TMS

You Are What You Eat!

31 May 2016

We all know that our health and even our moods are often reflective of our diets. But many of us don’t realize that what we eat can have a significant impact on our skin’s health and complexion. Whether you’re trying to combat breakouts or premature wrinkles, changing your diet ever so slightly may just be the jump-start you need to improve your skin’s overall appearance. After all, beauty comes from within. Here are Tribeca MedSpa’s top foods for a radiant complexion:

Berries: Well-known as a great source of antioxidants, berries can also protect skin from premature aging. The many antioxidants and vitamins in berries can combat free radicals, preventing future skin damage. Berries such as blueberries are also noted for their anti-acne properties, preventing blemishes, opening clogged pores and tackling harmful bacteria.

Citrus Fruit: Citrus fruits such as lemon, orange and grapefruit are packed with antioxidants and vitamins such as Vitamin C. Vitamin C not only hydrates skin, but it also reveals a brighter, more radiant complexion. Vitamin C can also reduce signs of aging by deferring wrinkles, discoloration, and even sagging. Fruits such as grapefruit and lemon are also thought to boost and energize one’s metabolism.

Spinach: Spinach is a great super food for your skin. Not only can spinach reduce visible signs of aging, but it can also repair damaged cells, stimulate collagen production and reveal healthy, glowing skin. Eating spinach daily can also leave dry, dull skin feeling hydrated due to its high water content. Nutrients such as Vitamin K help reduce inflammation, as well as the appearance of dark under eye circles.

Avocado: Avocado is a wonderful and effective natural moisturizer for dehydrated skin. Its high concentration of Vitamin E can nourish dry skin, revealing a supple finish. Avocado is also thought to prevent free radicals, reducing skin’s vulnerability to sun damage and other environmental damage that could cause fine lines and wrinkles.

Green Tea: Rich in antioxidants, green tea not only reveals a glowing complexion, but it is also proven to prevent skin cancer. In many cases, drinking green tea can also help protect your skin from sun damage and premature wrinkles. Aside from its amazing skin benefits, green tea can also lower cholesterol, prevent heart disease and boost your metabolism, igniting a healthy, new you!

Eat up!

Healthy Skin Lifestyle

24 August 2014

With the summer wrapping up, many of us are looking at the toll that the summer months took on our skin.  Sun exposure, long days with late nights, and summer cocktails can leave your skin dull and dry.  Whiletreatments and products make a difference revitalizing your skin and repairing the damage from the bad behavior many of us indulged in this summer, there is a quick ‘life-style’ cleanse that guarantees to refresh you.

In an ideal world, we could rely on a full 7-8 hours of sleep, plenty of water, a whole-food based diet including organic vegetables, and daily physical activity for a beautiful, healthy appearance.  And while most of us busy-but-beauty-conscious individuals find achieving just one item from off that list out of our reach, there is one simple life-style change that produces an immediate improvement to one’s appearance: cut out alcohol.

I tried a 30-day alcohol cleanse on suggestion from my acupuncturist when complaining about my unshakeable sugar cravings, but the compliments I got on my skin made me think: is this the skin-care tip people haven’t been getting?  At the risk of using temperance party sound-bites or sounding as old-fashioned as a character from Boardwalk Empire, I highly recommend going “dry” to combat dry skin.

Alcohol dehydrates you.  Not only does alcohol work as a diuretic it inhibits the hormones which control water reabsorption.  So even if you are using the college-senior-approved strategy of one shot of water per shot of alcohol, you will be dehydrated.  So for those of us with dry skin, alcohol keeps us dry or exacerbates the condition.  To follow this further, dehydration leads directly to wrinkles as collagen is not being regenerated well so wrinkles come on faster and go deeper.

Alcohol is a vasodilator which means it dilates the blood vessels and causes a redistribution of fluid in the body.  In case you were wondering how one can be dehydrated and puffy at the same time, there is your answer.  While your whole body is affected, the thin delicate skin around your eyes is quick to show this by way of puffy eyelids and under eye bags.  This increased vascular activity can look like a general flush or redness particularly around the nose and cheeks.  Over time or in extreme cases this increased vascular activity can result in tiny broken capillaries sometimes called spider veins.

In a less direct aesthetic attack, alcohol is detrimental to restful sleeping causing tossing and turning and waking up more frequently during the night.  A University of Michigan study actually shows this side-effect to be worse for women than for men.  The subsequent and often indulged craving for a greasy hang-over-cure breakfast is another indirect assault on your skin’s health.

Going alcohol-free is certainly not a necessity for health as there have been numerous scientific studies about the benefits of alcohol; red wine in particular has garnered plenty of good press in the last decade.  It’s important to remember that alcohol, like any controlled substance, has both pros and cons.  If you feel like giving ‘Sober September’ a try, you can judge for yourself.

Hormonal Skin

28 June 2014

The word ‘hormonal’ is often used to explain away break-outs, bad moods and erratic behavior, but what is the real effect that hormones have on our skin?  Hormonal changes are part of the natural aging process that takes us from adolescence to maturity.

Androgens, which are the hormones that stimulate the sebaceous (oil) glands in the skin, can run the show in our early teens through 20s. When the sebaceous glands are over-stimulated by androgens, acne flare-ups can occur.  Androgens also effect body hair growth.

Estrogen takes center stage as women enter ‘child-bearing years.’  Fluctuations especially during pregnancy can result in increased melanin, body break-outs and dry, rough patches of skin.  Estrogen fluctuations also occur throughout the menstrual cycle for women and these fluctuations often have a strong effect on skin for women beginning or coming off of birth control pills.

The dip in estrogen levels later in life dramatically increases skin sensitivity while also resulting in a downturn in elasticity and collagen.

Stress hormones, such as cortisol and norepinephrine, perhaps have the most powerful effect on skin for both men and women.  Stress hormones are released any time our brains interpret situation as being potentially dangerous, and these hormones interact with and often cause fluctuations in estrogen, testosterone and androgens.

The best thing treatment for ‘hormonal skin’ is two-fold.  First have a professional evaluate your skin.  The most common pitfall in home skin care regimens is treating your skins former condition instead of its current one.  Pregnant women experiencing break-outs may turn to the astringent they used at 16 and pre-menopausal women may notice that their skin seems thinner and just apply more of the moisturizer that they have been using for the past decade when these are not the best products for their current condition.  This inappropriate product use in a home care regimen stresses the skin, causing it to work harder and possibly worsening the condition you are try to fix.

The second part of treating hormonal skin is easier said than done: relax.  Simply taking time to breathe deeply is scientifically proven to reduce stress hormones in the body.

Hormonal skin need not be a synonym for bad skin; take a deep breath and treat your skin well.  To schedule a complimentary consultation to evaluate your skin care products, please contact us.