Tips for Taking Care Your Skin

Here we show you tips on how to properly care for your skin, from the right way to wash your face, to the best moisturizers and UV protection. Skin is the largest organ of our body. With proper skin care, we can, not only keep it healthy but also keep it looking young for a longer time. Skin care tips are another easy way to gradually improve your quality of life. If you understand what makes a good skin care product, you can shop smartly the next time you’re at the drugstore, and see an improvement without even adding extra products to your daily routine. Appropriate use of moisturizers or certain ingredients can slow down aging, increase the glow of your skin, and combat blotches and blemishes. You should at least eat five servings of fruit and vegetable everyday to cleanse the body of toxins that may affect your metabolism. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that can help prevent free radical damage to the skin.

Oily skin requires the opposite approach - instead of putting an emphasis on nourishing, you should focus on removing excess oil from it, hydrating, cleaning enlarged pores, and preventing or treating acne. Wash your skin about 2-3 times a day, but use a mild soap only once a day, because otherwise oil glands will be stimulated to produce even more sebum. Use only non-greasy moisturizers and tone your face often with alcohol-free herbal tonics or ice cubes, which will restore the health and balance of your skin. The best masks for oily skin are those featuring drying and hydrating ingredients, for example, clay, papaya, or yogurt. Apply once a week and make sure to rinse your face thoroughly with cool water after about 20 minutes. In case of acne, remove sugar and other carbohydrates from your diet and make sure not to eat any processed foods.

Focus on Moisturizer
There is no way around it; you have to increase your use of moisturizer in the winter months. Exposure to cold air literally robs your skin of its natural healing ability, and this leads to dryness, flaking, and cracking. You will need a three-step moisturizing process to maintain healthy skin in these conditions. First, use a gentle body soap that is designed to provide moisturizers. Follow this by applying body lotion after your shower to lock in moisture. Finally, invest in a good facial moisturizer that is free of fragrances and other unnecessary additives. Apply this immediately after anytime you wash your face.

Skin Care Tips

1. Avoid getting cold sores in the first place by not sharing stuff like lip balm, toothbrushes, or drinks with other people who might have cold sores. The virus that causes cold sores is transmitted through the nose (in mucus) and the mouth (in saliva).

2. Wear sunscreen. Apply SPF 15 in the winter and use a higher SPF sunscreen if you’re vacationing on the slopes or at the beach.

3. An Apple a Day - Have an apple, skin on, as a snack.

4. Vitamin B helps keep your skin tone healthy.

5. If you wear makeup, look for brands that are free of dyes and fragrances that can aggravate eczema.

6. Facial treatment that is very helpful for those with oily skin.

7. Remove your makeup before you go to sleep. When buying makeup, make sure you choose brands that say “noncomedogenic” or “nonacnegenic” on the label. Throw away old makeup that smells or looks different from when you first bought it.

8. We all know that the sun can damage skin, but did you know it can contribute to eye problems, too? Protect your face and eyes with a hat and sunglasses that provide 100% UV protection.

9. Cold water fish - Sardines are a good source of essential fats. Salmon is another good source, however these salmon accumulate toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (otherwise known as PCBs) in their body fat during the 95 percent of their lives they spend at sea.

10. Protect your lips. Lips can be especially prone to dryness because the skin there does not have oil glands. Do not lick your lips to hydrate them. Instead, use a petroleum- or beeswax-based lip balm.

Effective and Natural Treatments for Acne Scars

Long after the acne has been treated and healed, many people still have to endure a lasting reminder of their suffering from acne: acne scars. Even if their battle with acne is already over, they are still left questioning how to get rid of acne scars.

Some ways to remove acne scars are through invasive operations. Laser resurfacing, dermabrasion, punch elevation, subcutaneous incision, chemical peels, dermal fillers – the list goes on. These methods of how to get rid of acne scars can have almost instantaneous results but they also come with a high price tag.

Fortunately, there are other inexpensive ways of how to get rid of acne scars. Natural remedies for acne scars can be found right in your very own kitchen. Here are some natural and effective home treatments for acne scars.

Aloe Vera
The healing properties of the aloe vera plant are well documented in history. It has also been proven to be an effective treatment for acne and acne scars. Aloe vera greatly speeds up the skin’s healing process and it regenerates and repairs damaged skin. Aloe vera comes in topical ointment, gel, cream, or soap form. Aloe vera juice can also be ingested orally. You can drink aloe vera juice or use a topical aloe vera treatment for healing acne scars.

Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is nature’s very own bleach. It lightens up dark spots, blemishes, and scars that acne can sometimes leave behind. Lemon juice naturally contains alpha hydroxy acids which peel off the skin’s dead layers revealing new, fresh-looking skin. To use lemon juice as a way of how to get rid of acne scars, soak a cotton ball with about a teaspoon of lemon juice. Swipe the soaked cotton ball on your acne scars and leave it on for approximately 10 minutes. Rinse off with water. Lemon juice can make your skin sensitive to light so always protect yourself with sunscreen after using this treatment.

Vitamin E
Vitamin E promotes healthy skin by eliminating harmful free radicals from the body. Vitamin E also improves the appearance of acne scars and prevents new ones from forming. The recommended daily allowance for vitamin E is 15 IU. Get your dose of vitamin E by orally taking one capsule a day. You can also break open a vitamin E capsule and directly apply it to acne scars.

Essential Oils
These include tea tree oil, rosehip seed oil, and lavender oil. Tea tree oil has antiseptic and antibacterial properties which clears the skin of acne scars and blemishes. Rosehip seed oil is rich in fatty acids that regenerate scarred skin tissue. Lavender oil greatly reduces inflammation, soothes the skin, and heals scars left by acne. Always check the concentration of the essential oils before using them. A much too high concentration can do more harm than good to your skin.

These are some of the natural ways of how to get rid of acne scars. Patience is key in using natural acne scar treatments because it will always take some time before these methods show results.

Fat-Fighting Foods for Weight Loss

Avoid nasty refined foods that increase your blood sugar level for short term energy fixes and replace them with these great tasting super-foods!

Oatmeal
Releases energy of time - keeping you feeling full for longer. Oatmeal is a complex carbohydrate and is thought to help reduce cholesterol.

Greens
Broccoli, Spinach, Salad leaves, in fact any leafy vegetable is vital to keeping your system healthy. Packed full of Iron and other minerals, eating plenty of greens provides roughage and antioxidants that are believed to have long term health effects - including protecting your from memory lose.

Olive Oil
The health benefits of Olive Oil have been known for Millennia and countries with diets based on Olive Oil (such as Greece and Italy) tend to have longer life expectancy. Full of healthy fats, a good quality olive can be used for everything from salad dressing to deep fat frying.

Turmeric
Turmeric contains the highest known source of beta carotene, the antioxidant that helps protect the liver from free radical damage. It also helps your liver heal while helping your body metabolize fats by decreasing the fat storage rate in liver cells.

Cayenne
This hot spice lessens the risk of excess insulin in the body by speeding metabolism and lowering blood sugar levels before the excess insulin can result in fat storage.

Chillies
Chillies increase your metabolic rate as well as acting as an antiseptic. There a thousands of varieties of chilli and not all of them will bring ears to your eyes - although if your into that they’re easy to find!

Tomatoes
Packed with vitamin C, tomatoes stimulate the production of the amino acid known as carnitine. Research has shown that carnitine helps speed the body’s fat-burning capacity by one-third.

Nuts
Raw, unsalted nuts provide essential roughage, protein and fats and make for a very healthy snack. Macadamia nuts in particular are very good at keep the cravings at bay.

Garlic and Onions
The base of any great dish, these root vegetables are known to reduce cholesterol and fight infections. Garlic in particular is known for helping lower blood pressure.