Some Helpful Beauty Tips for Dealing With Skin Discoloration

This attentive beauty takes her skin care seriously.

Perhaps, your skin has no problem with any discoloration.  However, chances are that at some stage in your life that you’ll probably experience some form of a dark spot or pigmentation issue with your skin such as hyperpigmentation or melasma.

The Difference Between Hyperpigmentation and Melasma

Hyperpigmentation is a common skin condition caused by external factors to produce dark patches on the skin.  Usually these dark areas have irregular shapes and occur on the face, hands and exposed skin for both women and men. The biggest culprit is the sun with how it works against the skin.  In self-defense, the skin releases an enzyme called tyrosinase that produces melanin.  The more exposed the skin is to the sun, the more of that brown pigment floods the skin to eventually cause hyperpigmentation such as age spots from years of accumulated skin damage.

Another type of the same thing is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation that comes from other sorts of trauma to the skin.  The darkened skin often results from pimples, insect bites, burns to cuts that could cause altered color when healing the skin.

On the other hand, women can only develop melasma.  Commonly, this problem usually shows up on the cheeks and lips with a fairly even shape when compared to each side where it’s located. This skin discolors in areas of darkened skin as a result of internal causes from hormonal changes such as during pregnancy to overproduce melanin.  Any new medication or contraception that you may start or be using can also cause drastic shifts in female hormones to cause this condition.

How to Deal With Either Type of Skin Discoloration

Regardless as to what brought the hyperpigmentation or melasma about, it is crucial to incorporate a broad spectrum sunscreen of least SPF 30 or higher into your life to prevent darkening the discolored areas further.  Wearing a broad-brimmed hat always and sunglasses also help limiting the damage from the sun’s rays.  Sun protection is also the best preventive measure that you can take to keep your skin safe.

Dark spots from hyperpigmentation can be brightened by looking for whitening agents to bleach the skin.  Such ingredients that can help lighten are kojic acid, licorice root, alpha hydroxy acids, and vitamin C.  Hydroquinone is another skin bleaching ingredient that has been used for more than 55 years in the United States, but has been banned in some European and Asian countries due to links to cancer.  Nevertheless, the case to its safety is still being studied here.  

You can also turn to natural ingredients for help whitening the skin.  Raw potato has an enzyme called catecholase that can bleach skin and help with puffy eyes.  Milk and yoghurt have lactic acid that work to lighten skin the same way. Tomato or tomato juice has fading potential with all its vitamin A and lycopene to guard against the sun.  Turmeric has curcumin that has the ability to whiten hyperpigmentation and protect from sun.  Lemon juice with its citric acid is another that can help lighten skin. 

Moisturizing the skin is more important than ever when your skin in under siege.  You might want to look into moisturizers that can also brighten or help speed skin renewal with ingredients like retinol.  When using retinol products, you may experience more sensitivity.  After all, the skin will be extra vulnerable so sunscreen can’t be stressed enough.

What else that you may want to look into is changing your current facial cleanser for one with niacin or any of the above brightening skin care ingredients.  This ingredient is also known to help brighten up darkness.

I hate to break it to you, but hyperpigmentation is known to return.  This is why it is vital to never leave the house without taking precautions with sunscreen.  You need to be on the defensive when it comes to your skin.

Depending on the degree of your hyperpigmentation, you also might look into a chemical peel or visit a dermatologist to get a professional opinion or, perhaps, a laser treatment.  This can help lighten and improve that rougher texture that your skin may have acquired.

Those with melasma are more than likely to find their skin discolorations clear up in time. 

How to Conceal the Dark Spots With Makeup

If you have ivory or beige in your skin tone and have any deep brown areas of discoloration, using a yellow concealer can help counteract the color.  I recommend painting over the discoloration with a brush to best target it.  You can also try taking a sponge and dabbing over the darkness as well.  Still, you get the most accurate results by painting individual spotted areas from the way you can control blending to finish the line.

In all probability, the darker in beige that you skin is, the darker your brown discoloration will be.  Therefore, you need a dark peach or orange concealer to help cancel that color out.  You can even try one of your orange lipsticks for a really deep brown spot against deep beige skin.

If you have ebony skin, I suggest picking up a concealer with gold and orange tones to it.  You can also try that lipstick trick I suggested.

Tell me if you ever had any skin discolorations problems and how you went about solving it.  If you have anything else to add, let me know.                  

Bad Habits That Could Be Aging Your Complexion and How to Initiate Change

This beauty keeps on open mind when comes to her gorgeous skin.

No one sets out to intentionally wreck their complexion.  Needless to say, it just happens for a variety of reasons.  Nonetheless, if your skin is less than ideal and you hope to rectify that, then you need to change some bad habits that are minimizing its potential beauty.

Sleeping With Your Makeup on Because You’re Too Tired Destroys Skin

Regardless of the excuse that you give yourself for going to bed without removing accumulated makeup and grime, you are doing your complexion harm.  You may tell yourself that skipping cleansing occasionally because you forgot or don’t have the energy will be fine.  Unfortunately, you are only fooling yourself because the skin’s natural oils along with dirt and those makeup ingredients get imbedded deep in the pores to cause blackheads and pimples.  

Despite how exhausted you may feel or how little that you consider the importance of a clean face before bed matters, you can simplify the problem of makeup removal by keeping a stash of makeup wipes in a handy place such as by your bed or night stand, if needed in an emergency.  

Be sure to buy the variety that states makeup remover, which is specifically formulated to actually dissolve makeup ingredients not just facial wipes.  Facial wipes are more for freshening up the complexion with a gentle washing without the lifting power of makeup wipes.  Makeup wipes can be the best thing that ever happened to your complexion if sleeping with your makeup is a fairly common practice of yours.

Not Getting Enough Sleep Ages Skin Prematurely

Striving for eight hours of sleep a night should be your goal.  After all, this is the amount of time the skin needs to recoup and rebuild cells.  Without enough, the complexion can pale with a pasty look and dull instead of glow as it should since the blood isn’t circulating as efficiently.  Instead of the blood flowing optimally through the complexion, it is pooling up more beneath the eyes, ringing the under eyes with darkness.

To initiate change, you need to establish a bedtime schedule with a specific hour designated to sleep.  For example, promise yourself that by eleven o’clock in the evening that you’ll be in bed except for occasional special times.  Make it a point turn off televison, wind down from the computer at least two hours prior and disconnect so your brain can relax in time and won’t take the effects of those blue waves with you to interfere with your sleep.  For more help, you might want to read my earlier post on how to unwind for bed after a stressful day.

What You Drink Is Linked to Aging Skin

Maybe you are as naughty as I am when it comes to caffeine.  Too many cups of coffee can dehydrate and deplete the complexion of valuable nutrients.  When you overdo, you risk the skin losing its plumpness from the underlying moisture.  This does not mean that you should give up coffee. I would die without that beverage in my life.  What I’m saying is that you need to replace every cup with an extra glass of water to quench your skin’s constant thirst.  Otherwise, your complexion can dry, dull more and tend toward wrinkling, especially if the skin is normally dry already.

Of course, your vice could be sugary drinks or alcohol.  Sugary drinks may taste great, but they also can rob the skin of collagen.  Therefore, you may want to cut down on the number of sugary beverages you normally drink and substitute more glasses of water as well for optimally helping your complexion.

Then again, you may love to indulge with alcoholic drinks.  An occasional drink is fine but remember that alcohol is quite dehydrating to the skin from how it depletes valuable skin vitamins such as A and Bs, other nutrients, electrolytes and fluids from the body, besides the effect it has on the liver.  Keep in mind, but you must drink water to counteract the lost fluid due to drinking alcohol or risk skin swelling trying to satisfy that demand for fluid by stealing it from other cells.

Alcohol also makes a condition like rosacea more of a problem.  It affects blood flow and dilates blood vessels to compound redness or even cause broken capillaries.  

When you need to drink, your best choices for the least damage are clear alcohols shots such as vodka, gin or tequila.  Limit yourself to one of those shots for that time for the sake of your skin’s appearance and liver health.

Better still, you might want to switch from the harder liquor to red wine since is it loaded with antioxidants such as youth promoting flavonoids, resveratrol and tannins to replenish collagen and elasticity to the skin.

Besides increasing your water intake, you might also consider switching to green tea  that is loaded with skin beneficial antioxidants for aiding with any inflammation and redness.  

Another skin boosting drink is coconut water for the value its lauric acid can provide for dealing with acne, inflammation and anti-aging.

Your Diet and Eating Habits Can Hurt the Skin and Speed Up Aging

Perhaps, you are too tired after a long day at work to come home and cook a healthy meal.  If you pop a frozen dinner into the microwave, make a sandwich or randomly fill up on junk food just because it is the easiest solution to appease your hunger, then you are speeding up how your skin ages.  The problem of eating “junk” is all the fats, salts, and preservatives disguised in a small amount of food to keep the skin nourished.  

What your complexion desperately is in need of is a balanced diet of protein, healthy fats, fruit and vegetables.  Read my earlier posts for the most effective foods to help your complexion thrive and how to give your skin and hair an overhaul through what you eat.

A simple start when you’re too tired to cook is advanced meal preparation.  Over the weekend, you might want to cook enough for the week to later store for future meals that you can reheat in the microwave.  Doing so will help keep your meals healthy instead of lacking the nutrition that your skin may be missing.  

You can also buy packages of frozen, skinless chicken breasts or fish fillets and reheat an individual piece in the microwave along with a baked potato and fresh salad or another green or yellow vegetable.  This is far better for skin and your body than constantly subjecting it to a pop-in frozen entree, sandwich, a bowl of chips or a cup of ramen noodle soup.

Using Skin Care Products in the Wrong Way Could Age 

Sometimes, we try to hard to get the perfect complexion.  We may over exfoliate, trying to get rid of old skin cells to help in skin renewal, believing more of a good thing must be better.  Yet, we are not allowing the skin a chance to renew itself.  Instead, we are rubbing it raw and risking scarring that can damage it. 

In those attempts to fight aging, we can use products in the wrong way.  Perhaps, you like to mix up your skin care with a multitude of the latest anti-aging products.  Yet, attacking the skin with lots of different active ingredients at the same time can backfire to cause irritation or reduce effectiveness of some of those ingredients.  A wiser approach is taking a simpler approach to the number of anti-aging products that you use to prevent the possibility of sensitization.

Excess Stress Ages Skin

No one is immune from stress, but it can be made manageable.  Try to discover a healthy relief outlet from talking with family and friends to redirecting that negative energy in more productive ways such as through Yoga, exercise, dance or anything physical such as cleaning, etc. 


You also might want to read my earlier post with tips on how to stay calm, three great techniques to handle stress, solutions for tackling those little stresses of daily life to another on stress busting techniques.

Even One Small Change Can Provide a Promising Future for Your Skin

This is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to bad habits.  Still, what I shared here with you today can be the start of a more promising future for the appearance of your complexion just by initiating a change or two in your normal skin care habits.

The Reasons Your Formerly Clear Adult Complexion Suddenly Has Acne and What Could Help

Squeezing a blemish forces bacteria deeper into the skin, which is the wrong approach for adult acne.

Acne is something that you associate with teenage skin.  However, adults do get acne more often than you may realize.  In fact, you may never have experienced acne in your youth only to find your complexion under attack once you get in your late 20s, 30s, 40s even through your 50s.  Why skin trouble at this stage of your life you may wonder? Here are some likely reasons for the unwanted blemishes plaguing your face.

The Tie Between Increased Stress and Adult Acne

No one can pinpoint the exact cause of adult acne because various factors can contribute to this condition, but experts tend to agree that an increase in your stress level is a top contender.  The reason is the body under stress responds by releasing the hormone cortisol, which pumps up oil production rapidly.  The pores can’t keep up with the constant flow of oil and clog in the follicles along with dead skin cells and bacteria, resulting in those skin eruptions.

Being a Woman With a Menstrual Cycle and the Link to Adult Acne

Just because you are born female, our hormones are different and can do some wacky things during a monthly period, peri-menopause or even through the years of menopause to cause breakouts.  The way the estrogen and progesterone jump up and down during those times can wildly increase oil production. 

If you’re just starting taking birth control pills and switching to another type or medicine or even stopping, this can play with your hormone levels too.  This is why some birth control pills can help some women have clear complexions while others are known to aggravate the skin.  Each of us is different and unique in how our bodies respond to any foreign substance.  You just need to discuss the effects of medication with your doctor because it may need a different dosage or a change in the prescription to clear up that acne.

Apples help the skin detox so eating more along with regular cleansing, not overstimulating the skin can be beneficial.

How often have you craved extra sweets or more salty, deep-fried foods when your period rolls around?  Though sugar and foods that are high in saturated fats don’t cause acne, they do affect hormone levels with how they oxidize in the body by turning into glucose and high insulin to cause inflammation.  Besides that, I hate to tell you this but too much sugar also ages the complexion faster from the way it breaks down in your system, latching onto collagen.  You just might want to try to reduce the refined sugar and saturated fats.  Instead, opt for some fresh fruit,  whole grains or other food choices that will not exessively raise your insulin levels.  Also, a great resource available online is called the Glycemic Index that can help find the right food, levels, etc.

Ingredients in Your Beauty Products That May Trigger Adult Acne

We all dread getting older and do our best to keep those lines away.  The only problem is that some formulas just may be too rich for our particular complexion, resulting in those breakouts.  Worst offenders are ingredients such as sunflower oil, cocoa butter, wax, petrolatum, mineral oil, fragrances, silicones, parabens, phthalates, alcohol, acetylated lanolin, silica, and coconut oils are just some. Talc and particularly, bismuth oxychloride that is found in a lot in dry makeup formula powders, can burrow into the pores due to its sharp, angular shape, causing cystic acne.  This is the type of big red pimple that hides deep beneath the skin’s surface, poking out of your face like a giant, red rock.

When shopping, do yourself a favor and also make sure to see non-comedogenic and oil-free on the packaging before buying that product.  

Your first thought may be benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, but you might just aggravate your complexion more, especially if you’re borrowing your teenager’s high strength pimple product.  Something with 10% salicylic acid is too drying and harsh for adult acne so keep this in mind.

The better way to handle cystic acne is applying warm compresses once you cleanse your face.  The warm water helps the blood flow in that affected area to cause the eruption to either surface or dissolve internally.

You can also seek out skin care products with charcoal or soft clay to help dry out some of the oil.  It won’t budge cystic acne, but it is useful for other adult acne blemishes.  

Something else to look into is LED light, such as red and blue light for dealing with adult acne.  The red light calms the skin's inflammation whereas blue light targets and destroys acne causing bacteria. 

Adjust Your Diet and Internal System Can Help Promote Clearer Skin

You can also try adding more fiber and probiotics to your diet to help rid your system of toxins and promote better digestive health.  A glass of Metamucil isn’t that bad to drink as well as turning to some Greek yoghurt.  Then again, you might want to add a beta-carotene supplement since vitamin A is an antioxidant that can help the complexion renew and repair.  Another suggestion is adding more Omega-3s, whether in supplement form or through eating more fish, for its powers in calming the acne down.

Hopefully, your complexion is not suffering and will not have this adult acne problem in the future.  Nonetheless, the information that I am sharing can come to your rescue.

Is a Gel Moisturizer Better for Your Skin Than a Heavier Formulation?

You can also supplement your skin care with a gel moisturizer.

Some people often neglect applying a moisturizer because of an oily complexion.  They often fear that turning to one will only be making their shine or acne problems worse.  However, all skin types need  hydration to seal in natural moisture.  Otherwise, skin tends to look older and dull.  Therefore, choosing the right moisturizer formulation is crucial.

Understand Your Skin Type Before Choosing a Moisturizer

If you have an oily complexion, you might want to try a light-feeling gel moisturizer or an oil-free moisturizer that may be water-based without a lot of synthetic oils.  To keep the pores cleaner, you should make sure the formula can exfoliate the skin with alpha or beta hydroxy acids.  A few such hardworking ingredients include glycolic or salicylic acids.

Dry skin, on the other hand, is constantly parched and needs heavier and a more intensive way of hydrating.  Thus, richer creams and thicker lotions that are formulated with plenty of moisturizing oils work best.

Combination skin is a bit more complicated with dry and oily sections, usually located in the T-zone.  To lock in moisture and satisfy the dryness while minimizing oiliness, a water-based lotion or a gel moisturizer can ideally benefit the skin.  Though this complexion is oily in parts, it often is sensitive in the dry areas.  For this reason, you should avoid any formulas that contain alpha or beta hydroxy acids for daily use to prevent possible irritation.

Normal complexions have the best of both worlds.  This skin type can handle a light to a heavier moisturizer, depending on what the skin responds to accordingly.

Some gel moisturizers don’t have occlusive ingredients to keep moisture in unless you pick up a brand that has polymers in the formula.  The purpose of polymers is for keeping the gel moisturizer from sinking into the skin in the same way.  Instead, adding a polymer ingredient like dimethicone enables the moisture to stay on the surface of the skin, making this particular gel moisturizer able to better hydrate.

Gel Moisturizers Are Lighter and Enter Skin Faster Than Traditional Moisturizers

Since a gel moisturizer has no waxy ingredients to weigh it down on the skin, it spreads easier than a thicker moisturizer.  

At the same time, gel moisturizers can penetrate through the skin much sooner as well. 

Three Different Ways to Take Advantage of Gel Moisturizers

Anyone with an oily complexion that has acne will love how well you can benefit from gel moisturizers that disappear almost instantly into the skin.  You’ll protect your skin’s moisture barrier as the first line of defense before applying your acne treatment on top.

Aging skin also tends to become drier.  Therefore, a gel moisturizer is perfect to supplement that extra boost of moisture when your skin feels too dry.  Try layering your gel moisturizer over your normal moisturizer to increase hydration.

Perhaps, your skin feels drier as the day goes on.  If you’re at work, you might want to take your gel moisturizer and gently pat a little into the skin on top of your makeup.  This technique will refresh your complexion without ruining your makeup.

Those that happen to have a sensitive complexion know how hard anti-aging products often feel.  However, you can lessen your chances of any irritation by applying a layer of gel moisturizer first before your retinol skin care or other anti-aging product.  

  

Once you have made a determination of your skin type, the better your chances of finding the right moisturizer to keep your complexion beautiful. In addition, you'll be saving money on stocking up on  products that you were wrong for you in the first place.

A Smoother, More Youthful Complexion Calls for Paula’s Choice Resist Skin Perfecting Care

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

Resist products could be your weapons against  facial aging.

No one looks forward to aging, but it is a natural part of life.  Though you can’t stop it, you can help erase some evidence of your years through healthy eating and taking care of your skin.  A few products that I tried recently from Paula’s Choice Skin Care line may be just the thing to make a welcome difference on your complexion as well.

Prep the Skin's Surface to Receive Nutrients Through Exfoliation

The Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid ($29.00) is what I used daily after cleansing for five weeks now.  Usually, I don’t exfoliate daily, but twice weekly since it can irritate dry, sensitive skin like mine.  However, this one provided gentle exfoliation and readied the way for Resist Moisture Renewal Oil Booster ($36.00) and the Resist Anti-Aging 1% Retinol Booster ($52.00) that I used together by combining a drop or two of each.  Mixing the retinol with the moisturizer really prevented irritation that often comes with it.

I alternated my routine three times a week with Paula’s Choice Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment ($56.00) and skipped the 1% Retinol Booster and Moisture Renewal Oil to replace it with the Hyaluronic Acid Booster ($46.00).

Retinol Combined With Serum or Moisturizer Doubles Anti-Aging Benefits

Retinol can deteriorate quickly if exposed to light, but these products are dispersed through a pump in solid containers that rule that out from happening.  

As to what I noticed overall were more even tone, smoothness, and a bit added radiance than before I started.  My complexion seems softer as well. As to the wrinkle front, I can’t say this was any magic cure to plump them up enough to turn back the clock.  On the other hand, the deepest lines near my mouth didn’t seem as severe.  

If you’re considering trying some retinol and exfoliating products, I did have good luck with the several that I sampled here.  I’m curious what my face will look like with longer use.   Have you ever tried Paul’s Choice Skin Care yet?  Check it out at the company’s website.

The Pros and Cons of SPF Makeup for Your Complexion

This attentive beauty took no chances with her complexion.

We subject our skin to damaging rays from the sun every time we leave our homes.  This is why it is so important to start with protecting our face with proper sun protection at an early age.  After all, the sooner we start, the less accumulated damage we can expect to experience later in life for a more youthful appearance.  Yet, is wearing SPF makeup alone enough to keep the skin safe?

The Method of Application May Hinder the SPF Benefit of Makeup

Though as helpful as SPF infused makeup may be or how high that SPF formula contains, you still may not be as protected as you think.  The reason is you may not be putting on enough of that SPF foundation or makeup if you tend to only apply it to certain spots on your face.  

You also need to think about how evenly you applied that SPF makeup.  If you used a brush, sponge or fingers, how well did you layer?  Are you confident your strokes were uniform to distribute the makeup adequately enough or more possibly in other areas?

Makeup Fades Away During the Day That Could Fail to Give You Ample SPF Protection

Since makeup rests on the top layer of the skin, it fades away quicker through the day, which alters that protection.  This does not mean that SPF makeup isn’t valuable to preserving your beauty, it just means you might want to always start first with a layer of a chemical sunscreen with at least SPF 30.

For more about using SPF and your makeup, you might want to read my earlier post.

Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer Original Scent With Original Cherry Almond Essence Review

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

A  different delivery system results in a deeper moisturizing experience. 

For those that are always reaching for a body lotion or oil after emerging from the shower or bath, I want to tell you about a better way to hydrate your body. Jergens has an alternative way to moisturize after bathing with their Wet Skin Moisturizers that include four other varieties besides the Original Scent with Original Cherry Almond Essence that I tested.

What’s different about this wet moisturizing line is you need to apply just a small amount to wet, not dry skin for the product to seal in hydration.  Let me tell you this lotion binds well to those beads of water still clinging to you and absorbs nicely.  I never felt sticky or oily.  My skin felt sufficiently moisturized, velvety and deliciously fragrant with a mix of that almond and cherry. 

If you tired of trying the same old lotions and would like a more thorough way to hydrate that also is very low cost, I really liked how the Jergens Wet Skin Moisturizer Original Scent with Original Cherry Almond Essence worked for me.  Check it out at the company’s website and wherever you buy Jergens products.

Some Helpful Tips for Those Sensitive Complexions Out There!

This beauty keeps her flawless complexion calm by knowing how to properly care for it.

Some of us react to products more than others.  If you count yourself as one, then you know it can be hit or miss when you try new skin care.  Being the case, you can further avoid the likelihood of irritation if you are aware of certain ingredients that may trigger skin sensitivities.

The number one skin offender for those prone to react easily is fragrance.  Your complexion doesn’t benefit in any way so do look for a fragrance-free facial product.

Equally risky are preservatives in skin care products.  Some common culprits known to cause problems are ones such as parabens, lanolin, quaternium 15, sodium benzoate, fruit acids such as alpha or beta hydroxy acids, dyes, and PABA.  Denatured and benzyl alcohol also cannot be ignored. You might not think essential oils can possibly do your skin any harm.  Nonetheless, they have been known to cause problems for some people.  

With an extra sensitive complexion, it is always wise to avoid too hot or too cold temperatures of water when cleansing.  Instead, stick to lukewarm water and just cool water to close the pores because extreme temperatures can provoke the skin to react.

Another way to protect sensitive skin is not to abuse it with harsh scrubs with rough, abrasive grains, overly strong chemical peels or cleansing brushes with hard bristles to exfoliate.  

Toners often can be to blame.  Their ingredients like witch hazel or denatured alcohol can be too drying for this type of complexion.  A better choice is to look for one free of any alcohol, if you feel that you must use one.

Keep these suggestions in mind before you buy your next skin care product.  Hopefully, the information presented here will keep your complexion beautiful and free from ugly, red irritation and swelling!

How to Give Your Skin, Hair and Nails a Beauty Overhaul

This beauty is doing everything right with how she glows.

Perhaps, you’re not as proud of your complexion, hair and nails as you would like to be.  Despite the best beauty products available that you may have tried, nothing seems to give you the changes that you had hoped to see by now.  However, have you ever considered that the reason for the disappointing way your skin, hair or nails may appear could be from a vitamin deficiency?

Since we are composed of what we eat, then you need to take into account that the skin renews itself every thirty days.  Hair grows on an average of half an inch in that same amount of time.  Nails take months to repair their condition, but even a damaged nail you lose can grow back in about six months.  Therefore, it is a logical assumption that your body may not be receiving enough of those essential nutrients to affect how those cells are growing.

To help skin, hair and nails thrive, concentrate on nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids that can deal with inflammation.  You find it in walnuts, tuna, salmon, nuts, and olive oil to name just a few.  

Coenzyme Q10 or ubiquinone is another antioxidant beneficial for the skin that you might want to include more in your diet.  This fat soluble nutrient offers protection from harmful free radicals.  Rich sources are found in foods such as organ meats, beef, chicken, herring, mackerel, peanuts, spinach, and cauliflower.

Selenium also is vital.  This mineral also acts as antioxidant to help defend the skin against the sun.  Without enough of this nutrient, you could be losing more hair than you like or finding your hair doesn’t seem to grow to overly white nails.  Walnuts, tuna, wheat, and rice are good to add to your diet.

Biotin is another B-complex vitamin (B7) that is important not to neglect for beautifying skin as well as vitamin B complex also in general for improving nail strength and thickening the hair.  Looking to foods such as peanuts, milk and dairy products, almonds, and egg yolks can help.

Vitamin A can help the skin repair and regenerate itself.  It also helps assists with sebum production in the scalp to keep hair properly lubricated instead of drying out. Nails need their ample share of it to keep from turning brittle and cracking.  You’ll find leafy green and yellow vegetables wonderful sources.

Two antioxidants that shouldn’t be taken lightly are vitamin C and E when it comes to giving skin, hair and nails a beauty boost.  Vitamin C is easily found in citrus fruits, strawberries, grapes, blackberries, etc. Sunflower seeds, spinach, avocado, and sweet potato can provide vitamin E.

Beauty and health do start from within.  Here’s hoping that this information will help change the overall balance within your own body so later it can manifest on the outside for those beautiful results that you are looking for. 

Are You Unknowingly Your Skin’s Worst Enemy?

This beauty is surprised at what she may have overlooked for perfect skin.

You try to eat a healthy, balanced diet, get enough sleep and never slack when it comes to proper skin care and maintenance of your complexion.  Then why does your skin occasionally still break out you may wonder when there are no health issues such as out of balance hormones to blame? You can’t understand what is wrong.

After all, you take great effort to throughly cleanse your face and moisturize with quality products.  Even so, think about your hands and all that you touch during an average day like your phone, keyboards, makeup brushes, handbags, keys, money, towels, etc., which all are breeding grounds for bacteria.

Despite washing your hands often, you can’t always remember keeping them from finding your face.  How often do you innocently scratch an itch, rub your eyes or push some hair off your forehead, tap a finger to your cheek in thought or nervous frustration? This list can go on, but my point is there are times you can be sabotaging your complexion without your knowledge.  With every touch, you transfer bacteria to your skin and work against yourself. 

If you are guilty of doing this, then try washing your hands more often and make a conscious effort to control that urge. Another way to safeguard your face is by wiping down your keyboard, keys and phone with sanitizer. This also helps cut down more bacteria for those unexpected times that you might slip and touch your face again.

Change your face towel often, preferably daily  since bacteria multiples into the millions within the span of only a week.  If you hate to do all that washing, then I suggest a clean face wash cloth to substitute as your face towel to dry.  You’ll have less laundry than a face towel and they stack better in your linen closet.  

Sometimes, life can get chaotic that you can forget how important cleaning makeup brushes, sponges and sponge applicators are in regard to your skin.  Instead, try to wash your tools every week.  Pick a day on your calender and stick to it.  

Being too overly clean washing your face is just as bad as not washing it enough.  You could be overstimulating the skin to produce more oil, causing those break outs.  

Just as detrimental is how you scrub your face when you cleanse.  Using too much pressure can stretch the skin and lead to wrinkles over time.  Another mistake is exfoliating with a scrub or peel with too harsh a product or too often.  Skin needs time to rebuild once dead cells are removed.

Eyes creams are something you should take seriously with how delicate this skin is. Without them, you can be prone to earlier under eye creasing.  Still, you can run into problems with thick eye creams that can block sebaceous glands in this area. A somewhat thinner consistency over a heavier ointment like cream is less likely to cause skin problems.  Look for a multitasking product that can help you stay on top of your beauty. A good one should hydrate, protect with SPF and brighten under eye darkness in one formula. 

There are other factors that can play a part in the condition of your complexion.  There is stress, smoking and excess sugar that all could be contributing to what is going on with your skin.  However, this is a start to just some possibilities of why your skin could be suffering and how to go about reversing it! 

California North Self Tanner and Gelskin Scrub Review

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.** 

This 16-oz. size  retails for $49.

When I was a teenager, I used to like to sunbathe and work on my tan.  Later, I learned the dangers about risking your health to melanoma and premature aging of the skin.  Afterwards, I took precautions to avoid possible skin cancer and preventing deep wrinkles and those white spots some people get from spending too much time in the sun.

For the most part, I don’t regularly go in for self-tanners. The reason is my coloring is fair with yellow undertones. Some self-tanners left me with more of an unnatural orange color than an authentic tan shade. I had tried others that produced a better tan, but were much too much trouble.  Still others I experimented with were hard to use to get an even tan. 

California North included their Self Tanner and Gelskin Scrub in a box of products that they mailed me to test. To tell the truth, I really was hesitant about testing them because this type of product never impressed all that much for me to continue buying.

After letting those products sit in the box for several weeks, I finally thought what the heck.  I will see what the California North Self Tanner natural sugar-based formula and Gelskin Scrub was like.  

According to their advertising, there is no carotene that might cause staining and streaking in their Self Tanner, which I took as a promising sign.  It also has allantoin, aloe, nettle, vitamins A and E, sesame, safflower, rosemary, and sage.

This 8-oz. scrub retails for $24.

The Gelskin Scrub is meant for exfoliating any rough skin like any on elbows, knees and feet using walnut shells, allantoin, aloe, cucumber, jojoba, nettle, rosemary, and sage to also nourish skin in the process.

Though you can use it on your face and body, I choose just to start with my arms and legs to see how those parts would fare.  After I bathed, I followed up with a little bit of the Gelskin Scrub to my elbows.  This wasn’t too abrasive as I rubbed in circular motion, but smoothed the area nicely after washing it off and throughly drying my skin.

 Being equipped with a pump dispenser, the Self Tanner was easy to use.  After I pumped out enough of this lightly scented lotion, I rubbed it on both sides of my arms, starting there first.   Soon this white lotion disappeared in the skin, leaving it moisturized but not greasy.  Since it was the first day, the directions said to do another application in about three or four hours, which is what I did later.

This is my arm after the first day.  Notice the white hand that I left alone.

I was surprised at the results I got after just the first day.  My pale skin did pick up more of a natural light gold tone that wasn’t splotchy.  I didn’t even need to bother with using a mitt just my hand without staining it.

I will gradually be deepening the color, but I don’t like being overly dark.  Therefore, I won’t apply every day, but maybe several times a week until tanning somewhat darker.

If you have been disappointed by some self-tanning products, check out California North Self Tanner and see how it works for you.

Tula Hydrating Day & Night Cream Review

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

Regardless of complexion type, this cream won't weight your skin down.

I’m hardly a raving beauty, but my complexion is something that I do get compliments over.  Yes, it’s true that genetics does play a part, but that's not all of it.  Another reason I have beautiful skin is that I don’t neglect it. I never wear my makeup to bed despite how tired I may be or skip nourishing it with quality skin care products such as one I tried lately from Tula with their Hydrating Day & Night Cream.

This is a rich, silky feeling cream that has a lovely feel and plenty of excellent ingredients to keep a complexion thriving.  For one, it has rice nutripeptides and vitamin A for cell renewal and collagen synthesis. It also has protective antioxidants like vitamin E and camelina sativa seed oil to help with anti-aging and environmental damage to name just a few of the ingredients.  What else makes it stand out is the fact that this formula has probiotic technology to guard against bacteria and balance the skin’s pH levels.

Just as promising to me was that this product was free of sulfates, parabens, propylene glycol, phthalates, petrolatum, and mineral oil that could possibly jeopardize health.

As to the product, I loved how one jar could be both day and night cream.  It absorbed easily without making my skin feel irritated or burdened with grease or any sticky residue since when it sinks in it almost feels more like a gel than a typical cream.  

My dry complexion just felt wonderfully moisturized and so soft while making little lines look less visible.  I only started using this for about two weeks now, but I got to tell you my skin is already brighter and on its way to looking even better.

If you haven’t tried Tula Hydrating Day & Night Cream ($52), I do think this formula would be great for any complexion.  Check it out because I’m confident that you’ll love it too! 

Molton Brown's Rhubarb & Rose Replenishing Hand Cream Review

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

This hand cream has more of a  refreshing citrus scent than you might expect.

Unlike the sweeter fruity-floral rush of Delicious Rhubarb & Rose, this variation is Molton Brown’s Rhubarb & Rose Replenishing Hand Cream is a bit more on the tart and citrus inspired than any floral rose scent.

The formula nourishes dry skin with the help of rhubarb and rose extracts among its ingredients.  It didn’t make my hands feel greasy or sticky, which is important to me with all the time I spend typing at my computer.  Nor do you have to use all that much to keeps hands smooth.  Yet, the best part is its zesty, uplifting lingering scent that lightly clings nicely to your skin.

Molton Brown Rhubarb & Rose Replenishing Hand Cream retails for $15 for 1.4 oz. on Amazon.

Have you tried any Molton Brown’s hand creams yet? Check their website out!

C.O. Bigelow Deluxe Gentle Cleanser No. 904 and Rose Salve Tin No. 012 Review

*Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

This cleanser is extra gentle and doesn't strip dry skin's precious oils.

C.O. Bigelow was established in 1838 and happens to be the oldest apothecary in America!  I’ve heard of them, but I never got around to trying any of their products until a few arrived for this review with their Deluxe Gentle Cleanser No. 904 and Rose Salve Tin No. 012.

The Deluxe Gentle Cleanser No. 904 ($25) is a creamy, non-scented lotion intended for normal/dry skin that is enriched with moisturizing ingredients such as sweet almond oil, aloe and calendula extract for better keeping the complexion soft and soothed as it removes grime and makeup. 

Just as you would with any creamy cleanser, I applied some of this lotion to my dry face and lightly massaged the product in, which is the best method to activate it.  Some people prefer to immediately wash it off after cleaning, but I like to wipe off with a washcloth first before rinsing.

I liked how it melted the makeup and didn’t strip the skin’s oils in the process for a gentle, but moisturized clean.  If have problems with some cleansers leaving your skin feeling taunt afterward, this one was great with my dry complexion. 

This little tin really heals!

Rose Salve Tin No. 012 ($5.50) is one of the indispensable skin healing products that should be in every home for what this pink tin can do for dry, hurting chapped lips and skin irritation with its beneficial rose extract.   This stuff even helped with a paper cut I got!  
  
As you might guess, I am so glad that I sampled these marvelous C.O. Bigelow products  because it only made me want to try more to see what else I have been missing.  

Have you tried anything from C.O. Bigelow yet?  If not, you definitely should start that exploration with my particular favorite their Rose Salve Tin No. 012 or Deluxe Gentle Cleanser No. 904!