Tips on Overnight Skin Treatment

To maintain a healthful appearance, it's important to treat your skin properly at the end of the day. Follow these useful tips to be on your way to beautiful skin!

Here are some of the highlights of the proper night-time skin care:

Make sure to remove makeup! Clean your face with a gentle soap, as leaving makeup residue can clog your pores and lead to breakouts.

Moisturize - both facial skin and body. Apply lotion to freshly washed skin before going to bed. Moist skin absorbs your moisturizing lotion better. Make sure the type of lotion is appropriate for your skin type and the season.

Overnight is the perfect time to treat any breakouts you might have. After cleansing off all makeup, apply a small amount of spot treatment to the blemish and let the ointment do its work while you rest!

Wearing cotton gloves to bed - after applying a hydrating lotion - can keep the skin on your hands looking beautiful and smooth. You can use the same method to treat your foot skin by wearing socks to bed after applying lotion to your feet. Your feet will feel smooth the next morning.

These simple tips can help you in maintaining healthy and beautiful skin at all times.

Skin Care Terms - Explained

Just posted a new article on our website, explaining the most commonly used Skin Care Terms.
If you've ever wondered what all those terms mean on skin care products, this article is for you.

Here is a short summary on what we'll cover in this post:

Alpha and Beta Hydroxy Acids are commonly found in cleansers, exfoliants and lotions. They help remove dead skin cells. At-home peels with AHAs, such as glycolic acid, can decrease brown spots and smooth fine lines over the time.
Be aware that they also increase the skin's sensitivity to sun exposure, so make sure to use sunblock SPF 15 or higher.

Antioxidants are substances that protect your skin against free radicals - the molecules that cause your skin to age prematurely. Free radicals are generated by exposure to the sun and other environmental stressors.
One of the most commonly known antioxidant is Vitamin C.

Botanicals are plant-based extracts that have healing properties. Some of these botanicals are Chamomile and Fewerfew. They can decrease puffiness around the eyes and reduce redness.

Fruit Enzymes are used in cleansers, masks and more. These can slough away dead skin cells, decreasing dullness.

Peptides are the building blocks of proteins, which may be able to help stimulate collagen production and prevent breakdown - thus preventing fine lines - when applied topically.

Retinol is a Vitamin A derivative and it has been shown to prevent and improve the appearance of wrinkles. It's very sensitive to air and sunlight, so always look for products that come in a foil tube with a small mouth.

Proven Skin Care Tips To Keep You Looking Young

In our previous post, we’ve discussed the importance of a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced, nutritious diet, regular exercise, sufficient amount of water intake and reducing stress.

Other skin care tips include using jojoba oil or coenzyme Q10 to reduce wrinkles and protect your skin. Jojoba oil is a very versatile oil that can be used to reduce wrinkles, relax stretch marks, and provide moisture to dry, cracked skin. It is also very similar to some of the oils naturally produced by the skin, so it is tolerated well by the body. Jojoba oil is very high in vitamin E, which is known to be an antioxidant that can help protect the skin from damage.

Coenzyme Q10 is another popular anti-wrinkle ingredient. It is mostly used for its antioxidant properties, which protect the skin cells from free radicals. Free radicals are continually generated by the body’s metabolic processes and will break down the structure of the cell. Since they are always being created by the body, a daily antioxidant is necessary to keep free radicals under control.

By following these easy skin care tips, you will find yourself looking younger each day . Stay consistent in following them and look for anti-wrinkle products containing the ingredients listed above to make sure you are getting a quality product, that will help you protect yourself from the signs of premature aging.

Anti-Aging Skin Care - The natural way

Anti-aging skin care is a very popular concept in today’s world. Everyone wants to hide their age using anti-aging procedures. However the desired anti-aging results are not achieved by any magic potion. Anti-aging skin care is about being proactive and by thus, slowing down the aging process.

Here are a few tips for proactive anti-aging skin care:

1. Maintain healthy eating habits:
A well balanced diet is the key to maintaining a proper body metabolism. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables (raw), they are the best source of fiber and have a very refreshing effect on your body. Avoid oily and fatty foods; not only do they lack in essential nutrients but also cause obesity and other diseases which aid the aging process.

2. Beat stress:
This is probably the most important anti-aging skin care measure. Stress disturbs the body’s metabolism and accelerates the aging process. Sleep, exercise and a relaxing bath, are all good ways of beating stress. Aroma-therapy is also known as a stress-buster.

3. Drink a lot of water:
Anti-aging skin care can’t be any simpler than this. Water helps in flushing out the toxins from the body, hence keeping it clean and making it less prone to disease.
Around 8 glasses of water (per day) is recommended by all doctors.

4. Regular exercise is a essential to the success of your anti-aging skin care.
Besides toning your muscles, it also helps in cleaning the skin by flushing out the toxins in the form of sweat. Exercise should be followed by a warm shower in order to completely remove the toxins.

5. Avoid the use of strong, chemical based products on your skin.
Natural skin care products are a good option. Use of organic skin care products (home made or commercial) can be a very effective anti-aging skin care measure.
The only exception to this rule are the in-office chemical peels, but they must be administered by a licensed aesthetician and you should strictly follow their advice on the frequency of the treatments.

6. Do not overuse skin care products. Excessive and harsh application, both are harmful.

7. Do not ignore skin disorders; it can lead to permanent skin damage.
Try over the counter medication and if that doesn’t help, immediately visit your dermatologist and seek his/her advice.

8. Vitamin C based skin care products are very popular means of anti-aging skin care.
However, these seem to oxidize very quickly (which makes them harmful for the skin). So store them properly. If the product turns Yellowish brown, it means that vitamin c has oxidized and the product is no longer suitable for use.

9. Protect your skin against UV radiation; UV rays are known to speed up the aging process. So, a good sunscreen lotion should be a part of your anti-aging skin care routine.

Five Winter Super Foods - Not just for the cold days

1.	Dried Beans
2.	Cranberries
3.	Sweet Potatoes
4.	Broccoli
5.	Dried Fruits

Research shows benefits of cranberries

Cranberries are among the top foods with proven health benefits; these tiny berries are full of antioxidants, which protects cells from damage by unstable molecules called free radicals.

The National Institutes of Health is funding research on the cranberry's effects on heart disease, yeast infections and other conditions, and other researchers are investigating its potential against cancer, stroke and viral infections.

So far, research has found: drinking cranberry juice can block urinary infections by binding to bacteria so they can't adhere to cell walls. While women often drink unsweetened cranberry juice to treat an infection, there's no hard evidence that works.

A compound called proanthocyanidine, discovered in cranberries, prevents plaque formation on teeth; mouthwashes containing it are being developed to prevent periodontal disease.

In some people, regular cranberry juice consumption for months can kill the H. pylori bacteria, which can cause stomach cancer and ulcers.

Preliminary research also shows: drinking cranberry juice daily may increase levels of HDL, or good cholesterol and reduce levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol.

Cranberries may prevent tumors from growing rapidly or starting in the first place.

Extracts of chemicals in cranberries prevent breast cancer cells from multiplying in a test tube; whether that would work in women is unknown.


Benefits of broccoli

Broccoli has been around for more than 2000 years.

The name "broccoli" comes for the Latin word brachium, which means "branch" or "arm". Americans have grown it in their gardens for only about 200 years!
The first commercially grown broccoli was grown and harvested in New York, then planted in the 1920's in California. A few crates were sent back East and by 1925 the broccoli market was off the ground.

This vegetable is highly recognized for its anti-cancer nutrients. It is a cruciferous vegetable and member of the cabbage family which is helpful in preventing certain types of cancer.