More and more women and men of color are turning to chеmiсаl рееlѕ tо соrrесt ѕkin рrоblеmѕ rаnging from rough skin to diѕсоlоrаtiоn. Due to the risk of discoloration and scarring, performing сhеmiсаl рееlѕ on melanin rich skin types can be a dеliсаtе рrосеѕѕ. Chemical рееls саn bе uѕеd оn the face, back, сhеѕt, nесk, hаndѕ оr аrmѕ аѕ a trеаtmеnt fоr асnе, blеmiѕhеѕ, dаrk marks аnd wrinkles. They can аlѕо hеlр еxfоliаtе сlоggеd pores, even thе ѕkin tone, ѕmооth thе tеxturе оf thе ѕkin оr minimizе the арреаrаnсе оf lаrgе роrеѕ. Chemical peels are available in a variety of соnсеntrаtiоns; higher concentrations above 30% are usually applied in a doctor’s office in a series of treatments.

When сhооѕing a chemical peels it is important to consider thе intеnѕitу of your skin concern. The dерth of the рrоblеm ѕhоuld, in fасt, match the рееl; choosing the safest peel available to соrrесt the problem, cоnѕulting with a dеrmаtоlоgiѕt before trеаtmеnt, аnd asking questions are three of the best ways to have a successful chemical peel.

Common Types of Chemical Peels
When performed appropriately chemical peels have a low complication rate and can dramatically change the appearance of the skin. Some of the most common chemical peels performed to address melasma, post inflammatory hyperpigmentation and acne are: glycolic acid, lactic acid, mandelic acid, salicylic acid, and trichloroacetic acid (TCA). Glycolic Acid is used to treat many superficial skin соnditiоnѕ, such аѕ rough skin, or skin that is beginning to ѕhоw visible signs of aging. Salicylic Acid is commonly used in acne trеаtmеntѕ and as an ingredient to control oil. It dries acne and is аlѕо used to trеаt skin diѕсоlоrаtiоnѕ, and reduces the appearance of fine linеѕ and wrinklеѕ. Lactic Acid is an Alpha Hydroxy acid extracted from milk. Most forms are synthetic. Although lactic acid peels may be gentle, at higher concentrations they can cause adverse reactions. Mandelic Acid is also an alpha hydroxy acid. It has a larger molecular structure than other acids and takes longer to penetrate the skin’s surface making it potentially less irritating for darker skin tones. Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) falls right in the middle between AHA peels and phenol peels. TCA is used in chemical peels to even out the skin tone and can sometimes produce more noticeable results that AHA’s.

Suреrfiсiаl Pееlѕ vs “Medium” Grade Chemical Peels vs “Deep “ Peels
Chemical peels are classified according to the depth of skin resurfacing produce. They are classified as either superficial, medium or deep. Superficial peels are an excellent prep treatment before more intensive chemical peels even sensitive skin can handle superficial peels. Superficial peels often have very little downtime and there might not even be any actual peeling with a superficial peel. The Fire and Ice Peel by IS Clinical is an example of an intensive clinical superficial treatment. Any concentration of ingredients that work deeper than the ѕuреrfiсiаl layers of the skin are usually applied by a dermatologist and are considered medium depth рееlѕ. Medium depth рееlѕ are uѕеd for skin that is mоdеrаtеlу wrinkled or with slightly deeper wrinkles from middle age, ѕсаrring, or skin with a rougher texture. The VI Peel by VI Aesthetics is an example of a Medium depth peel. The peeling process with superficial peels may take anywhere from 7 to 14 days. Peels stronger than medium depth peels are considered deep peels. Deep peels utilize the strong chemical solution phenol. They can take even up to 20 days or more to peel off and heal.

Minimize Your Risk
Chemical peels can be safely performed on people with dark brown skin tones, the risk of side effects immediately following a chemical peel can be improved by using a gentle cleanser and moisturizer daily on the treated area, avoiding harsh skin treatments and avoiding sun exposure in the days following a chemical peel. Talk with your doctor about using our gentle Awakening Milk & Honey Cleanser and Awakening Daily Moisturizer before and following your chemical peel. It gently cleanses and removes surface oil and debris without harsh abrasives and is formulated to balance pH levels and retain skin’s natural moisture levels.

If you are interested in learning more about chemical peels ѕееk a dermatologist who is skilled in working with dark skin tоnеѕ. Working with a doctor experienced in successfully using medium surfaced рееlѕ on уоur skin is important. Speak with your dermatologist, develop a personalized plan, be patient with results, utilize homecare, and work alongside an esthetician to maintain results.

Written by Regina Tucker

One of the best ways to learn what your skin needs is by developing a relationship with it. By having a meaningful connection with your skin you are able to tune into its cues and respond to it appropriately. Your relationship with your skin starts the day you are born and matures as you become independent and start to take care of it on your own. So what does it really mean to build a relationship with your skin? Some of the habits that support building a healthy relationship with your skin include: building a foundation of daily habits and routines that support healthy growth and development such as removing make up at night before you go to bed, engaging in long-term efforts that support your skin health such as yearly screenings from a dermatologist for skin cancer, and establishing responsible patterns of behavior day in and day out such as committing to wearing SPF every day. When you really start developing a relationship with your skin, it becomes harder to engage in behaviors that will hurt and impact your bond with it such as ignoring its dietary needs and using anything you can find from dish liquid to vegetable oil to care for it. The sooner you begin to nourish and develop a healthy relationship with your skin the better off it will be. Are you curious about how to develop a healthy relationship with your skin? Keep reading to learn some of the steps you can take to start building a healthy relationship with your skin today.

Understand your Past

What is your background with your skin? Did you grow up in a home where haircare was emphasized and skin was not? All of this could play a role in your ideas about how to care for your skin today. Consider the messages you were given about your skin growing up and how you were taught to care for it. A lot of the messages and ideas we put into practice regarding our skin come from our families. And while we may have received well-intentioned advice and ideas about our skin growing up everything from “Black don’t crack” to old fashioned cupboard remedies that do more harm than good. It might help to take a step back and think about the messages you received and decide if you really agree with them and if they are serving your skin well.

Getting to Know You

How well do you really know your skin? You can start to get to know it by determining its skin type. You should also consider hereditary factors that may influence your skin and its appearance. In the early stages of building a relationship with your skin try exploring products that support building a healthy foundation. The YELLE Essential System is a great place to start your skin care journey. You can easily establish a responsible relationship with your skin by getting started on a skincare regimen that matches its needs. If you are unsure of your skin type head over to our home page and take our skin quiz to determine your skin type and the skin products that are best suited for your skin.

Listen

Your skin is communicating with you every day, the question is are you paying attention to what it has to say? Are you breaking out every month right before your menstrual cycle? Are certain foods causing flare ups on your skin? These not so subtle cues are your skins way of communicating with you? Become a good listener to your skin by watching for its cues, focusing on one clear goal at a time such as controlling acne breakouts, restraining from habits that hurt your skin like picking, and being patient and gentle as your skin communicates its message.

Make Adjustments

Your relationship with your skin will change. Changes in age, hormones, and life all impact what your skin needs and wants. It is important to recognize these changes and make adjustments. Try not to get frustrated when you have to switch things up and swap things out in your routine, welcome it as an opportunity to enhance your skins appearance. Life changes like pregnancy and menopause all require that we change direction in our skincare routines to compensate for the changes that are happening within the body. Remember it will take effort to keep your relationship going with your skin, you won’t be able to simply hit cruise control and not do any work to keep things healthy even the best relationships need maintenance.

Are you ready to build a relationship with your skin? Does your current routine need maintenance? Make your relationship with your skin a top priority and visit the shop section of the page to find out which YELLE Skincare System is right for you.

Written by Regina Tucker

image source : Vanity Planet

Keep Your Skin Balanced and Glowing Everyday
Who doesn’t want flawless glowing skin every day? The key to soft, smooth, dewy and freshly moisturized skin is keeping it balanced and not overdoing it with too much oil and makeup. Glowing skin and oily skin are not the same things. Creating a radiant balanced complexion without too much oil or shine can be challenging, but not impossible. Read on for easy skincare tips on how to create a healthy balanced glow each day.

Choose the Right Products
Using the right products is essential in keeping oil production under control. Glowing skin is balanced. It has a proper oil to water ratio. If you used cosmetic blotting paper on glowing skin very little oil would be absorbed onto the blotting paper. This is because the oil to water ratio is just right. When following a thorough skincare regimen products are absorbed effectively and evenly onto the skin, the result is a balanced glow that is sustained throughout the day.

Are you using the same soap that you use on your body on your face? Stop and check out our Essential System perfect for melanin rich skin of all skin types.

Manage Oily Skin
Oily skin may often times be accompanied by black heads, clogged pores and congestion. These tale-tell signs of oily skin can definitely make it difficult to manage the glow. Professional exfoliation and extractions are the best solution to help soften and rid the pores of excessive sebum. A home care regimen that includes natural brighteners is also a MUST. Our Awakening Serum for oily skin is the perfect fix for warding off oil. It helps the skin to look glowing and not flat. It also reduces the need for heavy powders that may create an undesirable overly matte finish.

Oil Overdose
Our Beauty Team appreciates facial oil but we definitely don’t want you to use too much each day. Only a few drops of facial oil are usually needed to help keep the skin hydrated and glowing. Apply 2-3 drops of facial oil under our Awakening Daily Moisturizer for extra nourishing and smoothing. This is also especially beneficial if you live in a drier climate.

Need to rev up your glow factor? Glowing skin starts with a daily regimen of skincare products that work. Find the YELLE beauty routine that works for you and flaunt your glowing complexion!

Written by Regina Tucker

Increased heat during the summer months can aggravate the skin and leave it feeling warm, sweaty, and uncomfortable. Acne breakouts are more prevalent, and general discomfort with the skin is more typical during the warmer months. All skin types crave hydration to beat the heat of summer and a bit of refreshment is always welcomed. Sunhats, SPF, and the YELLE Beauty Awakening Toner are your best
friend this time of year. YELLE Beauty’s Awakening Toner has many multi uses, read on to discover the many multi-tasking benefits the toner offers:

As a Toner
Toner is extremely nourishing and perfect for all skin types. From restoring the skins pH balance to moisturizing and providing additional cleansing benefits the YELLE team stands firm in its belief that the benefits of using a toner far outweigh not using one at all. We recommend using toner every day to feed your thirsty skin and restore its surface. Our gel toner refreshes and restores the skin after cleansing with calming aloe, rose hip oil and hyaluronic acid. This combination helps alleviate stressed skin and restores its tone and elasticity.

As a Mask
Refresh and soothe your skin by allowing our toner to also dub as your at-home mask. Refrigerate our toner 24-48 hours before usage and then right after cleansing apply it to the skin, leave on for 3-5 minutes and then wipe away the excess. The extra dose of powerful and soothing hydration delivered into your skin will feel amazing! The aloe in our toner is a wonderful anti-inflammatory agent that is
excellent for wound healing, and collagen synthesis. The rosemary is also a potent antioxidant that is anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, making this a really good treatment for sunburned or over heated skin. 

As a Summer Eye Treatment

The skin around your eyes is very sensitive to sunlight. Sunglasses that have the proper amount of UVA and UVB protection and that limit your eyes exposure to the harmful rays of the sun are a MUST! Refresh your eyes with a soothing summer eye treatment complete with our toner and ADREAM Brightening Eye Cream. Here are the steps: Use a q-tip or cotton ball and apply toner to the eye lids to remove eye make-up. Next, pat a little toner underneath the eyes to reduce puffiness and to hydrate the delicate under eye area. Use the small end of your jade roller to stimulate blood flow, and place it in the inner corner of the eye and roll out toward the temples, do this for 5-8 passes on each eye. Lastly, apply ADREAM Brightening Eye Cream to smooth, brighten and improve elasticity.

Do you need a toner? Are you looking for a complete skincare routine? The YELLE Beauty collection is the perfect skin care routine that addresses EVERYTHING your skin needs on a daily basis. Created by experts for your skins benefit. Start your journey today!

Recommended Products: YELLE Awakening Toner & YELLE Essential System

As we cruise into March and the celebration of Women’s History Month- the one month of the year where we get to really focus on the contributions that women have made to all facets of history, what better time to get motivated about really taking care of our skin? Taking care of our skin is one of the best ways we can take care of our whole selves, since skincare often means treating ourselves from the inside out. Beautiful skin requires a healthy, balanced diet, daily movement in the form of exercise, stress-relief, and other wholesome habits, and once we take care of ourselves from the inside out, we can be ready to make history ourselves! Here are 6 ways to take extra good care of your skin this month:

Schedule Some Time for Stress Relief

Did you know that feeling stressed triggers production of extra cortisol in the body? This hormone, which regulates our fight or flight response, is also responsible for an inability of the skin to retain moisture while also promoting an overproduction of oil in response. So not only do you end up with a dry, dull look, you’ve then got an overabundance of oil production to deal with. Take some time this month to block off some time for yourself, engaging in activities that help you de-stress and relax.

Good Fats for Glowing Skin

We’re not scared of fats anymore - the 90s are long gone! Good fats - like avocado, coconut oil, olive oil and omega 3s, are essential when it comes to keeping skin moisturized and healthy. Bonus: these fats support healthy cellular growth and function, soothe inflammation in the body, speed healing of damaged skin, and supply you with energy - so you can get out there and make your own history!

Water Temperature Matters

You already know that you need to be washing your face and taking your makeup off before bed - Every. Single. Night. Nothing new to see here. But did you know the temperature of the water makes a difference when it comes to the health of your skin? Washing your face with water that is too hot can strip the sebum from your skin and zap the moisture and hydration right along with it. Instead try to wash your face with lukewarm water as it will give the oil on your skin the chance to warm up for a good cleanse instead of completely washing it away. Massage our Awakening Milk & Honey Cleanser into your skin for a full 60 seconds to really get the most of your daily wash.

Wash your Makeup Brushes Regularly

It's not just makeup residue that's building up on your brushes, it's also bacteria, oil, dirt, dust and sweat. Without a regular cleaning all of that grime is just being applied right back into your face every time you put your makeup on. The result? Clogged pores, inflammation and, most likely, unwanted breakouts. Try to make it a weekly routine to give your makeup brushes a good wash!

Get That Body Moving - Exercise!

You already know how many great benefits for both the body and mind are associated with regular exercise, but did you know that daily movement has skin benefits, as well? Exercise helps to promote healthy blood circulation, which in turn carries oxygen and other essential nutrients to all of your cells - including your face! That healthy dose of nutrients helps to give your face an instant glow and overall radiance. Don’t forget your post-workout skincare, either. Make sure to give your face a good cleanse as softening your sweat glands can push out some of what clogs the pores and you’ll definitely want to wash off that dirt and grime afterwards!

Hydrate

Hydration is of the utmost importance when you’re caring for your skin, especially when it comes to wrinkle prevention and skin elasticity- but let's be honest, trying to remember to drink enough water each day can get boring. When you’re striving for glowy, moisturized skin, you can eat your water, too! Think: fruits and veggies with a high-water content like watermelon, strawberry, cucumber and cantaloupe. And don’t forget the topical application either! Carry our Awakening Milk & Honey Toner with you for a refreshing dose of hydration on the go. Bonus: you’ll be helping maintain your skin’s balance and can help reduce inflammation and puffiness.

Take the time this month to celebrate not only the women who’ve made history, but also the ones making history right now, including you! Making time to get your skincare routine in order will also help you balance out your diet, help you prioritize time for daily movement and even remember to partake in stress-relieving activities - all so you can get back to what you were really meant to do: make history!