The importance of exfoliating your skin

Athletes and weekend warriors have a higher dead skin cell turnover rate. If you, or someone else, finds your skin to appeal dull, lackluster with occasional or frequent breakouts, chances are you are not exfoliating enough with the correct product.

Exfoliating is the most easiest and common natural way to remove dead skin cells without chemical peels or costly microdermabrasion. It will actually give you better results when done frequently.

The best time to exfoliate is after a sweat induced by exercise. It will open your pores during exercise so you will need to exfoliate within a short period of time after exercise.

This will remove dead skin cells that can't be seen by the human eye and leave your skin's surface clean and ready for new skin cells to regenerate. Time constraints with our busy workout schedules needs the convenience of an exfoliater that also contains a cleanser. Exfoliating agents alone will not clean the skin.

Use an exfoliater that will not abrade delicate skin tissue and contains no chemicals that get get into your bloodstream via open pores. Never use a brush on your delicate facial skin unless you want broken capillaries and exfoliating agents that contain aluminum will eventually make its way into your bloodstream.

The Tenacious Champion AHA/BHA 2 In 1 Exfoliating Cleanser is one of the most highly recommended exfoliating cleanser on the market for fitness lovers.

Do this treatment on a twice weekly basis and, in this world of judging, will give a healthy look to healthy skin.

Copyright Sandy Alcide, founder Motion Medica fitness skin care.

Preventing dry skin in cold climate with an athletic lifestyle

An active lifestyle can bring on a new set of challenges to your skin.

Extreme climatic conditions can cause dry, brittle skin. Cold air lacks moisture and indoor heat causes dryness, a common complaint among winter loving athletes.

This is the reason why there must be special care for this skin type in order to have smooth healthy skin. Extreme dryness to your skin adds a whole new dimension to your skin care regimen.

You must protect your skin when exercising outdoors. Do not use petroleum jelly as this will clog the pores that naturally open during exercise to expel sweat. Your skin also needs to breathe even in outdoor cold conditions. Before heading outdoors use a sunscreen with zinc oxide in it. Not only will it protect your skin from the sun's rays but it will help hold moisture in the skin.

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! After washing away sweat with a gentle astringent cleanser, always apply moisturizer after every cleanse. Never skip this step in your skin care regimen. If you cleanse at night before bed time , in the morning just splash some luke warm water on your face and follow with moisturizer. If heading out to ski or for a long run apply sunscreen after your moisturizer.

You must continue to exfoliate dead skin cells with a gentle exfoliating cleanser. The removal of dead skin cells will help the emollients in the moisturizer to penetrate the skin more effectively. Removal of dead skin cells and keeping adequate topical moisture levels will help ward off dry skin and reveal smooth, soft skin.

Your face that is the most exposed seems to get the most attention, but the same regimen applies to your body even under protective clothing the dry air will effect the skin too.

By Sandy Alcide, founder Motion Medica fitness skin care.

Teaching athletic kids about skin care

As with all habits parents lead by example. If you take care of your skin most likely your children will follow. But how do you teach kids to take care of their skin when they have no interest in it?

Here are a few pointers....

In the single digit ages parents must supervise and be diligent of cleansing their child's skin. When there is no bath night the child must be supervised at the sink and get them into the habit of washing their face and hands.

Tell your kids about the important job their skin has to do. It keeps infections out of the body and keeps them from getting sick. When they take care of their skin they are helping skin do it's job!

Taking care of the skin today, will help with future problems, like acne, wrinkles and even skin cancer.

One simple way to take care of your skin is to keep it clean. This is essential for an active child in sports to prevent acne from their sweaty activities which harbors acne causing bacteria. Tell them how important it is to wear sunscreen when playing outdoors. You may want to show them a picture of a person's skin who neglected it, by being riddled with acne, and lots of wrinkles and dry skin at a young age from too much sun with no sunscreen protection.

Over zealous cleansing is unnecessary. Cleansers should not contain salicylic acid as it is too over sensitizing for this tender young skin. A gentle cleanser with lots of natural astringents will do the job and never apply alcohol based products to the skin as this will dry and irritate their skin.

Sports active tweens and teenagers should make a good habit to cleanse their hands (which will transfer dirt to the skin), and face following the sport and always before bed time. If skin is thoroughly cleansed at bed time just some luke warm water will do in the morning and a lip balm to prevent chapped lips from water.

Children of all ages and those who do not practice sports should never be permitted to go to bed without washing their face and hands if it's not bath night.

My own daughter who is twelve is now an avid runner and independently cleanses her face after her runs and immediately coming home from school when she has physical education. She told me a lot of kids in her school the same age as her has acne but she doesn't. It proves this method of teaching your kids holds true and it's never too late to start it.

Start this skin healthy habit now and they will have their parents/guardians to thank for healthy adult skin.

Motion Medica's Unwavering Determination Daily Cleanser is a simple solution for fresh faces and is gentle on young skin and washing away a hard day's play!

By Sandy Alcide, founder of Motion Medica fitness skin care. www.MotionMedica.com

Alcohol can stress your skin

During the holidays, and off training times, it's easy to drink too much. And as people age, their metabolisms typically slow down, so, you often feel worse after drinking-less.Alcohol can wreck havoc on your skin.

The ethanol in alcohol dilates blood vessels, says David Colbert, a dermatologist in New York City. "Initially you might flush a bit during a night out", he says. "But over time too much drinking can stretch capillaries, sometimes to the point where they expand, giving you a permanent red hue."

Alcohol also dehydrates your skin, leaving it with a dry, weathered appearance. If you do some drinking, before you go to sleep drink plenty of water even if it means some trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night. At bed time, be sure to cleanse your face and apply a liberal amount of moisturizer. This will help with the appearance of dehydrated skin the morning after.

If you want to socialize with alcohol, try to stay with the lesser alcohol content such as light beer or wine.

If you do wake up with a nasty hangover, sweat those toxins out with a good sweaty workout and drink up on lots of water. No matter how much you have to push yourself it will be well worth the effort.

By Sandy Alcide www.MotionMedica.com

Misleading labeling of natural skin care

In case you want to try a new "natural" product on the skin care market read this first.

Misleading labeling by manufacturers of natural and organic personal care products is resulting in consumer confusion. One of the greatest points of confusion in the skin care industry occurs when the word "natural" is used on the label to describe the nature of the product.

More companies are targeting athletic or exercise inclined persons because of their healthy lifestyles.

Natural products mean a lack, or processed ingredients (synthetic/chemical), or a non-chemical "process" is used in extracting the botanicals. Unfortunately, when these products are tested they are rarely organic or natural.

A growing number of skin care companies have been making natural or organic claims. Organic is when no pesticides are used at all and the herbs and botanicals are grown inside greenhouses. A more expensive growing process as smaller amounts can only be grown as opposed to vast outdoor fields.

According to Policy Director, Tom Hutchinson of The Organic Trade Association (OTC). "A personal skin care product that claims to be natural must have at least 70% natural ingredients". Most culprits of this misleading marketing are the inexpensive chain store brands and in some cases, the expensive brands found in department stores. The average ratio is only 10%-20% natural ingredients and the remaining synthetic ingredients or water. Also, in order to produce a mass amount, the natural method of cold pressing the botanicals are not used, but chemicals to extract the botanicals are.

Although the OTC has intentions of cracking down on these companies, Tom Hutchinson advises; "Consumers should be aware that at the present time there is nothing precluding a marketer from making all natural claims regardless of ingredient content."

If you suspect that it sounds too good to be true, don't buy it and if a well known and even well liked celebrity is endorsing it, they may not know the true value of the product.

Stay fabulous and a savvy consumer.

By Sandy Alcide founder of Motion Medica skin care. Copyright 2010.

Why wearing make-up during exercise is bad for your skin-and how you can wear it if you must

With the exception of eye make-up and lipstick, liquid foundation, blushes and mineral make-up should be not be used on the skin during exercise. Sweat and dirt will get trapped in your pores and cause breakouts or lack luster of skin. Make-up will cause an array of oil, dirt, bacteria and chemicals (from make- up) cling to your skin.


You have 650 sweat glands per square inch. When you perspire during a workout your pores open naturally to expel sweat and natural toxins as methylphenol, urea and lactic acid. This is beneficial to your skin. But covering the pores with make-up blocks this beneficial natural occurrence. You won't be getting the full benefits for your skin from working out. An enhanced post-workout natural healthy glow.

When you mix sweat with make-up it will attract bacteria that will cause pimples, and white/blackheads. If you are not acne prone, normal skin can be more sensitive after a workout while wearing make-up.

The skin needs to turn over new cells, an avid exerciser produces more dead skin cells. When pores are blocked with make-up this won't happen. Your skin needs to "breathe", when you don't allow this to happen dull skin, pimples, dryness and congested skin will result from this.This may not happen immediately, but over a period of time it eventually will wreck havoc on your skin. Never wash your face with a cleanser that has oil in it prior to applying your make-up before a workout! This will really clog your pores by blocking the out-flow of perspiration in addition to having make-up covering your pores. Before applying make-up, apply a small amount of serum specifically formulated to protect skin from the elements of sweat, oil and bacteria causing acne.

Make-up that is non-comedogenic, is not referring to using it while exercising. Pure mineral make-up that does not contain oils or talc are no exception. Most of these pure mineral make-ups contain beeswax, lanolin and carmine that can clog the pores.

Rather than experiencing these negative results, take prevention before it happens. It may be worth the small investment of time to cleanse your skin before a workout and go make-up free. If you must wear make-up during exercise, wash with the highly suggested Stellar Performance Post Workout Cleanser. This cleanser is used by professional athletes after intense training.

I work with many women who are either time crunched to cleanse their face before a workout, or because of their profession must wear make-up while training. Think of your skin care regimen as importantly as your workout regimen, and with a little extra time dedicated towards your skin you'll discover an overall improvement with your skin conditions.

No make-up in the world can beat the natural beautiful post workout glow of a self confident woman!

By Sandy Alcide BioChemist and Founder of Motion Medica fitness skin care Innovator of beauty skin care products for the fitness lover used by professional athletes. She is a contributing writer for SHAPE.com Always New You and the Huffington Post. Sandy Alcide is also the President of the American Athletic Skin Care Association with Co-Chairman Dr. John Daniels. She can be contacted via Motion Medica's website. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. You may use this article or portions for your blog, newsletter or website but you must include this paragraph and a link to www.MotionMedica.com

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