Skin Fitness

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Since I first started coining the phrase Skin Fitness Expert to represent what I do, I’ve been asked where I came up with the title. For me, Skin Fitness came about from constantly equating what I did for my clients skin with what my personal trainer did for my body.

As I used the analogy, more and more of my discussions with clients had parallels. Your skin has a routine that you do AM and PM every day. I alternate upper and lower body workouts every other day. 2X-3X a week you do specialty home care like a mask or a scrub. 2X-3X a week I do something that will kick up my cardio a notch. Your routine is designed to change as your skin changes. My routine changes as my body changes. You have certain problem areas you are working on like lines and acne. I have certain problem areas like a big butt and tiny arms that I am working on. The parallels can go on and on

As I started linking these two concepts in my mind the physiology of the skin began to click in with the whole fitness idea. The skin is the largest organ of the body. It is also one of the last organs to receive nourishment on the organ food chain. This is why whenever you aren’t feeling well the first thing you hear is “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Your skin is one of the bodies first alert system to problems. Yellow skin, pale skin, blue skin, flushed skin, red skin, hives, blisters, rash, I can go on and on. All these are symptoms of a problem that the skin sends out as a warning sign.

The saying you are what you eat has a lot of relevance to the body. I am a firm believer that chocolate and greasy food won’t destroy your skin, but in large or regular dosages it will effect your health and therefore your skin will also suffer. That is why nutrition is a major part of skin fitness. Now I will leave it to a licensed Nutritionist to tell you what to eat, but as a Skin Fitness Expert I can tell you how to feed your skin topically.

In California the most common thing I see is dehydration being treated as oily skin. I will leave off my lecture about water hydration and oil production for another time, but I hear the same thing 99% of the time when I talk to clients about this problem.

“Client, your skin is dehydrated.”

“But I drink a ton of water!” They say in an affronted tone.

Well sometimes what you think is a ton and what is really enough aren’t the same thing at all. Their are often other factors, but one thing is certain – if you aren’t getting enough H2O your skin will tell me, and I will make sure that it starts getting that water topically. A major part of my job is making sure you nourish your skin properly on a daily basis.

Exercise. Now This is a major part of a fitness routine that isn’t really understood in my profession. When you get on my bed for your visits my job is to kick start your skin. If you have ever worked with a personal trainer then you know they push you harder and make sure you do everything better than when you work out alone. Their attention gets you faster, better, more precise results. It’s no different with me. When a client gets on my bed I use alternate techniques and tools to exercise your skin. When you go home we have discussed your home care so that I know you are exercising your skin without me.

As far as I’m concerned Skin Fitness is the future. The days of froofy, luxury spas are gone and total body wellness is in. Facials for purely “aesthetic” reasons aren’t enough. You only get one body, and the best way to take care of it is to keep it all fit. This includes the largest organ of them all – your skin.

Skin Fitness

Posted on Leave a commentPosted in Uncategorized

Since I first started coining the phrase Skin Fitness Expert to represent what I do, I’ve been asked where I came up with the title. For me, Skin Fitness came about from constantly equating what I did for my clients skin with what my personal trainer did for my body.

As I used the analogy, more and more of my discussions with clients had parallels. Your skin has a routine that you do AM and PM every day. I alternate upper and lower body workouts every other day. 2X-3X a week you do specialty home care like a mask or a scrub. 2X-3X a week I do something that will kick up my cardio a notch. Your routine is designed to change as your skin changes. My routine changes as my body changes. You have certain problem areas you are working on like lines and acne. I have certain problem areas like a big butt and tiny arms that I am working on. The parallels can go on and on

As I started linking these two concepts in my mind the physiology of the skin began to click in with the whole fitness idea. The skin is the largest organ of the body. It is also one of the last organs to receive nourishment on the organ food chain. This is why whenever you aren’t feeling well the first thing you hear is “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Your skin is one of the bodies first alert system to problems. Yellow skin, pale skin, blue skin, flushed skin, red skin, hives, blisters, rash, I can go on and on. All these are symptoms of a problem that the skin sends out as a warning sign.

The saying you are what you eat has a lot of relevance to the body. I am a firm believer that chocolate and greasy food won’t destroy your skin, but in large or regular dosages it will effect your health and therefore your skin will also suffer. That is why nutrition is a major part of skin fitness. Now I will leave it to a licensed Nutritionist to tell you what to eat, but as a Skin Fitness Expert I can tell you how to feed your skin topically.

In California the most common thing I see is dehydration being treated as oily skin. I will leave off my lecture about water hydration and oil production for another time, but I hear the same thing 99% of the time when I talk to clients about this problem.

“Client, your skin is dehydrated.”

“But I drink a ton of water!” They say in an affronted tone.

Well sometimes what you think is a ton and what is really enough aren’t the same thing at all. Their are often other factors, but one thing is certain – if you aren’t getting enough H2O your skin will tell me, and I will make sure that it starts getting that water topically. A major part of my job is making sure you nourish your skin properly on a daily basis.

Exercise. Now This is a major part of a fitness routine that isn’t really understood in my profession. When you get on my bed for your visits my job is to kick start your skin. If you have ever worked with a personal trainer then you know they push you harder and make sure you do everything better than when you work out alone. Their attention gets you faster, better, more precise results. It’s no different with me. When a client gets on my bed I use alternate techniques and tools to exercise your skin. When you go home we have discussed your home care so that I know you are exercising your skin without me.

As far as I’m concerned Skin Fitness is the future. The days of froofy, luxury spas are gone and total body wellness is in. Facials for purely “aesthetic” reasons aren’t enough. You only get one body, and the best way to take care of it is to keep it all fit. This includes the largest organ of them all – your skin.

On Being A Professional Picker

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50897c84-6a88-4047-9427-8f52b97be4beYou either love to pick zits or you don’t. If you love it you know how good it feels to get that one good pick. You hit the right spot, feel the edges give, watch the skin swell and then hear the pop as the pressure releases and fluid and matter shoot out. Ahhhh what a feeling. The wonder and the disgust mingle and that one triumph leads to the desperate hunt to find another. Grossed out? Like I said you either love it or you don’t. I happen to love it.

I’ve been a life long picker, but honestly I never thought it would become a career. Then again I never thought a lot of things about my life. I never aspired to be a geek, and yet it is the backbone of my former career and the dirty secret I currently keep. After growing up in San Diego I never thought I’d live in Los Angeles, but after an 8 year sentence of brutal winters and stifling summers in Massachusetts I know the east coast isn’t for me. And I sure as hell didn’t dream of spending heaps of money on an education that spans the globe only to find my true calling as a professional picker. A job that requires virtually no education at all. Yeah life can take you to strange and unexpected places.

The thing is, I absolutely love what I do and can’t imagine doing anything else. I have a serious passion for skin care. It’s what I live and breath. It’s always with me. I carry it around like most women carry around a purse. I see people with skin problems on the street, in grocery stores, in their cars, heck every where and I think, “I can fix that. I can make their lives better.” Which is why making the decision to give up a lucrative and successful career and throw myself into a profession that is looked down on, and pretty much totally misunderstood, was easier than I thought it would be.

Once I let go of all the BS about having a “real” job making six figures but hating your life – what life is left after working 80 hour weeks that is – the decision was an easy one. I have a gift. I can see what’s wrong with skin and make it right. It seemed a real pity to waste that. Sure it helps that I spend all my spare time advancing my education. In science classes learning about product delivery systems and ingredient blending. Reading articles on the latest machines and trends, and then cross checking the data in science journals to research the validity of those trends. Trying out everything, and talking to everyone and anyone who will impart knowledge to me. Sure that all helps, but there is something in me that just knows how to make people look and feel amazing. I recognize it as the gift it is and count my blessings every day that I get to do something I love.