Homemade Eye Masks For Dry And Oily Skin

Not long ago, a friend of mine named Annie told me about a recipe for a good eye mask that nourishes the sensitive skin around the eyes.

This eye mask is made from oat flakes and milk and is thought to be very useful if your eyes are tired and inflamed, she said. And it’s really easy to make it. You just need to mix two teaspoons of oat flakes with four teaspoons of milk, and wait for some time until the flakes swell. Then you should put the mixture on a piece of gauze and place it on your eyes. Keep it on for 20 minutes and wash your face with cold water.

I spend too much time in front of computers, and my eyes are almost always tired and inflamed. So I decided to try this eye mask. But the effect wasn’t what I had expected. I had a strange feeling after the mask, as if the skin around my eyes became oily or something.

At first I thought that I did something wrong or maybe the mask was bad… but then I understood that this mask could be ideal for those who have dry skin, just like my friend Annie.
But my skin is rather oily, so I had to find another eye mask that would be suitable for me. And I found it:

• Mix an egg yolk with the juice of half a lemon and add a teaspoon of olive oil. Apply this eye mask on the area around your eyes and keep it for at least 20 minutes. You can wash it then, but it will be better to clean it with a piece of cotton wet with warm (not hot!) milk.

This eye mask was really great for my oily skin, and my eyes felt relaxed after it. No more dark circles (as if I haven’t slept for ages!), no more need to try to find the best eye cream for dark circles that never works…
Besides, this eye mask is very good for preventing wrinkles, since egg yolk is rich in lecithin, cholesterin and many minerals that nourish your skin and make it smoother.
So, if you have dry skin, try the first eye mask I mentioned. And if your skin is oily, try the second one.
The skin around your eyes is very sensitive, after all, and you have to take good care of it so your eyes don’t look older :).

Beautiful Skin With Chocolate Masks

Chocolate masks will moisturize your skin, making it beautiful, soft, clean and glowing. The color of your face will also become better. And, yes, you can forget about those pigment spots.

One of the best things with chocolate masks is the fact that you can easily make them by yourself, at your home. And here are some good chocolate mask recipes for your face:

1. A moisturizing mask. You’ll need 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup chopped oats and 1/4 cup natural plain yoghurt (or sour cream). Mix all these ingredients, wait for several minutes so that the mask thickens a bit, and then you can apply it on your face. You must leave the mask for 10-15 minutes and then wash it.
The cocoa powder is rich with anti-oxidants; it tones your skin and keeps it young and beautiful. Honey is a natural moisturizer–it opens the pores of your skin, has an anti-bacterial effect and helps to keep your skin fresh and clean. The oats will remove the dead cells of your skin, and the yogurt will help in that.
2. For another chocolate mask you’ll need a bar of dark chocolate, 1/5 cup of milk and one teaspoon of salt. Mix the salt and the milk, then heat the dark chocolate and when it melts, add it into the mixed milk and salt. When the mask becomes cooler, apply it on your face. Wait till it hardens on your face and wash it with warm water.
3. Rejuvenating mask. You’ll need about 50g  of dark chocolate and a teaspoon of olive oil. Just melt the chocolate and mix it with the olive oil. Apply it on your face and wash with warm water after 10-15 minutes. This mask is good for any type of skin, but for a dry skin it’s the best choice.
Some people are allergic to chocolate or to other ingredients of these masks, so if you feel irritation or any kind of discomfort, wash off the mask immediately.

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR SKIN FOR THE HOLIDAYS

) First, start off with removing any sun damage from last summer. IPL Photofacials are perfect to do during these rainy days and only takes a half hour. IPLs are done in a series, so if you want to have brilliant skin for New Year’s, start 4 months in advance. Plan on doing one IPL a month for 4 months.

2) Begin Latisse now! Latisse grows your eyelashes thicker and darker. It takes some time to grow them to the desired length, so now’s the time to get on board with that! See our office for a consultation and prescription. You can pick up your Latisse right in our office- saving you a trip to the pharmacist.

3) BOTOX. This is the fastest way to brighten up the eyes and take away the worry lines on your forehead. Botox is a quick and simple procedure done in the office, and the effects last 4-6 months. Avoid alcohol for a week prior to your injections and schedule it at least 2 weeks before any special event (ie: Holiday party). Also, as a time saver, IPL and BOTOX can be done on the same day.

In summary, it’s best to plan your holiday appointments early before the rush. Call now at 760-726-6451 to schedule all your appointments in advance.

The Benefits of Jogging

Jogging is a healthful and fun activity. It can be both physically and socially rewarding. Most major cities offer jogging trails to provide extra safety. You can also use indoor tracks at gyms or outdoor tracks at parks to get your daily jog in. Getting together a group of friends to jog with you can make your morning jog all the more rewarding. Here are some more tips and benefits in relation to jogging.

Cardiovascular Health
Jogging does more than just make you lose weight and feel better. It can greatly improve your cardiovascular health by strengthening your heart. Regular jogging increases the capacity of your circulatory and respiratory system as well.
Aids in Digestion
Women who suffer from digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome will find a huge change after they begin to jog regularly.  Jogging helps to move things through the body. It aids greatly in the digestion of food and can greatly benefit those who suffer from gastrointestinal issues. If irregularity is an issue for you jogging may be your answer.
Lose Weight
Jogging doesn’t only help you lose weight by burning calories. Jogging also strengthens the leg muscles and even increases your metabolism. By increasing the speed at which you metabolize food, jogging helps to make you exercise and diet plan more effective.
Your Figure
Jogging does a lot for your figure. Though joggers appear very thin they tend to have extremely strong legs. This is great for supporting the body and can help to cut down on joint pain and arthritis.
Another benefit of jogging is its support of the female figure. Jogging will not cause the body to amass a great amount of bulk muscle as other exercises might. For this reason it is a popular sport for women who seek to have sleek bodies without unsightly muscle mass.
Get Better Sleep
Men and women who jog regularly are far less likely to be insomniacs. Getting a good jog in the morning will not only help you to feel better and more alert during the day but it will help you to get in bed on time at night.  Getting sleep at night is a vital component to maintaining health and a normal weight, so doing anything that can help you get more restful sleep is a great idea.
Reduce Stress
Jogging is a fantastic way to reduce stress. Though many people jog in groups it can be a very relaxing and almost meditative activity. All of that time spent zoned in to your radio and the open road can help you to clear your mind of undesirable thoughts and stress. People who jog regularly are far less likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, and stress.  It is a powerful natural mood stabilizer.
Osteoporosis Prevention
Regular joggers have a very low incidence of osteoporosis. This is because regular jogging helps to build up your muscles and improve bone strength. This along with regular consumption of calcium can help to prevent osteoporosis later in life.

I’m Too Fat to Give Birth

Posted in Diabetes, Nutrition, Pregnancy, Weight Loss on June 25th, 2010 by Body Health – Be the first to comment

Giving birth to a child is an experience of a lifetime. But there can be many complications even when you are on the verge of becoming a mother. And if you are obese, you are right in the firing line. Yes, a fat woman runs a very high risk of developing complications while giving birth. Not only that, the child too may be born with certain birth abnormalities. So, if you are too fat, your child will automatically inherit the risk of potential health hazards during or after birth.

Researchers have not been able to establish yet whether obesity has a direct negative impact on the mother and/or child during birth. However, there has been enough evidence to conclude that certain other health conditions (that follow obesity) have a telling impact on the mother and/or child at the time of birth. One such condition, Type 2 diabetes, which is related to obesity, can heighten the risk of birth defects.
Type 2 diabetes (in which blood sugar levels in the body are beyond normal) disrupts the delicate embryo to a large extent. The excess blood sugar is transferred to the embryo from the mother. This stimulates the production (or rather overproduction) of free radicals which are toxic for both mother and baby. Excess sugar can also trigger the formation of metabolic byproducts that derail the signaling mechanisms, essential for embryonic development.

While obesity is certainly not the only reason behind diabetes, it cannot be ruled out a potential cause of birth defects. So, if you are overweight, you need to understand that shedding a few kilos can curtail blood sugar levels in the body, if not absolutely cure diabetes. In fact, research says that women suffering from pre-gestational diabetes but with controlled blood sugar levels in the pre-conception period face a lower risk of transferring congenital abnormalities to the newborn child.

Being overweight can also have other serious repercussions on the child. You surely must be aware that extra fat deposited in blood vessels impedes blood flow to vital organs in the body. Well, you may contract heart disease as a result, but have you ever wondered that it affects your child as well? Your baby (scientifically an embryo) depends on you for life. While the baby is in your womb, important nutrients, body fluids and blood are conferred from your body to your baby. Due to extra fat in your blood vessels, even your baby will not receive regular inflow of blood. This can adversely affect the health of your baby.
Studies claim that obesity heightens the odds of birth anomalies such as cleft palate, spina bifida, heart abnormalities and hormonal defects. On many occasions, parents are left wondering about the reasons for their child’s health problems. One reason could be the mother’s obesity during pregnancy.
If you are too fat, your child’s delivery could also be complicated and complex. Most obese mothers have to undergo Cesarean sections to deliver their children. So, if you want to experience a normal, hassle free delivery and your child to be fit, lose weight FAST!

Why Can’t I Stop Eating At Night?

Food habits can make or break your health. When you are on a diet, you may be really happy that you are finally consuming nutritious food which will help you lose weight and attain your health goals really fast. But there may be specific problems which may throw a spanner in the works of your best laid plans. Excessive eating at night is one such habit, which may even become a disorder if you let it be.

Who does not love a midnight snack? But when this occasional snacking becomes a habit, you may find it going all downhill from there on. And soon you may find yourself having a bigger meal than your dinner in the middle of the night! But for your own good you should check your night cravings at the earliest possible point of time.
This is because; eating recklessly at night can ruin a hard day’s schedule of diet and exercise, which you stuck to, so religiously in order to attain your health goals. You will be eating only unhealthy snack food at night because that’s what cravings are for.
But why can’t you stop eating at night? There may be several reasons behind this if you consider this problem as one which is similar to binge eating. Research shows that depression, anxiety, interpersonal problems, boredom, and dieting are few of the main reasons behind night eating.
Snacking at night on sugary foods can have a comforting effect on your system. This is because the simple sugars present in these foods create a feeling of euphoria and energy-rush when they mix with the bloodstream. This can give you a morale boost when you are depressed or sad due to professional or personal problems.
Boredom may also be the reason why you walk up to the fridge late at night and gorge on the candies, pastries and other sinful delights. When you are not tired enough to fall asleep, you may find hunger building up within you and will soon want to take a look at what’s there to eat. This is a bodily response, because the longer you keep awake the more energy you need.
You may also be on a very strict diet during throughout the day. So subconsciously you hate all your meals from breakfast to dinner. And when the rest of your family is asleep at night, you feel the urge to indulge yourself in some delicacies you have been denied throughout the day. This can also lead to a night-time eating marathon, because you want to cheat!
There may be the fact that your diet is providing you insufficient calories and nutrition. This may leave you hungry even after dinner. Thus, you cannot help yourself from making guerrilla attacks on your fridge in the middle of the night!
Moreover, if your fridge is stacked with god food while you are on a diet, this urge to cheat may grow even stronger.
While these are the primary reasons behind night time eating, you must make sure that this does not become a disorder of any sort for you.

Do Anti Aging Creams Work?

 When it comes to anti aging creams there is a lot of debate about whether or not they work. The truth is that for the most part these creams will help you but how much really depends on a lot of factors. It also depends on what you are looking for in an anti aging cream.  An anti aging cream is never going to give you the dramatic affects that surgery will.  It will slow down the speed at which your skin seems to age and make it softer and more radiant.  It will not do much for what is already there.  Here is some more information about anti aging creams.

How do they work?
For the most part anti aging creams work by keeping the skin in good shape, an important part of keeping skin young.  These creams work as powerful moisturizers, which can help to prevent wrinkles and keep skin soft and subtle. They also usually contain SPF 15.  Good sun protection is an anti aging treatment on its own.
Resveratrol

There is a lot of hype these days about resveratrol.  This is being marketed as the newest anti aging miracle because it has been shown to slow aging in a variety of studies using mice and other animals. It comes from the skin of grapes and is found in red wine.

Resveratrol has done a number of amazing things for animals. It doesn’t seem to have any proven effect on humans yet however. Scientists are actively trying to replicate the results resveratrol has on animals with the human species but nothing definite has occurred at this point. So before you go out and spend a fortune on creams with resveratrol or become a red wine lush realize that there is no reason to believe resveratrol will have any effect on your appearance.
Reasons to Avoid
There is no real scientific evidence to support any anti aging treatment beyond washing, moisturizing, and protecting skin from the sun.  When it comes to anti aging creams there are some reasons to avoid them.
Many anti aging products contain petroleum based products which you would not want to slather on your skin if you saw them in their natural form.  These products also tend to contain paraben which has been linked to a variety of different female related cancers.
There are some natural anti aging products on the market. Grapeseed oil is considered a natural anti aging treatment.  However most of the top selling products do contain chemicals and toxins to help keep them from expiring. These toxins and chemicals are not at all good for the skin and should be avoided at all cost.
The best thing that you can do for your skin in terms of anti aging treatment is to start taking care of it before aging is an issue. Though a lot of the aging process is related to genetics and entirely unpreventable, a daily cleaning/moisturizing regiment starting early in life can help with wrinkles. Wrinkles can also be avoided by protecting yourself from real and artificial UV rays. Also you can prevent wrinkles by not smoking and maintaining your level of stress.