Posts Tagged ‘skin care’
The foundation of your beauty comes from the skin. If your skin is dry, cracked or otherwise injured, chances are good that it will show in your skin no matter how much make up you put on. One way to improve the quality and look of your skin is to use a quality product designed to do so. The other way, which may be best, is to eat foods that can do much of the work for you. The food you eat is a direct reflection of what your skin looks like. The question is, then, which foods should you be eating to have great looking skin?
First, choose foods that are full of antioxidants. You want to ensure that these foods are in your diet because they keep skin looking healthy. They even work very well at aiding in improving the quality of your skin as you age. Choose foods that can do this for you. For example, to get Vitamin A, eat dairy. For Vitamin B, look to bananas, red meat and wheat germ. For Vitamin C, look to peppers, kiwi fruit, tomatoes and oranges. For Zinc, choose foods like seafood, eggs, cheese and mushrooms. Iron is also important. You can get this from red meats and seafood.
Next, consider the moisture level in your skin. If your skin is dry, you may need more essential fatty acids. Don’t worry. These are not products that have a lot of grease in them. Rather, they have natural, necessary fatty oils that your body needs. You can get Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils from foods like salmon, tuna, and nuts.
Work to eat more of the deeper colors of fruits and vegetables in your diet. This makes it much easier for you to get the antioxidants you need without having to count grams. Also, keep in mind that a diet that is rich in these nutrients may feel hard to come by. When this is the case, don’t be worried about using supplements. A number of supplement combinations are on the market containing all of the nutrients listed above. They can aid you in improving the quality of your skin.
When it comes to having fantastic looking skin, don’t forget these very important products. You definitely need foods to be part of your health regimen for improving your skin. Otherwise, no product you add will do enough to give your skin the youth you are hoping for.
It does not matter if you are 40 and hoping to get back into the habit of wearing makeup or if you are 13and just starting out. The key is to have great looking skin and features. To help you to do so, keep in mind a few of the most important beauty secrets when it comes to all aspects of beautification of your body. Each person is different and your tastes are important too. Keep in mind that you want to be proud of the way you look.
#1: Choose Quality Products
You do not have to purchase the most expensive beauty products on the market and you most definitely do not need to invest in over priced items that will help your face look younger. Instead, choose quality, middle of the road products that are within your budget. If you are unsure what type of products to buy, have a professional aid you. Have them help you to choose the best make up products for your face.
#2: Less Is More
When it comes to make up, today’s biggest trend is less is more. You still need make up but you just might need less. People expect you to look natural and the skin will only look as good as the makeup you apply to it. Keep your make up less caking and more powder and soft. You want to create a natural beauty, not a makeup beauty.
#3: Take Care of It All
Your make up, your nail polish and your pedicures all matter. In order to have that complete look where you stand out as the next beauty queen, you really do need to pay attention to all aspects of your body. If you plan to wear sandals or other open toe shoes, get a pedicure. If you have not had a manicure in the last dozen years, now is the right time. Go and have your eye brows professionally done. Doing all of these things may seem like a lot of work, but really, it just adds to the overall quality of your look. When you take the time to apply these tips, your beauty will skyrocket. Individuals will be impressed with the quality of your look and overall, you could find yourself more confident and happy about your overall look too. Don’t overdo it. Moreover, most importantly, seek out help if you need it.
Natural beauty is the best type of beauty. It is recognized by many to be the most amazing and pleasing form. Plus, when you are beautiful, you have a better self image and you have a better outlook on life. The key is being able to do this. For those who want to have a natural beauty, it is always best to make wise decisions about their beauty region. The following are some of the most important things to do hen looking for beautiful, natural skin and overall beauty.
1. Care for you face with love: use only those products for your face and skin that are all natural. Organic products are even better. Doing this will aid you in having amazing looking skin for the long term.
2. Keep your skin hydrated. To do this, you will need to consume a least eight full glasses of water each day. You may want to drink juices too as they often have natural nutrients in them. Yet, water is the key to health.
3. Make sure each meal has a wide range of colorful vegetables and fruits in it. You need the antioxidants to improve the quality of skin and to flush out the debris and plague from your arteries and skin cells.
4. Choose concealers based on the ingredient they have in them. You will want to choose products that provide the most natural base since these items are so close to the skin.
5. Always use UV protection make up. Or apply a layer of UV sunscreen under your make up and regularly apply again throughout the course of the day. Even in the winter time, you need to protect your skin from the harm that the sun can cause. Up to 80 percent of skin damage comes from the sun.
6. Apply less make up overall to cover your face. You will want to keep your make up fresh ad light in color. Use naturally based colors for the best overall results.
7. Keep your eye on trends, but go with what you love. Make up color trends change often. New products hit the market each season. Your job is to choose those that give you the best look. When you incorporate these tips into your overall beauty regimen, you will see marked improvement in your overall skin quality and your look. Keep it up and you will be fighting aging too.
Combination skin is a separate category of skin type. It’s neither 100% dry or normal or oily. It’s instead a combination that’s characterized as normal and oily skin, or skin that’s oily and dry. In other words, like the song, combination skin is ‘a little bit of this, and a little bit of that’.
The common denominator in either type of combination skin is the presence of oily areas so care must be taken not to further aggravate these areas. Usually, it’s the areas with the highest concentration of oil-producing glands – the face, chest, shoulders and the back – that are oily. Other body parts have fewer oil glands which is why they’re either normal or have characteristics of dryness.
The cause of combination skin really has to do with oil-producing glands that produce more oil than normal. Dryness is primarily caused by the environment, age and the breakdown of the intracellular matrix.
Most people know whether they have combination skin just by looking at it. The areas that appear shiny likely will have some amount of pimples and/or blackheads. Makeup and other cosmetics usually won’t last through an entire day without re-application. Dry areas flake and appear dull and may feel irritated.
Skin care for combination skin
Proper skin care for combination skin is best described as a delicate balancing act. You don’t want to over-moisturize the oily areas, which mainly include the ‘T-zone’ or you risk waking up with an explosion of blemishes dotting your face. And likewise, you don’t want to apply products formulated for oily skin to the areas that aren’t oily or you risk waking up with skin that feels taut and scaly, especially around the eyes and mouth. So what’s the proper way to care for combination skin?
Cleansing twice daily with warm water and a gentle gel cleanser is most important. This helps to remove dead skin cells, dirt and excess oil so they don’t block pore openings. Follow with a toner that’s either water-based or glycerin-based after cleansing to help remove remaining residue. Periodic exfoliating is recommended to remove any remaining dead cells so new skin can take its place. It helps keep skin looking fresh and radiant. Be sure to look for skin care products that aim to balance the different skin types.
For oily-normal skin, you want to keep skin hydrated, but dry in the areas prone to excessive oil. Choose moisturizers that are water-based rather than oil-based, making sure to apply sparingly to oil-prone areas. Spot-treat blemishes as necessary. Benzoyl peroxide products are very effective. Apply cosmetics designed to absorb oils, like powders or dab with oil-absorbing tissues as necessary.
For oily-dry skin, moisturizing dry areas with emollient-based products is important to keep skin feeling fresh. The eyes may need an even heavier moisturizer and if so, just be sure to keep it away from the T-zone.
And never forget the importance of applying sunscreen. Fortunately, many foundations and powders now do double-duty as both make-up and sunscreen!
Of all the skin types, oily skin is often the most challenging. Oil production is completely natural and is the result of the sebaceous glands located in the dermis or middle layer of skin. These natural oils help keep skin moist and supple. But for some, the sebaceous glands produce too much oil, leading to the most dreaded of the skin types – oily skin.
How do I know I have oily skin?
Most teen-agers have oily skin because this is the time when hormone production is in full swing. But if you’ve passed your teen years, there are other ways of determining whether or not you have oily skin. It’s fairly easy to detect, so start by looking in the mirror. Do you notice a sheen on your skin, especially in your ‘T-Zone?’ The T-Zone starts at the point between your eyes and extends vertically down along your nose all the way to your chin. The zone also runs horizontally across the bridge of your nose, starting and ending at the center point below each eye.
You may or may not notice the sheen during the day, so check again first thing after waking. If there’s a sheen, chances are good you have oily skin. While you’re standing at the mirror, take a look at your hair. If it’s oily, it’s another indication you likely have oily skin. If you wear make-up, specifically foundation, and you find it fades or wears off after a couple of hours, that’s yet another indication of oily skin. If you’re constantly patting your face with powder or even a handkerchief it’s probably because of oily skin.
The presence of blemishes is another good indication although stress, hormones and other factors can all cause outbreaks. And remember that oily skin isn’t found only on the face. The back, neck, chest, shoulders and arms can all be oily.
How to care for oily skin?
If you do have oily skin, you probably feel that the best way to combat it is to strip away those pore-clogging, sheen-producing oils. Don’t! Although they cause trouble for your complexion, oils produced by the sebaceous glands are important because they act as the skin’s natural moisturizer. And oily skin is sometimes sensitive. Rather than completely remove oil, you need to keep it under control.
Another reason not to use harsh soaps that strip away oil is that doing so may cause the sebaceous glands to increase their oil production. They’ll instinctively want to replenish the lost oils and you may end up with a bigger problem.
You’ve got to keep oily skin clean so that pores openings remain clear. Otherwise, dead cells, dirt and other bacteria will clog pores and cause pimples. Skin is delicate so always use a gentle cleanser and warm, not hot water. Exfoliate weekly with a non-abrasive product to help remove any pore-clogging material or use a toner that does not list alcohol as an ingredient.
Use products that moisturize in moderation and according to directions. Make sure the cosmetics and sun protection you use are oil-free. Look for skin care products with the words ‘non-comedogenic’ or ‘non-acnegenic’ on the labels.
Sun protection isn’t just for sissies. Protection from the sun’s damaging rays is important for anyone who wants to grow old gracefully. It’s also an absolute must for anyone who wants to limit his or her risk of developing skin cancer.
People are finally beginning to realize that although sunshine is an important component of most outdoor activities and a great mood enhancer, excessive exposure can lead to much unpleasantness. A painful sunburn is the most immediate consequence of excess exposure. Long term, excess exposure can damage the skin making it prone to wrinkling and worse, the development of skin cancer.
When do you need sun protection?
Doctors will tell you that sun protection is needed all the time and they’re right. Realistically however it’s important anytime you’ll be outdoors between the hours of 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, when the sun is at its highest.
People don’t realize that they can still burn even though the sun isn’t shining. Overcast days are some of the worst times for being in the sun unprotected. And because ultraviolet rays can reflect off certain surfaces, people need protection from the sun when snow covers the ground and also when in the water, when lying or playing on the sand and even when on a cement or grass surface.
Understanding UV rays
Ultraviolet rays are the different wavelengths of energy that are produced by the sun. Even though harmful, the sun’s energy is necessary to all human life. Fortunately, as life on earth has evolved so has the capacity to tolerate UV rays. The most important protection against the damaging ultraviolet rays is the ozone layer – a layer in the stratosphere that absorbs most of the various types of UV rays before they reach the earth’s surface.
Most of this radiation or energy from the sun is invisible to the naked eye. The fact that the radiation is mostly invisible is likely the reason why the sun can be so harmful. It’s hard to convince a person to protect against something that can’t be seen. Of the ultraviolet rays, the two that are responsible for skin damage are UVA and UVB rays. The sun also generates UVC rays, but fortunately these extremely damaging rays cannot penetrate the ozone layer and therefore pose no threat to humans.
The longer and more prevalent of the two, UVA rays are responsible for long-term skin damage because they absorb deep into the skin. Their strength remains uniform regardless of the time of day or time of year. UVB rays are shorter and are what causes skin to tan or sunburns. Our bodies need UVB rays to produce Vitamin D, an important vitamin. Their strength varies based on time of day, time of year, altitude and also distance from the equator.
The UV Index is a scale measuring from 0 – 11 (low to extreme) and it’s used to determine the intensity of the sun’s radiation, particularly the likelihood that skin will or will not redden when exposed to the sun for various periods of time.
Cellulite is many things. It’s unsightly. It’s embarrassing. Cellulite is also controllable but not necessarily preventable and only as long as there’s a willingness to implement dietary and lifestyle changes.
Everybody knows what cellulite looks like because it’s so easily recognizable. It resembles the skin of an orange or worse, cottage cheese. It has a unique pattern and it generally appears on one of 3 parts of the body – the hips, the buttocks or the abdomen.
Cellulite is far more prevalent in women than in men. It varies in intensity from mild to extreme and, contrary to popular belief it’s not at all a medical condition. It’s simply the term used to describe the visible effect on the epidermis of excess fat deposits being stored just below its surface.
Causes of cellulite
Cellulite doesn’t generally become an issue until the years preceding puberty. That’s when a young girl’s hormone levels surge and those hormones begin sending messages to various parts of the body signaling the need to begin changing. One of these changes involves the formation of a layer of fat within the innermost layer of skin called the subcutaneous fat layer.
During the manufacture of this fat layer, a patterned structure within this layer is created, the purpose of which is to contain stored fat. It is this pattern, or framework for fat storage, shaped somewhat like the letter ‘X’ that creates the dimpling effect when too much fat is stored and the fat deposits begin to bulge. The pattern that’s created in a man’s body is different. It’s shaped more like column so even when there’s excess fat being stored it’s usually not visible in the same manner.
Normal levels of fat stored in this innermost layer of the subcutaneous won’t create the external dimpling because there’s enough space for all the fat deposits. So really, every woman has the tendency to develop some degree of cellulite when fat begins to accumulate.
How to treat cellulite
Clothing can cover the appearance of cellulite, but most people cannot remain in long pants all the time. You could spend hundreds of dollars trying hundreds of cellulite treatment products and not get anywhere close to the same results you’ll get by treating cellulite naturally. Not with some herb or balm, but with diet and exercise. The only way cellulite will be less noticeable is by shrinking the size of the fat cells stored in the subcutaneous layer so they no longer bulge.
And contrary to what the marketers of these hundreds of cellulite treatment creams, lotions, wraps, pills and other procedures will tell you, a sensible diet that’s heavy on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein and low in sodium and saturated fat will put you on the road to recovery. Combine moderate, regular exercise with the nutritious diet and do exercises that focus on the areas where cellulite appears like walking or biking. In a few months (or longer, depending on the severity of the cellulite) this embarrassing skin problem should be well under control.
Massage may help reduce cellulite because the motions help break down the stored fat deposits.
Just as your body needs different clothing to protect it against the changing weather, your skin needs a different skin care regime to properly protect it from the elements. As the body’s largest organ, skin is far more delicate than you probably realize. Here is a closer look at how winter versus summer affects skin and its care.
Why is skin care different in winter than in summer months?
Winter months generally are colder and drier than summer months when heat and humidity levels are on the rise. When skin is exposed to the harsh winter weather, it takes a beating, becoming excessively dry, irritated and chapped. Clothing protects most skin but we often fail to protect our faces. Moving indoors isn’t any better. Constantly running heaters and dehumidifiers sap every bit of moisture from the air.
During the summer, temperatures warm and more skin becomes exposed to the elements. Higher temperatures and humidity levels increase the amount of sweat the body produces in an attempt to cool off. As an unintentional consequence, skin becomes oilier and more prone to pimples and other irritation. Swimming is great way to cool off however exposure to harsh pool chemicals and salt water can lead to excessive dryness.
Tips for protecting skin during the winter months
Apply sunscreen regularly because you’re just as likely to sunburn in the winter as you are in summer. Apply a sunscreen, moisturizer or make-up with a minimum SPF of 15. Be sure to protect lips by wearing lipstick or lip balm with sun protection. Stop licking lips!
Moisturize. Add moisture to inside air by turning on a humidifier. If you don’t have one, place a pan of water near radiator or heat source. Plants help moisturize the air. Add moisture to your body by using emollient-based soaps, lotions and creams.
Take shorter, warmer showers and baths. Hot water strips away natural oils as does staying submerged in water. Adding moisturizers to bath water helps, but take care when exiting as tub will be slippery.
Reduce the number of times you apply toner after cleansing and use toners with no or low alcohol levels. Gently exfoliate using a washcloth or scrub to remove dead skin cells and stimulate skin.
Tips for protecting skin during summer months
Always protect your skin from the effects of ultraviolet radiation by applying sunscreen, wearing sun protective clothing, and seeking shade whenever possible. Stay out of the sun when it’s strongest, between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm.
Excessive sweat and oils clog pores so use a cooling cleanser containing salicylic acid to keep skin blemishes under control. Cleansers made with eucalyptus or menthol extracts feel good and help keep pores clean and open.
Change your moisturizing products because skin doesn’t need as much moisturizing protection during summer as it does during winter.
Always rinse your body with cool water after swimming to remove chlorine and salt.
A facial mask applied once a week will deep-clean pores and help skin retain its natural pH balance. Use a mister to keep skin cool and moist.