HEALTHY SKIN

1. Skip the long, steamy showers and opt for shorter, cooler sprays. Long, hot showers strip skin of its moisture and wash away protective oils. So limit showers to 10 minutes and keep the water cool.
2. Check the dryness of your skin by scratching a small area on your arm or leg with your fingernail. If it leaves a white mark, your skin is indeed dry and needs both moisture and exfoliation (i.e., removal of the outermost layer of dead skin cells).
3. Treat your neck and chest like an extension of your face. Your neck and upper chest area is covered by very sensitive skin, making it a prime spot for telltale signs of aging such as dryness, sun spots and wrinkles. To keep this area youthful, use facial cleansing creams that hydrate and cleanse gently rather than deodorant soaps, which can be drying. Top it all off with a good facial moisturizing cream. If this area is extra dry, use a facial moisturizing mask twice a month.
4. Run a humidifier every night to moisturize the air in your bedroom. Not only will it ease itchy, dry skin, you’ll be able to breathe the moist air more easily.
5. Keep your beauty products clean and simple, particularly if you have sensitive skin. Stay away from products with colour, fragrance, or those that produce bubbles or have “antibacterial” on the label. These can all irritate skin.
6. For soft, young-looking hands and feet, slather on moisturizing cream and then slip on thin fabric socks and gloves while you sleep.
7. Tone your skin with a sage, peppermint and witch hazel combination. Sage helps to control oil, peppermint creates a cool tingle and witch hazel helps restore the skin’s protective layer. Combine 4 ounces of witch hazel with 1 teaspoon each of sage and peppermint leaves and steep for one to three days before applying to your skin.
8. Use a loofah daily to keep ingrown hairs and scaly skin under control. While in the shower, gently scrub bumpy or scaly skin with a circular motion to remove dead cells. For extra-smooth skin, sprinkle a few drops of an alpha-hydroxy product on the loofah before scrubbing.
9. Use unscented baby powder to keep areas where skin meets skin—like the inner thighs, underarms, beneath large breasts—clean and dry. This is important to prevent a common skin condition called intertrigo, which occurs when such areas remain moist, fostering the growth of bacteria or fungi.
10. If you’re gearing up for a day in the sun, steer clear of scented lotions and perfumes. Scented products can lead to blotchy skin when exposed to the sun.
11. Smooth aloe vera gel over extra-dry skin. The acids in aloe eat away dead skin cells and speed up the healing process. Cut off an end of an aloe leaf, split open, and spread the gel on the dry area.
12. Plunk your rough, dry elbows into grapefruit halves. First exfoliate your elbows in your bath or shower, then cut a grapefruit in half and rest one elbow on each half, letting them soak for 15 minutes. The acid in the grapefruit provides extra smoothing power.
13. Go for a run, ride your bike, work out in the garden on a hot day—anything that gets you sweating. Sweating is nature’s way of eliminating toxic chemicals that can build up under skin. Plus, regular exercise maintains healthy circulation and blood flow throughout your body, including your skin. If you’re exercising outdoors, though, remember to wear a sunscreen on your face that protects against UVA and UVB rays, or a moisturizer with sunscreen protection.
14. Switch moisturizers every time the seasons change. Your skin needs more moisture in the winter than in the summer. So the same day you bring those sweaters down from the attic for the winter, buy a heavier moisturizer. When you trade in the sweaters for shorts, switch to a lighter one.
15. Avoid these three skin destroyers: Smoking, tanning salons and sunbathing. All three will age your skin prematurely.
16. For double skin protection, apply a cream containing vitamin C to your face over your sunblock. The cream helps prevent facial skin damage, dehydration and wrinkles. Also try skin creams containing vitamin E or beta-carotene.
17. Use a spritzer with rose, sandalwood or bergamot essential oils mixed with water. These oils are great for hydrating the skin. To create a herbal spritzer, mix a few drops of essential oil with water in a small spray bottle and spritz on your face whenever your skin needs a little boost. Your skin is more pliable when it’s hydrated, so a spray helps stave off frown lines and general movement wrinkles. The hydrator also keeps pollutants out and keeps your skin’s natural lubricants in. An added bonus: Your makeup will stay on longer and look more natural.
18. Clean your face and neck with a natural cold cream and follow with a rosewater and glycerin rinse twice a day to remove skin-damaging pollutants.
19. Keep your hands off your face! Because your hands touch so many surfaces, they are a magnet for dirt and germs. Rub your eyes, stroke your chin, cup your cheek and you’ve transferred everything on your hands to your face.
20. Stop with one glass of wine or one alcoholic drink. Overdoing it enlarges the blood vessels near the surface of your facial skin.
21. Never rub your eyes—apply compresses instead. The skin on your face is extremely delicate, especially under your eyes. So use a very light touch on your face at all times. If your eyes itch, apply a cold compress or washcloth to the area, or try a cotton pad moistened with toner or witch hazel.

EXFOLIANTS: Scrubs and Chemical Exfoliants

 

Why You Need to Add an Exfoliant

Even if you cleanse, tone, apply a sunscreen in the morning and a moisturizer at night, there's still one thing missing that could make all the difference in the world to get you the skin you want: an exfoliant! 

 

Facial Scrubs and specially formulated exfoliants are essential for skin care routine.

Without question, a well formulated AHA (alpha hydroxy acid such as glycolic and lactic acids) or BHA (beta hydroxy acid, also known as salicylic acid) product is much more benefial than a regular scrub.

A Regular Scrub

Chemical Exfoliants

Regular exfoliation can help remove dead skin cells, help keep pores clean and improve blood circulation, which will give your skin a healthy, more youthful glow. Exfoliation also helps your moisturizer and skin care treatments penetrate better.

When it comes to exfoliation, you have several choices: 

1) You can make an appointment at a dermatology clinic or a trendy spa for a pricey skin-shedding regimen, or

2) You can buy top-shelf designer skin treatments that retail for more than $100 per tiny tube, or

3) You can spare your pocketbook by giving yourself an exfoliating treatment at home, using natural ingredients that you can find at your local supermarket, health-food store or even online. Some of these ingredients, in fact, are the same ones used in pricy, brand-name exfoliants. (Honey, lemon juice,yogurt, baking soda, ground fruits seeds and nuts, sugar, oatmeal, papaya, ground coffee, sea salt)

 

 

 

 

How Exfoliation Works

After an exfoliation treatment, new skin develops. Your new skin absorbs moisture more easily. Maintaining moisture helps slow the wrinkle process and produces a more glowing appearance.

When you gently get rid of built-up skin cells you can undo clogged pores, stop breakouts, smooth out wrinkles, even make dry skin become a thing of the past!

 

 

Exfoliation Scrubs 

Granules found in exfoliant scrubs vary in size. Scrubs containing larger granules may be appropriate for less sensitive skin, while smaller granules are more appropriate for sensitive skin. Equally important, people with skin disorders, including those with acne or blemishes, have to be extremely cautious when selecting an exfoliation scrub. Dry skin can also be irritated by exfoliation scrubs.

From natural substances such as botanical extracts and almond shells, to alpha hydroxyl acids, every ingredient works differently. Use caution when applying a particular exfoliation scrub for the first time. Some ingredients, though natural, may be too harsh for your particular skin type. You'll have to experiment and make adjustments until you find the right products for your skin.

 

AHA and BHA Exfoliants

There are two primary topical ways to exfoliate skin, either with alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), or with beta hydroxy acid (BHA). There is only one BHA (beta hydroxy acid) and that is salicylic acid, but there are five major types of AHAs that show up in skin-care products which are glycolic, lactic, malic, citric, and tartaric acids. Of these, the most commonly used and most effective AHAs are glycolic and lactic acids. Both of these have the ability to penetrate the skin, plus they have the most accumulated research on their functionality and benefit for skin.

What glycolic, lactic, and salicylic acids both do is "unglue" the outer layer of dead skin cells, allowing healthier cells to come to the surface. Removing this dead layer can improve skin texture and color, unclog pores, and allow moisturizers to be better absorbed by the skin. Both AHAs and BHA affect the top layers of skin, and they help to improve the appearance of sun-damaged, dry, and/or thickened skin.

 

Because AHAs and BHA work through chemical processes, they can penetrate the skin and produce better results than cosmetic scrubs, which work only on the exposed surface of the skin. And, there is no risk that AHAs and BHA will cause you to lose too much skin.  

 

What's The Difference between AHA and BHA Exfoliants?

Great question! When properly formulated, both AHAs and BHA are brilliant options for exfoliating the surface of skin, but each has its special qualities you'll want to consider when deciding which one to use:

• AHAs are preferred for sun-damaged and dry skin because they exfoliate on the surface of skin and have the added benefit of also improving moisture content. (8% AHA Gel) 
• BHA is preferred for oily, acne-prone skin and for treating blackheads and white bumps because BHA can get through the oil that's clogging your pores, normalizing the lining of the misshapen pore that contributes to acne. The BHA products are designed specifically for oily/combination skin, blackhead-prone skin, and for those with acne.

If your skin is sun-damaged and you're also struggling with acne or clogged pores, add a BHA product to your routine. If you'd like to use an AHA and BHA at the same time, that is an option, though not really necessary. Some people find they work well when they're applied at the same time, but if you want to give this a try it is best to apply them separately, one during the day and one in the evening.

How Do I Use an AHA or BHA Exfoliant?

• You can apply an AHA or BHA product once or twice a day.
• You can also apply either of these around the eye area but not on the eyelid or directly under the eye.
• Apply the AHA or BHA product after your face is cleansed and after your toner has dried.
• Once the AHA or BHA has been absorbed, you can apply any other product in your routine, such as moisturizer, serum, eye cream, sunscreen, and/or foundation.
• If you're using a topical prescription product (retinoids), or any of the topical prescription products for rosacea apply the BHA or AHA first.

 

Should I Use a Scrub to Exfoliate?

Scrubs are certainly an option for exfoliating your skin, but they have limitations you don't have to worry about with an AHA or BHA exfoliant. Scrubs only deal with the very top, superficial layer of skin while most of the unhealthy, built-up skin cells are beyond the reach of a scrub. What is most problematic is that many scrubs have a rough, coarse, uneven texture that can cause skin damage by tearing into the skin as it abrades away the surface, causing tiny tears that damage the skin's barrier. Scrubs often cause more problems than they could possibly solve.

If you do want to use a manual scrub, you can simply use a gentle washcloth with your daily cleanser, which works just as well to exfoliate the surface of skin as any cosmetic scrub you can buy. As a bonus, washcloths are softer (thus gentler) and of course they don't contain pore-clogging ingredients that oily, acne-prone skin doesn't need.

 

Is it Possible to Exfoliate Too Often?

Exfoliating your skin is great, but how often to use one that works best for your skin type takes experimenting. It is possible to overdo it, and your skin will tell you if you've gone too far. For some people once a day works best, for others every other day, or once a week. However, exfoliating does not negatively affect how healthy skin cells are generated in the lower layers of skin. If anything, exfoliating unhealthy dead skin cells on the surface of skin can improve collagen production, increase skin's ability to hold moisture, and allow pores to function normally!

Retinoids, Vitamin C and Glycolic Acid: How to Combine Anti-aging Products

Combining Different Antiaging Products

Tretinoin (retinoic acid) and Glycolic acid (AHA) are both powerful anti-aging skin care ingredients that make very noticeable improvements in the appearance of the skin by:

• Lighten age spots
• Smooth and exfoliate the skin giving it a more luminous character
• Work to reverse wrinkles by building new collagen just underneath the surface of the skin.

The ultimate anti aging skin care product combination is to use both of these and throw in a strong professional level vitamin C product every 4th day. Each of these ingredients works to rejuvenate the skin by a different mechanism, and thus combination therapy yields more age reversal that using just one alone.

Unfortunately, all these highly effective anti-aging ingredients are irritating.  Only people with really tolerant skin can combine tretinoin and glycolic acid therapy.  People with sensitive skin  have to pick either tretinoin OR glycolic acid.  People who can’t tolerate using tretinoin with glycolic acid can sometimes tolerate using just one of these ingredient with a topical vitamin C product.  This is because the vitamin C is not exfoliating.  Vitamin C is, however, irritating to exfoliated skin so it is still a little tricky.

The reason that it’s tricky to combine these wonderful and effective anti aging ingredients is that the glycolic acid and the tretinoin are both very exfoliating.  Exfoliated skin has a more refined and luminous appearance, but also  absorbs things faster.  Because the glycolic acid and the vitamin C both have an acid pH, they can be irritating to exfoliated skin.  In addition, tretinoin causes a ‘break in’ rash when a person first starts using it.  The skin adjusts in about a month and the rash typically goes away, but skin with retinoid rash gets really irritated from the acid pH of the glycolic acid or the vitamin C products.

GOLDEN TIP

When people want to try to combine anti-aging home therapy, the best way is to start on the tretinoin at night for at least 2 months. When the skin has adjusted to the tretinoin, add professional level glycolic acid during the day.

When the combination is tolerated and can be applied every day, then throw in the vitamin c serum.

To help the skin tolerate this powerful anti aging treatment, it is better to add an antioxidant cream.

Antioxidant Creams

 

Of course, any exfoliating anti aging treatment means that a person MUST wear a 5% or more microsized zinc oxide sunscreen every day, all year, regardless of their planned activities.  Because exfoliated skin allows more damaging sun rays to enter the skin, it is better to wear hat and try to keep the face out of direct sunlight as much as possible.  This is important for skin cancer prevention, and it’s also critical for "anti-aging skin rejuvenation" to be effective.

The combo anti-aging skincare regimen is:

Morning

1. Wash with a gentle cleanser 
2. Hydrating Antioxidant cream
3. Glycolic acid product or vitamin c serum
4. Moisturizer if needed (eg. A Daily Moisturizing Face Cream)
5. Sunscreen

Night time

1. Wash with a gentle cleanser as above
2. Hydrating Antioxidant Cream
3. Daily Moisturizing Face Cream of choice if needed
4. Wait 15 minutes then Tretinoin (begin every 3rd night and gradually work up to every night)

If a person cannot tolerate both tretinoin and glycolic home therapy, then they can combine tretinoin at night, Vitamin C Serum during the day and have occasional glycolic acid peels done carefully by a skin care professional.  

WARNING: The exfoliation achieved with tretinoin makes the peels tricky and the skin care professional needs to be experienced with this situation.  The risk is that the peel may be go too deep and injure the skin, potentially causing scarring.  

RETINOIDS: Anti-aging Vitamin A

Retinoid

Studies have shown that the vitamin A derivatives known as Retinoids (retinoic acid) unplug pores, help clear up acne, reduce fine lines, boost the production of collagen, lighten brown spots and freckles, and improve skin texture.

Before and After Using Retinoid Creams

The retinoids – which have even been shown to help treat precancerous skin lesions -- is sold by prescription only under names that include Renova, Retin-A, and the generic Tretinoin.

A retinoid should be the foundation of any topical antiaging regimen.

Men and women should make a retinoid part of their evening regimen beginning in their 20s.

The downside is that retinoids can initially cause dryness, flaking, and redness.

Dermatologists say that starting out slowly, applying a pea-sized amount of retinoid every second or third night, can help your skin adjust to the powerful ingredient.

Or consider an over-the-counter cream, gel, or serum containing retinol. This nonprescription version of a retinoid works more gradually and gently but is still effective in rejuvenating your skin.

Serum Containing Retinol

Vichy LiftActiv Retional HA

Bombarding your skin with lots of different ingredients can be irritating. What’s more, used in combination, some ingredients will cancel out each other’s benefits.

For example, the acid in salicylic or glycolic acid breaks down ingredients like retinol, hydroquinone, or Vitamin C. More is not necessarily better.

 

The products necessary for beautiful skin aren’t glamorous, and include a simple cleanser, sunscreen, moisturizer, and a retinoid or retinol.

Skin Benefits of Tretinoin (Retinoic acid)

1.  Increased collagen stimulation: Avoiding Wrinkles

Tretinoin directly stimulates collagen formation by inhibiting collagen breakdown.  It increases extracellular collagen formation by 80% in the papillary dermis when used for 1 year!  The clinical effects relate to smoother and softer skin texture with a decrease of fine lines and wrinkles. So, it is one of the best anti-aging cream we can find.

2.  Protection from sun exposure

Tretinoin prevents breakdown of collagen from ultraviolet exposure.  It is still important to sun protect with an effective sunscreen.  

Apply Retinoids at Night and Sunscreen in the Morning

3. Treatment for Acne

Topical retinoid medications are useful for treating blackheads and whiteheads by helping to open clogged pores. Examples of these are tretinoin (brand name Retin-A), adapalene (brand name Differin) and tazarotene (brand name Tazorac).

Before and After Using Tretinoin

4.  Improves Pigmentation

Tretinoin increases cell turnover thereby removing epidermal cells containing pigment (melanin) giving a less pigmented appearance.  This increase of cell turnover also allows better penetration of a topical bleaching agent (hydroquinone) when used in combination.

It is important to remember to clean the face 20-30 minutes before application of tretinoin since application while the face is damp will increase sensitivity.

The third generation retinoic acids are the newest additions, adapalene (Differin) and tazarotene (Tazorac).

Adapalene (Differin) has less retinoid dermatitis than tretinoin, but it works primarily for acne and does not help a lot for photodamaged skin.

 Tazarotene (tazorac) has similar results as tretinoin in that it helps improve wrinkling, pore size, textural irregularities and hyperpigmentation.

So my recommendation is to use a form of retinoic acid at night before you sleep. There are generics available for Retina-A (tretinoin).  Apply a thin layer of tretinoin to your face and neck to help stimulate dermal collagen and help with cell turnover.

From time to time, your skin will peel, in which case, skip one night and reapply the next night.  To some degree you can think of topical retinoids as your own chemical peel.

Home Remedies For a Beautiful Face: DIY Skin Care Products

Home Remedies for a Young Looking Face

A face is the mirror of a personality. People go to extreme lengths to gain that glowing skin and a beautiful face. They spend a lot on cosmetics to try and beautify the face, but if the results are too slow then they change the product or discontinue the treatment.

Try something which is easy to use and will also not result in any side effects. Here are some age old best practices to keep your skin as beautiful as a teenager.

   1) Take the juice of one lemon, 10 ml glycerin and 10 ml rose water—all the three in equal proportions.  Mix all the three constituents and keep it in a glass bottle. Apply this lotion on the face every night before sleeping. This mixture will remove the effects of pollution and stress, and will make your skin smooth and supple. Lemon juice has a property to clean the pores of the skin and that’s why it is especially effective for cleansing and pimple reduction.



          

2) Take three parts carrot, two part tomato and one part beet-- make a juice of the three together. Drinking this juice regularly for 15-20 days can make your skin free of wrinkles, marks, pimples, etc. and makes your skin beautiful. This can be replaced only by carrot juice or orange juice if other materials are not available though the above mixture is much more effective. Carrot juice also helps in acidity and removing stomach worms. Having this juice in the afternoon is best. It is better not to eat anything before and after the juice. You will see a splendid glow on your skin.

3) Mix lemon juice and rose water in equal parts and apply on the face with a circular and gentle motion of the hands. Wash the face with normal water after half an hour. This will help in the removal of pimples and any kind of a mark on the face.

4) Another method of getting rid of the pimples would be to rub the lemon peel on the face and washing the face with warm water. Excellent for oily skin.

Lemon Peel, excellent for getting rid of pimples and blackheads

5) Applying olive oil on the face daily helps you get rid of pimples, blotches, face marks and rashes.

Olive Oil

6) Take 5 very ripe medium size strawberries, 2 teaspoons of heavy cream and 1 teaspoon of honey.  Mash the strawberries with a fork. Add cream and honey şnto the mashed strawberries. Apply the mixture over your face and leave it for about 20 minutes. Rinse with water and you're done!

Strawberry Mask

7) Applying 3 teaspoon of yogurt with 1 teaspoon of honey will make your face super soft and smooth.

Yogurt and Honey Mask

Never forget: The nature’s medicines are your best doctors!