Washing you hair is not so much for health as for appearance; six times a year would keep it healthy but probably looking awful. So it really depends on how it is worn, and what you see in the mirror. Try washing it every 6 to 10 days. If it is oily you will need to wash more often, if dry, less. (more…)
These are plugs of sebum or oil which clog the pores and blacken due to oxidation on exposure to the air. They can easily be removed if you take care not to damage the skin which could result in infection. Heat the skin first by applying a hot compress made of 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda to a pint of hot water (as hot as your skin will take). Apply and re-apply the compress to the blackhead areas for about two minutes to open the pores and loosen the material clogging them. Then gently, with the tips of your fingers wrapped in a paper tissue, (not your nails) ease out the plug. Finish off with an application of alcohol or antiseptic cream. (more…)
A number of different terms are commonly used to describe the various types of nerve pain encountered. The main terms used are neuralgia (meaning pain resulting from injury to a nerve, particularly in the face), sciatica (pain mediated by the sciatic nerve, running from the lower part of the spine down each leg), and neuritis (inflammation in any nerve).
Nerve pain—aching, tingling, pins and needles, and a stabbing or burning sensation are the most common—can be caused by a number of factors, both physical and psychological, but the main ones are circulatory insufficiency, poor posture, wrong diet, stress, and over-exertion. Natural therapies can ease discomfort and accelerate the recovery process. (more…)
You will have a scar right round each ear. The scar behind your ear and its continuation across part of the scalp will be hidden by hair (except in the case of a man who becomes totally bald). The scar in front of the ear will be visible but usually it is faint and doesn’t shriek its presence. However, scars can widen and drop unpredictably and sometimes a hairstyle which covered them at first ceases to cover them later. If an incision is made under your chin to remove neck fat, a small scar will show here. (more…)
The best results are achieved when a face lift is done earlier rather than later. Although face lifts are usually not sought till the mid-50s or early 60s, a face lift carried out in the 40s may prevent some of the more distressing signs of facial ageing, such as hanging folds of skin around the neck, which develop later and which sometimes can’t be corrected well. Both men and women can have face lifts but the results are usually better in women. (more…)
When we are young, our facial skin is soft and elastic. It stretches when we smile, laugh, yawn, frown, etc and then springs back into its original place. The smooth, firm appearance of the young face is caused by the thin layer of fatty tissue beneath the skin. Beneath the fatty layer lies muscle and it is this that enables us to make our facial expressions. The largest muscle is the platysma muscle, which extends from the jaw into the neck, defines the angle of the chin and differentiates it from the neck. (more…)
Ideally chemical face peels and dermabrasion should not leave scars. However, if an area is burned too deeply with the chemical or dermabrasion is too deep, lumpy and angry red scarring can result. This may or may not fade in time — sometimes it is permanent.
All injections leave tiny puncture marks, so this will occur after collagen implants. Normally they are virtually invisible. They might show up as white dots, however, if you have very dark skin, but the procedure isn’t really advisable for dark-skinned people anyway. (more…)
With intrinsic biological aging, the skin’s outer layer is thinned (over time by about 20 percent). The surface of the skin remains smooth. The border between the epidermis and the dermis becomes flattened, making the skin less resistant to friction (you get more blisters in snug shoes!). In contrast, extrinsic photoaging causes a thickening of the outer skin layer, with up to 50 percent more cells being accumulated onto the skin’s surface, making it feel rough and dry. Think of the grainy, thickened skin on the backs of the hands of a gardener, for example. With photoaging, accumulation of pigment in the basal cells is more markedly irregular than in intrinsic aging, causing the so-called “liver spots” or “age spots” (medically called solar lentigos), the unattractive dark spots especially prevalent on the hands, arms, face and chest. (more…)
The following is a list of lifestyle adjustments that could improve the quality and length of your life:
No one is safe from sun damage! You suffer an increased risk if your skin is Type I or II — that is if you are of Scottish, Irish, Scandinavian, or northern European descent and have fair skin that burns easily but does not tan. Especially at risk are people who have freckles, blond, red or light-brown hair, and blue, green or gray eyes. (more…)
There is no doubt that the sun does damage the skin. “If you tan now, you’ll pay later!”
You will be surprised to learn about the many kinds of sun damage that you or your friends or family may suffer if you do not take the proper precautions. You were probably unaware of some of these hazards.
Although most people admit that they’d like a light suntan, nobody wants a sunburn. Nevertheless there are many people who love to spend hours at the beach, thinking that their sunburn is the first step towards a “glorious” tan. Many people have at one time shared this view. (more…)
There are more than 20 different compounds that the American FDA recognizes as safe and effective ingredients of chemical sunscreens. The most common are: 1) para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and PABA derivatives (known as esters, such as padimate-O and padimate-A); 2) cinnamates; 3) salicylates (all three types absorb only UVB); 4) benzophenones (such as oxybenzone which absorbs primarily UVA); and 5) anthranilides, which absorb UVA as well as UVB. (more…)
The only “safe” tan is the tan obtained from a bottle! Effective self-tanning creams contain the chemical dihydroxyacetone, which reacts with the keratin protein in the outer layers of skin to dye the skin brown. (Be careful! Dihydroxyacetone darkens all keratin protein, including hair and wool.)
This type of self-tanner is perfectly safe and can give the tan you desire if applied properly and uniformly. There are many formulas which give different shades of tan. The consistency of the cream or lotion also varies — self-tanner must be applied evenly to prevent splotchiness. Quite a few products are good, so experiment with several brands until you find one that you prefer. (more…)
We all have moles, usually about 20 or 30 of them. We are born with a fair number of them, but some new ones develop up until the age of about 30. They start out as brownish-looking freckles and then sink lower into the skin, leaving fibrous scar tissue in their wake, which is what gives them the appearance of a raised brownish lump. By the time we have reached 40, they have sunk lower still and tend to look paler but more bulbous. (more…)
Allergies and irritations are different. An irritation occurs in everyone who comes in contact with an offending substance, though some more sensitive people might react to lower concentrations or fewer contacts. (If concentrated formaldehyde were applied to anybody’s fingers or face, for example, he or she would develop a dry, flaky, red, painful rash. Very sensitive skins could be irritated by a trace of formaldehyde, just touching a newspaper or even being in a room with new curtains.)
An allergy, on the other hand, is a genetic predisposition. The person must already have been exposed to the allergen at least once, and the allergy might show itself on the second, tenth, or ten-thousandth contact! (more…)
On no account should you attempt to diagnose yourself. Only a qualified doctor can do that! (Even doctors go to other doctors when they need to be examined and treated!)
There is no substitute for a periodic medical checkup, which should include regular visits to a qualified dermatologist. The recommended frequency of such examinations varies with the specific circumstances and should be discussed with your doctor.
That said, the more aware you are of your physical (and, for that matter, spiritual) self, the better you might be able to seek appropriate help and advice when it is needed. (more…)
Hair Transplant, What needs to be done?
The most commonly and successfully used method for transplanting hair is the punch graft, which can be done under local anaesthetic and takes a couple of hours.
You will receive an injection of anaesthetic in the area of your scalp that the hair is to cover and the area from which the hair is to be taken. The instrument used for the operation is, as might be expected, a small punch. This is used to punch out about 20 to 50 small circular areas of bald skin, in a shape that will provide a relatively natural- looking hair line once hair-bearing skin is implanted in the holes. Then the same amount of hair-bearing skin is punched out, from whatever site has been chosen for their removal (usually the lower back or side of the head where thinner hair growth will be less noticeable). The hair- bearing skin is fitted into the holes that are waiting for them in the bald skin. But there will of course be small areas of bald skin between the holes, where hair still will not grow. (more…)
Most men lose some of their hair and a fair number lose almost all of it, at some stage in their lives. Although balding is considered a common sign of ageing in men, very many suffer significant hair loss before their 30s or may even be almost entirely bald by then. Hair loss is hereditary and, if your father lost his hair young, it is quite likely to happen to you.
Despite much female approbation of big screen personalities, whose most immediately obvious feature is their lack of head hair, the first signs of hair loss are usually greeted with dismay by men. Some resign themselves to the inevitable but others resort to artistry with their remaining hair, growing it longer where possible and brushing it sideways to cover prominent gaps (a technique that doesn’t stand up to strong winds or vigorous exercise). Still others are prepared to go to great lengths in an effort to restore their hair. (more…)
Actinic keratoses(AKs) are flat or slightly raised, sometimes red, scaly patches which appear on the background of sun-damaged skin — especially on the face, the scalps of balding men, the backs of the hands, arms, chest and back. Since they are rough to the touch, AKs are often more easily diagnosed by feel than by observation. They are especially prevalent on fair-skinned people who continue to develop AKs even long after discontinuing sun exposure. AKs are pre-malignant skin growths that can develop into squameous cell carcinomas. They must therefore be treated straightaway, either by cryosurgery or chemotherapy using Effudex (5-fluorouracil) or Actinex (masoproco) cream. These creams cause the skin to become markedly inflamed for at least one week, but there is also some decrease in wrinkles as a bonus! (more…)
Moles(nevi) are collections of nevus cells derived from the pigment- producing melanocytes. Almost everyone has at least one nevus, which can be flesh-colored, brown or bluish-black. Some are flat (Junctional), some slightly elevated (compound), and some dome-shaped (dermal). Nevi occur in about one percent of all newborn babies; the number of nevi increases in childhood. The size and pigmentation may increase throughout life, especially during puberty, pregnancy, with oral estrogens such as the Pill, and after sun exposure. Although some women such as Elizabeth Taylor are known for their distinctive “beauty marks”, many moles are unattractive or irritating, and others may change in appearance. These should be removed for microscopic examination. (more…)
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