need some sun exposure, preferably in early morning and late afternoon.

I will keep you posted on new research as it comes to hand on this.
I find it very interesting how this pill will affect our hormones as well.

What are your thoughts?? Good idea or just another pill that is unnecessary??





Happy Skin Days,

Sarah Wilkinson
Skin Matrix

Palm Oil in Skin Products? Did you know?

Palm oil seems to be in most things these days. I was aware that it was in most foods that we eat. I'm sure that over half a supermarket is full of the stuff!
But little did I know that Palm Oil also goes by the name of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Found in most cleansers, dishwashing detergents, washing powders, soap and COSMETICS!

Why you may ask is this such a problem? Well I have a problem with our amazing wildlife being destroyed for the sake of cheap ingredients and short term gain.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is derived from Palm Kernel Oil. Originating in West Africa, Palm Kernel Oil is now mostly grown, harvested and exported from Malaysia and Indonesia at unsustainable levels.
Borneo and Sumatra are in a serious situation where they are clearing so much of their lush habitats to plant massive palm oil plantations.
Companies are irresponsibly not labelling Palm Oil on their products but hiding this name amongst 20 other aliases such as vegetable oil!.

We didn't always use palm oil, so why today? I believe there are alternatives that could be used to achieve the same effect of Palm Oil, it may cost us a few extra cents; but no more cost to the environment and its wildlife.

It is Orangutan Awareness Week this Sunday at Belmore Park.  Sunday 13th November you can show your support for the Orangutans and help raise money to help prevent this beautiful creature along with many other animals that are facing extinction in Malaysia and Indonesia.

What can you do??

Purchase Sodium Lauryl Sulfate FREE cosmetics! There are plenty out there, I sell Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Free products and have done so for many years. I chose not to use these products as they are irritating on the skin, and an extremely harsh chemical.


Please read more on the health issues with using this ingredient : http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/sodium-laureth-sulfate.html


Wikipedia -

Sensitivity

It has been shown to irritate the skin of the face with prolonged and constant exposure (more than an hour) in young adults.^[14] SDS may worsen skin problems in individuals with chronic skin hypersensitivity, with some people being affected more than others.^[15][16][17] In animal studies SDS appears to cause skin and eye irritation.^[13]  

Brands I stock that are free of this harsh ingredient:

Osmosis

Botanical Blessings    
Jane Iredale Mineral Make Up


Get skin savy and make the switch today.
Your skin and body and the Orangutans will thank you greatly!



Happy Skin Days, 


Sarah Wilkinson
www.skinmatrix.com.au

View Jane Iredale's Discontinued Items for Nov 2011

Yes, sad but true! Some of the Jane Iredale Mineral Make Up Products are discontinued. I do have some left in stock though. The items in pink are the items I have left in stock but only 1 or 2 of each, so be quick to grab your favourite product!

Click on the product name and you will be directed to the Skin Matrix Shopping Cart area where you can purchase online or you can call me direct to order. 

Discontinued Products:

Apple Lip Gloss

Toffee Lip Gloss

Strawberry Lip Gloss 

Mulberry Lip Gloss

Lip Crayon Tempting

Lip Crayon Luscious 

Longest Lash Dark Blonde

Longest Lash Dark Auburn

Longest Lash Ripe Plum

More Lip Plumper

Jewel Box

Plum Plus

Artists Eyes

Terra Liquid Minerals

Cocoa Lip Pencil

Copper Liquid Eyeliner

Buy Securely Online with Skin Matrix. 

Happy Skin Days, 

Sarah Wilkinson

Skin Matrix

New Formula for Osmosis Skin Care

I have been stocking the Osmosis Skin Care Range for over 5 years now and my clients just love it!
Ben Johnson, the creator of Osmosis Skin Care has been perfecting the range throughout this time and we are now experiencing Osmosis like never before.
I love the Osmosis products because it is not laden with strong fruit acids or chemicals that strip the skin.
Using Osmosis for myself and my clients, I have learnt that you can achieve fabulous results without going through the downtime as experienced with some ranges.
Osmosis uses liposomal delivery technology to get ingredients deep within the skin. One of the most popular forms of Vitamin A used in products today is Retinol..... Osmosis uses a different form of Vitamin A - Retinaldehyde - a stabilized, patent pending form of Retinaldehyde that will not degrade and has the the ability to stimulate collagen whilst remaining potent unlike any other form of Vitamin A on the market today. My clients have not had any sun sensitive issues as they have had from previous use of Retinol - the alcohol version of Vitamin A.

Sound great? Well it is! If you would like to start on the Osmosis Retinaldehyde and your main concern is anti ageing you will need the Osmosis Correct Serum. Start off by using this every night after you cleanse and before your moisturiser. Then after a few weeks, start using it morning and night.

If your main priority is calming the skin and treating rosacea, I recommend you start off on the Osmosis Mend Serum. I have found this key for clients wanting to strengthen and support a sensitive/rosacea skin. The mission of Mend is to make the skin strong again, and that it does!

If want to target breakouts and minimize pores, the Osmosis Clarify Serum is for you. An extremely effective serum containing our best friend - Retinaldehyde.

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about Osmosis and incorporating it into your regime here I am happy to assist.

Browse through the Osmosis Skin Care Products Here

Get the skin YOU want today!

Happy Skin Days,

Sarah Wilkinson
Skin Matrix

Telomeres and Ageing

I have written about Telomeres before, but I this is a topic that I want to discuss further. Telomeres are like a protective tip that cap the end of our DNA,  that keep our chromosomes stable. A telomere is part of our DNA that controls ageing.
So if shortening Telomeres are linked to ageing, how do they shorten?

How do Telomeres shorten?

• Free radical damage to our DNA from antioxidaant deficiency. This deficiency causes mutations in our protein and DNA. 
• Cross Linkage - where sugar molecules bind with protein molecules creating blobs of gunk called AGE's (Advanced Glycation End Products). These build up, cause inflammation and a variety of disease and ageing. 
• External Threats such as environmental pollution and toxins
• Smoking, chronic stress, drinking, sleep deprivation, illnesses, hormonal imbalances, sedentary behaviour, obesity, exposure to environmental toxins and injury

Lengthening  the telomeres of healthy cells can prevent a whole range of diseases, by boosting our immune system and making our DNA more stable. This in turn will extend the life span of our cells. 

How can we lengthen Telomeres or our Biological Clock?

• The enzyme Telomerase will rebuild your Telomeres. We all have the enzyme Telomerase in our cells, but typically the gene is turned off or repressed. As we get older the amount of Telomerase declines.
• In a cell where Telomerase gene enzyme is turned on, the Telomere is rebuilt automatically.
• One ingredient: TA-65 made from the extract of a Chinese herb Astragalus which was discovered by Geron Corporation. There have been rigorous tests done by Geron and Sierra Sciences, to prove this ingredient does lengthen the Telomeres by activating Telomerase.
• Within the next decade Telomere therapy will be available. 

Hoe can we prevent Telomeres shortening?

• Exercise - short bursts of high intensity exercise
• Anti-inflammatory diet
• Sleep
• Vitamin D
• Meditation and Stress Management
• Antioxidant Supplements
• Omega 3 Fish Oils
• Glutathione - 600mg twice daily
• L-Carnosine - 1000mg daily
• Coenzyme Q 10- 200-60mg daily

I am sure over the next decade we will learn a lot more about Telomeres and the impact of shortening on the ageing process.
A healthy life balance, with a good skin care routine to supply vital antioxidants and minerals to the skin is as much as we can do to save our Telomeres from shortening.

If you want to go through a skin care plan tailor made just for you, please contact me here for a skin analysis.

Happy Skin Days

X Sarah Wilkinson
Skin Matrix


ref: aestheticis practioners journal Spring 2011