How to get beautiful and glowing skin
date: 2012-10-24 
time: 21:48:54
time: 21:48:54 
1. Wash your face twice daily.
Make cleansing your skin part of your morning and bedtime routines.
- Use a gentle soap. Unless you have exceptionally oily skin, this should do the trick for most people. Remember that you want to clean your skin, not completely strip it of all oils — if it feels tight and dry after washing, you're using something too strong.
- Lather the soap around all the areas of your face. Make sure you get your forehead (especially along the hairline), cheeks, nose, upper lip, chin, and jawline.
- Rinse off by splashing water on your face. Using a washcloth or rag to roughly wipe your skin clean can irritate it more. Instead, bend your face over the sink, cup your hands together, and bring up small amounts of water to splash over your face. About 10 splashes should do it.
- Pat dry. Again, don't roughly rub your skin dry with a towel. Instead, dry it with small, gentle pats or let it air dry.
- Always wash off your makeup at night. Even if you're too tired to do the rest of the routine before you go to bed, at least make sure your makeup comes off your face. Not only does this prevent it from clogging up your pores and causing breakouts while you sleep, it also stops you from smearing bacteria on your pillow - where it can get into your skin night after night.
2. Use a toner (optional).
A toner removes excess oil and dirt from your skin that the soap missed, in addition to closing your pores. Not everyone needs to use a toner, but some people find it helpful.
- Put a few drops onto a cotton ball or pad. Swipe it lightly over your skin.
- Only use astringent if your skin is exceptionally oily. Astringent is a stronger type of toner that can be up to 60% alcohol. If your skin tends to be dry, using astringent could actually cause acne by driving your oil glands to overcompensate.
- Witch hazel is a natural alternative to buying synthetic toner/astringent.
- Consider applying toner to only the areas of your skin that tend to break out. For instance, you might only use it on your nose or forehead.
3. Moisturize twice daily.
Using lotion in the morning acts as a primer for your makeup, helping it "stick" to your face throughout the day. Moisturizing at night helps your skin repair itself and stave off wrinkles. Bottom line, it's one of the best things you can do for glowing skin over the long term.
- Consider using a lighter moisturizer during the day. If you're prone to breakouts, save the heavy cream moisturizer for nighttime and use a light or gel moisturizer during the day.
- Don't forget your neck and décolletage. These areas can get super dry and irritated if you never moisturize them.
4. Exfoliate once a week.
If your skin tends to be dry and flaky, a weekly exfoliation can clear out dead skin cells. Find an exfoliant that has a super fine grain, or make your own at home using oil and fresh coffee grounds or sugar, and don't rub it roughly into your skin - use light pressure and gentle motions.
5. Protect your skin from the sun.
Avoid leathery, tough skin by applying a light sunscreen every time you plan to be outside. The lack of sun damage will keep your skin dewy and supple for years to come. Remember, it only takes 15 minutes to get a sunburn, so be prepared.
- Stick to SPF 30 - anything higher doesn't have much more benefit.
- Search the makeup aisle for spray-on sunscreens that are light and dry.
- Use a foundation or tinted moisturizer with sunscreen, so your face is already covered.
6. Mask it.
Use a clay mask to soften and firm skin.
7. Highlight.
After applying foundation, use a subtle highlighter to give the skin a dewy, healthy glow in all the right places.
1. Consider a salicylic acid face wash.
Some anti-acne face cleansers contain salicylic acid, which kills the bacteria that can cause acne.
- To prevent drying out your face, start using a salicylic acid wash only in the mornings and see if that's sufficient. If you still need more help, use it at night as well.
2. Use spot treatments.
There are several products that you can dab onto active zits to reduce redness and kill bacteria. Two of the most popular are salicylic acid gel and benzoyl peroxide cream.
- For extra help, try using both formulations.
- Be aware that benzoyl peroxide can bleach hair and clothing.
3. Prevent acne before it starts.
Here are some small daily-life hacks you can use to prevent pimples before they happen:
- Change out your pillowcase every four or five days. A fresh, bacteria-free pillowcase can stop your skin from erupting overnight.
- Keep your hands off your face. If you tend to rest your chin in your palm, or you're constantly fussing with your face, stop. The oils and bacteria on your hands can cause breakouts, even in small amounts.
- Tie your hair back while you sleep. If you have long hair, keep it off your face while you rest. Braid it back, and use pins or a headband to keep bangs off your forehead.
- Get your beauty rest. Stress can lead to breakouts, so make sure you're well-rested and calm.
- Change your birth control. Some oral contraceptives containing estrogen can calm down regular breakouts. Ask your doctor if this is the right choice for you.
4. Do not pick or pop pimples.
Doing so can make the infection worse and lead to permanent scarring.
5. See a dermatologist.
If you can't get the problem under control by yourself, visit a doctor. He or she can prescribe serious treatments such as Accutane, Retin-A or red-blue light treatments.
1. Work out.
Cardio is what will give your skin that glow because it stimulates blood flow. It's also healthy for your body and will make you stronger.
2. Drink up.
Aim to get 8 glasses of water a day. The water will clear your skin and make it glow because it makes it easier for your body to flush out toxins quickly.
3. Eat a healthy diet.
You are what you eat, and incorporating healthy food like vegetables, fruits, grains, and protein will help.
- Omega 3 Fatty Acids found in fish and walnuts is especially beneficial to your skin.
- Vitamin C will help existing pimples heal faster, so eating a few servings of things like citrus fruits will help.
- Eat fiber-rich foods (fresh vegetables, nuts, fruits - all with skins on) to help keep a fine balance and to be regular, not sluggish, in the gastrointestinal area. You may look and feel tired and sickly (headache and abdominal complaints), if you do not have regularity of elimination/movements once or more every day.
- Try to consume less than 45g of sugar on a daily basis.
- Cut down on salty foods. Eating too much salt can make your face look bloated.
- If you're worried you aren't getting enough of necessary vitamins and minerals, try taking a multivitamin.
- Make sure you have a cleanser and moisturizer made for your skin type.
- Have patience - you should see improvements in about two weeks.
- Do not rub hard at your skin as it will break small blood vessels, stretch and roughen skin, cause peeling and be very unattractive.
- Avoid rubbing eyes and do not rub ice under your eyes, as that will cause worse dark circles, not an improvement.
- Never try to bleach the skin; it will dry, crack and burn skin and leave you with scars, and that's not good.
- Cleanser
- Toner (optional)
- Moisturizer
- Exfoliant (optional)
- Sunscreen
- Acne treatments
- Healthy food
- Water
What is your acne telling you?
date: 2012-10-09 time: 16:52:11
time: 16:52:11 Think of your face as a map and blemishes as X’s on that landscape. Spots in different zones correspond to different problems. So, with this “map” as your guide, you can address the underlying causes of blemishes and not only make the unsightly zits vanish but also treat the underlying health problem in time. Pretty awesome, right? Try it out! Here is how to decode breakouts in the basic areas:
1 & 2: DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Eat less processed or junk food, reduce the amount of fat in your diet, step up water intake and opt for cooling things like cucumber.
3: LIVER
Cut out the alcohol, greasy food and dairy. This is the zone where food allergies also show up first, so take a look at your ingredients. Besides all this, do 30 minutes of light exercise every day and get adequate sleep so your liver can rest.
4 & 5: KIDNEYS
Anything around the eyes (including dark circles) point to dehydration. Drink up!
6: HEART
Check your blood pressure and Vitamin B levels. Decrease the intake of spicy or pungent food, cut down on meat and get more fresh air. Besides this, look into ways to lower cholesterol, like replacing "bad fats" with "good fats" such as Omega 3s and 6s found in nuts, avocados, fish and flax seed. Also, since this area is chock-full of dilated pores, check that your makeup is not past its expiry date or is skin-clogging.
7 & 8: KIDNEYS
Again, drink up! And cut down on aerated drinks, coffee and alcohol as these will cause further dehydration.
9 & 10: RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Do you smoke? Have allergies? This is your problem area for both. If neither of these is the issue, don't let your body overheat, eat more cooling foods, cut down on sugar and get more fresh air. Also keep the body more alkaline by avoiding foods that make the body acidic (meat, dairy, alcohol, caffeine, sugar) and adding more alkalizing foods like green veggies and wheatgrass juice. Another thing that most forget - dirty cell phones and pillow cases are two of the top acne culprits and this area is what they affect the most!
11 & 12: HORMONES
This is the signature zone for stress and hormonal changes. And while both are sometimes unavoidable, you can decrease their effect by getting adequate sleep, drinking enough water, eating leafy veggies and keeping skin scrupulously clean. Another interesting point: breakouts in this area indicate when you are ovulating (and on which side).
13: STOMACH
Step up the fibre intake, reduce the toxin overload and drink herbal teas to help with digestion.
14: ILLNESS
Zits here can be a sign that your body is fighting bacteria to avoid illness. Give it a break, take a yoga class, take a nap, take time to breathe deeply, drink plenty of water and know that everything always works out!
So the next time you break out or notice dark under-eye circles, look to your face map: your skin is probably trying to communicate on behalf of the internal organs. However, do remember that, as with all medical issues, it is always best to see your doctor or dermotologist for a proper prognosis. This is just a general guide to head you off in the right investigative direction – just becuase you break out between the brows doesn’t always mean you have a bad liver!
