Health Living Tips

A good beauty regime is your first step to confidence and success today. A well groomed person is a pleasure to look at, winning the admiration and envy of many. Lovely hands with those beautifully turned out healthy looking UV gel-nails is one of the best grooming accessories you can ever hope to do to your nails and what more? They are now just a click and order away.

UV Gel-Nails are the latest most sought after nail fashion enhancement in the US and Europe today with the fashion conscious as well as with the lady opting for that everyday well groomed look. This is simply because gel nails look so healthy, shiny, and natural always.

Well, before the numerous benefits of UV gel nails can be listed out, it is important for one to know what gel nails are: These are natural looking nail enhancements you can opt for instead of acrylic nail extensions which are artificial looking, more prone to chipping, require high salon maintenance, and have been around for a while just because the newest alternative gel nails has not been completely understood and discovered.

UV gel nails are completely cured, odorless, premixed compounds which are in a gel like consistency. They can be applied directly on to your prepared nails and are cured in a period of 2 to 3 minutes under a UVA light for a permanent solution to all your bad nail problems.

Benefits of Gel Nails are:

1.    Gel-Nails are superior to acrylic and fiber nails as they are odor free, low maintenance, and definitely more natural looking and flexible. Unlike acrylics which chip and break and require salon visits every 2 to 3 weeks, UV gel nails give you the benefits on all the above counts, saving you time, dollars, and giving you freedom from unsightly nails permanently.

2.    UV gel nails are thinner, shinier, non- yellowing, and fix on better than acrylics. UV gel nails are non-porous, as a result of which your nails are protected from fungal and mould infections which are a probability with other nail enhancements or even your natural nails.

3.    UV gel nails are extremely versatile and can be used to sculpt onto forms, be used with acrylics and fibre nails for added strength, or alternatively for any repairs.

4.    UV gel nails are a perfect fit for those of you looking for a permanent, hassle free solution for your nails. They are perfect for your days in office, your long vacation, your honeymoon, or even the everyday grind at home.

5.    UV gel nails are available in a wide variety of types and colors, giving you a wide choice to decorate your nails with.

6.    As UV gel nails do not require glue for their application, they protect and maintain your nail bed from damages that may arise due to lifting and cracking.

7.    UV gel nails stay on longer than any other nail enhancement systems as well as your conventional nail polish. So no more wasting your time and energy to look beautiful.

8.    UV gel nails can be handled just like your natural nails. Gel nails can be cut, filed as you please without the fear of them breaking or shattering. UV gel nails are superior high quality and not prone to clean breaks or cracks unlike other nail systems.

9.    Should you decide to remove the UV gel nail enhancement, it is extremely easy to do so. Your nails need not be soaked in dangerous acetone for 20-30 minutes like it is done for acrylics. They can simply be removed by filing them off and it is far less injurious to your nail bed than acetone.

The benefits of UV gel nails are tremendous and should you opt for this choice of nail enhancement, be assured that Gel-Nails will meet all your expectations and more. In fact, you will go back to Gel-Nails again and again for the gorgeous looking you.

Find the solution to all your bad nail problems with our Gel Nails collection of nail products. Gel-Nails is the perfect place to shop around for your nail art accessories, kits, nail gels, and more to get you that eye catching look. We have attractive additions in our product line every week to get you the latest that’s around the corner. Get going now and dress up your nails with the very best.

Do you avoid the skin care cream aisle at the store? Are you stubbornly using the same skin care moisturizer cream from 5 years ago, simply to avoid shopping for a new one? It’s overwhelming to see hundreds of “the best…” skincare products to choose from.

How can you possibly determine which are rip-offs and which actually work? How can you be sure that the 3 oz bottle of skin care moisturizer cream (priced at $34.99) isn’t the same stuff as the $3.99 bottle of Jergens at Wal-mart?

I’ll make it easy for you. Here is a crash-course in skin care cream ingredients. I’ve listed 2 ingredients your skin is crying out for, and 2 ingredients your skin has nightmares about. With just these 4 tips, you’ll be able to weed out 95% of the thorns and come out with a rose.

2 Things Every Skin Care Cream Should Have

Babassu

Babassu is a natural wax that softens and soothes your skin. It’s important because it creates a moisture-barrier around your skin that keeps out dirt and grime, but yet allows the skin valuable “breathing” room. It’s a natural product that comes from the oil extracted from the Babassu palm (in the Amazon). Many manufacturers will attempt to save a dime by replacing Babassu with mineral oil (one of the 2 no-no ingredients listed below).



Vitamin E (in the form of natural alpha-tocopherol)

Vitamin E has a long-proven record of protecting your skin from damaging free radicals found in pollution, UV radiation, poor nutrition, and aging. The best form of Vitamin E found in your skin care cream should be alpha-tocopherol. Most skincare products (including the expensive ones at department stores) use a synthetic form of alpha-tocopherol. Besides being less effective in synthetic form, manufacturers will only put a dash in each skin care cream product (.1% to .2%), making it practically meaningless. It is also a natural preservative that prevents your skin care moisturizing cream from going rancid before you’ve finished using it. Again, many well-known skincare lines will use parabens to preserve their product. Parabens are NOT good for your skin! In fact, they are one of the two ingredients your skin care cream definitely should NOT have in it.



2 Things Your Skin Care Cream Should NOT Have

Parabens - (look on the label for methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl parabens)

These chemicals are widely used in expensive (and cheap) skin care creams to give the creams a longer shelf-life. They are super cheap and widely available. Some studies have suggested that they could cause cancer (particularly breast cancer) and affect estrogen levels over long periods of time.

Mineral oil - (also written on the label as liquid paraffin, paraffin wax, or petrolatum)

This petroleum by-product is super cheap and used by companies to coat the skin and “keep in moisture”. Unfortunately, it also keeps in toxins, encourages acne break outs, and strips away the natural oils that prevent premature aging. Even worse, any mineral oil derivative can be contaminated with the cancer-causing PAH’s. Stay young longer by avoiding products using mineral oil or other petroleum by-products.

In evaluating your skin care cream, keep this question in your mind: Could you eat your skin care moisturizer cream? (I’m not suggesting you do, just asking if you could.) If you recoil in horror from putting those ingredients in your mouth, why would you put them on your skin? After all, it’s going to be absorbed and enter your body just as if you had eaten it.

Crack open that cabinet and pull out your skin care cream. Flip it over and look at the ingredients label. If your skin care moisturizer cream is missing those two important ingredients, and if it uses mineral oil and Parabens instead, it’s time to find a new skin care cream.

You can spread effective skin care cream and eat it too. Synthetics not only damage your skin’s health in the long run, they are simply not as efficient in treating your skin in the long run. (But they are cheaper! This is why so many skincare manufacturers use them!)

Babassu and Natural Vitamin E are just the tip of the iceberg. There are a whole host of other ingredients that bring will bring out the best in your skin care cream.

Phytessence Wakame, Maracuja, and Crodamol OP come most immediately to mind. You can find out more about these amazing botanical ingredients (and where to find a skin care cream with them inside) at my website linked below.

 

How black skin care products work should be no mystery.  African american or black skin is really no different than white, tan or any other tone.  When it comes right down to basic facts: skin is skin.  Only with few possibly ethnic differences, all skin tones have the same skin problems. Let’s look at the ingredients that work and the ones to avoid.

Three Skin Care Ingredients to AVOID

1. Any Paraben (esp. sodium methyl paraben)

2. Any Petroleum Based Product

3. Chemical Bleaching Compounds

1. Parabens are mainly used in skin care products as a preservative.  They are unnecessary and potentially harmful.  Parabens have been found in patients that have breast cancer.  Sodium methyl paraben can cause skin depigmenting. To be safe avoid all words ending in paraben.  Read the label.

2. Petrolatum (petroleum jelly) is not skin friendly as it is often promoted.  It clogs the pores of the skin. Also it can result in hyper pigmentation of skin. Other related ingredients to strictly avoid are propylene glycol, wood-based alcohols, mineral oil and any petroleum-based product.  There are other safe ingredients you can use.  Keep reading.

3. Chemical bleaching compounds are dangerous.  They are sold to lighten skin but can do great harm. There are effective, safe ingredients that will lighten skin.  I’m coming to that in a moment.

Safe Skin Care Ingredients for ALL Skin

*Extra Pone Nut Grass

*Vitamin E (Must be natural vitamin E)

Extra Pone Nut Grass is a very safe and effective ingredient for lightening skin tones.  The nice thing about this ingredient is that it takes just a small amount to work.  Much better and safer than some chemical bleach.

Vitamin E (Natural) is a good antioxidant that battles free radicals that cause skin cell damage.  Vitamin E works well with hyper pigmentation of the skin otherwise known as skin spots.

Sebum - The Natural Moisturizer

Sebum is our skin oil that also is our skin moisturizer.  However, some of us have either too dry skin or too oily or some range in between.  So skin problems can vary from one person to the next. But skin problems in general have nothing to do with black skin or any other tone.  Skin is skin.  What the problem usually is, is the product being used on the skin.  Especially if it is petroleum based.  Petrolatum feels good but it can do a lot of subtle harm.  If you use a good moisturizer, like the one I use, you will have 90% of your skin problems solved.

Sebum comes from the sebaceous glands.  All skin regardless of the tone have sebaceous glands.  Some just produce differently in some individuals.  Sebum is the natural moisturizer for our skin.  Using alcohol on the skin can cause it to produce too much, resulting in oily skin.  Jojoba and passion fruit extract are two ingredients you will want  to include in your skin care regimen if you have dry skin.

Anti-aging Skin Care Ingredients

There are many anti aging skin care products on the market today that make false promises.  Many are just out to make a quick buck caring little about what it does to your skin appearance.  Remember this fact,  For African American Skin you DON’T need special ingredients to fight aging skin.  Let me tell you what you should do and what you need to get.

Be glad that you read this far.  Those that didn’t won’t know what you’re about to find out.

In my vast searching for some skin care products that really work I found one that I am ecstatic about.  The reason is that it is safe and it works on all skin types and skin tones.  It is called “Functional Keratin”.  When mixed with Wakame Seaweed (Japanese) CoQ10 and Vitamin E it produces new skin cells and fibers.  This results in a younger looking skin because of the skin firmness that is taking place. See my website for more information on this truly amazing skin care ingredient.

Free radicals are the culprit behind most skin care damage.  Antioxidants like natural vitamin E will help fight off these free radical rebels.  In conclusion, please avoid all paraben ingredients, petroleum based ingredients and chemical bleaching methods. Use the ingredients I mentioned in this article and visit my website listed below for more details.  Thanks, Margaret Bell.

 

How to keep your skin looking great!

Invest some time and care!

Everyone wants to have younger looking skin. Unfortunately, even the most expensive skin care products, with all their claims of ‘reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles’, can’t turn back the years. However, don’t despair! There are steps that we can all take to make sure our skin looks healthy and vibrant and stays wrinkle-free for longer. All we’ve got to do is invest some time and care in looking after it.

It is important to understand the basic function of our skin in order to look after it properly. The skin is our body’s largest organ and comprises three major layers:

The Epidermis: This layer has five sub-layers; the outer layer consists of mainly dead cells which are continuously shed and replaced by cells beneath. The epidermis is also responsible for ‘water proofing’ your skin, protecting your skin from potential invasion of microbes and generate new skin cells which move from the deep layer of the epidermis to the outer layer, where they are eventually shed.

The Dermis: Is the ‘middle layer of the skin and is composed of connective tissue containing collagen and elastin. The dermis is thick in the palms and soles and very thin in the eyelids. It contains blood vessels, nerves, glands, and hair follicles.

The Subcutaneous layer: This layer consists of areolar and adipose tissue. Fibres from the dermis extend down into the subcutaneous layer and anchor the skin to it. The subcutaneous layer, in turn, attaches to underlying tissues and organs.

Aging of the skin

There are several factors influencing how quickly our skin ages, ranging from genetic factors, your natural skin type, as well as external factors such as exposure to sunlight, environmental factors and whether you smoke or not. In general, pale skins wrinkle faster than darker skins, which are protected by increased amounts of pigment and lipids.

Another vital factor is, of course, our age. Our skin looks and functions very differently at 20 as opposed to when we are 60.

Below is a skin care plan of how to look after your skin as the decades go by and how to adapt your skin care regime accordingly.

Looking after your skin in your 20s

Your 20s is a great time for your skin. You’ve left behind the adolescence acne and your skin has a radiant, youthful glow and the epidermis is well toned.

However, this is not the time to be complacent. In your 20s skin cell renewal drops by up to 28 per cent, dead skin cells are not as easily shed and external factors are starting to have a greater impact, leaving your skin slightly duller.

According to dermatologists, 80 per cent of all aging can be directly related to exposure to sunlight. Therefore, it is a good idea to avoid the mid-day sun, or if you have to be out in the heat of the day (especially in countries like Australia), than cover up. Penetrating UVA rays will start to damage collagen fibres and elastin coils in your skin.

Smoking one factor you can control and now would be a good time to quite. Smoking inhibits oxygen getting to the outer layer of your skin and has a premature aging effect. In addition, smoking can cause fine lines around the mouth over the years and this is to be avoided – if you want to keep your good looks.

Looking after your skin in your 30s

By the time you get to your 30s skin cell turnover has slowed. Environmental damage from pollution, smoke and sunlight are starting to take their toll on the dermis, causing collagen fibres to loosen so that skin starts to loose its tone and develop fine lines and wrinkles. When you smile, subcutaneous fat forms ridges and refuse to bounce back as readily as it once did. Your first wrinkles may start to appear.

By now you should have established a daily skincare regime that involves exfoliating (two or three times a week), cleansing, moisturising and sun protection for your skin. In your 30s, it’s important to maintain a balanced diet consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and fish, which are high in antioxidants such as Vitamins A, B, C and E. These Vitamins counteract free radicals in your body that help the skin to repair itself, produce the enzymes that stabilise collagen production, and stay moist and healthy. For further protection, try using a day crème, such as one that contains vitamin E, for example: Wildcrafted’s Age Defying Essence.

Alcohol should only be consumed in moderation as it deprives your skin of vital nutrients and may cause your facial blood vessels to become dilated leading to permanent, red ‘spider veins’ on your cheeks and in men often across the nose.

Maintaining well hydrated tissues by drinking plenty of water each and every day (3 litres a day is not at all excessive) is vital to retain moisture in your skin. In addition, you should ensure that you get enough quality sleep.

Looking after your skin in your 40s

In your 40s, collagen fibres decrease in number, stiffen, break apart, and form into a shapeless, matted tangle. Elastic fibres lose some of their elasticity, thicken into clumps, and fray. The result is the skin forms crevices and furrows known as lines and wrinkles. In addition, loss of fat in the subcutaneous layer leaves your skin more fragile, whereas the dermis will continue to lose its elasticity. A rich nourishing night crème, such as Wildcrafted’s rejuvenating night crème, becomes a vital part of your skin care regime.

During this time the stratum corneum (the outer layer of the epidermis) starts to grow even thicker, as dead skin cells hang around for longer. If you are not already using an exfoliant regularly, now is a good time to get into the habit of exfoliating your skin regularly using a facial scrub – 2-3 times a week is all that’s necessary. You could also use a cream containing Rose oil, Jojoba oil or similar, as these contain natural AHA’s (alpha hydroxy acids) and to help remove dead skin cells.

As deeper wrinkles start to form, you may wish to use a complete skin care system, which systematically helps you to nourish and moisturise your skin on all levels. Choose natural skin care products for your daily skin care regime, as you do not want to introduce unnecessary toxins into your system by using products full of unpronounceable chemicals. Quality natural skin care systems, such as Wildcrafted’s range of natural skin care systems should be matched to your specific skin type.

Looking after your skin in your 50s and above

As we reach our 50s and beyond, the hair and nails grow more slowly. Langerhans cells (involved in the immune response, dwindle in number, thus decreasing the immune responsiveness of older skin. Decreased size of sebaceous (oil) glands leads to dry and broken skin that is more susceptible to infection.

In women, after the menopause, decreased oestrogen levels mean that skin lose its plumpness and tone, and it may be left dry, itchy and more sensitive to allergens.

At this stage in your life it is important to take that extra care of your skin’s health. Mature skin is more fragile, prone to injury and infection and bruises easily. As if this was not bad enough, it also takes longer to heal. Taking care of your skin will reduce the aging effect; keep it healthier as well as more resistant to injury and infections. Remember, a face that has a lived in look is much more attractive than a Botox face and character is much more beauty.