Posts Tagged ‘skin type’

In an ideal world, every woman and man would have a customized skin care routine. However, most people don’t have the time, resources or motivation to develop a skin care regimen that is specific to their individual skin care needs. Fortunately, there are plenty of product testers (like myself), who are more than happy to try out hundreds of skin care products in order to discover which brands deliver on their promise of clearer, healthier, younger looking skin.

Although my experience as a product tester allows me to try out high-end skin care products free of charge, I can’t bring myself to recommend expensive products unless they provide really amazing results. Therefore, with the exception of a few “splurge” items, the products on the following list are generally affordable and can be found at your local discount retailer or drug store.

As I mentioned earlier, the best skin care routine is one that is customized to your individual skin care needs, which means that not all of the products mentioned below are the right fit for every skin type. These products are recommended for combination skin (because that is my skin type), but because combination skin is a mixture of oily, dry and/or sensitive areas, some of the following products could be beneficial for these skin types as well.

Before you spend your hard earned cash on expensive skin care products, read the following list of affordable products that offer some pretty amazing results.

* Best cleanser: Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash

Recommended to me by my dermatologist, Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash is the best cleanser that I have found for my combination skin. It’s hypoallergenic and soap-free so it doesn’t clog pores or dry out your skin. Purpose also lathers and cleanses better than Cetaphil, another cleanser brand commonly recommended by leading dermatologists. Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash also received Allure magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award in 2008.

Average retail price in 2009 for a pump bottle (6 fl. oz.): $6.29

* Best toner or astringent: Sea Breeze Fresh-Clean Astringent for Sensitive Skin

I have tried tons of expensive toners and astringents over the years and always find myself going back to Sea Breeze. I have found that the regular Sea Breeze formula can be too harsh for the areas of my skin that dry out easily, but the sensitive skin formula is just right for my combination skin. Simply apply a squirt to a cotton pad and smooth over a freshly cleansed

Removing facial hair is delicate, since the skin of the face is much gentler than say leg skin. You can never settle for shaving facial hair, since the result will be the regrowth of thicker and darker hairs.

The methods that you can use to deal with undesired facial hair are numerous, each one leaving skin hair-free for a period varying from several days to several years. Select the facial hair removal strategy that is best suited to your needs and skin type.

* Depilatory products *
You can use one of the numerous depilatory creams, gels and foams available. These will spare your facial skin from the dehydration that shaving causes. Before you apply these products, you must carry out a skin test. Apply the product over a small portion of skin to check whether any reddening or inflammation occurs. Your skin might be too sensitive for the usage of such substances. In such cases refrain from using depilatory creams. Keep in mind that these products act in a manner similar to shaving and hairs will start growing again after several days.

* Waxing *
Waxing is probably one of the most popular hair removal methods. It produces long-lasting results. The problem with waxing is that the method is very aggressive and could lead to the inflammation of the gentle facial skin.

One of the biggest waxing advantages is that the effect lasts for several weeks and hair starts growing back thinner and softer. You can use either hot or cold waxing, both options available for home use.

If you want to get excellent results, it will be best to visit a beauty studio where a professional will perform the procedure.

* Tweezing *
The effect of tweezing is similar to the effect of waxing. Its advantage is that removing one hair at a time will diminish skin irritation. The setback of tweezing is that the procedure is too slow to carry out.

Tweezing is most suitable for smaller areas and for softer hair. It can be performed at home and the effect lasts for at least two weeks.

* Electrolysis *
Electrolysis is a hair removal method which is said to produce permanent results. You can get it from a professional only. In the process, a fine needle is used. Electrical current passes through it to destroy the root of hair. Keep in mind that electrolysis is expensive and somehow painful.

* Laser depilation *
Laser depilation produces results that last for a period of several years.

The setback of laser depilation is that it is expensive, time consuming and to get results, you will need to carry out six to eight procedures. The laser is used to destroy the root of hair. The process is painless.

Laser depilation cannot be used in the case of white or fair hairs. These lack the melanin needed to absorb the light energy of the laser and to turn it into heat that destroys hairs.

Laser depilation machines for home use are already available, though many question the result that these are able to produce.

Most of us love to eat avocado now and then, but do you know that they have much more to offer than just delicious taste. From the ancient times avocado is used as an excellent beauty aid. They truly offer wealth of health and significant beauty benefits.

Avocado contains vitamins A, C, E and K, which helps a great deal to improve overall skin health and give a soft look and instant glow. Avocado is an efficient multi-purpose beauty essential that nurtures your skin without the chemical additives which are found in over-the-counter beauty products. From now on stop spending on professional beauty treatments, but start using natural ingredients from your kitchen for all your beauty ailments.Read on to learn how you can use the avocado in your day to day beauty routine.

Hair Conditioner and for Hair Growth

Avocado is rich in protein and polyunsaturated fat, and is packed with plenty of minerals and vitamins. It is an ideal natural ingredient for hair rejuvenation as it is enriched with essential fats which are fabulous for moisturizing. Avocado makes the hair softer and more elastic and also makes it less prone to breakage.

Take one avocado, half teaspoon of olive oil and one egg yolk. Mash it thoroughly in a a bowl. Apply this mix to wet or damp hair. Leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes. Massage it in your scalp properly. Rinse with warm water and shampoo your hair as usual. The result : Amazingly soft, silky and shiny hair.

Face Cleansing Mask

Avocado is a natural cleanser . Take the flesh from the avocado and mash it with a fork in a bowl. Make the cleansing mask according to your skin type. For dry skin , add one teaspoon of honey in the avocado mash. For normal or oily skin , add one teaspoon of lemon juice in the avocado mash.Mix the mash thoroughly and stir it well. Apply it to your face and neck, and massage gently. Leave it on for 15 minutes and then rinse off with warm water. The result: Clean , Soft smooth and glowing skin.

Natural Moisturizer

The peel of the avocado is excellent as the precious oil is hidden in the peel. Simply take the avocado peel and gently massage your face with the inside of the avocado peel. Remember to use upward stokes while massaging. After massaging for 2 to 3 minutes, leave the oil on your skin for about 10 minutes. Wash your face with water and pat dry. The result : Beautiful and Moisturized , good looking skin.

Exfoliating Scrub

You can use avocado as an exfoliating scrub for extremely dry skin . Make a mix with one avocado, 1 egg white,2 tablespoons of oatmeal and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Apply it on your face and hands. Leave the mix on for 15 to 20 minutes and than rinse off with warm water. The result: Softer and smoother skin.

Essential tips

Avocados are perishable, so always use your avocado mix just after making it.

Opt for organic and fully ripe avocado for best results.

While storing unused avocado, cover the unused half with plastic wrap and refrigerate it immediately.

Never keep an avocado in the freezer; it will simply die by the temperature shock.

To ripe the avocados quickly keep them in a paper bag, or wrap them in foil to hasten the process of ripening.

By now you are familiar with the beauty uses of avocado. So what are you waiting for? Go, reach for an avocado and try out these quick and easy home remedies right now!

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.

If you are blessed enough to have naturally clear skin regardless of your skin type, then the best skin care to maintain this is keeping a simple skin care regimen. There are only four basic steps that you need to do religiously on regular basis.

First step to the best skin care is cleansing. You need to find a good cleanser that is suitable for your skin and stick to it. Your cleanser does not need to be the expensive brand but must be one that works for your skin type. You must also keep away from soaps as they tend to dry out skin. For dry skin, you will need to purchase a creamy cleanser and oily skin uses a clear cleanser.

The best skin care regimen does not require you to wash your face too often. Washing your face at night is best to take away the accumulated dirt from the whole day. The application of a cold cream should be considered after washing to replace the necessary oil that has been washed out especially if you have dry skin. A splash of lukewarm water is sufficient for a morning wash to help remove the excess oil build up from your overnight moisturizer.

Exfoliation is the second step to the best skin care regimen and you can choose from microdermabrasion, chemical peels or retinoids. Microdermabrasion uses gentle scrubs with tiny grains that can remove the top layer of dead skin to restore the glow to your complexion. Chemical peel is a stronger procedure of exfoliation that uses professionally prepared treatments where a single treatment can actually take off years of dead skin from your face. However, if you have the extra budget, it is recommended to have the chemical peel done by professionals as well. The last form of exfoliation on the other hand, retinoids like Retin-A or Renova can be in form of creams that also gets rid of the dead skin cells on the top layer of your skin while generating collagen at the same time.

After cleansing and peeling, your skin could be stripped off the important oils that keep your skin smooth and supple. To compensate for the lost oil is moisturizing, the third vital step to the best skin care routine. This process seals moisture into your skin, no matter what your skin type is. However moisturizers are formulated for the delicate and sensitive skin that surrounds your eye. So it is highly recommended to use eye creams especially since this is the area that is highly prone to wrinkling.

To finally complete your best skin care regimen, the last step is the use of sunscreen to protect the results of the first three steps. Some people may not see this step as important as the first three but your skin is more prone to damage when you expose your freshly cleansed, exfoliated and moisturized skin without protection. It is common knowledge that the sun or its ultra violet rays are the main cause of wrinkling on our skin.

Having the best skin care is essential to maintain you’re a clear and wrinkle-free skin. You can even develop your own regimen that you reckon would be best suited for your skin. Remember to keep it to the four simple steps: cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize and protect.