Face Workout!

Our skin needs pampering in some ways or another. Having a face massage occasionally helps you achieve beautiful skin. Just like exercising, a quick weekly session on the face will eliminate eye bags and puffiness in your skin. Massages have their benefits:   it helps us to relax, detoxify our body and improve our blood circulation.

Massage maybe deemed as personal luxury by some and by others, necessity. If you do not want to do in a salon, you can always DIY. In fact, DIY is one of the best ways because it can be done wherever and whenever you want and it’s free.

To begin with, we know that our body has toxins, caused by the foods we ingested, pollutants in our surroundings and stress in our lives. Our lymphatic system consists of a network of vessels that move fluid in our body.  Essential functions of these vessels include removal of toxins from our cells through lymph drainage where toxins are directed to the nearest lymph node for dispersal.   Through massage, we are promoting drainage by improving the flow of fluid through our body, getting rid of unwanted waste products, reducing toxins accumulation.

Here’s one short section of Diana Moran’s book entitled Fresh Face that gave tips on how to do that Lymphatic Drainage Massage.

” 1. Applied oil to hands. With sweeping movements, slide your hands from your chest to your chin upwards from the left side of your neck, lightly over your windpipe and then to the right.

2. Place your first fingers horizontally above your lips with your middle fingers below. Apply slight pressure and slide fingers backwards to your ears.

3. Place ring fingers by the side of each nostril and apply pressure. Release the pressure as you sweep fingers across cheeks to your ears, then reapply the pressure.

4. Place your first fingers in the centre of your forehead. Pressing firmly, slide your fingers as you trace along your eyebrows and out to your ears.

5. Now from your ears, continue sliding your fingertips lightly, tracing inwards under the eyes to your nose.

6. Close your eyes and cover your entire face, from chin to forehead (leave your nose protruding) with open hands. Press your whole face firmly, hold for 5 seconds and release.”

Ageing Foods to Avoid

In one of my previous post entitled Key Foods for Healthy Skin, I wrote about foods that are good for our skin. Now I added this post on foods that age people, so that you would think twice before reaching for that favourite snack.

Trans-Fat

The word trans-fat will send alarm bells ringing for many health food junkies. Yes, we all know it is bad for our health as it increases the bad cholesterol, reduces the good cholesterol in our bloodstream and put our heart and liver at risk. What exactly is trans-fat?  It is produced when hydrogen is added to liquid oils to process into more stable semi-solid or solid fats.  Hydrogenated oils are often used as they can increase the shelf life of processed foods.

Food such as French fries, deep fried chicken, cookies, pastries and margarine contain trans-fat. Not only it is bad news to our body as this increases our risk to diseases, it also produced more free radicals that cause us to age more quickly.

Source: B.Heliker

Nitrates/ Nitrites

Speaking of nitrates or nitrites, foods like luncheon meat, sausages, hotdogs and bacon come to our mind. Nitrites have been used as preservatives for processed meat and it is supposed to make the meat taste and look better. However, when such preservatives are added, Nitrosamines are formed and they are proven to be carcinogenic, causing normal body cells to turn into cancer cells. It doesn’t help us to know that sausages and hotdogs consist of mainly fatty meat. Besides, additives in these foods will only make our liver work harder to detoxify them. In fact, one European study found that sausages increase the risk of colorectal cancer.

Carbonated drinks

Another culprit that is commonly found in our daily life is carbonated drinks. Carbonated drinks are drinks containing dissolved carbon dioxide, usually added to improve the taste or texture. High in sugar and low in nutrients, it makes you fat, weakens your bones and contributes to tooth decay. Research revealed that a carbonated can drink per day can make you pile on 7 kg in a year! Other than obesity, regular intake of such drinks increases your chances of diabetes, hypertension and stroke.

Remember that your skin reflect your state of health. It is not just about the waistline when you eat. Think about the lines on your face as well.

What’s in a Beauty Cream?

People in the world spend millions of dollars on skin care.  This competitive market has produced an extensive array of products. What do some of them actually contain?

Retin-A

Retin-A is a prescription drug, also known as tretinoin, belonging to a family of skin care medication called the retinoids. A vitamin A derivative, it is used for treatment of acne, blackheads, whiteheads and hyper pigmentation.  Retin-A medication comes in different concentration for different purposes and skin types. When applied, your skin becomes more sensitive during that period.

The main purpose of Retin-A is to exfoliate, stimulate the development and growth of new skin cells, including collagen and improving skin texture. Retin-A is also mixed with other bleaching agents to remove pigmentation on the skin (especially effective when used together with microdermabrasion).

AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acids)

AHA (alpha-hydroxy acids), derived from fruit and milk sugars are widely used by dermatologists and aestheticians as peeling agents. Similar to microdermabrasion, AHA such as glycolic acid (from sugar) or lactic acid (from milk) are exfoliants, commonly used for smoothing out wrinkles and reducing the appearance of scars.

AHA is the most effective in concentration of 6-8% at pH range 3-4. Being acids, it can irritate the skin, producing side effects such as rash, redness and swelling. AHA products over the counter must not contain more than 10% concentration, beyond which only certified professionals are allowed to use.

HA (Hyaluronic Acid)

HA (Hyaluronic acid) is a complex substance found in the dermis and epidermis that maintain the amount of moisture in our skin. This is what gives skin its firmness and fullness by holding water and allowing nutrients to reach our cells. However, this element gradually recedes over time and the loss is known to be as high as 50% by the time we are 50 years old.

People buy anti ageing creams containing HA in order to compensate for this loss, hoping to reduce acne scars, wrinkles, sagging skin and rehydrate the skin.  It is a good alternative to collagen due to its ability to produce skin plumping effects. Found also in medical applications, it is used for treating eye disorders, arthritis and other joint ailments.

About Sunscreen

I was not taught to use sunscreen when I was younger. In fact if I remember correctly, I used it for the first time during an outing. My friend was slathering her limbs and urged me to do same.  For once, my skin did not get sunburn easily as it usually did. Many people I believe are like me. Either they don’t know the importance of sunscreen or they don’t bother.

Come to think of it, how many children, teenagers or school athletes use sunscreen anyway? Not to blame them because to healthy and lively youths, skin care is the last thing on their minds. They are in their prime years where skin condition is tiptop.

Looking around at others who are outdoors jogging, kayaking and cycling, how many of them use it? Even those who had, did it work according to their expectations and what amount sunscreen is deemed enough?

Sunscreens come with an SPF (sun protection factor) rating, giving an indication of how long you can stay under the sun without getting sunburn. For instance, if your skin turns red after 10 minutes in the sun, then SPF 15 allows you to remain in the sun for 15 times more or 150 minutes before your skin turns red. In general, the higher the SPF number, the better protection you have.

So, say you are making your way to a nearby grocery store or waiting at a road junction to cross the road on a hot day.  SPF 15 is adequate but if you are going for activities like swimming or surfing that require few hours under the sun, SPF 30+ is good. This is the time when you should be using generous amount of sunscreen on your body. As a guide, experts have recommended at least one ounce be used for the whole body.

When you apply sunscreen, get it done it at least 15 minutes prior to going out to ensure the organics are properly absorbed and activated. After that, reapply every two to three hours because many sunscreens are not photostable (they degrade when exposed to sunlight).

Since studies shown that more than 75% of sun exposure is inadvertent, caused while carrying out our daily chores, it seems logical to use it frequently. However, there are researchers claiming that chemicals in sunscreen could generate free radicals in the presence of sunlight, causing skin cells to mutate leading to skin cancer.

I supposed balance is the key. Even if you use correctly and religiously, remind yourself that sunscreen will reduce sun exposure but cannot eliminate it. Confine your exposure to sun to early mornings or late evenings. Using umbrellas, hats and staying indoors during the hottest time of the day are some of the best ways to protect your skin.