Girl Meets... Stress!

Today I thought I'd talk about something that is affecting me at the moment, and wreaking havoc with my skin, stress! A seemingly harmless reaction within the body can have a huge impact on the skin. I'm fortunate enough to have relatively well behaved skin, but I'm currently in the process of buying a house, throw into the mix changes at work, a hectic lifestyle and lots of travelling and my skins gone crazy. Cue dry, flaky skin, sensitivity and big patches of breakouts, which certainly don't help my stress levels at all.

So, why do these changes occur as a response to stress? the main contributing factor is stress hormones. As soon as the body becomes stressed it kick starts the Adrenal Glands into producing Cortisol, which in turn stimulates the Sebaceous Gland (where oil is produced). If this process occurs in the ideal conditions it can soon lead to adult acne. These include;

• build up of dead skin cells
• bacteria presen
• inflammation

This response to stress is one of the most common with 54% of women over 25 suffering with some form of acne (Journal of American Academy of Dermatology).

In order to determine whether your breakouts are a result of a stressful lifestyle make a note of where you tend to get them. Most adult acne sufferers see pustules and breakouts on the lower half of the face, specifically around the mouth, jawline and neck.

Another common skin response to stress is sensitivity, again this is stimulated by the increase in stress hormones producing a neurogenic reaction within the nervous system and the skin. You will commonly see inflammation, slow wound healing and itching in sensitized skins. The skin's natural protective barrier (Lipid Barrier) can also become impaired throughout prolonged periods of stress allowing common irritants into the skin far too easily, but also allowing the skins hydration out, resulting in dry dehydrated skin like mine.

 

You may also find your skin becomes sensitized to products you have used happily for years as it can no longer protect itself effectively. In this instance you need to rebuild the lipid barrier by replenishing the essential fatty acids that it is made up of, and rehydrating the skin. Which is why you really need to keep drinking plenty of water! 

So there you have it, the importance of controlling your stress levels; I think I've suitably justified booking that long awaited massage!

*If you are suffering with adult acne I will be doing a full post on this topic next week, so don't forget to check back in!*

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Girl Meets .... Hero Products

In my first post I encouraged you to ditch the full coverage foundation and embrace barefaced beauty, something which I found surprisingly easy; plus it saved me so much time in the morning! This week I've had a few emails asking me how to achieve that flawless skin that doesn't need make up, so today I'm going to reveal my top five hero products that leave my skin glowing and my concealer in my make up bag!

5. Vaseline Lip Therapy

A classic beauty staple, great for taming brows, highlighting cheek bones and of course giving beautifully glossy lips! This isn't, however, a skin care product as such, it may feel like its hydrating chapped lips but its simply sat protecting them. You don't want to use too much of this on breakout prone skin as it is potentially comedogenic (clogs the pores), instead use it lightly to highlight and ALWAYS make sure you thoroughly double cleanse it off at the end of the day. 

4. Dermalogica Triactive Cleanse

Triactive Cleanse is one of my secret weapons when my skin is looking dull and tired. Developed to brighten and improve skin tone, particularly in pigmented skins, this cleanser will also exfoliate and moisturise at the same time. Ingredients such as Lactic Acid will lift away dull skin cells revealing beautifully glowing skin, and Shea Butter helps to moisturise and increase luminosity. This is an absolute must throughout the winter months when skin starts to become dehydrated and tired. 

For those who suffer from breakouts and acne, Triactive Cleanse is amazing at brightening Post Inflammatory Pigmentation (discolouration left over from breakouts). For a super charged treatment combine this cleanser with Daily Microfoliant (see my number one product!)

3. Water

This may not be a beauty product but its one of the most effective ways of treating the skin, and its virtually free! The skin is the largest organ in the body and is primarily made up of water, protein and lipids, therefore replenishing hydration levels is crucial to maintaining skin health and reinforcing the skins natural protective barrier. The daily recommended amount of water is around two litres a day, but don't forget foods such as vegetables have a high water content therefore they will also help to hydrate the body. Other foods that help to maintain the skins lipid barrier are oily fish, nuts and flaxseed, so you really can eat yourself beautiful! 

2. Dior Addict Lipstick - '959 Rouge Sex Appeal'

No matter how run down I look and feel the one thing that can alway perk me up, both physically and mentally is a slick of bright red lipstick! This is the influence of my Mother who has always taught me no matter how undone you look, lipstick can bring an outfit together (she even applies this rule to her Zumba outfit!) 

Take inspiration from the great classic beauties like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and my modern day icon Dita von Teese and pick vibrant reds, or  go for deeper berry colours for Autumn/ Winter 12. My personal favourite is Dior's Rouge Sex-Appeal, a perfect go to colour whether I'm in Black Tie, jeans or my bikini on the beach.

1. Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant

I must recommend this hero product to people hundreds of times a week, thanks to the amazing results I have seen on my skin over the past three years. Due to severe adult acne in my early twenties I was left with a lot of pigmentation and very uneven skin tone. Growing up with good skin throughout my teens this knocked my confidence greatly, refusing to go without foundation, even on holiday and in the gym.

The natural Rice Bran Extract actively brightens uneven pigmentation, and Salicylic Acid chemically exfoliates the skin leaving it absolutely smooth and glowing. For those concerned with breakouts and blackheads this is the perfect targeted exfoliator, as the Salicylic Acid works not only on the surface of the skin but into the pores to clear out the build up of dead skin cells. 

This is one of the few products that I have been so impressed with that I have wanted to tell all my friends and family about. Infact, if you snooped round their bathrooms you will most certainly find a bottle of some size that has been gifted to them from me.

So there you have it Girl Meets Product's top five tips to help you go au naturel(ish) over the festive period; well I wasn't going to give up all my indulgences a girls got to have a few tricks up her sleeve! 

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A Barefaced Welcome...

Welcome to Girl Meets Product, where my quest for the perfect beauty product goes public! Since I was old enough to earn my own pocket money, or smile sweetly at my dad I have been buying every new beauty product on the market on the look out for truly remarkable results that make me feel amazing.

This personal interest in all things cosmetic eventually influenced my choice of career, steering me into the role as a Professional Skin Therapist, through cosmetic sciences, aesthetic surgery and make up artistry. So, why did I settle on skin care? Mainly because it is the first step in all of the above. What use is the perfect smokey eye or an expertly filled lip when the base isn't as well preserved? 

This brings me onto the topic of my first post, over the past few months I've been on my own personal campaign to make up-less skin, so nothing makes me happier to see than Heidi Klum and Caroline Flack (who looks incredible btw) amongst others looking fresh faced for BBC's Children In Need. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008dk4b/profiles/cin-bearfaced-2012 

In a culture of the Essex tan and the "Scousebrow" the true nature of beauty has been lost. Please don't get me wrong I absolutely adore make up, as you'll see it will feature heavily throughout my posts! But as a natural pale and interesting girl the art of understated beauty is my forte. 

So with this I bring you the challenge, go bare faced at least once in the run up to Christmas (and I don't mean during a gym session or whilst you are relaxing at home). Tomorrow is actually the day that Children In Need are encouraging you to bite the bullet, but if you just can't face the prospect so soon I will be sharing with you my miracle products and the secrets of a Professional Skin Therapist over the next few weeks. If you have any questions about any concerns you may have with your skin don't hesitate to drop me a message or tweet me @GirlMeetProduct

Under Construction...

... Watch this space for impartial product reviews from me, Professional Skin Therapist and all round product geek!!

In the meantime keep updated @GirlMeetProduct