How to get rid of blackheads

Nobody like blackheads on their faces or their noses. Do you? If you do not know what is blackheads, well.. try looking in th mirror.. especially look at nose area... if the pores are filled with plugs of sebum and sloughed-off cells..that means that you've got some blackheads. So let's learn how to get rid of them.

There are few options:
1) Pore strips. Very simple, just paste it over the skin and pull away to remove the blackheads. However, overuse of pore strips can aggravate your skin condition and cause spider veins if it is pulled too hard. Biore pore strips is one of good product to use. Here is more on the review of  Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips.
Biore Pore Perfect Deep Cleansing Pore Strips

2) Blackhead remover, scrub or mask. They helps to absorb the oil in the blocked pore. Apply it on the skin and wait for 10 minutes before washing it off with lukewarm water.
Clean & Clear Blackhead Clearing Scrub, Salicylic Acid Acne Medication

3) Blackhead extractor or comedone extractor (see the image below). Remember to sterilize it before and after the use. Press its hole over the blackhead and press it gently to get the blackhead out without damaging the skin around. Lastly, apply antiseptic soothing cream to avoid infections and helps the healing process.

However, before doing any of the three methods mention above, you need get your skin for blackhead removal. Wash your skin with mild exfoliating agent such as low potency benzoyl peroxide as an exfoliater. This helps by removing the dead skin cells and alleviate the blackheads by breaking up the blackheads rooted in the skin.

After exfoliating, pat the skin dry and get ready for steam. Use your wash basin or a bowl to get steam. You can see how to do this from the video shown in the previous post here. You can also add a few drops of tea tree oil to it because it is a natural antibacterial agent. This helps to gently wash away the dead skin cells, blackheads, excess oils and dirt from the nose area. If steam method is not convinient, you can do any of the method after a shower or bath. For those with more budget, try Facial Sauna Systems with Timer. This facial sauna also received lots of good reviews from Amazon. Why not pamper ourselves after a long day of work or doing housechores. We deserve it, rite. ;)
Conair MDF2R Facial Sauna With Timer

Do your own facial at home

Here is a video I found that is really useful, which is good for your skin and saves you a lot of money. What not try to do your own facial once you know how. Enjoy!

Oily skin remedy

Oily skin is normaly characterized by shiny skin and enlarged pores. Having oily skin can really be unpleasant. Looking shiny especially on the T-zone area is often common with young people due to hormonal changes in their body. Even women during menopause period would experience oilier skin, also due to the same reason. Another reason for oily skin heredity. Here are some home remedy to solve oily skin problem:

Cleanse your skin twice daily using cleanser that is suitable for oily skin.

Try use aloe vera gel. This can be bought in pharmacies. Apply it on your face, normally after washing and just leave it on. Aloe vera gel helps to absorb the oil and clears the pores. Keep them in the refrigerator for freshness.

Use clay/mud mask to help draw out the oiliness from the skin. Use it once a week.

Choose water-based cosmetics if you must make up. The worst is foundations because it tend to trap the oil against your skin and oil + dirt + bacteria is a good recipe for blemishes. You could opt for spot concealer instead of covering the whole face with foundation. If you must, then choose powder based foundation instead of cream.

Oily skin should always use gel type moisturizer instead of cream type. Choosing the right skin care product for your skin can really do wonders. I'm using Clinelle Profesional care for the normal to oily skin range. What I like about this product is that my skin is noticeably less greasy than it would normally be when I didn't apply any moisturizer or previously using other products. The reason is that suitable and good moisturizer helps to hydrate the skin so that the natural skin oil wouldn't need to be secreted too much. Thus preventing oily looking skin.

Drink lots of water and include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet.

Maintain a low fat diet.

Replace your pillowcase often to prevent residue from clogging your pores overnight

Avoid touching your face because it will just add more oil and dirt from your hands

Ok, just to relief some burden off this oily skin problem. Here's one good news. Oily skin people tend to look younger. The oil helps to prevent wrinkles on their face compared to dry skin :)

Using vinegar to rinse hair?

Yes, you've read it correctly. In fact, it is good for your hair to make them look smooth and super shinny... Here, let me explain...


How does vinegar helps your hair?
Vinegar helps to remove build-up and residue from hair shafts due to shampooing or using other hair products. You'll need to remove this residues or build up because they are the reason for your hair to look dull and limp. Therefore, your hair will look healthly and shiny.

Vinegar rinse also help to close the cuticles (hair strand surface) so that the hair is smoother and easier to comb. At the same time, it also restores the natural pH of your hair to prevent an itchy scalp. It also works well to prevent dandruff by discouraging the overgrowth of malassezia furfur, a yeast-like fungus that causes dandruff.

This is important because some causes of hair loss is due to unhealthy scalp. Conditions such as dandruff, psoriasis and seborrhea are some causes of hair loss. Furthermore, nowadays most of the commercialized hair products contains chemical that are known for scalp irritants. So, it is important for you to rinse and cleanse your hair and scalp to maintain a healthy crowning glory.


Things needed:
1 or 2 tablespoons of vinegar ( white vinegar will do but Apple Cider Vinegar would be better)
1 cup of water

Steps:

1. Dilute 1 to 2 tablespoons of vinegar with 1 cup of water. If you need more, just add equal amount of vinegar with water as mentioned.
2. After shampooing, rinse your hair with this vinegar rinse.
3. Then, rinse your hair again with cold water.

Helpful hints:

1. One once or twice only per week. More could be drying for your hair.
2. The smell of vinegar will linger when it is drying or still wet, but will be gone once your hair dries.
3. Apply conditioner after rinsing to help moisturize the hair and cover the smell if there's any.
4. Vinegar rinse will work great for oily scalp. However, for dyed hair(red colored especially), this rinse might be too strong and maybe you should seek gentler remedy.

Read more about other ACV or apple cider vinegar remedies:

How to get rid of acne naturally?

Getting rid of dandruff naturally?

Homemade Egg Mask that works

Using mask as a part of your skin care regime can be really beneficial to as it helps to nourish your skin. For oily or acne prone skin, mud or clay base masks can balance out your skin ,while for dry skin, you can use hydrating mask that consist of ingredients such as honey, oils and glycerin. As you might know, masks that are available in the market can be quite expensive. So, what I’m suggesting is that you can make your own mask right at home with ingredients that you might already have in your kitchen. One mask that I know really works and really cheap to do is by using egg. Yup, both the egg white and yolk can be used. But both is used for different purpose or in other words for different skin types.

Egg white mask
This mask is suitable for normal to oily skin type and also for acne prone skin. It helps in reducing the oil.

Pros:

• Even outs your skin tone and improves your complexion
• Tightens pores
• Reduces redness
• Minimizes pimple/acne
• Helps pimple/acne to heal faster

Cons:

• The smell is a bit unpleasant. But if you whip up the egg white until it is frothy, it will be less gross.
• It might be messy
• It dries out your skin. But don’t worry. Just make sure you apply moisturizer after cleansing your face from the mask.

Ingredients
1 eggwhite
Few drops of lemon juice (optional)

Steps:

1. Cracks open the egg and carefully separate the egg white from the yolk. Put each of them in 2 separate bowls.
2. This step is optional and recommended for oily skin. Add a few drops of lemon juice to the egg white. This helps to reduce the oil on the face and fight acne. However it is not recommended for dry skin, it might irritate them.
3. Whisk the egg white or mixture using wire whisk until it looks frothy.
4. Spread the egg white on your face in circular upwards motion using soft cloth, cotton or just your fingers will do. Avoid the area around the eyes and lips.
5. Leave them on around 15 to 30 minutes.
6. Rinse well with warm clean water and pat dry your face with soft clean cloth.
7. Lastly, as a tip, apply moisturizer to your face as this mask can be drying. Also, use this mask at maximum once or twice a week as using more than that it won’t work quite as well anymore. If there is extra, you can try to apply it at area such as thighs because it is said that it also might help in reducing the cellulite appearance.

Egg yolk mask

This mask is especially suitable for people with dry skin as it helps to moisturize it. People with combination skin should also try it. The reason egg yolk masks works well for your skin is because it contain highly of vitamin A and other nutrients that is really good for your skin. Besides, people with acne should also consider using this mask. As you might know, Retin A which is a powerful acne treatment medication is derived from vitamin A and egg yolks are rich in them. This mask can be use daily if desired.

Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 tablespoon honey

Steps:

1. Separate the egg yolk from the egg white and put them in separate bowls.
2. Add all the other ingredients to the egg yolk and stir them until creamy.
3. Spread them on the face and neck.
4. Leave the mask on for aroubnd 25 minutes.
5. Rinse well with cool water and pat dry your face with soft clean cloth
   

Biotin for the health and beauty of skin hair and nails

Biotin is the best known vitamin for the health and beauty of skin hair and nails

What is Biotin? Biotin is a type of vitamin B complex and it is sometimes known as vitamin H (H for hair). Biotin is particularly for anyone who is interested in promoting hair growth and growing thicker hair. Besides, it also ensures the overall health of skin and nails, assisting in the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates and protein and maintaining the health of mind and emotional well-being of a person.

Sources of Biotin:
· Natural sources: Nuts, egg yolk, wheat bran, oat, barley, soy, cauliflower, liver and brewer’s yeast. Biotin is also naturally produced in the human body by the good bacteria that lives in our digestive tract.

· Supplements: There are many brands of biotin supplements available in the market. Some supplements include biotin with other vitamin supplements. The recommended daily intake (RDA) of biotin is 300 mcg. However some experts recommend a daily intake of more than 1000mcg per day to get the result in strengthening nails, preventing hair loss and promoting thicker hair. Although this high dosage exceeds the recommended amount, it is not consider as toxic or dangerous as biotin is a water soluble vitamin and can be safely pass out from our body. So far, there is no serious toxicity due to high consumption has been recorded.

Is biotin deficiency common? The answer is no, but there it is a possibility that it can happen. An example of the occurrence of biotin deficiency is when one consumes a lot of raw egg whites. Raw egg whites contain avidin (a sugar and protein-containing molecule (glycoprotein)) that binds with the biotin, thus, preventing biotin to be absorbed by the body unless the egg is fully cooked. This usually happens to body builders as they consume lots of raw eggs in their daily diet.

Some of the common symptoms of biotin deficiency are rashes, dryness or itchiness of skin, brittle nails, grayish skin, muscle ache, depression and lethargy. Lack of biotin will also results in dermatitis and hair loss.

Also, biotin is not easily absorbed through the skin. It needs to be taken internally, rendering biotin shampoo as quite useless.

What are the benefits or effects by taking biotin supplements? Biotin helps the health of our hair by increasing the elasticity of the hair’s cortex to prevent breakage, thickens the hair cuticle and diameter of the hair shaft and promotes hair growth. After taking biotin supplements, one may notice stronger hair and nails, faster growing hair and nails, thicker hair, increase energy and healthier looking skin.

Foundation of Skin Care (Part 4) : Sunscreen

Do you know that with the increasing global warming, the ozone layer that protects us from the harmful UV rays is depleting? Therefore, this makes even the shortest amount of time being exposed to the sun rays very damaging to our skin. The solution? Always remember to apply sunscreen after you moisturize. Luckily, there are some moisturizers which include sun protection in them, thus making them very convenient and a real time saver.

Everyday exposure to the UV radiation can cause sun damage to the skin such as sunburn, photoaging and increases the risk of skin cancer. This sun damage usually happen beneath the skin surface and happens so slowly that rarely you’ll notice until it is too late. Besides, sun damage can happen even if you are not directly under the sunlight. Even indirect sunlight such as reflection from the ground, snow, water, etc. also adds up over the years and can cause wrinkles and dark spots. So the next time you see some dark spot appearing on your face, think agaib whether you have really been protecting them from the sun rays.

Sunscreen should not be taken lightly but should be make as a compulsory daily routine. As mentioned before, sun damage may not be noticeable in the early stage and its effect is cumulative. Some experts recommend you use sunblock with UVB protection of at least SPF 15, and also include UVA protection with titanium dioxide, zinc oxide or avobenzone.

Do you know that fair skin people are more susceptible to sunburn compared to darker skin tones? The reason is because dark skin has a natural SPF of about 8. Also, childrens and infants have higher risk of getting a sun burn due to their thin and sensitive skin.

The term SPF is quite common nowadays, but do you know what does it indicates? Well, SPF stands for “Sun Protection Factor” for UVB rays. The SPF number is the number to indicate the time of delay for sunburn to happen. For example, if a person takes about 20 minutes to get sunburn and had applied sunscreen with SPF30, the total time a person can be protected from the damaging sun rays is as calculated below:

30(SPF) x 20 minutes (time taken for sunburn) = 600 minutes

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock, SPF-85 is one of the sunblock that I found with the highest SPF number for longer protection under the sun. It is smooth, soft and can be easily applied on face and body area.

So, make sure you do some calculations to estimate the number of SPF required for full protection. Also, areas such as back of the knee or leg, top of the feet and hand and back of the neck are some of the places which are commonly forgoten to be applied with sunblock. So put them in your check list especially if you plan a day out under the sun:)