Dry Brushing 101

October 21, 2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Dry brushing is something that I’ve personally done for about two years now and in this blog, I will be explaining about what dry brushing is, how to properly use it and what are the benefits of dry brushing.

What is Dry Brushing?

Dry brushing is a method of gently brushing your skin using a specialized body brush with bristles made from natural material which range from soft to hard.

How to properly use a Dry Brush?

So, now I’m going to explain exactly how to use my dry brush. This is something you are going to want to do before you shower. Before starting you will want that remove any jewelry or crystals, as I always have crystals on me. Start by brushing towards the heart. The reason why is because you want a blood flow which moves towards your heart. You are also going to want to start with the smallest limb, so typically I like to start with my hands, and brush in short strokes towards the heart. I continue brushing towards my heart and begin to move slowly up my arm. It is also safe to brush on your armpit if you would like too as well. Once I have completed one arm I move to the other and do the same motion there. Once both arms are finished, I like to gently dry brush my neck area, but be sure to brush in a very gentle motion as the skin is more sensitive here. Finally, I move onto my legs. Again, I start with the smallest limb, so my feet, and I brush gently in short even motions towards the heart. Continue brushing up towards the groin area as this is said to help with detoxification by supporting getting your blood flowing. Once one leg is done move onto the other.

What are the benefits of Dry Brushing?

Dry brushing helps with a lot of different benefits including helping to wake up your circulatory system, helping to detoxify the skin, decreasing cellulite, and helping to make your skin more radiant and glowing. It’s also really good for people who have sensitive skin, especially if you have reactions to different products, this is a very natural way to exfoliate the body. Dry brushing also helps with inflammation because you are getting rid of the toxins in your body. Since doing dry brush I have noticed that my skin looks more youthful. Before dry brushing, I used to notice that my elbows were looking a little bit aged as I was getting older, and dry brushing really helped to improve that. But my favorite benefit about dry brushing would be that it helps with waking you up. I love doing this in the wintertime as people tend to be a little bit more tired during winter and this will help to wake you up make you feel great.

What to look for when buying a Dry Brush?

The type of bristle that you have on your actual brush will make a huge difference. There are some in the market which are low quality and can actually scrape your skin, so be sure not to push hard because you can actually injure yourself. You want to go with a softer bristle which is not too hard. There was a store in Burlington that I got my original one from but unfortunately, they closed so I’m currently on the lookout for a new one to recommend (sorry there).

If you guys have any other questions on dry brushing or on other things that I do for myself during the wintertime please reach out to me.

Check out my other platforms for additional information related to all things mind, body, skin and soul.

If you liked this blog, check out my recipes page which contains different recipes to improve your skin.

https://www.reawakeningbeauty.com/vegan-recipes/

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor; these are just my opinions and knowledge that I have gained over years of experience in the beauty industry

Beauty Expert Tips: Things to Avoid when you have Sensitive Skin

October 7, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

If you have sensitive skin, these are some things you’re going to definitely want to avoid.

Number 1: Avoid anything that has added fragrance. You’re definitely going to want to shelf these while your skin is rebounding to allow for good healing.

Number 2: Avoid anything that’s super stimulating for your skin. You might want to avoid retinol, AHA’s, and Vitamin C, essentially anything that’s going to overly stimulate the skin. Look for products that have calming and soothing ingredients such as green tea, tiger grass, aloe or probiotics.

Number 3: Avoid extreme hot or cold temperatures when washing your face, just use lukewarm temperatures.

Number 4: Avoid dirty brushes, that’s kind of like a given for all skin types, but make sure you’re washing your makeup brushes regularly.

Number 5: Use singular ingredients or products with a very limited amount of ingredients. When you’re looking on your packaging, ensure it has a small number of ingredients that way you are less likely to react. Also, look into getting allergy tested as often your skin is a reflection of your gut.

So if you have sensitive skin keep in mind that you should avoid these five things to ensure you maintain beautiful, healthy and glowing skin.

3 Important Beauty Tips from a Beauty Expert to keep your Skin Healthy and Glowing

July 7, 2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

We are going to be talking about some really easy tips that you can do to find good skincare, protect your skin in every season and kind of some basic tips that you might be overlooking. So we’re going to start off with something that is highly important when you’re buying your products. Do not store them in a warm place that gets too hot. This is something that a lot of people do, they often want to keep their products in the bathroom where the temperature is changing from hot to cold, but because of the shower humidity it tends to get hot. It actually sometimes can oxidize certain products, especially if you’re opening up the jars and stuff like that. So I personally don’t like to leave my skincare in the bathroom, which is funny that a lot of people actually do. Tip number two, which is often kind of overlooked and something that I would highly recommend, is the expiration dates on your product. So every product will have an expiration date on it. So you want to look, it’s sometimes on the bottom, and it could also be on the top of your products. You want to make sure that you’re looking at the expiration dates and not using your products past the expirations dates. So there’s a few natural skincare products, and it’s great if you’re using natural products, but if these products have natural acids in them, what happens is if the acids expire, I’ve actually heard of it burning people’s skin. So you want to be really careful when you’re using certain products that it won’t do that. It’s not the brand that I work with, but it’s another brand so be mindful of the expiration dates. There’s a reason why there is an expiration and DIN number on each product, and that’s to just keep your skin is happy and healthy. Tip number three to avoid acne, and it’s so basic. And by this way, this is from cupping. Don’t touch your skin. I had a really bad habit and I still do sometimes, you’ll see in my videos that I’m actually just touching my face. So you don’t want to be touching your skin. Especially right now in the times that we’re living in with COVID and all of that, you’re touching things that have bacteria and dirt and oil and then you’re putting it on your skin. It’s not beneficial. It can cause acne, it can cause other irritations. You don’t want to be transmitting bacteria and that kind of thing towards the skin.

Listen below to hear the entire Reawakening Beauty episode.

Retinol 101: Do’s & Don’ts

February 12, 2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

Model: Shawna Patruno
Photographer: Margaritaua Photography
Agency: Orange Models
All Rights Reserved

Retinol, also known as Retina A, is such a hot topic for its anti aging properties, keeping pores at bay and helping you keep a clear, blemish free glowing complexion.

Dermatologists talk about it being the gold standard of anti aging ingredients. Retinol helps boost your cell turnover. It helps produce collagen, it’s important as we age to keep our collagen in tact so we can look youthful longer. Collagen depreciates for everybody at about the age of 25. In order to trick the hands of time we can add retinol into our skin care routine and encourage rapid cell turnover so your skin acts younger.

If you are using retinol you’ll need to be using a minimum SPF 30 (the higher the better up to SPF 60) be sure to apply every 3 to 4 hours to protect your new cells and prevent photo-aging (a.k.a dark spots).

Do not apply a retinol in the day time. In all my research and trainings I was told that is a big “no no”. Instead apply at night and allow it work while you sleep. Trust me you will thank me for this tip alone.

Another major tip is to start slow. Start once a week to avoid massive peeling and thinning of the skin. Less is more until you build up.

The seasons and the weather also need to be considered with retinol use. Do not start the use of retinol in the summer months to avoid unneeded sun exposure. Trust me I learned this the hard way. This simple mistake will cost you hundreds of dollars in corrective measures.

Make sure you are using the right moisturizer, you may need to switch for the duration of your retinol routine. Also you’ll need to use a great exfoliator in tandem.

Keep the basics such as a cleanser, toner, moisturizer with SPF 30 to 60 and exfoliator. It’s important to note that retinol is an added tool, not a replacement.

Be careful when applying it and avoid the eye area. The skin around your eye is way too thin and sensitive for this concentration of retinol.

Check with your doctor if you are on any medication that could make your skin thin or sensitive to burning and tell your skin advisor if you have any illness that impacts your skin.

Lastly, create a plan with a professional, don’t go in blind! Most likely you will get pink and when you increase your usage you will peel, this is completely normal.

Beauty Expert Review! OxyGeneo, the Best Facial in the Greater Toronto Area?

November 21, 2020.Reading time 4 minutes.

Shawna Patruno,
Oxygeneo Facial,
Facial,
Skin Care Review,
Beauty Expert,
Orangemodels,
Toronto Model,
Beauty Expert,
Reawakening Beauty,
Model,
Model Management,
Portrait

My most recent beauty find was the OxyGeneo Facial at Allure Medical Spa in Hamilton Ontario. This is a three-in-one facial in which Allure uses medical grade ingredients to ensure you achieve the best results.

Facial Assessment

When I first arrived at Allure I was treated to a skin assessment and cleansing. This process was completed to ensure they found the best beauty treatment for me. They assessed my skin under six different lighting settings allowing them to assess skin damage in all forms including; photoaging, inflammation, texture pigmentation, redness, and fine line wrinkles.

Shawna Patruno Beauty Expert. Skin Consultation. — Skin Assessment from Allure Medical Aesthetics

OxyGeneo Facial

An OxyGeneo Facial is a treatment that uses 3 steps to renew and anti age the skin using exfoliation, infusion and adding oxygen into the skin resulting in a beautiful glow.

The ingredients in the facial are said to be vegan, natural and paraben free, which I am a large advocate for. For those who don’t know, parabens can disrupt your hormones and lead to health issues.

The best part about this facial is that it is customizable to suit your individual needs such as balancing, brightening or revitalization (this is the one that I did). It uses red algae to help reduce fine lines, improve texture and give you refreshed hydrated skin. They come in individualized pucks with unique benefits.

Facial Process

The facial is completed in three different steps which are detailed below:

Step 1: Exfoliate

This process removes the topical layer of dead skin. It reminded me of wet microdermabrasion with a bit of a kick. It felt kind of spicy, almost like a chemical peel, which I personally do love. While it was being performed I did however wonder if I would end up looking like a tomato afterwards as I am very prone to redness. Surprisingly I did not!

Step 2: Oxygenate

This uses something called the bohr effect which results in a natural body process that oxygenates blood cells. This process will help your cells to function younger and healthier resulting in a more youthful appearance.

Step 3: Infusion of Serum

During this process things like hyaluronic acid are added for hydration, vitamin C for brightening or anti-aging ingredients like peptides to help increase collagen production.

Facial Results

The Oxygeneo Facial will produce immediate results making your skin baby soft and glowy. As time passes you will begin to see improved texture in your skin and will notice that your products work more effectively. This is the part that I loved the most as normally my skin looks best immediately after a facial, but with the Oxygeneo Facial my skin continued to improve even two weeks after the treatment.

I would recommend booking an appointment with Allure and having them personally assess your skin, and if you choose to do the OxyGeneo Facial ….. Get ready for the ultimate facial experience!

Website: http://www.alluremedical.ca

For other beauty expert finds in the Greater Toronto Area click the links below

Beauty Expert Review! Cryotherapy, Worth the Hype?

Beauty Expert Review! Mesotherapy, Healing the Skin with Vitamins

Beauty Expert Review! Mesotherapy, Healing the Skin with Vitamins!

August 22, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

The goal when doing mesotherapy is to allow your skin to work in tandem with the vitamins to heal any issues, boost collagen and the elastin production.

Mesotherapy uses multiple micro injections of minerals, plant extracts, amino acids, vitamins, and other ingredients like hyaluronic acid that are put in the skin in order to help the skin heal. It helps with pores, scars, hydration , fine lines, lack lustre skin, loss of elasticity and premature aging.

The procedure takes about 30 mins and can hurt a little if your face isn’t frozen completely. Through the treatment you’ll be enduring multiple micro needles injected all over the face. You’ll bleed for sure, as it’s going into the skin and you’ll be left with little dots of solution which will dissolve within a day.

They have different types of mesotherapy, some are just cocktails of vitamins and other have more hyaluronic acid to help with lost hydration or volume.

A mesofacial depending on the concern can very from different vitamins and can range anywhere from $125 to $500 dollars depending on what you choose to heal your skin with.

It will not freeze the skin movement like Botox or fill your face like a filler, it will just make the foundation of the skin to be stronger, allowing your face to look more youthful and hydrated & Over time the issues you were concerned will dissolve.

I do it once a year at most, as my skin is pretty healthy and I maintain my skin at home. However, if you are correcting issues you may need to do it more frequently.

I started doing mesotherapy because I wanted to prevent wrinkles and keep my skin young. Based on my results I do enjoy it and I know it does help to maintain my youthful skin.

If you would like to work with me personally to find unbiased skin care advice please email me and I’ll set up a consultation

Vitamin shot, yes please

Saturday self care surprise! When the blogger who is addicted to beauty writes about you.

August 22, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Skin Care,
Arbonne,
Self Care,
Skin Care Review,
Beauty Expert,
Skin Care Expert — Photo credit owner blogger http://addictedtobeauty.net/

Annie is a beauty blogger and a long time skin guru. I met Annie in the industry when I was doing a co-op, and at that time I was deciding if I wanted to work with cosmetics and start my journey into the beauty world. Annie really knows what she’s talking about! She recently supported my business through COVID and to my surprise wrote me the nicest review ever. She also gave amazing tips for taking care of your skin if it’s oily combination.

I would recommend you check out her blogs for unbiased reviews. She discusses issues like oily skin and over drying the skin. Below is a snippet of her beautiful blog, she truly is addicted to beauty. Follow her amazing journey and fabulous tips.

“Usually when I change my cleanser, I will change it to a foam or cream cleanser. But why those? You ask. It’s because for my skin that is combination to oily, I don’t want it to over wash it and leave my skin feeling super uncomfortable. And for me, gel cleansers tend to be over stripping and leaves my skin feeling tight and dehydrated. Of course, I use a toner after I wash my face but you don’t want to necessarily have a cleanser that will over clean your skin because that can seriously lead to an unbalancing of the skin which can then lead to overproduction of the sebum and make you look more shiny or make you break out.”
http://addictedtobeauty.net/

Continue reading at http://addictedtobeauty.net/

My fear for our society is we have grown numb to real authentic relationships and expectations!

August 8, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Shawna Patruno,
Orangemodels,
Canadian Model,
Beauty Expert,
Reawakening Beauty,
Model,
Model Management,
Portrait

At a click of button we have the ability to compare our relationships to others… the grass is always greener on the other side scenario.

We are all searching for perfection in our partners, our bodies and careers…

Perfect is the illusion of authenticity and if you find something real you may throw it away looking at someone else’s over edited projection …

No wonder our whole society is anxious,disconnected, depressed and numb. We are addicted to a false sense of reality! We would rather stare at screens instead of human souls

I find myself taking time out to just be and really nurture my mind body and soul… Our worlds norm has literally made us all sick so I am doing the not so normal thing.

Photocredit williamweddingphotography

Model shawna patruno

How to find happiness in the chaos!

May 18, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

Everything happens for a reason: the good, the bad, & the ugly…

I know this is a cliche you have heard many times. How bad do you want to punch me in the face this second? Here’s the thing no one likes struggle, but what if I can switch up your mind set and shake up your world. Give me until the end of this blog post to do so.

This statement was born because every time I forced something to be different was when I suffered. It was always chaos, heartbreak, illness and I am not saying give up, but I am saying accept it. Two very different things.

When I accepted what my reality was and moved in fluidity to this I was gifted something better out of chaos and rebel. It was like a dance where you let life lead and you are gifted a new blessing from your demise.

My life was not a cookie cutter life, we moved around a lot, I was poor, bullied and constantly felt alone. My mom was ill and was in and out of hospitals. She did her best, but People judged us and I learned fast to act happy and to be whatever I needed to be to survive.

I would often wish for friends, a mom who wasn’t sick, a stable home, to travel and was constantly trying to change everything. Force, force, force which resulted in pain, pain, pain!
However, I surrendered and accepted some huge pain points, such as, I can’t learn the same way as before because of brain aneurysm and accepting that I had a severe ED and moved through it. I was gifted with a real best friend and some amazing blessings.
I grew stronger from the ashes and that paved the way for friendships, love, a purpose and authentic relationships.

When I pushed for what I thought was right, I was often scorned. When I fought for friends they often betrayed me. When I fought for my moms approval my eating disorder got worse & when I fought for anything it often blew up in my face. Trust the process, let it go it’s not for you… Surrender!

Clear Skin Tip

May 5, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Tip Tuesday for clear skin do a professional mask or facial peel at least once a month and an at home mask at least once a week!☺️

Every 28 days for young people or longer for older people. Your skin cells shed leaving trapped oil, p bacteria, build up of dead skin and dirt on the skin! Thus contributing to breakouts ✨

You want to remove that and deep clean your pores! Your skin will become clear, youthful and glowing! Your products will absorb properly and you’ll have less active breakouts.

Contact me if you are interested in some masks that helped me or your own personal assessment ✨

Photocredit Shawna Patruno 💕✨

Skin care expert Shawna Patruno

REAWAKENING BEAUTY

Tag: Reawakeningbeauty