Monthly Archives: May 2011

Eat Pig’s Skin For Good Skin?

28 May 2011

Apparently so, says Lily Kew, founder of GLOW Aesthetics. And, if you look at this 40-year-old’s taut and glowing skin, it must work! She shares more skin secrets here:

The clichéd answer would be to eat more fruits and veggies, drink more water and consume less salt in foods. However, I am going to share a secret my grandmother has passed down to me. 

Believe it or not, you need to eat pigs’ skin and make sure you shave off the layer of excess fat; just eat the skin itself. You can find this commonly as a key ingredient in kway chap at your local hawker centre. You can also find pigs’ skin at some yong tau foo shops.

Apart from this, another food that contributes to good skin is chicken feet, which you will normally find served as one of many dim sum dishes. Alternatively, if you were to cook chicken feet with red dates, wolfberries and peanuts, I promise this will give you skin that everyone will be envious of.

Another food that will give you good skin is white fungus. I suggest these foods because they are high in collagen and fats. Once consumed; they provide your skin with natural moisture which prevents the formation of wrinkles, and creates a barrier prohibiting UV rays from damaging your skin and thus prevents pigmentation. The collagen gives your skin added firmness.

To read her full article, get a copy of Aesthetics & Beauty Guide December issue, in newstands and petrol kiosks now!


Best Skin Solver For Hyperpigmentation

20 May 2011

If you suffer from hyperpigmentation (melasma), here are the recommended prescription and over-the-counter treatments:

Treatment:

Hydroquinone (a benzene derivative that fades dark spots)

How it helps:

Bleaches darkened areas by preventing formation of pigment.

How to use it:

Apply twice a day and only to hyperpigmented areas. May be combined with products with AHA or salicylic acids.

Inside scoop:

- Be patient: improvements may take 4 to 8 weeks to become apparent.

- Stop immediately if area becomes darkened.

- Diligent sun prevention is a must to prevent reversal of benefit.

- Give non-prescription forms 2 months to work, if they’re not effective, switch to prescription strength.

Products recommended:

- Over the counter: La-Roche Posay Biomedic Conditioning Gel (2%)

- By prescription: Generic hydroquinone (4%), Tri-Luma, EpiQuin Micro, Lustra or Lustra Ultra

For more information, check out Dr Amy Wechsler’s book, The Mind-Body Connection.


La Prairie Cellular Radiance Emulsion Workshop

14 May 2011

Gold – this glittering metal has been used since ancient times to heal the sick and save lives.  The use of gold in modern medicine began around 1890, when the German bacteriologist Robert Koch discovered that compounds made with gold inhibited growth of the bacillus that caused tuberculosis. Since then, medical uses of gold have expanded greatly. It is used in surgery to patch damaged blood vessels, nerves, bones and membranes. And it is used in the treatment of several forms of cancer. Injection of microscopic gold pellets helps to retard prostate cancer in men. Women with ovarian cancer are treated with colloidal gold. And gold vapor lasers seek out and destroy cancerous cells without harming their healthy neighbors.

The anti-aging benefits of gold can be traced back 5,000 years to Cleopatra, who was said to sleep in a gold face mask every night to enhance the suppleness of her complexion and preserve its natural luminosity. In addition to antioxidant and antimicrobial powers, gold is praised for its purported ability to ward off UV damage, tighten lax skin and reduce the appearance of discoloration. Some believe it can slow the breakdown of elastin, keeping skin firm and taut; other proponents believe gold increases circulation, eliminating toxins from the body and speeding up tissue repair.

Which brings me to the reason why I was up early on a Saturday morning, popping gold-leafed canapes in my mouth…I was invited by La Prairie for the launch of their new Cellular Radiance Emulsion. At the workshop, group training manager of Starasia, Michelle, educated us on the benefits of gold and how their new product, containing this magic ingredient, will help bring radiance and suppleness to dull skin.

Any tai-tai worth her salt will know that La Prairie is known for their anti-aging skincare range made up of luxurious and top of the range ingredients like caviar, platinum and gold. One of their bestsellers is a serum called Cellular Radiance Concentrate Pure Gold under their Radiance Collection, which contains colloidal gold, flecks of gold and liquid crystals to rejuvenate skin. This Cellular Radiance Emulsion SPF30 is the latest add-on to the collection, and a complement to their bestseller.

Testing the products, the gold flecks in the serum were obvious and my hand was instantly “blinged” up when I applied it. Topping it off with the emulsion, there was indeed a radiance to my hand as promised by the products. The texture was a little too rich for my liking upon application but after a while, the slight stickiness went away when the product was fully absorbed.

Besides gold, the emulsion also contains other skin-loving ingredients like a Unique Brightening Complex that contains a patented molecule that brightens the skin and helps prevent age spots from forming, Extract of Silver Vine which blocks almost 100% of carbonylation which is responsible for decreasing light transmission of the skin and Boswellia Extract, a topical anti-irritant to reduce cellular stress, a cause of redness and irritation.

I don’t think that I am going to use the La Prairie products daily as I am quite happy with my current regime. Instead, I am going to save these goodies for special occasions when I need to glow. Or after a particularly rough week. Or perhaps when I am feeling like Cleopatra and soaking in my milk bath…

The Cellular Radiance Concentrate Pure Gold is retailing at $1050, while the Cellular Radiance Emulsion SPF30 is $750. Available at La Prairie counters at Tangs, Metro Paragon, Takashimaya and Robinsons.


Anti-aging Tip: Abuse Your Face!

6 May 2011

Burning our skin, peeling it off, even pricking it with micro-needles – these are just some of the crazy things we do to achieve radiant, youthful skin.

Does Your Skin Need Resurfacing?

Think of your skin as an increasingly well-worn slipcover. Even if you’ve taken really good care of it, life happens – skin texture has gotten rougher here, the color uneven there, and it all looks a little dull and drab. Honestly, it needs replacing.

That’s what resurfacing techniques do. They remove the old, worn, upper layer of skin, and the healing process replaces it with a new layer of fresh, smooth skin. How? With strong lasers, chemicals or needles.

It’s a delicate process, so find an expert  in whatever method suits your needs. Your recovery time from the procedure will depend on the size and depth of the treated area, but the effect can be remarkable. Resurfacing your entire face is not always necessary, and spot treatments can also be very effective. Or you may only need a laser that mainly evens out color irregularities or subtly tightens and refreshes the upper surface.

Look out for my review of my new beauty must-have which involves running needles all over my face (ouch!) but the results are so worth the discomfort! Coming soon on ReviewAntiAging.com