submitted by Michel Riese, Parrish, FL USA

First let me say I am a mature lady well over 50...and it is never too late to look younger than your years. I have very fair skin, never tan always burn. I learned very early that tans were not an option except thru self tanners and make up. I avoid the sun, period. Of course, I go out but always have a sunscreen on, at least SPF 25 on my face and body. I lived in California as a child and now I live in Florida so sunscreen is a way of life for me. All the people I meet who are my age or younger always comment on my beautiful almost wrinkleless skin. Here's what I do everyday for skin care. I get up and use a wash cloth and cold water and gently wash my face, no soap, just tepid to cool water out of the tap. Next pat dry and apply a nongreasy moisture lotion with SPF of at least 15. Olay is affordable and comes in different formulations: dry, sensitive, etc. I like Neutrogena Age Shield sunblock SPF45 blocks both UVB & UVA...very important to block both. I do wear make up but always find one that is light weight and only use it as concealer for any areas I want to hide. A light dusting with a bronzer, very light colored, I like the new Mineral bronzers... lipstick, eyebrows, mascara for day. In the evening I go heavier on colors of lips and add some eyeshadow. After my day is over I ALWAYS cleanse with Cetaphil non-soap cleanser by Galderma. I use a washcloth to wipe it off; you can also rinse it off. I use a lightweight lotion at bedtime I like the lotion that the people who make Cetaphil make and always take care to moisturize my NECK and upper chest area. Never neglect these areas!! ALL products can be found at most stores that carry cosmetics like, Walmart, K-Mart, drugstores, and supermarkets.

submitted by Dauna Coulter, Huntsville, AL USA

I do a lot of exercise, and when I sweat, sunscreens run into my eyes and make them burn. Therefore I no longer use traditional sunscreens around my eyes. I use chapsticks that contain sunscreen! They are waxy so they don't run. I always use the kind that contains sunscreen but no menthol, since menthol and similar ingredients can make your eyes burn a little.

For an added benefit, waxy chapstick on your eyelashes makes them darker and makes them stick together, so you appear to have on mascara. Of course, this "mascara" will never run when YOU run -- or any other time

I got excellent results. My eyes did not burn, and the sunscreen in the chapstick protected the skin around my eyes from the sun!

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It would be naive to believe that changing your nutrition is going to wipe out all your wrinkles or completely stop skin aging. But it is just as naive to think that you can eat (or neglect to eat) whatever you want without any effect on your skin. What you eat affects every organ in your body and skin is no exception. You may think that as long as you are using an expensive skin cream with a bunch of ingredients with scientific-sounding names, your skin will be properly nourished. Nothing can be further from the truth. While a skin cream may provide a number of important substances, it is never enough to ensure a proper, all-round skin nutrition.

Advantages of nourishing the skin from within

• Every cell in the human body needs dozens and dozens of nutrients and metabolites. Some, like vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids need to come from food. Others are produced by the body provided it is healthy and properly nourished. No skin cream can replace that.
• Applying a cream with nutrients to the surface of you skin does not ensure that those nutrients actually penetrate into your skin cells. They may just "sit there" until your next shower. How much of the active ingredients actually get into your skin cells depends on the skin's condition, concentration of the ingredients, manufacturing technology and many other factors. This doesn't mean that all topical preparations are useless -- but they are often unreliable. On the other hand, when the nutrients are ingested and absorbed into your bloodstream, they are sure to be delivered to your skin cells.
• Nutrition has some effect on the mechanisms of aging of the body as a whole. Inhibiting these mechanisms slows down the overall aging process, including the aging of the skin.
• Nutritients and foods that benefit your skin also tend to benefit other body systems and overall health.

Limitations of nourishing the skin from within

• Skin aging is a combination of the mechanisms of aging innate to human physiology plus the environmental damage from sun, wind and pollution. Proper nutrition may help partly inhibit physiological aging but does little to protect the skin from the outside world. The latter must be achieved by limiting sun exposure, use of proper (UVA+UVB) sunblocks and other measures discussed throughout this site.
• It is impossible to safely achieve much-higher-than-normal concentration of active ingredients in skin cells through oral intake. Some skin treatments, particularly those striving to produce relatively quick and dramatic results, rely on creating unusually high concentration of active ingredients in the skin. In most cases, this can be achieved only through properly done topical application or some special medical techniques (e.g. electrophoresis) - doing so through oral treatment is usually either impossible or unsafe. For instance, vitamin C topical treatments appear to be effective only at concentrations of 10% or more. Such concentration cannot be achieved by just bulking up on vitamin C supplements because vitamin C is quickly excreted via kidneys. Besides, excessively high doses of vitamin C may cause serious adverse reactions.
• Some potentially beneficial substances are reasonably safe for topical use but unsafe for ingestion.
• Some substances, such as peptides and growth factors, are easily broken down by digestive enzymes. They become inactive after going through the GI tract and therefore can be used only topically
• Some of the orally taken nutrients may not be properly absorbed via GI tract. This happens when a person has certain digestive problems, such as hypoacidity, or when nutrients come from poorly manufactured supplements. Care should be taken to ensure proper absorption.

Bottom line

A balanced nutrition of the body is important for maintaining healthy skin. It may not produce striking rejuvenation, but neglecting it will make your skin age considerably faster. Deficiencies of certain nutrients, such as vitamin A, B-complex, and essential fatty acids are known to cause various forms of dermatitis and other skin conditions. Mild deficiencies, which are very common and often go unnoticed, may not cause clinical manifestations but clearly impair the skin's ability to heal and renew itself. Improving nutrition in a person with subclinical nutrient deficiencies often results in a younger looking skin and partial reversal of some signs of aging. On the other hand, "cutting-edge" skin rejuvenation treatments are likely to be far less effective or even completely fail if your skin is deficient in one or more essential nutrients. (According to some estimates, up to a half of the population in the developed countries have subclinical deficiency of one or more nutrients.) Finally, some nutrients taken in doses higher than the minimal requirement (but still in the safe range) may produce skin benefits above and beyond what the basic balanced nutrition does.

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The relationship between acne and aging has several facets. It is well known that acne typically starts at a certain age (around puberty) and tends to either resolve or diminish in early to mid twenties. (Some people continue having outbreaks as late as the middle age.) Less known is the fact that untreated acne contributes to the process of skin aging. Furthermore, some acne treatments, even when they are effective, also accelerate skin aging.

Acne is a chronic inflammatory disease. Acne prone skin spends significant time in the inflamed state. Inflammation is a well-known accelerator of aging. Inflammation generates free radicals, activates matrix metalloproteinases (enzymes that break down the skin's structural components like collagen and elastin), promotes excessive cell proliferation, etc., all of which contributes to skin aging. Treating your acne, at least to the degree of markedly reducing the number of inflamed lesions, is arguably the best skin anti-aging step you could make apart from sun protection.

How you treat your acne may have a major impact on the aging of your skin. As a general rule, any treatment that causes skin irritation and/or excessive skin dryness should be used cautiously. Irritation, by itself, promotes skin aging. Excessive dryness reduces the skin's ability to heal itself. Certain acne treatments should be used with a particular caution (as far as skin aging is concerned).

Benzoyl peroxide

Benzoyl peroxide is a strong oxidizer that kills bacteria by generating oxygen free radicals. Topical benzoyl peroxide is one of the most effective topical acne treatments. It is highly effective in killing against P. acnes (acne-causing bacteria). Furthermore, benzoyl peroxide has an advantage over antibiotics because bacteria do not develop resistance to it.

Unfortunately, oxygen free radicals generated by benzoyl peroxide are damaging not only to bacteria but to your skin as well. They cause irritation and dryness, damage skin cells and skin matrix, and otherwise accelerate the rate of skin aging. An occasional, short-term use of benozyl peroxide produces relatively small long-term skin damage. On the other hand, long-term use of benozyl peroxide, especially at high concentrations, is likely to age your skin prematurely. It is worth trying safer alternatives first. Unfortunately, for many people, benzoyl peroxide is only effective topical treatment. In that case, it is prudent to find the lowest possible effective concentration. Concentrations of benzoyl peroxide as low as 2.5% may be effective, especially if combined with other treatments.

Topical retinoids

Topical retinoids are one of the common prescription acne treatments. Possible side effects include skin irritation, dryness, and sensitivity to UV light. Over the long run, chronic skin irritation may accelerate skin aging. Neglecting meticulous sun protection when using retinoids is likely to accelerate skin aging as well.

However, the situation with topical retinoids and skin aging is more complicated. In fact, tretinoin (Retin A), a widely used retinoid, is one of the very few drugs approved by the FDA as an anti-wrinkle agent. Indeed, when used prudently, retinoids actually reduce many signs of skin aging and may even inhibit some of the mechanisms of skin aging.

Some people with acne respond to the concentration of retinoids sufficiently low to avoid chronic, long-term skin irritation. In that case, one may get both anti-acne and anti-aging benefits. Others respond only to the formulations of retinoids strong enough to produce chronic irritation. In that case, other topical alternatives should be explored and/or steps be taken to reduce the irritation.

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by: Marisa Robinson

Women everywhere are obsessing about skin care, beauty care, weightloss, hair care secrets, workout routines and more.

Women of all ages desire to look their best at all times and are constantly looking for quick easy simple beauty tips, styles, or makeup tips and fitness plans to get them great results!

Home remedies and simple, little know techniques is what works best! I mean, who wants to run to the spa or salon all the time? Not only is it expensive, it is inconvenient!

Maybe if we were all Hollywood starlets or actors?

In the meantime, there is hope! At www.beautifulbeautytips.com, or www.beautyandweightloss.info we have beauty care tips and health & fitness tips for women of all ages!

The best part is our web tips are from real beautiful people and young/older women who look great-WITHOUT the glitz of Hollywood makeup, special lighting and professional stylists at their every beck and call. That just isn’t real life!

Real life is about many of the hard working beautiful women that make the world go round! These women still make the time to always look great!

Looking your best will instill confidence and make you feel better each and everyday!

People will definitely take notice! Especially men, that is if you want that attention, but who doesn’t like that sort of attention? It is nice to be admired and to look fantastic!

For The BEST Beauty, Make up, Fitness & haircare tips- Check Out The website!

http://www.beautifulbeautytips.com, http://www.beautyandweightloss.info.

You may even have your own Beauty Tips & Make Up tips that you want to share!

Here is One Sample From The Website:

Free Beauty Tip of the Month:

If you want the look of fuller lips, mix a few drops of pure mint and peppermint extract in with a small glob of petroleum jelly. Smooth over lips about an hour before getting ready. Wipe off and apply lipstick as usual. Your lips will appear more plump and full.

We have other tips related to eye brow sugaring, skin care, make up application, making your face look slimmer, fitness plans, skin care, taking care of your eye to keep you looking younger, reducing wrinkles and more!

by: Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, Ph.D, ND, DACBN

Like it or not, your skin will be with you for the rest of your life. Your skin serves you and your body in a number of ways. It aids in sensory perception, protects you from injuries, provides a barrier against dehydration, assists in temperature maintenance, removes toxic wastes, aids in the manufacture of vitamin D, and provides structure to the organs and tissues within your body. To put it lightly, your skin is an integral part of your life. It's essential that you care for it and maintain it in a healthy state so that it will continue to function well for you as you age.

Knowing Your Skin

We glance quickly at the skin on the rest of our bodies when we shave, and we know to cover our skin when it's cold. But do we really know our skin? Is it dry or oily? Sensitive or thick? How often do new moles or wrinkles develop? Does your skin react differently when you change your lotions, cleansers, and creams? Do you have a skin care routine?

Your skin is very important to your overall health and well being. Take time to really look at your skin, and get to know its various features and subtleties. If you are not satisfied with your current skin care products, look for higher quality natural organic products that will improve the condition of your skin.

Skin Care Tip: Enlist the help of a natural skincare expert to examine your skin, point out trouble spots, and monitor the condition of your skin. A dermatologist can also help you understand your particular skin type, and recommend skin care products that would work best for you.

Protecting Your Skin

The ultraviolet rays of the sun are damaging to your skin and to your health. Sun exposure can lead to premature aging, sagging, wrinkles, skin discoloration, and the development of cancer. And while a suntan will eventually fade at the end of the summer, the damage to the skin from sunlight will continue to accumulate over time. Take measures to protect your skin from the sun and its damaging rays.

Sun Screen: Sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 helps block the damaging rays of the sun, and it should be used every day for adequate protection. Even if you don't plan on sunbathing, you are exposed to the sun when you drive in the car or walk into the grocery store. If you tend to sweat heavily, or if you are exercising vigorously, reapply the sunscreen every two to three hours throughout the day.

Reduce Sun Exposure: In addition to wearing sunscreen, it’s a good idea to reduce the amount of ultraviolet radiation your skin is exposed to everyday. Limit your time outdoors between 10:00am and 3:00pm when the sun is directly overhead and strongest. Wear protective clothing such as wide brimmed hats and sunglasses to block the sun's rays. And when you do have to expose yourself to the sun, try to build up your tolerance in modest increments each day.

Cleansing Your Skin

Next to sun protection, proper skin cleansing is the next best thing you can do for the care and protection of your skin. Washing your skin helps to remove the dirt, pollutants, dead skin cells, bacteria, cosmetics, perspiration, and debris that accumulate on your skin. Choose a gentle skin cleanser based on your skin type and special skin care needs (i.e. anti acne, or sensitive skin.) And wash your skin as necessary to keep it clean, fresh, and functioning properly.

Skin Care Tip: do not rub skin care cleansers into your skin. Instead, lather the soap or gel into a foam in your hands, apply to the skin and rinse off well. This will keep the cleansers from overly drying, blocking, or irritating the skin's pores.

Maintaining Healthy Skin

Moisturizers: Skin care moisturizers smooth and soften skin and help to lock in its natural moisture. They can be particularly soothing to dry or sensitive skin. And they provide great protection for the skin during wet, cold, or chapping (windy) weather.

Lifestyle: Your skin needs a good balance of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in order to function and remain healthy. Adequate exercise helps improve circulation and move waste and nutrients through the system. Eat a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise to keep your skin, and the rest of your body in tip-top condition.

Skin Care Tip: Drink at least six to eight glasses of purified water throughout the day to hydrate the skin and circulate essential nutrients. Also avoid chlorinated pools and hot tubs. Chlorine is very damaging to the skin. Get a shower filter to filter out the harmful chemicals from your city water supply.

For more information on natural cosmetics and skin care visit:
http://www.skin-care-support.org or http://www.make-up-cosmetics.com

by: Madison Gatto

Skin is the outer most cover of the body something like a shield which saves inner muscles from coming in direct contact of different harmful bacteria, radiation from the sun and many other harmful agents. Imagine what would be without skin. Skin also provides gorgeous looks to humans. It is the skin which decides the looks of people irrespective of color. For the sake of good health and good looks, maintenance of skin is essential.
Three most valuable tips for skin care:
1. Drink enough water daily. Water is the main constituent of the cells of our body. It flushes out waste material generated in metabolic activities through the pores and through urine. Open pores help to keep the skin healthy.
2. Eat as much as possible green vegetables and fruits as they are the prime sources of vitamins and minerals. Particularly, vitamin A and E present in these foods keep skin healthy. Supplementing vitamins with the help of vitamin pills can be a waist of time and energy, apparently the body treats this substances as waist, our body has been using nutrients from food for billions of years, and when you put the concentrated elements in it, simply doesn't know what to do and rejects them, using a lot of energy in doing so.
3. Exercise according to your physical capability, don't over do it, take your time to build strong muscles slowly. Exercise accelerates the blood flow and pushes it to the smaller capillary and feeds the skin tissue sweating out all the toxins.
Sunlight generally dries up the skin. Different types of moisturizing creams and lotions are available in the market which can compensate this loss. Choose the moisturizer which suits you better, a trained beautician or dermatologist can advice you better in this regard.
Our skin comes in direct contact of many microbes; these microbes can cause some skin-diseases like Acne, Eczema, Fungus etc. These diseases can produce permanent harm and also leave ugly patches over affected area. Therefore, proper care should be taken about not to come in direct contact with dirty places and dirty things, as these things are heaven for microbes. When skin diseases hit, contact your dermatologist immediately, he can suggest you proper medication to deal with such situations effectively.
Growing age affects skin severely; though it cannot be avoided completely but process can be delayed with the help of a balanced diet, exercise, enough use of water and proper application of skin care products. Living a happy life also helps in maintaining glow on your face. Proper sleep, keeping yourself away from smoking and alcohol can not only make your skin healthy but also make your whole body fit and strong.