Patti Stanger's million dollar skin advice

With a mixture of sass and crass bluntness, third generation matchmaker Patti Stanger has a knack for finding love for other people. As owner of The Millionaire's Club, one of the most elite dating services in the world, Patti has seen thousands of relationship succeed and fail. Through both the successes and the failures, she learned-- and began taking note of the recurring trends that lead to higher love-match success rates. For single people looking to meet their perfect match, Patti delivers some harsh, but honest advice: appearance counts! 

One of her top physical priorities for attracting a mate is, unsurprisingly, good skin. In an instant, the appearance of a person's skin tells the story of that person's health and age, prime qualities that are subconsciously taken into account when choosing a prospective date. In order to get your skin in shape, and keep it looking it's best, here is a quick run-down of Patti's check-list to perfect skin:

• Do your homework!
  After testing out various micro-dermabrasions, facials, and laser treatments, Patti admits that she doesn't like to waste money-- and neither should you! Always extensively research any new skin fad you think might be beneficial before plunking down any of your hard-earned cash.
  Equally important, do your due research on the person whom might be administering these treatments to you. Check their credentials, get references, look at before and after pictures, and feel comfortable taking your time when it comes to decision making. "Keep in mind that just as the cheapest [treatment/specialist] might not be the best, the most expensive might not be either."

• If you find a skin care plan that works, stick with it!
  After experiencing break-outs whenever she strayed from her tried and true La Prairie skin care routine, Patti ultimately figured, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Staying faithful to a skin care plan that works, and taking good care of her skin, for over 20 years, has definitely paid off. At age 47, Patti looks at least a decade younger than her chronological age.
  Once you have found a skin care plan that works for you, resist temptation to switch every time a new "miracle"product or fad emerges. If you want consistently good skin, be consistent with what works.

• There is nothing wrong with Botox, but be wary of "Botox Parties"
  Although certainly not against the use of Botox, the concept of a "Botox Party" kind of skeeves Patti out. The idea of mixing alcohol (which usually is present at social gatherings) with a medical procedure seems like a recipe for disaster.
  Muses Patti, "Do you really want to be making decisions about your face when you're tipsy? Are you going to give credence to the opinions of your drunken friends?"
  When it comes to any sort of skin care treatment, Patti's discomfort is well founded: alcohol should certainly NEVER be present, for neither the patient nor the skin care administrator.
  

• Don't forget the skin on your hands and neck
  Often overlooked in favor of just focusing on the face, the neck skin, and skin on the back of the hands, receive just as much abuse and sun damage as your face does-- but with a fraction of the TLC. Make sure to apply sunscreen everyday, all year long, to both areas. Subconsciously, these areas can easily make you appear older than you are, despite the condition of your facial skin.
  When it comes to attracting a mate, Patti recommends extra care be spent on the tips of your fingers. "Manicures and good nail care are essential. Professional nail care is so inexpensive these days, and men think beautifully manicured hands are sexy."

• No matter what, take care of your skin before bed!
  Take off your makeup, cleanse your skin, and use night cream every night, no exceptions.
  Patti's tough love: "I don't care if you're tired, do you want a [mate] or not?"
  Since your skin uses this downtime to repair itself from the offenses incurred during the day, it is important to provide your skin with the best ingredients to work with; i.e. clean, hydrated skin. 

By following Patti's sound skin advice, you will find it easier to love the reflection in the mirror, which in turn will make it even easier to find love out in the world.

For more insight into how to attract your perfect mate, check out Patti on Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker show, or read her book, "8 Easy Steps for Attracting Your Perfect Mate".

2011 is looking good...

New Year, new products, new treatments... so many new things to talk about!

We just received our first shipment yesterday from EOS (stands for Evolution of Smooth) and after reading rave reviews about these adorably packaged, organic, good-for-your-skin products, I am so excited to be offering them to our patients. (Plus, I love how the cheerful packaging makes me smile every time I pass the display.)

More about EOS later though, because I'm also so excited about the new SkinCeutical chemical peels that are joining our inventory of magical skin care treatments!

Whether your skin concern is acne, aging, or unevenness... there is a customizable SkinCeuticals Chemical Peel for you. 

Each of the peels (aging: MicroPeel, acne: MicroPeel Plus, uneven skin: Pigment Balancing Masque) can be made as strong or as mild as needed for your specific skin type, and the MicroPeel is literally the coolest peel ever due to the cryogenic therapy involved. Yup, the last step of this peel includes a man-made snow-ball on a stick, which is used to administer the final step of exfoliation. (It is the coolest thing ever, it feels amazing, and leaves your skin feeling so soft!) 

More on this later, too...

The other thing that has me especially stoked right now, is kind of frustrating considering that it took this long to think of... For months and months we have been trying to teach our patients the best way to use Latisse (use a lipstick brush to apply it to the lashes). However, patients used to always call to say that despite ardent looking, a lidded lipstick brush seemed impossible to find... but no more. We finally found the perfect brush, and are currently stocking it so that all of our Latisse lovers can get the most lash for their buck. 

(The thicker plastic brush on the left is the applicator brush that is included in the Latisse kit, and the thinner brush to the right is the kind that we recommend.)

Next on my to-get list: the perfect eye-lash curler. After Latisse does it's magic and grows your lashes long, longer, longest, the best way to get the most dramatic effect is by curling the lashes and really allowing their length to show. 

I've been doing my homework, but am not fully sold on any one curler yet. Do you have any recommendations on the BEST eye-lash curler out there? 

Also, with resolutions at their year time high, I am told that this is the best time of year for self-tanning. My St. Tropez inventory is stocked and ready to go... will be interesting to see what happens.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday, can't wait to share the rest of 2011 with you. :)

Snowball in the face: New SkinCeuticals Anti-Aging Treatment

The picture at left is of some sort of snow-ball cake, en route to be decorated. Nothing about a kitschy winter-themed dessert is even remotely skin related... and yet, it was the closest image I could find to what I imagine is going to be coming up during our upcoming SkinCeutical chemical peel training day. 

Yup, a snowball on a stick.

The shopping list of things we needed in order to facilitate our upcoming day of Chemical Peel training was both intimidating and formidable. Slowly working our way through the seemingly never-ending list (our Blade Handle and Blade Remover arrived just today, if you were wondering) has been a time-consuming and somewhat humorous task. Although it was a bit embarrassing for a complete chemistry-ignoramus to call the local gas company and describe why I needed a heavy duty CO2 tank for a Medical Spa, I cannot wait to see how everything comes together in action.

Since we haven't gone through our training yet, and no videos of this peel are available on YouTube, my excitement is based wholly off my imagination in conjunction with the description given by our SkinC rep...

For the anti-aging SkinCeuticals "MicroPeel", the CO2 comes into play with the seldom-used-despite-it's-awesome-benefits Cryogenic Therapy. "Snowballs" are formed with the frozen CO2, and then attached  to Popsicle sticks. They are wrapped in gauze, dipped in Glycolic acid and then rubbed all over the face. The extremely low temperature is supposed to help prevent redness and any inflammation, while the freezing temperature sanitizes the skin while helping exfoliate blackheads, ingrown hairs, and clogged pores. (There is derma-planing involved in this treatment too.) The end result is smoother, clearer, brighter, tighter skin, with a reduction in fine lines, wrinkles, and brown spots, with NO down-time.

Literally, these peels are going to be so cool, and I cannot wait to start doing them. Making snow-ball popsicles with a CO2 tank, wearing my Doctor's coat and safety glasses, I think I will look like a mad scientist version of an Aesthetician... and I simply cannot wait. :)

New skin care "a-peel" from SkinCeuticals

With people like Oprah, Kim K., J.Lo, and Gwynnie singing their praises + a slew of beauty awards, it is easy to say that SkinCeuticals has cultivated a highly respectable name for themselves in the skin-care industry. 

And for a good reason: their products work. 

From non-pore clogging SPF 50 sunscreens, to antioxidants that are proven to prevent skin cancer, to under-eye creams that people swear work better than products 5x more expensive, SkinCeuticals has covered all of the skin-care needs beautifully.

While they are mostly known for their at-home products, that is-- skin care that people can administer to themselves; such as face wash, moisturizer, and sunscreen-- they have recently developed a line of medical grade Chemical Peels that can only be received in medical offices. With a peel for anti-aging, acne, or hyperpigmentation; they have created a quick, in-office treatment that can benefit a wide variety of people. 

Having only just signed-up to be a part of this Chemical Peel roll-out, everyday boxes and boxes from SkinCeuticals  are arriving on my door-step. Some of the included pieces are puzzling for now (lug nuts? Other misc hardware pieces?), and some are intimidating (razor blades for derma-planing), and some just look comical amongst my skin care stock (mixing bowls and thermoses).

Out of the three medical grade peels, we are currently only doing one (Pigment Balancing Masque) and need a professional SkinCeuticals instructor to come and educate us on the two new ones (Micropeel and Micropeel Plus). 

On the upcoming SkinCeuticals Chemical Peel menu, specifically:

Pigment Balancing Masque (We've been doing these already for about the past year, and I can't keep the product in stock, my patients--especially African Americans-- LOVE the results from this!)

• Improves uneven skin tone and helps get rid of sun damage, brown spots, and other forms of hyperpigmentation
• This peel is a one step process that uses a very strong chemical exfoliation, and  high-performance skin brightening agents

Micropeel (We have never done these before, and I am so excited to learn how! Before I can start though, a professional SkinCeuticals instructor has to come and spend a whole day here, going over all the ins-and-outs of cryogenics and derma-planing.)

• Helps reduce the primary signs of aging, including fine line and wrinkles, dullness, and visible skin imperfections.
• This peel involves three steps, and includes manual exfoliation, chemical exfoliation, and cryogenic therapy

Micropeel Plus (Again, need the instructor to teach this to me, but I am intrigued that this chemical peel is only one step, and yet is considered an advancement to the plain old "Micropeel"?)

• Helps reduce acne and keeps problematic skin clear of breakouts.
• This peel consists of a one-step chemical exfoliation with salicylic acid procedure

As I learn more, I will certainly keep you posted. In the meantime, it's fun opening my supply closets and daydreaming about all of the miraculous things I will soon be able to add to my skin perfecting repertoire. :)