All posts in beauty tips

Vita Green Lingzhi – TCM Supplement With Anti-Aging Benefits

by Shirleen on March 13, 2013 in 01, Others, Skin Food & Supplement with No comments

I’m a strong believer in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), probably because I have grew up surrounded with these chinese medicine around me. My dad and uncles used to own traditional chinese medical halls. Even till now, I’m still occasionally taking chinese tonic herbs (which require me to brew it) to help improve my overall health.

vita green lingzhi

Recently, I have received an invitation to try out a TCM anti-aging supplement, it is the Vita Green Lingzhi. I accepted the offer without much hesitation as I’m always very keen to learn more about the wonders of chinese herbs. However, I’m not keen on bird’s nest at all which I have only taken less than 10 times in my whole life.

Beauty comes from beautiful health!

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Beauty Questions? Ask Dr. Irwin
- The Best Treatments For Pigmentation

by Shirleen on March 9, 2013 in Dr. Irwin's answer to reader's question, Whitening & Hydrating with No comments

Reader’s Question

I’ve pigmentation on my face. May i know what the best treatment for pigmentation.

Ziwa

Dr. Irwin’s Answer

How I wish there was a simple answer to this question and I know you and millions of other women would like one too. To answer, please remember that there are many different causes of pigment on the face and you must know the cause (your diagnosis) because it’s the only way that treatment will be effective. So…….. do you have melasma (more horrnonal and pregnancy), sun damage spots (lentingines) or blotches, more raised brown growths (seborrheic keratoses), certain medications or spots that are post acne or after other rashes/ irritations?? And then there are some rarer internal causes like adrenal gland problems. Some women have 2 or 3 of these problems together. Most causes of pigmentation are light/sun activated. Notice I didn’t say just sun – but natural LIGHT!!

Once you know what you have, then it’s easier for you and your dermatologist to figure out treatment. “Bleaching creams,” for example, can help some pigment problems but do nothing or very little for others problems. ALL treatment plans for pigmentation require sun and light protection and I really recommend double layering your sunscreen. The first one should contain zinc oxide 10% or higher. There are some nice tinted ones now. See SkinTour.com under products for examples. The second layer depends on how much you are outdoors. If you are indoors, a mineral pigment makeup is good or even a tinted moisturizer or makeup with an SPF 15 or higher could be fine.

I hope this will at least get you started. Good luck to you!

Dr. Irwin

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Guest Blogger Dr. Irwin – Anti-Aging Beyond The Face

by Shirleen on February 18, 2012 in Anti Aging, Guest Blogger - Dr Irwin's Beauty Tips with No comments

Womenlovebeauty’s guest blogger Dr. Brandith Irwin who has been a guest medical expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Weekend Today Show, provides beauty tips on anti-aging, my favorite beauty topic ever.

Anti-Aging Beyond The Face

When we think of anti-aging treatments we automatically think about the face. But don’t forget that the neck, chest and hands age too! In order to look flawlessly youthful, it is a good idea to treat all of these areas so you have an even look.

Laser treatments, chemical peels and injectables are common non-invasive anti aging treatments for the face that can also be applied to the neck, chest and hands.

The skin on your neck and chest is usually exposed to the sun just as much as your face, but not everyone remembers to apply sunscreen to these areas. Therefore this skin can become damaged. Laser resurfacing treatments, like fractional CO2 or Fraxel, or IPL can remove the sun damage, brown spots and wrinkles on your neck and chest, leaving all of your skin looking smooth, fresh and youthful.

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What I Think About The Recent News On Nano-particle Sized Zinc Oxide That May Cause Cancer

by Shirleen on December 5, 2011 in beauty blog, Eye & Sun Care, Skincare Ingredients with 10 Comments

Lately, many readers have been asking me my thoughts on the recent report by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on the nano-particle sized Zinc Oxide that may cause cancer.

I first heard the news about a sunscreen and cosmetic ingredient that may cause cancer from the Chinese radio station while on my way home from work early last week. The Chinese station didn’t mention the name of the ingredient. Upon reaching home, I was actually shocked and disappointed to realize that it is the popular and potent sunscreen ingredient Zinc Oxide. And it is the nano-particle sized Zinc Oxide with very small particles that can absorb into the skin cells and may cause cancer as it has claimed.

Zinc oxide, one of the 17 FDA approved active sunscreen ingredients, is an excellent broad spectrum UV reflector that protects the harmful UVA and UVB rays. Other than Titanium Dioxide, Zinc oxide is considered the safest and most effective physical sunscreen ingredient available.

When used as an ingredient in sunscreen, Zinc Oxide, a mineral powder, is claimed to sit on the skin’s surface scattering and absorbing ultraviolet rays without being absorbed into the skin. It is non-irritating and non-allergenic, therefore it is claimed to be very suitable for sensitive skin.

As compared to the normal Zinc Oxide powder that gives an opaque white cast, the nano-particles Zinc Oxide appears transparent when applied to the skin. Because of its small particles, the nano size Zinc Oxide does not scatter light and therefore does not appear white. It is found to have superior UV blocking properties compared to its normal size particles. Therefore it is commonly used in sunscreen creams and lotions to protect against sunburn and other damage to the skin caused by ultraviolet light.

Many controversial researches have shown that these nano-sized particles Zinc Oxide may cause potential health risks. They are claimed to enter healthy human cells like the blood or the lungs and damage DNA. However, there are also reports show that particles of Zinc Oxide greater than 30nm, when applied to the skin, do not get absorbed into the body, do not enter the bloodstream, and are not a threat to human health.

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“Eat Your Water” For A Healthy Looking Skin

by Shirleen on November 23, 2011 in Whitening & Hydrating with No comments

Do you know water is our body’s most essential nutrient and more than 70% of our body weight is water? Without water, every organ system including the skin (the biggest organ) won’t function properly. Hence drinking water is vital not only for our body but also for our skin too.

Drinking water is essential to keep skin hydrated and it is in fact one of my beauty and anti-aging secrets for my youthful looking skin.

Keeping skin well hydrated and lubricated from the inside is as important as from the outside too. Although a well-formulated moisturizer can replenish the natural moisture factors in the upper layers of the skin but in order to achieve an optimal skin hydration, hydrating the skin from the inside out can help to boost our skin’s natural ability to retain moisture for a long-lasting benefit.

When skin is lack of hydration, all sorts of skin problems will surface such as dryness, tightness, flakiness, sensitivity and wrinkling. However when skin is properly hydrated, skin will become soft, tone and plump up. And it also becomes more receptive to skincare products.

Hydrating our skin from the inside

Human body is comprised of more than 70 percent water and it is commonly recommended to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day to replace the water we lose naturally. In fact a percentage of your water intake actually comes from the food you eat.

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Moisturizer Should Not Contain Alcohol!

by Shirleen on November 9, 2011 in Skincare Ingredients, skincare product 101 with 4 Comments

Many new moisturizers have been launched recently and some are specially created for Asian market that are suitable to be worn under hot and humid weather here. Well these moisturizers have common benefits – to hydrate the skin while providing an oil- and shine-free result. But unfortunately, in order to provide a long-lasting shine-free matte finish, some cosmetics companies have actually formulated these moisturizers with a harmful drying ingredient that can be bad for the skin.

Not to be surprise, many moisturizers contain similar ingredients. The first few ingredients on the ingredient list are somewhat identical for most brands. Water/Aqua is almost always appeared as the first ingredient and Glycerin as the second ingredient.

Lately I was actually disappointed to find out that a handful of “non-oily” moisturizers have contain a particular harmful and drying ingredient. What makes it worse is that it is often found to be listed among the top five ingredients on the list. It goes to say the amount used can be plentiful. The higher it appears on the list, the higher the amount will be. This is one of the worst ingredients I personally hate and avoid at all cost.

It is nevertheless the ALCOHOL!

What puzzled me is that why must these cosmetics companies include this harmful ingredient in their product formulation. They knew very well that alcohol is capable of drying up the skin in a long run, cause irritation for some people and generate free-radical damages too. Why why why!?

I believe these companies must be thinking in order to create a long-lasting oil- and shine-free result, alcohol is the best candidate! They probably do not bother the damage it will cause to the consumers’ skin, all they care is to provide the non-shiny result the consumers want and make them happy.

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Introducing A New Hair Removal Treatment By Dr David Loh

by Shirleen on October 22, 2011 in Non-Invasive Treatment with No comments

David Loh Surgery, a leading aesthetic brand, offers a quick and painless way to remove unwanted and unsightly hair using the Super Hair Removal (SHR) technology.

Suitable for the face and body, SHR removes unwanted hair permanently and painlessly giving you the confidence to flaunt your body. Smooth fuzz-free skin, without the need to shave and wax, is now within everybody’s reach.

SHR is not quite an Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and it is definitely not a laser. It is built upon the technological breakthrough where broad-spectrum light is used to warm up and destroy the hair follicles. Because it is not an IPL treatment, it can be used on darker skin. Because it is not a laser, the treatment is not painful.

SHR has been safely used in more than 20 countries for the last 5 years. And now, Dr David Loh who is more commonly associated with bringing in cutting edge technology in Aesthetic Medicine introduces the Super Hair Removal (SHR) to his clinics in Singapore.

About Permanent Hair Removal

Hair removal whether it is by laser, IPL or the SHR technology will typically need several sessions. The reason for this lies in the hair’s growth cycle. About one third of all the hairs in the skin are in the growing phase. The other two thirds are either “sleeping” or in between growing and sleeping. Lasers, IPLs or SHR, can zap only hairs in the growing phase. So each time when we do a hair removal treatment, we are only able to zap the one-third of the hairs that are growing.

In theory, once the hair follicle is destroyed, it will never grow again. In real life some of the cells in the skin can regenerate hair follicles that have been destroyed by Laser, IPL or SHR. So, over time, even after the best hair removal treatment, some fine hairs regenerate. But we are talking about months or years later. So some doctors have preferred to call hair removal – hair reduction — in order not to give the patients too unrealistic an expectation. But whether it is reduction or removal, we are talking about the same thing – 80%-90% reduction that may need touch-ups yearly.

David Loh Surgery’s SHR service is available at #11-01 Liat Towers.

Charges? Well an estimation of S$200 per session for both armpits.

Beauty Questions? Ask Dr. Irwin
- Oil Seed Problems

by Shirleen on October 20, 2011 in Dr. Irwin's answer to reader's question, Special Care / Others with No comments

Reader’s Question

Hey Dr Irwin! I have had severe oil seed problems on my face and was wondering if there are any products or to take any special care or attention while cleansing? or exfoliating? I have a combination face and and i have large pores around my inner cheeks and nose. Hope you can give me some advice ! I am deprived of help!

Dr. Irwin’s Answer

Yes – excess oil is a problem for many women. Our oil production is controlled mostly by our hormones so it’s a tough problem to fix! Here are some hints. Try some of the products for teens that are drying and contain salicylic acid like the washes and light lotions with 2% sal acid. (Risa – can you add product links?) Also, the vitamin a gels like Retin A/tretinoin gel will help keep the pores clean and be somewhat drying. Be sure you’re not putting any oil back onto your face with products. Try the SkinCeuticals Vitamin B5 gel if you need moisture. Check all your products – they should say noncomedogenic on them. Also, stick with the powder makeups and blotting papers (Shiseido makes a good one). Link to my favorite oil control products: http://www.skintour.com/oil-control-and-acne-care-products

Dr. Irwin

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August 11 –
Beauty tip of the month

by Shirleen on August 2, 2011 in 3-star ratings, beauty tip of the month, Eye & Sun Care with No comments

If you are troubled by under-eye circles, look at your eye area and answer the following question: Do you have deep wrinkles under the eyes? If not, if the skin is relatively tight, then the problem is not inherent to the skin. Look deeper. You may not realize that there is a fat pad protruding from under your eyes, casting a shadow and creating the circle. Take a Q-tip and push on the under-eye area. If the circle disappears, it indicates a hidden fat pad, and it also indicates that the source of the problem is not the skin. Roll your eyes upward and look as high up in the mirror as you can. Do you see the outline of a fat pad? You may or may not have noticed before that it is there. The only way to get rid of the fat pad is by removing it surgically. You cannot “drain the under-eye puffiness” or “break down the fat”, as some of the most outrageous claims on cream jars would like you to believe. Continue reading →

Dr David Loh’s New UltraShape Centre For Body Sculpting & Contouring

by Shirleen on June 20, 2011 in Non-Invasive Treatment with 3 Comments

Two Thursdays ago, I was privileged to be invited to a private lunch event with Dr David Loh and to preview the new 3rd Generation UltraShape, a non-invasive body sculpting and contouring, at their new clinic located at #11-01 Liat Towers. This newly opened branch clinic is just a stone’s throw away from their main clinic at #05-16 Wheelock Place.

Three other bloggers, including a male blogger, were also invited to this private luncheon event at Sun Moon Japanese Dining @ Wheelock Place.

This is my first up-close and personal with Dr David Loh and I’m glad to have gotten this opportunity to know him better. It was enlightening and I truly enjoyed this short private event.

After the luncheon session, we then proceeded to the new branch clinic @ Liat Towers for a live demonstration on the new UltraShape.

Dr David Loh opens this new UltraShape Centre especially dedicating to the 3rd Generation UltraShape which is a completely non-invasive alternative for body sculpting and contouring. This new 100sqm branch of David Loh Surgery at Liat Towers is conveniently located in the heart of Orchard Road.

To cater to a segment of his clientele who are uncomfortable with the idea of surgery, Dr David Loh introduces the 3rd generation UltraShape. With clinically proven results and an excellent safety record, UltraShape has been used extensively in many countries since 2005. Its underlying technology utilizes focused ultrasound to break up stubborn fat deposits accurately, effectively, safely and most importantly – non-invasively.

Dr Loh was holding the 3rd Generation UltraShape applicator.

According to Dr Loh, who has years of experience in sculpting beautiful bodies with liposuction techniques, the 3rd Generation UltraShape works particularly well on men’s bellies and is now a very popular alternative to the invasive methods.

The therapist performed UltraShape on the male blogger’s belly. He claimed the treatment is rather comfortable and there is no pain at all.

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