Why is Shea Butter important for Anti-aging?

Medical Treatments for Age Spots, Rosacea and Wrinkles

There are many skin care products out there today. But what if you have tried them all with little result? Then you may want to consider more advanced options such as botox, dermal fillers or lasers. Following are some basic explanations of products and procedures currently on the market and how the treatments work.

RETINOIDS

Retinoids are derived from vitamin A but contain a different chemical structure; retinoids may limit oil production, reduce skin oiliness, and prevent acne and pigmentation. In addition, retinoids improve visible wrinkles and dark spots for pigmented skin types, and can even act to prevent further acne outbreaks in oily skin. Dermatologists recommend you start retinoid use slowly, beginning with the lowest strength available, sparingly, especially if you have rosacea, acne or skin redness. Expect two weeks of use before your skin can tolerate the treatment without redness or flaking. Despite the initial reactions, many find the end results to be well worth it.

If you continue to react to the treatment with excess irritation and redness you can discontinue use, further reduce the amount or try another brand. With normal reactions, the cream can be used as often as every other night per your doctor’s instructions.

HOW TO PROPERLY USE A RETINOID

1. In your hand, mix a pea-size portion of retinoid with a couple of drops of Vitamin C serum if desired to smooth the mixture.

2. Apply to face and neck using upwards strokes – don’t forget the back of your hands.

3. Place a trace of product on your fingertips and apply gently on the skin area under the eye (never on top of the eyelid or around the eye).

4. Use once every three days for two weeks or until no redness or dryness is visible.

5. At the end of two weeks, apply the mixture every other night for another two weeks

6. After the first two weeks of use, you can use the cream nightly and indefinitely.

IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) and Vascular Lasers

Dermatologists use Intense Pulsed Light, or IPL (a combination of different colors of light) to remove the dark spots, broken blood vessels and enlarged oil glands that produce excess oil and cause acne. There are various types of IPL, some more powerful than those used in salons. IPL can also be used in combination with a topical medication called Levulan that makes the skin sensitive to light and intensifies the treatments effect. When used in a combination with Levulan, the light therapy becomes know as Photodynamic Therapy, or PDT. This treatment is effective for dark spots and oiliness and is also a highly effective treatment of flushing, redness, visible blood vessels and other symptoms on the rosaecea spectrum.

IPL can also be combined with various vascular lasers. The red blood vessels absorb the light produced by the vascular laser (or the Intense Pulsed L ight.) The blood vessels then heat up and burst, leaving the skin untouched. One vascular laser, the Dornier 940nm, works with the blood component deoxyhemoglobin and as a result, this laser does not produce bruising after the procedure, as other vascular lasers can. It can also be used on dark skin with no damage. IPL treatment is administered first to the entire face, followed by the Dornier laser directed to large blood vessels next.

Preparing for Light or Laser Treatment:

You can reduce the number of IPL treatmenrs needed to treat dark spots by regular retinoid use for a month or more in advance to pre-treat dark spots. Differin gel or Triluma. In advance of the light therapy, Levulan gel is spread on your face for thirty minutes or more and then removed. Your doctor can then perform an IPL or other light treatment. It generally takes ten minutes, and you will notice a mild feeling of warmth. The procedure is rarely painful. Since the Levulan sensitizes the skin to light, you will need to use sunblock for 36 hours after treatment. After Photodynamic Therapy, your skin may look red, peeling, or crusted for three to seven days after the PTD procedure.

After blue light treatment for acne:

There is no downtime from this procedure.

After vascular laser treatment for blood vessels.

Some vascular lasers cause intense bruising, so be sure to discuss this with your dermatologists prior to treatments so you will know what to expect.

5 Steps for Healthy Skin

Are you serious about your skin care? Serious skin care requires a total health approach, or you’ll never achieve the skin care results you want.

After all, our health is the most important thing to us. What are we without our health? And our overall state of health is related to the state of our skin as well as our overall wellbeing. With good health we achieve great skin, but without it it’s extremely difficult to achieve great skin.

So if, to achieve serious skin care results, we need to get serious about our skin, and health, first, what should we do? How do we go about this?

Simple. Notice I said simple, not easy. There’s 5 simple things we can do to achieve the skin we want, and the look we want. And if we do these 5 things then we’ll also achieve great overall health and feel great as well as achieving serious skin health.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Exercise. There’s no doubt that exercise has an impact on just about every aspect of our life, and health, including our skin. Exercise, for example, increases our ability to circulate the blood around our body, and as the skin, like other organs, requires a good blood supply, improved circulation will improve your skin health. Serious skin care must involve a minimum amount of exercise.

2. Improve your diet. Cut down on the Pizzas and burgers, increase your intake of high quality fresh fruit and vegetables. Increase your intake of good vitamins and minerals and antioxidants and your skin will thank you for it.

3. Use high quality organic health supplements to supplement those vitamins and minerals that we should be getting in our diet, but aren’t. Because even the best diet will have it’s deficiencies, for a number of reasons, and we need to use high quality organic supplements to correct this.

4. Avoid well known brand name skin care products. Serious skin care cannot be found in a brand name moisturizer. Brand name products contain ingredients that are at best suspect and at worst actively damaging to our health and skin. And the bottom line is that mainstream skin care products don’t work anyway, so even ignoring the health risks, you’re wasting your money using the skincare products on the shelves of your local store.

5. Use a quality organic skin care range that offers tested ingredients proven not only to be safe to your overall health but also to work. And the best ones are backed up with money back guarantees so you can try the products risk free until you’re convinced that they are working for you. Try getting a money back guarantee like that from your mainstream skincare product manufacturers.

Serious skin care requires a serious, thought out approach to overall health, not just skin health, because the two go together. If you’re serious about your skin care you need to make an effort. Anything less and it just won’t work. But if you do it will shine through in far more than just your skin health. It will show in your whole life.

Because your skin is just another organ in your body. It’s a visible organ, not an invisible one. Because people see your skin they see when your skin us unhealthy, because it looks unhealthy. But if you get healthy generally then your skin gets healthy, and looks it.

So make sure you get serious and practice some serious skin care practices. Eat well, stay moving and stay healthy and everyone will know, from how your skin looks.

Where do you get these great skin care products? Not from the mainstream anti aging and skin care companies, in fact the best ones come from a company you’ve probably never heard of.

New Ingredients for Tougher Skin

Young skin produces protein like collagen and elastin in sufficient quantities. These are the youth giving skin proteins in our body and are responsible for giving us a healthy, firm, soft and elastic skin.

As time passes the natural production of these two vital skin proteins starts to slow down. Thus, we start to see the signs of skin aging like wrinkles, sagging skin, age spots and dark uneven skin complexion emerge.

In order to make skin tougher we need to develop such products that will help the body build higher amount of its own collagen and elastin naturally.

There are many collagen based skin care products in the marketplace which claim that the collagen in them is the key to make aging skin tougher. But this is far from reality. The scientific truth is that collagen in skin creams cannot be absorbed by our body at all. The collagen molecule is too big to penetrate our skin. The key to how to make aging skin tougher is to help your body build more collagen and elastin naturally.

Advances in medical science reveal ingredients have been discovered which help in skin rejuvenation naturally by stimulating the natural production of these vital skin proteins. This is the natural and effective way on how to make aging skin tougher.

Thanks to the internet and a great deal of research, these breakthrough natural substances are available for anyone in any part of the world. Some of these natural skin rejuvenation ingredients are babassu, maracuja, Phytessence Wakame, and Cynergy.

Are Chemical Peels for You?

With so many beauty products, facial treatments and surgical procedures available these days, it can be overwhelming to choose a treatment that is right for you. First off, when trying any new skincare treatment or procedure, it is always important to do your research, seek out reputable sources and never be afraid to ask questions, after all, it is your face – you only have one, so treat it accordingly. Selecting the right specialist or understanding details of a surgical procedure will be time consuming, be prepared to put in the time necessary to make the best choice. Below are some tips to help you get started.

Choose carefully. The Consumer Guide to Plastic Surgery recommends you:
•    Check educational, training, background credentials and experience to ensure that he or she is well-qualified
•    Ask how many times they have performed this procedure
•    Ask to see before and after photos of patients who have had chemical peels – in some cases offices will give you contact information of previous patients as referrals.

Dermatologists, plastic surgeons, licensed estheticians and registered nurses can all perform chemical peels. However, depending on the type of peel, you might need to see a doctor. Ensure your procedure is both safe and effective.

Schedule a skin consultation. A chemical peel is an aggressive treatment, it’s important that you get an in-depth analysis of your skin beforehand. When at the consultation, make sure the specialist knows your medical history and any prescriptions you may be taking. Be prepared to ask questions, such as what is my skin type? What are my skin concerns? How can chemical peels improve my skin? What kind of peel is best for my skin type?

Become a peel expert. There are three types of chemical peels: superficial, medium and deep. In addition, they increase substantially in cost depending on the peel. The cost ranges from $150 to $300 for superficial peels; $1,000 to $2,000 for medium peels and $2,500 up to $5,000 for deep peels, according to Smart SkinCare:
Superficial: The mildest of chemical peels, superficial peels treat fine lines, discoloration, dryness, roughness and mild acne. Results are subtle and you will need regular maintenance sessions. Estheticians typically perform superficial peels. Common solutions: Alpha hydroxy acids or AHAs (e.g., glycolic acid, lactic acid), salicylic acid

Medium: These peels penetrate deeper into the skin, producing a second-degree burn. Medium peels treat wrinkles, pigmentation problems, sun damage and blemishes. You will need at least a week to recover. You’ll also need several peels to achieve desired results. Common solution: Trichloroacetic acid (TCA)
Deep: These peels target deep wrinkles, dramatic discoloration and skin lesions. Deep peels are the most effective, providing pronounced and long-lasting results. However, they are also riskier with longer recovery time—most people take two weeks off from work. A certified, experienced plastic surgeon must perform these peels. This peel is performed once. Common solution: Phenol

Consider your skin type. Be aware that a chemical peel is not always the best option for your skin type. These are several examples when a chemical peel isn’t appropriate or can be helpful. In most cases, a chemical peel should not be used on dry or sensitive skin. A peel might cause dryness, flakiness, itching and further inflammation. If you have inflammatory acne and deep cysts, you should also consult a dermatologist, as a chemical peel might not be the best treatment for those conditions.

Chemical peels are a good choice if you experience mild to moderate acne or acne scars: The acids in the peel work to both kill active blemishes on the surface and to prevent new blemishes from forming. By accelerating the exfoliation process, a chemical peel delivers clearer, healthier-looking skin.

Become an expert on your chemical peel. Before having the chemical peel, make sure you ask every question possible to ensure you are aware of the entire procedure and its potential complications.
Examples like; what strength is the peel? How many sessions will I need? What are the pros and cons? What kind of discomfort, pain and other reactions can I expect during the procedure? How should my skin react after the chemical peel?

Communication is key in making your chemical peel a safe experience. Clarify you are experiencing normal reactions or seek immediate attention if you think you are not. Remember if something doesn’t feel right, only you can speak up about it.

About two to four weeks prior to your chemical peel, the specialist will ask you to incorporate pre-care products into your daily regimen. These products are designed to thin out the skin’s surface, allowing the peel to penetrate deeper and evenly. Your medical expert might prescribe Retin-A, an AHA product or hydroquinone cream.
When using these new products, you might have to discontinue your old ones. Your specialist will give you specific information about what products to use and avoid.
Depending on the type of peel, your results might be subtle or dramatic. Every skin type reacts a bit differently. Be realistic about the results and fully understand to what degree the peel will improve your skin and whether you will need additional sessions to maintain results.

Skin Hydration

For those with oily skin, your face may often look shiny, and you naturally avoid products that feel oily. You will be more vulnerable to acne and breakouts than dry skin types. People with dry skin will notice that their skin feels tight, perhaps irritated or itchy and has a dull color and/or rough texture.

Dryness and oiliness depend primarily on the condition of the skin barrier, the outer layer of skin which helps the skin retain moisture, and the oil (sebum) production itself. The barrier is like a brick wall, with each brick (or cell) held in place by mortar (fats called lipids). Harmful ingredients, cold, and dry weather can wear down these fats, eroding the mortar so that the “bricks” are not secured in their proper place.

A variety of outside agents, including detergents, acetone, chlorine and other chemicals, and even prolonged water immersion can harm the barrier, or the barrier may be deficient for genetic reasons.

The barrier’s main components are ceramides, fatty acids, and cholesterol, all different kinds of lipids. These must be present in the right proportion to keep the skin watertight. An impaired barrier will tend toward both dryness and sensitivity. Dryness results when skin moisture evaporates.

Sensitivity results when a deficient barrier permits the entry of outside irritants. Repairing the skin barrier with the right skin care products will help treat a variety of skin conditions. Incorporating key dietary nutrients, such as essential fatty acids and cholesterol, provides the necessary building blocks. Nutrient deficiencies can weaken your skin’s ability to repair and rebuild, which is why people who take cholesterol-lowering drugs often have dry skin. 

Hyaluronic Acid for Smoother Skin

Ageing gracefully means caring for ones body and health. Both women and men are actively seeking treatments that will reduce the signs of aging. Many aspects of how we age and how to ward of or erase the signs are still a mystery.

There are places in the world such as Yuzuri Hara, which is a village in Japan, where at least ten percent of the current popular hovers around 85 years or even older. Many of the conditions seen regularly in seniors in our part of the world such as cancer, diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s are just not present there.

The citizens of Yuzuri Hara lead lives that are active and incredibly healthy. Most of these people never even need to visit the doctor and their skin looks rather youthful.

ABC’s popular News show 20/20 did research and ran a showing that reported that researchers found what they believe is the key to the youthful appearance and healthy bodies of those living in Yuzuri Hara.

The component believed to be what everyone is after is known as Hyaluronic acid. This acid can be found in carbohydrate rich foods that are native to the terrain of hills surrounding this village.

This component lubricates a persons joints and is in the connective tissue of humans. One of the benefits of it is its ability to keep our flesh smooth and full. As we age, our bodies loose this naturally. Researchers are working hard to see that if taken orally if it will limit the look of aging on people.

The FDA has given their go ahead to use this product for injections located in the knee joints. This will provide the joint with new lubrication. Hyaluronic acid also works to reduce both heat and inflammation caused by arthritics.

Not to mention the fact that it can even decrease the speed in which arthritics develops and can thwart the constant pain associated with arthritics.

There are places in Europe that make use of this component for soft tissue filler, augmentation of lips, repairing acne scars and in ridding the face of lines and wrinkles.

It is used in a similar manner as collagen and provides practically the same results.

Working as a topical agent that hydrates the skin wonderfully and also as a powerful anti-inflammatory.

Soft, creamy skin that no longer feels irritated or itchy is found to result when using products with Hyaluronic acid in it.

Squalane is an incredible moisturizer that carries oxygen and provides your skin with renewed elasticity without leaving it feeling oily. Squalane’s main ingredient is sebum, which coincidently is the main oil, found naturally in your flesh.

It makes sense then to replace that oil with a product containing this ingredient. When taken internally, Squalane will strengthen your immune system and offer anti-inflammatory properties.

When you use Squalane topically, you will notice such benefits as softer lines on your face, relief from psoriasis, age spots becoming less noticeable, and wounds healing faster. In Japan, Squalane is even being used to aid in the treatment of both skin cancer and dermatitis.

Working with Squalane and Hyaluronic acid will offer you the best solution when it comes to the effects of fighting aging and the toll that it takes on your skin.