OVER-MOISTURIZING CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS

I would like to know how to eliminate the small white lumps under the skin on my forehead and cheeks. I have read that these are accumulations of fat which occur in people with dry skin. What is the best and simplest way to care for this kind of skin?

“These little white lumps, called milia, are tiny inclusion cysts that usually contain skin oil,” explains Dr. Nadine Hradsky, consulting dermatologist at Wellesley and Princess Margaret hospitals. “They are like a blackhead before it becomes a blackhead. They’re not open to the surface like blackheads, but they are basically the same substance. It is not true that these are symptoms of a dry skin. On the contrary, they usually occur if you over-moisturize the skin – the oil cannot drain properly and consequently is trapped under the skin. Whatever moisturizer is being used is clogging the pores. A film is created – as if you wrapped the skin in plastic – and all the oil accumulates under this dead layer of skin. If the skin is over-greased any further, these little milia will get inflamed and may become acne pimples. “But this is a very superficial kind of plugging. Sometimes you see it with a sunburn when it’s peeling – you can see that trapping of oil under a dead layer of skin. But in this instance, it’s due to moisturizer increasing the thickness of the top layer of skin and trapping oil underneath. “What to do? Discontinue using the moisturizer, wash with soap and water and see whether the milia will come out to the surface of the skin. If you leave these alone for some time, they will eventually turn into blackheads, at which point you can squeeze them out. The other way is to go to either a cosmetician or dermatologist and have them removed. The dermatologist has a little instrument called a comedo extractor with which he or she will make a tiny opening and remove the accumulation.” I wax my legs myself, using a wax found at most beauty-supply stores. However, the price almost doubled from one time I bought it to the next. I’m shaving now and hate every minute of it. I’m trying to find a natural wax I can make up myself. I’ve checked so many book stores and libraries and found nothing. Do you know of a home recipe for leg wax? Like yourself, I had some difficulty finding a home-made depilatory recipe.

I did eventually find just one: Cook 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water and the juice of one lemon in a double boiler, stirring until the mixture becomes a caramel color. Pour onto a plate and mould into balls. Press each ball firmly onto the skin, hold, then pull up sharply against the direction the hair grows. Needless to say, this is a rather slow and tedious process.

Failing this, The Body Shop, 69 Yorkville Ave., carries a natural honey beeswax for leg waxing in its line of Body Shop products. The wax is re- usable and quite reasonably priced at $1.50 an ounce. Extras such as spatulas for application and cotton strips for removing the wax are also available at a modest cost.

Perfume just doesn’t seem to last on me. No matter which fragrance I try, the smell seems to disappear within 15 minutes. I’ve heard that certain people have this problem with perfume. Why is that? While a good perfume should last from four to six hours, there are a number of factors that can minimize the staying power of even the best perfumes. For instance, fragrance not only lasts much longer on people with oily skin, but also tends to become sweeter as well. Smoking lessens the effectiveness of fragrance because nicotine alters the skin’s chemistry. The birth control pill and other medications change the skin’s reaction to scent since they interfere with the body’s metabolism – and a sudden change in one’s diet can have a similar effect. Hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle can reduce the effectiveness of the olfactory senses, thus explaining why a woman may believe her perfume is losing its impact.

And, while a humid climate makes many fragrances smell more potent, air pollution seems to strangle certain scents.

Here are some tricks you can employ to get get more mileage from your fragrance: Buy your perfume in solid form – the waxy base releases scent more slowly.

If your skin is dry, smooth on a thin film of Vaseline or mineral oil before applying perfume. Alternatively, mix a few drops of perfume with a small amount of unscented moisturizer and apply.

Learn to layer fragrance. Begin with scented soap, bath oil, powder and cologne splash. Follow with dabs of perfume to pulse points. Warm spots for dabbing include ankles, behind knees, between breasts, throat, nape of neck, inside wrists, crooks of elbows. Omit putting fragrance behind the ears, the oil secretions there are different than elsewhere on the body and interfere with scent.

Lightly spray cologne in your hair; hair holds scent for hours (as any smoker will testify).

Mist woollen scarfs and sweaters with your favorite scent. Knit clothing attracts fragrance and holds it indefinitely.

I have a problem with dry hair. I have tried numerous conditioning treatments. I wish for nothing more than to have my hair shoulder-length in shiny, healthy condition. This seems to be almost impossible because as soon as it starts to grow to that length it becomes split and dull looking. Any suggestions? I took your question to Rodney Black of Monroe Hair Salon. His advise: “If your hair is fine you may never be able to grow it very long. I would almost assume that yours could be fine hair because of the fact that it starts to split when it gets a certain length. Either your hair is not being trimmed often enough, or it just isn’t the type of hair that will ever get very long. Many times, people have ideas of wanting a certain look but they just don’t have the type of hair to achieve that look. If you do have fine hair, it would be best if you left your hair shorter than shoulder-length and never try to grow it beyond that length as the hair will only drag itself down. Keep a length that clears the shoulder and will hang in a nice line.

As far as the dryness is concerned, hot oil treatments are not the best solution for fine hair because they take all the body out of the hair. You can’t have body and beautiful, lustrous hair at the same time if the hair is fine. If your hair was an average texture, then I’d recommend some hot oil treatments. As for splitting, it sounds as though your hair is fragile and you might need some concentrated protein conditioners. This is what I recommend if you have fine hair.