Tag Archives: acne

Protect Your Skin From The Aging Effects of the Sun

Posted on by Ting Chen

Are you as careful to protect your skin from sun damage as you should be? Do you wear sunscreen every time you go outside for prolonged periods? Or do you think you’re safe for some other reason?

Most people are aware of the dangers of skin cancer resulting from overexposure to the sun. While people who rarely burn are less likely to contract skin cancer than people who burn easily, everyone is at risk. Even with no family history. And our collective knowledge about skin cancer risks is constantly changing. For example, dermatologists used to condone minimal use of high-pressure tanning beds (which use UVA rays almost exclusively, with very little of the UVB rays) for people who tan easily and rarely burn. The tan from these beds was thought to protect your skin from natural sunlight. Now dermatologists are finding that UVA rays cause deeper tissue forms of skin cancer, which are more difficult to detect and treat.

Even if you never contract skin cancer, overexposure to sunlight also accounts for a surprising number of the signs of aging we think of as normal. Tanning produces deep skin wrinkles, makes the skin texture leathery, and can cause discoloration such as “age spots”. Avoiding sun and tanning bed exposure will help keep your skin tone even, your wrinkles fine and your skin texture soft.

Broad-spectrum sunscreens provide excellent protection from natural sunlight exposure. Even if you’re not going to be out in the sun for long, it’s a good idea to put some on exposed skin while dressing in the morning, particularly in the summer time. If you’re concerned about potentially dangerous chemicals that have been used in sunscreen, such as PABA, you should be aware there are sunscreen products available now that don’t include harmful chemicals. In fact, many are comprised mainly of natural ingredients, including moisturizers, which are the basis of any good anti-aging routine. If you already have skin damage resulting from sun exposure, there are a number of products available to even skin tone and soften deep wrinkles.

Herbs That Prevent Acne

Posted on by Ting Chen

Acne can happen to anyone, you, me or your next door neighbor. It can be seen in a teenager as well as an adult. This skin condition is prevalent in almost 80% of women and 90% of men.

Age is really not a factor especially in a changing environment. Today, more and more adults are being diagnosed with what we call the adult acne but there is nothing to really fear because it is not a dreaded disease, it is just a skin condition almost like a passing phase in life.

There are different types of remedies available for treatment of acne but nothing compares to home treatments. Home treatments for acne constitute natural therapies, vegetable, minerals, fruits, ayurvedic and herbal treatments. You can buy fresh or frozen vegetables as well as herbs from fuzing.com. Some of the herbs available on Fuzing include Achiote Leaf, Almond Oil, Anethole, Aloe Vera, Arnica Flower, Bayberry Bark etc.

Let us take a look at the various home remedies that you can use for Acne.

The Herbal Mix

Herbs play an important role in preventing and treating of acne. Hence you can take herbs even when you are on a diet or after you have completed your diet program.

A good herbal mix should consist of equal parts of herbal extracts from yellow dock, sarsaparilla, cleavers and burdock. These herbs are potent lymph and blood cleansing agents. If you take half a teaspoon at least three times a day apart from a healthy diet then you will not only have a healthy skin but also prevent acne. Some of the most commonly prescribed herbs are tea tree oil, which is applied to acne lesions to kill the acne causing bacteria and Nigella or fennel flower.

HERB#1: TREE TEA OIL
Tea tree oil is can be obtained from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia by using steam distillation. It is the native herb of Australia and effectively fights acne. You can purchase undiluted or pure tea tree oil from health stores.

* Ingredients: Contains terpinen-4-ol, which has antimicrobial properties.
* Use: It kills bacteria hence should be used on acne lesions to kill Propionibacterium acnes, which is a Bacteria that lives on the skin and causes acne.
* Benefits: Few side effects as compared to benzoyl peroxide.
* Avoid: using undiluted tree tea oil as it may cause skin blistering, redness, irritation, itching and over-dryness
* Concentration: 5% concentration gels should be used. You can also make it at home by mixing 5 parts of tea tree oil with 95 parts of water.

HERB#2: NIGELLA OR FENNEL FLOWER
Nigella or fennel flower is an effective herbal cure against Acne. The fennel flower belongs to the genus Nigella of the sativa species. People or civilizations have been cultivating this plant for centuries for its medicinal qualities and also as a spice.

Ingredients: Nigella sativa consists of Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fatty acids, Vitamins and Minerals

Some of the other complex compounds found in the Nigella are:
arginine, Alanine, tryptophan, campesterol, asparagine, carvone, cystine, cymene, dehydroascorbic-acid, glucose, eicosadienoic-acid, glutamic-acid, iron, glycine, isoleucine, linoleic-acid, leucine, d-limonene, linolenic-acid, lysine, lipase, methionine, nigellin, myristic-acid, nigellone, palmitic-acid, oleic-acid, phenylalanine, potassium, phytosterols, beta-sitosterol, stearic-acid, alpha-spinasterol, stigmasterol, threonine, tannin, thymoquinone and thymohydroquinone.

Benefits: Nigella has some magical properties that makes it such a sought after herb for treatment of various skin and body problems. Some of the common properties of Nigella are:

* Antineoplastic
* Antimicrobial
* Analgesic
* Anti-inflammatory
* Antipyretics

Nigella is a potent natural remedy for strengthening the immune system. It is used for treating acne because acne can get aggravated due to a weak immune system and Nigella makes the immune system stronger.

Chemical Compounds

Apart from the natural diets and applying or intake of herbs, you can also use baking soda to effectively fight against acne. Baking soda is also known as sodium bicarbonate. It is normally available in a fine powder form and is used for leavening food like cake. You can buy it from any food store. On reaction with acid, sodium bicarbonate produces water and carbon dioxide.

Sodium bicarbonate works in two different ways, which are:

Exfoliating agent: Acne can flare up anytime and anywhere and the reason it happens is because of clogging of the hair follicles. When your hair follicle gets clogged then the sebaceous glands will start producing sebum continuously, which will cause the hair follicles to rupture. If a bump appears on your skin with the sebum still inside then it is known as a white head but if the bump comes out of the skin then it is known as a blackhead.

Neutralize acidic environment: Fungal or bacterial infections are also one of the primary reasons of acne. Baking soda in the form of sodium bicarbonate will help in damaging the bacterial cells that help bacteria to grow on your skin.

6 Steps to Younger-Looking Skin

Posted on by Ting Chen

By Dennis Thompson Jr. | Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

The right anti-aging products and treatments can turn back the clock by erasing signs of aging, fine lines and wrinkles, and other sun damage.

If you haven’t been protecting your skin, it can start to give away clues about your age. Fine lines and wrinkles begin to appear, along with brown spots and rough skin patches caused by sun exposure. Your skin might be producing less collagen, and dead skin cells don’t flake off imperceptibly anymore. If this sounds like your skin, it’s time to turn to anti-aging products and treatments to slow down, reduce, or even reverse the signs of aging and regain younger-looking skin.

Any skin that’s been regularly exposed to the elements can be expected to show its age and needs special care to maintain its youthful look, says Sonia Badreshia-Bansal, MD, CEO and medical director of Elite MD, Inc. Advanced Dermatology, Laser, and Plastic Surgery Institute in Danville, Calif.

Your Anti-Aging Action Plan

At-home and doctor’s office procedures can have a visible impact on your complexion, giving you back younger-looking skin.

1. Protect your skin. The first rule of thumb: Prevent the damage. “The best thing to do to protect your skin is prevention,” Dr. Badreshia-Bansal says. The sun is enemy number one, so you need to wear sunscreen with a sun protection factor, or SPF, of 30 or higher whenever you’re outside. You also should wear long-sleeved shirts and pants. Protect your face and neck with wide-brimmed hats, your eyes with sunglasses with UV coating. Dryness is enemy number two, making lines seem more noticeable, so choose a moisturizer made for your skin type and use it regularly to keep skin supple.

2. Apply a vitamin A cream. Prescription-strength, vitamin A–based topical gels or creams known as retinoids can reduce wrinkles and produce younger-looking skin. “It helps to build collagen, which can prevent the development of fine lines and wrinkles, and to lighten dark spots,” Badreshia-Bansal says. “We also use it to treat acne, and it can help prevent precancerous growths.” Prescription retinoids include Retin-A and Renova (tretinoin), Differin (adapalene), and Avage (tazarotene).

3. Bleach your brown spots. You can try lightening brown spots (also called age spots) with a bleaching cream that contains hydroquinone. “Hydroquinone helps inhibit an important enzyme in pigment synthesis,” Badreshia-Bansal explains.

4. Pick up a peptide anti-wrinkle cream. These anti-aging creams stimulate the skin’s production of collagen and elastin and are found in some drugstore or beauty counter products. “You’re helping to build back the support structure that’s been lost through aging and sun damage” Badreshia-Bansal says.

5. Peel to reveal fresher skin. Dermatologists use various methods to remove the top layer of skin and expose new skin. These procedures can help tighten the skin and diminish fine lines and brown spots. “By exfoliating that top layer, you’re allowing the moisturizers and other products we use to penetrate deeper and work better,” Badreshia-Bansal says. Procedures include:

  • Chemical peel solutions to loosen and slough away the top layer of skin
  • Laser skin resurfacing to vaporize the surface skin
  • Microdermabrasion that sprays tiny particles to strip away topmost skin cells
  • Plasma skin regeneration using a stream of ionized nitrogen gas to heat the skin and cause the top layer of cells to flake away

6. Consider Botox. Injections of botulinum toxin have become tremendously popular as an anti-aging therapy. The injections relax the muscles under the skin and can eliminate deep lines and wrinkles around the face. Botox treatments also can help prevent new wrinkles from appearing.
You have many options available to create younger-looking skin. Factors including cost and the recovery time associated with procedures like peels will help you decide on your best course of action.