Top 10 Skin Secrets from Beauty Expert Heather Clarey

My friend, Heather Clarey is the ultimate beauty expert [ & an amazing yoga instructor too! ]. She began working in the health and beauty industry over eighteen years ago & is a popular licensed esthetician in San Diego. She particularly specializes in advanced skin care solutions such as Jessner Peels. Every time I see her, her skin is absolutely glowing. Here she shares her top ten beauty/skin secrets with us:

+ 10 Things to Improve your Skin:

1.] Everyone should use a Vitamin C serum.

Specifically L-ascorbic acid, as opposed to a serum labeled just Vitamin C. This helps maintain normal cellular turnover & builds collagen. L-ascorbic acid is essential for cross-linking collagen molecules, lightens & brightens skin, reduces inflammation, decreases transepidermal water loss, & boosts your own skins ability to protect itself from the sun. Wear Vit C under a SPF moisturizer.

[ I love Vitamin C spray { this one is amazing too! } ]

2. ] Wear SPF daily:

 Wear a moisturizer with a SPF 30 or higher every single day. This is the most important thing you do to protect your skin from premature aging! The sun causes 80% of aging. Hyperpigmentation, enlarged pores, damages the collagen, & elastin fibroblast are also caused by sun…The list goes on. Also, 90% of women forget to protect their neck & chest! This is the worst when you’re driving in the car or you endure incidental sun exposure [ waking to and from your car ]. So I suggest just putting a little more than a pea size amount all over your neck & chest after your L-ascorbic acid for maximum results. For a natural sunburn soother, use oatmeal with water!

3.] Exfoliate:

Something that has stuck with me the most over the years was a woman who came to my work as a trainer at Sephora. I managed the South Coast store & did all their corporate training. She said “the best thing you will ever do for your skin is exfoliate.” She was fifty, but looked thirty…and mind you, this was before Botox! My best analogy is that exfoliating your skin is like flossing your teeth. As we age our skin’s ability to turn over cells slows down. This is called your desquamation process. So we need to exfoliate manually via “scrub” as well as “chemical” exfoliation. Some examples of this are glycolic, salicylic, & lactic acids.

4.] Keep hydrated:

Our bodies are 70% H20. If you drink water all day it will show in your skin!

5.] Lots of rest:

Wonder why photo shoots for celebrities and models are done in the AM? Night time is our time for restoring & healing of all cells in our bodies. Your skin will literally look renewed, refreshed, & rested.

6.] Get a facial:

At home care is if utmost importance. If you want to make things even better for your skin, resort to the professionals. A basic facial will give your skin the boots it needs to jump start fresher skin.

7.] Keep your skin hydrated:

So yes, water is important. Our skin is the largest organ in our bodies. We loose hydration by the elements. Sun, wind, pollution. Hyaluronic acid that is found naturally in the dermis of your skin holds a thousand times its own weight in moisture. It’s a moisture binder.

8.] Acne prone skin:

Most people don’t know this: it’s hereditary. Keeping your skin hydrated is key in caring for acne. If you over dry your skin it thinks it needs to produce more oil.

[ Murad Acne Spot Treatment ]

9.] Acidophilus is a bacteria neutralizer:

Add this to your routine & you will normalize bacteria levels, as well as minimize frequent break outs.

10.] Spot treat with a salicylic treatment:

Bacteria can not live in the presence of oxygen. Salicylic acid is the best spot treat!

+ P.S. Heather’s quick skinny tip: eat a grapefruit when you wake up to boost the metabolism. Another tip: get monthly B-12 shots to increase your metabolism, burn fat, & increase energy.

++ To book with Heather at Brazilia Skin Care, click here.

+++ For more healthy skin tips, click here.