Winter Skin Protection
Winter is not only cold but harsh and brutal to your skin. Add up wind, cold weather and UV rays that reflects off the white snow back onto your face it is quite a challenge to maintain the glow of your skin in the winter months. Sun block on most unprotected parts of your body (which should be a small area for you are likely to be a bundle of warm clothing) ensure that the sun�s rays that do get through are not causing any damage. A hot shower might be appealing but take them for short periods only for they tend to take away the natural oils and lipids from the skin�s surface leaving it dry as bone. See the dermatologist at once if dry skin, irritation and other skin problems arise to prevent it from spreading and to alleviate the discomfort.
Skin Tanning the Natural Way – Risky
Celebrities have glorified the skin tone which is product of exposure to the sun making it more a fashion statement rather than a measure of their skin's health. There are tanning lotions which get your skin to a specific color that may be desired but unknown to many, these products have to be used in conjunction with sunscreens for they do not have active UV protection and can be compared to dyes for your clothes allowing equal skin tone to where ever the product is applied. Skin tanning without tanning lotions is becoming dangerous that not many skin care professionals recommend it.
Sun and Your Skin
The sun is vital for the body�s production of certain vitamins and minerals that are vital to our survival. The only problem, man has altered the atmosphere to such extent with pollution to the extent that that atmosphere has been damaged beyond repair. A hole in the ozone layer, which is the layer of our atmosphere that screens harmful UV rays (invisible Light) and reflects it back out into space has developed a hole thanks to CFC�s or the products that makes the standard home refrigerator work. These invisible gasses when released into the atmosphere is converted by chemical reactions making it form acids and other nasty stuff that eats away the naturally occurring ozone which as said protects us from harmful radiation. This results in irregular heat patterns thus resulting in more incidence of skin problems. So be responsible and be earth friendly for our very survival depends on it.
Lotion, Spray or other form? Which is Best?
Skin experts recommend that sunscreen be applied about 30 minutes before exposure to the sun to allow the products time to dry and reach their optimum protection levels. Another skin care product that has become more and more popular, sunscreen wipes which are not a new product but the ease of application has made it more appealing for consumers. The wipes are easier to use which would simply be wiping your neck, face and other exposed skin while the product leaves a protective layer of sunscreen in the process. Those products in lotion form are the best for they are not only loaded with the necessary active sunscreen ingredients but they are also more moisturizing preventing skin from drying out too much which works best. Another nifty innovation from Coppertone is the Quickcover spray which minimizes the chasing especially with kids when you have to apply and reapply sunscreen. You simply tell them to stand still and spray away like painting a piece of wood.
Other New Skin Products from Tested Brands
From Lancome comes UV Expert 20 sunscreen which contains Mexoryl as the active ingredient while Neutrogena has Heiloplex in its products. The other new skin protection compounds are Avobenzone and Oxybenzone along with the more traditional Titanium dioxide and Zinc oxide (which is seen as the white stuff on the noses of lifeguards and cricket players) which have been in use for a long time to combat these harmful ultraviolet rays that have the potential to damage skin. Most of the older products have a pre-soaking time for they have to given enough time to sink into the skin's pores for them to offer the best level of protection.
Beauty is only skin deep
Naaah..... Beauty is in the eye of the beholder for we are the ones who define what is beautiful and what is not. But skin can be used to asses one�s health for any problems internally manifests itself on your skin. Red healthy skin is a sure sign of good physical build-up. Burned skin is a sign of too much exposure to the sun thus there may be a higher risk of skin cancer and other health problems. Scaly skin, and that person may lack some essential vitamins and minerals in his/her diet that might need adjustment. Calloused skin may result from excessive wear and tear on that particular part of the body which may be due to occupational hazards allowing better protection in the afflicted area and many more. So skin is not only a sign of sure beauty but a mirror of who we are and how healthy we are on the inside.
New Sunscreen Formulas from Tested Brands
Do you know that sunscreen comes in two varieties when it come to the protection they offer your skin? I didn't, and as it turns out there are products that protect you from UVA or Ultraviolet Alpha rays (which was previously the most widely accepted type of the sun's rays known more commonly as Ultraviolet light). Most people like me don't know that there is also a need for protection from UVB or Ultraviolet Beta rays which can also cause skin damage and in severe cases even cause skin cancer. So when choosing which type to purchase at the drug store or the supermarket, skin care experts recommend getting ones that are labeled to give broad spectrum protection so all the bases are covered.
Natural Skin Care Products
We've all heard of the natural healing of plants and other naturally occurring minerals and elements. Coconut oil has long been used as a moisturizer by many a seafaring cultures and it is also good insect bite treatment. Many such extracts have been discovered and integrated in the many skin care products we use today. People have begun to realize the importance of using natural stuff where else from nature. That is why habitat protection of our remaining rain forests is vital for all plants have stuff in them that can help us in one way of the other. Burn them, destroy them and we loose the ability to discover otherwise life-saving derivatives that really work.
Anti-Oxidant Plant Extracts
There are long accepted anti-oxidants on the market such as Vitamin C which counteracts free radicals, Selenium and Zinc are also promising to be good anti-oxidizing agents a d of Course Vitamin E which has long been used as the main ingredient of skin maintenance regimens. Other, newer plant extracts that have been found to be beneficial to skin care which also has benefits to the body as a whole are; Silymarin, Soy Isoflavones and Tea Polyphenols. Silymarin, which is extracted from the Milk Thistle plant whose main active ingredient is silybin prevents lipid peroxidase action and inhibits tumor promotion in tests. Soy has two active isoflavone components genistein and gaidzen, the first which affects collagen synthesis which is used in oral and topical medication with the later one having effects on peroxyl radicals limiting skin aging if not totally delaying it. Tea has long been recognized as the body's all-around remedy claiming to have beneficial effects over a wide spectrum of illnesses. It has been found that it also affects skin cancer carcinomas inhibiting growth hence tea truly has magical properties helping the prevention of skin diseases and other disorders.
Skin Around The Eyes
The skin below our eyes is extremely thin. It is seven times extra fragile than the skin on our face. It does not make oil, so it is prone to creases. Other than the zone in our face that we frequently fail to notice but we in reality have to pay attention of, it would be the covering around our eyes. While using an eye cream, simply stroke it onto skin, not at all rub. Make sure to use your ring finger, because it is the most gentlest of your five digits. When rubbing the cream, it will just pull at your skin and promotes the pattern of wrinkles. At present, there are countless eye creams presented in the market. Dermatologist proposes having one for daytime with SPF and a strong one for nighttime. Aside from these products, there are also creams designed for dark circles, puffiness and dull eyes.