Summer Make Up

Summer fun is calling you, but you want to have a carefree summer make-up vacation this year? In order to do that, you want to do the minimalist thing and opt for light, splashy colors that give you a lot of zing without all the heavy-duty make-up routines. If you want to do this, you have to take care to keep up some of your skin’s basic requirements while you adopt a newer, fresher summer lifestyle. Be aware that the additional sun, wind, and sometimes beach grit can beat down your skin, if not properly managed ahead of time.

Sunscreen and Make-up

One of the best things you can do to keep your skin in tip-top shape for the summer and for the rest of your life is to add sunscreen to your daily summer make-up routine. This means that before you apply your regular foundation, you may want to add sunscreen first and then wait for it to soak in and dry. Then, apply your foundation. Other people mix a foundation with a sunscreen and apply it that way. Experiment to see what works best for you, but don’t think foundation can keep the sun from burning your skin or prematurely aging it – it won’t.

Want the Tan?

Summer make-up is great for faking a tan. You can get bare minerals a few shades darker than your normal skin and powder on a tan. It has the advantage of giving you that fresh glow without paying for it later in age spots and wrinkles. There are so many products available now to fake a decent tan, some summer make-up and others artificial tan creams and sprays, that there’s no reason now to up the risk of getting skin cancer later by indulging in a natural tan.

Sparkly, Pastel, Colors

Summer make-up is not only light in application, but color too. You want light pastel shades that echo the summer environment. You should change out your make-up every season, including summer make-up. This updates your wardrobe and gives you a whole fresh look for a very minimal cost investment. If you really want to get a sparkle, you can use glosses and shimmers to give an even more festive look to your summer make-up.

Mascara for the Summer

Mascara is one of those make-up products that can be great when used properly. It can be ruinous if you go swimming and it runs or it melts in the noonday sun. Summer make-up has unique temperature and humidity requirements. If you are going to use mascara in the summer, you might want to see how well in stands up to a scorching summer day on your own, before you wear it to a social event.

Summer Make-Up For Feet

Admit it, the best part of summer is wiggling your toes in the naked breeze. Well, that’s also the reason you want to make sure you stock up on foot summer make-up like great nail polish and foot care products. It can add a bit of extra charm to your whole summer outfit.

Believe it or not, nail care is seasonal. Nails tend to grow longer and faster in the summer than the winter. This could be from the influx of more nutrients with a summer diet. Whatever the reason, they require more care and attention to make sure they are kept well manicured and presentable. Even office professionals know that well-manicured nails provide a boost to one’s image. If you want to grow your own nails for a polished look this summer, then here are some nail care tips to follow.

Eat Healthy

Like hair, nails are very susceptible to your diet. They respond well to a diet rich in vitamin B, folic acid and biotin. Foods that contain these elements are broccoli, whole grains, citrus fruits, peanuts, and fish. If you want your nails to be glossy, eat more fatty acids that come in foods like salmon and flaxseed oil.

Try A Natural Manicure

Instead of using polishes, you can give yourself a natural manicure. Just keep the nails trimmed and shaped nicely and buff the outside fingernails to a beautiful natural sheen. It keeps your nails fresh and also makes them look manicured, when they are not.

For A Polished Look

Most people want great nails so they can show them off with nail polish and nail art. There’s nothing wrong with that, except there are some options that are better than others. Many nail polishes contain toluene or formaldehyde and can be harsh on the nails, not to mention your respiratory system. If you are trying to reduce the number of potential chemicals you are exposed to, try to find nail polishes that are toluene or formaldehyde-free. There are some nail polishes being sold today that are based on soy or corn oils instead.

When It’s Time To Remove The Polish

Acetone is what is normally used to remove polish. This is another very harsh chemical that is used to strip the polish from your fingers. You can also find polish removers now that are acetone-free. It takes a bit more persistence to find natural products that don’t rely on harsh chemicals to work, but it’s worth it in the long run to maintain good nail care health.

Moisturize, Always

Whether you choose to use the natural products or remain in the chemical zone, your nails and your hands need natural oils to stay in good shape. If you are using a lot of nail or hand products, or even washing your hands too often, then you will be stripping those natural oils away. When you are done doing your manicure, or just as a daily nail care routine, don’t forget to moisturize your hands and provide the environment where they remain supple and strong. You can use herbal oils to moisturize your nails, or buy natural products that have a touch of aromatherapy in them to lighten your spirits. Wouldn’t it be great to have a manicure and love the smell of your hands afterwards, for a change?

Black skin care has specific needs. Black skin needs deeper moisturizing than light skin. It can be prone to acne and yet be difficult to treat because of the possibility of scarring. Treatments that fair-skinned people use may not be recommended for black skin care, like certain laser treatments or facial peels. If you understand your skin’s specific needs, you can lessen the chances of buying products that are not especially designed for your ethnic group. Black skin care doesn’t have to come labeled, but it does make it easier. Without those labels, you have to know what to look for in a product to see if it is right for you.

Heavy Moisturizing

Moisturizers that are out today are petroleum-based. The problem with petroleum-based products is that they don’t go under the surface layer of the skin to moisturizer. Often, they stick to the surface layers, producing some relief but requiring you to re-apply the product every so often. In addition, some of these products even dry out your skin more. This can be very damaging for people with black skin who require heavy moisturizing to keep their skin supple.

Try to find black skin care with natural oils. Find the oils that seep deep into the skin like avocado and olive oil. They may not be as greasy as other oils, but they are easily absorbed into the skin.

Acne-Fighting Products

Stay away from chemical peels that might lighten and scar your face. Benzoyl peroxide is a great acne-fighter, but it can also bleach the skin. It can still be used in lower concentrations, but be careful you don’t cause uneven discoloration. The heavier concentrations can also cause severe dryness, something you don’t want with black skin care. If you are fighting acne and you want something specific for black skin care, go to your dermatologist. They can recommend topical antibiotics that won’t discolor the skin as they treat the acne.

Other Products

Don’t forget that other products can interact with each other in your black skin care routine. If you use a hair gel, this can come off on your skin and clog your pores. It hardly helps if you are trying to fight acne while causing more with other products.

Keep in mind that you do need sunscreen, even if you are black. If you are pregnant and getting pregnancy mask, as more black women do, there’s even more reason to have a sunscreen. The pregnancy mask will darken with the more sun exposure you get.

When considering facial treatments at a spa, ask if they know how it affects black skin specifically. Laser resurfacing is a good way to even out the scarring of acne, unless you are black skinned. Then, some lasers are good and others cause more scarring. Make sure the professionals you are dealing with understand the differences between the procedures when used with dark skin as opposed to light skin. The more you know about a product or procedure, the less likelihood you will spend your money for nothing or suffer possible scarring or side-effects from the product or procedure.

Sauna has been around since the time of the Roman Empire. The laconicum was probably the predecessor the modern day sauna. It used dry heat to help the Romans relax and purify their bodies. The importance of a sauna bath has persevered even in modern day culture. Now, we know more about why a dry sauna bath can be an excellent way to increase health and vitality. Besides reducing muscle tension and pain, saunas are known to increase blood circulation and help with respiratory issues too. It has long been suggested that sitting in a sauna can help the body purify itself by releasing toxins stored in the skin.

Increasing Blood Circulation

The importance of a sauna bath in increasing blood circulation is its primary benefit. The increase in body heat can cause the heart to beat faster. It’s estimated the heart can beat 75% faster when in a sauna, similar to some types of exercise. With the increase in heartbeat comes an increase in blood circulation.

Reducing Muscle Tension

The heat of the sauna can help ease the muscles and reduce muscle pain. It can even work with arthritis pain. The environment in a sauna room can promote a bit of mindfulness meditation that can de-stress not only the muscles, but the mind as well. The sensation of relaxation is enough to make a people come back again and again for a sauna bath.

Respiratory Issues

The sauna is well known for treating respiratory issues. It can treat sinusitis, laryngitis, and forms of chest congestion. Smokers can benefit greatly from doing a sauna treatment. To increase the benefit to the respiratory system, one can add herbal essences to the sauna to help open airway passages. Some people suggest eucalyptus, but this may be a bit too strong. Peppermint is another herbal essence that cannot only help the nervous system relax but also opens airway passages. Be sure that whatever herbal essence you add, that you do not have an allergic reaction to that substance because the sauna will increase your exposure to it.

Cleansing Toxins

Sauna treatments greatly affect the tone and health of the skin. It is suggested that toxins stored in the muscles and the skin are released with a sauna treatment. The act of perspiring helps to take out toxins. The hot air can help to clear the pores and give the skin a healthy and glowing appearance. For that reason, a hot sauna is often used as a beauty treatment as well as a way to make the body healthy and strong.

Additional Importance Of A Sauna Bath

Finally, like an artificial fever, a sauna is suspected of triggering the body’s immune system. You can increase not only your red blood cells and antibodies, but it can also speed healing. With better circulation and more blood getting to injured areas of the body, they heal faster and better. Saunas can also be recommended for people who have sports injuries to help them heal naturally in record time.

If you’ve noticed that your skin tends to get irritated easily, it might be due to a high degree of skin sensitivity. People with very fair complexions and thin skin sometimes suffer from skin that is too sensitive. It can overact to sun, wind exposure, temperature, chemicals, and even some natural ingredients. No one knows why some people are more sensitive than others to environmental factors, but it’s probably somewhat hereditary. If you know you have skin reactions to things that don’t bother other people, then you should take measures to reduce your skin sensitivity.

Remove The Stressors

You will want to protect your skin from excess environmental exposure. Too much heat, cold, sun, or wind, can make your skin blotchy and red. Always use sunscreen with SPF and with UVA protection too. Wear hats, scarves and other elements of clothing to protect your from cold, wind, and too much sun.

Try to use natural products that you can handle. Some people are even allergic to herbal oils made with peppermint and other herbs. If you aren’t sure, test it on a small patch of your skin before committing to use a product that might contain an ingredient that is not good for your skin. Avoid all artificial and petroleum-based cosmetic products. If your skin balks at the natural products, it will most likely fail with the commercial products that are petroleum-based.

Avoid wearing jewelry that is not gold. Many people with sensitive skin have contact dermatitis and cannot wear certain metals. To be on the safe side, your jewelry should be gold and never nickel-plated.

Put Up A Barrier

There are barrier creams now coming on the market to help people with sensitive skin. They are sometimes called skin shields or liquid glove creams. They work by setting up a barrier to environmental allergens that can cause a reaction in people with sensitive skin. Just be sure you aren’t allergic to the cream itself before you lather it all over your hands or any other part of your body.

Check All Your Skin Care Products

If you know you have sensitive skin, it’s time to clear out your bath and cosmetics drawers. You want to check all the products that you use for personal hygiene or beauty to make sure they are causing you discomfort. You will need to either eliminate them all together or substitute them with products that are especially made for sensitive skin. This includes facial cleansers, soaps, hair care products, conditioners, make-up, perfumes, and shaving lotions. Even your deodorant and toilet paper can cause a reaction, if you have sensitive skin. When you are dealing with sensitive skin, anything that you handle can cause an allergic reaction. Try to keep to natural products that don’t have excessive perfumes or oils. Keep your skin care routine simple and effective with all natural ingredients and use protection when you are outdoors. It may seem a bit much, but the less you are exposed to allergens, the more comfort you will have. Your skin will appear healthier and you will feel better too.

How To Get Rid Of Acne Scars

If you weren’t able to find something effective to treat your teen acne, you may not be suffering with some acne scars. These can be emotionally upsetting and disfiguring. There are options out there to help you get rid of acne scars. Some are a bit more expensive than others, but at least you now have choices you didn’t have before. There are natural treatments and ingredients that can help you treat your acne scars and they have few to little side effects.

Home Treatments

In order to get your skin tone to be more even and with less visible pitting, you will have to remove some of the top layers of the skin to expose the baby skin underneath. This actually is not a painful procedure and can be done very easily and naturally at home. If you want to know how to get rid of acne scars using natural products, this is the way to go. Use chemical peels based on alpha hydroxyl acids that are acids that come from fruits. They come in different strengths and to get a very strong chemical peel you will probably need to go to a dermatologist or health spa certified to use more intensive peels.

There are multiple types of chemical peels. Whatever you choose will require a little perseverance. The damage you got on your skin didn’t appear overnight. Don’t expect it to disappear overnight either. It will take several months of using the peels to see a difference in the skin’s appearance.

Creams

There are natural skin creams that are credited with helping people with acne scars. Rosehip seed oil is supposed to work well, but it might be due to a high concentration of vitamin C. Other herbs that are purported to help reduce acne scars are: lavender oil and aloe vera. Another natural product, which is great for scarring from acne or burns, is called Mederma. Some of these creams work best after the acne has just subsided and the scars are still fresh. Be careful combining them with your acne treatments if you are still experiencing breakouts.

Shelling Out The Big Bucks

If you want to know how to get rid of acne scars the conventional way, you will have to shell out some big bucks. You will have plenty of options though. You can remove them through dermabrasion, collagen injections, and laser resurfacing. These treatments may not be available to everyone as they can affect dark-colored skin and lighten it unevenly. You have to check with your dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon if you have sensitive skin or darker skin that might be damaged with these procedures.

The treatments do leave the face red and often need to be repeated until the desired results are achieved. It can lengthy, expensive, but also very effective for some people. Cosmetic treatments are usually not covered by insurance and there are no guarantees on the final results. As always, be sure to research a particular treatment before undertaking it with any doctor or cosmetic surgeon.

What do your hands say anything about you? A person’s health and age can sometimes be betrayed by the look or feel of their hands. Whether you are a busy businessperson who shakes hands all day or a stay-at-home parent who spends days cleaning, you want your hands to stay in tip-top condition. Besides our faces, our hands are the most exposed part of the body and when you are presenting yourself to the world you want them to say that you are a healthy, vibrant, and clean person.

In other to tell what do your hands say about you, you need to know what signs to look for. Here is a list of some potential tip-offs:

Brittle or cracked nails – What do your hands say anything about weak nails that seem to break or crack at the slightest pressure? This is an easy issue to take care of. You need to get into the habit of moisturizing your nails and hands. This can help with the look of the cuticles, the nails, and the skin all at once.

Scaly, rough skin – This type of problem can be due to many factors: environmental, dietary, poor hygiene or beauty care, or even a skin disease like eczema. In order to tell what your particular issue is, you have to begin by ruling out things that can have an adverse effect on your skin. If you are moisturizing daily, check to make sure the moisturizers are not petroleum-based. These can cause additional dryness. You want to be sure that if your work requires significant hand and skin irritation that you wear gloves and moisturize daily. You want to keep your beauty care natural and avoid too many manicures that can end up dehydrating the nails and skin. You want to maintain a healthy diet too and check-in with your doctor if the condition persists.

Nails that fail to grow – Maybe you admire those models with perfect nails and hands. Well, besides getting plastic nails, you can grow them yourself. It is important that you do eat a diet high in protein if you are trying to get your nails to grow. Healthy nails grow 1/8 of an inch per month. It can take up to three months to grow a new nail. So, be patient if growth is what you are after.

Fragile nails – You can try to supplement your diet, if you notice that your nails are fragile. Besides a high protein diet, you can add calcium and biotin supplements. Both of these are said to promote hair and nail health.

Age spots – These discolorations show up after you hit a certain age. Exposure to the sun can hasten their appearance. You will want to use sunscreen when you are out and then try something to fade the spots, if they continue to appear. Tea tree oil is a great natural product that fades age spots over time.

Now do your hands say anything about you? Hopefully, with a good health routine, proper diet, and beauty products, your hands can say nice things about you. Who knows, taking a few years off your hands might make you feel younger and healthier too.

If you are in a profession that requires you to stand on your feet all day, you know that foot care is essential to a happy lifestyle. However, everyone could stand to pay a little more attention to foot care throughout their lives. Taking care of your feet can give you endurance and keep you from being embarrassed when warmer weather comes around. At that point, you want your feet to look their best as summer heat can make it practical to wear open shoes for comfort as well as beauty.

The time to start taking care of your feet is now. Even if it’s the dead of winter, you can take steps to make your feet presentable for summer, long before it hits. Part of this process is learning to pay attention to your feet and including them in your daily health routine. Implementing and keeping a routine goes a long way to taking care of your feet with a minimal of fuss and bother.

Tired Feet

If your feet are tired, this is an indication that you need to either change your work routine, and/or change your footwear. Some people have fallen arches that make it very trying for them to stand for long periods of time. It can affect their posture and even make people prone to degenerative diseases.

Find special footwear that supports the arch of your feet. Avoid shoes that have high heels or make your toes feel bound and wrapped too tightly. If you must wear shoes, use athletic shoes with good supports. If you can spend some time walking barefoot each day, some natural practitioners believe this is the best solution for flat feet.

You can also help reduce the stress on your feet by treating them to a foot soak. You can get some with anti-fungal oils or relaxing scents like lavender or peppermint. These soaks not only help to elevate your mood psychologically, but also they can help soften dry, dead skin and calluses and thus prepare you for the next step in foot care.

Removing Dead, Hard Skin

If you haven’t had a foot soak, you can always moisturize or exfoliate first to soften dead skin. You reduce the possibility of painful feet by taking care of your feet. A buildup of dry, hard skin can lead to corns and calluses, which can become painful over time. The first line of defense is to remove the dead, dry skin by softening it and pumicing the foot in areas where it needs to be removed.

Fungus

Keeping the feet dry can eliminate the build-up of fungus. However, if you have dry skin and fungus then you might want to consider anti-fungal oil like tea tree oil. This will provide the moisture your skin needs while treating the fungus. Otherwise, an anti-fungal powder can work just as well.

Taking care of your feet is about learning how to avoid bad habits like improper footwear and maximizing good habits like a good health and beauty routine. Your feet will thank you and you will feel more energetic with this additional attention that can take only a few minutes a day.

How Laser Skin Resurfacing Works ?

Laser resurfacing is the technique using laser surgery to remove acne scars, spider veins, wrinkles, and to tighten the skin after liposuction. It works by removing the top layers of the skin to reveal better quality skin underneath. There are a number of different lasers used for laser resurfacing. This is a treatment that should be done under the supervision of a cosmetic surgeon for the best results. There can be complications or scarring, if the laser is too harsh for your type of skin.

Laser resurfacing does work for wrinkles by evening out the surface topography of the skin. However, it may take several treatments to reduce very heavy wrinkles. If you opt to try to treat heavy wrinkles with a more intensive laser treatment, you raise the risk of scarring. Therefore there are definite trade-offs as to how deep the laser can work and how long it will take to heal and the potential for scarring.

Not all people can even take advantage of laser resurfacing. Darker skinned people with more melanin in their skin may find that instead of helping their skin it can produce uneven pigmentation in the skin. For that reason, darker skinned or olive complexioned people need to be particularly careful of the cosmetic surgeon they pick to do this procedure. The results will be directly affected by the experience of the cosmetic surgeon, how many people they’ve treated with a similar skin type, and their knowledge of the risks involved. In this case, it pays to check out the plastic surgeon’s credentials and see a few of the results from past patients with similar skin type.

Laser resurfacing does need about two weeks to heal. During that time your face may be red, oozing, and sensitive. You won’t be allowed to wear any make-up or cosmetic products during the healing period. There is pain associated with laser resurfacing. Painkillers are prescribed for the first 1 to 4 days. Even after healing, the red “burn” of the laser resurfacing process may take more time to fade. However, the good news is that the longer it takes to fade the better you will look afterwards. You will be required to wear sunscreen for three to six months following the laser resurfacing procedure. Although the treatment may seem like a quick fix, it can take months for it to really settle in. During that time, you will need to be particularly vigilant to keep the face free of infection and sun exposure.

Procedure Cost

Laser resurfacing for cosmetic purposes is not covered by insurance. The procedure can run in the thousands of dollars and will most likely need several sessions. If you have severe acne scars, this is definitely a treatment that has been shown to produce dramatic results. For wrinkles, it might be more costly than other procedures and have a higher risk too. You can reduce the cost and the risk associated by discussing the different types of lasers and treatments available with your cosmetic surgeon.

Just because summer is here doesn’t mean the skin care routine ends. In fact, you need to be especially careful to have a summer skin care routine that fits your specific needs, your location, and your wallet. While the winter months might have been all about dry skin, there are many different conditions you are treating with your summer skin care products.

Sunscreen

The number one summer skin care problem is too much sun. Excessive sun exposure can cause anything from skin cancer to premature aging of the skin. It’s very easy to lose track of time and then you are laid out at home with a very serious burn that could have taken only minutes to prevent with the proper use of summer skin care products. If you have very fair skin, sunscreen summer skin care products are the number one priority in your summer skin care routine.

That Healthy Glow

There are some people out there that are blessed with skin that gets a beautiful healthy glow, instead of burning when exposed to the sun. Maybe you don’t want to give up that fabulous tan just because everybody recommends sunscreen skin care products. It still pays to protect your skin from overexposure to the sun if you want to prevent premature aging with wrinkles and liver spots later. The nice thing is there are so many different make-up bronzers and artificial tanners that give you a similar look without risking your skin.

Acne Flare-ups

If you have oily skin, the heat of the summer can make your pores go into overdrive. Part of your summer skin care routine should involve using an astringent or toner twice a day to remove excessive oil buildup that clogs pores. If you are on prescription products like Retin-A, be particularly careful of sun exposure because some acne creams can sensitize your skin and make it burn easily.

Keep Moisturizing

Even though winter is over, you can still suffer from excessive dryness – especially if you are a beach bum. The wind-swept beaches can easily suck the moisture out of your skin at a fast rate. If you have dry skin to begin with, you want to add some light natural oils to your summer skin care. Natural oils like olive, avocado, or almond oil hydrate the skin even beneath the surface layers. Don’t forget to include Chap Stick for the summer skin care of dry lips.

Change Your Make-Up

Toss out the old make-up that you used in the winter and start out new with summer skin care make-up. This not only puts a little variety into your style but also makes allowances for the change in seasons. It also gives you the chance to keep up with the season’s styles and not look so outdated. Remember that summer skin care can be fun and flirty as well as serious. Keep an eye out for summer skin care products that both make you smile and keep you healthy for years to come.