TAKING PROPER CARE OF YOUR SKIN

How many of you have woken up in the morning only to see a stranger in the mirror looking back at you?  Years of good or bad choices can contribute to the quality of not only your body, but your largest organ - your skin.  The epidermis - or outer layer of skin- can be the first sign of how well you take care of yourself.  As the evidence of our lifestyle choices will eventually show up in far more than our skin, it behooves us all to take the best care of our body and skin that we can.

If your motivation for good skin care is to look more youthful, than taking proper care of your skin will have the added bonus of creating a healthier body.  If you wish to reduce acne breakouts, then a slight modification of diet might be necessary as well. Whatever your desired skin result, your overall health will be much improved by following a few easy steps.

Your everyday decisions shape how healthy you and your skin will be - it is that simple.

Here are some simple tips for basic skin care and a healthier body:

• Keep your skin clean so that it can breathe
• Give your skin plenty of moisture to keep it looking young and healthy
• Feed the skin key nutrients that it requires to rejuvenate and repair itself repeatedly
• Rid only the top layer of dead cells to promote rapid birth of new cells
• Protect against outside elements to prevent deterioration and/or damage
• Live a healthy life style

Skin is a living, breathing organ that regularly moves thousands of layers of skin cells each day. The skin is comprised of three layers - the subcutaneous layer  - where fat cells are produced;  the dermis - where you can find sweat glands, nerve endings and hair follicles, and the epidermis - the final outer layer of skin where pores and oil glands reside.

When new skin cells are ready, they start moving toward the epidermis. This trip takes about 2 weeks to a month. As newer cells continue to move up, older cells near the top die and rise to the surface of your skin.  So what you really see on the surface of your skin are dead skin cells.

Keeping your skin properly cleansed and moisturized is vital to healthy, glowing skin. It is the basic of all skincare routines. Be sure to choose a cleanser and moisturizer best suited for your skin type. If you aren’t sure what that is, ask your friendly pharmacist or dermatologist for help. You skin can be acne-prone, oily, dry or a combination of the two. There are hundreds of specialized products out there to suite every skin type.

Feeding the skin means feeding the body. A good skin care regime will always include a healthy diet full of nutrients and vitamins. Whole, organic foods are best if you can get them. Leafy greens, fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains will keep your skin in top shape. Try to avoid junk foods or processed foods as much as possible. These foods rarely contain any real nutrition and can actually overload your skin with sugars and toxins to process.

A weekly light-exfoliation or facial scrub will do much to slough off the top layer of dead skin cells and reveal newer, healthier skin underneath. You can use a soft facial brush found in cosmetic counters, a rough washcloth or a light scrubbing pad as well as pre-packaged facial scrubs or facial masks.

Avoid Excessive Sun Exposure: While some sun exposure is necessary to produce vital Vitamin D, excessive sun exposure is very harmful to the skin. Without protection from the sun’s rays, more than 10 minutes of exposure each day can cause freckles, age spots, and spider veins on the face, rough and leathery skin, loose skin, a blotchy complexion and even skin cancer. If you must go outside, be sure to wear a good UV-blocking sunscreen like Zinc Oxide or wear protective clothing such as hats and long sleeves.

LIVE A HEALTHY LIFE STYLE

Although you have no control over intrinsic factors of aging, such as genetics, you are largely in control of the extrinsic factors.  This is where you can make life-altering choices.

Don’t Smoke. You cannot have truly vital skin if you smoke, period.  Smoking depletes your body of essential vitamins, which means you can’t have a healthy body either. If you do smoke, try your best to quit. Plenty has been reported and verified on the dangers of smoking and there are now numerous programs, patches and nicotine replacement therapies that can help you quit.

Exercise: Exercise gives you vitality. If you want fresh and youthful skin, physical activity is a must. It not only tones your muscles, but it increases blood flow to all areas of your body, especially your skin. Regular exercise reduces your stress levels, increases levels of oxygen circulating throughout the body, promoting rejuvenation and repair.

Avoid or Moderate Alcohol: Overindulgence of alcohol causes a decrease in the body’s level of vitamin A. This is a very important antioxidant vitamin that supports body and skin health. Alcohol also dilates small blood vessels in the skin’s surface, creating blemishes and red blotches. Drinking too much alcohol can exacerbate acne-rosacea. Due to the dehydrating effects of alcohol, skin wrinkles can occur after an extended period of alcohol abuse because the water in the body and skin is continually evaporated.

Reduce Stress: A good skin care routine and way of life can include meditation, yoga, relaxation, saunas, regular steams, exercise and most importantly, self love.

Get Plenty of Rest:  Lack of sleep shows up on the face in forms of dark circles, baggy eyes, and saggy skin. Research has shown that most adults function best with eight to nine hours of sleep each night. While we sleep, our skin gets a chance to rest and rejuvenate. Your skin truly does need its “beauty sleep.”

You’ve only got ONE body. Healthy choices that you CAN make every day will have tremendous effect on the quality of your life and health. The body has amazing repair capabilities, and once you stop or reduce toxic behaviors, it will be better able to heal itself.  Taking good care of yourself is the most important step in your skincare routine.

Author: Rachelle Dupree
Vivoderm Natural Skincare

The Best Medical Skincare Advice For You

It has been stressed so many times that you should not indulge in self medication but the advice seems to have fallen on deaf ears. There are lot many people out there who love to play and experiment with their skin without considering the slightest idea of seeing a medical doctor. Seeking a medical skincare advice is not the last resort, as it is supposed to be in most of the cases. This is in fact the first step towards skincare. It is obviously an expert who can guide you well on the proper usage of skincare products.

Now see, if you want your skin to remain beautiful, youthful and healthy all throughout, you need to practice a disciplined daily skincare regime. If you do not care for your skin on an everyday basis, you may have to land in a big skin problem. Some people complain of sudden acne outbreaks. These so called sudden acne outbreaks appear as a result of negligent skincare regime. If you pay proper heed to the demands of your skin, (facial skin to be more precise) your skin will not show up daily dose of skin problems.

There would be no need for you to consider anti aging formulae and acne remedies if you follow a persistent skincare regime. Only those people who are not very committed towards daily facial cleansing and toning face problems like premature aging. If you are sincerely committed towards daily facial skincare, you will not have to battle aging problems later in your life.

The best medical skincare advice is to indulge in regular facial skincare. It is also equally important to see a doctor even if you are battling minutest skin ailment. A timely appointment with a dermatologist would ensure that the problem does not grow further!

Skin Care Advice for Problem-Free Texture

The instances of premature aging are increasing among individuals. The main cause for this is increased stress levels and busy life styles. There should be something that can provide freedom from this situation. Even you must be having that thought in mind. After lot of scientific research, it has been suggested that such unhealthy skin conditions can be taken care of by using natural skin care products. These products are made from super ingredients of nature so that people can be provided with all skin nutrients.

Acne and aging are two main problems affecting not only ladies but also men. Even after use of too many expensive products, it is sometimes very difficult to cure them. For such a reason, natural skincare products are increasingly capturing the market share. Since these items are composed of all essential natural ingredients, they are truly mild on the skin. They are used to treat all kinds of skin issues like aging pots, acne, wrinkles, lines, pigmentation and inflammatory skin diseases. They cure skin ailments from deep within and make it completely hydrated. Your skin will feel nourished on first application itself.

Sometimes, however, there are cases which are too severe. It becomes extremely impossible to cure these skin diseases with natural homemade remedies. In such situations, it becomes immensely significant to go for a medical advice. Medical treatments play vital role in treating severe skin issues. There are possible treatments for toning skin, uplifting it and boosting its elasticity. These treatments must be adopted only for treating extreme cases. According to medical advice, most skin problems occur due to harmful skin radiations. So, it is important to apply sunscreen before stepping out.

You must go for a healthy diet and lifestyle in order to have a glowing complexion. The best way to have a glowing skin is by seeking proper medical advice along with application of effective natural products.

Proper Skincare

More often than not it is observed that women are more committed towards skincare than men. But lately, even the male fraternity seems to be getting aware of the need and advantages of proper skincare. The best medical skincare advice is available here. If you wish to be healthy and beautiful (of course you do!), it is very important for you to keep a check on what you choose to put in your belly. A rich, healthy and nutrients-full diet along with a proper fitness plan is the first step towards getting a beautiful skin. The next focus should be on proper and regular skincare treatment. The everyday dust that tends to accumulate on your skin gets to be washed away daily. By ‘washing away’, it is not meant that you suffice by mere washing of facial skin with soap and water alone. The sequence of washing, cleansing, hydrating and toning has to be followed at all costs.

Moving towards some general gender-specific medical skincare advice-

For men- While most men must be already following this, there would be many who must not. So, for the latter, it is important that they take care of the following simple points now on. Cleanse your face prior to shaving and hydrate it post shaving. Use a sunscreen to boot. Besides, every time you come back home from outside, wash your face no matter how exhaustive you may feel. Do not hesitate to see a doctor in case you feel from a skin problem. Rest drink, swim and sail in water!

For women- It will not be wrong to say that women need to take care of their skin more than men. Some women are too lazy to see a dermatologist in the event of acne break-out, psoriasis, eczema and alike. These problems if not dealt in time may as well develop into skin cancer!

Green Tea Studies Show Anti-Aging and Cancer Protection

What is Tea?

The beneficial properties of tea are attributed to polyphenols. The polyphenols found in tea mainly belong to the subtype called catechins. Polyphenols or catechins are better known as antioxidants that fight free radicals. Free radicals are damaging to skin and body by attacking healthy cells. Green tea has more catechins than black tea; white tea is almost as rich in catechins as green tea but is different in composition and less well studied.

So How Is Green Tea Good For My Skin?

There have been number studies of skin benefits of green tea. One of these studies show protection from skin cancer by demonstrating topical green tea formulations can reduce sun damage.(1) Another fascinating study in 2003 was conducted by Dr. Stephen Hsu of the Medical College of Georgia Department of Oral Biology. His findings determined green tea was able to rejuvenate old skin cells at the end of their life cycle.

A quote from Dr. Hsu’s paper explained, “…we report here for the first time, that at certain concentrations, EGCG or a mixture of the major green tea polyphenols stimulated aged keratinocytes to generate biological energy and to synthesize DNA, possibly for renewed cell division.

Therefore, green tea constituents may be useful topically for promoting skin regeneration, wound healing, or treatment of certain epithelial conditions such as aphthous ulcers, psoriasis, rosacea, and actinic keratoses.” (2) Dr. Hsu went on to comment he was “so surprised” to discover EGCG actually reactivated cells that had migrated toward the surface of the skin to ‘die’.

Green tea appears to manipulate sun damage protection by fighting free radicals and reducing inflammation rather than by blocking UV rays. Therefore, green tea enhances sun protection when used in addition to a sunscreen. To boost sun protection, apply a green tea formula under your sunscreen to elevate the level of sun protection. It is best to combine green tea with zinc oxide-based sunscreens because zinc oxide is chemically inert and should not react with green tea (which some chemical sunscreens might do, especially in sunlight).

Topical green tea is also very beneficial for sensitive skin types by reducing inflammation and irritation in the skin. Wrinkles, skin sag and other signs of aging have been shown to benefit from Green tea. The tea’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory polyphenols slow down signs of premature of aging

Green Tea and Pimples

A green tea and pimples study suggests it to be as good as benzoyl peroxide cream in treating acne conditions with fewer side effects. Scientific research has shown that green tea fights bacteria, inflammation and reduces stress. Perhaps it would be an excellent candidate for treating acne?

In the study, conducted by Dr. Jennifer Gan-Wong from the Memorial Medical Center in the Philippines, 108 participants were divided into two groups. One applied benzoyl peroxide cream and the other green tea extract cream twice daily for 12 weeks. Subjects were examined and photographed each week by dermatologists. The researchers noted the green tea cream seemed to lighten patients’ skin color and improve the overall appearance of their complexion.

The preliminary data suggests that green tea cream causes fewer side effects than benzoyl peroxide. Patients in the green tea group reported fewer cases of dry skin, itching and allergic responses.

Use green tea at home to boost your skins health, appearance and reduce signs of aging by freezing freshly brewed green tea as ice cubes and use them as a toner. Let them start thawing first before applying directly to the face to avoid irritation. You can also drink green tea or take green tea extract in capsules to benefit from the anti oxidant properties. The polyphenols will reach your skin via the bloodstream in sufficient amounts.

Using green tea in your skincare routine has definite proven benefits to slow skin aging, reduce acne and protect your skin from cancer among many others. Just be aware of the products you choose. Like most antioxidants, green tea polyphenols are oxidized and can lose their active constituents when exposed to air.

By Tiffany Oney and Rachelle Dupree

References:

(1) Green Tea Polyphenol Treatment to Human Skin Prevents Formation of Ultraviolet Light B-induced Pyrimidine Dimers in DNA (2000). Santosh K. Katiyar, Anaibelith Perez and Hasan Mukhtar. Clinical Cancer Research Vol. 6, 3864-3869, October 2000.

(2) Green Tea Polyphenols Induce Differentiation and Proliferation in Epidermal Keratinocytes (2003). Stephen Hsu, Wendy B. Bollag, Jill Lewis, Qin Huang,Baldev Singh, Mohamed Sharawy, Tetsuya Yamamoto, and George Schuster. Journal of Pharmacology And Experimental Therapeutics. First published on March 27, 2003; DOI: 10.1124/jpet.103.049734