Uncovering Your SkinWritten by ChaChanna Simpson
As people in our twenties, it is important to take care of our skin now because if we don't we will suffer consequences later on in life. Just look at any person with bad skin, chances are they didn't take care of it when they were our age. But now that you have me looking out for our best interest, you don't have to worry about your skin looking like a block of Swiss cheese when you get older."It is important to know your skin type and its condition. Skin is treated according to oily, normal, dry, combination, acne and aging/mature," says Cynthia Walker, NYS Licensed Esthetician. If you don't know your skin type consult, with a dermatologist, esthetician or skin care therapist. You don't want to use a product for dry skin or your face when your skin type is oily. It will just mess up your skin. And make sure products you are using are for use on your face and not your body. Even though it is all skin, products made for your body usually have ingredients that are too harsh for face. Here is a concise list of skin types and their causes. ·Dry skin is caused by using harsh soaps, exposure to dry climates, not drinking enough water—my dilemma—certain cosmetics, aging and dieting. Dry skin is classified into two types: Oil dry skin which occurs when glands are not producing enough oil; Moisture dry skin happens when your skin is dehydrated because you are not drinking enough water. ·Oily skin—develops when your body produces too much oil. "A few causes are imbalance or changes in hormonal levels, and a diet rich in fats and oils," says Walker. ·Combination skin has both dry and oily areas on face, which is caused by an imbalance in distribution in lipids. Walker suggests that once you determine your skin type, buy a product line that includes a cleanser, toner, moisturizer and mask. Make sure you follow instructions carefully — as with any product — and if you have any kind of irritation, discontinue use immediately and consult a professional, not your closest friend. Some of you out there are creating your own skin care remedies, however, there are some products that are just hazardous to your face such as bar soap. I know it's cheap, readily available and you figure you can kill two birds with one stone. Please stop! And for you essential oil users, I hope you are not applying them directly to your face without diluting them with a carrier oil. It will help to soothe and protect your skin since essential oils are highly concentrated and absorb directly into your skin.
| | Weighing the OptionsWritten by ChaChanna Simpson
The other day it hit me. I am getting older and I won't look this good for rest of my life if I don't start exercising and eating right. In my family, as it might be in many families, we have a history of diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. It just occurred to me other day that I don't want to have those problems plaguing me when I get older. Like most of world, originally, I wanted to lose weight so that I could wear those low-rise jeans and two- piece bikinis and look stunning in them, not having my flab hang over all sides of jeans. Yuck! I have respect enough not to offend general public.The first step in getting healthy is eating healthy. You can exercise all you want, but if you are still shoveling donuts, fast food and every kind of dessert you can think of in your mouth, it kind of defeats purpose. So, to help me on my quest for healthy eating, I enlisted help of The Diet Center, in Darien, CT. The first thing people do when they are planning to lose weight is go on a diet. Just to clarify, diet is, "the manner in which people eat. It teaches people how to eat and make healthy choices," according Melissa Arnold, Director of Fitness at Diet Center. It is not depriving yourself of carbohydrates or some other important nutrient your body needs. When you cut them out "the body tries to get that nutrient from something else. If you change or stop eating something you will lose weight but you are setting your body off balance and that is not healthy," says Arnold. Your body needs all of its nutrients. Unless you are going to swear off a particular food or food group for rest of your life, as soon as you eat it again you will most likely gain weight right back. Then you are right back to square one, plus more weight and you are all depressed about it.
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