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Archive for the ‘Beauty’ Category

Imagine browsing through skin care aisles and finding that one, perfect product that boasts of all-natural ingredients. Serendipity, right? Then you go and read the label expecting to find a virtual salad but instead finding yourself reading benzoic acid, butyl stearate, and some totally unpronounceable names. You’re no botanist but you’re sure that those stuff don’t grow on trees. This is because most commercial items meant for skin care nowadays contain preservatives and other chemicals to maintain their consistency and shelf life. Problem is, most of these chemicals can actually irritate more sensitive skin.

What solution is there for this kind of crisis? Simple. Mix your own, homemade skin care line. There’s nothing to it as most ingredients are found in your fridge or fruit basket. All-natural skin recipes are easily found in the Internet or even in magazines. Usually, these skin care mixes are composed of a combination of one or two fruits. Combinations like these can include either the fruit pulp, fruit juice, or both. Milk, water or honey are usually added to smoothen the mixture. Add-ons such as oatmeal, wheat germ, brown sugar, and dried herbs are also included for more specialized concoctions such as a pimple treatment, flaking, and oily skin.

Skin care using natural ingredients offers great variety. There are facial cleansers, scrubs, moisturizing creams, and face masks. Don’t worry because indications for use are usually found with the recipes. The recipes indicate whether the mixture is for normal, dry, oily, sensitive, and acne-prone skin. Some are even more specialized as blackhead removers or whitening solutions.

Natural skin care routine have many advantages. First, the ingredients are easily available and the choices are great. They are also natural, thus, greatly reducing risks of allergies or skin irritations. Second, the ingredients are cheap, which translates into more savings more you. Third, you can modify the recipes to suit your needs. Since the risks for irritations are minimal, experimentations are relatively safe. Fourth, vitamins and antioxidants are naturally found in fruits, while milk and honey have restorative properties. Therefore, you get the same vitamins found in commercial products while limiting or eradicating chemicals.

As these skin care recipes use natural ingredients they require refrigeration and can only keep for a week. However, it is better to make these in small quantities or batches for immediate use. In addition, these recipes contain natural hydroxy acids and vitamins for direct and instant skin rejuvenation. Also, don’t forget to keep fit by exercising, having a balanced, healthy diet and regular sleep. With these pre-requisites and your new skin care solutions, you’re on your way to having the healthy skin that can top what science can offer. Now, that’s what you call natural.

Ever since Eve took that first bite of the apple, people then became old and wrinkly. Now the human race has been obessed with beauty.

The truth is we begin the aging process just as soon as we pop out of the womb. Every day of our lives our bodies slough off and regenerate new cells. The speed at which that process takes place when we are children is vastly different as we get older.

Every day you are bombarded daily with commercial messages and beauty tips that attempt to lure you into believing that the most recent miracle drug is just what you need to fight off the ravages of Mother Nature.

We are living longer as a whole. Singularly, that can be a curse or a blessing, depending on your perspective.
The best route to natural beauty and healthy skin is to take care of what you have. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? The truth is that your skin takes a beating from the environment every single day. Here are some of our favorite beauty tips for keeping your skin fresh and healthy:

1: Stay hydrated and do it with plenty of water! That does not mean soda, caffeine or any other type of liquid, even if it is low cal. Soda (even diet soda) has a high concentration of sodium. Sodium retains fluids. You need fluid that will hydrate and flush your body free of toxins. Make sure you are drinking at least 8 glasses a day!

2: Protect your skin from harmful ultra violet (UV) rays. We all love the sun. We love being in it and we love having a beautiful tan. The truth is you can poison yourself with too much sunshine. UV rays cause skin cancer and if that isn’t bad enough it causes your skin to age faster than it should, contributing to unsightly wrinkles. If you must play in the sun, make certain you are using an adequate sun screen. Don’t leave home without it!

3: Keep your skin clean. Use a soft warm cloth. Skin does not require scrubbing. You will do more harm than good if you do.

4: The best cure for wrinkles is to never have them in the first place! If you are like most of us, you didn’t listen to your Mom when she tried to tell you to stay in the shade, stand up straight and stop squinting!

5: Eat healthy. Knowing how and what to eat, can make a huge difference in how you feel. Improper eating habits can cause depression, weight gain, illness and an overall lethargy.

Weight gain causes your skin to stretch. As you get older, it loses it’s elasticity and you’re left with sagging skin.
The best solution to this is to maintain a proper weight.

A rule of thumb for eating habits are…don’t eat more calories than you consume. Don’t go one single day without doing something extra and physical for at least 30 minutes per day. This can be three ten minute walks. Or 30 minutes of vigorous aerobics, or 12 minutes of weight lifting and 18 minutes of walking.

6: Don’t worry, be happy. A happy outlook appears to trigger the release of endorphins. Endorphins relax the cardiovascular system and cytokines which alert the immune system to pay attention in detecting abnormalities like cancer cells. Listen carefully to yourself. If you have put yourself down since childhood, over a lifetime, negative subliminal messages can take their toll by turning you into a pessimist. Spend one week writing down the phrases you use in your “self talk.” Chances are you will find that you repeat a dozen or so phrases over and over again that reinforce that negative image. If you know about them, you can change them. Outer beauty and inner joy go hand in hand.

Here are a few quick tips for increasing joy, hope and optimism that will work no matter what your age:

Make a list of at least 50 great things that happen to you every day.

Laugh a lot. You’ll heal your body and your mind.

Discover a new challenge each month.

Try meditating for just five minutes each day.

7: Sex After 50 – Ha! How many of you jumped ahead to this section?

The importance of physical intimacy actually depends on the couple. An alarming number of men used to give up on sex after 60 and many women used to feel that their sex life ended with menopause. Thankfully, that is no longer the case.

Sex at middle age can actually become better and more satisfying than ever before. Maturity gives a couple more experience in lovemaking. The children are usually grown and left home. The pressures of building a career and day to day life are usually less stressful than in younger years.

Is beauty really skin deep?

The answer is yes and no.  It’s a paradox, isn’t it? True beauty begins from the inside out. Don’t you wish there was some way to “wriggle your nose” and regain that soft skin you had as a child? Well, until someone comes up with the true “Fountain of Youth” we are stuck with what we have.

Just remember that getting older doesn’t have to mean getting old.