Natural Skin Care Remedies

Taking care of your skin is so important.  It is the only skin you’ll ever have.  You determine how well it will look now, and in the future.  Therefore you want to be certain that the products or other items that you are using to care for your skin are the best possible.  This is why it may be advantageous to create your own natural skin care products rather than chancing it with the items you buy in the store.  These products are often filled with harsh chemicals and other mysterious ingredients that you would not want to put on your skin if you really understood what they were. When you make your own
products, you know exactly what goes into them. You can also save money, and even
give away your products as gifts!

Did you know that you have many great items already in your home that can be used to create your natural skin care products?  Everything from fruit to honey, oatmeal to eggs can be used to creative skin lifting products, moisturizing products, and more natural skin care remedies. 

It can be as simple as creating a natural face lift with two egg yolks and a teaspoon of sugar, or a bit more complicated such as this bath milk recipe. 

Cleopatra’s Bath Milk

• 2 cups powdered milk
• 1 Tablespoon Jojoba or Sweet Almond Oil
• 2 Tablespoons dried rose petals (can be obtained at large health food stores)
• 1/2 cup ground oatmeal (grind oats finely in your blender)
• 10 drops lavender essential oil or other favorite oil

Mix all ingredients well and keep in a glass jar in the refrigerator. To use, put as much as you like into your bath under running water. You can also buy reusable muslin tea bags at the health food store and place the mixture in these. To use, just drop one in the bath water.

Natural Skin Care for Winter

The cold and blustery winter months are upon us and for many that means problems with their skin. Whether you suffer from dry skin all the time, or your skin becomes chapped from being outdoors in the wind or from forced indoor heating, or any other number of skin issues, I’m sure you wished there was a cure for what ails you. 

Did you know there are actually many ways that you can care for your skin, naturally without having to purchase anything from your local drug or department store?  That’s right, you have the ability to do your own skin care regimen at home for pennies, because most likely you already have everything that you need right in your own home.

Some ways that you can care for your winter skin naturally include:

Exfoliating:  Especially if you have dry skin, exfoliating that old, dead skin can help allow moisture which you need to get into your pores once you have ridden them of those dead, flaky skin cells.  To exfoliate you will need a physical agent like ground walnuts or apricot hulls, or an enzyme, which basically eats dead skin cells.  There are even foods that are rich in enzymes which you can use to create your own at home mask to use in the process of exfoliation.  These foods include pineapple and papaya. Milk also has fatty acids that mildly exfoliate. This is why the traditional milk bath has been so popular.

To create an easy inexpensive natural exfoliant, mix sea salt with olive oil. Smoothe in on in the tub and rub your skin gently, then rinse in the shower. You can do the same with sugar – not so great to eat, but awesome for your skin! Add a drop of your favorite essential oil to make it a spa treatment and relax you.

Eating:  Yes, something that you already do on a regular basis if done correctly can change your skin. For example to help dry skin, include foods in your diet that are rich in fatty acids.  Some of these foods include salmon, olive and coconut oils, avocado, and nuts.  Incorporate these into your daily diet to see what a difference they can make. What may look like dry skin may even be eczema or a rash caused by food allergies, so be alert to that possibility too.

Make Your Own Treatments:  You can also make your own at home masks and treatments to treat other skin issues.   Some common combinations are oatmeal, honey and water to create a mask, or  avocado and honey.  Smear these on your skin, allow to dry and then rinse them off. 

A simple honey treatment to moisturize your skin and make it glow? Pat two drops of honey on your face after cleansing, while still damp. Your skin won’t be sticky with such a small amount.

Skin care is important to the health of your skin as well as your appearance. It’s best to care for your skin as naturally as possible, so why not try these options for caring for your dry winter skin.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

What is the best way to determine if you are overweight? Body Mass Index is a reliable way to determine if you are overweight. Body Mass Index or BMI is simply an indicator as opposed to a direct measurement of total body fat. It can provide a rough guideline as to where a person stands in terms of being overweight.If a person is a body builder this is not a good tool to measure body fat. However if you are not a body builder you probably need to pay attention to this indicator. As a person’s BMI index increases, so does their risk of major health problems or even death.

You can easily determine your BMI this way:

Current Weight X 703/Height (in Inches)Squared. This means that if you weigh 185lbs and are 6 feet tall, your BMI would be calculated as (185×703 /72×72 = 25.09) (Calculate your BMI Here: www.findmybmi.com )

People with BMI between 25 and 30 are considered overweight and have increased chances of health problems. Within this range, if the waist size is greater than 40inches for men, and 35 inches for women, the risk increases significantly.

BMI’s above 30 indicate obesity and the chances of major health problems become very high.

Generally people who are overweight or obese have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol or other lipid disorders, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. They are also at an increased risk for premature death, cardiovascular disease, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis.

The risks associated with being overweight are something you should not ignore. It is more than just looking good at the holiday party or looking good in the bikini or bathing suit – It is about your life and health!

You should see your doctor immediately and start a diet and exercise program. Any diet that you start should involve eating healthy real foods and a moderate exercise program. Don’t wait – start today.

Successful Mindset

You must develop the right mental attitude on your road to success.  A positive outlook is necessary to see change coming, to be able to work with the change, and to make the most of whatever change comes down the pike in your life.  If you expect change you’ll be in a better position to accept it and make the most of it. 

In order to gain right thinking (being positive), you must decide to look at the bright side of life.  Instead of seeing the cloud, see the silver lining in the cloud.  Instead of seeing downsizing as a horrible thing that will plummet you in to bankruptcy and homelessness, consider it an opportunity to look for a better job and a chance to try new skills and career paths that you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to try before.  Don’t be “Pollyannaish”, but do consider all sides of a situation before you adopt a negative perspective.

In order to maintain a positive outlook, you must also be realistic.  For example, if you’ve gained 30 pounds in the last 3 years, it would be highly unrealistic to expect to drop those 30 pounds in 3 weeks.  If you take an honest and realistic assessment of your skills and goals, you’re much more likely to find success in whatever field or career best suits you.

Maintain a cautious optimism as you seek success, not be blindly optimistic about every situation.  There are some situations in which positive thinking cannot overcome the situation you’re faced with. 

Consider Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer; he is  a man who’s in excellent shape – a World Class athlete.  But if he decided to compete on the gymnastic floor instead of the swimming pool, he likely wouldn’t make it, despite his physique.  Blind optimism also puts you at the mercy of con men and charlatans—your optimism must be tempered by context and relevance.

No matter what your abilities are (and they are fabulous!), using them realistically will get you much farther than not.  Your right thinking, paired with your abilities, put you on a course for success—no matter what field you’re in!

Steps For A Better Workout

As you prepare for your workout, there are some basic steps that you should go through. 

1.Stop and Go

If you play a sport that requires a full sprint, remember that a full sprint strains the muscles of the lower body. To combat this, do stop-and-go exercises. For example, run 30 meters at about 80 percent of your effort, slow to a jog for five to 10 meters, then run again for another 30 meters. Repeat this process five times.

2.On bended knees

Almost 3 out of four ACL injury occurs when players are landing or turning. If your knees are bent instead of straight, the risk of injury is greatly reduced according to a report in the JAAOS (Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons).

3.Cool down

Heatstroke is not something that can be easily cured like headache. To avoid it, stay cool and hydrated. Be sure the combined temp an humidity is less than 160. This is according to Dr. Dave Janda of the IPSM.

4.Get the proper equipment

Badly fitting gears or ill sized equipment can be a cause of  training injuries. The extra money spent on proper equipment goes a long way.

5.Do it the right way

Bad technique is just as bad as, well, bad equipment. Seek advice from pros and trainer, this advice are invaluable to your exercises or training.

6.Go West (or whichever direction)

If you’re playing or training in multiple directions, your warm up should also. Move sideways, backward, forward and all the motions you might be doing. This allows your body to be prepared.

7.Have yourself filmed

The camera doesn’t lie. Show your video to a person well verse in your training, so he can give a critic of your fitness regimen.

8.Loosen the shoulders.

Even a slightly injured rotator cuff can shut down the function of a shoulder. You might want to include stretching to protect your rotator cuffs.

9.take An early dip

Schedule your swimming sessions early. The less people in the pool means less of everything in the pool.

10. Protect yourself

Wearing custom-fitted mouth guards reduces the risk of  injuries by as much as 82 percent, according to a study at UNC at Chapel Hill. Plunk out the cash for a custom-fitted mouth guard and it’ll last for years including your smile and teeth.

11. Smooth out your tendon

Inquire about ultrasound needle therapy. These procedure is minimally by using ultrasound to guide a needle. The needle smoothens the  bone, breaks up calcifications, and fixes scar tissue. Thirteen out of twenty patients saw improvement, and the session takes only about 15 minutes of your time.

12. Buy your running shoes after work.

Shop in the evening, the feet are swollen after a day of work. It approximates how your feet will be after three miles of running.

13. Do off road running.

If the surface is unstable, it trains the ankles to be stable.

14. Know where you’re going.

Whether its biking, or skiing, be sure to have a dry run down any path first. A lot of injuries can be avoided when you’re familiar with the route taken.

15. Train hard.

Anxiety reduces your peripheral vision by three degrees and slows the reaction time by almost 120 milliseconds, according to an article of the Journal of Sports Sciences. When the going gets difficult, the veteran athlete rely on skills they’ve trained for and practiced. It keeps them cooler under pressure, widening their vision so they can see react much faster.

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