Just Ask David

Between barebones skin care like The Ordinary and the many, many steps of the Korean skin routine, it’s hard to figure out what our skin really needs.

Seasoned beauty blogger and editor Paige Herman-Axel joins Just Ask David to give us the cold, hard facts on skin care, no fluff.

Her past stints include beauty editor positions at Gotham, Hamptons, and Los Angeles Confidential magazines before she became the founding editor of NewBeauty. She’s also the brains behind the innovative self-tan remover, Bronze Buffer.

Having been in the beauty industry for years, it’s safe to say that Paige knows her stuff when it comes to skin care.

The Bare Basics: Skin Care Everyone Needs

The truth is, crafting your own skin care routine isn’t nearly as difficult as people make it seem on the internet.

There’s a serum for this, a mud mask for that. There are even brands dedicated to creating a daily skin care regimen for you based on a skin profile quiz.

Sure, our skin may not all be the same. But that doesn’t mean that our skin doesn’t have the same basic needs in order to feel soft and look flawless.

“The bottom line really is, an effective anti-aging routine doesn’t have to be complicated,” Paige says. “There are really just a few essentials to start with, and then you can really build from there depending on how much you really want to do.”

So what does Paige think should be included in everyone’s daily skin care plan?

“The absolute first item to start with every morning, (after cleansing, that is), would be an antioxidant serum,” she answers. “We are all running around all day, exposed to free radicals that eventually lead to visible physical signs of aging. So it’s really important to use an antioxidant like vitamin C every morning before you apply anything else.”

And of course, sunscreen.

“Even if you’re sitting by a window, if you’re driving in a car, you’re still being exposed to UV rays,” Paige says. “Most dermatologists would recommend [SPF] 30 everyday regardless of what you’re doing.”

After the Basics: Is Double Cleansing Necessary?

Thanks to Korean beauty or K-beauty, double cleansing is a phrase that has recently entered the American skin care vernacular.

So naturally, there’s been a healthy debate on the necessity (and potential harm) of double cleansing.

“I am a huge fan of double cleansing,” Paige shares. “If you’ve ever washed your face and then used toner afterwards and there’s still dirt on the cotton, that’s proof right there that you didn’t get everything off.”

Like the K-beauty double cleansing method, Paige likes to first use an oil-based cleanser, then a lathering cleanser.

“Cleansing first with an oil, that helps break up makeup and dirt and any sunscreen that may be on your skin at the end of the day,” she explains.

Microneedling: Beyond the Basics

One of the most recent and innovative strides of the beauty industry? Making professional skin care tools accessible at home.

One of the firsts is the microneedlers.

“I think microneedling is really one of the best things that has come into the mainstream recently,” Paige says. “It’s relatively low tech, you can do it yourself at home with a proper tool.”

Microneedling is a skin care treatment that injects a needle into the top layer of skin. This boosts collagen production, potentially erasing acne scars and smoothing out wrinkles.

Incredibly, the vast majority of people who get a microneedling treatment see a noticeable difference in the skin. Even after the first treatment.

“It keeps my skin radiant and keeps fine lines at bay,” Paige adds. “It’s really a wonderful treatment for prevention as well as correction.”

Get More Beauty Advice From Industry Insider Paige Herman-Axel.

Want more beauty secrets?Visit Paige’s blog, Insider Beauty Buzz! Don’t forget to follow on Facebook and Twitter @ibeautybuzz.

We’ve all had days when we hated the mirror. You know those days when you quickly walk past every reflective surface to avoid catching your reflection.

Those tragic days when you don’t even want to leave the house because you don’t want to be looked at.

Toronto-based journalist and body image advocate Amanda “Ama” Scriver joins Just Ask David to discuss with us what it really means to love yourself and your body. What does body positivity mean and how can we incorporate it into our daily lives?

Amanda Scriver is a freelance journalist and body image advocate based out of Toronto, Canada. Last summer, she released her first book, a pocket travel guide to Toronto titled The Hunt Guides.

What Does Body Positivity Mean to YOU?

“Each year we get bombarded with these posts: ‘New year, new me!’ We’re always so frightened about how we need to conform to these beauty standards and how we need to look,” Ama says. “We’re always so frightened about just being satisfied about who we are as a person.”

Part of body positivity is accepting who you are, totally and unconditionally. It doesn’t mean that you can’t work on improving yourself, but your happiness shouldn’t depend solely on fitting into that dress or getting rid of old stretch marks.

“All throughout our lives, I think we come to different points of our body journey,” Ama adds. “And I think it’s okay to feel bad about yourself some days. And it’s okay to accept those things other days. I think we just need to understand that it’s okay to really accept all parts of ourselves. But the thing is, to get to that place is a struggle.”

Conquer Your Negative Inner Voice

We all experience that mean, nasty inner voice. Often, that inner monologue is a lot crueler to us than it is to even people we dislike.

How do we overcome this from a body positive perspective?

“Really, what it comes down to is learning to tune out that negative self-talk in ourselves, which we aim toward ourselves,” Ama explains. “We really have to work hard at building a positive image within ourselves because once we have a positive self-image, we can project that toward ourselves and toward others.”

Don’t Worry, Be Body Posi!

Visit Ama’s blog, “like” her on Facebook, and don’t forget to follow her on Instagram and Twitter @AmaScriver!

As someone who’s worked in the beauty industry developing products for years, there’s one question that I never stop hearing: “What’s the best product you’ve ever developed?”

Everyone’s looking for that one special product that’s going to clear up their skin once and for all. But my answer is always disappointing, because the truth is, that product doesn’t exist. No product works perfectly for everyone – we’re all different.

But is there beauty beyond cosmetics? How can we make our skin beautiful without resorting to an expensive serum or mud mask? Certified health coach and former beauty editor Jolene Hart has the answers.

Jolene Hart, CHC, AADP has written for magazines like InStyle and People, but her most recent work is her nutritional bestselling book series, Eat Pretty. She’s pioneered her own beauty coaching practice known as Beauty is Wellness. According to her, a more holistic approach to beauty is essential to having beautiful skin.

Beauty Beyond Skin Care

“I had been struggling with skin issues, from cystic acne to eczema, for almost a decade,” Jolene admits. “And once I got that beauty editor job I thought, This is great. I’m gonna find the product or service that will help me cure what I’m experiencing. And after a couple years of really trying what I felt like was everything – because in the beauty industry as an editor, you have access to any product you want, basically – I realized there was something going on inside and my skin issues were a reflection of that.”

After returning to school to become a certified health coach, Jolene came back to the beauty industry with a clear mind… and clear skin. “Over the course of a year I really changed my diet, my lifestyle, and saw the most dramatic changes in my skin – the ones that I was looking to find through topical products. That was really the catalyst… to totally switch my career and to share what I have learned and am still learning.”

Eat Pretty, Feel Pretty, BE Pretty!

“Changing your diet will definitely make a difference depending on where you start from,” Jolene says. “Some of the real foundational points of knowledge around your skin are knowing how to balance your blood sugar and eating foods that are going to stabilize your blood sugar, tuning up your digestion and making sure that it’s optimal. When you don’t digest and assimilate well, your skin is one of the first places you see that lack, whether it’s skin breaking out more or is lackluster and dry.”

Taking care of your body in others ways, like managing stress and getting enough sleep, also helps with clearing up your skin. Our lifestyles are so fast-paced these days, it’s easy to forget to take care of ourselves. But if clear skin is the goal, it’s worth it -- both for your skin and your overall well-being.

“A good night of sleep is more powerful than the most expensive night cream you can buy,” Jolene says.

Follow Jolene Hart on Social Media

It’s hard to go anywhere these days without hearing about living green. Compared to the past, society’s attitude toward living a more eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle has changed tremendously. Things that used to be considered only for “tree-hugging hippies,” like using organic products and considering a company’s sustainability, are now part of mainstream culture in 2018. People are realizing that what we put into and onto our bodies has a significant impact on our health and the environment.

Fashion editor, wardrobe stylist, and television style expert Cris Pearlstein joins Just Ask David to give us the scoop on the clean and sustainable beauty trends she’s noticed as an industry insider. “You don’t have to be an environmental, organic expert to make small changes in your life that can impact your body, your health, skin, and even just your household as a whole,” she says.

Cris’s career began at REDBOOK over a decade ago and she continues to write for media outlets like PureWow, StyleCaster, and Real Simple as well as making appearances as a Style & Fashion expert on local television. She’s also a wardrobe stylist signed with FORD/RBA Talent Agency, styling for fashion shoots, ad campaigns, and even t.v. commercials.

Green Beauty is for Everyone

In the last five years, the beauty industry has been experiencing a boom it’s never witnessed before. Organic skin care, cruelty-free cosmetics -- things that many consumers thought were just for “hippies” -- aren’t just en vogue. They’re redefining the norm.

So what’s with the sudden change?

“I just think that people are so much more informed than they’ve ever been before,” Cris says of the beauty and wellness boom. “Instagram plays a big role. You’re able to find people. You’re able to find topics really easily that you relate to, or that maybe even you want to learn more about. Even just speaking from personal experience, I follow a lot of wellness experts, a lot of bloggers who sort of incorporate this idea of 360-degree wellness in their lives. And it has helped so much in making changes to my own life.”

At the root of it, the wellness boom encourages healthy lifestyle changes. And not just that, but consumers get the opportunity to support businesses whose ideals align with their own. In a world where consumer voices seem to have less power than they used to, that’s important.

“If corporations make it more convenient for us to eat clean and buy clean beauty product and to just incorporate clean practices, then of course we’re going to follow that road,” Cris adds.

Look Cute and Waste Not with Sustainable Fashion

Like the beauty industry, the fashion world is experiencing its own green boom. Vegan fashion, sustainable fashion -- the less waste, the better.

“In keeping with my expertise, which is fashion and style, I’ve noticed a big change in the fashion industry as far as sustainability goes,” Cris says. “Some of the companies that are leading the charge are companies like Stella McCartney, Matt & Nat, Reformation, Eileen Fisher, and even H&M.”

Sustainable clothes -- clothes manufactured from renewable materials, like recycled fabric and farm-grown textiles -- have been around for a long time. So why is sustainable fashion being presented on the runway now?

“I think a lot of designers and brands have realized, what good is  sustainable fashion if no one wants to wear it, right?” Cris says, referring to the burlap sack-like clothing that sustainable fashion used to be.

“If it’s not cute and stylish, then no one’s going to buy it, and then, what good is all of your effort? So I think that’s the biggest change that’s happening in the industry over the last ten years.”

Follow Cris Pearlstein on Social Media!

Don’t be out of the loop when it comes to green beauty and fashion. Visit Cris’s website and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @CrisPearlstein!

There have always been plenty of skeptics when it comes to clean beauty. Most arguments against clean beauty are about its effectiveness, which is also why it hasn’t been very popular until recently. (For those of you who don’t know, “clean beauty” is a term used to describe beauty products that opt for safe, plant-based ingredients instead of chemicals formulated in a lab.)

In the last few years, clean beauty has surpassed all expectations in the beauty market. Not only did did it break into the mainstream market, but clean beauty is absolutely BOOMING right now. But the question still remains: Can clean beauty really work, or is it just a passing trend?

With more than 25 years of experience in the industry, Dana Wood joins Just Ask David to answer this question once and for all. Dana is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, the New Post, and has her own blog, Florida Beauty Problems.

Clean Beauty: Crafted by Nature in Your Own Neighborhood

As Dana learned to navigate skin care as a Floridian, she was introduced to local skin care brands that committed to clean beauty. “A big part of what we’re doing for Florida Beauty Problems is celebrating local craftsman of beauty lines here, because there are several. Like the Naples Soap Company, Bodhi Basics which is based here in St. Pete’s,” Dana says. “There are a lot of great little beauty brands coming out of Florida that nobody really knows yet.”

Does Clean Beauty Really Work?

“The thing about the whole floral thing is, you can’t just go in your backyard, pick a bunch of dandelions, throw ‘em in a pot, boil ‘em, and voila -- you have this amazing anti-aging product,” Dana says. “There are only six flowers that are super helpful in terms of skin care. And even within those, like a rose for instance, you’ve really got to get down to the stem cells in a rose flower before you’re going to get any anti-aging impact from that.”

So what kinds of flowers are beneficial to add to your skin care routine? “Orchids,” Dana says. “Those are great antioxidants. And lotus as well. Roman chamomile can be super anti-inflammatory.” I bet that last one is great for bug bites, especially in Florida. (Because who wants to be doused in chemicals to repel mosquitoes all year?)

Follow Dana Wood on Social Media!

Last year, the beauty industry saw the beginning of a lot of new trends. From nutricosmetics, to more inclusive foundation shades, to focusing on clean beauty -- 2017 was an eventful year in beauty.

We’re all expecting 2018 to be a continuation of all of these beauty innovations. And now that it’s February, that’s exactly what we’ve been seeing. Celia San Miguel, Editor-in-Chief of the beauty and style blog Sicka Than Average, joins Just Ask David to share the trends she’s been seeing. Celia has also written for many renowned publications, including Latina, VIBE, the New York Post, InStyle, ESSENCE, Paper, and more.

Sheet Masks Aren’t Just for Your Face

Thanks to the popularity of Korean beauty or K-beauty, 2017 was the year of the sheet mask. Everyone loves posting selfies relaxing with their sheet masks.

“The beauty industry has gotten more creative when it comes to facial masks,” Celia says. “In addition to sheet masks, which were ubiquitous, you also started seeing bubbling masks and rubber masks and magnetic masks.I think we’re going to be seeing a whole lot more of that.”

And it’s absolutely true. As sheet masks were trending more and more, skin care junkies became interested in other kinds of facial masks. Every kind of mask has something different to offer. “I also think in terms of sheet masks… we’re going to see more masks targeting specific areas.” That means sheet masks for your arms, hands, neck, décolletage  -- even cuticles!

Celia says that sheet masks for these areas are already becoming a hit! Definitely a trend we’re excited for.

Beauty From the Inside Out

The concept of taking supplements to beautify yourself isn’t new. In fact, “nutricosmetics” have been popular in Europe for decades. It’s only recently caught on in the United States.

“What I’m seeing now is a lot of companies -- even skin care companies that have been around for ages -- are starting to look at a more holistic approach to skin care,” Celia agrees. Skin care giants have supplements in the works to be used with their topical skin care. The idea is “dealing with skin from the inside out,” as Celia says.

“At the end of the day, the skin is an organ,” she says. “Do when you think about it on those terms, of course it makes sense.”

Check Out Sicka Than Average on Social Media!

I bet you’re dying to know more about what Celia knows will trend in the beauty industry this year. Visit the Sicka Than Average beauty blog for more! You can also like Sicka Than Average on Facebook or follow @SickaThanAvg on Twitter or @SickaThanAverage on Instagram.

Candice is the cofounder of Beauty News NYC, the very first digital beauty magazine. She’s very well known in the industry and has been writing beauty and skin care for decades.

Anti-Aging vs. Pro-Aging

“We all want to look more youthful,” Candice agrees. “But I don’t think anybody at 40-years-old or 50-years-old is gonna say, ‘Give me something that’s gonna make me look 25 again.’” Candice cites Joan Rivers as an example. We know that she’s had plastic surgery, and we know how old she really is. But doesn’t she still look beautiful at her age?

Most of us realize that shaving off forty years just isn’t going to happen, which is what pro-aging is all about. Maybe we can’t look 25 again, but looking incredible for our age is the next best thing. “We want to look our best,” Candice adds.

Do You Know the Quality of Your Vitamin C?

“One of the issues with vitamin C is most people use the cheapest and least effective form of vitamin C,” she explains. “If you’re buying a bottle of vitamin C serum and you’re paying $25 for it, it’s fine if it’s l-ascorbic acid. It’s not going to hurt you. But there are companies out there that are charging $150-200 [for] a bottle of vitamin C. And it’s the cheapest form.”

Instead, she suggests using the highly effective (but also expensive) form of vitamin C -- tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, also known as tetra C. “That’s the one you want in your vitamin C serums.”

Beauty Packaging: Jar vs. Pump

“I’m on a one-woman campaign to get rid of jars,” Candice jokes. But on a serious note, jars can introduce your expensive products to oxygen, changing its chemical properties. Contamination is also a concern. “You open it, you get more air into it, which is bad,” Candice says. “Women put their fingers into it… it’s the most unhygienic thing in the world.”

Candice suggests using containers with pumps instead. That way, the perfect amount of product is dispensed right into your hand. No extra dirt, no extra air.

Get Connected on Social Media

You can also stay updated with Candice by following her on Twitter @SabatiniOnStyle or Instagram @Candice_Sabatini!