Banish Dull Skin for a More Youthful Appearance

Freshness and youthfulness are closely tied to beauty. Beautiful, radiant skin permeates your entire being giving you a head to toe glow.

Some skin experts actually feel radiant skin is a characteristic of youth and dry skin is symptomatic of age. If find this outlook depressing and you would like to defy these experts and odds in favor of more radiant skin at any age -- read on!

Actually normal aging is a major contributor to dry skin. According to a report by CNN.com...

"Your age. A healthy diet, consistent exercise and stress reduction can help you stay younger longer. Yet in spite of your best efforts, your skin is likely to change over time. As you age, your skin tends to become drier because your oil-producing glands are less active. And because cells move more slowly from the basal layer of the epidermis to the stratum corneum, your complexion can appear rough and dull. The slowed sloughing also causes cells to clump together in flakes or scales. Eventually, as the epidermis becomes thinner and more fragile and the subcutaneous layer of fat diminishes, your skin loses its strong protective function along with its youthful contours."

However, don't despair! Aging and dry skin don't have to go together hand in hand. There are presently both diet and skin care tips you can use to help recapture your radiant skin.

Pamper Your Skin and Enhance Your Beauty

Your skin plays an important part in determining your beauty. The basic skin types are normal, oily, combination, and dry. Each of these skin types has its own characteristics and needs care specific to the type. Today let's focus on the causes of dry skin.

Causes of Dry Skin

Dry skin can be easily recognized by its tight texture, rough feel, and dull appearance. Many factors can come into play may negatively effect the moisture balance of your skin.

* Your skin might not be getting adequate lubrication from the oil glands. When this happens, your skin loses its freshness and becomes dehydrated.

* Changes in weather conditions

* Heredity make play a part in that you may have inherited dry skin.

* Your skin may be lacking in essential nutrients such as vitamins A and B. This, along with a poor and unbalanced diet, is one of the main reasons for dull, dry skin.

* You may have exposed your skin to excessive sunlight and its harmful rays, or the culprit could be chemicals, cosmetics, or excessively harsh soaps.

* Dry skin may also arise from poor health conditions such as dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, or seborrhea.

* Using diuretics, antispasmodics, and antihistamines can also cause your skin to become dull and dry.

* Those suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes might be affected by various skin problems such as dry skin.

* Dull, dry skin may indicate an insufficiently active thyroid.

* Dry skin may be a result of some other illness or inadequate diets

Furthermore, your skin may be dull and dry due to lack of adequate water content. To help correct this problem, drink plenty of water -- about 6 to 8 glasses of pure water a day.

The best way to treat dull, dry skin is to cleanse it gently. Use only non-detergent, neutral-pH products for cleansing and avoid highly alkaline products.

Take preventive steps if your skin must face extremes of temperatures or conditions. Maintain your skin's natural humidity by using moisturizers regularly. Finally, keep your skin cool and moist and try not to expose it to excessive heat.

These tips can help improve your skin's appearance and texture by stimulating dull skin, moisturizing, enhancing cellular function, and invigorating it. The correct combination of minerals, vitamins, and herbs will rejuvenate your skin and fight premature aging.

Apart from these general tips, there are a variety of cosmetics and topical preparations available. Today there are products such as Lumnaderm(tm), which are designed to help alleviate dry dull skin and make you appear more youthful.

This product is used to minimize many of the dry skin and blemish problems usually associated with aging. Furthermore Luminaderm(tm) is reported to cover skin discolorations like sunspots, age spots, and freckles. This product seems to warrant a further look by persons who suffer from dry skin or age related blemishes on their skin. Lumnaderm(tm) is available from fine online retailers like Amazon.com and the Lumnaderm Source .

Free Radicals: Your Skin's Enemy

By the Vteam, Courtesy Kamau Austin

Our skin is the largest organ on our bodies. Beauty begins with the skin. Lots of people equate the look of radiance with beautiful, glowing skin. You need to be healthy inside and out in order for your skin to reflect that healthy radiance.

For some of us, beautiful skin is a gift, that is bestowed upon us through our genes, while others of us need to work at obtaining and maintaining beautiful skin.

Whichever group you fall into, if you want to look your best, you will need to spend some time and attention on your skin as part of your beauty regimen.

When choosing beauty products be careful to select products that are kind to your skin.
Some cosmetics may actually leave our skin dull and dry looking when we take them off at night.

Some of the damage that happens to our faces and skin is as a result of free radicals.

Free radicals are compounds that are highly reactive. They are found in our body primarily in two ways: (1) either they are created in the body over the course of normal metabolic functions; or (2) they are introduced from the environment.

By nature, free radicals are unstable since they contain "extra" energy. To lessen the burden of this extra energy, free radicals react with certain chemicals in the body. During this process, free radicals interfere with normal cell function and attack normal, healthy cells.

Without going into too much detail about the science behind it, we all know that the human body is made up of varied types of cells, which, in turn, are composed of molecules. These molecules consist of atoms of single or multiple elements.

All of these are held together by chemical bonds. The chain reaction caused by free radicals helps decompose many substances, especially at high temperatures, but this is not necessarily a great situation for our bodies. These reactions can cause damage to our skin.

Detrimental effects of free radicals

So exactly what damage can we expect from free radicals?

Our cell membranes are made of unsaturated lipids. These lipids are highly susceptible to the damaging nature of free radicals.

Free radicals are known to cause oxidative damage which can lead to hardening of our lipid cell membranes. Once the lipids harden, the cells will not be able to properly acquire nutrients.

Hardened cells have difficulty communicating with other cells and the body suffers. Most cellular activities will also be handicapped and free radicals can cause major damages to biological molecules such as DNA, RNA, enzymes, and mitochondria.

This damage has been linked to cancer, premature aging, Parkinson's disease, arteriosclerosis, emphysema, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and many other illnesses.

Even though free radicals are essential in many functions of our bodies, if they become excessive, then the damage can quickly spiral out of control.

As we age, the damages caused by free radicals are more conspicuously felt.

So how do we combat free radical damage?

The most effective and proven form of protection against free radical damage is antioxidants. Many types of antioxidant enzymes like super oxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase are produced in our bodies.

These are nature's weapons to fight free radicals. Oral supplements of these enzymes are available and may help at times when our bodies are not producing as much as we may need.

You can also help to strengthen your body by eating a balanced diet that includes nutrients like manganese, zinc, copper, and selenium.

The diet should also include vitamins namely: C, E, and B2-and minerals like beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene. Vitamin E prevents heart disease by acting against oxidation and plaque formation. Vitamin C helps protect you from cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and larynx.

Herbs like curcumin, gingko, and bilberry are also powerful weapons in the fight against free radicals.

Some health experts feel these herbs are like scavengers, searching out free radicals in the body and preventing damage to cells and tissues. At the same time, it is important to take these herbal supplements in the correct amount. On the other hand, recently there are also topical treatments that help combat the external affects of these free radicals.

As you age facial and skin problems can increase in part related to free radicals. Skin discolorations like age spots, sun spots, and increased freckles can become increasing unsightly. However, you don't have to settle to look less than your best.

The makers of a new product called Lumnaderm(tm), a topical skin cream, developed it to help reduce the appearance of damage caused by free radicals. Lumnaderm(tm) is cited as a product you may want to give serious consideration in helping you restore your radiant skin and smooth out wrinkles. This product is available from fine online retailers like Amazon.com and the BODeStore.com .

Towards Beautiful Eyes -- Solutions for Thinning Lashes and Dark Patches

By the VTeam -- courtesy Kamau Austin

"My eyes are an ocean in which my dreams are reflected", says Anna M. Uhlich.
These words are simply stupendous as you can hardly pay a richer tribute to your eyes than this! Indeed, your eyes are capable of performing many significant functions. A beautiful pair of eyes is a rare boon and all of us yearn to possess them.

Eye Problems Show Up as You Age

Women especially spend fortunes to make their eyes look beautiful and youthful. Sometimes, you might be forced to face certain eye problems due to aging. For example, you might begin to feel that your eyebrows and eyelashes are losing their strength and are becoming thinner. In addition your eyes may become the victim of dark circles which also distract from their appeal.

These problems are a natural process and you don't have to unnecessarily worry about them. We will discuss some of the solutions to these problems and others below.

The Causes of Thinning Eyelashes

Before proceeding to analyze the range of solutions to answer address these problems, it will be worthwhile to sift through the causes for thinning eyelashes:

* In most of the cases, thinning eyelashes are caused by natural factors like aging which weakens hair follicles and makes them brittle. Therefore they lose their strength and are easily broken.

* In some cases, thinning eyelashes occur as a result of poor diet and maintenance of eyes and the nearby areas. Nutritional deficiencies can also be another cause for thinning eyelashes.

* The thickness and length of your eyelashes is also determined by heredity. Hormonal disturbances and stress can affect growth of your eyelashes.

* External factors such as hypothyroidism, eye surgery, continuous exposure to chemicals and toxins, etc. can also have detrimental effect on your eyelashes.

* Another common cause of thinning eyelashes is prolonged usage of eye makeup, which may lead to certain types of allergies.

* Even an involuntary habit of pulling the hairs of your eyelashes can deplete their length and thickness.

Deeper Causes of Thinning Eyelashes

Thinning eyelashes can be the beginning symptoms of a condition called alopecia areata. It is always advisable to consult an eye doctor and seek remedies for this.
Nevertheless, there are cosmetic or topical preparations available in the market that claim to provide permanent solutions to thinning eyelashes. Constant research is being undertaken by companies to develop suitable products to give you permanent relief.

* Folligen cream and Emu oil are combined to combat thinning eyelashes. Within a couple of months, you can feel the difference in your eyelashes. Wondering how? Folligen has the ability to improve vitality of hair follicles and Emu oil is reported to activate 80% of dormant hair follicles and make them grow.

* A product of Jan Marini Skin Research-- Age Intervention Eyelash -- is claimed to enhance the appearance of eyelashes. This product is mascara that can be used to make your eyelashes appear thicker, longer, and lusher.

* You can opt to have false eyelashes fitted, but they can be too heavy and can cause discomfort to you. They might irritate your sensitive skin.

* The most common and preferred treatment for thinning eyelashes is a continued application of mascara. You need to take care of a few points while applying mascara. The focus should always be on the base of your eyelashes. You should apply it evenly, without putting too much on the tips of the eyelashes. Mascara is highly sought after by older women to add more glitter to their eyes. The contour of the eyes gets a facelift by a proper application of mascara.

Mascara -- Do's and Don'ts

In reference to mascara, some women are troubled by running or smudging caused by excessive water content in mascara. To avoid this, some companies add chemical solvents to absorb excess water.

But, you need to be wary while using such a product as it will make your eyelashes dry and weak, thus increasing the risk of thinning it further. If you are already worried about thinning eyelashes, then choosing the right mascara and deciding the appropriate duration of application can be a Herculean task for you!

The Leading Mascar Brands

Keeping in mind the drawbacks of mascara, there are products developed by companies like Beauty Naturals Ltd.:

* Palladio Herbal Mascara --This product is a unique blend of natural waxes that aid in strengthening and thickening your eyelashes; the other ingredients like herbs help tone them up. This product comes in a unique package suitable for special users like contact lens users.

* Herbal Thickening Mascara -- this mascara is produced to cater to your problems like thinning eyelashes. It comprises ingredients that moisturize, condition, and thicken your thin eyelashes as it contains mostly natural substances like rice wax, chamomile flower extract, green tea leaf extract, and beeswax.

* Herbal Lengthening Mascara -- similar to the previous product, this mascara is intended to build the length and thickness of your thin eyelashes. Other than the above-mentioned ingredients, this contains acacia Senegal gum, vitamin E, and xanthum gum.

Additionally, making sure that your eyes themselves, look good is important as it will draw attention away from your thinning lashes. When your eyes look good people are drawn to them and will not even notice that your lashes may be thin.

Once you perfect the look of your lashes you may want to minimize dark circles under your eyes as well. Even the most attractive eyes and lashes can be marginalized by the distraction of dark circles under them.

Dark circles under the eyes tend to increase with aging because of issues with the skin and capillaries under the eyes. Additional factors could be more stress and less sleep. It is always a good idea to have a doctor look at chronic problems with thinning lashes and dark circles under the eyes first. However, these problems are not usually a cause for alarm. There are promising new treatments available to diminish these dark patches under your eyes.

For example there is a new product called Eyederma(TM), made by a company named Optimal Therapeutics, which is specially formulated with rich ingredients to lessen dark circles under your eyes without expensive surgery. The company recently reported positive responses from many woman to their product.

Eyederma(tm) may be one more tool in your cabinet to help keep you looking more radiant and vibrant especially around your eyes. This product is a topical eye creme and is easy to apply, in contrast to some other concealers and foundation products. It certainly seems worth looking into and can be found at better online stores like Amazon.com and Your fitness center .

Concealers: Hiding the Truth of Dark Circles

Eyes are capable of conveying a world of messages. Saint Jerome has rightly said, "The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart."

Great Qualities of Eyes

Such is the greatness and power of eyes that they can perform many functions. Beautiful eyes are an enviable gift because they simply enhance your beauty. They will neither be missed nor fail to get appreciation. For this reason, all of us take care of our eyes and even spend fortunes to fine tune them.

Are Eye Problems Inevitable?

Sometimes though, our efforts fail to produce results and our eyes start losing their glitter and life. Other than the natural causes like aging, you can try to get your problem solved by using topical preparations and beauty products.

One of the main problems that women face with regard to eyes is dark circles under eyes. These dark circles are caused by many factors, some natural and some avoidable ones. You need to first analyze the cause of these dark circles so that you can plan the most appropriate course of solution to get relief at the earliest. Select well-known brands of cosmetics to minimize side-effects.

Remedies to Treat Your Eyes

There are many solutions to treat dark circles under your eyes. Some of these treatments are temporary while others are permanent remedies. Choose one that suits your needs. For example, the most common procedure for treating dark circles is application of concealers. The term concealer is self-explanatory. It refers to those products that are used to conceal facial imperfections.

By facial imperfections, we refer to the common problems pertaining to face, like dark circles under the eyes, wrinkles, puffiness, fine lines, crow's feet, etc. These are detrimental to your beauty as they make your eyes look tired and aged. To overcome such problems, you can choose the correct shade of concealer and foundation. A few tips to choose the correct concealer will help you a great deal.

Useful Tips to Choose a Concealer

As our concern is more inclined towards hiding dark circles, let us discuss steps to choose the correct concealer to serve this purpose.


* In most cases, women use concealers to hide or cover darker areas on theif face, it is always advised that the concealer should be one shade lighter than the foundation. Only in very unique cases should you choose concealers two shades lighter.

* If you have dry skin and also suffer from dark circles under your eyes, then your automatic choice should be a liquid concealer so that you can nicely camouflage those unwanted dark areas!

* Combine these creamy concealers with a cream-to-powder foundation -- this is the ideal combination for dry skin.

* During summer, your skin is prone to suntan and hence you need to alter the shades of concealers to match with your skin color.

* Generally, a yellow-based concealer is believed to suit all skin types unlike green, white, or pink ones.

More Suggestions On Concealers

* There are many types of concealers. Some are produced oil-free, while others contain mineral oils and pigments.

* Choose a concealer according to your skin tone.

* Apply a translucent powder base that will aid the concealer to set and prevent creasing.

* Adding to this, to cater to different types of customers, concealers are produced in many forms like tubes, sticks, creams, etc.

* Check concealers for their credibility and use only those tested and approved by ophthalmologists. There is a wide range of concealers available in the market.

To derive the maximum benefit, go for one that offers many facilities in one pack. For example, filters, especially soft-focus ones, help in covering fine lines and creases.
You can even try applying layers of concealers rather than depending on one single shade. Avoid applying too heavy formulations of concealers; otherwise, it will give others a feeling that you are wearing a mask!

You need to avoid choosing opaque formulations as they would not add that extra zing or shine to your face. To get fuller satisfaction from concealers, apply a foundation that goes well with the neighboring areas like face, neck, and chest. This will give a natural look to your makeup.


Even after analyzing concealers in good detail, you may still feel a little overwhelmed and confused with all the different issues involved with concealers and foundations. You can then opt to go with a more direct solution to minimize dark circles.

You can then choose to go for a more exclusive treatment like Eyederma(tm) cream. I understand Eyederma(tm) was created by its makers to specifically nurture eyes suffering from dark circles and puffiness.

I think you should seriously look into this product if you don't want your beauty concealed by dark circles under your eyes. To find out more about Eyederma(tm) do a search for it at fine online stores like Amazon.com or the The Health and Fitness Resource.

Look Great with the Latest Cosmetics Combining Healing Like Ingredients

Beauty has been a sensitive issue for both men and women since ancient times. There cannot be a better example to this than Cleopatra who is supposed to have bathed in donkey's milk to keep her skin young and with a constant glow. Legends testify that Egyptians and Greeks adopted various beauty treatments using natural ingredients as well chemicals.

Today, you may hear the term, "Cosmocueticals" being used widely. But what is the story behind cosmocueticals? Basically researchers have combined the beneficial aspects of both science and cosmetics. These two diverse and strong fields have come together as one. In this new beneficial admixture they have thrown open the gates to a dynamic new industry in the process.

Science is one of our most powerful fields. In stark contrast cosmetics is a very commercial industry. Therefore cosmocuetics as a field of endeavor seems to have almost unlimited potential.

Interested to learn more about how this burgeoning new industry can have positive benefits for your life? Spend a few minutes with me exploring this encouraging new field.

You will probably agree both these fields are distinctive identities in themselves. This merger is certainly a promising and prominent one, capable of solving many of our health problems. There is also an allied field of activity that is continuously working toward combining science with cosmetics. This is known as cosmetic chemistry.

Until recently, only medical procedures were recognized as solutions to various health problems. But, with advances in cosmocueticals, you can expect new options and treatments.

Here are some of the products which explain the concept of cosmocueticals:

There are two groups of chemical ingredients that are used in preparing cosmetics which are in sync with consumers' needs: (1) vehicle agents and (2) active agents. The vehicle agents aid in preparing cosmetics, while the active agents play an active role and decide the final product's effect on your skin. It is the job of cosmetic chemists to strike the right combination of these agents and prepare cosmetics to satisfy you the customer.

* Some agents are found predominantly in most of the cosmetics. Water is a good example of this.

* But, it is the duty of cosmetic producers to use only safe water that is distilled, filtered, and sterilized.

* Due to its ability to flow, water is used in lotions and creams as a spreading agent. It is a natural choice in moisturizers too.

* Moving on, there is a category of products called surfactants. They perform various functions. Sometimes, they are used in cleansers, body washes, and even shampoos. They perform the role of emulsifiers in creams and lotions. They are also are used as solubilisers to dissolve oils in water-based cosmetics.

* Emulsifiers are another important category of ingredients in cosmetics. Their primary function is to enable water and oil-soluble substances to mix evenly. Uniformity of ingredients is essential in cosmetics so that they spread evenly and serve their purpose. Lecithin is one of the popular emulsifiers.

* Emollients refer to the large molecules of chemicals that collectively prevent water loss from your skin, thereby preventing it from becoming dry and dull. This property of emollients makes them a main ingredient in moisturizers as the main purpose of these cosmetics is to make your skin appear soft and smooth. Moisturizers generally include fatty esters which are essential as you grow old and natural esters are depleted.

* We have analyzed various categories of cosmetics that should be eye-openers to understanding the concept of cosmoceuticals. You can find effective solutions to problems like dark circles under your eyes, puffiness, wrinkles, eye strain, etc. through cosmoceuticals.

Cosmoceuticals is a new trend in the field of cosmetics. You can find a wide range of products in cosmoceuticals from which you can choose those that will soothe you and heal many of your topical skin problems. This is an ever-growing field with new developments taking place every day.

Cosmoceuticals in the long view can encourage us to begin to see and realize that nature helped along by some science can a good soother and healer. Mere medical procedures cannot be always accurate and effective. The same is of course true of nature.

There are similar limitations with nature because it can also be unpredictable. Science and nature left to their own devices are limited. Individually, their side-effects often can cause more harm than the actual ailment! Together science and nature can create exciting products.

Accordingly, cosmoceuticals today are helping address unslighty problems associated with natural aging. Products like Lumnaderm(TM) focuses on harmless but unsightly age spots or liver spots and sun spots, while Eyederma(TM) deals with dark circles under your eyes. Dark circles on the skin and under the eyes in some causes are an indication of more serious problems, and should be diagnosed by a doctor, for the overwhelming majority of people they are problems that can be addressed with cosmoceuticals like Lumnaderm(TM) and Eyederma(TM).

For instance take the example of the well regarded cosmoceutical Eyederma(tm). This product boasts rich ingredients that targets a nagging problem of many people as they age -- dark circles under their eyes. While it is not within the scope of this article to discuss all the reasons people tend to have dark circles under their eyes as they age. However, the Eyederma(tm) product makes our general point. It illustrates how a common problem like dark circles and patches under your eyes can be minimized without expensive surgury.

Imagine the promise of this type of cosmoceutical. A product like this could save you thousands of dollars in hospital costs, lost wages, and recovery time (not to mention risk) if you experience dark circles under your eyes.

Think about it, other options like plastic surgery are more dangerous and costly. The Eyederma(tm) cosmoceutical example certainly seems like a worth while consideration and maybe investment for those whose who are concerned about a more vibrant youthful appearance. Both the Lumnaderm(tm) and Eyederma(tm) products are distributed by major retailers and established online stores like Amazon.com and the BODeStore.com .

Cosmoceuticals may be the long-awaited merger of medicine and cosmetics. It has certainly become the buzzword in the cosmetic industry today. For all of you who are concerned with your appearance cosmoceuticals may just be a timely and welcome merger of science and nature!