Skin

‘Skin’’ is an apartheid story that doesn’t care for subtlety. The movie is called “Skin,’’ yes. But the opening seconds also bring with them a definition of apartheid, and almost every subsequent scene drums up a racial humiliation of some kind. The movie is based on the true story of Sandra Laing, who was born with brown skin to white parents in South Africa under apartheid and raised as white only to feel, in adulthood, more accepted by her oppressed black compatriots.

It's Vienna's biggest party — and its most outrageous — where guests in tuxedos rub shoulders with others wearing little more than body paint. But despite the revelry, the city's 20th annual Life Ball on Saturday had a serious purpose — raising money for AIDS research and helping victims infected with the HIV virus. The celebs attending include actress-model Mila Jovovich, supermodel Naomi Campbell, actor Antonio Banderas and fashion designers Angela Missoni and Eva Cavalli . Also taking part is former U.S. President Bill Clinton who thanked organizers for donating to his...

It's Vienna's biggest party — and its most outrageous — where guests in tuxedos rub shoulders with others wearing little more than body paint. But despite the revelry, the city's 20th annual Life Ball on Saturday had a serious purpose — raising money for AIDS research and helping victims infected with the HIV virus. The celebs attending include actress-model Mila Jovovich, supermodel Naomi Campbell, actor Antonio Banderas and fashion designers Angela Missoni and Eva Cavalli . Also taking part is former U.S. President Bill Clinton who thanked organizers for donating to his...

ATLANTA - The warnings about skin cancer from too much sun don't seem to be getting through. Half of US adults under 30 say they have had a sunburn at least once in the previous year - about the same as a decade ago, according to a government survey released Thursday. In fact, the modest progress reported five years ago has been wiped out. Not only that, but women in their 20s are going to tanning salons almost twice a month on average. "I don't know that we're making any headway," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the American Cancer Society's deputy chief medical officer.

Every summer, your medicine cabinet overflows with cooling after-sun sprays, calamine lotion, and at least one bottle of bug repellent. But the arrival of cooler weather marks the perfect time to stock up on new skin-care products, including cleansers and moisturizers that protect delicate skin from chill autumn winds. 1 > KIEHL'S MIDNIGHT RECOVERY FOR EYES > A two-drop overnight 99.8 percent naturally derived formula for fine lines and puffiness around the eyes. $36, Kiehl's, 112 Newbury Street, Boston.

Channeling Peter Fonda's free-wheeling love of motorcycling in "Easy Rider" - minus the drug experimentation and violence - may sound like fun on the surface. But as Kiehl's president Chris Salgardo will tell you, the activity can sizzle skin to the texture of a spit-roasted pig very quickly. "Every weekend I'm out on my motorcycle, so I know full well what can happen to your skin if you're out in the sun during the summer," Salgardo says. "It can do a number on your face. " Salgardo will be wheeling into the Newbury Street Kiehl's store today at noon with fellow cycling...

Applying vaccines to the upper layers of the skin could stimulate a different and more powerful immune system response than the traditional approach of injecting a vaccine into muscle, according to a growing body of research by Boston scientists. In the battle between germs and the immune system, scientists have long thought much hinged on cells circulating in the blood that could remember old foes and be deployed to defend against reinfection. But a growing body of research is revealing that areas such as the skin or the lungs also appear to be...

The Kardashians notwithstanding, modesty has returned to summer fashions. "The plunging necklines and really sexy backs aren't as prevalent. It's more of a demure, sophisticated look in exposing skin," says Rebecca Penner, co-owner of the chic Beacon Hill boutique Crush on Charles Street. As seen here around town, showing less can be more. "Shoulders and the clavicle are very feminine, sexy parts of a woman's body," Penner says. To draw the eye upward, she suggests one-shoulder, strapless, and high halter or racer-back styles.

Want to get glowing skin? You may not need expensive face creams if you add a few servings of fruits and vegetables to your diet. A small study published last Thursday in the journal PLoS One found that people who added three servings a day to their diet developed color changes to their skin that made them look healthier and more attractive. In the study, which was sponsored by soap-maker Unilever, Scottish researchers asked 35 Caucasian and East Asian college students to fill out dietary questionnaires three times over a period of six weeks to calculate their fruit...

NEW YORK -- Georgette Klinger, who set a new standard for cosmetic facials by treating the skin as a living organ affected by nutrition and exercise instead of only a canvas for decoration, died Friday at a Manhattan hospital. She was 88. Mrs. Klinger's facials were born six decades ago, when she started mixing secret ingredients that became the foundation of her chain of beauty centers, as well as today's spa industry. She transformed the approach to skin care by using herbal treatments and incorporating healthy living into her beauty formulas.

The warnings about skin cancer from too much sun don't seem to be getting through. Half of U.S. adults under 30 say they have had a sunburn at least once in the previous year — about the same as a decade ago, according to a government survey released Thursday. In fact, the modest progress reported five years ago has been wiped out. Not only that, but women in their 20s are going to tanning salons almost twice a month on average. "I don't know that we're making any headway," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the American Cancer Society's deputy chief medical officer.

A body art practitioner is hoping to open the first tattoo parlor in Concord this summer, if his application to the Board of Health is approved. On May 15, Kurt Brown is scheduled to appear before the board seeking two approvals: one for himself as a licensed body art practitioner and a second for his proposed establishment in the Dino's building at the corner of Main and Cottage streets in West Concord. It used to be illegal in Massachusetts for anyone but a physician to give you a tattoo.

A body art practitioner is hoping to open the first tattoo parlor in Concord this summer, if his application to the Board of Health is approved. On May 15, Kurt Brown of Acton is scheduled to appear before the board seeking two approvals: one for himself as a licensed body art practitioner and a second for his proposed establishment in the Dino's building at the corner of Main and Cottage streets in West Concord. It used to be illegal in Massachusetts for anyone but a physician to give you a tattoo.

Two teams of Boston scientists have developed new ways to turn stem cells into different types of lung tissue, surmounting a major hurdle in trying to harness the power of stem cell biology to study and develop treatments for major lung diseases. One team used skin cells from cystic fibrosis patients to create embryonic-like stem cells, then, working in lab dishes, used those cells to grow tissue that lines the airways and that contained a defect responsible for the rare, fatal disease.

Tanning season is about to begin, and what better time to start thinking about skin cancer prevention? A new Mayo Clinic study published Monday found that rates of melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, have increased eight-fold among women in one Minnesota county and four-fold among young men over the past 40 years, which the researchers blame on the popularity of tanning salons. In fact, many people are under the mistaken impression that tanning protects them from skin cancer by helping them avoid sunburns.

Skin cancer cases among young adults increased more than sixfold from the 1970s to the 2000s in one Minnesota county, a study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic found. The findings suggest that rates of skin cancer among the young are higher than previously reported in nationwide government data. The researchers reviewed medical records and identified 256 young adults aged 18 to 39 years old from Olmstead County, Minn., who were first diagnosed with melanoma between 1970 and 2009.

Take a seat in an electrically adjustable lounge chair. Fold down the richly buffed picnic tray and, if you choose, watch whatever is on the screen built into the back of the leather lounge chair in front of your seat. Did I mention that we'll be traveling from 0-60 miles per hour in five seconds? But don't worry, all will be smooth, quiet, and elegant inside the 2007 Jaguar XJ Super V8. There is a remarkable market out there for super luxury sedans like this one. They feature horsepower approaching or topping 400, expensive leathers, finely polished woods, jet-like launches, and Autobahn-worthy top...

The lawyer for a Canton special needs school that uses skin shock therapy on children says a plan by Governor Deval Patrick’s administration to ban the practice for future students would violate a longstanding court order. The proposed regulations, scheduled for review at public hearings next week, would prohibit the skin shocks and certain other behavior modification procedures from being administered after Sept. 1, but the treatments would be allowed to continue for students who have court-approved plans.

In the first scene of Lauren Yee's "Hookman," a college freshman named Lexi, home in California for Thanksgiving break, is at the wheel of a car, with Jess, a friend from high school, in the passenger seat. They're headed to a movie. They never get there. But the scene is replayed at a couple of points in the 90-minute "Hookman," each time with a new and revealing twist, as Yee takes the audience on a different kind of journey, one that lingers at the intersection of dread and comedy.

It might as well be called the Home Buyers Fatal Attraction Syndrome - falling in love so much with a specific feature of a house that buyers ignore or don't see problems lurking in the corners or hiding behind walls. It could be a recently remodeled kitchen that has fancy cabinets or new appliances but the same old plumbing in need of replacing; or a lush backyard that collects rain and floods the basement every spring. "People too often fall in love with the aesthetics and not the hidden structure of a house," said Padraig O'Beirne, owner of Sudbury Home Improvements...