“Crash Course for Common Skincare Emergencies”

Who hasn’t dealt with puffy under eyes, dark under eye circles, flaking under the eyes, occasional acne, or lifeless skin? Things happen in our busy lives and unfortunately our skin has to pay the price. No need to worry; here are some secrets to help you quickly recover.

For puffy or “baggy” under eyes:  Possible contributing factors may include lack of sleep or overdoing alcohol. As long as you don’t make either a daily practice, you’ll be fine in the long term. If you’ve slept for less than six hours, place raw cucumber slices over your eyes. You may also use a cold-compress. If you overdid the alcohol, then drink lots of spring water and eat fresh pineapple (by itself) for breakfast.

You may also use this makeup secret: After placing raw cucumbers on the eyes for five minutes, blend concealer on the darker, recessed area under where the puff is located; do not place it on the actual puff.  

For lifeless blotchy skin:  Contributing factors may include smoking, dehydration, or decreased skin cell renewal. If you smoke, please seek help to quit! If you’re dehydrated, drink lots of spring water and eat fresh pineapple (by itself) for breakfast. To counter decreased skin cell renewal, exfoliate regularly with a dry clean washcloth.

For occasional acne: This may come from consuming ingredients harmful for the skin (expanded on in the Magical Skincare Kingdom E-book), using oil containing commercial products, not properly removing makeup, hormone imbalances, or birth control pills.  Consider cleaning up your diet by avoiding processed foods, using oil free products, and properly removing makeup with organic cleansing cloths.

For dark under eye circles: This may occur because of not enough sleep (less than six hours) or may be heredity. Try to schedule in at least six hours of sleep a night. If your dark circles are heredity, then try using this concealer trick: apply concealer after foundation so the concealer will mask what the foundation didn’t.

For under eye flaking: You may be dehydrated or allergic to an eye product you’re using. Stop using commercial eye products to see if the flaking stops.  Use a room humidifier and drink more water if you’re dehydrated.  (“The Magical Skincare Kingdom” refers a miraculous moisturizer that is also safe to use under the eyes.)

“Warning: People with Oily Skin should avoid soaps and toners”

It seems reasonable to use soap in order to dry out oily skin, but it’s the worse action you can take. Soaps are too alkaline for most skin types. The skin is a little acidic. The change in the skin’s pH can leave an uncomfortable feeling. When there is a lot of oil in your skin, toners and soaps dry the upper layer of the skin out.  The deeper glands perceive the skin as being dry and excrete out more oil. This creates a horrible cycle of removing and producing oils. This cycle contributes to the skin becoming even oilier.  It’s best for this skin type to not use moisturizers and to use a gentle cleanser instead of soaps or toners.