Friday, August 3, 2007

The 5 Essentials of Men's Daily Skin Care.

For men, taking care of our skin can prove to be one of the best things to learn how to do. Besides the most obvious advantages like looking better, it has also the advantage of improving our health. Skin care does it part on helping us stay healthy, especially when taking accounts recent studies that prove men are genetically more prone to develop skin cancer. Every activity begins with some essentials stuff, and daily men's skin care is no exception, here are the 5 essential aids to start looking and feeling better:

1. Face Cleanser

A good face cleanser is different from your regular soap. It will remove dead skin cells, dirt, oil and pollutants we catch from the environment. It will also unclog the pores and by doing that it will also prevent us from acne blemishes and pimples.

If you have very dry skin use creamy cleansers. For oily skin, acid-based cleansers. But well, most cleansers serve for all types of skin, so better read well the labels before buying any product. Sometimes you may feel your face "tight" after cleaning and drying, this happens because the cleanser has got rid off of too much oil. (You need some oil on your skin after all!) What happens next, is that your skin will try to compensate producing more oil, eventually clogging pores. If you notice this, switch to a better cleanser.

The face cleanser should be applied once in the morning and once at night. Apply with water on face and neck, using a warm temperature and pat dry with a soft towel.

2. Shaving Cream or Shaving Gel

The shaving gel or cream basically does two things. First, it softens up the beard allowing a close shave; and second, it will help the razor blades glide smoothly over your skin. This helps reduce razor burns and blemishes caused by ingrown hair.

When choosing a shaving cream, most will work for any type of skin. But it is better to use a quality shaving cream that does some "extra work", like providing natural nutrients to the -soon to be damaged- skin.

The application of the cream or gel depends on the product. Now in the market there are even dry shave gels, that don't require you to wet your skin first. One common advice is too put the shaving cream or gel, and let it rest for about a minute (just let it do it's work for a while) and then shave. If you want to get an even better shave, do it right after a hot bath. hot water helps open up the pores.

3. Toner

The toner will clean the pores, removing shaving residues and restore the skin pH. It also helps the skin fight bacterial invasion. As the cleanser, apply it once by morning and once at night. For normal to dry skin use an hydrating toner, and for oily skin a toner-astringent.

Toner should be applied after shaving, and if you don't have facial hair, after cleansing. It is also good idea to apply it after prolonged sun exposure to restore the acid levels on the skin.

4. After Shave

The after have is more than a cologne to close the pores. A good after shave will restore the skin's natural moisture after shaving and relieve of irritations. Advanced after shaves will also combat razor burn and leave you with a soft restored-from-damage skin. They come in lotions and creams, I've found creams often work better.

To apply it just massage a little on shaved skin on face and neck immediately after shaving and toning.

5. Moisturizer

This is the final step in daily men's skin care. The moisturizer will prevent the natural moisture n the top layer of your skin to go away. And will help water retention. Most people think it brings water into your skin, but it just helps holding its natural moisture. If you have dry skin go foir oil based moisturizers, and if you have oily skin go for humectant lotion.

To apply it, massage the moisturizer gently on your skin until you will it is fully absorbed, and do it after shaving and toning. If your skin is very very oily you should not require moisturizer, but talk with a skin professional first for better advice.

That's it. These are the 5 essentials of men's daily skin care. If you take of your skin no problems will arise in the future and you can end up looking younger and healthier.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

6 Tips That Help to Get Rid of Blackheads.

Even people who do not have the misfortune of getting acne or pimples sometimes had to deal with black heads. How to get rid of black heads is a question that gets asked a lot. Depending on your skin tone and your situation there can be a lot of different answers but generally there are a few tips you can follow regardless of your skin condition that will help you eliminate black heads.

Black heads do not discriminate based on age; you can get blackheads as an adolescent as well as an adult. Unfortunately, this can be a continual problem that few people know how to deal with. Here are some 6 tips will help you with your question of how to get rid of black heads.

1. Change your pillow case as often as possible, oil can build up on your pillow and while you are sleeping can get on your face. If you remember to change your pillow case once every night or every two to three days this will help alleviate any issues if you have a black heads.

2. When you're taking a shower close all the doors and turn the shower water on as hot as you possibly can stand it. The steam will help open up the pores and can loosen the black head. This can also be accomplished by buying a facial steamer which is specifically made to open up facial pores.

3. Wash your face twice daily, any more than that and you run the risk of replacing the oil on your face that is caused by your skin drying out. Always make sure that you wash before you go to bed with a gentle soap.

4. Try to avoid eating any junk food, although it's never been proven that certain foods will cause acne and blackheads certain foods will increase the probability that you will get acne and blackheads. There is no hard and fast rule about what you should eat but it if you stay away from the junk food and eat a healthy diet you'll be less prone to blackheads.

5. After washing your face make sure this use of clean towel to dry your face off. A previously used towel may contain oil and dirt and will only worsen the symptoms. After washing your face the last thing you want to do is replace it with oil and dirt and changing towels on a daily basis will help with this.

6. Pay close attention to the areas that you can get the most blackheads and make sure that you watch or treat them little more thoroughly. One of the areas that people generally don't pay much attention to when getting blackheads is their nose, your nose can be one of the most infected areas simply cleanse it thoroughly.

Getting rid of blackheads can sometimes seem impossible but if you follow these tips it should help. You just read six tips that can help you with your question how to get rid of blackheads.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

The 5 Natural Ways To Reduce Your Blood Pressure

1. Try Yoga: Yoga is a great way to reduce stress, which contributes to high blood pressure. But there are some poses in particular recommended for those wanting to level out their blood pressure. These include:

* forward bends like virasana and upavista konasana, which are both sitting postures
* horizontal asanas which allow the heart beat to slow down when they are practised slowly and rhythmically
* asanas like uttanasana and adhomukha savasana

2. Regular exercise: It doesn't have to be yoga. Any regular exercise like walking, biking or gardening is great for lowering blood pressure. Your physician will be able to give you an exercise plan that suits your heart condition and physical fitness levels. It's important not to overdo it too quickly. Tai chi is actually an excellent way to reduce blood pressure. Like yoga, it is relaxing, rhythmical, a stress reducer, and has great benefit on the nervous and parasympathetic systems within the body.

Having a regular exercise program may even reduce your need for blood pressure medication.

3. Eat more bananas! Bananas are high in potassium, which is great for reducing high blood pressure. Other dietary improvements include eating more fruit and vegetables generally. Studies have found 8 servings of fruit and vegetables daily to be preferable, with these having a particular benefit for cardiovascular health:

* Lettuce
* spinach
* cauliflower
* cabbage
* broccoli
* swiss chard
* citrus fruits

And when these changes are combined with exercise, there are more significant improvements in blood pressure.

4. Make sure you get your folic acid: A study by the Harvard Medical School looked at the benefits of folic acid on blood pressure, and found it to be highly beneficial, particularly amongst younger women. It seemed to have a protective effect against high blood pressure. Younger women who took at least 1mg of folic acid a day lowered their risk of hypertension by 46%. Older women who had reasonable amounts of folic acid daily lowered their risk by 18%. The study was conducted on 156,000 nurses, 19,720 of whom had high blood pressure.

5. Blessed chocolate: Dark chocolate, and foods and supplements that had high levels of cocoa including chocolate confectionary, cocoa sandwich filling and drinks, have been found to be associated with a lower blood pressure and reduced risk of dying from any cause in a small study conducted on 470 elderly men (they were on average 72 7ears old). The study followed them for 15 years, and those that ate more than 2.3 grams of cocoa a day had lower blood pressure than those that didn't. Researchers believe it is the flavanol component of cocoa that provides this beneficial effect.

Before thinking this is a green light to eat lots of chocolate, you'll need about 100 grams of dark chocolate a day to get the blood pressure benefits. That equates to an extra 500 calories per 100 grams, with an average fat content of 30%. Raw cocoa is not well taken by people when it is eaten in large amounts. The calorie and fat considerations need to be taken into account, although there are some chocolate bars out there that have a higher flavanol content.