What is Alopecia?

Alopecia is a disease that affects hair follicles. For most men and women, hair falls out in small patches all over the body. However, there are also many who lost all of the hair on their entire body. Anyone can have alopecia, and it can occur at any point in time in someone's life. 

While there is no known cause for alopecia, many scientists believe that a person's genes might come in to play. Alopecia is an autoimmune disease in which the own body's immune system attacks the hair follicles. 

There is a very small chance that your hair may grow back, but it is rare and could potentially fall out again. There is also no telling if and when it may fall out or grow back. Because there is no cure for alopecia, there are no drugs that are approved to treat it.

Alopecia does not hurt, does not make you feel sick and you cannot transmit it to others. It will not shorten your life or affect every day activities such as: dating, aerobics, raising a family, going to school, getting married, working or playing sports. 

BEFORE & AFTER  - CLIENTS OF ATHENA KARSANT

Most women will wear wigs, caps or scarves not only to hide the appearance of alopecia, but also to protect their scalp from the sun and keep their head warm. Most men, however, embrace being bald and use sunscreen to protect their scalp from the sun. 

One solution that many men and women are choosing is permanent makeup to mask the effects of alopecia. Because of hair loss on the face, it isn't uncommon for men and women to lose the hair from their eyelashes and eyebrows. 

For clients with alopecia, permanent makeup (also called micropigmentation, cosmetic tattooing, etc.) is used to give the illusion of eyebrow hairs as well as eyelashes. 

Athena Karsant has been a cosmetic tattoo specialist for over 20 years. She has created an unsurpassed portfolio of work which not only includes the makeup such as eyeliner, lips and eyebrows, but also the medical side of tattooing: areola repigmentation, scar camouflage, medical needing etc. 

Are you suffering from the affects of Alopecia? You don't have to! Schedule a complimentary consultation at either one of my offices - Beverly Hills, San Francisco or Newport Beach. I look forward to working with you! 

Follow me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Instagram

Athena Karsant was honored with Best of San Francisco & Best of Beverly Hills for 2013!
Athena also offers Complimentary Consultations. To learn more about Athena's work,
see before and after photos and read testimonials from both clients and doctors,
please visit her website FoolingMotherNature.com

Favorites Fridays - Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Do you have oily skin? Do you notice that your eyelids are shiny/oily half way through the day or that the eyeliner you so carefully drew on that morning is slowly transferring to your upper eyelid? Do you find that eyeshadow doesn’t really stay in place? Did you know that there is a solution?

Before you can paint the barn you must use a primer - same with makeup. One of my favorite primers for your face is by Jouer. However, remember that you can’t use the same primer for your eyes as you use for the rest of your face, so that is where Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion comes in. 

This fabulous “must-have” beauty product comes in a small squeeze tube with a tiny needle nose. You need the tiniest dab to cover your whole eyelid. Eyeshadow Primer Potion is incredibly sheer with a totally nude base that easily glides onto the skin. It allows your eyeshadow to stay in place and gives a smoother more vibrant shadow with all-day wear with absolutely no creasing!

Wash your face using your favorite cleanser, then use toner, followed by moisturizer and lastly sunscreen.  Next, wipe your eyelid with a clean tissue to remove any extra oil or moisturizer before using the eyeshadow primer potion. After applying the primer potion, use your favorite eyeshadows to achieve your desired look. Finish with some eyeliner and mascara and you are good to go for a crease-free day!

You can purchase Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion at Sephora! Check it out and give it a try. Remember, if you aren’t a fan, you can always return it to Sephora and ask about a different primer that would benefit your wants and needs! 

Follow me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Instagram

Athena Karsant was honored with Best of San Francisco & Best of Beverly Hills for 2013!
Athena also offers Complimentary Consultations. To learn more about Athena's work,
see before and after photos and read testimonials from both clients and doctors,
please visit her website FoolingMotherNature.com

Favorites Fridays: Express Tank/Cami

Might sound strange for a Favorites Fridays post, but I have loved these tanks for years and years. They come in a wide variety of colors, have a built in bra and go with everything! Express Tank Tops are great with jeans, linen pants, dressy pants and even work out pants. These babies are incredibly comfortable to wear all day at work!

• Scoop neck
• adjustable spaghetti straps
• built in bra
• fitted shape, straight hem
• cotton/lycra
• many colors to choose from

To purchase the fabulous express tank/cami, visit your local Express store or order online/click here!

Follow me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Instagram

Athena Karsant was honored with Best of San Francisco & Best of Beverly Hills for 2013!
Athena also offers Complimentary Consultations. To learn more about Athena's work,
see before and after photos and read testimonials from both clients and doctors,
please visit her website FoolingMotherNature.com

All About Chapped Lips

It is so incredibly important to keep your lips moisturized! I know we all break the “you should never lick your lips when they are dry” rule at some point, because we either don’t have chapped stick handy, or we are lazy. The fact is, licking your lips helps for temporarily relief, but, in reality, it's making them worse.

Your lips have a very thin layer of skin, similar to the face, but thinner and more transparent. Because the skin on your lips is so thin, they can easily become chapped in any weather and at any time. 

Here are some things that can cause dry lips:

1. Using a matte lipstick, long wearing lip stain or lip paint can dry out your lips

2. Using any kind of lip plumper that contains pepper, mint, mint oils, etc. can cause irritation that can lead to dry, chapped lips.

3. Using anti-acne ointments, lotions, skin care routines that have Accutane as an ingredient have been known to cause dry or chapped lips.

The best way to avoid chapped or dry lips is to keep your lips moisturized. Consider using a chemical-free and petroleum-free balm. One of my favorites is Waxelene (a petroleum free, organic and natural moisturizer). You could also try Maybelline's Baby Lips.

If you enjoy wearing lip stains and matte lipsticks, but often have dry chapped lips, consider tattooing your lips. Permanent Makeup is really for anyone and everyone. You can WAKE UP looking beautiful and natural at the same time... ALL OF THE TIME!

Here are the benefits of tattooing your lips with a blush of color:
1.  On a day to day basis, you don’t have to apply lip color, lip sticks, lip stains, etc. that can dry out your lips.

2.  You will always have an even lip-shape, lip-line, etc.

3.  You can always add lipstick on over the permanent makeup to give your lips a fun or more dramatic color, even though there is no need to do so on a daily basis.

4.  As we age, the color in our lips fade, and our lips lose their shape.

5.  The tattooing process can stimulate blood flow back into the lips.

6.  If you desire a more pouty lip, tattooing even a millimeter outside of your natural lip line/shape can make a BIG difference in your lips and look.

7.  If you have a cleft palate/cleft palate surgery scar, cosmetic tattooing can be used to reshape your lips. 

8.  The fine lines around your mouth (due to age or smoking) can be minimized with cosmetic tattooing and give your mouth a more "youthful" look.

To see before and after photos of lips CLICK HERE!

I do hope this blog gives you the information you need to make an informed decision about tattooing your lips and/or avoiding chapped lips. To schedule a complimentary consultation with Athena Karsant at either office, please visit her website: FoolingMotherNature.com or CLICK HERE. 

Follow me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Instagram

Athena Karsant was honored with Best of San Francisco & Best of Beverly Hills for 2013!
Athena also offers Complimentary Consultations. To learn more about Athena's work,
see before and after photos and read testimonials from both clients and doctors,
please visit her website FoolingMotherNature.com

Favorites Fridays: Trader Joe's Spanakopita

This is a strange favorites friday post... but it technically is one of my favorite things, so I think it counts, right? You may know, simply based on my name, that I am Greek. My parents were both wonderful cooks and always made the most delicious meals and Greek dishes. While it may be no surprise that I love Greek food, what may be surprising is that my Favorite Friday this week is Spanakopita from Trader Joe's!

My daughter and son-in-law love Trader Joe's. They introduced me to their amazing Spanakopita about a year ago, and they really weren't sure if I would like it because it wasn't homemade like what our family serves at holiday parties and gatherings my entire life. However, I tried it and absolutely loved it! The inside is filled with delicious spinach and feta, isn't super salty and the outside wasn't too "doughy". You really can't go wrong with this delicious appetizer.

Over the holidays my daughter and I bought a few boxes, took them out of the box, placed them on cookie sheets and brought them over to some of the family parties but didn't tell them we bought them at Trader Joe's until after they were all gone. Everyone thought they were homemade! If you can impress a Greek family with Trader Joe's Spanakopita, then it must be tasty! 

While it will never be your YiaYia's Spanakopita, I guess You CAN Fool Mother Nature... and REAL Greeks with Trader Joe's Spanakopita... haha

Athena Karsant was honored with Best of San Francisco & Best of Beverly Hills for 2013!
Athena also offers Complimentary Consultations. To learn more about Athena's work,
see before and after photos and read testimonials from both clients and doctors,
please visit her website FoolingMotherNature.com

Follow me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Instagram

Please Welcome: Sam Kaye

I am excited to announce and introduce you to a new permanent makeup technician who will be primarily at our Beverly Hills office. Get to know her - she’s great!

About Sam Kaye

Sam Kaye was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Always a lover of many mediums of art, she attended Brooklyn College and Fashion Institute of Technology as a Fine Art major. Sam's experience as both a Graphic Designer, Traditional Illustrator and Cosmetic Tattoo Artist paint the complete canvas she has built her life and career around... click here to read more

Interview with Sam Kaye

- When did you hear about permanent makeup for the very first time?

by: Sam Kaye

The first time I heard about permanent makeup was when my mom told me she was “getting eyebrows”.  I could only imagine what this meant until she told me all about it.  Between a thyroid condition that causes her hair to thin and fall out and very light hair that gave her nearly invisible brows, she’d been drawing them in for as long as I can remember.  Permanent makeup was a great solution for her.

- What drew you towards being a permanent makeup artist?

I am a formally trained artist and I specialize in portrait work.  The human face is what I know best, so it comes naturally to me.  Aside from this, I also paint, draw, storyboard and do graphic design so shape, perspective, color, shadow and light are all parts of these mediums.  When I discovered permanent makeup, I realized that it is the one form of art that encompasses all of these, while making people feel great and sometimes even changing their lives in a huge way.

- What inspires you & gets your creative juices flowing?

by: Sam Kaye

Faces, color, drawing, museums, textures, patterns, nature, everything!  I’m especially inspired by permanent makeup because no day is ever the same and our clients are so inspiring and warm.  One minute you can be doing something as simple as filling in someone’s eyebrows and the next, you may be restoring areolas from a mastectomy or reshaping lips from surgery or aging.  At the end of the day, making a difference in how someone sees himself or herself every day is really what fuels my creativity. 

- What is your all time favorite beauty product that you just can’t live without?

Well, since my brows are always perfect, I’ve always got natural eyeliner and my lips always have a splash of color, foundation has become my staple beauty product.  I became spoiled by a foundation called Chanel Perfection Lumiere. It goes on smooth, stays on all day, smells amazing and never causes irritation or breakouts.  It’s pricey, but you can use it sparingly because of the high quality.  A little goes a long way!

Follow Sam Kaye on Facebook

Follow Sam Kaye on Instagram

To see before and after pictures of Sam's work,

please schedule a complimentary consultation.

Favorites Fridays: Boss Babe Body Scrub

Who doesn’t love a good scrub? There are so many different scrubs out there: sugar scrubs, sea salt scrubs and even herbal scrubs. I have tried them all! Yes, for the most part, they all do the same thing: exfoliate. However, most of the side benefits are nothing to celebrate. While I do love all scrubs, Boss Babe Body Scrub is in a class of it’s own! It is something to celebrate and share with the world! I am beyond thrilled to share this product with you! 

Boss Babe Body was created and founded by the beautiful Ashlee Wilson Hawn; former Miss Georgia, reality TV star, pageant coach and one of my dearest friends. 

Made with 100% Organic coffee, Boss Babe Body Scrub is jam-packed full of natural ingredients that give you the smoothest, sexiest skin ever! It can take on cellulite, stretch marks, psoriasis, varicose veins, eczema, and even acne! It is made from arabica coffee beans and high quality almond oil (original) and organic extra virgin coconut oil (Grapeseed Coconut & Wild Lime Coconut).

I am so excited to tell you that my daughter and I recently tried the ORIGINAL Boss Babe Body Scrub, and we honestly loved it! I can promise that you will love this coffee scrub and what it does for your skin... Give it a try! 

To order, visit BossBabeBody.com! 

Here are some things you need to know:

Boss Babe Body is for EVERYONE (just like permanent makeup / cosmetic tattooing)!

Boss Babe Body comes in three different scents: Original, Coconut Lime and Coconut Grapeseed. All three are fabulous coffee based scrubs that will leave your skin feeling sexy smooth and incredibly hydrated.

Boss Babe Body is 100% Organic and 100% Vegan.

Do not purchase the ORIGINAL BOSS BABE BODY SCRUB if you are allergic to nuts, because it it made with almond oil. Instead, go for the Coconut Lime and Coconut Grapeseed which contain coconut oil. 

The Original Boss Babe Scrub is packed with 200g (7oz) of cold-pressed sweet almond oil, orange essense, vitamins, & loads of healthy organic extras to remedy every skin imperfection.

The Grapeseed Coconut Boss Babe Scrub will make you love your "CoCo Grape Body”! It is packed with 200g (7oz) of 100% organic virgin coconut oil, grapeseed oil, real organic coconut flakes, jojoba beads, vitamins, & loads of healthy organic extras to target every skin imperfection.

The Wild Lime Coconut Boss Babe Scrub will make you "Wild about your CoCo Sexy Body" and is packed with 200g (7oz) of 100% organic virgin coconut oil, grapeseed oil, real organic coconut flakes, jojoba beads, vitamins, & loads of healthy organic extras to target every skin imperfection.

For more information, please visit BossBabeBody.com

Like Boss Babe Body on Facebook!

Follow Boss Babe Body on Instagram!

Post your photos using #bossbabebody

To learn more about Ashlee Wilson Hawn:

Fooling Mother Nature: Ashlee Wilson Hawn - Big Rich Atlanta

Fooling Mother Nature: Ashlee Wilson Hawn Guest Blog: Part 1

Fooling Mother Nature: Ashlee Wilson Hawn Guest Blog: Part 2

Athena Karsant was honored with Best of San Francisco & Best of Beverly Hills for 2013!
Athena also offers Complimentary Consultations. To learn more about Athena's work,
see before and after photos and read testimonials from both clients and doctors,
please visit her website FoolingMotherNature.com

Follow me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on Instagram

Before & After photos taken from Boss Babe Body Customers found on Instagram: