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Silica and Your Skin: A New Best Friend?

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Silica Sources in Skin Care

Lately I’ve been reading a lot of information pointing to silica as a key player in skin health – especially elasticity. Ah, skin elasticity – one of the most difficult skin care concerns we skin therapists deal with. Honestly, it’s just downright difficult to take sagging, hanging skin and significantly tighten it back up again. Costly major medical procedures like facelifts may pull skin taut, but they do little to improve the actual physiological condition that has caused the sagging – loss of elasticity. So, when I begin seeing article after article published on the beneficial effects of silica for skin elasticity, of course I become curious. Is silica really nature’s wonder source for healthy, tight, youthful skin?

What is Silica?
Silicon is a naturally occurring element and the second-most common element in the Earth’s crust. It is classified in dietary guidelines as a trace mineral. Most forms of this element are not absorbable by the body, but one form in particular can be absorbed in the human body – silicon dioxide (silica). Silica is found in greater amounts in plant-based foods and is scarce in animal based foods.

In 1939, Nobel Prize winner, Adolf Butenant proved that life cannot exist without silica. His research, conducted at Columbia University, proved that silica is an essential nutrient and must be supplied continuously from food.

So what does that have to do with silica’s effect on the skin?

Well, it seems that silica plays an important role in a number of body functions, not the least of which is the health of various tissues (including skin) in the human body. As we age, our skin begins to degenerate at a more accelerated rate due to an increasing inability to retain moisture. This loss of hydration in the lower layers of the skin is critically detrimental to collagen and elastin health. This loss of hydration and the resulting damage to collagen elastin leaves us with dull, sagging, prematurely aged skin. Silica slows the degeneration of the skin by helping the various skin constituents (elastin, collagen, mucopolysaccharides, etc.) remain vital and able to retain moisture. Actually, collagen itself is largely made up of silica!

But should I really run to the local health store and start supplementing with silica?

Maybe, maybe not. The research is conflicting. Don’t you just hate that? One study says a substance is a wonder-substance, another study says it may cause you to grow a third ear and a  tail. You really have to wonder how all the researchers come up with so much conflicting information. At any rate, there is good evidence that many silica supplements may not only be a waste of money but may also be hard on your digestive system.

So what type of silica is beneficial?

Promoters of silica supplementation recommend aqueous extractions of vegetal silica. This is a patented method of extraction by Dr. Louis Kervran. This particular form of silica is bonded to a group of water soluble bioflavonoids making it a safe and easily assimilated form of silica for the human body. This form of silica is typically extracted from the spring horsetail plant.

Another, and maybe the best way, to get adequate amounts of this skin-saving nutrient into the body is through diet. Yes, we’ve all heard it a thousand times before, but it really is the best way to get all  the good stuff – fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and whole grains. Specifically, beets, brown rice, oats, bell peppers, green beans, leafy greens, asparagus, parsley, sunflower seeds, artichokes and grain husks from whole grain oats, barley, millet and wheat are all rich in silica. If you’re in to bottled water, it’s also worth mentioning that the popular Fiji Water has far, far more silica in it than any other major bottled water product.

The bottom line?

I don’t have personal testimony about the skin improving effects of silica, however, my research came up with hundreds and hundreds of positive reviews from people touting the improvements they’d seen in their hair, skin, and nails since supplementing with silica.

Due to the levels of silica in key skin tissues and the way silica functions to help the important tissues retain important hydration, it makes complete sense that silica is an important nutrient for reducing premature aging and improving the appearance of the skin. Clearly, the earlier we think along these lines the better – skin that has been mistreated for 65 years just cannot be instantly repaired by any product, potion, lotion, or trace mineral. However, even in advanced aging – nutrients always provide a benefit to the body (and the skin), so though it may not be a wonder-cure for sagging skin, silica may very well provide some tightening benefit as well as significantly slowing down the processes that lead us to sagging skin in the first place. If your diet isn’t already rich in foods containing silica, you may want to consider a silica supplement as outlined above.

A few legal tidbits:
This article is published for information purposes only and is not intended as medical advice.

Get Soft, Smooth Legs with an Olive Oil and Lemon Sugar Scrub

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DIY Olive Oil and Lemon Scrub

Homemade Olive Oil & Lemon Sugar Scrub Recipe

Exfoliate your skin on a budget with this super simple body scrub recipe!

Three simple ingredients can come together to give you soft, silky legs. The scrub recipe on this page is a wonderful scrub for using before and after shaving. Enjoy it on any of the tougher parts of your body – arms, elbows, legs, feet, etc., but do avoid sensitive areas of skin such as your face and any areas of your body that may be affected by acne.

Ingredients:

  • Granulated Sugar
  • Olive Oil
  • Fresh Lemon

Make this scrub immediately before use. Since you’re using fresh lemon, it’s best not to make large batches for saving.

I’m not one for using exact measurements, but I would suggest starting with about 1/2 cup of sugar. Put the sugar in a small plastic bowl or jar, and add enough olive oil to saturate the sugar without excess oil floating over the top of the sugar. You’ll need to stir up this mixture to determine if you’ve got enough oil in the sugar. Next, quarter an entire lemon and squeeze all that citrusy goodness into the mixture. Stir it up again. Now you’re ready to go!

The Exfoliation:

  • Soak legs in a warm bath or allow them to become saturated in a warm shower
  • Scrub legs and feet thoroughly with scrub (and any other tougher areas of skin like your elbows)
  • Rinse away scrub with warm water

At this point you have a couple of options:

  1. Take a tiny bit of body wash in your hands, lather it up, and quickly run it up and down your legs/feet and any areas of skin you’ve used the scrub on (don’t over wash). Quickly rinse away the  body wash. This step will rinse away the excess oil and leave you soft and silky but free from the greasy feel we often experience with oil based scrubs.
  2. If you are shaving on the day of your scrub, follow all of the exfoliation steps above, shave, exfoliate with the scrub again, rinse – then proceed with step 1 above.

A few things worth mentioning:

Being a licensed skin therapist, I see a lot of misinformation floating around the Internet. Though many homemade skin treatments feel good, they often don’t perform much more than superficially.

That said, when the skin on my legs is dry and flaky, I’m not all too worried about the deeper scientific meaning surrounding it – I just want to fix the cosmetic problem at that moment.

So with all this duly noted, no, olive oil isn’t going to penetrate deeply into your skin and create a magical lifelong change. What it will do is soften the surface of your skin and create a barrier that assists in maintaining moisture levels in your skin.

The reason for sugar over salt: Salt is often rougher and more drying to the skin. Granulated sugar is more hydrating and less abrasive than coarse salt. The lemon juice, although acidic, is not terribly concentrated in this mixture. It will aid in exfoliation and give a refreshing feel to the skin, and you may experience some minor improvement in certain skin conditions, but just as noted above, it isn’t going to be a magical cure to excessive dry skin.

They key here is frequency!
Performing this scrub once a week will keep your skin nicely exfoliated, and restore moisture to the drier superficial layers of skin (the ones we see, touch, and feel).

You will feel a noticeable difference in the texture, smoothness, and glow of your skin after just one application, but to maintain this wonderful softness, you can’t just do it once!

Shoot for weekly if you possibly can.

Oh, and a few words of caution!

  • Oil makes the bath tub slippery… So be careful, will ya!?
  • Oils and all the other random stuff we wash down our drains everyday definitely can create clogs. Keep your drains nice and clean with a monthly drain cleaner treatment – and always run some extremely hot water down your drain for a minute or so after using an oil scrub.

Stretch Your Dollars: Don’t Overuse Your Products!

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Use these simple tips to get the most out of your skin care purchases!

Skin Care Tips | Murfreesboro, TN

Ask any of my guests at The Lantern Skin Studio how I tell them to use their products, and they’ll tell you I’m very clear about using small amounts.

Quality skin care products sold in spas, salons, and doctor’s offices are generally of much higher quality and concentration, and more packed with active ingredients, than formulations you’ll find at the local discount store.

For this reason, you just don’t need to apply large amounts of the products to your skin.

Take a look at this handful of tips to learn how much you should be using of the most common types of skin care products.

Cleansers:
A quality foaming cleanser should require about a green pea sized amount to clean the skin. The key is to use wet hands to lather up the cleanser before applying it to the skin. Of course, if you’re wearing a lot of makeup you should cleanse twice – once to remove the excess makeup, and once to actually cleanse the skin. Creamy cleansers may require a bit more – think dime size here.

Toners:
If you’re skin care routine includes a spray-on toner, one to two pumps should be enough. You’re looking for a very light mist, not wet, dripping skin.

Serums:
Concentrated serums are usually extremely thin in nature, and we tend to overuse these products to the extreme. Use very small amounts – something along the lines of 3-4 drops, or less than the size of a green pea if you have a somewhat thicker serum. Apply these with finger tips only. Using your entire hands to apply serums causes them to absorb into your fingers and palms.

Moisturizers:
Many of us over apply moisturizer. Except in extreme cases of dryness, most of us only need a light layer of moisturizer on the skin. The key is having the right moisturizer. If you’re very dry, you will obviously need a heavier moisturizer than someone like myself who tends to be more oily. But, you don’t necessarily need more of it. As with serums, use fingertips only to apply so your hands don’t soak up your investment. Dot your moisturizer over your forehead, cheeks, nose, chin, jaw line, and neck then slick it on and work it in from there. Start with less, you can always add a bit more if you feel like you need it.

Eye Creams:
When you apply your eye cream, you know you’re using too much if you have to spend a lot of time “working it in” or smearing it around and around trying to get it to sink in. Put a small dab on your ring finger, think “fat grain of rice”, and then dot gently under and around both eyes – making that amount last for both eyes.  Gently pat this in, and if you feel like you need a tiny bit more, go ahead and add it. The key is start with less and add more if you feel necessary.

Exfoliants:
Scrubs – It doesn’t require a walnut size of an exfoliating scrub to do the trick. Scrubs should be used sparingly, generally about the size of a nickel should be all you use at any given time.
Exfoliants that you apply and allow to sit for a specified period of time should also be used with restraint. More isn’t better, only so much can penetrate the skin at any given moment. As always, use your fingertips to apply just enough to get a thin layer on the skin.

Masks:
We’ve all seen those photos where a woman is seen with a very opaque white mask and cucumbers over her eyes. This makes a great stereotypical spa photo, but it’s a complete waste of your product. There are a multitude of skin care masks, and with the exception of rubberizing masks that come off in a single sheet after they’ve set, you just don’t need to apply so much. Layer your mask on your skin in a thin, even layer – you should still be able to see the color of your skin with the mask applied. 

Following these simple tips will maximize your investment in quality skin care products, and when you’re stretching your products properly, you can afford to buy quality skin care rather than toss money out the window on discount store brands that don’t pack near the punch of professional brands.

Less is more. As cliche as it sounds, it’s true! So use less, use your finger tips not your hands, and stretch your dollars!

Winterize Your Skin

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Winter is THE time of year for massive dehydration of the skin.

Follow these simple tips to help your skin stay radiant all winter long!

  • Foamy cleansers may strip your skin too much during the winter. Try switching to a creamy cleanser during winter. Creamy cleansers actually cleanse the skin beautifully but don’t strip precious moisture! If you’re on the oily side but feel that flaky skin and tightness, consider cleansing in  the morning with a light creamy cleanser and a foaming cleanser at night. My favorite creamy cleansers: Aviv DreamSilk Cleanser. Available at my studio or for direct shipping, the Aviv DreamSilk Cleanser is a beautifully silky, cream-based cleanser that will cleanse skin thoroughly while conditioning as it works. It smells fantastic too!
  • Use a nourishing toner. Humectants in serums and moisturizers may actually pull water from within your skin when humidity levels are low in the atmosphere (think – dry heat in the house, dry heat in the car, low humidity outdoors). Spritzing with a non-astringent, nourishing toner before applying serums and moisturizers can feed your products water that they can lock on to and hold that moisture to your skin rather than pulling it out. This little step can go a long way towards keeping your skin plumped up and more hydrated. My favorite toners for cooler weather are Face Reality’s Calming Toner and Moisture Balance Toner.
  • Warm (not hot) water. Hot water is a big factor in over-drying skin – especially during winter. Try to use warm water when you’re cleansing instead of piping hot!
  • Water Quality is Important! Here in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, we have extremely hard water and we tend to have very elevated levels of chlorine. Both hard water and chlorine are very drying to the skin. The very same heavy mineral content that causes your dishes to come out with the white mineral film on them, or your faucets to have limescale build-up is being splashed and sprayed on your skin every day. There is a definite link between the quality of the water you use and the health of your skin. A nice option is a shower filter that softens the water and removes chlorine. Both Sprite Shower Filters and Aquasana brand shower filters have versions that will both adjust the pH (soften the water) and remove chlorine and contaminants from your shower water.
  • Exfoliate gently. Too much aggressive exfoliation can dry out the skin, cause irritation, and prematurely age your skin. Gently exfoliate once or twice a week to keep the skin smooth, and go for exfoliants that also have hydrating properties. My Aviv Pineapple Polish is an excellent choice for gentle exfoliation all year long. This exfoliator is available both in the studio and for direct shipping.
  • Increase Your Professional Spa Treatments. So many of us focus on skin care during the warm months, but the cool months can bring on a whole host of skin care woes. See your skin therapist for regular spa treatments during the winter months to focus on hydration and nourishment of the skin. Microdermabrasion and chemical peels both have a better result when the skin is nourished and hydrated beforehand. Additionally, the results of such treatments last longer when regular nourishing spa treatments are performed. Lastly, the nutrients that can be infused into your skin during a professional spa treatment combined with high levels of hydration can protect your collagen and elastin, plump fine lines, and serve to slow down the appearance of the aging process. Who wouldn’t want that!?