Rainy bad hair and make-up days

The weather has been nasty for the past few days in the East Coast. I wish it would rain hard or just stop. Right now it feels like the humidifier is on full blast and so you kind of need an umbrella but you kind of don't. What does this all mean? Bad hair and make up day. Not good. Here's a solution.

Keep make up to a minimum. Switch to dark eyeshadow and line your eyes with dark brown or black instead of using liquid eye liner which can smear because of the rain. To keep the color balance, use lighter brown eye brow color and wear a hue darker lipstick. I really like the Clinique lipstick which doesn't feel like the traditional thick lipstick but it also isn't gooey like lipgloss.

For a bad hair day, simply pull it back into a ponytail. Your face can look bigger so to offset that, pull out some bangs and wear elongated pair of earrings. This will make your face appear longer.

Shannen Doherty is a bad example. Her hair is too tightly pulled back and she is not wearing long earrings thereby accentuating her larger veneers. Oh, I hope Dancing with the Stars works out for her. I used to love Brenda days on 90210.

Remember, bad weather is never an excuse for bad taste.

Freckles and Brown Spots

This entry is for my Brazilian Korean American friend...

Koreans and Brazilians share a passion for red meat. The similarity ends there because while Brazilians love going to sun bathe, Koreans absolutely abhor it. Koreans have all sorts of "whitening" creams (which is racist I know), that exist in almost every brand. What does it mean to be white anyway? I think what poor-grammar Koreans mean (at least I hope) is that the cream lightens darkened spots due to sun exposure.

My Brazilian Korean American friend has two added layers to her dilemma. 1. She now lives in the US which scares its people about the consequences of over sun exposure, and 2. she lives in Southern California where beauty is the key to XXX (you name it). I didn't realize that Southern Californians were more likely to be image conscious than the rest of the country until I arrived to the east coast. This fact might be common sense to most, but it was news to me after the fourth time I exclaimed silently, "what the heck is she wearing?" And I still implode when I observe deep-yellow set of teeth. How do they face people that way? I know, the Southern Californian gift is awful.

Ok, so to get to this issue of freckles and brown spots. A huge percentage of sun damage already happens once you hit your teens. Therefore, the practice of wearing sun screen and avoiding of the sun between sun peak time (12-2 pm) is important. However, once you have freckles and brown spots, you should begin to use a "lightening" cream that contains hydroquinone or HQ cream. HQ creams come in 0.5% to 4% (prescription strength). You can ask your dermatologist to prescribe a higher percentage one for you but one with 2% can also be found over-the-counter.

My dermatologist used to make her own with 2% HQ and retin-A. This helps slough off dead skin cells, rejuvenate, and lighten your dark spots. Pigments are interesting in that using these products (higher HQ under supervision of your dermatologist) does not make your entire face lighter but evens out the skin tone and color.

Also recommended are micro dermabrasions. There are many places that offer micro dermabrasions but going to a licensed aesthetician is the best way to ensure that you won't be leaving with half your face on the masseuse table at a shady spa.

Finally, for darker spots, you may need laser treatments. These are costly and can actually do the reverse in making the spots darker. It's a risk but the consequence might be a spotless face. Choose your battles wisely. If the spot isn't too dark, it's best to opt for the HQ cream and invest in preventive care (SPF 30). Also remember that your hands are prone to brown spots so apply sunscreen on them too!