October 9th, 2008
Celebrities enjoy a huge fan following especially when it comes to beauty and style matters. They have the very best makeup artists, hairstylists, etc… A celebrity beauty tip, whether it be about skin care, adult acne prevention, hair styling, reducing body weight or any other issue related to improving looks has always been cherished by the admirers.
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October 8th, 2008
Put simply, ???natural skin care??? is caring for your skin in a natural and chemical-free way. ???Natural skin care??? advocates enabling the skin to take care of itself (without any assistance from synthetic materials/ chemicals). ???Natural skin care??? is about inculcation of good habits in the way you lead your day to day life. A lot of natural skin care measures are actually the same as those for body care in general.
So let???s see what these natural skin care measures are.
Well the first and the foremost natural skin care measure is ??? ???Drink a lot of water???. Around 8 glasses of water is a must everyday. Water helps in flushing out the toxins from the body, in a natural way. It helps in the overall upkeep of the body and promotes good health for all organs (not just skin).
General cleanliness is another inexpensive way of natural skin care. Daily shower, wearing clean clothes and sleeping on a clean mattress/pillow are all part of general cleanliness. After all, clean skin is the key to keeping the skin disorders at bay.
Regular exercise is the next thing on the cards. Exercise increases the flow of blood that helps in getting rid of body toxins and keeping you healthy. Exercise also helps in beating stress which is the worst enemy of good health.
Healthy food and eating habits are also recommended for natural skin care. Some type of food (e.g. oily food) is know to cause adult acne and should be avoided as much as possible. Your diet should be a healthy mix of various nutrient providing foods. Raw fruits and vegetables are known to provide freshness to your body and help in getting rid of body toxins.
A good sleep is also instrumental in maintaining good health and in beating stress. As a natural skin care measure, a good sleep delays slacking of skin.
Beating stress is another natural skin care therapy. Stress causes overall damage to body and health. Drinking a lot of water, getting a sound sleep and exercise has already been mentioned as stress busters. Indulging in a warm bubble bath, listening to music and playing your favourite sport are also good ways of beating stress. Yoga is yet another way of beating stress; it is fast gaining popularity amongst the masses.
Avoiding excessive exposure to sun (by wearing long sleeved clothes, hat and umbrella etc), is another natural skin care strategy. Sunscreen lotions are also recommended as necessary.
A lot of traditional and home made natural skin care products/ measures are also known to be very effective. Such measures are not only natural and easy-to-follow, but also relatively inexpensive.
Besides that, a lot of natural skin care products are available in the commercial market. These include things like lavender oil, aloe vera etc., which don???t have any side effects.
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October 7th, 2008
???Make up and skin care??? is generally regarded as women???s forte. Men seldom indulge in ???Make up and skin care???. Many men do care for their skin but make up is really alien to most men. Treating make up and skin care as different topics wouldn???t make sense; after all, make up will work only if the skin is healthy. So how do you exercise make up and skin care, together? Here are some tips for make up and skin care:
* Always have skin care on mind, whether you are buying products for make up or actually applying them onto your skin after you have bought them. So what you are buying is a ???make up and skin care??? product, not just a make up product. Check the ingredients to see if it contains things that you might be allergic to. Also check if it contains high concentration chemicals that can harm your skin.
* ???Make up and skin care??? is also about testing the products before using them. So, apply the make up on a small patch of skin e.g. earlobes and check how your skin reacts to it.
* Keep track of expiry date on your make up products and never use them beyond the expiry date. In fact some products (e.g. vitamin C based products), if not stored properly, get spoilt much earlier than the expiry date.
* Cleanliness is an important part of make up and skin care procedure. Sharpen your eye-liners regularly and keep all your makeup equipment clean at all times. You might fix a date, each month, for overhauling of your equipment. As part of cleanliness, your make up and skin care procedure should also include keeping your hair clean at all times.
* Nail care is another important aspect of make up and skin care. Use a good quality nail polish and always keep your nails clean. Once you are done with cleaning and polishing your nails, you should rub in cuticle oil at the edges of the nail.
* If you have deep-set eyes, you should use a liquid eye liner instead of a pencil one. This will prevent smudging at the deep edges of your eye-lid.
* If you have a skin disorder e.g. adult acne, you should not apply heavy or chemical based make up. Consult your dermatologist if you are not sure about the make up products that you can use while you have adult acne or other skin disorder. Never try to squeeze pimples/ adult acne. Remember that make up and skin care should not conflict each other.
* Use a mild make up remover (instead of just washing it away).
* Another important ???make up and skin care??? procedure is the following golden rule: ???Never sleep with your make up on???
* While applying a deodorant, make sure that you maintain the recommended distance between the nozzle and your skin (as mentioned on the deodorant pack).
So, make up and skin care should always go hand in hand. Do not try to treat make up and skin care differently.
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October 6th, 2008
???Serious skin care??? is about maintaining a healthy and glowing skin all through your life. As you grow older, your body???s natural skin care mechanisms become weaker. So, ???serious skin care??? is about responding to the changing needs of your skin. Thus, ???serious skin care??? is about constantly evaluating, analysing and changing your skin care routines. Your skin care routine should change based on the environmental conditions, your age and changes in your skin type.
???Serious skin care??? is also about awareness. With the technological advancements and research, more and more facts are being brought to light everyday. Also, the composition and nature of skin care products seems to be changing with time. So trying out the new products is also a part of serious skin care. However, ???serious skin care??? advises using a new product over a small patch of skin (not facial skin) first, just to see how your skin reacts to it.
???Serious skin care??? also means knowing how to use your skin care products. Good practices include things like applying the moisturizers while the skin is damp, using upward strokes for better penetration of skin care products, removing the make up before going to bed, cleansing before moisturising or applying make up, using the correct amount of skin care products, etc. Thus, increasing the effectiveness of your skin care products is another focus area of serious skin care.
Some precautions, like avoiding contact with detergents, are also part of serious skin care. ???Serious skin care??? means being gentle with your skin. Things like over-exfoliation, use of low quality products, and application of strong-chemical based products, are all harmful to your skin. Some people have a wrong notion about serious skin care. For them serious skin care is - using large quantities of products as often as possible. However, this really isn???t serious skin care (and that???s why awareness is so important).
???Serious skin care??? is also about visiting your dermatologist for treatment of skin disorders. Ignoring the skin disorders can be fatal for your skin and might lead to permanent damage. So, if the things don???t improve with over the counter medication, you should immediately visit a dermatologist. Self-surgery e.g. squeezing of adult acne/pimples is a big no (it can lead to permanent damage of your skin).
So, seriously serious skin care is more about precautions and preventive measures (than treatment). Serious skin care is about being proactive as well as reactive. In fact, we can say that ???serious skin care??? is about being proactive about the needs of your skin so that the need for being reactive is reduced to a minimum.
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October 5th, 2008
adult acne is defined as a diseased condition of the skin that involves the hair and oil glands. It is characterised by pimples, black/white heads, reddishness and cysts. Face adult acne can spoil your appearance to a great extent and body adult acne can really ruin your day by making you very uncomfortable. Considering adult acne as a minor problem, some people tend to totally discard the topic of ???adult acne skin care???. However, the importance of ???adult acne skin care??? cannot be undermined in any way.
adult acne skin care should really start much before the adult acne actually appears. ???adult acne skin care??? is more about being proactive than reactive. adult acne skin care is about being aware of preventive measures. adult acne skin care is - following daily skin care routines with complete discipline. So let???s have a look at how ???adult acne skin care??? can be applied to our daily routine.
???adult acne skin care??? starts with the most basic thing - cleanliness. So morning showers are the most basic way of keeping the skin clean. In fact, a lot of people take night showers too (that not only helps in keeping your skin clean but also provides relaxation to your body and enables a good sleep). If you are living in a hot and/or humid place, a night shower becomes a must. In fact, a shower is recommended after any activity that causes high levels of sweat to develop. It???s a very effective ???adult acne skin care??? technique.
However, adult acne skin care is not about just showers. adult acne skin care is also about wearing clean clothes and sleeping on clean pillows. Moreover, too tight clothes can cause sweat to accumulate quickly; so soft and comfortable cotton clothes are recommended, especially if you already have adult acne. In the same sense, ???adult acne skin care??? also advocates regular cleaning of your make-up brush and any equipment that you use on your body.
Besides that, you should also use a mild, water-soluble, oil-free and soap-free cleanser for keeping your face, neck and arms clean. Cleansing is the most important part of any adult acne skin care routine. Cleaners are the easiest and the most effective way of removing dirt, grease, pollutants and excess oil from your skin; thus reducing the probability of adult acne occurrence. adult acne skin care also recommends removing your make up using a make up remover, and this should happen before you go to bed (not in the morning).
If you already have adult acne, do not try to touch them or squeeze them; it can lead to permanent scars. ???adult acne skin care??? advocates gentle cleansing and cleaning of the affected area using an over-the-counter medication and a clean/soft cotton pad. There are various adult acne skin care creams and lotions available over-the-counter (a lot of these adult acne skin care products are actually cleansers). However, if these ???adult acne skin care??? measures don???t give you the desired results, contact a dermatologist for ???adult acne skin care??? advice and treatment.
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October 4th, 2008
???Packaging is as important as the gift itself??? ??? it???s something that most of the gift manufacturing companies follow very closely. The same holds good for you too. Your outer-self i.e. your skin is as important as your inner-self. A lot of people do realise the importance of skin care. Well, this is one reason why there are so many skin care products in the market and most of the skin care products seem to do pretty well. We generally tend to associate skin care to just good looks. However, there is more to it than just that. There are multiple benefits associated with a healthy and glowing skin.
Firstly, it has a good effect on you yourself. It makes you feel fresh and energetic. You are able to do more work and are quicker with everything you do. More importantly, the freshness adds to your enjoyment and makes your day. So a healthy skin too plays its part in building confidence. Yes, you can take most of the credit for having achieved that (however, do leave a little for the skin care products too).
Moreover, this flow of positive energy is experience by people around you too and you observe that even they are friendlier with you. You get more respect from others. They are more responsive to your queries. They themselves experience the freshness that you are exuding. They love working with you and for you. Yes, that???s how it works. Some people might even go ahead and ask you about the skin care products you use (you might or might not reveal those secret skin care products to them). Thus, a healthy skin can be instrumental in creating a pleasant and friendly environment around you. On the other hand, carelessness or negligence on this front can make you look unattractive and dull. You will not only look dull but also feel dull. Your work efficiency is reduced. Even the people you meet might not be as friendly. In fact, it might lead to the aging process getting started much earlier.
Thus the importance of skin care cannot be ignored. However, skin care is not that difficult at all. There are a lot of skin care products available and you can choose the ones that suit you the best. There are various ways in which skin care products are classified and the knowledge about these classifications will help you understand them better and make a selection.
* The first categorisation is based on the skin type ??? so you have skin care products for oily skin, skin care product for dry skin, skin care products for sensitive skin etc.
* Another way is to categorise skin care products based on their use e.g. you have moisturisers, cleansers, skin care products for exfoliation, toners etc.
* Then you have skin care products for treatment of various skin dilemmas i.e. skin care products for adult acne, skin care products for stretch marks, skin care products for anti-ageing etc.
* Another classification is based on the ingredients e.g. herbal skin care products, synthetic skin care products, cosmetic skin care products etc.
However, skin care products are not the only way of skin care. You also need to build some basic skin care procedures in your day to day life (as we discuss in the other article on personal skin care).
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October 3rd, 2008
Talking about skin care, ???facial skin care??? seems to top the chart. There are loads of facial skin care products available in the market. The most common facial skin care products are the ones that are used as part of daily routine. These include things like cleansers and moisturizers. Toners and exfoliation ones are well known too but not many people use them as such.
The general classification of facial skin care products is based on the following:
* Gender (so there are facial skin care products for men and there are facial skin care products for women)
* Skin type (facial skin products for oily skin, facial skin care products for dry skin, facial skin care products for normal skin and facial skin care products for sensitive skin)
* Age (facial skin care products for old and facial skin care products for young)
* Skin disorder (i.e. facial skin care products for treatment of various skin orders like eczema, adult acne etc)
So that is your starting point for choosing a facial skin care product that suits you. A good way to start is by determining your skin type first. Also note that the skin type changes with age, so the facial skin product that suits you today, might not suit you forever and hence you need to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of your facial skin care product.
The facial skin care products are available in various forms i.e. creams, lotions, gels, masks etc, and a lot of people try to pit one against the other in their discussion on which form is best. However, one can???t really rate one form as better than another form. What suits you (and whatever you are comfortable with) is the best form of facial skin care product for you, really.
However, it???s important to note that these products work differently for different people. So the best thing is to try the facial skin care product on a small patch of skin (e.g. ear lobes) before actually going ahead and using it.
Another important consideration is the state of your skin. If you are suffering from a skin disorder of any kind, it is best to seek the advice of a dermatologist before you actually make your selection and start using a facial skin care product.
Once you have selected the facial skin care product for yourself, you also need to ensure that you use the facial skin care product in the right way i.e. follow correct procedures for application, use the correct quantity and make the facial product a part of your skin care routine.
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October 2nd, 2008
To start the discussion on oily skin care, it???s imperative to first understand the cause behind oily skin. Put simply, oily skin is a result of excessive production of sebum (an oily substance that is naturally produced by skin). As is known to everyone, excess of everything is bad; so excessive sebum is bad too. It leads to clogging of skin pores, resulting in accumulation of dead cells and hence formation of pimples/adult acne. Moreover, oily skin spoils your looks too. So, ???oily skin care??? is as important as the ???skin care??? for other types of skin.
The basic aim of ???oily skin care??? is the removal of excessive sebum or oil from the skin. However, oily skin care procedures should not lead to complete removal of oil. ???Oily skin care??? starts with the use of a cleanser. However, not all cleansers will work. You need a cleanser which contains salicylic acid i.e. a beta-hydroxy acid that retards the rate of sebum production. Cleansing should be done twice a day (and even more in hot and humid conditions).
Most of the oily skin care products are oil-free; however, it is always good to check the ingredients of the product, before you actually buy it. This is especially important if a product is marked as ???suitable for all skin types???, instead of ???oily skin care product???. ???Oily skin care??? is also dependent on the degree of oiliness, if you aren???t too oily, so some of these ???suitable for all???- type of products might be work for you too. For extremely oily skin, only oily skin care products are suitable. Your oily skin care routine can include an alcohol based toner (for an extremely oily skin). This can be the second step in your oily skin care routine i.e. just after cleansing. However, excessive toning can harm your skin.
The next step in your oily skin care routine can be a mild moisturiser. Again, the degree of oiliness of your skin will determine whether you need to include this in your oily skin care routine. If you do decide to include a moisturiser, be sure to use one that is oil-free, wax-free and lipid-free.
You could also use a clay mask (say once a week) as an oily skin care measure.
As far as the oily skin care products go, you might need to try out a few before you arrive at the one that is really suitable for your skin.
In case these measures don???t give you the desired result, consult a good dermatologist for advice. He could prescribe stronger oily skin care products like vitamin A creams, retinoids, sulphur creams etc , which can help counter the problems of oily skin.
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October 1st, 2008
adult acne is a menace. However, it???s not something that cannot be tackled. There are loads of adult acne skin care products around. We can classify adult acne skin care products into 3 broad categories ???
* Preventive or general adult acne skin care products
* Over-the-counter, specialised adult acne skin care products
* On-prescription adult acne skin care products.
The general adult acne skin care products are the ones that are used as adult acne-prevention measure. These include cleansers, make-up removers and similar products that help prevent adult acne. In the real sense, these adult acne skin care products are just those that should anyway be part of your daily routine. However, some of these are more oriented to act like an adult acne skin care product. These adult acne skin care products act against the causes of adult acne e.g. limiting the production of sebum/oil and preventing clogging of skin pores. Basically, these adult acne skin care products prevent the oil from getting trapped in pores and hence hamper the growth of bacteria that lead to adult acne. The general adult acne skin care products also include exfoliation products like skin peels. These work towards removing dead skin cells, hence reducing the possibility of pore-clogging and bacteria development.
Then there are specialised adult acne skin care products that are available over-the-counter i.e. without the need of a prescription. These include products like vanishing creams which extract the extra oil from the skin. Most of these adult acne skin care products are based on benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, both of which are the enemies of bacteria (and hence adult acne). You should start with a product that has lower concentration of benzoyl peroxide (e.g. 5%) and see how your skin responds to it. Alpha-hydroxy-acid based moisturizers are also popular as adult acne skin care products. You might have to try a few, before you zero-in on the adult acne skin care product that is effective for you. If nothing seems to work, you should contact a dermatologist.
On-prescription adult acne skin care products are the ones that are prescribed by a dermatologist. This can include ointments that can be applied on the affected area or oral antibiotics or just any topical treatment. Dermatologist could also suggest a minor surgical procedure to remove the contents of pustules. However, never try to squeeze or do this by yourself, it can lead to permanent damage of your skin. Your doctor could also prescribe a hormone-based treatment (since hormonal changes are also known to cause adult acne). Such adult acne skin care products are known to be very effective in some cases.
So, with all those adult acne skin care products, tackling adult acne is not that difficult.
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September 30th, 2008
A beautiful and healthy skin is a big confidence booster. Some people are naturally beautiful and hence don???t use any ???skin care cosmetic???. Then there are others, who don???t use skin care cosmetic due to their laziness. Still some feel that skin care cosmetic can harm their skin, and hence abandon the use of any kind of skin care cosmetic. However, there are a large number of people who do use skin care cosmetic (that???s why the business of skin care cosmetic is prospering).
So, is skin care cosmetic useful, or is it harmful? Well, the opinions seem divided. However, one thing is for sure ??? Looking beautiful is surely nice and very desirable. Also, too much skin care cosmetic can surely be harmful (as such, excess of anything is harmful). So, what does one do?
The first thing is to formulate (and follow) a skin care routine that will help keep your skin healthy and disease-free. The general recommendation is to cleanse and moisturise everyday, and tone and exfoliate occasionally (as and when needed).
Next thing is the skin care cosmetics that you would be using additionally (as beauty enhancers). These skin care cosmetics could either be part of your skin care routine or be applied only on special occasions (e.g. when attending a party etc).
The most important thing with skin care cosmetic is its selection. Here is a set of rules that you should use when selecting any skin care cosmetic:
* The general rule is to use products that suit your skin type. This is true both for the routine products and for the skin care cosmetic. So check the label to see what it says e.g. ???for dry skin only??? or ???for all skin types??? etc.
* Test the skin care cosmetic before using it. This can be done by applying the skin care cosmetic on a small patch of skin e.g. ear lobes and checking the reaction of your skin to the product
* Check the ingredients of the skin care cosmetic for chemicals that you are allergic to. Do not use products that are very harsh on skin e.g. products with high alcohol concentrations; such cosmetics might work for once but cause a long-lasting damage to your skin.
* ???More isn???t better???. Ensure that you apply the products in right quantity (neither less not more). Also, be gentle with your skin and follow the right procedures for application of skin care products. Rubbing too hard or trying to squeeze a pimple can lead to permanent damage to your skin.
* Finally, if you have a skin disorder e.g. adult acne etc, you should consult your dermatologist before using any skin care cosmetic.
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