Skin Care Diet – What Is Bad For Skin

you’ve had a bad week – or maybe a bad month. You’ve been working overtime, your child is going through a difficult phase, your boyfriend’s eyes have started wandering, your boss seems to hate you, and you have insomnia. In other words, nothing in your life is going smoothly and you are feeling more stressed than ever. Chances are a few obvious pimples have sprung up since your life got so hectic. How do I know that? What do you think my face does when I’m feeling frazzled?

The reason for a spotty complexion is simple: When the body is under stress, it releases adrenal hormones, which are known generally as “stress hormones.” These hormones generate a number of changes in skin, including breakouts, oily patches, dry patches sallowness, dark circles under the eyes, and rashes. Obviously, you can’t avoid all forms of stress, but you can learn how to deal with them. Deep breathing, visualization, a professional or at-home massage, or even a spa-night at home can help relieve some of the tension.

Exercise boosts circulation, which in turn delivers oxygen-rich blood to the skin’s surface. The short-term result is a beautiful glow. According to some skin-care experts, the long-term benefit of exercise is improved skin elasticity and more efftcient new cell growth.

Rough treatment

As resilient as skin is, it also has a delicate side. Aggressive handling can make skin appear worn, abused, and just plain old. What qualifies as rough treatment? Picking pimples, which can cause scars; using overly hot water, which can break small capillaries and make skin dry; tugging at skin, which can break down collagen and elastin fibers and lead to slackness; and using harsh skin-care products, which can cause sensitivities and redness.

Skin and your diet

Severe diets that skimp on calories and on one or more nutrients are detrimental to your skin, and so are eating habits that include plenty of complexion-spoiling fast food. Here’s a rundown of common nutrient deficiencies and how they affect your complexion:

A lack of protein can lead to a dull, dry complexion and poor wound-healing.

A shortage of iron can result in a pale complexion.

A lack of vitamin A can produce dry skin or unexplained breakouts.

A deficiency in vitamin B Complex can result in cracks at the corners of the mouth, unexplained breakouts, impaired wound-healing, and pallor.

A lack of vitamin C can cause poor wound-healing, dullness, and easy bruising.

A shortage of vitamin E can lead to poor wound-healing and dry skin.

A lack of vitamin K can result in weak, broken, or distended facial capillaries.

Hyaluronic Acid for Supple Skin

Ageing gracefully means caring for ones body and health.  Both women and men are actively seekingtreatments that will reduce the signs of aging. Many aspects of how we age and how to ward of or erase the signs are still a mystery.

There are places in the world such as Yuzuri Hara, which is a village in Japan, where at least ten percent of the current popular hovers around 85 years or even older. Many of the conditions seen regularly in seniors in our part of the world such as cancer, diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s are just not present there.

The citizens of Yuzuri Hara lead lives that are active and incredibly healthy. Most of these people never even need to visit the doctor and their skin looks rather youthful.

ABC’s popular News show 20/20 did research and ran a showing that reported that researchers found what they believe is the key to the youthful appearance and healthy bodies of those living in Yuzuri Hara.

The component believed to be what everyone is after is known as Hyaluronic acid. This acid can be found in carbohydrate rich foods that are native to the terrain of hills surrounding this village.

This component lubricates a persons joints and is in the connective tissue of humans. One of the benefits of it is its ability to keep our flesh smooth and full. As we age, our bodies loose this naturally. Researchers are working hard to see that if taken orally if it will limit the look of aging on people.

The FDA has given their go ahead to use this product for injections located in the knee joints. This will provide the joint with new lubrication. Hyaluronic acid also works to reduce both heat and inflammation caused by arthritics.

Not to mention the fact that it can even decrease the speed in which arthritics develops and can thwart the constant pain associated with arthritics.

There are places in Europe that make use of this component for soft tissue filler, augmentation of lips, repairingacne scars and in ridding the face of lines and wrinkles.

It is used in a similar manner as collagen and provides practically the same results.

Working as a topical agent that hydrates the skin wonderfully and also as a powerful anti-inflammatory.

Soft, creamy skin that no longer feels irritated or itchy is found to result when using products with Hyaluronic acid in it.

Squalane is an incredible moisturizer that carries oxygen and provides your skin with renewed elasticity without leaving it feeling oily. Squalane’s main ingredient is sebum, which coincidently is the main oil, found naturally in your flesh.

It makes sense then to replace that oil with a product containing this ingredient. When taken internally, Squalane will strengthen your immune system and offer anti-inflammatory properties.

When you use Squalane topically, you will notice such benefits as softer lines on your face, relief from psoriasis, age spots becoming less noticeable, and wounds healing faster. In Japan, Squalane is even being used to aid in the treatment of both skin cancer and dermatitis.

Working with Squalane and Hyaluronic acid will offer you the best solution when it comes to the effects of fighting aging and the toll that it takes on your skin.

New Ingredients For Tougher Skin

Young skin produces protein like collagen and elastin in sufficient quantities. These are the youth giving skin proteins in our body and are responsible for giving us a healthy, firm, soft and elastic skin.

As time passes the natural production of these two vital skin proteins starts to slow down. Thus, we start to see the signs of skin aging like wrinkles, sagging skin, age spots and dark uneven skin complexion emerge.

In order to make skin tougher we need to develop such products that will help the body build higher amount of its own collagen and elastin naturally.

There are many collagen based skin care products in the marketplace which claim that the collagen in them is the key to make aging skin tougher. But this is far from reality. The scientific truth is that collagen in skin creams cannot be absorbed by our body at all. The collagen molecule is too big to penetrate our skin. The key to how to make aging skin tougher is to help your body build more collagen and elastin naturally.

Advances in medical science reveal ingredients have been discovered which help in skin rejuvenation naturally by stimulating the natural production of these vital skin proteins. This is the natural and effective way on how to make aging skin tougher.

Thanks to the internet and a great deal of research, these breakthrough natural substances are available for anyone in any part of the world. Some of these natural skin rejuvenation ingredients are babassu, maracuja, Phytessence Wakame, and Cynergy.

Skin Care Ingredients to Avoid

Many consumers are frustrated by skin care products that don’t do what they claim to. Worse still is investing in an expensive yet ineffective cream or treatment only to discover the cheapest drug-store brand would work just as well. In a world of hyper-consumerism, false advertising and a plethora of products from which to choose, how do you choose the good from the bad?

There are some great products on the market that can genuinely improve your skin’s appearance and help your skin look smoother, more radiant, and youthful. But, there are literally thousands of products to choose from and unless you spend hours a day researching beauty products, it’s difficult to find the one of the few that actually produces real results and eliminates years of aging from your face and body.

As the law of supply and demand proves, the higher the demand for youth and beauty, the more manufacturers will rush to provide the solution. Many times this rush results in the creation of an inferior product with little to no research and development to back it.

Caveat Emptor – or “let the buyer beware” – is the rule to live by. Do your homework. Know where you are “voting” your hard-earned money. If it is important to you, make sure you are investing in a quality, skincare ingredient backed by proven results. If the environment and being ‘green’ is important to you, then be aware of the manufacturing practices of the company and product you support with your purchase.

Ingredients to Avoid

Due to certain preservative requirements, many skin care products are unfortunately loaded with ingredients that actually harm your skin over time. Following are a few prominent ingredients widely used in skincare products to day and are to be avoided if you prefer you skincare to be more natural or organic.

• Mineral Oil. This oil has been used in literally hundreds of products. Mineral oil may also go by the alternative names liquid paraffin, paraffin wax and petrolatum on the product label. Mineral oil is used pervasively in skin care products as a moisturizing agent due to its low cost.

Mineral oil, once applied, is meant to ‘trap’ moisture in the skin, but once applied, actually prevents the skin from “breathing.” As such, it clogs pores, interferes with your skin’s natural ability to eliminate toxins, and can lead to acne flare ups. Also, it is irritating to the skin and if used for any length of time, your skin can become dependent on it, causing chapping and dryness. Lastly, it can lead to premature aging of the skin.

• Dioxane: (a synthetic derivative of coconut). This substance is widely used in skincare products. It often contains high concentrations of 1,4-dioxane, which is readily absorbed through the skin. In the State of California, 1,4-dioxane has been reported as “known to cause cancer.”

• Fragrances: No one wants to smell bad, but if you want to be on the safe side, you are better off choosing an organic essential oil or diluted cologne, hydrosol or even a bodyspray. Your skin care products typically contain chemically engineered fragrances to mask the unpleasant “chemical odor” of the foundational product itself. Many of these masking fragrances are produced from ingredients that are known to be toxic or carcinogenic.

Your skin is the largest organ of the body. Anything you put on it can be easily absorbed through the pores. When you use skin care products, they are typically applied all over the face, neck, and body. This covers a lot of surface area and, therefore, a great deal of chemical absorption occurs. However, with perfumes and colognes, you can achieve what you want by a small dab here and there, which will result in less chemical absorption overall. If you really want a beauty product to smell great without the harsh side effects, try buying a fragrance-free product and add your own essential oil blend. You can customize a whole line of products with you won signature scent!

• Parabens: methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl paraben. Many skin care products (and moisturizing products) will use parabens as a preservative so their products have a long shelf life. The reason is purely economical. However, studies suggest that they may cause cancer and interfere with the body’s endocrine system, as well as causing allergic reactions and skin rashes.

• Alcohols: ethanol, ethyl alcohol, methanol, benzyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol and SD alcohol. Not all alcohols have the same properties, but these, which are commonly found in skin care products, are very drying and irritating for the skin. Alcohols such as these strip away the skin’s natural acid mantle, making you more vulnerable to bacteria, moulds and viruses.

Now that we’ve looked at some of the bad, let’s examine some of the good ingredients and some ingredients that sound good but in fact aren’t.