Wealthy women at biggest risk for melanoma

What slice of the population would you guess is at the highest risk for contracting skin cancer? 

Obviously, as the title of this article would indicate, we know the answer to the question... but before you read this, who would you have guessed is at the highest risk? 

As I try to mentally compartmentalize the study described below, part of me wants to say that I would have guessed lower class Caucasians-- both male and female-- as being at the highest risk.  This is based purely on assumption, but I would peg them to not be educated correctly about the important benefits of sunscreen, nor would I think that they have the expendable income to spend on something like sunscreen, which doesn't deliver a benefit that can be immediately seen. (Lower-income families of any other ethnicity most likely have darker skin-tones, which naturally provides a better defense against the sun.) 

My second guess would have been wealthier Caucasians, again-- male or female-- because of the outdoor leisure activities extra-wealth would allow them to do, combined with the fragility of pale skin. (Plus, the have the money and desire to invest in indoor tanning, in order to succumb to the "tan" peer-pressure.) 

Interestingly enough, it is my second hunch that is the accurate one, with occurrences of melanoma being much higher in affluent Caucasian women than men. 

Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, killed an estimated 8,700 Americans in 2010 alone. Unfortunately, according to new research just published by the Archives of Dermatology, being a wealthy white female indicates a higher risk for contracting the deadly cancer...  

Researchers discovered that Caucasian females living in the most affluent California neighborhoods were almost six times more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than those living in the poorest California neighborhoods. 

The amount of ultraviolet radiation each geographical location received was also taken into consideration. Even then-- the females with the higher socioeconomic status were 73% more likely to develop melanoma than the poorer women living in areas that received equally high amounts of ultraviolet rays.

Previous studies suggest several possibilities for these findings, which neatly coincide with exactly what you would expect: greater access to outdoor recreational activities increases the risk of melanoma.

“Affluent women have been reported to have more leisure time, during which they may pursue outdoor activities such as gardening, playing sports, or walking,” noted the researchers. Visits to indoor-tanning salons, and tropical vacations are also leisure activities that well-off white women may be partaking in that potentially could increase their risk of melanoma. (It is speculated that melanoma occurrence is higher in women than men, because affluent men are usually working indoors during the day.)

Despite a woman's economic status, data shows that all females had significant increases in melanoma incidence. Between 1980 and 2004, the occurrence of melanoma amongst young American women increased by 50 percent!

  

Everyone, regardless of wealth, location, age or skin color, needs to take precautions to help protect themselves and their loved ones from melanoma. 

• To learn more about your risk of skin cancer, take The Skin Cancer Foundation's Fitzpatrick Skin Type Quiz to find out your skin type.
  
• For information on how to protect your skin every day, see The Skin Cancer Foundation's Prevention Guidelines.

Hard to decide which one is cuter...

Both of these products have a place safely ensconced in my make-up drawer, so while I love them both, I am having a very hard time choosing between the two in a matter that is based purely off superficial aesthetics. 

Specifically, as a sucker for anything cute/witty, I am having a very hard time choosing a favorite between these two advertisements. 

There's the Teamine Eye Cream "Because dark circles are only cute on pandas...." ad:

And then there's my champion of cuteness, EOS, with their new "a touch of delight" ad for their hand cream:

Both are totally cute, totally informative, and both represent products that totally work.

I can't choose. Which one do you like better?

Cleanliness vs. sunscreen? It's a wash!

Time and time again skin care experts extol the importance of applying daily sunscreen to your hands. The rationale is easy to understand; your hands are consistently exposed to environmental damage, and after years and years of exposure the fragile skin of your hands can look years older than the skin on your face. (Especially with the new trend of SPF makeup formulas, sun protection of the face is much more prevalent than hand or decolletage protection.) 

For those that do take the time to sunscreen their hands everyday(such as myself), the simple act of hand-washing becomes a more time consuming ordeal. Especially in a job industry where frequent hand-washes are required (medical, food, or small children related, to name a few...), washing your hands, and reapplying sunscreen 15x a day easily becomes a burden too time and product-consuming to maintain. 

With much genius, Solise has come up with an elegant solution. Intent on figuring out a way to safely protect his young children from sun damage, at each seeming dead-end Dale Lillard reminded himself of Thomas Edison's famous quote "I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that don't work."

Finally teaming up with an inventor/engineer neighbor, a product that could clean and provide simultaneous sun protection was born. 

Solise is available as either a hand wash or a body wash. It won't clog pores, is hypoallergenic, moisturizing, anti-aging, never tested on animals, and non-greasy. After you wash your hands or body with Solise, your hands/body are protected with an SPF 15 sunscreen. Gentle enough to use on your face, or on children, your first defense against sun damage is now as easy as washing your hands, or taking a shower. (Imagine if after every morning bath, your baby was automatically covered in SPF 15, and every time you washed your hands-- you were protecting yourself?)  

Since Solise only provides an SPF of 15, they classify themselves as your "first step against sun damage," meaning that if you are going to be spending time outdoors additional sun protection will be needed. However, for the kids playing outdoors during the winter, or the adults that spend a lot of time driving, or a million other applicable situations, Solise seems like a perfect time-saving skin-saver. (Not to mention it won the 2010 Skin Cancer Foundation's most prestigious Seal of Recommendation award.)

Does it sound like I'm hyped about this product? Currently only available on the West Coast, Solise will be hitting Philadelphia shelves very shortly, and at about $15 per 8 oz., it is a steal considering it is a body/hand wash AND a sunscreen. (Or, if purchased online at www.Solise.com, use coupon code 73483 to save 10% off any purchase.)

Viviscal Part I: Was this Rapunzel's secret?

Ever wonder why Disney princesses always have super long, thick, lustrous hair? (Ok, even though it's just a cartoon-- somehow you just know that the princess's hair is super silky, soft, and shiny.) Did you ever wonder if there is any correlation between having that gorgeous hair, and the most handsomest prince in the world, falling in love with them?

Granted however, that Disney princesses are just drawings for children. 

So, consider their real-life counter-parts: the models of Victoria's Secret. Giselle, Heidi Klum, Adriana Lima, Marissa Miller, Mirande Kerr, and Selita Ebanks, are all real-life women, whom are considered the echelon of female desirability. Lo and behold, they too ALL have thick, long, shiny hair. 

Would Victoria's Secret models be as sexy, with short/thin hair? Me thinks not. 

With my thin mop of shoulder-length hair, certainly no offense is meant to anyone with short, or thin hair. 

However, without a doubt-- long, healthy hair is sexy hair, and it sends a loud but subconscious message to the world: I am very healthy, you should mate with me. 

Despite the gloom surrounding the current economy, the hair care industry is still receiving it's share of dollars. Most models and celebrities with really long hair are sporting extensions-- which require frequent and expensive maintenance.(Good hair extensions need to be redone every 3-6 months, and start at around $1,000+.)  

And length isn't the only reason why people get extensions though, some get hair extensions at natural looking lengths, simply to thicken the appearance of their hair. 

The extension craze has gotten so big that it has slowly but surely made its way into the tresses of the every-day girls all around you. Those that have extensions readily admit the addictiveness of it, and cannot imagine a day when they would not want to keep up with the mandatory maintenance, despite the financial strain.

However, what if there was a way to allow your own hair to grow longer and thicker, for a fraction of the price of extensions? Vogue magazine recently ran an article where they revealed a secret trick that models employ to always look picture perfect: Viviscal tablets. 

Made of fish cartilage, pop two of these pills a day for up to 6 months and Viviscal promises that your will grow longer, faster.

The ingredients are all natural, and encourage faster growth of new hairs, in addition to prolonging the growth stage of your pre-existing hairs (so that the hairs you already have, don't fall out as quickly.) The final effect is thicker, longer hair, that is all yours. 

A little skeptical, I actually spoke with the customer service people. When probed about any possible side-effects (such as a fishy after-taste-- I was assured there was NO after-taste) I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the only other reported effects were the faster, thicker growth of nails and eye-lashes, too. 

Since the Viviscal supplement cannot change the appearance of the hair already on your head, you are advised to take this for at least six months before you start to see the real results. At about $70 for a month's supply, (an absolute steal compared to the cost of hair extensions) I placed my first 3 month order yesterday, and CANNOT wait for it to arrive so I can start this experiment on myself. 

The question remains: Is it really physically possible for a dietary supplement to allow me to grow the hair of my dreams?! 

Stay tuned to find out... and depending on how this goes down, boxes of Viviscal might soon be for sale next to our boxes of Latisse. 

• Nourishes thinning hair and promotes existing hair growth
• Clinically proven and scientifically tested
• Drug-free and safe from harmful side effects
• Strengthens and nourishes weak hair from within
• One formulation for men and women
• Proven to work for all ages and ethnicities
• 100% natural ingredients

Botox proven to improve quality of life

It's no surprise to hear that Botox has been proven to increase a person's self-esteem-- who wouldn't feel better about themselves after having their fine lines and wrinkles erased?

However, it is interesting to hear that aside from self-esteem improvement, new studies show that Botox actually increases a person's quality of life, across the board...

In November 2010, researchers for the journal of Dermatologic Surgery conducted an experiment where 100 patients were given either Botox injections, or placebo saline injections. The participants were surveyed before the injections, and then again 2 weeks, and 3 months later. Questions asked were related to quality, satisfaction, and happiness of the participant's lives.
 

Once the results of all three surveys were tabulated (before injection, immediately after, and a few months after), the patients who received the real Botox injections showed statistically significant improvements in a wide variety of emotions related to self-esteem and quality of life; such as physical health, mood, household activities, overall life satisfaction, body satisfaction, self-consciousness, intelligence, self-worth, appearance, comprehension, weight satisfaction, attractiveness, and sense of well-being.

These findings tie into an idea suggested more than a century ago, when it was first suggested that facial expressions can send a message to the brain that influences emotions. For example, if the simple act of smiling can help make you feel happy, than frowning can negatively affect your mood. If the patients that were injected with the real Botox were physically unable to make the faces associated with stress/anger/upset, perhaps they were likewise spared from feeling those according unhappy emotions? 


For all of the good that Botox can accomplish, (anti-aging, anti-sweating, anti-migraine, perhaps anti-depression, etc.) it is definitely time for Botox to lose it's negative social stigma. Instead of looking at Botox like it's something to be ashamed or embarrassed about, it should be seen as the new Band-Aid or Tylenol, with a useful application for many a variety of ailments.

Got Lucky: Top 10 essential beauty tips

Over the past ten years of its existence, Lucky magazine-- a magazine dedicated to shopping-- is the only printed publication that has evolved with me, resulting in a magazine that I still LOVE to see in my mailbox as much as I did at its inception in 2000. (On a side note, it was a little horrifying to see that Kim France is no longer the editor. It feels like I've lost a dear friend, and I hope that Lucky stays Lucky without her... if that's even possible.)

To commemorate their 10th Birthday, they have all sorts of fun features, such as a time-line of the past decade's trends (good and bad), evolution of certain female celebrity styles, things to expect in the future... and, their top 10 beauty tips of all time. 

As a tribute to the magazine that always provides inspiration, guidance, and ideas, Lucky magazine's "10 Essential Beauty Tips" are shared here:

1. Pat, don't rub your concealer. When you rub, you move the concealer to a different part of your face-- the part that didn't need something concealed. Apply the concealer only to what needs it, then pat lightly-- it'll seem like it'll never blend in, but stick with it and suddenly it will seamlessly disappear, along with whatever it's covering up. 

2. The key to any acne regimen is... staying on the regimen! Once your skin has cleared, you will imagine you are no longer a person with acne. You could not be more wrong. Vigilance is all. Stick to the routine, no matter what.

3. You are almost always prettiest with something close to your natural hair texture. Gisele is still Gisele with a sleek blowout, but when she's got her natural waves, the full jaw-droppingness of Gisele emerges. 

4. Once you've applied self-tanner, go over dry spots (ankles, elbows, toes, etc.) with a bit of moisturizer. This will blend away/diffuse any potential patches. 

5. Vitamin C is the champion glowifier skincare item. Not anti-wrinkle-- thats retinol-- but super-brightening and revivifying. 

6. In general, focus on only your lips or your eyes makeup-wise, not both at the same time. 

7. The hairstylist/aesthetician/manicurist who spends her time trashing the job the last person did on you is thehairstylist/aesthetician/manicurist you need to replace, stat. Truly talented people focus on bringing out the best in you, not telling you what's wrong with you.

8. Work out right before your big event and you'll look at least 50% prettier. (Your skin will glow so incredibly that everyone will ask, "Who did your makeup?")

9. You wear your haircut everyday, so think about that when agonizing over the price:  

You. Wear it. Every. Day. So it should cost more than your shoes and that would still be a reasonable thing.

10. Make your skin cream work harder by applying it to damp skin. Getting your face wet dramatically increases the efficacy of most antiagers. It can also make something just too plain powerful for your skin-- especially if you're sensitive. So if you're using something strong, try a new treatment out on dry skin first. 

Why you are probably washing your face wrong

On weekday mornings, inane chatter from cheesy radio stations keep me company as I get ready for the upcoming work day. Lady Gaga songs, celebrity gossip, and light banter is exactly what I need to help my brain percolate itself from slumber. Just the other morning, my ears perked up as my favorite radio personalities veered the discussion towards the topic of skin care. 

The female hosts were sharing surprisingly on-point advice; such as always wash your face before bed, and apply sunscreen to the backs of your hands in addition to your face. 

Then, one of them said something along the lines of, "my dermatologist recommends never washing your face with hot water; only warm, room temperature water." 

Whoa! I was happily shocked to hear her recommending this tip nationwide to millions of listeners, because although this is exactly right, not enough people know it. It made sense though, that since she is a popular figure in New York City, she probably has access to the best of the best skin experts.


Just as I was thinking this, she went on to explain that washing your face with hot water is bad to do because... "it causes broken capillaries on the face."

Huh?? 

Radio lady, I really like you, but on this one-- you have no idea what you're talking about. There are multiple reasons why you should not wash your face with hot water, and broken capillaries have nothing to do with any of them. 


When finishing each and every skin consult, I review the correct way to wash their face: when you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed every night, wash your face using an appropriate cleanser and warm water. Replace your face towels every couple days to make sure you are drying your clean face with a clean towel. 

Everyone knows (whether they do it or not), that they should be washing their face both morning and night, and the towel advice makes immediate sense. The water temperature recommendation is the only face washing bit that is met with any inquisitiveness...

Why wash with warm water when hot water feels good, and seems like it would clean better?   


Because, science shows that washing your face with hot water is harmful for any type of skin, dry to oily. 

If you have dry skin, hot water is counter productive because it washes away too many of your skin's natural oils, drying it out even further. The feeling of extra-dry, extra-tight skin usually leads to a generous application of facial moisturizer, which can leave the skin looking greasy again... The best practice for dry skin is to wash with warm water, and then apply a light moisturizer.


If your skin is oily, or suffers from acne, hot water is even more detrimental. The heat causes the pores to enlarge to a point where the pore swells shut and traps all of the stuff inside you were trying to wash off. Dead cells, dirt, oil, and bacteria become locked inside the pore, creating the perfect breeding ground for future outbreaks. Instead, for oily skin you should be washing with warm water and an oil-free cleanser that lists salicylic acid as an ingredient.  

Don't fret about this water temperature change though-- it is not uncomfortable to splash your face with warm water, and it feels even better knowing that you are giving your face an optimal washing.