Make-up and skin tone tips (part two) | Make-up and skin tone tips (part three)
Top ten skin-care tips
Do not use soap on your face. Your skin has a PH factor of 4 – 5 which means it is acidic. This acid mantle is designed to protect your skin from the elements – wind, rain, sun, etc, – and, in 21st Century living, from the machinations of central heating and pollution, etc. Soap is alkaline (right at the other end of the PH scale) and when you load this stuff on your face, it totally destroys the acidity of your skin, leaving it vulnerable to those horrors mentioned above. It then takes 24 hours for your skin to recover its acidic properties, by which time you will probably have washed your face again!
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Clean or wash your face with a cleanser which is designed for your skin type. If you like the feeling of washing with a soap-like product, there are plenty on the high street.
Use a soft flannel to remove the cleanser, make-up and other unmentionables from your face
Pat your face dry with a soft towel. Don’t rub madly – your facial skin is not only sensitive, it tells the world whether you are healthy or not!
Cleanser removes make-up and dirt but you then need to use a toner to close the pores.
After toner, let the skin dry and then apply a moisturiser which suits your skin type.
Skin does not know the difference between day and night so you do not necessarily have to buy a day cream and a night cream. One product that suits your skin type will do quite well for both.
If your skin feels sticky after you have applied your moisturiser, then you are using too much.
You do not have to buy the most expensive skin care. Just make sure you use the correct products for your skin type. For instance, I now use a moisturiser which retails at 5.99. Before that, I had a top-name brand which cost around 35 – and it’s not a patch on my cheaper favourite!
Take all your make-up off before you go to bed – no matter how late
Beauty tips
Here are some beauty tips for your skin, using products that you will probably already have in the kitchen. If nothing else, they will make you sit down and relax for 10 minutes (and that has to be a bonus!).
Face mask
Mix 1 egg yolk with 2 tsps almond oil and 1 mashed banana. Apply all over your face, avoiding the eye area, and relax for 10 minutes. Wash off with tepid water.
Cucumber eye mask
Mix 1 tsp dried milk powder with 1 tsp cucumber juice. Apply to your eye area and relax for 10 minutes. Wipe off with damp cotton wool.
Looking after your skin in the sun
The following article is printed in full as I thought it made very interesting reading and underlined a lot of my own beliefs about looking after your skin in the sun. The company who sent it to me, Agora Lifestyles Ltd, usually talk common sense which makes a nice change from the drivel often written by so-called fashion and beauty editors who preach what is often utter rubbish to a ‘general’ audience.
You are not ‘general’. You are unique. Don’t read anything (including anything on this website) and take it as gospel truth. Use your common sense and apply what is appropriate to YOU.
Give your skin the protection it needs
The executives at corporations that manufacture sunscreen products might have experienced an unpleasant burning feeling when a study released in June 2004 revealed that sunscreen may not offer protection from the type of sun damage that could cause skin cancer. Worse than that: the study also suggests that sunscreen use may actually do more harm than good.
This is a new twist on two points we’ve been telling you for some time here at HSI: 1) Sunscreen lotion isn’t the best way to protect your skin, and 2) For most people, correct nutrition and sensible exposure time may provide all the sun protection you need.
Meanwhile, millions of sun lovers and people who live in or near tropical latitudes cover themselves head to toe in sunscreen and spend hours in the sun, believing they’re protected. They may be protecting themselves from a bad burn, but there are other things going on below the surface of the skin that could create more serious problems in later years.
Poor defence
Researchers at the UK’s Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust (RAFT) acquired skin samples from consenting patients undergoing surgery (such as breast reduction). In separate tests, three commercial sunscreens with high sun protection factors (SPF) of 20 or more were applied to the skin samples. The samples were then exposed to ultraviolet A (UVA) light at intensities comparable to that of sunlight.
Using electron spin resonance spectroscopy (which determines natural radiation concentrations), the researchers found that free radical damage beneath the surface of the skin was reduced by approximately 50 percent in skin samples treated with sunscreen, compared to unprotected skin. And while that may seem at first to be effective, researchers determined that the actual “free-radical protection factor” was only 2.
In other words, the sun protection factor of 20+ held true only with ultraviolet B (UVB) rays – the rays that cause sunburn. But protection from the free-radical damage that corrupts DNA and may prompt skin cancer was judged to be insufficient.
The authors of the study fear that because sunscreen use helps prevent burning, people feel safe spending many extra hours in the sun. Meanwhile, those additional hours of exposure may add up to cumulative DNA damage and skin cancer because a considerable amount of UVA rays are still getting through.
What your skin wants
Before we go any further, it’s important to note that the sun is not your enemy. On the contrary, sunlight exposure prompts your body to manufacture vitamin D. Those who live in extreme northern and southern latitudes are often vitamin D deficient because their exposure to sunlight is too low. As we’ve seen with so many other health issues, the key is balance. The right amount of sun exposure is: not too much, and not too little.
So don’t listen to those who tell you to hide from the sun. Sunlight is not just good for us, it’s essential. But excessive exposure leads to sunburn, which is obviously not good for the skin. Nevertheless, sunburns do serve a purpose. As US physician Dr Jonathan V. Wright, has pointed out, a sunburn is nature’s way of telling us that we’re getting too much sun. It’s sort of like a pop-up thermometer on a turkey. When you start turning red, you’re done – your body has had enough sunlight exposure. Sunscreen encourages further time in the sun as you ignore or are unaware of the warning.
But what about those people who have to spend hours in the sun; lifeguards, builders, traffic police etc.? Writing in his Nutrition & Healing newsletter last year (June 2002), Dr. Wright discussed what he calls the “DNA Repair Group” – the foods and supplements that everyone (and especially those who get a lot of sun exposure) should be consuming in abundance.
Vitamins C and E are very important to relieving stress to the skin. But according to Dr. Wright, folic acid deficiency is “a major contributor to skin cancer risk.” He says, “Folic acid is destroyed rapidly by heat, cold, and exposure to light, including sunlight. So it’s sunlight’s destructive effect on folic acid in the skin, not the actual sun exposure itself, that accounts for a significant part of the skin cancer problem. Folic acid (along with vitamin B12 and zinc) is absolutely key to DNA reproduction and repair.”
The best dietary sources of folic acid include spinach and other dark green vegetables, brewers yeast, lima beans, cantaloupe, watermelon and liver from organically raised animals. In addition, Dr. Wright suggests supplementing with 1,000mcg of folic acid per day, and more if you spend a good amount of time in the sun or have a family history of skin cancer.
Source: Copyright (c) 2004 Agora Lifestyles Ltd
Agora Lifestyles Ltd
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www.agoralifestyles.com
Agora Lifestyles presents information and research which is believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. All material in this article is provided for information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this article; instead readers should consult their family doctor and other qualified health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being. The information and opinions provided in this article are believed to be accurate and sound, based on the best judgement available to the authors. Readers who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions.
Womenswear and Menswear Trends
All the themes, key points, colours, accessories are discussed in detail in our print-ready fashion trends’ articles, which include photos for each of the themes, taken straight from the designer catwalk shows.We have engaged the services of a top fashion journalist who also happens to be a qualified image consultant and trainer. Between us we have done the hard work for you – attended the designer fashion shows, written the trends’ reports, collected the photos from the catwalks, designed and created the articles that are ready and waiting for you to print on your own computer.