Sunday, March 18, 2007

The Best Natural Skin Care Product For Dry Skin


Skin is not dry because it lacks oil, but because it lacks water. Symptoms most associated with Xeroderma (dry skin) are scaling, which is the visible peeling of the outer skin layer, itching and cracks in the skin. The good news is that today, there are several types of natural treatments to choose from for your dry skin.

Skin also harbors many nerve endings that provide the sense of touch and heat. Skin is considered one of the most important parts of the body. The skin is often known as "the largest organ of the human body".

The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. Epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin.

The skin loses moisture and may crack and peel, or become irritated and inflamed. Forced-air furnaces make skin even drier. Environmental factors such as exposure to sun, wind, cold, chemicals, or cosmetics, or excessive bathing with harsh soaps, can cause dry skin. Nutritional deficiencies, especially deficiencies of vitamin A and the B vitamins, can also contribute to dry skin.

Use as little soap as possible limiting its use to armpits and genitals. Drink plenty of water every day. Use a humidifier if the air is dry.

Eat at least one organic apple with the skin on every day. Consider taking cod liver oil or fish oil supplements every day. Concentrating on a diet of lots of fruits and vegetables (preferably uncooked) and no junk food, should give you an observable improvement within 30 days. Good skin is often a reflection of a good digestive system. Fatty acids are particularly important to people with dry skin.

Use bath oils and moisturizers, especially coconut oil, which is the best natural product fr dry skin, at least daily. Also use a thin layer of coconut oil under your make-up to moisturize your skin all day. Apply a thin layer of coconut oil and massage it deep into the skin. Apply coconut oil anytime to heal and soothe your skin.

Sunlight, water and air play an important role in keeping the skin healthy. The skin must be regularly cleaned or it'll become cracked or inflamed. The skin supports its own ecosystems of microorganisms, including yeasts and bacteria, which cannot be removed by any amount of cleaning.

Skin doctors are called dermatologists. Usually, these days, we can take care of dry skin without seeing our doctor, but sometimes we can't avoid it. See your doctor or naturopathic doctor if your skin doesn't improve in spite of your best efforts.

For more information on coconut oil treatment for dry skin and dry skin care treatments go to http://www.Best-Skin-Care-Tips.com Helen Hecker R.N.'s website specializing in care for skin conditions with tips, advice and resources for women, men, teens and babies, including information on the best natural products

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Making The Right Shampoo Choice For Healthy HairA good shampoo should cleanse the hair and scalp by removing accumulated sebum, skin debris, dirt and residues of hair-grooming preparations. It should leave the hair soft, shiny and easy to comb and style. A shampoo should also give 'body' to the hair, prevent 'flyaway' hair and help to improve damaged hair.

A shampoo should be easy enough to massage into the hair and scalp and also be easy to rinse off after use. It should nor irritate the skin or cause any damage to the eyes.

Most shampoos both cleanse and lather well but is there a connection between the two? Most people certainly associate a good lather with good cleansing but, in fact, there is no psychological value and by acting as a lubricant helps reduce the damage to the hair from the action of your finger.

In general, some people tend to wash their hair at least once every two days and in some cases everyday. Others, on the other hand, tend to wash their between three to six times in a month. The cleansing of the hair does not have to be as frequent as one might suppose if the hair is kept well brushed and combed.

Shampoos are available in a variety of forms and types including liquids, lotions, pates, gels, aerosols, and dry products. Shampoos are further differentiated by their specialized uses such as for particular hair or scalp conditions, age, sex, fragrance tints and colour. Everyday shampoos are formulated to be used everyday without leaving the hair too dry.

The frequency of shampooing is dictated by the condition of the scalp, a person's lifestyle, occupation and the area in which he/she lives. There are no maximum or minimum values for the frequency of hair wash required for individual hair. Only a trained hair expert can offer correct assessment of the number of times hair wash is required by a person.

The following may be used as general advice for different hair types:

Coarse, curly hair

Curly hair is almost always dry hair as the oils produced in the scalp don't travel as easily down the hair shaft as they do with straight hair. Creamy, moisturizing shampoos work best for this hair texture. Choose wheat germ oil, shea butter and nut oils in your shampoos.

Fine, oily, or limp hair is most susceptible to looking 'oily' and can get this way after only one day. Use a gentle shampoo for daily or frequent washing.

Processed hair

Adding moisture is key for colored, permed and relaxed hair. Wash hair every other day with a shampoo made for normal hair. Concentrate on cleaning the scalp. Then use a stron conditioner only on the midshaft to ends of hair.

Dry, damaged hair

Use shampoo that is smooth, detangle, and diffuse static.

Always remember

1) People with oily scalps should shampoo daily. Everybody should shampoo every two-three days. Make sure you cleanse the scalp and hair and try to shampoo after working up a sweat from exercise etc.

2) Seek a trichologist's advice as to which shampoo you should be using.

3) Dry hair but oily scalp indicates that hair is damaged or you suffer from zinc deficiency.

4) Dry scalp and dry hair indicate nutritional or hormonal imbalances. For example, a dry skin and hair may be associated with an underactive thyroid gland.

5) Use soft water for shampooing and hard water for drinking.

6) The moisture in hair is determined by humidity in the atmosphere.

For more health tips and beauty advice cosmetic products and makeup information, fitness tips and workout plans please visit http://www.time4tips.com


The Magic Of Botox TreatmentBotulinium Toxin Type A, or BOTOX, as it is commonly known by those who live and breathe it, is not a filler like collagen or fat. In actual fact, it is a potent neuotoxin derived from bacteria that is used in minute amounts to soften wrinkles known as ‘dynamic' caused by the contraction of a facial muscle. The aesthetic benefits of Botox were discovered quite anecdotally by an ophthalmologist and her dermatologist husbanc in 1988.

A wee bit of botox treatment does a really powerful job, but it is never permanent and has to be repeated every 3-6months. When it starts to wear off, muscle activity will gradually being to reappear, so you will not wake up one morning to all of your pre-Botox wrinkles lunging at you in the bathroom mirror. The goal of Botox is a subtle softening, not necessary the complete elimination of facial expression lines. Very small amounts of this precious solution are injected to paralyse the muscle.

A cosmetic surgeon who is adept at injecting Botox strives to utilize the least amount of toxin needed to get the job done. Accurate dosages and precise positioning of toxin is critical to freeze the right muscles just enough. Botox is too precious to be wasted.

Over the age of 30, there aren't many women or men who wouldn't benefit from a dosage of Botox treatment to their frowns and furrows. Botox injected into the glabellar region paralyses the muscles that enable you to frown. By relaxing these muscles, many doctors believe that you can actually slow down your brow descent and prevent the deepening of a glabellar crease. The theory in vogue is to start your Botox before your creases are so deep that they need to be filled up with collagen or fat in addition to your Botox therapy.

Botox weakens the facial muscles that create wrinkles and frowns when they contract. The injections take just minutes and are done in the clinic with nothing more than a local cream anaesthetic. Botox comes in a glass vial containing 100 units and is diluted with sterile saline before use. It may take from 2 days up to 2 weeks to have a full effect, and a touch-up treatment may be needed later if the muscles are still active. A small number of unfortunate women have muscles that are resistant to Botox and too many treatments with large amounts of Botox can cause you to produce antibodies to it, although it is rare.