What Does It Take To Have Beautiful Skin?

While not all of us were fortunate enough to have won the “genetic lottery” there are many, many ways we can improve our skin, and our overall appearance to actually BE more handsome or beautiful.

Most will agree, “beautiful skin” is skin that has few imperfections - no acne, or scars, no dark spots or red blotches. Beautiful skin always seems to glow.

Consumers today are bombarded daily with hundreds of ads and promotions, selling one product or another to give you “beautiful skin,”  but I’m here to tell you - if you don’t have a healthy body, you will never have really beautiful healthy, skin.

After years of suffering from acne, breakouts, redness and rashes and trying every skincare line I could find - I deiced to change my diet and see what would happen. I went on a RADICAL new way of eating healthy and guess what?  It worked!

It was really hard at first, I had to stop eating fast food, junk food, sugar, soda, candy, caffeine….  It took me over 6 months to slowly phase out all the chemicals I was injesting and relace that food with healthy alternative, like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, iced teas, water and fruit juice  - I tried to go as organic and natural as possible as often as I could

Along with the is change in my diet, I did other healthy things for my skin, like taking walks, going to yoga, epsom salt baths, using herbal facial masks and natural skin care lines with no chemicals.

Here are some great ingredients to look for in your natural skincare:

Oatmeal - natural anti-inflammatory and skin softener

Chamomile - a natural anti-inflammatory, reduces redness and inflammation

Rosemary - Natural antibiotic, anti-microbial, astringent (great for acne)

Aloe Vera - natural skin healer, helps repair damaged cells or acne scars

Lavender:  natural anti-microbial and astringent

Marshmallow ( the herb - not the desert)  - helps reduce redness and inflammation

Green Tea - helps repair cellular damage to skin cells

Vitamins - A, C, E - all help repair skin and nourish

After 6 months of my radical new diet and my heral skincare treatments, I was getting shocked expressions from friends sying how radiant and beautiful I looked, they couldn’t believe the change.

So I advice you to give it go - try to limit the junk in your diet and choose healthy alternative, I KNOW you will see beautiful skin in no time.

TAKING PROPER CARE OF YOUR SKIN

How many of you have woken up in the morning only to see a stranger in the mirror looking back at you?  Years of good or bad choices can contribute to the quality of not only your body, but your largest organ - your skin.  The epidermis - or outer layer of skin- can be the first sign of how well you take care of yourself.  As the evidence of our lifestyle choices will eventually show up in far more than our skin, it behooves us all to take the best care of our body and skin that we can.

If your motivation for good skin care is to look more youthful, than taking proper care of your skin will have the added bonus of creating a healthier body.  If you wish to reduce acne breakouts, then a slight modification of diet might be necessary as well. Whatever your desired skin result, your overall health will be much improved by following a few easy steps.

Your everyday decisions shape how healthy you and your skin will be - it is that simple.

Here are some simple tips for basic skin care and a healthier body:

• Keep your skin clean so that it can breathe
• Give your skin plenty of moisture to keep it looking young and healthy
• Feed the skin key nutrients that it requires to rejuvenate and repair itself repeatedly
• Rid only the top layer of dead cells to promote rapid birth of new cells
• Protect against outside elements to prevent deterioration and/or damage
• Live a healthy life style

Skin is a living, breathing organ that regularly moves thousands of layers of skin cells each day. The skin is comprised of three layers - the subcutaneous layer  - where fat cells are produced;  the dermis - where you can find sweat glands, nerve endings and hair follicles, and the epidermis - the final outer layer of skin where pores and oil glands reside.

When new skin cells are ready, they start moving toward the epidermis. This trip takes about 2 weeks to a month. As newer cells continue to move up, older cells near the top die and rise to the surface of your skin.  So what you really see on the surface of your skin are dead skin cells.

Keeping your skin properly cleansed and moisturized is vital to healthy, glowing skin. It is the basic of all skincare routines. Be sure to choose a cleanser and moisturizer best suited for your skin type. If you aren’t sure what that is, ask your friendly pharmacist or dermatologist for help. You skin can be acne-prone, oily, dry or a combination of the two. There are hundreds of specialized products out there to suite every skin type.

Feeding the skin means feeding the body. A good skin care regime will always include a healthy diet full of nutrients and vitamins. Whole, organic foods are best if you can get them. Leafy greens, fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains will keep your skin in top shape. Try to avoid junk foods or processed foods as much as possible. These foods rarely contain any real nutrition and can actually overload your skin with sugars and toxins to process.

A weekly light-exfoliation or facial scrub will do much to slough off the top layer of dead skin cells and reveal newer, healthier skin underneath. You can use a soft facial brush found in cosmetic counters, a rough washcloth or a light scrubbing pad as well as pre-packaged facial scrubs or facial masks.

Avoid Excessive Sun Exposure: While some sun exposure is necessary to produce vital Vitamin D, excessive sun exposure is very harmful to the skin. Without protection from the sun’s rays, more than 10 minutes of exposure each day can cause freckles, age spots, and spider veins on the face, rough and leathery skin, loose skin, a blotchy complexion and even skin cancer. If you must go outside, be sure to wear a good UV-blocking sunscreen like Zinc Oxide or wear protective clothing such as hats and long sleeves.

LIVE A HEALTHY LIFE STYLE

Although you have no control over intrinsic factors of aging, such as genetics, you are largely in control of the extrinsic factors.  This is where you can make life-altering choices.

Don’t Smoke. You cannot have truly vital skin if you smoke, period.  Smoking depletes your body of essential vitamins, which means you can’t have a healthy body either. If you do smoke, try your best to quit. Plenty has been reported and verified on the dangers of smoking and there are now numerous programs, patches and nicotine replacement therapies that can help you quit.

Exercise: Exercise gives you vitality. If you want fresh and youthful skin, physical activity is a must. It not only tones your muscles, but it increases blood flow to all areas of your body, especially your skin. Regular exercise reduces your stress levels, increases levels of oxygen circulating throughout the body, promoting rejuvenation and repair.

Avoid or Moderate Alcohol: Overindulgence of alcohol causes a decrease in the body’s level of vitamin A. This is a very important antioxidant vitamin that supports body and skin health. Alcohol also dilates small blood vessels in the skin’s surface, creating blemishes and red blotches. Drinking too much alcohol can exacerbate acne-rosacea. Due to the dehydrating effects of alcohol, skin wrinkles can occur after an extended period of alcohol abuse because the water in the body and skin is continually evaporated.

Reduce Stress: A good skin care routine and way of life can include meditation, yoga, relaxation, saunas, regular steams, exercise and most importantly, self love.

Get Plenty of Rest:  Lack of sleep shows up on the face in forms of dark circles, baggy eyes, and saggy skin. Research has shown that most adults function best with eight to nine hours of sleep each night. While we sleep, our skin gets a chance to rest and rejuvenate. Your skin truly does need its “beauty sleep.”

You’ve only got ONE body. Healthy choices that you CAN make every day will have tremendous effect on the quality of your life and health. The body has amazing repair capabilities, and once you stop or reduce toxic behaviors, it will be better able to heal itself.  Taking good care of yourself is the most important step in your skincare routine.

Author: Rachelle Dupree
Vivoderm Natural Skincare

Coconut for Beautiful Skin

All of you know what a coconut looks like and what it actually is! Africans and Caribbean people have been benefitting from the use of coconuts since ages. Coconuts are a great way to detoxify the skin. The goodness of coconuts is indeed without comparison. Read on to know how coconuts can help to get you a good skin.

Products which are genuinely developed out of coconut have an excellent effect on skin. Coconut is known for its moisturizing properties. People with dry skin may resort to coconut derived products in order to gain instant relief from itchiness and dryness. Coconut is a chief flavor of a number of moisturizers and lotions.

Dermatologists also hold that coconut usage helps to suck excessive oil from the skin. As such, people with acne prone skin will benefit from the usage of coconut. The chief cause of acne is excessive oil deposition. Coconut usage helps to reduce such oil deposition thereby reducing the chances of acne breakouts.

Coconut Water- Coconut water may be added to your bucket full of water when you go for a bath. It may also be used in facial packs in place of normal water.

Coconut Oil- Coconut oil penetrates down into the skin with relative skin thereby leaving the skin dry and polished. Topical application of this oil lends a smoothness and radiant glow on facial skin. The oil also acts as a natural moisturizer.

Coconut Pulp- Coconut pulp can be used in facial masks. The pulp alone may be left on the facial skin to work. If good skin is desired, consistent usage of coconut facial masks is recommended.

Coconut Cream- African women swear by the advantages of coconut cream. The cream is nothing less than a magical concoction for people with dry and combination skin types.

Nutrients for Your Beautiful Skin!

Most people neglect the nutrition part and still expect to have a glowing and youthful skin. Yes, external factors play a very important part and we are not denying that. Following a good diet and a healthy lifestyle is however as important. Diet and lifestyle cannot be neglected. It is only an internally healthy skin which looks healthy on the outside. The following paragraphs will guide you on the importance of intake of proper nutrients in order to have a good skin.

Proteins are macro nutrients that help in the repair and growth of body tissues. Protein deficiency causes the skin to become dry, lifeless and worn out. If you think that your intake of proteins is inadequate, you may supplement it with protein tablets.

Next come carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are very essential for proper body functioning but most people do not realize the fact. Yes, one has to be extremely careful about the usage. For example, excessive sugar intake causes skin problems like acne etc. You may substitute normal sugar with brown sugar in such a case. Now you must be wondering as to how carbohydrates are good for the skin. It is because carbohydrates play an important part in blood purification that is freeing the blood from unnecessary toxins.

Contrary to what most people hold, fats are very essential to get a baby soft skin. Of course, excessive intake of fats is bad but your body does require fats in some quantity in order to get skin suppleness.

Vitamins are the most important of all nutrients when it comes to skincare. No wonder, cosmetic skin products containing multi vitamins have not only grown but tripled since the last two decades. Lack of adequate skin vitamins will make the skin look dull and dreary.

So, if you are not very serious about your eating and lifestyle, it is time you get so!

Glow with Grapefruit!

There are literally countless ways to get a beautiful skin; the easiest of them all is however taking a balanced diet. Your diet is the primary determinant of your skin, rest all is secondary. As such you must consume a diet that is full of nutrients. The goodness of fruits and vegetables has no parallel. Fruits and raw vegetables help to make skin smooth and radiant. The richness of fruits makes you glow from within!

Citrus fruits are especially known for their anti aging and other skin benefits. Citric acid present in these fruits helps to get a soft and unblemished skin. This is the reason why citrus fruits hold so much importance in cosmetology. People with oily skin may seek relief from citrus fruits.

Of all citrus fruits, grapefruit has been drawing a major portion of media attention. Grapefruit is not just any fruit; it is a wonder of beauty nutrients! Virtually, a grapefruit falls in the category of oranges, lemons and similar citrus fruits but a grapefruit is much bitter in taste than these. Grapefruit masks are a big hit these days. These masks offer a pile of skin benefits. Grapefruit is inherent with innumerable beauty secrets that can help you to fight age lines, age spots, pigmentation, blemishes, eye wrinkles, acne etc.

Although grapefruit beauty products are readily available in cosmetic stores but if still for some reason you are unable to find them, you may experiment with the fruit all by yourself! Mix grapefruit pulp in sour milk and apply all over your face as a beauty mask. You may also choose egg yolk in place of raw milk. Likewise, you may make a blend of grapefruit crush and yeast.

Who says beauty secrets are undisclosed? They are right in front of you, in your refrigerator!

Is It Difficult To Get Beautiful Skin?

Everybody strives to disclose celebrity secrets to beautiful skin. Every person on this planet yearns for a truly flawless skin. If you think you read somewhere that home beauty secrets do not work, cross out that notion. It is baseless. Actually, home beauty secrets have no match! We all know that ‘Beauty is skin deep’ but that does not free us from making efforts to enhance our beauty. A beautiful skin is a healthy skin and as such everyone must work on adequate skincare.

Stress is the biggest enemy of your skin. As the level of stress hormones in the body increases, there is a counter increase in oil production. This excessive oil production may later cause a thousand more problems in the shape of pimples, blackheads and other severe forms of acne. The same is applicable to smoking. Excessive smoking causes lungs to pack up. Yes, intense smoking throws up beauty problems as well. As a result of continuous smoking, wrinkles begin to develop all around the mouth. Resultantly, the skin becomes dull and lifeless. Exfoliation of skin is therefore indispensable. When skin exfoliation is carried out in a methodological way, it helps to scrap off the outermost dead skin layer.

There are many skin products available in the market these days that promise instant beauty. While many of these may be genuine beauty products, there are many that are purely sham. The best part is that all beauty products self proclaim to be harmless. If that be, why do some people complain of certain products? Why do some people develop allergies post their usage? The golden rule is – Let the buyer beware!

Are There Any Secrets To Beautiful Skin?

Okay, if you are here to uncover some beauty secrets, let us begin by telling you that there are in fact no secrets to beauty. These beauty tips lay disclosed. Maybe you were even aware of many but never took them on a serious note.

The first most important thing is diet. You must take a wholesome diet. An adequate intake of vitamins, flaxseed and zinc is very essential if you desire a healthy, glowing and beautiful skin. Natural intake of nutrients is far better than getting them in the form of supplements. Intake of fluids gives a natural sheen to your skin.

The next way to get a beautiful skin is through exercising. Exercising is not all that boring morning hassle. It can be made exciting (aerobics etc.). This will aid in body fitness and proper blood circulation.

Next step towards beautiful skin is skincare. Skin cleansing and skin exfoliating are the foremost of all. You should use a quality cleanser daily to cleanse your skin and open all blocked pores. Similarly, exfoliation of the skin is indispensable. If you choose to exfoliate your skin using a scrub, look out that the granules in the scrub are spherical. All others may give you rashes. Also, you must choose your skin products with great deal of thought and evaluation. Just don’t be very easy on it. It is a matter of your skin, for heaven’s sake!

If you fall into the category of people who do not lead a healthy lifestyle, minor alterations in your lifestyle can assist you in getting a beautiful skin. First things first, you will have to drag yourself out of the sedentary lifestyle. Indulge in some physical activity, get a sound sleep, do not overwork, meditate, enjoy the weekends and here you get a supple, healthy, radiant and a very beautiful skin.

Do You Want Beautiful Skin?

Beautiful skin is not just a sign of beauty; it is a sign of healthy skin. Some consider getting a beautiful skin a task as hard as walking uphill. In reality, actually it is not that hard a job. Consistent skincare and proper eating and living alone can help you get a pretty healthy skin.

Some people are more than committed to get a beautiful skin, some others take it lightly. For those who happen to fall in the second category, it is seriously time to wake up. Your skin is calling you and you need to act before it gets too late!

Beautiful skin is one that is free from all kinds of scars, zits and blemishes. Again a clear skin is not always a beautiful skin. For  skin to be called beautiful, the skin must be glowing, refreshing and vivacious. It should be bouncing with sparkle, clarity and twinkle. It should be even and smooth on touch. It should display radiance in all weather conditions and body moods. Sometimes people screw up their skin texture by falling prey to inferior quality beauty products. It is very difficult to regain the lost beauty.

Apart from skin beauty creams, one must also spare out time for exercise. Exercise may take any form. It may be simple pedaling or it may be a vigorous workout at the gym. It may be something as simple as going for a regular brisk walk. Exercise may also be in the form of yoga. There are special yogic postures that relate to the exercise of facial muscles, neck and legs. Breathing exercises are also very beneficial as they smoothen the flow of blood and help in proper oxygenation of the body. A beautiful skin, in fact is a result of the combination of proper diet, proper exercise and proper skincare.

For A Skin As Beautiful As That Of Cleopatra!

Everybody desires a skin as beautiful as that of Cleopatra. Women notably, are more concerned about beauty and skincare than men though there has been a significant increase in the number of men who are passionate about skincare. Healthy food and good sleep are the two prerequisites to beautiful skin. Beauty products are secondary. Some people work their sweat off to get the best beauty products but fail to take a healthy diet. They indulge in no or negligible exercise. Such types of people are in fact furthermore worsening their skin.

You must first and foremost draw out a diet chart for yourself that should include milk, fruits and green vegetables. All nutrients are important but vitamin E, magnesium and zinc are most important for the skin and they should not only find a place in your plate but they should occupy a major portion of your daily diet. We assume your intake of fluids, water in particular is sufficient and hence there is no apparent reason to explain the importance of water. Next is skincare. You will have to be consistent about your skincare regime. It is not that you pursue it very vigorously one day and the other day you act lazy. Persistence and consistency is the key. Next the products that you choose for your skin must be 100% natural and safe. No product will announce it is not safe. You will have to carefully evaluate each product and find which one is the most suitable for you. Sun protection from direct rays is also very important.

There are no secrets to beautiful skin. It is an open book. Beautiful skin comes from adequate and consistent skincare. Your desire to get a beautiful skin is understandable but please do not expect it overnight. Be serene and give it time to work.

How To Get Beautiful Skin?

There must hardly be a woman living on this planet who does not desire a skin as soft as that of a baby’s! In fact that is the skin type you should strive to maintain all throughout your life but unfortunately increasing pollution, crash diet and even worse lifestyle is making most of the people look older than their actual age! Moreover, people today find at a loss of time to devote to their skincare. Also, why just women? Even men desire to have a beautiful healthy skin sans any scars or rashes.

Beautiful skin cannot come to those who are hopelessly negligent as regards their skincare, sleep and diet. Those who are naturally blessed with a beautiful skin are super lucky, agreed but even they need to maintain their skin to make it remain forever beautiful. All in all, beautiful skin does not come easy. One has to work hard to either get one, in the first place or maintain one! Now, what is a beautiful skin? A beautiful skin is a healthy skin. A skin which is healthy inside out is automatically healthy.

Do not get duped by swanky advertisements. Use your own brains to decide which beauty product can work for you or just whether you actually need a beauty product in the first place.

Coming to what all should form a part of your diet, wholegrain food, lots of water, antioxidants and foods rich in omega 3 must form an indispensable part of your daily diet. Walnuts, fish liver oil and flaxseeds are tremendously rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Likewise pomegranates are a rich source of antioxidants. Whole grain food helps to maintain skin hydration leaving your skin supple and moisturized.

Those who boast of a beautiful skin aren’t that way by sheer chance. They have been working on it; they still must be working on it!

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