Beauty Care Manual » Skin Care

Exfoliators & Scrubs

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:00:32 +0000

EXFOLIATE FOR EXCEPTIONAL SKIN

If left on the body, dead skin cells flake, dry and peel quickly, so the best way to keep skin looking smooth, vital and evenly colored is to scrub away those dead cells with a shower scrub.

MAKE YOUR OWN

For a super-smoothing skin exfoliant, massage a handful of Epsom salts with a tablespoon of olive oil over wet skin to cleanse, exfoliate and soften the rough spots. Rinse off well for a polished finish.

EXFOLIATE WITH CARE

Don’t be tempted to rub too hard or use a too-grainy exfoliant on your face. Instead, choose small-grained products and keep it to once a week. If your skin looks red or patchy, you’ve gone too far.

BE AVOCADO FAIR

For a natural exfoliant, grate an avocado stone with a small grater and add it to a little yogurt, cream or avocado flesh. Use the mixture to polish the skin, then rinse off.

BRUSH AND GO

If your lips are seriously dry or flaky, apply a little lip balm and brush them with a soft, dry toothbrush to boost circulation and remove all the dead skin cells while working the moisturizer into the deeper levels of your skin.

TINGLE AWAY

Generally, tingling after exfoliation means you’ve used too harsh a product, but it is natural to tingle for up to 15 minutes after using alpha- or beta-hydroxy acids to exfoliate because of their chemical effect.

SHIELD IN THE SUN

Newly exfoliated skin is more prone to sun damage, so apply a sun block after exfoliating if you’re going to be exposed.

RUB AWAY ROUGH ELBOWS

If your elbows are very dry, put a small amount of foot exfoliator in the palm of your hand and rub in circular motions. This will be too harsh for the skin of your arms, but works a treat to lift off excess elbow skin.

STAY NATURAL WITH SALT

Salt is nature’s own favorite exfoliator. Not only do the sharp grains help you exfoliate skin gently and without trauma, the natural healing and antiseptic qualities help your skin stay smooth, supple and problem free.

FACE FACTS WEEKLY

On your face, you should exfoliate once a week to remove dead skin cells. This will not only make your skin look fresher and more radiant, but also helps your products penetrate deeper into the epidermis, making them more effective.

STOP INGROWERS

Regular exfoliation has been shown to help prevent ingrown hairs and promote smoother skin as the skin ‘gets used’ to regenerating itself in response to the upper layers being removed efficiently.

DON’T MIX FACE AND BODY

Don’t be tempted to use body exfoliators on facial skin, because products designed for the body are likely to be harsher and could be too abrasive for your face, resulting in irritation.

DON’T FORGET BUTTOCKS

It might not be the first thing people see about you, but don’t neglect the skin of your buttocks, which can be prone to pimples and cellulite, if left untended. Use a bath mitt or puff to gently exfoliate in the bath or shower.

VOTE VOLCANIC

Some exfoliating cleansers contain as much as 25 per cent ground volcanic rock. These are good for oily skin because they dry up oil without stripping too much out of the skin and causing a rebound effect.

MOISTURIZE ALL THE WAY

If you exfoliate regularly, you should always use moisturizer on your face because the regular exfoliation could lead to skin drying up more easily as a result of having fewer layers. You should use it even on the days you’re not exfoliating for best results.

EXFOLIATE BUMPS

It’s not just your face that needs exfoliating – skin bumps on legs can occur as a result of ingrown hairs. To avoid them, exfoliate legs regularly with a grainy scrub in the shower, then apply moisturizer.

GO GENTLY

Overly vigorous exfoliating can break the tiny blood vessels under your skin, causing thread veins and redness to appear, especially on the delicate skin around the cheeks, eyes and neck. Be gentle and avoid exfoliators with natural grains, which are more abrasive than synthetics.

GIVE NATURE A HAND

Every 24 hours, we lose an astounding 10 billion cells from the skin’s surface, though as we age our skin cells take longer to renew. Exfoliating once a week or more helps boost this natural process, preventing blemishes and dull skin caused by the build-up of dead skin cells and revealing a clearer complexion.

Dermatologist Skin Care for Clean and Clear Skin

admin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:41:04 +0000

Be it the early years of our adolescence or the later years in our adult life, we are always on a search for good dermatologist skin care products to address our skin related issues. With the setting in of puberty comes the problem of regular acne breakouts because of the increase serum production and other hormonal imbalance. Our first impulse is to always reach out for over the counter dermatologists skin care creams or lotions to treat these ugly spots.

But rather than proving to be helpful most of these dermatologist skin care products can cause more harm to your skin. Rich in contents like salicylic acids these dermatologist skin care creams can result in excessive dryness of skin resulting in red blotches which could dangerously appear like skin rashes. So, if you are really looking for some great skin food, it is always recommended to check out the reviews and compare the top acne treatment products available over the counter. Therefore before trying out any over the counter dermatologist skin care product it is always good to get some professional advise. A visit to a dermatologist can actually yield you many benefits. Based on your skin type you will be prescribed a particular brand or product that would provide you relief without any negative side effects. As most of the dermatologist skin care merchandise contains strong steroids, chemicals and other antibiotics one should be very cautious about the quantity that should be applied to deal with a particular skin problem. Some times a mild application of one product can yield better result then applying the same dermatologist skin care product in excessive quantity.

Again you feel the excessive need for dermatologist skin care as your grow older. You start looking around for dermatologist skin care products that specializes in anti aging treatments and promises to cure wrinkle. Your skin appears to be blotched and lifeless and sometimes even the visit to your dermatologist doesn’t exactly yield desired results. This may be the time when you could actually take help of your friend and confidante to guide you towards some over the counter dermatologist skin care products which may actually prove to be more beneficial then the prescribed creams.

In our youth we often experiment with various creams and lotions or even take help of an expert dermatologist to ride over the tough phase of ugly looking skin. Some of these steroidal treatments actually cause more harm then proving to be helpful. You can look back at those failed treatments as your guiding light while selecting dermatologist skin care products in the later years. These dermatologist skin care products can actually be your help at hand when striving for that youthful glowing skin.

Also available are natural risk free and effective method to achieve clean, youthful and problem free skin.

Be Natural, Use Organic

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:49:56 +0000

Organic or natural make-up products differ from the more common chemical cosmetics in that they are prepared from natural ingredients that are gentle on the skin and cause no harm to the consumers.

The production of these organic make-up products adheres to strict quality standards and the final natural product needs to pass a certification test. These unrefined make-up products are devoid of harmful preservatives and the manufacturing process is such that the cosmetics can retain their quality and attributes without the use of injurious chemicals. This requires cold processing, which is an environment-friendly method of keeping the final cosmetic product fresh and ensuring an adequately long shelf life for organic make-up.

Many make-up users prefer these natural cosmetics even though they are a little steeply priced as they are of a higher quality standard and are safer for the skin. This kind of chemical-free make-up causes fewer instances of allergic reactions, skin inflammation and rashes. It is also believed that use of organic make-up instead of chemical ones delays signs of ageing and keeps the skin younger and healthier for long.

Organic make-up does not contain preservatives that can directly react with or enter the skin. This means that synthetic ingredients that react to produce formaldehyde, urea derivatives and parabens are not used. Petroleum products like petroleum jelly, mineral oils, parabens, propylene glycol, acetones and benzene-like products are other offensive components that are avoided in organic cosmetics.

In case of chemical cosmetics, many undesirable components are used that can have adverse effects on the human body. Many a times, a chemical solvent is used for extraction. Some of these solvents are toxic to the body and can lead to harmful side-effects. A lot of mainstream make-up items like deodorants, nail polishes, hair sprays and perfumes, contain phthalates, a chemical which resembles estrogen, a female hormone, and can cause disorders in females and can even lead to abnormalities in infants.

Organic make-up products use natural alternatives instead of the synthetic detergents, like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which irritate the skin. All the ingredients used in natural skin-care or organic make-up products and even their packaging need to be certified as organic or pesticide-free. Only then can the product get the tag of being an “organic make-up.”

Being environment-friendly also requires the manufacturers to ensure that no animal testing is done for their products. All ingredients and essential oils used in organic make-up come from natural sources and even the fragrances used are natural and usually plant based. Essential oils are those oils that are required in small quantities by the human body for its proper functioning. While most of these essential oils are produced in the body itself, a few are derived from outside sources. Essential oils that are to be added to organic cosmetics are extracted from plant sources like bark, flowers and even roots of plants. They act as preservatives and fragrances in organic make-up products and add a certain texture to these cosmetics. In some cases, essential oils are also added to protect and heal sensitive skin and rashes.

It is of prime importance that the organic cosmetics should be free from pesticides or residues of foreign chemicals which can harm humans and their environment. However, not all the components of organic make-up are taken directly from nature and put in a jar. Some need to be treated, or extracted or even made in a laboratory. Some times the organic skin-care products can contain iron oxides and titanium oxide which have been synthetically produced. Though manufactured in laboratories, these components occur naturally in the environment and do not harm the body. The forms that exist in nature cannot directly be used as they are considered too contaminated for producing organic cosmetics.

The best way of finding out the authenticity of organic make-up is to look at the list of ingredients printed on the package. Smart consumers should ensure that their cosmetics do not contain chemicals that are harmful to their body or the environment and have not been animal tested. Hopefully, the above information will serve as an appropriate guide to buying and applying healthy and safe products.