Archive for September, 2010

Unwanted hair, one of women’s worst nightmares! Currently a lot of men and women are recurring to many types of ways to remove their unwanted facial and body hair; razors, wax, tweezing and creams. But not all of us are aware, and if we are, are not so sure about doing it, of laser hair removal. Does it really work? How long does it last? Well, here’s the scoop.

Laser hair removal is the usage of laser energy to greatly reduce hair production. They do this by producing heat upon the hair and introducing it into the hair follicle which inflammates it and sends it into a “resting stage”. Doing this is a little tricky in terms of time, the laser has to be upon our hair long enough to heat the hair but not too long that it actually begins to damage our skin, concurrently burning it. This is why there are three types of laser hair removal depending on our skin type and thickness of our hair.

One of the laser hair removal systems, Sona laser hair removal consists of piercing our skin with a strong laser and removing the root of the hair. The second type of laser hair removal would be Alase laser hair removal debilitates the hair root stimulating re growth of thinner and finer hair thus increasing treatments until hair is completely gone. The last system, Epila laser hair removal, which is a personal system we can use in our own homes, emits the same kind of laser as the first two systems, but it does not work on very dark skin types.

Sometimes we may think that because it is a laser treatment, there are only so many of our body parts they can be produced on because of skin sensitivity and laser strength. But really, we can have laser hair removal on most of our body parts. Treatment areas mainly consist of bikini line hair, facial hair, underarms, back hair, arms, legs, chest and abdominal hair removal.

Now, while laser hair removal system can be effective, it can also be a little costly, prices ranging from $429 to $900 depending on the area or areas we desire to be treated. Also need to be taken into mind is the quantity of treatments needed to be completely successful, thus price ranging increasing over this.

As I said before, depending on the quantity of the treatment we will know how much it’s going to cost us, so how many treatments do we need to have in order to have our hair fully removed? Hair Removal Journal 2006 advises us that up to three treatments will be able to give us good results, averaging from person to person.

No matter which method we choose to remove our unwanted hair we should always make sure to talk to our physicians about it and make sure we choose an experienced laser hair removal doctor to ensure the safety of our skin and of ourselves.

The way in which you should care for your hair will depend on your hair type. People with greasy hair will have a different hair care regime than someone with dry or flyaway hair. You need to establish what type of hair you have before you know how best to care for it.

Dry hair: Often prone to breaking, frizzing and with a generally dull appearance. Dry hair needs moisture. When washing, use a shampoo specifically formulated for dry hair, this will help increase its much needed moisture levels. Also use a conditioner for dry hair. Wrap your hair in a towel for a couple of minutes after washing, then remove the towel and apply conditioner. This will make the effect of he conditioner more intensive. Try not to wash your hair everyday, leaving your hair for a couple of days and not washing it will give the natural oils in your hair a chance to spread around the hair a little.

When styling, use a heat protection product, this will minimise the damage that your heated styling appliances will do. Make sure anything you apply to your hair has dried before you straighten your hair. Having liquid on your wet air and then straightening it will do a lot of damage; your straighteners will basically boil any moisture that is left on your hair.

Greasy hair: Often looks lank and wet, and you may have washed it just that morning. This is caused by overproduction of sebum.

Specifically formulated shampoos are good for greasy hair, they contain ingredients that help to delay the production of oil, making the hair look fresher for longer.

You may need to wash your hair everyday, but do not use a harsh shampoo or water that is too hot. This will only cause the sebum glands to overcompensate and produce more oil. Try a dry shampoo; this will help to remove some of the oil without drying out your roots completely

You will still need heat protection so when choosing styling products, go for something light, but protective. Sprays are best, as serums and creams tend to be too heavy and drag the hair down, and make it look much greasier. Apply to the middle and ends of your hair, if you apply them too high up, you will just make your hair look even greasier.

Combination hair: Possibly the most difficult to care for, combination hair will normally have greasy roots and dry ends. There are shampoos available for combination hair, but there is not a great selection. Choose a mild shampoo, nothing too harsh, as this will damage the ends. Dry shampoo will remove the grease from the roots without drying out the ends. Choose a conditioner that is not too heavy, something designed for greasy hair; these will still condition the dry ends of your hair without making your roots look even greasier.

Apply heat protection styling products to the middle and ends of your hair, not the roots.

Normal hair: If you are lucky enough to have normal hair, then choose a shampoo and conditioner that will help to maintain the moisture levels in your hair, make sure you still use heat protection products.

Coloured hair: The lathering process when washing your hair can strip it of a lot of its colour. Choose a shampoo for coloured hair (they lather less) Choose a conditioner that is for coloured hair aswell, these will keep your colour looking fresher for longer. Try not to wash your hair everyday.

There are many styling products available for coloured hair, even specific colours such as brown, red and blonde (although I have never seen one for black hair)

These will all protect your hair and keep your colour looking vibrant at the same time.

Every woman has her own idea about the best beauty products out there. I mean you have those who swear by Mary Kay and some who swear by Avon. I personally swear by Neutrogena. But beauty is not only skin deep. The best beauty product out there comes from the heart and is worn as a smile.

I live in the great state of Texas. People are extremely friendly here. I grew up in New Mexico and people are not as friendly there. In addition, if you look at their faces, they are sad and angry looking. In Texas people seem to have permanent smiles glued to their faces and are stereotyped as being “larger than life.” Why? Because they are always happy and smiling! Don’t believe me? Check out the wrinkles on their faces. They have permanent wrinkles on their faces that show where their smiles form.

Wrinkles are everyone’s dreaded “growing old” indicator but they are inevitable. Even if you get plastic surgery it eventually catches up to you. Wrinkles also tell your age and how your life has been in the past. You all know someone who is happy all the time, and I’m sure you might know someone who is sad all the time. Look at their faces. Watch them smile. Those who smile a lot have wrinkles that form a permanent smile and those who frown have wrinkles that look angry and sad all the time. The one thing I love about my fianc’s handsome face is the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. They hold so much happiness and comfort in them. They also contribute to his handsomeness. I knew him back in high school and was in love with him. I look at pictures of him from high school and realize he was inexperienced and young. He looks older now and experienced and thankfully the past years have made him smile. He always looks happy and beautiful. Thank God for those wrinkles!

Keep up that beauty regimen, because taking care of you also contributes to beauty and happiness, and embrace those wrinkles! Take care of those beautiful smiles (I suggest Colgate), moisturize that beautiful skin on your face (I suggest an oil-free moisturizer-doesn’t have to be expensive), and most of all, SMILE!

Turmeric is used as a beauty aid for very long time across various cultures to get rid of unwanted hairs. Turmeric makes the skin soft. Turmeric has been used in parts of South India mostly by women to arrest the growth of excessive facial hair. Turmeric is an antiseptic and using it may be the most inexpensive method to reduce the facial hair growth in the gentlest way.

To prevent and to get rid of unwanted hairs, turmeric has been used since olden days. Raw turmeric is used and considered more effective over powdered turmeric. Turmeric is made to a fine paste and applied with rock salt over the unwanted hair. Rock salt gets rid of the dirt and helps faster healing. It is also a powerful exfoliator and removes dead skin effectively. Turmeric is an antiseptic which is used over wounds for faster healing. Both these natural products used together has no side effects. Turmeric beautifies the skin leaving it soft and supple.

Raw turmeric can be made to a thick paste with rock salt and applied over the unwanted hair. Allow it to harden for about 15 min. Add some water over the paste and rub gently in circular motion. Later turmeric can be washed away with luke warm water. It is best to avoid using soap and the turmeric can be washed with a powdered gram flour.

Turmeric and salt is used to remove unwanted facial hair and to reduce the upper lip hair growth. It can also be used to reduce hair growth over legs, hands and underarms.

Using turmeric is not a permanent hair removal method. This method has to be done for a period of time to see visible reduction in hair growth. Unwanted hair may not be completely removed as waxing and so the expectation of hair removal using this method must be realistic.

Turmeric is also an effective aid to remove rashes, dark spots, pigmentation and it lightens the color of the skin. It is also a legendary beauty aid and the most effective ingredient used in home beauty treatments.

Turmeric stains are too stubborn. It may stain the area of hair removal and it is best to wear old clothing or to use an apron while using turmeric. Even it may stain the area of skin removal but gram flour helps to remove the stains. Follow this method when you are more likely to remain indoors as the stains may remain. Repeated washing with gram flour would reduce the turmeric stain.

Looking for a natural hair removal method? Solution lies in your kitchen pantry using turmeric and rock salt!

How would children look after their skin in winter? In a lot of ways the winter elements are harsher on our skin, due to artificial heating, extreme cold and wind outside, layers upon layers of clothing and so on. The other thing to remember with children’s skin is that it is more sensitive than adults; therefore more care should be taken in regards to what is put on the child’s skin.

Due to the harsher elements of winter the skin is more than likely going to dry out and quite often this can lead to itchy skin. In turn the itchy skin may turn into eczema. But not always!

STOP before you put a moisturizer on your child’s skin, is it a natural product, is it perfume free? Is it even suitable for children’s skin? Remember there are a whole host of different moisturizers, coming in different thickness; they help to keep your skin moisturized and flexible which cuts down on the itching.

To avoid dryness it is advisable to use a child friendly moisturizer that will not sting at least twice a day. But you can use more frequently if your child’s skin needs the extra nourishment.

In regards to clothing it is best that they wear cotton clothing close to the skin, to will help let the skin breath and avoid skin chaffing form the friction of wool fabrics. This is important in regards to skincare as you are preventing the need to treat sore and itchy skin. Another thing to consider here is what sort of product you are washing the clothing in? Is it going to dry out the skin and add to the problem?

Even though it is winter it is still very important that when your child goes out side that they wear sunscreen. This will protect them from the glair. It will also give the skin a protective barrier against the environmental elements that can affect the skin.

When your child has a bath add one cup of white or cider vinegar which will sooth itchy skin, or to sooth and soften one tablespoon of ground oatmeal, or one cup milk powder to nourish and combat dry skin. If your child has chapped skin you could add some Comfrey to their bath.

So just remember that it is still very important to maintain your child’s moisture levels and sunscreen; especially in winter. Even though it is not as hot they should still be drinking plenty of water which in itself is a great skincare ingredient as our bodies are made up with a majority of water. This will also help in keeping the skin moisturized and detoxified.