Lifestyle Choices

Which is better—a bath or a shower? It depends. A shower is more invigorating (after all, you’re standing, not reclining), while a bath is more relaxing and therapeutic, easing sore muscles, circulation problems, arthritis and stress. Baths, however, are less effective at cleaning away bacteria than showers, and soaking in a bath longer than 15 minutes can exacerbate dry skin. (more…)

As we age, our skin fades its young good looking. It leaves the hollows, sagging, nasolabial lines and marionette lines. Our cheek is not round and lovely. And our mouth looks like the ugly cortices. These different depths and looking gaps always reminds us the recorder. Because life is recording many more lines on our face. For a little bit of cheating, we can try to fill these gaps. Ladies sit at the front of mirrors wondering how they look. (more…)

It is one of life’s beauty ironies that your skin can be perfect when nothing interesting is happening in your life, and look dreadful when something important is in the offing. Excitement, tension and a little jiggling of the hormones don’t help. When you want to look good and your skin doesn’t, someone like Barbara Daly, a top British make-up artist, can come to the rescue. Here is her advice:

“Nobody’s face is flawless, and concealer is a magical piece of make-up. Choose a shade which will blend in with your skin tone and use a lip or eyeshadow brush loaded up from the stick just as you would if you were going to put on lipstick. (more…)

You have no doubt heard someone say — or been known to say yourself — “I can’t possibly go out looking like this!” “This” is usually a small crop of pimples, a bruise that will disappear within days or a temporary dose of dark shadows under the eyes. So just imagine the distress and feelings of social isolation suffered by someone with a real skin disfigurement such as a massive birthmark, scar, disturbance in pigmentation or any major skin disorder. (more…)

However luxurious and expensive the individual ingredients, most cleansing products that are designed to remove oil-based cosmetics are formulated in the same basic way. They include oil to break down the oil-soluble dirt and make-up, and detergent-type products to emulsify the oily impurities and rinse it all off your face. (more…)

These “professional” cleansing pads are much more efficient for face cleaning than tissues or tiny balls of cotton wool. Make enough for three or four days and store them, flat, in a plastic bag in the fridge. (more…)

Many forms of heat treatment are used to deep-cleanse the skin and stimulate circulation, and are generally very relaxing. (more…)

When you see a label praising the properties of a beauty product, do you always know what it means? The following tips might help:

Allergy screened: Each ingredient in the product has passed through stringent tests to ensure that it has the minimum possible history of causing any allergic reactions. (more…)

Beauty spots . . . or minor blemishes

Moles may be called beauty spots, and blushing and freckles considered charming. But if they and other small skin problems upset you, they can be made less noticeable with care and cosmetics — and they will often disappear with time or a touch of treatment. Do keep your problems in perspective. Our own faces are magnified by close encounters with a mirror and other people seldom study them as searchingly or caringly as we do. (more…)

True aromatherapy is a total treatment of the face and body via the skin. It alleviates many health troubles such as insomnia, toxic retention, tension, and menstrual and menopausal problems, and helps your body to achieve a healthy, natural balance. It can certainly improve all skin problems from young and blemished to dry and atrophied. It can make one feel so wonderfully relaxed or stimulated, depending on one’s needs and the oils used. The secret is that one’s highly developed olfactory organ immediately reacts to the smells which form the basis of aromatherapy. (more…)

Facials are one of the most rewarding forms of beauty treatment, partly because your face is so much on show and partly because facials are enjoyable and relaxing. Massage and treatment include the neck and chest, usually the shoulders, sometimes the back and even the scalp. (more…)

Make-up lessons fall into the category of skin enhancers and are certainly rewarding and often money-saving. They can stop you making expensive mistakes with wrong cosmetic buys and are good for someone just starting to wear make-up, who is unsure about colours or techniques of application that suit her. (more…)

Take it slowly. Never go for the burn.

Stay out of the sun from 11 am to 3 pm. (more…)

Do not lather your face with the nearest bar of soap. Male skins are particularly sensitive to fragrance. Strong soap can strip the skin’s natural protection and leave an irritating residue. Use a mild, nonperfumed soap or, better still, a cleansing bar or wash-off foaming cleanser. (more…)

The biggest difference between men’s and women’s faces is the coarseness of the hair. A man’s daily tussle with a beard can become a skin endurance test if it is not done carefully and properly. If you have been shaving without tears for years, that is fine. But if you have problems every morning, consider whether you could improve your shaving techniques. (more…)

Avoid the diet see-saw. Stay as close as possible to your ideal weight. A crash diet to lose ten kilograms three weeks before your holiday will leave your skin like a punctured balloon. (Doesn’t weight always fall away from your face first and cling like mad to the areas that you want to slim?) Unbalanced nutrition leads to dried-up skin. If you are overweight, get rid of the excess slowly and sensibly, and keep your body toned with exercise. (more…)

Follow these lines and discover the regenerative effects of water:

Take a bath if you are tense, have been exercising or just feel ready for a good night’s sleep, but do not overdo your soaking time — ten minutes is enough, more will dry out your skin. Showers are less drying for your skin, so take one instead of a bath at least every other day, and more often if your skin is naturally dry or mature. (more…)

When the temperature drops: (more…)

There is, as yet, no cure for acne but it can be controlled by various means, and it is vital to inhibit the development of inflamed spots that can lead to scarring and permanent reminders of the problem. If you are a teenager or adult with a susceptibility to skin eruptions, work along these lines: (more…)

Water-in-oil

These creams are an upmarket version of Vaseline. They contain more oil than water and therefore do their job more efficiently and for far longer than oil-in-water moisturisers. They are formulated so that they do not feel heavy and sticky on the skin, but nevertheless their higher oil content makes them more suitable for night wear and for dry or older skins. (more…)