Looking After Your Skin

by Nicky Pilkington

Unless you want your skin to end up looking like an old potato, it is essential to take care of it. Most children's skin is beautiful and needs nothing more than the care of sunscreen when they go outside, but once they reach their teens, all sorts of problems begin to manifest. Acne is one of these, but even if you are fortunate enough to escape acne, you still need to take care of your skin. Most people know if their skin is oily or dry. Often skin that is a bit oily has dry patches in a T-section that includes the nose. If your skin seems dry and scaly here, you should apply moisturizer to it, but astringents to the oily part. The skin around the eyes is more tender and fine and should be treated with a product especially designed for it.

There are many products on the market and it might be perplexing to know which one is right for you. Seek the help of a beautician if necessary. There are some fun and inexpensive products you can make from the ingredients in your kitchen cupboard.

Oatmeal paste. Mix 2 tbsp oatmeal, 4 tbsp plain yoghurt, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp chopped parsley, and 1 tsp olive oil together. Massage into the skin, rinse off after about 4/5 minutes. This is great for oily or irritated skin. You can put a handful of oatmeal into the toe of your old pantyhose and use it to scrub your whole body, too.

Mask to treat wrinkles. Beat 1 egg into 2 tbsp of milk. Wash your skin first then gently dab this concoction on. Rinse with warm water after 4/5 minutes. Add moisturizer.

If brown spots trouble you, use a vitamin C lotion under your make-up. This will help to neutralize free radicals that sabotage your skin after exposure to sunlight. Revlon has a sunscreen that contains vitamin C in it already.

Copper peptide is one of the newest patented ingredients that works against sagging. It is an antioxidant thought to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin in the skin.

Neutrogena has a range of non-soap, skin-care products available. One of them is Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion that combines vitamins A, C and E with alpha-hydroxy acids to create a light lotion for delicate skin. Cetaphil is a good moisturizer for delicate skins and can be used on all parts of the body, while Lac-Hydrin 5 is excellent for scaly patches and dry, rough skin.

From about age 30 the skin's natural ability to get rid of dead skin is impaired and this makes it look dull. Exfoliating your skin regularly, will keep it in good condition and help to create that translucent look. Look for products that contain alpha-, beta-, and poly-hydroxy acids. They will help slough off the dead skin, bringing fresh new cells to the surface.

Be sure to remove make-up every night and cleanse with a gentle toner, but if you do nothing to your skin except wear sunscreen that your skin will be able to rejuvenate itself to a great degree, and give wrinkles and crinkle the flick.

About the Author
Find out more about General Health at healthandfinesse.com

Wrinkle Treatment - Smoothen Out Those Lines

by David Maillie

The Webster's Dictionary defines a wrinkle as "a small ridge or furrow in a normally smooth surface". But you should see how the whole world is up in arms against this small furrow. This is evident by the millions of dollars spent on wrinkle treatment. And, everywhere you will find animated discussions over wrinkles and wrinkle treatment.

Wrinkles are the result of depletion of collagen and elastin. This can be due to ageing or prolonged exposure to the sun. Wrinkles are common in dry skin or particular skin types like fair skin with blue eyes. Smoking and genes also play a hand in wrinkles. Wrinkle treatment aims at restoring the skin elasticity.

Wrinkles can be either fine lines or deep creases. Fine lines respond readily to treatment while the remedy for the latter type is along harsher lines like plastic surgery. Wrinkle treatment spans the entire gamut from cosmetic cures to medical treatment, and surgical procedures.

A superficial wrinkle treatment involves minor lifestyle changes like cutting down on nicotine, junk and fatty foods and having more water to keep dehydration at bay. You should also guard your sensitive skin from the sun's harmful rays with sun blocks and covered garments.

Medical wrinkle remedy is a milder form of treatment. In this range you have antioxidants like formulas containing Vitamins A, C and E, beta-carotene, fruits like blue and black berries, fish, red wine, moisturizers and cosmetics that include AHA (alpha-hydroxy acid) or fruit acids.

However, one of the best treatments against wrinkles in the medical arena is Vitamin A acid. Vitamin A treatment is also effective against other skin problems like dryness and pigmentation.

Amongst the plethora of cosmetic procedures, the skin peel reigns supreme as an effective anti-wrinkle remedy. Glycolic acid peels work only on the surface of the skin and as such are not much effective against wrinkles. It takes penetrative peels like salicylic and trichloroacetic acids (TCA) to produce visible results. In fact, TCA peels are the best wrinkle remedy that is presently around.

Dermabrasion and laser resurfacing are other peel types used as wrinkle remedy. Both involve a scraping of the skin surface. However, laser resurfacing is more penetrative and like the copper-peptide cream boosts the body's collagen production to pump out the drooping muscles and the wrinkles. It also entails a longer recuperation time.

Nevertheless, laser resurfacing peel-type wrinkle remedy involves side effects like scarring and pigmentation. They should be undergone only under mild sedation or general anesthesia, as prescribed.

Recent years have seen much fanfare around the Botox injection. This treatment involves paralyzing the muscles with botulinum toxin shots to smooth out the wrinkles, laugh and frown lines. The effects last for several months.

For those willing to submit themselves under the surgeon's scalpel, plastic surgery is an option for wrinkle remedy. A facelift or a brow lift can also act as an effective wrinkle reducer.

Now, you can keep away skin resembling an old parchment. With the proper wrinkle treatment, look 25 at 45.

About the Author
David Maillie is a chemist, an alumni of Cornell University and manufactures various skin peels for plastic surgeons, medispas, governmental and in home use. He can be reached at M.D. Wholesale: http://www.bestskinpeel.com