THE SKIN WE'RE IN
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| Photo provided by Dollface by Jules |
A
few months ago I had an interview with a well-known, West Coast
aesthetician to the stars all lined up to talk multicultural skincare
with me. In preparation, I welcomed questions on my Facebook pages
and the response was huge. Curiosity came from working mothers
hovering in and around 40 who are interested in simple, natural
regimens that won't break the bank.
Unfortunately,
the skin guru went MIA on me and reluctantly, I put the discussion at
bay. That is, until recently, as I had the great fortune to meet Jules de Jesus Fritz, who co-owns Dollface by Jules with her husband, Josh, and is currently fundraising for her own
cosmetic line, Jules - More Than MakeUp. She is also a
makeup artist to Paula Deen and has created looks for HBO, Lifetime
Channel, Travel Channel and Bravo, as well as countless other models
and brides.
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| Jules de Jesus Fritz. Photo by Josh Fritz. |
According
to Jules, most of us in the U.S. have it all wrong when it comes to
skincare.
A
staggering concept when you consider that Americans spend more money
than any other nation on beauty products, doling out nearly $40
billion of the $426 billion spent around the world in 2013 alone.
And guys, before you go anywhere, you spent roughly $5 billion of
that, with more than half of it on skincare. The American Society of
Plastic Surgeons also notes that Americans cashed out another $12
billion on anti-aging procedures, such as Botox, chemical peels,
liposuction, eyelid surgery and facelifts in 2012.
As
a beauty educator, Jules sits with women day in and day out
who share their insecurities and through mini consults it is her goal
to connect clients with who they see in the mirror. Sadly, she sees
way too many, a lot of whom are young, who go to extremes to dry
their skin to imitate trending matte looks, thinking that is what
looks clean.
To
our detriment, “we do not like oil in the U.S.,” Jules notes.
“Moisturizing is the step that most (women and men) skip,
especially in our culture. Well, guess what? Our skin is super
smart. If we don't apply moisturizer our skin cells scream that
we're dry and overproduce oil to compensate. We need a certain
amount of moisturizer on our skin to keep oil reserves at bay.”
While
darker complexions harbor oil naturally and often look youthful longer, Jules stresses that race and ethnicity aside, the fundamentals 0f skin are all the same. We all need to be cleansing and moisturizing
daily and for those with naturally oily skin then find an oil-free
moisturizer. But she's adamant: don't skip it.
Jules'
preferred weapon of choice is coconut oil.
Coconut
oil is made of medium-chain-length fatty acids and acts as a natural
antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial agent. It can also boost
your body's metabolism and in various parts of the world like Asia
and Latin America, the use of coconut oil for hair and skin is a
valued, ancient practice.
I
am a huge advocate of coconut oil, discovering it years ago when I
revamped my diet in response to health issues I
was experiencing. Working my way through various cleansing diets,
every single one of them listed coconut oil as a core ingredient. I used it not only in cooking, but also on my skin one day when
I ran out of eye makeup remover.
Hooked
ever since, coconut oil is very gentle, not greasy, won't clog your
pores and swipes daily goop off while leaving your skin moisturized.
It's best to buy virgin and unrefined, available in just about any grocery store
with a health food section. Yes, you may briefly smell a little like
a Mounds bar, but in my book that's not all that bad.
“I
keep it in my kitchen, my bathroom and in my baby's room,” Jules
says of the oil.
She
suggests first using it on your eyes to remove makeup in order to see how your skin reacts. If OK, then move to your
face, neck and chest areas. Note that only a small amount is needed, as a
little bit goes a long way.
Following
a trial run, Jules breaks down an everyday routine that is simple,
inexpensive and effective:
1.
Both morning and night, cleanse with coconut oil on a cotton ball. Two
points here:
*At
night baby skin cells regenerate so it's important to
include the morning sweep.
*For
you moms out there, you can use a baby wipe in a pinch, but this
isn't something you should do all of the time. And if you aren't
down with the coconut oil, she recommends the drugstore brand,
Cetaphil, for makeup remover and cleanser.
2.
With a clean slate, your skin is prepped for exfoliation, which is
very important. This will remove dead cells hanging around in pores
and in effect, prevents acne. Daily
you can use a Clarisonic brush or even a warm wash cloth in circular
motion. If you prefer a scrub her pick is the St. Ives Apricot
variety, but this is to be done only every other day.
3.
Moisturize with SPF.
The
coconut oil does part of the work, but Jules emphasizes the
importance of a moisturizer with SPF 30 at minimum, though she
prefers a higher range like 50. Sun hits the skin driving and in
offices with lots of windows. Outdoors, she tops all off with a hat
from Bass Pro, laced with with SPF 50 in the fibers, and sunglasses.
Aptly noted: “Skin cancer doesn't play a race card. It only likes
skin.”
According
to Jules, you should start to notice that fine lines will start to plump, as moisture is added with the everyday routine.
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| Photo provided by Dollface by Jules __________________________________________ |
Help
Jules reach her fundraising goal - today is the last day!
Go
to Julesmorethanmakeup.com
to purchase one of her super simple makeup systems. Her goal is to
help women feel more confident by pulling quick looks together with the use of her paint-by-number makeup
kits, color pairings and video tutorials.
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