Monthly Archives: November 2008

Luscious Lips Need Good Care

Posted for Lip Care On November 24, 2008

Hi,

Lips are perhaps the most alluring feature on your face. And just as it’s important to keep your facial skin healthy and glowing, it is also essential to keep your lips supple!

The skin on your lips requires just as much nourishment and care that you bestow on your face. Your lips are just as prone to damage by environmental, physical and ultraviolet radiation. However, it can be one of the areas most neglected by women.

Soft and Supple
The skin on the lips is the thinnest and most sensitive on the entire body and they are susceptible to damage by environamental factors. The lips are smooth and supple even though there are no oil glands or protective covering. This also makes it more prone to dryness and flakiness. The Loss of moisture also subsequently results in chapping and cracking along the corners of the lips.

It is extremely important to keep your lips moisturized at all times. Use a good quality moisturizing lipstick or lip gloss as a protective shield on the lips.

Scrub for the Lips
Just like facial scrubs exfoliate the dead skin cells on the face, lips need to shed off dead skin too. It gets rid of the chapped skin on the lips and stimulates blood circulation. But the exfoliation process of the lips doesn’t have to be as stringent. Considering the fact that skin on the lips is more fragile and thin, use something especially formulated for the lips.

Lip Wrinkles
Lips often exhibit tiny clusters of wrinkles on them. They are especially prominent on smokers because of their constant puckering. These fine lines can be treated with an effective antioxidant treatment.

Also, don’t drink out of straws! It has the same effect because fo the puckering to sip from them.

Moisturize
Lip care is incomplete without moisturization. Apply ample amounts of lip balms to soothe the dry areas and hydrated them again.

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3 Beauty Ingredients You Should Avoid

Posted for Beauty On November 20, 2008

Hi,

The internet is sprawling with many sugar coated reviews about various skin care products that each one seems to be better than the other. It’s almost as if no product is bad.

How I wish that was true. Unfortunately that’s not the case!

Here are 4 commonly used skin care products that can actually do more harm than good. Read on…

Apricot Scrubs
Nothing sounds more attractive than a natural apricot scrub to exfoliate your skin! it might sound tempting, but the fact is apricot scrubs are harsh for the skin.

Actually apricot particles are not exactly round. They are more angular and therefore have rough edges. When you rub it against your skin, it tends to stretch and rip off the pores.

It’s best to stick to mild scrubs like Obagi Nu-Derm Exfoderm or Exfoderm Forte. They are superior exfoliating lotions that contains phytic acid that help to make the skin smooth and supple.

Benzoyl Peroxide
Benzoyl peroxide is perhaps the most popular acne fighting ingredient. It creates reactive oxygen species in the sebaceous glands and kills the P. acne. However, since it is responsible for forming free radicals, only use it on the area of damage.

Avoid cleansers and moisturizers that contain benzoyl peroxide.

Lip Gloss without SPF
Lip glosses can attract the radiation from the sun and penetrate deeper into the skin surface instead of reflecting radiation off your lips. This can hamper the production of collagen and elastin fibers resulting in wrinkles and fine lines. In severe cases, it can also lead to skin cancer.

To be on the safer side, it’s always better to use lipsticks or lip glosses that contain SPF and are able to shield your lips from harmful UV radiations of the sun.

As important it is to know what to use on your skin, it is also important to know what to avoid.

Best of Luck!

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Enemies Of Your Skin!

Posted for Skin Care On November 4, 2008

Hi,

Effective skin care habits require a lot of dedication and perseverance. There are certain habits that aid in nourishing your skin while there are others lead to its destruction. Here are some potential enemies of your skin that you should seek to avoid.

Alcohol
A couple of drinks after a day’s work may be a stress buster for you. But not so for your skin. The dehydrating effects of alcohol are known to damage the skin intrinsically and cause signs of premature aging. Alcoholics are the first to flaunt wrinkles and fine lines! Moreover, alcohol also causes vasodilation, a process where the blood vessels of the skin dilate and become red and irritated.

Caffeine
Nothing works better to keep you alert during the day than coffee! But excessive caffeine intake can lower the hydration levels of your body put your skin at risk of becoming dry and wrinkled. If you can’t give up your daily caffeine fix, make sure to follow it up with sufficient water intake.

And yeah… Don’t trust the so called coffee flavored energy drinks, because chances are they have higher caffeine content than a regular cup of coffee.

Saturated Fat and Trans Fatty Acids
Be it dairy products, coconut or hydrogenated oils; saturated fats and fatty acids stimulate the production of free radicals that fuel the process of skin aging. These fats are common place in drive-through and junk food stuffs. Excessive intake of these fats may lead to acne inflammations and blemishes

Cigarettes
Puffing away on nicotine may lead triggering of the premature aging process too. Nicotine clamps down blood vessels and reduces the supply of Vitamin C in the body!

So, now that you have identified potential harmful habits, you can work towards eliminating them from your routine!

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Why Do You Have Dark Circles Under Your Eyes?

Posted for Eye Care & Eye Make UP On November 1, 2008

Hi,

Eyes are the window to your soul. But nothing distracts the view as much dark circles under the eyes. They are not only unpleasant to look at, but also steal all the charm and grace from your eyes.

Here are some basic causes of dark circles:

Thin Skin
The skin under our eyes is is very thin and fragile. And as we age, it thins even more. The blood vessels underneath the skin become much more visible and give an appearance of dark circles under the eyes. Prolonged exposure to sunlight can accelerate the process and worsen the situation.

Allergies and Reactions
Another cause of under eye dark circles can be environmental allergies like dust, pollutants, and pollen. When you rub your eyes, bacteria on your hand can get transferred to the eyes causing irritation.

Also, avoid using skin care products near the eye. Most of them clearly specify that applying them near your eyes may cause allergic reactions and result in dark circles.

Genetic Factors
In some cases, dark circles under eyes are family tradition. Your gene code may be such that you inherit dark circles from your parents or grandparents. It is all the more evident in people with fair skin and deep set eyes.

Fluid Retention
Retaining fluids may make the blood vessels under the eyes to become puffy and develop dark circles. Fluid retention may be caused by excessive salt intake or smoking. The situation can be aggregated by heart disorders, thyroid, kidney functions or liver diseases.

Sleeplessness
Lack of sleep shows up the most on your face. The skin becomes pale and blood vessels appear more pronounced. Thus the appearance of dark under eye circles!

Iron Deficiency
Iron deficiency anemia can be a reason for the dark blue color under your eyes that appear as under eye circles.

Dehydration
No water, no health. Lack of water in the body makes the skin look pale and unhealthy. And without any water the skin shows signs of dehydration, one of which is under eye circles.

If you have dark circles under your eyes, check out all the above potential causes and make an alteration. Next time I will get you some tips and tricks to correct the dark under eye circles…

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