J Renee Organics Skin and Beauty Blog:
Skin Advice for a Natural, Healthy, Glowing Complexion
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Wrinkles AND Acne!?
Adult acne and wrinkles at the same time and how to combat both without harming your skin. Organic product solutions.
Aging with acne is totally normal. But a pain in the butt!
As we age, excess dead skin cells clog pores, PH levels get less acidic, making skin susceptible to bacterial growth, and stress and menopause stimulate oil production. The extra oil produced mingles with the loitering dry skin creating a sticky situation and the perfect environment for acne bacteria to thrive.
Below are some solutions to the problem.
Following a home routine that incorporates ingredients that gently and regularly exfoliate (eliminate the excess dead skin) and ingredients that are anti-inflammatory and moisturize. Many anti-aging products contain oils and thick comedogenic (poor clogging) ingredients that help the skin appear youthful, but will also contribute to adult acne. We, at J. Renee Organics, have created the solution to this problem. Many of our products are anti-aging AND anti-acne.
Home Routine:
1: Cleanse. Twice a day (and after exercising) with a cleanser that contains acids and/or enzymes. Don’t use drugstore teen acne cleanser! They over-dry skin and make wrinkles more apparent. Over drying the skin causes the body to ratchet up oil production, which is the opposite of what we want.
2: Tone.
- Toner is used for a few different reasons. You can spritz it on a cotton pad and wipe off any left over cleanser or dirt or bacteria you missed while cleansing. More importantly though, it is a piece of the puzzle that is your skincare routine. Some people think of toner as just an acne product, like witch hazel or Sea Breeze used to dry up acne and oil, but in actuality it all depends on the formulation of the product as to what it would be used for. Witch hazel is ok as an ingredient in a toner but used alone, is way too drying to the skin. Sea Breeze and other toners that are drunk on alcohol content are very harsh and can easily over-dry the skin with just one use, much less daily use. We have three toners that we sell here at J. Renee Organics. If I’m being honest, my favorite is the Bomb and Calm Toner because I have aging skin that is acne prone (I’m 41 and female with combo sensitive skin). The Bomb and Calm helps with acne, aging, blackheads and other problems and it has a little kick to it because of the glycolic acid, but its oleic acid helps the skin hold on to water to plump the skin too; it’s my magic elixir. The Citrus Spritz toner is a more gentle toner for all skin types and it helps clean and preps the skin to absorb your moisturizer. The last toner we offer is the Men’s Aftershave Toner, which can be used by anyone. This toner is thick, like a gel and because of its healing sulfur and antibacterial ingredients, it’s fantastic for acne prone skin and after hair removal methods like shaving, plucking, dermaplaning, electrolysis, waxing and threading so you don’t get ingrown hairs or acne. So, as you can see, there are toners for different reasons but they are an integral part of your routine because they prep for moisturizer, cleanse just a bit more and can improve skin problems.
3: Moisturize. You don’t need a night cream/day cream/eye cream... Shoot for one moisturizer that your skin likes AND STICK WITH IT.
4: Lastly, WEAR SUNSCREEN if outside! UV rays can appear to help a breakout at first by drying-out the skin, but also causes inflammation, acne scarring, wrinkles, age spots and cancer. I’m not a fan of 2 in 1 moisturizers with sunscreen, but that’s a whole other article. Check out the article and others on our Q&A page
If you’re overwhelmed or don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on the wrong products, fill out our online skin-type questionnaire and get a customized skin assessment.
Are you damaging your skin?
Know Your Skin Type
Most of my clients don’t know their skin type or guess wrong and are using harmful products that not only make their skin look and feel worse, but also compromise the health of their skin. It is essential for everyone to get a skin assessment to make sure they are using products that work well together to improve and/or maintain skin health and beauty. Not everyone that has shiny skin has an oily skin type.
There are many factors that go into skin type: environment you live in, water consumption, pore size (pores do not open and close), oil production, hormones, chronic disease, medications, UV exposure and certain hobbies like swimming. Many of these things can be true for one person! Here at J. Renee Organics, we are well educated on the effects of these things on your skin and will refer you to the perfect routine and products for your unique situation.
Shelly Todd, Founder, Esthetician
J. Renee Organics
Revive Skin Services
Voted best spa 2020, Best skincare clinic 2021
Youth Acne
Acne can plague us at any age but during adolescence and puberty is the time to start battling it. Pre-teens are just learning how to take care of themselves and then BAM!, puberty kicks in and hormones turn their faces into an oily mess. Chances are that your child will have some form of acne during this time.
It is so very important to have your child on the right routine ASAP! Washing twice per day with the proper cleanser for their skin type and applying the proper lotion will keep most acne at bay and will lessen the chances of life long scarring.
Most drugstore acne products are formulated to dry-out the skin; this is not a long-term solution. In most people, this over-dries the skin, which stimulates oil production and creates MORE ACNE.
Addressing acne as early as possible will lessen the need for stronger medications, lasers and chemical peels later. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Fill out our skin-type questionnaire for your child and get them on the right track.
Our skincare clinic won in Lake Oswego, OR
Thank you to everyone who voted for Shelly!
Shelly Todd is the owner and esthetician for Revive Skin Services in three locations in Oregon. Shelly is also the creator and owner of J. Renee Organics Skincare. Her hard work and persistent learning has paid off!
Sweet treats for your skin.
Summer heat have your skin breaking out? PEEL and MASK! It’s the only way to remove all that sun damage, dirt from all those hikes, smoke from camping, exhaust and other pollution so that your pores aren’t clogging up and creating infections and acne. CLEAN SLATE!
Anti-Aging Dream Team
Results you can feel and see, quickly…NATURALLY.
These two masks, used weekly back-to-back (Peel then Pink Petal Mask), will do wonders for your skin texture and tone. Within weeks, you’ll see a dramatic difference in how your makeup settles on your skin, on the depth of wrinkles, dry skin clears up and hyperpigmentation starts to blend with the rest of the skin tone. All lending to a youthful complexion without chemicals or expensive procedures or products that may cause side effects. Added bonus: These also treat acne!
Peel Level 1-3: Enzymes gently scavenge damaged, diseased, and dead skin cells for optimal radiance. Gotu Kola is a proven collagen stimulant proven to work 120 times more effectively than synthetic collagen replacement therapies.
* * * Choose the level best for your skin type: 1=sensitive, 2=normal, 3=hearty, thick skin
Reishi mushroom carries Asiatic Acid to the cells for damage restoration, fading of sun spots and damage, wrinkle reduction, and boosting of cellular hydration. This beautifully gentle mask can be used by children, extremely sensitive skin types, Rosacea and anyone wanting to get a deeper cleanse and exfoliate but have adverse reactions to stronger products.
Blueberries bring to your skin an arsenal of anti-aging benefits and cranberries add to the blend with active bioflavonoids as well as much needed vitamins. This decadent and restorative treatment is a must for acne sufferers, acne scarring, antiaging and most skin types. May be too strong for sensitive skin, choose level 1 Peel Mask instead.
This peel is for those who want a little more aggressive exfoliation and for skin that can handle a bit of scrubbing. Along with the triple-acid combo of lactic, malic and glycolic acids, it also has fermented pomegranate enzymes and olive exfoliant. With acids, enzymes and a manual exfoliant, this mask scrub is a fantastic for antiaging, thick skin and acne scarring. This mask is not for sensitive skin types, Rosacea, or use on skin with active breakouts.
Because it contains a blend of several antioxidants, this mask is the GO-TO for antiaging and reversing free radical damage. Just recently, scientific studies have shown that topical application of anti-oxidants dramatically improves the quality of the epidermis and dermis. The effect soothes out wrinkles and the refines skin texture without side effects. There are also positive effects in treating photodamaged skin (dark spots) with anti-oxidants consisting of resveratrol, which in this mask are plenty: raspberry Seed Extract, Schisandra Chinensis Fruit, Rosehip Seed Oil, pomegranate and apple. Petal Clay Mask is helpful for almost all aging skin problems as well as acne and post acne scarring and hyperpigmentation.
Rosacea Fast Facts
Vitamins and supplements that help with acne and rosacea.
We help you treat your rosacea from the outside, but there are some things you can do to help your body battle it when you have flares or help to alleviate symptoms all together. Here is a list of supplements and vitamins you can ingest to HELP BATTLE ROSACEA and the inflammation that comes with it. Many of these come in a daily multivitamin but you can also consume foods rich in them.
vitamin B-6
vitamin C
copper
magnesium
manganese
zinc
calcium (This is a BIG one. Helps stop flushing of the skin.)
vitamin B-1
vitamin B-12
folic acid
Food and drinks that can make rosacea WORSE:
alcohol
aged cheeses
canned, pickled, and fermented foods
smoked products, such as sausage, ham, bacon, or salami
legumes, such as chickpeas, soybeans, and lentils
vinegar
many prepared meals
yogurt
salty snack foods
sweets with preservatives
chocolate and cocoa
green tea
most citrus fruits
pineapple
canned fish, such as mackerel and tuna
peanuts
spinach
tomatoes
bananas
eggplant
strawberries
cherries
chili powder
cinnamon
cloves
Medications that can make rosacea worse:
airway medications, such as theophylline
heart medications
antibiotics
antidepressants
antipsychotics
diuretics
muscle relaxants
pain medications
gastrointestinal medicines
nausea and gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD
malaria drugs
acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin)
indomethacin (Indocin)
diclofenac (Voltaren)
naproxen
Other things that can make rosacea worse:
alcohol
intestinal conditions or injuries that compromise the gut lining and affect digestion
liver conditions
vitamin B-6, vitamin C, copper, or zinc deficiencies
extreme or chronic stress
low oxygen states
injury or trauma
temperature extremes
Allergies and Rosacea
Rosacea presents as red cheeks, acne like rash and sometimes itching and even pain.
Studies have shown that a major instigator for flares in Rosacea are mast cells, which play a roll in your healing and inflammatory response. In people with food allergies and sensitivities, hay-fever and other allergies, their inflammatory response is activated on a regular basis. Mast cells release histamine to help destroy the perceived threat, which causes inflammation in the body. This process can exacerbate Rosacea, Acne and other inflammatory related diseases like autoimmune disease and arthritis.
To help protect your skin from flushing or progressing into a full-blown Rosacea flare, it’s important to take an antihistamine daily. It’s also very important to avoid food, products and situations, like: food you’re allergic to, sugar, gluten, perfumes, very hot showers and saunas, so your skin won’t start the inflammatory process. Once you omit the offensive action or food, it will take your body several days to weeks to recover fully and start to calm down again.
If your Rosacea is still not calming down after omitting the offensive substance or action, you may want to make an appointment to see an allergist or immunologist to see if there is an issue with your immune system causing a chronic inflammatory response. Rosacea is an external sign of the storms stirring inside your body. Finding the reason for your Rosacea flares is helpful in keeping your whole body’s inflammation in check, which helps keep your body healthy, lessens body pain and helps your skin look prettier.
Using the proper products for your skin is even more important in Rosacea prone skin as well. Many products can irritate the skin: perfumes, strong retinols and acids as well as some botanical ingredients like oleander, lavender and tea tree oil. Even the best anti-aging and acne products are too irritating for Rosacea prone skin because they irritate the skin to plump it or use acids to exfoliate; which unfortunately activates the inflammatory response. This activation is good for plumping wrinkles and erasing acne, but bad for redness and Rosacea. A fine balance of active and non-active soothing ingredients is needed for this type of sensitive skin. Have questions? Email Shelly, our skin info guru.
Mask-Up & Glow-Up
Our Coco Char mask replenishes with minerals and botanicals that rebuild, repair, restore without drying the skin. Great for #acne #blackheads #maskne #sensitiveskin #irritatedskin #allskintypes. #jreneeorganics #organicskincare #naturalproducts #mask #charcoalmask #betterskin
BOGO on Return Client Home Facial Kits
Our home facial kits provide you with Shelly’s personalized care with professional products and easy, specific instructions on how to do each step. Each kit includes: Cleanser, Custom Enzyme Peel, Scrub bits, Custom Mask, Toner, Serum and Lotion. Get exemplary results using professional strength organic peels and masks that are specifically for your skin’s needs, just like if you came into my office. Get your skin back on track!
BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!
2 Home Facial Kits used 2-3 weeks apart will achieve softer, clearer better skin.
Sale ends March 1st
Happy Valentine’s Day! Shop now! Sale ends tonight. Use Code LOVE
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Buy Now to get before Christmas!
Last minute Christmas gifts, stocking stuffers and gift cards. From $5-$200 Get 15% off using code 15OFF.
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What is a PEEL anyway?
Many people think of those peel-off masks when they hear “peel”, that’s not what skincare professionals mean when they say peel. A peel is a mask that is applied to the skin to exfoliate dead skin away using fruit acids (enzyme peel) or chemicals (chemical peel). Chemical peels are used for a deeper resurfacing of skin and can be quite painful, numbing cream and anesthesia is usually used for chemical peels and they are legally only supposed to be performed under a doctor’s supervision in most states. J. Renee Peels are all natural and use fruit enzymes from pumpkin, papaya, pomegranate and other fruits as well as natural lactic, glycolic and citric acids. Our exfoliating masks are labeled peels but the actual action of enzymes is to dissolve or digest the dead skin cells, so there is no yanking or peeling action needed, which can damage sensitive skin. Our peels are applied to the skin like a mask in a thin layer and after 10-15 minutes it’s washed off with a cloth, leaving you with soft skin, unclogged pores and a youthful pink in your cheeks. Enzyme peels are the go-to for natural antiaging because they fade hyperpigmentation (age spots, sun damage, melasma, acne scars), they soften skin texture (acne scars, dry skin, bumps), brighten skin tone, dissolve blackheads and help unclog pores to get rid of acne. Peels are MAGIC for your complexion! …
$40 Home Facial Kit & Skin Assessment
This is a home facial kit with professional products and specific instructions on how to do each step. This kit includes: Cleanse, Custom Enzyme Peel, Scrub, Custom Mask, Toner, Serum and Lotion. Fill out our skin questionnaire and we will assess your skin type and discern your needs for home skincare routine. Get exemplary results using professional organic peels and masks that are specifically for your skin’s needs. Customized care!
Safe Skin Lighteners
J. Renee Organics help create beautiful complexions by fading and removing damaged darkened skin, as well as helping redness from skin conditions. We use organic lightening ingredients to achieve a more blended, youthful tone while also paying close attention to skin texture and health. We make sure your routine is well rounded to prevent irritation, but that are strong enough to make a REAL improvement in tour skin.
Gentle exfoliation on a daily basis allows the skin to stay soft, smoothes out wrinkles, empties out pores to make them look smaller and prevents acne breakouts. Glycolic acid, bromelian, willow bark, salicylic acid and plant enzymes help cellular turnover (via exfoliation), kick-starts collagen production and helps your skin treatments (serum and moisturizer) soak in better, which saves you from using more product.. which in turn, saves you money.
Since your skin is now primed and ready to absorb ingredients that make a significant difference in your beauty, we then throw in ingredients that lighten the skin naturally to improve skin tone. We all have skin discoloration of some sort: acne scars, regular scars, age spots, melasma and UV damage. Our products are packed with lightening ingredients like vitamin A and C, Camu camu, Noni, niacinamide, malic acid, relishing mushrooms and sandalwood to block melanocyte (pigment cells) activity and fade discoloration in the skin.
All of these active ingredients can sometimes irritate sensitive skin types, so of course, we balance out your skincare routine with a multitude of soothing, moisturizing and healing ingredients that help rebuild and plump skin. Ingredients like gotu kola, horsetail extract, comfrey root extract, beta glucan and panthenol help by enhancing immune function to heal. These healing ingredients stimulate collagen to plump the skin, stifle inflammation to lessen redness while also support natural barrier function to protect you from future damage.
The result of this magical formulation of active, then healing ingredients, is flawless, beautiful skin. A youthful glow to the cheeks, with less redness all over. Dark splotches blend into a uniform skin tone. Acne breakouts and irritation is stopped and prevented. Your skin is healthy and happy as well as youthful looking!
Small Business Saturday 2020
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NO MORE CETAPHIL OR CERAVE!
WHY are doctors still recommending Cetaphil and CeraVe? Please just stop already!!
As an esthetician, I see MANY clients with sensitive skin that come in and say their doctor referred them to Cerave and/or Cetaphil products for their sensitive skin. This is just baffling to me. The top ingredient in most of their products is alcohol. Because alcohol evaporates so fast, it dries the skin further, can irritate the skin and exaserbate eczema, Rosacea and other sensitive skin conditions including acne.
Cetaphil products contain very few ingredients but many are detrimental to skin AND your health! Their products contain several parabens, which have been scientifically proven (see proof below) to be easily absorbed into the skin, disrupt the endocrine system and mimic estrogen and increase your chance of developing breast cancer among other things. Parabens are to be avoided at all costs and their products are packed with them. Not to mention if you already have sensitive skin, your protective barrier and micro biome is probably already not working to protect you, so these detrimental ingredients are readily being absorbed by your skin.
Cerave products are only slightly better in that they actually contain one or two beneficial ingredients to help the skin and have less alcohol, but they have several parabens in their products as well. If you have a skin issue that needs addressing though (acne, dry skin, redness, rosacea, melasma,etc), they don’t contain a sufficient amount of active ingredients to reverse or relieve issues. In their acne products, the active ingredient is benzoyl peroxide, which can help acne in the short-term by drying out the skin, but causes a vicious cycle of over-dry to oily skin and can actually cause more acne and acne scarring in the long run. It also harms your skin’s ability to protect itself from pollution and bacteria because your natural healthy bacteria can’t survive in that environment.
As if cancer causing ingredients aren’t enough to stop using these products, the skin can also become sensitized to products containing parabens, which results in irritation. They also cause pre-term births, shorter menstural cycles that result in infertility and they are detrimental to Earth’s environment. (See articles at the bottom) The man made preservative is not something the body happily accepts.
These product companies have mastered a marketing plan to deceive the public and doctors have fallen prey to the hype. It’s infuriating to estheticians, because we see what the aftermath of chronic use of poor products does to the skin. Clients think they are doing what’s best, what their doctor told them to do, only to see their skin get worse.
Doctors are trained to diagnose disease and to help you heal from it. Legally, unless they received advanced training in esthetics, they are not the professionals to seek out for the beautification of skin or ingredient knowledge and daily skincare routine; a well trained experienced esthetician is. I have received many hours of advanced training on ingredient toxicology in skincare products, oncology skin health and how ingredients work together (or don’t) to help skin look and feel better. Doctors are there to diagnose problems and prescribe controlled substances, unless they have advanced training in esthetics.
This was the primary reason for me creating J. Renee Organics; all the products I tried and was referred to made my skin worse. My products create a healthy skin environment to support your largest organ. With the right amount of moisture, exfoliation and proper hygiene routine, the skin can look and feel beautiful without further intervention. Schedule your skin assessment today and start on the path of the proper routine for YOU. The path to beautiful healthy skin starts as soon as you take the first step.
Scientific American: “Parabens mimic estrogen by binding to estrogen receptors on cells. Research has shown that the perceived influx of estrogen beyond normal levels can in some cases trigger reactions such as increasing breast cell division and the growth of tumors."
Environmental Working Group: “In human studies, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found decreased fertility was associated with urinary propylparaben (Smith 2013). Another human study linked butylparaben and total urinary paraben levels with decreased fertility, as indicated by decreased menstrual cycle length (Nishihama 2016). Butylparaben levels in the mother’s urine and levels in cord blood were associated with increased odds of pre-term birth and decreased birth weight (Geer 2017).“
Environmental Working Group: “Parabens are also linked to ecological harm, as low levels of butylparaben can kill coral, according to laboratory tests (Danaovaro 2008). Parabens have been detected in surface waters, fish and sediments (Haman 2015). When parabens are combined with chlorinated tap water, a number of chlorinated paraben byproducts can form (Canosa 2006). Little is known about the toxicity of these byproducts, which may be more persistent (Haman 2015).“
Black Friday
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