Your Skin - Are You Creating An Asset or a Liability
Skincare consists of Skin and Care - obvious really, but let’s look at exactly what that term means. Anything that is taken good care of will look, last and function better for longer and retain its value.
Maybe we should think about skin care in terms of ‘Skin maintenance’, because there are several factors, which constitute good skin care. Consider that your skin is involved in both absorption as well as elimination of chemicals; does it not stand to reason that the healthier your skin is, the better it will be able to fulfil these functions?
Most people think of skin care as keeping your skin clean and if it gets dry, use a moisturiser and that’s that. Well, it’s a start, but far from constituting skin care or maintenance of skin function.
Information on exfoliation, cleansing, toning and moisturising is readily available, and both men and women of all ages should follow these basic skin care concepts. However, as we become older, the type of maintenance needs to change and the skin care regime that is relevant in your 20’s changes as we move through our 30’s, 40’s and beyond.
Your skin is a valuable asset. Treat it well, and you will reap the rewards, treat it badly and it could ultimately kill you!
Skin cancer is a growing concern in the health industry. As the Ozone layer is under ever increasing pressure and indeed thinning over some parts of the World, UV radiation is reaching the Earth’s surface in greater concentration and this is not only having a detrimental effect on our climate and ecosystems, but also affects each and every one of us directly.
UV rays have been shown to cause skin cancer. Getting sunburn is now accepted as a leading cause for skin cancer and guarding against it is not quite as simple as staying out of the sun.
Maintaining a good skin care regime is now more important than ever, and consists of several important parts:
1. Eating a well balanced, healthy diet which consists of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, grains and if you choose good quality meat, is paramount to supplying your skin with the nutrition it needs to function at its optimal level.
2. Water - you cannot under estimate the body’s need for being well hydrated. Medial research shows that your body requires at least 2-3 litres of water per day to maintain its functions.
Dehydration is not as obvious as one might think and can be chronic with few or no symptoms. If you are physically active, you will need to drink even more that 3 litres per day.
3. Exercise - Now you do not have to be a ‘Gym-Junky’, but being unfit will have consequences that you will ultimately not appreciate; go for a walk 3-4 times a week; use the stairs not the elevator; park the car further away from the office or the shops; join a walking club; ride a bike; play tennis, golf or another sport that gets your body moving - you don’t have to be an Olympic champion you know, but get moving and have fun.
Finally, there is one more important consideration in the maintenance of your skin - should you use natural skin care products or will any products do?
The answer is NATURAL, naturally. Think about it from this point of view: When you buy food, do you look for ‘no artificial colouring’, ‘no artificial flavours’, ‘contains not GMO’s (genetically modified organisms), etc., or don’t you care?
What about your drinks, do you not look for 100% natural, low in salt, no artificial this or that, no added sugar, etc. Of course you do. Well, your skin does absorb nutrients whether they are natural or not; it will absorb these chemicals into the tissue and it will then be able to use them, or not. Natural substances are much more easily assimilated in your body and are also more easily eliminated, once they’ve performed their functions.
As scientific research is becoming more sophisticated we are discovering more and more information on how our body works, how foods interact in our systems and how some foods contain substances which are not able to be made synthetically - well, the same of course stands true for plants. Phyto-estrogens are just one example of naturally occurring substances essential to the wellbeing of our bodies. Similarly, herbal extracts, essential oils, fruit extracts and so on, all contain naturally occurring chemicals, which science is not able to make synthetically due to their complexity.
This means, that the synthetic version of a plant extract (often in concentrated forms) is not the same as the natural version and can in fact have different and even side effects on your body. An old, but good example is Aspirin. We are all aware by now, that Aspirin can cause stomach irritation and even lead to stomach ulcers.
The active ingredient in Aspirin is salicylic acid. It naturally occurs in the bark of the White Willow tree. The big difference between taking Aspirin as opposed to the herbal extract of the White Willow bark, is that in the herbal extract there are many more substances contained which have secondary effects - one substance for example is a mucilaginous substance, which has the function of protecting your stomach lining! Guess what, there is nothing in Aspirin (from the chemist) that acts to protect your stomach - That’s the difference between using natural versus artificially manufactured substances.
So, the choice is yours, natural or not, it’s your asset and it is up to you to choose whether you will invest in your asset or withdraw from it.
About The Author
Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapists, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.
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Tags: Anti aging, herbs, m, Natural Skin Care, plant extracts, skin care for women, skincare-
Posted by admin on April 29th, 2008 filed in skincare | Comment now »
Pharma Skin Care - Skin Care Tips
More than anything else, sun protection will help to prevent the aging of your skin, The sun is largely responsible for wrinkling, blotchy pig entation (Lentigines, also called “liver spots”), thinning of the skin, broken blood vessels (telangectasias), dryness, texture changes, uneven color and some sun related skin diseases that make the skin look older. Daily use of sunscreen products with at least an SPF of 15 along with protective clothing such as full-brimmed hats, long sleeved blouses and shirts, and slacks instead of shorts will greatly reduce the aging of the skin and the possibility of skin cancer. Sunglasses will also protect the eyelids from aging and will help reduce crows feet by reducing the squinting which comes from sun exposure without eye protection.
2. Avoid Smoking
Melasma has been considered to arise from pregnancy, oral contraceptives, endocrine dysfunction, genetic factors, medications, nutritional deficiency, hepatic dysfunction, and other factors. The majority of cases appear related to pregnancy or oral contraceptives. The infrequency of melasma in postmenopausal women on estrogen replacement suggests that estrogen alone is not the cause. In more recent experience, combination treatment using estrogen plus progestational agents is being used in postmenopausal women, and melasma is being observed in some of these older women who did not have melasma during their pregnancies. Sun exposure would appear to be a stimulating factor in predisposed individuals. Although a few cases within families have been describe, melasma should not be considered a heritable disorder.
3. Fitness
With age, extra weight can accumulate in areas under the chin, the neck or cheeks, giving the skin an older look. Other areas of skin such as the abdomen, thighs, buttocks and calves look older if they are carrying excess fat. A combination of balanced nutrition and exercise can greatly improve the appearance of the skin. Drinking enough water is also important. Improved muscle tone and improved circulation also help to keep that younger looking skin we would all like to maintain. Some excess fat can be removed by liposuction; however, it is much better not to accumulate that excess weight in the first place.
4. Smile!
Your face tends to conform to the position or expression that you carry most of the time. If you often frown or scowl you skin is more likely to develop lines or wrinkles between the eyes, down turning lines at the corners of the mouth, or other lines or furrows that conform to the frowning facial expression. a smiling, pleasant, relaxed expression is goof for your face and will help keep you looking younger.
5. Sleeping Positions
Sleeping on your face can cause sleep wrinkles. Sleeping in the same position most of the night for years can permanently crease your skin. With a small pillow under the lumbar (lower) spine, it is possible to sleep on your back comfortably without causing wrinkles on your face.
6. Skin Care
Consistent skin care is important in maintaining younger looking skin. In recent years, several products appear to cause an improvement in aged skin. Although Retin-A
Tags: anti aging creams, antiaging, pharma, skin care, skincare-
Posted by admin on April 22nd, 2008 filed in skincare | Comment now »
Skin Care and Shower Filters
Heads up, folks. If you’re not using a shower filter, your daily shower includes chemicals, toxins, chlorine and heavy metals. The chlorine in most municipal water systems can form carcinogenic compounds, such as trihalomethanes and chloroform. If you can’t pronounce it, you probably don’t want it on your skin. The pipes that carry the water many miles to your house are typically not clean and are full of heavy metals from things like solder joints.
Furthermore, these volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) vaporize in a hot shower so you are inhaling chemicals during your shower, too! They vaporize at a much faster rate than the water itself, meaning the steam in a shower has a much higher concentration of chemicals than the actual water. Chemicals that are inhaled make their way into the bloodstream faster than ingested chemicals, because they don’t go through the digestion process.
You’re probably asking yourself, how much chlorine could be in the water? Tap water often contains at least as much, if not more, chlorine than what you’ll find in most swimming pools. You can absorb more chlorine through your skin and lungs in one shower than you’d get in all the tap water you could drink in a day. Skin pores widen while showering, practically welcoming dermal absorption of chemicals. Chlorine not only dries your skin and hair and causes fatigue, studies show that long-term exposure is linked to increased risk of asthma, bronchitis, miscarriage and various cancers. Women with breast cancer all showed at least 50 percent more chlorine in their breast tissue than women without cancer.
Using a shower filter is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce harmful exposure to chemicals. A chlorine-free shower makes your skin softer, healthier, and younger looking. There’ll be no more skin rashes and wrinkles will diminish. You’ll also have less fatigue, and the air in your house will be cleaner. Hair is able to preserve its natural moisturizing oils, so it will become softer and healthier when chlorine is removed from shower water.
Start using a shower filter as part of your skin care routine now and reap the benefits of overall better health for years to come.
Katrina Price is a nine-year veteran of the skin care and cosmetics industry. Her website is located at http://www.skincareteacher.com and contains information on various topics related to beauty.
Tags: chlorine, chloroform, filter, filtration, shower, skin care, skincare, steam, toxins, vapor, VOC, water-
Posted by admin on April 15th, 2008 filed in skincare | Comment now »