How to Apply Sunscreen Effectively

Sun exposure is one of the most damaging factors to our skin. So it's important that we apply sunscreen lotion before going out in the sun. A sunscreen with SPF of 15 or higher can effectively protect you against UVA and UVB rays, but you should also use it the proper way in order to maximize its effectiveness. Here are a few guidelines to follow while using sunscreen lotions:

• Apply sunscreen generously and rub it in thoroughly. Use roughly a handful to cover your entire body.
• Apply to all areas that will be exposed to the sun. Don't forget places like the tops of the ears, nose, eyelids (use caution around the eyes), lips, back, hands, feet, shoulders and backs of the thighs.
• To ensure your skin has enough time to absorb the sunscreen, apply it 30 minutes before you go out.
• If you are doing activity that cause excessive sweating or swimming, you should reapply sunscreen after the activity. Also, if you are under the sun all day, you should also reapply sunscreen every few hours.
  

It's important to apply sunscreen year-round, whenever you're out in the sun. Not only it helps protect your skin from harmful UV rays that lead to skin cancer, it also help to slow down the skin aging process.

Fish Oil Can Improve Skin Elasticity

Fish oil which contains rich omega-3 fatty acids is well known to be good for cardiovascular system. But do you know that it's also good for our skin?

According to a recent study, purified fish oil supplement could help improve skin elasticity in women:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the question of whether supplementation with an oral oil formulation rich in natural stable fish oil can alter skin elasticity, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and skin roughness in healthy women.

METHODS: Twenty-four healthy women aged 40-60 years participated in a single-blind randomized trial for testing the effect of a proprietary oral supplement for skin nutrition (Eskimo Skin Care) on skin elasticity, TEWL, and skin roughness. Skin elasticity was measured by an optical cutometer, TEWL by a water-loss module based upon the vapour gradient principle, and skin roughness with a three-dimensional microtopography imaging system.

RESULTS: Skin elasticity increased by 10% after 3 months of treatment with the supplement, a statistically significant increase in comparison with the control group (p=0.0298). There was a trend, though not statistically significant, towards a positive influence on the skin's barrier function. No effect on the skin roughness was observed.

CONCLUSION: Eskimo Skin Care, an oral preparation rich in natural stable fish oil, can improve skin elasticity. (Source)

The experiment above has shown that not only the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil also enhance one's mood and helps in the development of embryos in pregnant women, it also improve skin elasticity. So here's one more tips for anti aging skin care -- add more supplements that are rich in natural stable fish oil to your diet!

Anti Aging Skin Care

Anti aging skin care is a one of the most popular concept in skin care. Let's face it, everyone in this world wish to look young forever if possible. However, as one gets older, the natural defense of his/her skin weakens, and this makes our skin becomes blotchy, rough and dull. This is a natural process and there is nothing that can stop aging from happening. What we are able to do, however, is to delay the process of aging, and maintaining a young and fresh look for a longer period of time. This is what anti aging skin care is all about.

Although the awareness about anti aging has increased over time, there are still many people that are not aware of the skin aging symptoms, and hence fail to start taking additional anti aging skin care treatments.

Aging symptoms may varies for different people, and may appear differently at different ages. Some people start to show skin aging symptoms in their mid 20s. At these ages, their skin are generally still in good condition, but may start to show symptoms like uneven skin tone, dry or rough skin, darkened and dull skin, or blotchy skin.

In late 20s or 30s, the symptoms of skin aging will start to appear more obviously. More skin aging signs such as larger pores, loose skin, and even fine lines and wrinkles may start to show up.

When a person reach his/her 40s, skin will become sallow and less firm. Other signs of aging such as frown lines on the forehead, deeper expression lines, and crow’s feet may appear.

And when comes to 50s or 60s, skin will becomes even more rough and dry, and deep wrinkles and folds start to show up on skin. Also, age spot may also appear.

Depending on the lifestyle of a person, the symptoms of skin aging will varies. That being said, a person's lifestyle start to affect the condition of his/her skin much earlier before the symptoms of skin aging appear. So it's important for one to start building and following a proper skin care routine in his/her early life (say in teens).

Skin aging factors could generally be catogarized into 2: Intrinsic and Extrinsic.

Intrinsic, biological or internal aging is basically the natural aging of the skin. It's about The aging skin “genes” you inherited. The way you age is "programmed" in the genes, and you have little control over it. By looking at the older generations of your family members, you could see patterns of aging skin in their faces and bodies (e.g. Furrows in the brow or forehead, Drooping eyelids, Loose skin along the jaw line, etc), and expect to inherit at least some of them.

Extrinsic or external aging is caused by external factors such as the sun and the environment, and also your lifestyle. Sun damage for example, is an extrinsic aging factor, which accumulated over time whenever you are exposed to the burning rays of the sun. Ultraviolet light acts to break down elastin and collagen in the skin and interferes with the production of new collagen. The damage is not immediately noticeable, but the accumulation of daily sun exposure leads to premature aging of the skin. Other external aging factors includes Cigarette smoke, Stress, lack of sleep, alcohol use, etc.

The extrinsic factor of skin aging is what we have more control over the intrinsic factor. So if one is serious about anti aging skin care, he / she should start with a healthy daily routine to minimize the damage cause by extrinsic factors. Here are a few habits in your everyday life that will make your skin age faster. Avoid them as much as you can.

• Sun exposure: Sun exposure is one of the most damaging factors to our skin. Unprotected skin that is exposed to the sun becomes more mottled in appearance. Wrinkles and sagging will increase, the skin turn into a dry, leathery appearance, and freckles can turn into brown sun spots. If sun exposure is unavoidable due to your daily activities, use sunscreen with SPF of 15 or higher. It will protect you against UVA and UVB rays.

• Exposure to cold weather: Other than sun exposure, cold winds and low temperatures will also make your skin age as your skin will become dry under such condition. So using mosturizer is essential if you venture out in the cold to keep your skin comfortable and reduce the aging skin effects.

• Cigarette smoke: Research has shown that not only smoking is bad for health, cigarette smoke is damaging to your skin, just like sun exposure. It depletes your body of Vitamin C, which is a key ingredient for keeping skin plump and moist, which then significantly increases skin wrinkles and dryness. So stay away from smoking, and stay away from smockers (well at least when they are smoking).

• Alcohol: Alcohol increase blood flow near the skin surface, and dilates small blood vessels in the skin. This will cause the blood vessels to become permenantly damaged over long term of alcohol usage, and create a flushed appearance and broken vessels on the skin’s surface.

• Stress: When you are stress, your body will automatically release increased amount of androgens, and other stress hormones. This will cause increased oil secretion through the skin, and the oil will get trapped below the skin surface because it's blocked by dead skin cells. This will cause acne and other skin problems. SO the more you stress out, the worse your skin will look. A good anti aging skin care program should include meditation, yoga, gentle exercise or other relaxation techniques.

• Lack of exercise: Exercise helps to release stress, and clean your skin by flushing out the toxins in the form of sweat. In addition, regular exercise makes you look and feel younger by having a bright smile and lots of energy. So exercise at least 3 times a week, or daily if possible. It's an important part of every anti-aging skin care program.

• Lack of sleep: Not enough sleep makes you looks tired. You will have sagging skin and dark circles and bags under the eyes when you have not enough sleep. A normal adult needs 8-9 hours of sleep each night to stay in the best condition.

After having a healthy lifestyle as fundamental, the next approach to anti aging skin care is to choose the right skin care products to help fighting skin aging. Here are a few ingredients to look for when buying anti aging skin care products:

• anti aging skin care products should comes with effective natural ingredients that counter the 3 primary causes of skin aging: reduction in the balance of hyaluronic acid, loss of collagen and elastin skin proteins, and damage caused by Free Radicals and oxidative stress. And the few natural ingredients that have proven to works effectively on each of the 3 paramenter includes:
  
  
  • Cynergy TK: a natural ingredient pioneered in New Zealand that helps in enhancing the production of collagen and elastin in the body.
  
  
  • Phytessence Wakame: a Japanese sea kelp extract that preserves the balance of hyaluronic acid by inhibiting the action of the enzyme hyaluronidase.
  
  
  • Coenzyme Q10: one of the best skin antioxidants that counter free radical damage effectively. Together these three combine to form the most effective ingredients in the best anti aging skin care products.

• anti aging skin care product should contain natural moisturizers to maintain skin hydration. Natural mosturizers, different from synthetic moisturizers, are non-addictive and will not cause problems like rashes, allergies, acne eruptions, irritation and skin dryness.

• anti aging skin care product should contain vitamins and minerals that are very effective in combating skin aging. Vitamin C based products work by enabling the synthesis of collagen, while Vitamin B group is well known to be very effective in soothing skin inflammation. Other minerals such as sodium, calcium, iron, and potassium, is also essential to help revitalizing aging skin.

• anti aging skin care product should contain essential oils that help to replace the loss of vital skin oils during the course of the day and protect the skin from aging. Some wonderful natural oils used in the best anti aging skin care products are grapeseed oil, avocado oil and macadamia oil.

• anti aging skin care product should contain emollients to keep the skin soft and smooth without blocking the pores. Besides this, they help to keep the grime and dirt out of your skin. Some excellent types of emollients are olivem and crodamol.

That's about all we want to cover about anti aging skin care in this post. One should remember that aging is a natural process that no one can avoid. Any antiaging skin care measures can only slow down the process. And always start from improving your lifestlye as the first step to fight skin aging. It's the most effective and also the most inexpensive treatment for aging skin.

Natural Skin Care Tips

We know that natural skin care products are much healthier, and much more effective than any normal skin care products. But just using natural skin care products alone is not enough. The more important part of natural skin care is to inculcate good habits in the way you lead your day to day life, in order to enable your skin to take care of itself. In fact, the real definition of natural skin care is caring for your skin in a natural and chemical-free way, without any assistance from synthetic materials and chemicals. So the only way to do that is to develop a healthy lifestyle which will then help to develop a naturally healthy looking skin.

First, you should work on improving your digestive system. In alternative medicine, good skin is a reflection of a good digestive system. People with skin disorders such as acne, rosacea, and psoriasis often suffer from constipation, leaky gut, and other digestive conditions. In order to improve your digestive system, drink lots of water.. at least 8 glasses a day is a must. Not only water helps flushing out the toxins from our body, it bathes cells and eliminates waste products, preventing constipation.

Fiber is another element that your body need to improve digestive system. Unfortunately, it's also one of the element that most people are lacking in their diets. On average, a normal adult eats only 12 g of fiber a day, whereas according to the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board, men between 19 - 50 years old and > 50 years old need 38 g and 31g of fiber respectively, while women between 19 - 50 years old and > 50 years old need 25 g and 21g of fiber respectively. So here are some recommendation of food that you should take to boost the fiber element in your body:

• Have an apple a day.
• Choose whole grain products over refined. Have brown rice instead of white or make your own 50:50 combination.
• Eat Beans and Legumes
• Eat Cauliflower
• High-fiber snacks - Snack on nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, such as dates, figs, and prunes.
• Prunes are a great source of fiber. Start your day with this tasty Prune Power smoothie.

Regular exercise is also important to keep healthy skin, as inactivity may affect skin and promote bloating and puffiness, acne, cellulite, and loss of muscle tone. Also, exercise increases the flow of blood and the circulation of oxygen and nutrients, which in turn is great for the skin. Another way that exercise can help in skin care is you release stress when exercising.. If you don't have time to do exercise regularly, here are a fews methods that you can try to at least to stretch your body:

• When you are at home or at work, take a quick break to go outside and walk around the block.
• Start each morning by stretching.
• Book a massage therapy appointment.
• Go to the gym.. at least close your door and stretch.

Beating stress is another natural skin care therapy. When you are stress, your brain will instruct your body to release androgens, stress hormones, and also the adrenal glands to send out increased amounts of the hormone. The increased amount of the hormone leads to increased oil secretion through the skin. The oil gets trapped just below the surface because dead skin cells are blocking its path out. Trapped oil is a major component that causes acne. SO the more you stress out, the worse your skin will look. As mentioned just now, exercise is one way to release stress. Other than that, indulging in a warm bubble bath, listening to music, doing yoga, and playing your favourite sport are also great ways of beating stress.

Healthy eating habits are also important for natural skin care. What we eat and drink does makes a difference. Junk food, oily food, and too many beverages will cause skin problem such as acne and should be avoided as much as possible. Also, excess sugar is one of the main causes of premature aging. When there's too much sugar in your bloodstream, the glucose molecule will damages protein molecule by sticking to it and form a new molecules called advanced glycation end-products, or AGEs. These new molecules will damage collagen in your skin, and thus wrinkles form and skin begins to sag. So your diet should contains less sugar & oily foods and more natural grains such as oats, red rice, and millet, plenty of fruits and vegetables, more seafood and very little red meat.

And finally, here are a few more advices for natural skin care. Many of these are really basic, but they really make a difference when you stick to it in your daily life:

• Keep general cleanliness - the most basic part of natural skin care. Daily shower, wearing clean clothes and sleeping on a clean mattress/pillow are all part of general cleanliness. After all, clean skin is the key to keeping the skin disorders at bay.
• Getting enough good sleep - Sleeping is the best time for your organs to rest, including your skin. a good sleep delays slacking of skin.
• Avoiding excessive exposure to sun - Ultraviolet light, the invisible but intense rays from the sun, damages your skin. So Wearing protective clothing, Using sunscreen, and Avoiding the sun during high-intensity hours are recommended.
• Quit smoking - Smoking accelerates aging of your skin and increases wrinkles. Skin changes from smoking can appear in young adults after 10 years of smoking. So quit smoking if you are have this habit now.
  

So that's about it. All that we have mentioned above are some of the really important habits to keep your skin naturally healthy. Remember, a healthy lifestyle is the most important part in natural skin care!

Natural Skin Care Products

You have probably seen many skin care products that tagged "natural", but do you know what does "natural" really means? How is it different from other skin care products, and why are so many people people turning to use natural skin care products? If you’re interested to find out more about natural skin care, keep reading. When you finish reading this post, you will know more about natural skin care and how its products work. It's important for you to have a basic understanding for natural skin care in order to select the safest, nontoxic products, and avoiding those with noxious ingredients. After all, natural skin care is about natural and healthier way of life.

What's Natural Skin Care Products
In simple definition, natural skin care product simply refers to skin care products that use only botanically sourced ingredients currently existing in or formed by nature, without the use of synthetic chemicals, and manufactured in such a way to preserve the integrity of the ingredients. The following are a few example of common ingredients used in natural skin care products:

• Shea Butter: A natural moisturizer, shea butter is extracted from the nuts of the Shea-Karite trees in Africa. It contains Vitamins A, E and F -- all known for their skin protection and rejuvenation properties.
• Beeswax: A natural wax made by bees in the cell walls of honeycombs. It's an emulsifier that smooths the skin and is an excellent base for lip balms and moisturizers. It also adds a wonderful natural color and smell to the products.
• Jojoba Oil: Jojoba oil is a natural extracted liquid wax from Jojoba plant. It's is similar to the natural sebum of whale, and is a natural moisturizer which absorbs quickly into the skin.
• Cucumber Extracts: The juice extracted from the cucumber is mildly astringent, yet soothing and can help cooling the skin, taking away the puffiness caused by lack of sleep or dehydration. It also has a slight bleaching action which aids in removing dead skin cells.
• Avocado: A tropical fruit from Central America and California. It's ranked by Guinness World Records as the most nutritious fruit available. Rich in Vitamin A, C, E, protein and amino acids, it's an ideal ingredient for conditioners and moisturizers. Because of the antioxidant properties of Vitamin E, it is also believed to protect the skin from pollution and from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.
  
• Thyme: A natural astringent found in facial toners, thyme has been used for centuries for its many medicinal properties. Its natural tannins aid in the treatment of acne.
• Deep Sea Mud/Clay: Precious clay obtained from the Dead Sea in Israel. This age-old natural substance is used in mud baths and clay masks and can help to remove impurities from deep within the pores, leaving the skin clear, clean, and stimulated.

Of course, the ingredients for natural skin care products are not limited to the list above. Other ingredients includes safflower oil, rose hip seed oil, witch hazel, aloe vera, tea tree oil, lavender, ginger, etc.. Many of these natural ingredient combination can be tailored specifically to the individual's skin type or skin condition.

Why Natural Skin Care Product?
So why is natural skin care product so popular and why are so many people turning to it? The reason is simple. Natural skin care products do not contain as much chemical ingredients compared to other non-natural products. Here's the fact. Our skin is the largest organ in our body. An average person slathers, lathers, spays and rubs 10 different skin care products on his or her body every day—and if you are using non-natural skin care products, you absorb the nearly 130 chemicals you regularly expose yourself to. According to the Environmental Working Group, most skin care and cosmetic ingredients known to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are NOT tested for toxins by any accountable institution. Now think about this.. anything you put on your skin, can be detected in every organ of your body within 28 seconds from the time you applied it, and you never know how those chemical ingredients will affect you over time. Isn't that scary? And it really make sense for anyone to turn to natural skin care products once they find out about this.

Tips For Selecting Natural Skin Care Products
Now that you understand the importance of using natural skin care product, here are a few tips that will help you to make the right choice of the safest, nontoxic products, avoiding those with noxious ingredients:

1. Read labels and pay attention to the ingredients used. While natural skin care product are always better than non-natural products, there are still ingredients that you need to avoid even though they are natural. One of the ingredients to avoid is mineral oil. When applying products with mineral oil, it will not immediately absorbed and form a thin layer on the skin. This layer will clogs the pores and results in slowing down the skin’s ability to eliminate toxins. When mineral oil is absorbed, it will steal important vitamins from your body which can eventually lead to nutritional deficiencies. There are definitely more ingredients that you should watch out for. We will cover this in detail in another post. The important thing to remember is: always read the label and understand what ingredients are being used, then spend a little time researching them.

2. Choose recyclable and non-toxic packaging. Glass is the safest packaging as it has totally no danger of leaching toxins to the product, and it's recyclable. Other than glass, plastic is another material that is often used for packaging skin care products. You should pay attention to the recycling code of the plastic if it's used. Code #1 (PET), #2 (HDPE), #5(Polypropylene) are safe, while #3 (PVC), and #7 (polycarbonate) are considered unsafe materials which may release toxins to the product.

3. Keep it simple. There are companies out there which spend more money on marketing more than researching their products. So don't be fooled by their advertising which make promises they could never deliver on. For example, eye creams are usually nothing more than your basic facial moisturizer. So keep it simple. Cleanser, moisturizer, toner, and broad-spectrum sunscreen are basically enough to keep your skin in tip-top shape.

4. Choose products with organic ingredients, which are grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. They are healthier not only for our bodies, but also for the planet. The USDA National Organic Program has been certifying personal-care products since 2003, and an increasing number of organic skincare products now bearing the USDA organic seal. A biodynamic-certified product can be indentified by looking for label with Demeter U.S.A.'s stamp of approval on it.

5. Research a skin care company's reputation. Check out the company's website to find out more about the philosophy and values of the company. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a nonprofit health and environmental organizations have listed out all companies which have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a pledge to remove harmful chemicals from ingredients lists and replace them with safer alternatives. Also, you can always look for reputable and neutral website like Treehugger for recommendation of safe natural products.

Conclusion
Everyone wants smoother, more radiant, and youthful skin. But when caring for our skin, we should also keep in mind those that can actually help us and not put our health in danger in the long run. Natural skin care is the safest way to go. Not only it keeps us beautiful, it helps to prevent harmful chemicals and preservatives both from us and from our environments!

About Natural Skin Care Tips

Hi everyone, welcome to the Natural Skin Care Blog.

Skin care is important to every woman who wish to stay young and beautiful, and this blog is dedicated to share tips and useful information about skin care with every women who care for their skin. If you have any skin care tips or experience about certain skin care product (good or bad), please feel free to share with us by using this contact form, so that we can share it with everyone else on this blog. It will help all the readers of the blog as it grows. Also, don't forget to subscribe as reader for blog to get useful skin care updates sent to you regularly!