Effective Herbal Acne Treatment

There are a hundred different medicines that you can use to treat acne. There are over the counter creams and lotions as well as prescription medicine designed to help treat acne from within your body. For the cash strapped acne sufferer there are alternative ways to treat acne without spending too much and is considered much safer as it is natural. Herbal acne treatments have been proven to work and have been around as much as acne creams and medicines have been prescribed and advertised.

Acnes are not just a simple blackhead or pimple but are large papules and nodules that form under or on top of the skin. It is a disorder in which the pilosebaceous glands of the skin are infected. They can affect anyone from any age group, male or female. Acne can occur on the face, back, chest and shoulders.

Some known effective herbal acne treatment includes the tea tree oil which is antibacterial in nature and has a drying effect on the skin. Keeping the bacteria that causes pimples at bay while reducing the oiliness of your face makes it one of the most popular herbal acne treatments in the market. You can use it by applying a small amount of the undiluted oil onto the affected area or add it to your toner or nightly cream.

Studies have also shown that regular intake of green tea helps lessen acne. It is just as effective as over the counter medicines without causing too much irritation on the skin. Green tea aides in detoxification and therefore, helps in the overall cleansing of the body. It also calming and refreshing which helps the body de-stress and relax.

You can also try this infusion which uses a warm compress to open up the pores and rid it of trapped dirt and oil. Boil a quart of water in a pan and then remove it from the heat. Add a cup of dried thyme leaves and let it steep for 20 minutes. Let it cool down for a bit and soak a washcloth in the mixture. Wring the excess water from the washcloth and put it on your face for 15 minutes. Repeat if desired then remove the washcloth and apply an astringent.

There are very few side effects for using herbal acne treatments and certainly is less irritating on your skin. Their efficacy is the same as prescription medicines and those store bought creams and lotions. These alone present no reason why you shouldn’t try these alternative treatments to cure your acne.

How to have a healthy cholesterol level?

A healthy cholesterol level is always an added advantage to a person’s life as he or she would have no worry over heart diseases and would be able to lead a healthy and happy lifestyle. However, in our modern society, it seems increasingly hard for a person to lead a healthy lifestyle and maintain a healthy cholesterol level. Being caught up at work, we have insufficient time for leisure, let alone exercise or having the spare time to cook up a healthy dish for our families. But is having a healthy lifestyle that leads to a healthy cholesterol level really not for us?

Here are some steps to achieve a healthy cholesterol level, but be advised, it is not one-time thing, and rather you have to do it continuously till the day you pass on in life. Read the rest of this entry »

Water is very important for the human body

Everyone knows that we could not live without water. During this article I want to underline for you a few benefits that the water has on the human body. You won’t know some of them or you probably considered them not important. First of all let me add that an individual needs steady hydration during his lifetime, each year, every day.

Studies show that 1.5 liters of water are compulsory in order to ensure that the kidney functions stay at the normal levels. If you add a glass of fresh juice and another one of milk, it should be enough to provide your body with the necessary daily amount of liquids. You should avoid the mineral and sweet drinks, because they won’t help in a weight loss diet. Better add instead some red wine, around 3 glasses a day. You can also drink coffee, but only in the morning.

Water can be also mixed with lemon in order to help our organism. If you drink a glass of hot water with lemon 10 minutes before a meal and a second one 30 minutes after the meal you will register a wise move. The first glass will occupy space in your stomach and this way less food would be needed to fill it up. The after the meal glass helps the digestion.

Another important trick that relates water and the human body is the Scottish shower. Our body works at it’s top parameters when the blood circulation is optimal. To stimulate the circulation, do each morning and evening a shower where you alternate cold and hot water. Do it wisely and steady and try to avoid a heart-attack that can be caused by huge temperature differences. The Scottish shower reduces cellulites and, for women, it maintains the fitness and shape of the breasts. More tricks can be found here.

Healthy Tip: Sleeping Right

Training yourself to sleep on your back is good for your skin; you will not get wrinkled from impressions left by your pillow. Also, even the cleanest sheets are not as clean as your skin should be. This training will also go a long way toward preventing neck problems; for best results, place a pillow under your knees for correct orthopedic posture.

A Word on Diet: Nine Do's and a Don't

Why talk about diet in a book about facial exercise? Many patients in my practice as a paramedical aesthetician have been told by their family doctors that diet has no impact on the skin’s health and that supplements just give one expensive urine. Yet in every case I have treated, when eating habits were changed and proper supplementation was given, skin problems cleared up. The patients also experienced some wonderful side effects, such as better digestion, an increase in energy, and weight loss. This all resulted from treating a skin problem.

What follows is a set of dietary rules. Follow them the way you follow the exercise regimen: at your own pace and as they fit into your lifestyle. Remember, even if you only adopt one new dietary habit—substituting whole-grain breads for refined flours, for example, or eliminating hydrogenated oils from your diet—you’ll be improving your appearance. That these tidbits of advice also pertain to longevity, cancer prevention, and a healthy heart is merely a happy coincidence.

RULE No. 1. Drink water!

RULE No. 2. Eat butter and olive oil.

RULE No. 3. Eat meat!

RULE No. 4. Eat it raw!

RULE No. 5. Eat whole fruits!

RULE No. 6. Get plenty of dietary fiber.

RULE No. 7. Eat whole grains.

RULE No. 8. Take your vitamins.

RULE No. 9. Exercise.

RULE No. 10. Avoid substances that are bad for you.

How to Wash Your Face

How you wash your face can make a difference in how you age. This is because the skin and the underlying muscles can be subject to stretching over time if you continually pull and scrub them in a direction contrary to their nature. In Chapter 1 of this book, we discussed the concept of origin and insertion as it relates to muscle tissue, and it bears repeating here. Every muscle in your body has a point of origin, where it attaches to bone, and a point of insertion, where it attaches to a moving part, either bone or soft tissue. When you massage a muscle, you must always stroke from insertion to origin and never the other way around. Stroking the muscle in the wrong direction will cause it to stretch over time and become loose and saggy. Because the skin and muscles of the face are delicate, they are particularly susceptible to abuse. Exfoliate no more than once a week, and even then, do so gently. A gentle exfoliation using circular strokes can make your skin glow, but if you’re making your circles in the wrong direction, you will be hastening the aging process.
Tip: Bags and wrinkles can be exacerbated by all that tugging and scrubbing you inflict on your delicate lower eyelids while taking off your mascara at the end of the day. To avoid this, get in the habit of doing a Lid Up while you remove your makeup, tensing the lower eyelid. This will prevent the skin from beings tretched as you gently daub it with a washrag or cotton ball. And remember to always stroke inward—patting from the outer corner of your eye toward the bridge of your nose.

. Stroke inward (circular motion) 2. Stroke downward 3. Stroke downward (circular motion) 4. Stroke upward (circular motion) 5. Pat gently 6. Stroke outward (circular motion) 7. Stroke upward (circular motion) 8. Stroke upward (circular motion) 9. Stroke downward (circular motion) Whether using a soft washcloth or just your fingers,wash your face as follows: Starting at the temples, work inward along your eyebrows using short, circular strokes. Moving downward, make short strokes from the bridge to the tip of your nose and small circular strokes along the sides of your nose. Make small circular upward strokes moving from the base of the flare of your nostrils toward the inner corners of your eyes. On your upper and lower lids, pat gently from the outer corners of your eyes inward—do not scrub or wipe in this area. Women are particularly rough on the eye area while washing, since they are often removing makeup. A good eye-makeup remover that takes the mascara off without rubbing is a must if you wear waterproof mascara. If you are wiping your eyes with a tissue, always keep the eye tissue firm, either by tensing your lower lids or by holding it in place with your fingers. On your upper lip, beginning from the center, make small circular strokes, moving upward and outward toward your cheeks. Make upward sweeping, circular strokes on your cheeks and then your forehead. Make small downward circular strokes on your chin finishing with sweeping downward strokes on your neck. Be sure to use these same movements while drying your face.

Tip: Salt is an acquired taste. This means that, while the foods you eat will taste bland when you first cut back on salt, soon your taste buds will adapt and you won’t even notice the difference. In fact, the foods you eat will probably taste better than ever when you stop dulling your senses with so much salt. You can look better and add years to your life by cutting back on salt. (Taken from McKinley Health Center, University of Illinois, citing R. L. Duyff, American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, 1998).