Your beauty dilemmas answered: part 3

Hi everyone,

I've been busy answering all your beauty dilemmas. Watch the videos below to pick up handy tips and advice, and keep your eyes peeled for more clips coming soon.

Eye make-up saviours
 

Having trouble viewing this video? See YouTube's Help page

For white milia spots...

Q. Hi Alison, I am 50 years old and have always suffered from milia on my cheeks. How can I get rid of them or at least make them less noticeable? Please help.

A. Milia is a common concern for a lot of people - it's usually a sign of too many fatty acids in your diet or not enough water. You can't squeeze them out because it's trapped fatty deposits under the skin and they are not attached to a pore.

They are a couple of things you can do to get rid of them:

• You can have them removed by laser or electrolysis in a salon. This is the safest way to do it because you can scar yourself if you try to squeeze them.
• If you want the very best alternative that you can do at home, use a small amount of Decleor's Balm Essential and massage it across the area pushing the fatty acids to help disperse them. You won't see results overnight - but be persistent and do it everyday.

On smoothing out small bumps on the body...

Q. Hi Alison, I have always suffered from what I think are blocked hair follicles, presenting with small bumps on the back of my legs and arms (no colour). Is there a way of improving the feel of these areas of skin? Many thanks indeed for all of your help, Kim.

A. This is often caused by poor circulation or friction. The easiest way to tackle this problem is to get into the routine of exfoliating regularly.

I'd recommend using a grained exfoliator twice, or three times a week on the problem areas, and use body lotion at least once a day. If you can do it twice, just on the affected areas, that's even better. Any moisture is going to help improve the problem area.

Try Elemis' Devil's Mint Body Scrub or Philosophy's Body Polish Scrubs and follow with L'Occitane's Body Butter. Look for an extra rich formula, something in a tub or tube, which is too thick to come through a pump.

On how to help fade freckles...

Q: Is there any moisturiser or cream that will also help fade freckles? Thanks. Jane Nordell

A: Freckles are natural and very pretty on the skin, however if you don't want your freckles to get any darker, because freckles can sometimes look like pigmented skin, then the most important thing you need to do is wear a high factor sun protection.

I'd use the Ultrasun SPF50 every single day underneath your other skincare products. This will stop the freckles getting darker during the summer months.

For sensitive skin and breakouts...

Q: I'm 40 and have always suffered from dry skin. I've only ever had breakouts once a month but lately my chin looks like an active pin cushion. I'm also getting spots on my forehead (hairline) and a few around my nose. One side of my chin looks like it has a chemical burn and I'm worried about scarring. Please could you recommend something for this area and help to clear my face up.

Alison: If it’s flared up that badly, I am a little concerned about the possibility of rosacea and so I would see your doctor for some advice.

From a beauty point of view, there are two options. The first is to use calming products for sensitive skin. So, you could try Elemis Sensitive Cleansing Wash with the Elemis SOS Cream (which comes in a handy duo collection) to help balance and calm the skin down.

The second option is if the oil glands have been over stimulated and so have flared up, then I would try the Alpha-H Clean and Clear Collection, which contains the Triple Action Cleanser, Balancing Cleanser, Micro Cleanse Exfoliant and the Clearing Gel.

These two sets are opposites of each other so you need to try to work out which would be best. With our 30-day money-back guarantee, it is possible to try one and see how it goes. If it's a sensitivity issue, go for the first option, and if it's not not sensitive and is oil gland stimulation, then go for the second option.

For spots, whiteheads and sensitive skin...

Q: My 12 year old son has been getting spots and white heads on his face, particularly his nose, for a few months now. I've read your advice to others and decided to try him on the Australian skinwash twice a day.

After 3 days his skin was completely clear and looking great. However, after a week he started to get very dry, sore red patches on his cheeks so stopped using it. Is it worth trying him on my cleanse and polish or should I steer clear?

Alison: He seems to be suffering from the result of washing his face twice a day with an anti-bacterial formula without following with a moisturiser. So if he still wants to continue with the ABC, he just needs to follow with a moisturiser and hopefully he should continue to get great results.

He could try a gel moisturiser, such as SBC Collagen Gel, or the liquid gel texture of Alpha-H Balancing Moisturiser.

If he wants to swap his cleanser, he could try the Alpha-H Balancing Cleanser followed by the Balancing Moisturiser. He could also slot in Cleanse & Polish if he wants to, maybe in the evening if he has time, and he could still use the ABC Skinwash in the morning. The bottom line is that he definitely needs to follow with some kind of skin-softening agent, whether he borrows something you already use or experiments with something else.

For necklace lines...

Q: I'm 26 years old and I have a problem with my neck. I have several necklace lines that never seem to go away. The lines reduce slightly during the day when I have put moisturiser on but they always come back. The lines are really knocking my confidence. Are there any particular products you could recommend?

Alison: I would recommend advancing your routine. Although you're 26, you've already identified that this area of skin is perhaps drying out quicker than the rest of your skin. So, on this area only you should exfoliate more, perhaps two or three times a week. This should help to reduce the look of the wrinkles.

I would then recommend you layer two products morning and evening - a serum followed by a neck cream. Depending on what range you like, this could be using a Decleor Aromessence Oil under the Decleor Neck Cream or Gatineau serum under Gatineau Neck Cream. The first layer should sink in quickly and the second will add comfort over the top.

Also make sure you wear an SPF factor on this neck area at all times, perhaps even introducing Ultrasun to be worn on a daily basis. If you do like to sunbathe and you lie down, cover your face and neck area with a hanky, hat or umbrella. Don't spray fragrance directly onto this area and be careful with using hair spray as that can dry this area out too.

On an easily-absorbed hand cream for crepey-looking hands...

Q: Can you recommend an easily absorbed cream for hands that are starting to look crepey despite being in my early 30s and regularly using hand cream. Could it be the hand washes I use, as I prefer to use antiseptic ones so I know my hands are really clean? Can the appearance of my hands be 'reversed' to look smooth again?

Alison: There are some jobs where you have to use anti-septic washes extremely regularly, such as in hygiene or healthcare industries and indeed hairdressers too. I would recommend two types of hand creams for you.

Number one: Choose a naturally anti-septic hand wash, such as one that has lavender in it, rather than one that's full of chemical anti-septic, as this has a natural anti-septic quality to it as well as a natural, soothing quality. So try L'Occitane Lavender Liquid Soap or the Lavender Shower Cream for a gentler option that still keeps your hands clean and smelling nice too!

Number two: When you do wash your hands an awful lot, it would be beneficial to apply a rich hand cream before you go to bed, such as the L'Occitane Hand Cream with shea butter or Honey and Lemon  Hand Cream. Also, if your hands are dry when you're at home put it on a little more often.

You could also carry around with you a lighter hand cream for when you're out and about.

For teenage spots on the forehead and chin...

Q: My son is getting spots on his forehead and chin especially. Neil is 14 and is extremely embarrassed about this. We have tried various products from the chemist but nothing seems to work. He has also been using Tea Tree oil, which doesn't seem to work either. Can you help?

Alison: Obviously he is that very vulnerable age where the spots aren't necessarily caused by a bad skincare routine but by hormones flaring up and causing his oil glands to be overactive.

You say you've used tea tree oil, but have you used the ABC Skinwash, which contains tea tree oil? If you haven't, then this is maybe the most masculine product to use with the easiest application technique - such as using it in the shower. It also comes in big economical sizes.

If you have tried this already, then my next step would be for him to use the Liz Earle Men's Cleanse & Polish system with the cloth for removal, that will also help to knock off the tops of any spots or blackheads. I know Liz's son actually uses this to help with his skin. Plus, if he does need to start shaving, he can use this kit for that too.

If he's very trendy, into fashion and men's grooming mags, feel free to show him a little bit of spot concealer, maybe the one that you use so you don't have to get him a separate one. This could be really great for his confidence. Also, an invisible make-up is self-tan. So you could always try mixing a little bit of this in with a moisturiser one night for him to just tone down the look of the redness and disguise them more. Let me tell you that footballers do wear self-tan - I know, I'm married to one!

For bumps on the forehead and an oily T-zone...

Q: I'm a 25 year-old guy and have an oily T-zone but normal everywhere else. I also have bumps on my forehead. At the moment I'm using Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish - this was working to start with but now I'm not seeing any results. What skincare range would be best for me to start to use?

Alison: Try Elemis Tri-Enzyme skincare range - this sounds perfect for you. This system is specifically for those bumps that develop from a poor conditioned skin. So they should help to buff away the dead skin cells, while leaving you with a smoother finish.

Don't worry if you feel a mild tingle when you first use these products as that is the enzymes working. You'll find it reassuring as it's just a sign that it's actually working. The cool tingle should disappear after a while. I'm a huge fan of the products as they leave my skin looking nice and smooth. I even use the Facial Wash every single day.