Everyday you wash, shave, shampoo, clip your nails, wash, and dry your hair. Personal grooming, for most people, is a series of well-entrenched habits. And in most cases it is over done. Would you be willing to change your routine if doing so made your skin look more attractive and created a better-looking you?
Most adults whom are over thirty commit one big mistake when it comes to washing: The do too much of it. They shower in the morning, another after the gym, maybe even one before bedtime. If you spend twelve minutes in the shower, that's too long. Cut your time in the shower to five minutes for your skin's sake.
Too much washing results not just in cleanliness but in removing too much oil from your skin, and itchy and irritated skin, particularly in the winter months.
If you are using a shower without a water filter and with the steam build up, you are subjecting yourself and your skin to excess chlorine.
Below are bathing tips that you can benefit from:
1. Avoid using a washcloth on delicate areas, especially the mucous membranes. Do use a soft sponge to massage your skin. Use a glycerine soap and sponge and move in one direction toward your heart.
2. Use medium-warm water in the shower, the cooler the better, but not too cold.
3. If you have normal to dry skin, use Dove Unscented or Basis for Sensitive Skin on your body and either a soap free cleanser or nothing at all on mucous membranes. Do use many of the commercial bar soap, since they are harsh on the skin.
4. If you tend to have oily skin, then use good gylcerine soap. I use this type of soap and it removes just enough oil without drying my skin.
5. Skip a shower as often as you can. This may not seem like appealing advice but the more time you have in between showers the better. Skip a shower for a whole day once or twice a week, especially in the winter. Allow your skin to produce and maintain its natural oils. Or if this does not appeal to you, make your shower extra short on some days.
6. Make sure you use shampoos that contain mostly natural ingredients. A lot of commercial products contain synthetic chemicals, petrochemicals, and various dyes and artificial coloring. All of these un-natural chemicals are extremely bad for you health. Learn which chemicals to avoid.
So that you can improve the health of your skin, takes some time to look over your shower habits, Decrease the time in your shower, use a water filter to remove toxins from the water, massage your skin, and use only natural products for your skin and hair.
About the Author : Rudy Silva is a natural nutritionist. If you want to learn more about which chemicals to avoid in skin care creams and how to take care of your skin go to: http://www.for--you.com/SkinCareTreatment
Friday, 3 July 2009
Learn How to Shower To Keep Your Skin Healthy
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Are Hair Regrowth Vitamins Right For You?
Hair Loss may be a difficult and stressful condition for anyone who happens to suffer from it. The worse thing about it is that hair loss can occur almost overnight, without symptoms or no reason. On the other hand, hair loss for some people is a gradual process. For many years, there was really nothing you could do when you started having hair loss, except to accept what was happening. With advanced on the market, you may be thinking that vitamins are the way to go. But before you go the vitamin route, you should make sure that your hair loss is really a nutrient issue. There are two things to consider when you are going to look at a vitamin regimen. What you need to ask yourself is the following. Is my hair loss due to genetics or stress. What you answer will tell a lot.
If you are a hair loss victim, you may to find out what hair restoration vitamins are on the market. The type of restoration hair vitamins you need will depend on the severity of the loss, and the various reasons for the hair loss you are experiencing. If you have hair loss which is due to genetic reasons, you may want to discuss various over-the-counter vitamins with your local pharmacist, and, if necessary, ask your doctor about prescription vitamins that can help you with this type of hair loss.
Depending on what you pharmacist says, you may need to work with a shampoo, or a hair ointment. There are some products over the counter that work well. Rogaine is one brand that is widely available for those experiencing hair loss. Vitamin B and Vitamin C supplements have also been linked with the improvement of hair retention.
On the other hand, if your hair loss caused by stress, it may be a chemical imbalance or potential allergic reaction. In this case, it is important to talk with your doctor. The nice thing is, if your doctor believes that you can eliminate the stress, then by simply eliminating the stress, you stop the hair losses. Often times, a traumatic experience can be linked to certain activities like rapid weight loss, pregnancy, child birth, or severe sickness. Any major shock to your body and system can cause stress related hair loss. Usually overtime, as you recover, your hair will return.
What is really important is that it is always seek the advice of your doctor before you begin any program or taking any type of hair restorative vitamins.
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Stress and Weight Gain
Stress at home, stress on the job, stress in your relationships. Regardless of the source, stress can have a negative impact on your health and well-being. One of the many physical problems stress can cause is weight gain. In an October, 1998 issue of the International Journal of Obesity, researchers published a study that revealed that high stress is a "predictor for major weight gain." In a January, 2006 article in the same publication, researchers found that stress can cause both weight loss and weight gain in men, depending on their initial body mass index.
Many people will find themselves reaching for unhealthy foods when they're stressed. The stereotype of curling up with a quart of ice cream at the end of a bad day isn't far from the truth. People often seek emotional comfort from foods when they can't find it elsewhere.
In addition to craving snack foods or sweets, some people experience an increase in appetite as a reaction to stress. Doctors have learned that although the initial reaction to stress, driven by adrenaline, can decrease appetite, the lingering effects of another stress hormone, cortisol, can increase appetite. A 2001 study in Psychoneuroendocrinology indicates that women may be particularly susceptible to this type of stress eating.
Our bodies are designed to react to stress in a fight or flight manner. Our bodies produce adrenaline to help us deal with the immediate stress. After that initial burst of energy, our bodies produce cortisol to increase appetite and replenish our food stores. The problem arises in that we seldom output enough energy in the fight or flight stage to warrant the extra calories we take in during the replenishment stage. The end result is weight gain.
While stress can make you overeat, it can also cause you to neglect your health in other ways. Many times people fail to take time to exercise, get enough sleep, or eat right when they're under stress. All of these can contribute to weight gain. The weight gain, and the health issues it causes, can then become another source of stress in its own right. For these reasons, it's imperative to reduce stress and avoid the problems that it brings.
Diabetes Mellitus - Definition, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Diabetes is a chronic condition.
Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas to control blood sugar), resistance to insulin, or both. DM exhibits wide geographic variation in incidence and prevalence diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder caused by an absolute or relative deficiency of insulin, an anabolic hormone. Diabetes mellitus is defined as fasting blood glucose of 126 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or more.
There are two basic forms of diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Formerly known as insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM), childhood diabetes or also known as juvenile diabetes, is characterized by loss of the insulin-producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas leading to a deficiency of insulin. It should be noted that there is no known preventative measure that can be taken against type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes appears most often in middle-aged.
Diabetes causes many changes in the body. Neuropathy (damage to the nerves) affects sensation to the feet, so that pain is not felt. Diabetes affects approximately 17 million people (about 8% of the population) in the United States. In addition, an estimated additional 12 million people in the United States have diabetes and don't even know it. Diabetes is the third leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease and cancer. Males are at greater risk in regions of high incidence, particularly older males, whose incidence rates often show seasonal variation. People with diabetes often develop bacterial and fungal infections, typically of the skin. When the levels of sugar in the blood are high, white blood cells cannot effectively fight infections. Diabetes is a major risk factor for stroke and coronary heart disease, which includes heart attack.
Serious medical illness and surgery produce a state of increased insulin resistance. Controlling your blood sugar is essential to feeling healthy and avoiding long-term complications of diabetes. Diet, exercise and weight reduction should be the cornerstone of management. The treatment of markedly symptomatic patients with newly discovered type 2 diabetes and glucose levels lower than 400 mg/dL is controversial. Medications used to treat diabetes include insulin. Medications such as thiazides, used to control high blood pressure, and niacin, used for high cholesterol, also may increase blood sugar. Everyone needs regular aerobic exercise, and people with diabetes are no exception. The good news is that the same exercises that are good for your heart and lungs also help lower your blood sugar levels. Drugs and foods known to affect the CYP3A4 system need to be used cautiously in patients treated with atorvastatin, lovastatin, or simvastatin because these agents are largely metabolized through that system.
Treatment for Diabetes Mellitus
* Serious medical illness and surgery produce a state of increased insulin resistance.
* Controlling your blood sugar is essential to feeling healthy and avoiding long-term complications of diabetes.
* Diet, exercise and weight reduction should be the cornerstone of management.
* Medications used to treat diabetes include insulin. Medications such as thiazides, used to control high blood pressure, and niacin, used for high cholesterol, also may increase blood sugar.
* Drugs and foods known to affect the CYP3A4 system need to be used cautiously in patients treated with atorvastatin, lovastatin, or simvastatin because these agents are largely metabolized through that system.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/506/Juliet-Cohen
Are You Using a Natural Bristle Hair Brush?
Using the right kind of hair brush and keeping it clean is necessary if you want to have strong hair, which will not fall out in the future.
A Natural Hair Brush
Using a natural bristle like boar’s hair is a good decision. The boar bristle hair brush bristles are similar to the keratin of your hair and absorb the dirt and oil just like your hair. In addition the tips of the boar hair brush are rounded and gently massage your scalp and hair.
Kent hair brushes are available in boar hair. But avoid the Kent nylon hair brush if you want the best care for your hair.
The nylon hair brush is not recommended since it is rougher on your scalp and is no where as good as the boar bristle hair brush. The nylon bristles are usually sharp and inflamed your follicles and break your hair when you use it.
Brushing Your Hair
To maintain good hair growth you need good circulation to your scalp. You need also need a clean scalp with little oil and dirt accumulating in your hair follicles. The boar hair brush helps you achieve this when you regularly brush your hair.
Brush your hair when it is dry. This prevents breaking of your hair. When you brush, the gentle pulling of your hair stimulates your scalp bringing in more blood to feed your hair. Also the slight pulling stimulates the release of oil from your follicles which lubricates your hair.
Brush your hair with a boar bristle hair brush twice a day for the best hair care – morning and night. For short hair brush for three minutes and for long hair brush five minutes.
By bending your head to the floor, when brushing, you will increase the blood circulation to your scalp. Now, brush from your neck forward to the front of your scalp, then, from sides to your crown. Lastly, brush from the front of your scalp to the neck.
Cleaning Your Boar Hair Brush
If possible, you should clean your brush every day. If you have two or more hair brushes then it will be easier to do this. Your boar bristle hair brush accumulates dirt and oils from hair when you brush. Without regular cleaning of your hair brush, this dirt and oil will redeposit onto your hair. Over time this added dirt and oil will plug up your hair follicles and lead to hair thinning or permanent hair loss.
You can clean your brush every day when you shower. Clean it with shampoo and scrub the bristles with your hand back and forth. After cleaning, you can dry the brush with a towel and let it sit until the next day. By the next day, it is ready to use and your other brush is ready to be cleaned.
So, using a natural hair brush like the boar bristle hair brush is the best way to care for your hair. Gentle daily brushing stimulates your scalp and keeps you hair healthy. But don’t forget to keep your hair brush clean, since your don’t want to put the dirt and oil on your brush back onto your scalp.
Rudy Silva is a natural nutritionist. For more women’s free hair tips and information go to: http://www.hairlossinwomen.for--you.com/ To subscribe to his newsletter and get a free report on constipation go to: http://www.natural-remedies-thatwork.com
Rudy Silva is a natural nutritionist. For more women’s free hair tips and information go to: http://www.hairlossinwomen.for--you.com/ To subscribe to his newsletter and get a free report on constipation go to: http://www.natural-remedies-thatwork.com
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Skin Care Products With Collogen And Elastin
It is becoming seemingly more and more difficult to find an anti aging skin care product that works effectively. This is partly because of the flood of anti aging skin care products that have come onto the market over the last few years, and partly because the majority of these products are not worth the money that you paid for them.
The average anti aging skin care product that you see being turned out in droves by the major cosmetics companies, are not worth wasting either your time or your money on. That is because these companies simply aren't trying to provide for you a product that will truly do what they say that it will do.
All that you have to do in order to be able to tell whether or not the anti aging skin care products that you're thinking about buying are worthy of you buying them is to take a quick look at the ingredients label. If you see things on the label that you haven't seen since your high school chemistry class then it is best to leave this item on the shelf.
You see, the cosmetics companies for the most part like to use chemicals and synthetics in manufacturing an anti aging skin care product, because these types of ingredients are simply cheaper to use due to the fact that they are available in abundance and they require little processing in order to be suitable for use in cosmetics.
The majority of the cosmetics industry doesn't seem inclined to want to put the extra money into their anti aging skin care products to make them effective. What these products need to contain in order to give you the results that you want are wholesome, 100% all natural ingredients.
Not many companies are willing to pay what it costs to process these ingredients though. If you want an anti aging skin care product that contains all natural ingredients then you're going to have to search a little harder in order to find them, but they are available.
Many of these products have been formulated in such a way as to be able to accomplish things that none of their poorly made counterparts could even dream of. Take for example the anti aging skin care products that a mid-sized company in New Zealand is producing.
Their all natural products contain two ingredients, Phytessence Wakame kelp extract and a strain of proteins called Functional Keratin, which are changing the art of how aging skin is treated. These ingredients in an anti aging skin care product will act to safely, and naturally raise your levels of hyaluronic acid, and they will promote greater production of both collagen and elastin.
These are things that no other anti aging skin care products have been able to even come remotely close to accomplishing. If you want an anti aging skin care product that will truly make you look younger then this is the company that you definitely need to buy from.
About the Author
I have been researching skin care products for twenty-five years.All natural products have given me the results i desired. Click Here www.access-natural-health.com.
Nettle for Hair: A Natural, Plant-Based Solution for Hair Loss
If you have thinning hair or just want to add extra body and shine to your hair, products containing extract from the nettle plant might be the perfect solution. Hair growth products have been around for years, but men and women alike are now turning to natural alternatives to prevent hair loss. Using nettle for hair can not only help stop hair loss, but can promote healthier, fuller hair for anyone. Nettle extract enhances hair growth for those who are balding as well as those who just want to have thicker hair.
What is nettle? Nettle is a plant grown in mostly warm climates, such as South America that is also referred to as "stinging nettle" and "garden nettle." It features prickly needles on its leaves that will irritate and sting upon contact. Nettle extract is processed so that it does not cause irritation or stinging to the skin or scalp.
Causes of Balding or Thinning
There are several possible causes of balding or thinning hair for men and women. There is also a normal process of hair loss (or shedding) due to the hair growth cycle. This cycle will not result in baldness or thinning hair. A person can shed up to between 50 and 100 hairs per day during this cycle.
There is also common baldness, or androgenic alopecia. Common baldness can be male pattern baldness, and is genetic in females. It is the most common cause of baldness in women. It can be genetically acquired from either the mother's or father's side of the family.
There are other non-genetic causes of baldness or thinning such as stress, hormonal imbalances, dietary problems, pregnancy and breast-feeding, infections of the scalp, certain medical conditions, and side effects of some medications.
How Nettle for Hair Loss Works
Nettle works gently to stimulate blood circulation to the scalp. It not only oxygenates the hair follicles but also strengthens hair fibers. Though it is gentle for all users, nettle for hair is powerful in combating baldness. As a natural hair product, nettle extract provides a safe alternative to hair growth products that contain chemicals.
Nettle promotes hair growth as well as hair health, shine and fullness for any type of hair. Nettle is also used for medicinal purposes in treating allergies, inflammation, arthritis and joint pain, acne, hemorrhoids, and even male prostate enlargement.
Nettle hair products such as nettle shampoo and nettle conditioner are easy to use. The nettle shampoo gives the hair a deep cleansing to remove excess sebum, or fatty deposits that often contain high levels of DHT (Dihydrotestosterone). The herbal components penetrate and moisturize the hair, and provide a protective film coating on the hair that strengthens the hair shaft, giving it plenty of shine and body. There is also nettle conditioner to increase shine, volume and softness. A special nettle lotion works great for stimulating the blood circulation in the scalp as well as oxygenation and fortification.
Nettle for hair should be used frequently for several months to notice a major difference, though the hair will look and feel healthier after just a few uses. For balding and thinning hair, results may vary for individuals as will the amount of time needed for results.
Whether you want to boost your hair's resilience or need to stop hair loss, products with nettle for hair can give your hair the stimulation and strength it needs. Nettle hair products are available online from companies like NutraCare so you can order them easily from your own home. Nettle hair loss products also make great gifts for friends and loved ones that have issues with baldness or thinning hair. Start enjoying full, healthy hair with natural hair loss products containing nettle extract today!.
About the Author
Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies. For tips/information, click here: nettle for hair
Visit Majon's Health and Beauty directory.
Monday, 22 June 2009
Permanent Weight Loss Through Hypnosis - A Psychotherapist Explains
Finding it hard to fit into those clothes after the holiday season? Considering going on a diet?
Read on. Chances are you could change your mind.
You see, diets are fine - as far as they go. But the difficultly is that you just can't spend the rest of your life on a diet and, sooner or later, you have to come off them. And that's when, for most of us, the weight just seems to pile back on.
Why is this? We were doing so well and now we aren't. What happened?
In order to understand, we have to recognise the basic flaw in our approach to weight management.
We need to realise that diets, though often effective in helping to shed the pounds in the short term, are pretty bad at helping us to keep them off.
The reason for this is simple:
Diets are based on the principle of denial. 'Don't eat this!' 'Don't touch that!' 'Don't have too much!'So you deny yourself and you keep on denying yourself until your weight loss program begins to deliver just what you want - a slimmed-down you.
And then it's as if a feeling deep inside just calls out to you: 'You've been so good, you've done so well - you deserve a little reward. Time and again you have denied yourself; you've lost weight, so now you can eat normally once more...'
The problem is that 'normal' all too often means eating in the old way, the fattening way. And before you know it, on go the pounds and its back to square one.
But now you feel even worse. You did so well. You did lose weight. But now you have just thrown it all away.
Then come the terrible feelings of failure. The terrible cycle of self-disappointment and self-pity - and putting food into your mouth so that you can compensate for those uncomfortable feelings just seems to take over.
You feel so very bad. 'To hell with it', you think, 'I feel lousy and food makes me feel better so I'll eat something. Heck, I can always go back on a diet...'
You know the rest of the story: the more you eat the worse you feel and the worse you feel the more you eat.
If this rings a bell with you then maybe what's needed is a new and different approach, one not based on denial and diets.
When we have trouble controlling our weight and there really is no medical reason for it, then the simple truth is that we are eating in an attempt to satisfy something other than hunger.
We are eating in an attempt to satisfy feelings and emotions. And no amount of food can do that because food can really only satisfy hunger.
You see, the reason why you have been having difficulty controlling your weight is because somewhere in the past your subconscious mind has taken on the false belief that food can satisfy uncomfortable feelings. Most often, the pattern of emotional eating has been established and 'programmed' into your mind when you were quite young.
Now, emotions and feelings are triggered in the subconscious mind. So it stands to reason that the only really effective way to tackle emotional eating is through the subconscious mind.
And this is where advanced transformational hypnotherapy can be of real help in bringing about permanent weight loss.
Through this kind of hypnotherapy, we can go directly to the underlying reasons of why a person overeats.
Once the reasons are uncovered, effectively dealt with and neutralised, the person is free to eat as he or she was intended to eat. They are released from the compulsion to eat in response to emotional needs and difficult feelings.
They become free to eat in a natural and truly normal manner.
The emotional and compulsive reasons for overeating having been dealt with and neutralized, powerful positive hypnotic suggestions are then 'programmed' into the subconscious mind, enabling the person to eat smaller amounts of nourishing food and yet feel pleasantly full and entirely satisfied.
With the aid of advanced transformational hypnotherapy, the subconscious mind becomes the person's greatest ally, making weight loss a painless and entirely natural process.
If you have had enough of deprivation, if you are tired of the vicious cycle of on-and-off dieting and self-recrimination then why not go to the root cause and eliminate your difficulty once and for all?
With Advanced Transformational Hypnotherapy you truly are able to get the lasting weight loss results you need - without the pain of denial.
About the Author
A leading British hypno-psychotherapist, with clinics in Birmingham and London, UK, Peter Field is a Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Health, and the author of numerous articles on psychotherapy, hypnosis and health. For more of his useful articles and other helpful information, please visit his website: http://www.peterfieldhypnotherapy.co.uk.
Friday, 22 May 2009
ZO Skin Health Products: Your Key to Fighting Aging
Well, I normally am knee deep in makeup and very rarely get the chance to dive in and try out a new skincare line. Luckily, I was given the chance to try ZO Skin Health which is the brainchild of Doctor Zein Obagi from Beverly Hills. Dr. Obagi is an internationally renowned dermatologist and skincare pioneer. Our Guide to Skin Care, Jen Adkins, recently had an interview with Dr. Obagi where she got the chance to ask him about the recent launch of ZO Skin Health.
Dr. Obagi's ZO Skin Health line takes the guess work out of skincare, and helps you win the fight against signs of aging. The really great part is that Dr. Obagi has a terrific selection of nighttime products so you can actually renew your skin and combat wrinkles while you sleep. The results can be seen in as little as six weeks, and it's well worth the wait. The really fantastic thing is that it doesn't matter if you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or older because Dr. Obagi's ZO Skin Health line will work wonders for everyone. To learn more about the products and get details on my six week trial, check out my reviews below.
