Habits That Keep Your Skin Healthy and Beautiful Part 1
By Skin Care Editor | March 6, 2010
There is consensus among scientists and physicians as to what habits are consistent with youthful, healthy skin. Follow their advice and you’ll maintain a youthful appearance for years and years.
Keep the weight you had in high school. Fat cells produce hormones that raise the risk of type 2 diabetes and even generate substances called cytokines that cause inflammation. Excessive weight contributes to the stiffening of the arteries and the malfunction of other organs. It has also been linked to a variety of some cancers.
Add alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl L-carnitine to your daily supplement regime. They appear exceedingly safe and readily available at stores. They are not expensive supplements either.
Reduce your overall daily caloric intake. You could see dramatic results by just skipping one meal a day. Calorie restrictions seem to improve blood insulin levels and protect from damage to the DNA. Eating less food, scientists believe, may reduce tissue wear and tear from excess blood sugar, inflammation and free radicals.
Welcome a pet to your home. Studies show that owning a pet reduces the number of visits to the doctor, prolongs survival after a heart attack and even wards off depression. Pets also protect against the main problem of aging: high blood pressure. Stress reduction is the key mechanism by which a pet can help you stay young. Remember, though, to choose your pet carefully. Strike a balance between your lifestyle and the needs of your chosen pet.
Manage chronic pain. Continuous pain damages the immune system and it can also cause deep depression and push up levels of the harmful stress hormone cortisol. Your mood will surely improve and your immune system will reap the benefits of a pain free daily existence.
Walk around the block. Walking will make the walls of your arteries twice as flexible as those of a sedentary individual. A 30 minute brisk walk daily, 5 days a week, will do the trick. Age and lack of exercise make the walls of your blood vessels brittle, and that is the reason why two-thirds individuals 60 and above have high blood pressure. Moderate exercise also reduces the risk of diabetes, cancer, depression, aging of the skin and early onset dementia.
Topics: Holistic Skin Care, Skin Care, Skin Health | No Comments »
What to Look for in the Best Age Spot Removers
By Skin Care Editor | February 8, 2010
The best age spot removers, in terms of effectiveness, are those that inhibit melanin production. Until recently, the only ingredient that provided that benefit was hydroquinone, a compound recently banned by the European Union because of a possible cancer risk. Thankfully, a safer ingredient has been found.
Many plants have medicinal qualities. They were, in fact, our first forms of medicine. Herbs, spices, fruits, nuts, tree bark and other botanicals were used to treat all kinds of diseases.
One of the plants used historically to relieve irritation and reduce inflammation is cyperus rotundus. The plant goes by many common names, including nut sedge or grass, purple nut sedge and coco-grass, but most people call it a weed. From what I have read, it is particularly difficult to control, as far as weeds go, because it is very resistant to herbicides.
An herbalist or traditional healer would pull up the plants to get at the tubers, which are something like roots, in that they grow underground. The tubers resemble nuts, which is the reason it has been called “nut grass”.
The best age spot remover on the market today contains extracts from the nut grass root, because recent studies have shown that it inhibits melanin production as much as hydroquinone, but without having any detrimental effects. As already mentioned, it is an anti-irritant.
The only disadvantage to melanin inhibitors is that they could lighten the surrounding area, too, which might not be desirable. For someone that wants a lighter complexion overall, daily lotions containing nut grass are a good choice. For someone that simply wants to even out their complexion, something like coenzyme Q10 might be enough.
Coenzyme Q10 does not inhibit melanin production, but the best age spot removers contain it, because it reverses sun damage. Ultimately, an age spot is sun damage. It really has very little to do with the natural aging process.
The natural aging process means that our bodies produce fewer elastic fibers and skin cells. There are ways to stimulate those processes, according to clinical studies, which could help increase the skin’s firmness and reduce wrinkles.
But, free radical damage is the primary cause of the outward signs of aging. We cannot prevent it entirely, but we can keep it to a minimum.
Free radical damage to the melanin producing cells causes them to produce melanin clumps, what we call age spots. Coenzyme Q10, as well as other antioxidants, has been shown to prevent and reverse free radical damage. So, that’s why the best age spot remover contains coenzyme Q10 and other antioxidants.
A really good lotion would contain compounds that stimulate the production of new cells and fibers, too. You may as well cover all of the bases whenever you can.
Remember to read the label of ingredients on any anti-aging products that you buy. If you are not familiar with the ingredient, do a little research and find out what it is. You may find that a lot of them have been banned in Europe. The US is a bit more lenient about cosmetics.
The best age spot removers can improve your appearance in a matter of weeks without increasing your risk of cancer or anything else. The worst ones…well they might cause health problems.
Topics: Age Spots, Skin Care | No Comments »
Skin Firming Cream That Really Works?
By Skin Care Editor | December 14, 2009
Is there a skin firming cream that really works?
According to clinical research, there are several effective ingredients. If a manufacturer includes enough of the effective ingredients in their creams, then “yes” it really will work.
In order to determine the concentration of a specific ingredient, you will need to read the label and look at the “order” of ingredients. They are listed in order from most to least. If you see an active compound far down on the list, you will know that the concentration is very low.
Most skincare products contain paraben preservatives. Ideally, you would like to find products that are free of parabens. But, those are hard to find in a drugstore. Several good ones are available online.
Assuming that you are reading a label of ingredients in a drugstore, look down the list for parabens. Manufacturers are only allowed to use a very small amount of parabens, because they are common allergens.
Anything below parabens on the list is present in such a small quantity that it could not possibly be effective. So, if you are buying a skin firming cream, because the label says “now with coenzyme Q10”, and the COQ10 or ubiquinone is listed below the parabens, then just don’t buy it. It’s not worth the money.
The primary ingredient in most body creams and lotions is mineral oil. Water will always be on the top of the list, because it is used for mixing. Mineral oil or petrolatum or both will typically follow water on the list. Of course, those ingredients will do nothing to improve your skin’s firmness.
One of the compounds that you want to look for is called Functional Keratin. The ingredient has been proven to increase the skin’s firmness and elasticity by 42% over the course of 18 days.
Another good ingredient for a skin firming cream is called RIGIN. RIGIN is a blend of protein peptides that have been shown to improve firmness by 40% and elasticity by 27%. It is particularly effective on the neckline.
Just as important as knowing which ingredients to look for is knowing which ones to avoid. Mineral oil and petrolatum were already mentioned. Not only are they ineffective, they may contribute to premature aging by interfering with the skin’s natural rejuvenation processes.
Collagen and elastin proteins are a couple of other ingredients that aren’t worth buying. Although you will often see them in skin firming cream, the effect that they have is purely cosmetic. They cannot be absorbed into the skin like Functional Keratin.
Ingredients that are simply unnecessary are artificial or added fragrances. Everyone likes to smell nice, but applying a fragrance-loaded lotion to the entire face or body is overwhelming and may cause health problems.
One final ingredient that you might want to avoid is urea. It’s a component of urine and plant wastes. It’s often found in skin firming cream, because it works temporarily, but it has a disgusting smell.
Functional Keratin and RIGIN work continuously with continued use to improve your skin’s health and appearance. There’s no reason to settle for less. To learn more about skin care products that contain Functional Keratin and RIGIN Click Here.
Topics: Skin Firming, Skin Wrinkles | No Comments »
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