SimplyMaggies

It appears acne is no longer a teenage problem. Increasingly more women over thirty complain of this unsightly skin condition. And unfortunately, acne at this age seems to be more of a nuisance then when one was a teenager, especially since it affects face, neck, chest, back and even shoulders.

There are many causes of adult acne but the main one seems to be hormonal imbalance, which may require a medical attention. Problems with hormones usually affect women working in air conditioned rooms with little or no humidity and  with halogen lighting, in high levels of stress and ones that spend long hours in front of a computer monitor. Drinking lots of coffee and eating spicy food only aggravates the condition thus your best bet is to have your hormone levels checked and then consult an endocrinologist or a dermatologist.

Choosing the right cosmetics is also a very important step in combating adult acne. Here are a few tips to improving your skin:

Get the right moisturizer

One of the basic mistakes is using the wrong moisturizer, which often leads to drying out your skin. This, in turn, causes more sebum production to combat the dryness, which leads to clogged pores and pimples and so the vicious circle continues. Your daily cream should therefore have moisturizing as well as antibacterial properties, which will curb the sebum production, soothe irritation and matt the shiny skin. Such moisturizers can be found in lines designed for oily and acne-prone complexions ad contain fruit acids, retinol, benzoil peroxide or salicylic acid, which are known for their exfoliating properties.

Use home remedies

Use purifying masks containing white or green clay, mud from the Dead Sea, yeast or volcanic soil, which deep clean your skin from the impurities as well as help with healing the pimples. You may also use peel-off masks, which unclog and shrink the pores. To exfoliate your skin use gentle scrubs, e.g. enzyme scrub and forget about the ones containing coarse grains. Use the masks and scrubs twice a week and follow with a good moisturizer.

Things to avoid

1) picking pimples and blackheads- this leads to inflammation of the skin, which only aggravates the acne.

2) tanning in the sun or a tanning parlor. The UV rays temporarily block the sebum production by drying up the skin. The dry skin needs more sebum to replenish the lost moisture thus creating more oil and causing acne.

3) using alcohol or toner containing alcohol to clan your face. This leads to dryness and irritation, which only makes the condition worse.

photo credit: hectorthebat

photo credit: Sarah_Jones

One of my friends send me a very interesting email a while ago. I read it again recently and decided to share some of it.

Here are a  few interesting facts that may change the way you look at one of the more popular American sodas:

• The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.
• To carry Coca-Cola syrup! (the concentrate) the commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.
• The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean engines of the trucks for about 20 years!
• In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
• You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.
• To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the “real thing” sit for one hour,then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.
• To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
• To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.
• To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
• To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

And now ask yourself this: do you still want to drink that can of Coke?

photo credit: Martin Kingsley

The ancient Greeks and Romans have possessed the secret to staying young and beautiful that somehow got lost through the centuries. And now the scientists are rediscovering that very secret.

The latest studies show that olive oil is not only one of the best moisturizers on earth but also has an enormous amount of anti-cancer properties. It has four different kinds of antioxidants, which combat damaging free radicals causing not only skin aging but also skin cancers. Studies performed on mice have shown that the mice that consumed olive oil or had it applied topically after exposure to UV lights had less skin cancers.

Moreover, olive oil has incredible moisturizing properties since it contains linoleic acid, which is found naturally in skin to help retain moisture. Unfortunately, the body needs it to be supplied either by consuming it through a diet or applying it topically, in the form of a cream or lotion.

So if you want to have supple and beautiful skin as well as keep it protected from the damaging effects of the sun rays, don’t shy away from eating olive oil (and we’re talking extra virgin olive oil since it comes from the first press, therefore contains the highest amount of antioxidants) and olives, adding it to your bath or simply rubbing it onto your skin (especially after sun exposure).