Four Little Used Vitamins That Are Good for Your Skin
Every lady knows that vitamins are crucial in skin care .. They are what make your skin strong and resistant. They make you glow and look younger. Find out more about little used vitamins that are good for your skin.
We all know that vitamin C is the best vitamin for the skin. It is the first defense against aging and the perfect prevention against skin ulcers. But it is not the only one. Learn about more vitamins you should use in order to have healthy skin..
1. Vitamin A
Vitamin A is proved to reduce wrinkles, to smooth your skin and to fade discolored spots. It is found in face creams that contain a substance called retinoids.
These face creams should be used as night creams mostly, because sunlight makes most forms of vitamin A inactive. You should never Apply a cream with vitamin A and go sunbathing.
When it comes to reducing your wrinkles, retinoids might just be what you’re looking for. Why? They are said to be the fastest solution for wrinkle reduction. They usually show first results in 4-8 weeks.
There is, however, a downside of usingretinoids. They can cause redness and itchy skin. Make sure you consult your dermatologist before using any type of vitamin A face cream, especially if your skin is sensitive.
2. Vitamin B
Vitamin B is the natural protector of your skin. It induces the production of fatty acids in your skin whose main responsibility is to protect the skin from the elements.
Vitamin B is usually found under the name niacinamide in the skin products. It boosts your skin hydration and can reduce redness. Vitamin B products should be applied twice a day – in the morning and in the evening.
Vitamin B face cream could even help you reduce redness caused by use of Vitamin A cream. The two can be mixed together, they won’t make each other inactive.
Vitamin B makes your skin soft and gives it back its natural glow. It is a necessity during the cold winter days when your skin suffers a lot in the cold air.
3. Vitamin E
Vitamin E is the one of the key components of every sunscreen and tanning lotion. There is a good reason for that. You won’t find a substance that is better for protecting your skin from sun damages and revive it after it has already suffered sun damage.
Vitamin E restores your skins’ natural hydration. That is exactly why it is crucial in sunscreens. Sunbathing makes your skin dry and that eventually leads to the skin aging faster. Vitamin E restores its moisture and keeps your skin look younger. It is also said to be able to block damaging free radicals and to be a very powerful anti – oxidant.
For best results, combine creams with vitamin E and C when you are going to sunbathe. Apply a lotion with vitamin E after sunbathing to reduce redness and induce your skin’s natural hydration.
4. Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a little known vitamin that is good for your skin. You will mostly find it in eye creams – it is the vitamin for brighter, younger eyes.
Vitamin K is said to be able to lighten the dark circles under your eyes. Those circles are said to be induced by weak capillaries in the area, and vitamin K controls blood clothing, thus reducing the dark circles. You will see first results after four months.
Apply the cream, just under the eye, right before you go to bed The skin around your eyes will relax and it will be able to properly absorb the cream.
Even though vitamin C is not mentioned on this list, don’t forget it. It is the best anti-ager out there and it brings a lot of other benefits for your skin. Combine it with these vitamins and give your skin the care it deserves.
Every girl dreams about soft, luxurious skin. No matter what the commercial would like you to believe, no lotion with “pearl extract” or anything similar will give you soft skin, unless you follow certain rules. Learn which ones they are.
Soft skin comes as a great genetic gift to some of us, while others have to struggle really hard to get it. In any case, these 9 steps to make your skin soft should be followed by every girl.
1. One Word – Hydration
The basics of having smooth, soft skin comes down to one word – hydration. There is no better ally in battling against dry skin, and it is highly important for your overall health. Always stay hydrated.
Ok, lets’ not get carried away, you don’t really have to drink gallons of water every day, but you really should drink a minimum of 6 glasses. The amount varies according to things you eat, and other drinks you have. Coffee and alcohol, for example, require you to increase the amount of water, while freshly squeezed juices allow you to decrease it a bit.
The general rule is – try not to get thirsty. Drink water after everything you’ve eaten and increase the amount after exercising, and during warm summer months.
2. Healthy Diet
You may not want to believe this, but things you eat show on your skin. A healthy diet is one of the key ingredients towards having soft skin.
Try to eliminate all the bad stuff from your diet – such as fast food, fried food, sodas etc. but don’t exclude any ingredient completely. Your body needs meat, just as it needs vegetables, fruit, dairy products and cereals. Of course, you should limit the amount of red meat you eat, and increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables.
4. No Stress
Ok, we can’t completely run away from stressful situations, but we can learn how to reduce stress. Believe it or not, stress is one of the worst enemies for beautiful, soft skin.
Stressful situations not only make you nervous, but they can also do some serious damage to your health. Your skin is probably what suffers the most. You may get stress induced redness and rashes and, as we all know, stress causes premature wrinkles. Do your best not to be stressed.
5. No Hot Showers
Hot showers and hot tubs make your skin dry. I know, it’s not something you want to hear, because every girl loves a hot bath, but unfortunately it is true.
This, of course, doesn’t mean that you can’t have a hot bath ever again, but try to reduce them to a minimum. Shower with warm water, or even better combine cold and warm intervals – this is good for your skin and your circulation as well.
6. Good Shower Products
Shower gels and creams can do a lot of good, but also a lot of bad to your skin. Unfortunately, there is no universal shower gel I can recommend (if you can, please do so), because it all depends on how your skin reacts to a certain product.
However, I would always recommend you to try natural and organic soaps, and shower gels. These products are made with organic ingredients, such as bee’s wax and goat milk, and are free of all the chemicals that could be bad for your skin. I’ve found organic soaps to be the only solution for my skin that gets extremely dry, during the cold, winter months. Try them, but be careful as you would be with any other product – your skin could react to anything.
7. Moisturizers
Every girl knows that body lotions and moisturizers are a key to making your skin soft, and smooth. Preferably try one of those that are labeled with “soft and silky” or anything similar.
Bear in mind that you can get a reaction to a body lotion, so always try it on a small part of your skin, and wait for 24 hours. Also, don’t go crazy with lotions, and give your skin a break every once in a while. That way, you’ll make it remember that it’s supposed to have its own defense mechanism, not always waiting for you to provide it artificially.
8. Avoid Salt Water
There is nothing like swimming in the ocean, is there? The crystal waters, the mighty waves and that feeling that you’re a part of something great. Unfortunately, this could be quite bad for your skin.
Salt water makes your skin dry, and itchy. If frequently exposed to salt, your skin could becomepermanentlydry, and if it’s sensitive you can even develop some sort of chronic rash. Now, I’m not saying that you should never swim in the sea again, but make sure you shower with regular water right after.
9. Avoid Sun
Sun damages are the most serious, and the worst looking damages on your skin. I know that most of you probably love to sunbathe, but seriously – cut it down a bit.
While sunbathing outside can be acceptable in reasonable amounts, and always with sun protection, tanning booths are completely forbidden. I’m not even going to start about how these things are bad, I only have two words for you to think about – skin cancer.
Always protect your skin with sun screen. The SPF factor you’ll use depends on your natural skin tone. SPF 20 means that you can stay safely in the sun 20 times longer, than you can without sun screen. Lower the amount of time you spend in the sun, but don’t completely stay out of it. You still need it for production of melanin, the pigment responsible for your natural skin tone.
That’s all the advice I have for you on how to make your skin soft. If you have any thoughts on the subject, feel free to share them.
11 Tips On How To Prevent and Treat Acne-Prone Skin
Looking for skin that exudes a goddess-like radiance through every minuscule pore? Want to zap those zits and stomp out bad skin days for good? YouQueen has you covered! Read on to discover some simple ways you can tame acne-prone skin.
Do you gaze at the clear, beautiful skin of babies and children with barely controlled envy? Want to rediscover the soft, dewy skin of your youth? If so, we completely understand. That’s why we have searched the globe and compiled the best beauty tips and tricks that will have your inner Aphrodite making a skintastic appearance in your life once again. Here are 11 tips on how you can treat your acne-prone skin:
1. Stop Eating Crap
No, really … Put. Down. The. Cupcake. We have all heard it a million times but what’s one more for good luck: refined sugar and processed foods are bad for you. Baaad. And while you may snort, shrug your shoulders and say ‘So what? I Live on the edge, baby!’ consider for a moment that many experts attribute a poor diet to problem skin. Hmm, you listening now?
Consuming cupcakes, pizza, chocolate and take-away food doesn’t just destroy the inside of your body, it attacks the largest organ on your body too: your skin. So ease up on the french fries and swap the donut for a carrot. You’ll stabilize your blood sugar levels and benefit from some much-needed vitamins and minerals that will help boost the development of healthy skin.
Oh, and while you’re at it – have another glass of water. Considering our body is made up of around 75% water, the chances are high that you’re probably not drinking enough of it. Aim for two liters each day and add an extra 500ml’s if you have exercised.
2. Sip Your Way to Clear Skin
It’s not just what you eat that impacts your skin either; it’s what you drink too. Water flavored with lemon (just cut up a few slices of a lemon and add them to a jug of water) is a proven antioxidant that helps alkalize and detoxify your body as well as provide it with vivacious vitamin C. But what does all this mean for you? Easy – clear, smooth, wrinkle-reduced and very delightful skin. Ah, swoon …
Another great beverage for awesome looking skin and stopping acne is green tea. Packed full of antioxidants and cancer-fighting substances, green tea boosts your metabolism (hmm, hello weight loss) and fights inflammation as well. So add a cup or two of green tea to your daily liquids and enjoy clear skin and a healthier body.
3. Nutrient up
Dr. Georgiana Donadio, who is the founder of the National Institute of Whole Health, believes that our skin is the fingerprint of what is happening inside of our bodies. She has stated that skin conditions including acne are manifestations of potential nutritional deficiencies. To restore the inner health of your body, try boosting the levels of the following vitamins and minerals in your diett
•Silica
•Vitamin C, E and A
•Selenium
•Zinc
•Omega 3 Fatty Acids
With a healthy diett , you should be able to get all of these vitamins and minerals. Check out 8 Foods to Keep You Young and Healthy or some great healthy food ideas.
If you think you might be deficient in anything though, schedule yourself in for a blood test at your doctor and find out for sure. We know, we know, blood tests aren’t cool. But your doctor will be able to see exactly what’s happening in your body and then recommend some supplements to get your body (and your skin) back on track.
4. Clean up Your Act
Here’s a fun trivia question: what daily item does the skin on your face come in contact with for the longest? … Still thinking? Here’s a hint: you sleep on it. It’s not your bed, it’s not your sheets and it’s certainly not your boyfriend, it’s your … pillow!
Now ask yourself how regularly do you wash your pillowcase. Is it weekly? Fortnightly? Monthly? Assuming you get around seven hours of sleep each night, that means that if you wash your pillowcase once a week you’re spending a solid 49 solid hours with your face mooshed against your pillowcase. If you’re washing it once a fortnight, that’s 98 hours. And if you’re washing it once a month … well, that’s 196 hours.
Moving on to our next science fact: did you know that you shed about 40,000 skin cells every hour? Every. Hour. So that means every night you shed 280,000 skin cells. Across a week, that’s 1,960,000 skin cells. Over a month it’s 7,840,000 … And guess where all of those skin cells are hanging out? Just chilling out, soaking in the atmosphere. That’s right: your pillowcase. Where you’re sleeping each night.
Ick, right? I’ll give you a quick break to go grab your pillowcases and stuff them into the washing machine. Okay, you done? Awesome. Now it’s pretty unreasonable to expect you to wash your pillowcase each night (although with those figures I don’t see how you can’t). So a good alternative is to cover your pillowcase with a clean towel.
In China, it’s actually pretty standard to put a small towel over the top of your pillowcase to keep the dirt and skin cells that accumulate during the night in the one place so it’s easy to remove and clean daily. A simple thing like this can instantly help you prevent acne, and we both know that preventing is easier than treating them.
5. Learn How to Sleep Properly
Sticking with the sleep theme, another good way to get the good skin fairies to pay you a visit is by learning how to sleep properly.
Sounds dumb, right? But actually, most of us aren’t utilizing the sleep function to the best of our abilities. It’s been proven that our body spends the hours between 10pm and 2am renewing, recovering and rebuilding itself. But what time do you normally go to bed? If you’re like most people, it’s probably around 12am. That means you’re missing out on two valuable hours of skin renewal time.
While it’ll be hard at first, timing your sleep to get the most benefit out of this restorative period will help boost the health of your skin so it’s looking plump, clear and soft come morning.
6. Keep Your Hands to Yourself
Or technically, keep your hands away from yourself. Just like ick accumulates on your pillowcase during the night, dirt and germs accumulate on your hands during the day too. By touching your face, you’re automatically spreading those germs to your delicate skin.
To help ditch this habit, spend a few days being conscious of how often you actually touch your face. Maybe when you’re listening to someone talk, you cup your face with your hands. Or when you’re feeling stressed, you rub your hands over your face. When you’re tired you might even rub your eyes. There are a myriad of ways we unconsciously touch our face during the day. Just pay attention to what you do and how often – you’ll be surprised!
7. Sweat It off
Phwoar, just another reason to get some daily exercise – working out can help you to get clear, beautiful skin! Exercising increases the blood flow in your skin, which helps you to sweat. Sweating then removes toxins from your body that can clog your pores and encourage acne. The extra blood flow provided by exercise also increases the amount of oxygen in the skin and boosts nutrients that stimulate healthy skin. Pretty cool, right?
Tip: Make sure you wash your face after exercising to ensure your pores don’t become clogged.
8. Wash off Your Make up
It’s been a long, hard day. You tug on your pajamas and flop into bed. Your eyes close and you’re a second away from drifting off to sleep when you remember, crap – you forgot to wash off your makeup! Your eyes snap open and you wearily consider the reality of getting up and washing your face. You argue with yourself for a while. Finally, exhaustion wins the battle and you close your eyes once again, thinking ‘one night won’t matter’.
Uh, we’ve all done it! And then we’ve all broken out a few days later and felt like the massive pimples came out of nowhere. Now that you know what happens when you sleep makeup-free, imagine what happens when you sleep with makeup on.
Theick factor connected with hundreds of thousands of skin cells shedding? Triple it. Overnight, your skin absorbs all of the grease and grime and clogs your pores, preventing sebum from doing its job and removing irritants from the pores. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, it’s like having a power outage at work; sebum is left twiddling its thumbs and hanging around bored. It stays in place and further clogs your pores, promoting breakouts.
If you want to wake up with clear, perfect skin then you’ll need to remove your make up each night. Fact.
9. Steam Your Face
Want a cheap, easy way to develop healthy skin and banish bad skin days? Grab a pot, fill it with hot, boiling water then drape a towel over your head. Now, hang your head over the top of the pot. Voila – facial steaming on a budget!
The benefits of facial steaming are well documented. By steaming your face, you’re softening your skin and the top layer of dead skin cells. This in turn helps remove and release any build up of dirt, bacteria and dead skin cells. It will also help your skin absorb your skincare products better.
Note: If you suffer from rosacea of fungal infections, do not try facial steaming without first consulting with your dermatologist or doctor.
10. Clear Skin with a Clarisonic
If you’ve never heard of a Clarisonic, it’s like an electronic toothbrush for the face. The Clarisonic Sonic Skin Cleansing System is a technology that uses 300 movements per second to remove six times more makeup than regular manual cleaning.
For acne sufferers, this means skin that is cleaner, smoother and healthier than ever. Clarisonic is promoted as being a tool to remove impurities and reduce oily areas and blemishes. It has hundreds of positive reviews and while is quite pricey, is considered to be a lot of bang for your skincare buck.
11. See an Expert
Just like you see a plumber when your tap explodes and you call an electrician when your lights won’t turn on, you should really visit a skincare specialist when
Just like you see a plumber when your tap explodes and you call an electrician when your lights won’t turn on, you should really visit a skincare specialist when your skin is misbehaving. They know their stuff, can identify underlying issues and treat both the surface layer of the skin and the layers of skin underneath.
Skincare technology has come in leaps and bounds in recent years and there are a variety of proven techniques and procedures that remove acne and acne scarring. A few include microdermabrasion, facial peels, light therapy and comedone extractions. There are also a variety of laser treatments ranging from light and relatively pain-free to James Bond-style lasers.
You’ll need an expert to administer these treatments though, so book in an appointment to see your local trusted skin care clinic or dermatologist.
So, there you go – eleven easy ways to treat your acne-prone skin and transform yourself into a clear-skinned goddess! What do you think? Do you know of any more clear skin tricks that work a treat?
Aren’t breakouts supposed to stop when you get out of puberty? What happens when they don’t? How do you prevent and clear up pimples when you’re in your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and beyond?
Not only do breakouts have the tendency to make you self-conscious because it looks like a huge crater has landed on your face, but they also seem to happen at the worst time. It’s like your face knows when you have a class reunion or a hot date that you want to look perfect for because, without failure, two days in advance you’ll start to see the red bump begin to form.
While some breakouts are hormonal (changes around that time of the month or menopause throw your body into all sorts of tail spins), there are still things you can do to prevent a majority of them and save yourself acne related anxiety.
For the best shot at a clean, clear face, follow these basic guidelines:
1. Wash Regularly
It goes without saying that if you regularly sleep in your make-up, your skin is going to retaliate. It’s like wrapping your face in saran wrap and never taking it off. Your skin has to be able to breathe.
Even if you don’t wear make-up, you’re not exempt from having to suds up. Your face collects dirt and grime all day long, and you have to get it off if you want your skin to look supple and healthy.
For proper skin caree wash twice a day – once in the morning and once at night before bed And, if you exercise, you’ll want to wash then too to get the dirty sweat off your skin. A clean face is a happy face
2. Use the Right Kind of Soap for Your Skin Type
This is where a lot of women go wrong. They buy the wrong kind of soap and end up over drying or upsetting their skin simply because they just grab the first soap they see on the shelf at the store.
Make sure you purchase a soap that works for your skin tone; whether it’s oily, dry or combination. You’ll find that when you do, you’ll actually look more radiant and your make-up will apply easier because your skin will be smooth and clear.
If all types of soap seem to upset your face, you may have sensitive skin. There are a lot of options out there for this situation too, so make sure you get one that specifically says it’s for that condition.
3. Exfoliate Weekly
Your skin is constantly dying and regenerating itself. Kind of gross to think about, huh? But, it’s true. Your skin grows, dies, flakes off and grows again.
So, if you want it to look healthy, remove your dead skin through exfoliation. You can buy exfoliating scrubs or the little hand-held machines that more or less buff the dying skin away. Some spas even offer exfoliating facials.
Try to do this once a week so that the old skin doesn’t clog your pores, causing unsightly blemishes. Don’t do it any more than that though, or you’ll actually risk damaging your skin. This is one instance where it is possible to have too much of a good thing.
4. Moisturize Properly
If you use the wrong moisturizers, you can be clogging your pores instead of just helping to keep them moist. Again, make sure you buy one that is appropriate for your skin type.
One thing to keep in mind is that your skin may require different levels of moisturizing during different seasons. Perhaps it gets drier in the summer when you spend a lot of time in the sun, or during the winter when the air is less humid.
Also, there are different moisturizers available for day and night time. If you have any question about which ones are right for you, lots of department stores have helpful personnel behind the make-up counters that can help you.
5. Keep Your Hands off Your Face
This is a big one. The more often you touch your face, the more you’re contaminating it with the germs that are on your hands, and the more likely pimples will appear as a result.
For your best chance at having skin that is flawless, be very conscious of how much you rest your cheeks in your hands, rub your forehead when you’re stressed or caress your chin when you’re thinking.
In fact, try to stop touching your face altogether. Not only will you have better skin as a result, but you’ll also suffer fewer colds and flus because your hands are the biggest germ carriers there are.
6. Don’t Pick at Your Pimples
It may seem like you’re speeding the healing process by getting your pimples to pop, but you’re actually doing more damage than good. One, you’re breaking open your skin which increases your risk of scarring and allows germs to get inside and possibly get infected. Two, you’re likely making them bigger and more red than they were initially.
If you notice a pimple starting to form, let it run its course. Add some concealer to it and hide it the best you can if it makes you self-conscious. But, the more you mess with it, the longer it will likely stay and the worse it will look.
7. Take Some Time to De-stress
When you’re under pressure and don’t relax, your body retaliates in lots of ways, one of which is through your skin. So, when you’re feeling like life is throwing a lot at you, make sure you deal with the stress appropriately.
Get in some exercise or go out and have fun. Share some laughs with family or talk to a friend. Let the stress out before it shows on your face – literally.
8. Watch Your Sugar Intake
If you have too much sweet stuff in your diet, you’ll likely see the effects in the mirror the next morning. Sugar inflames your body in many ways, and the pores on your face are just one of them.
Try to limit the amount of soda, chocolates and desserts you consume; especially when it’s that time of the month when your body is more sensitive. Not only will you feel better, but you’ll look better as well.
9. Stay Hydrated
If you don’t drink enough water, one of the first places you’ll see it is in your face. Water helps flush all the toxins, like the gunk that’s in blemishes, out of your system.
Get in your six to eight glasses a day. You’ll reduce your risk of pimples and keep your face looking young and healthy.
Sometimes you just can’t stop a break out. But, if you follow these simple little steps, at least you’ll minimize the amount you get and shorten their life expectancy; both of which are a good thing.