Face washing is often the core of beautiful face. Before you apply all those cosmetics or medications for your acne, experts always tell you to wash your face.

Cleaning is essential in maintaining beautiful and healthy skin. And since we always want to put our “best face forward,” here are several tips that we compiled on how to properly wash your face.

1. Remove every trace of make-up/cosmetic on your face. Use cotton ball and moisturizing cream to avoid damaging your skin.
2. Use lukewarm water. Avoid using too hot and too cold water that can dry out your skin. This will also open the pores for deeper cleansing.
3. Avoid strong or harsh soaps/ cleansers. Strong soaps can dry your skin and strip off natural lipids. Choose soap that are mild if you prefer soap, or you can always choose cleansers that are soap- free, non- comedogenic, and mild like Cetaphil, Burt Bee’s or Neutrogena.
4. Massage face by gently rotating upwards your middle ring and pinky fingers. Remember that hard rubbing will actually do more harm than good.
5. Rinse face well to remove all residue of soap or cleanser. Residues left behind can actually clog your pores. Facial cleansers can leave an invisible residue behind which can clog your pores. Rinse three times, then rinse again.
6. Pat dry with soft, non- abrasive towel. Never ever rub your face.
7. Use an alcohol- free toner on your face. It should make your face feel smooth and refreshed. Astringents and toners with glycolic or alpha hydroxy acids work the best for toning the face. These acids actually can reduce the pore size, and help avoid ingrown hairs. They are aggressive and have quick results. Remember to look for a product that is not photosensitive (sensitive to light).
8. Finish off with moisturizer to replenish the natural oils that has been lost. Moisturizing is a necessity. Again, the product with the least amount of chemical additives is the best. Always use a light moisturizer on your face after cleansing. For an intensive moisture treatment use pure vitamin E, or aloe vera oil. It is available in liquid form, or just break open a capsule and apply the oil directly to the skin.

Those are eight simple steps that would help you keep your face clean and beautiful. Start today for a more refreshed and beautiful you.

Many people suffer with the skin condition known as acne or Zits; but this is a skin condition that can be treated. A great deal of effort is going into research for a cure; the result of this effort is a growing range of effective treatments. We can classify acne skin care products into 3 broad categories:

* Over-the-counter: Preventative
* Over-the-counter
* Prescription only: doctors or dermatologists prescribe special treatments

Preventative products are formulated to treat the skin in an effort to control the occurrence of acne; products like skin cleansers and toners fall into this category. Whilst many sufferers use these products there are even more who just want to keep their skin clean and conditioned; in many instances the user has never had a skin condition to worry about. There are acne skin care products that are more specialized in there approach; they clean out the pores to help stop sebum or oil which can clog these areas. These products prevent the oil from getting trapped in pores and can hamper the growth of bacteria, this can lead to the bad skin condition.

Skin care treatments such as exfoliation skin peels, clean the skin and help control the spread of the condition; most are readily available over the counter at drug stores or even online. These work towards removing dead skin cells, reducing the possibility of pore-clogging and bacteria development. There is a huge market for these types of acne skin care products as they don’t require a consultation with a dermatologist. These formulations contain the chemical benzoyl peroxide and the naturally occurring salicylic acid; these include products which extract the unwanted oil from the skin.

Generally it is best to start using this type of product with only a small amount of benzoyl peroxide (less than 5.5 percent is recommended), just to see how the skin reacts; a safer alternative to benzoyl peroxide is anything containing alpha hydroxy acid. It might just be a case of trial and error to find an acne skin care product that works; however, if finding an effective remedy it is proving to be a problem then consult with your doctor, or skin care specialist. Only doctors or skin care specialists can prescribe some medications, including the use of antibiotics and certain ointments.

In some case your doctor may suggest the pustules are drained of harmful contents under local anesthetic; however, sufferers are warned never to attempt this as it could lead to serious skin problems. Your doctor could prescribe a hormone-based treatment to treat your skin problem; hormonal changes are known to cause acne and such skin care treatments often effective. Tackling this skin condition is not the problem it once was and if treated properly permanently marked skin does not have to happen.

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People suffering from Coeliac disease or IBD (Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease) sometimes get extra-intestinal symptoms next to their digestive problem. One of such is small ulcers in the mouth.

Recurrent Aphthous stomatitis (RAS) and recurrent intraoral herpes (RIH) are the two most commonly presenting oral lesions in dentistry recurrent. Recurrent Aphthous Ulcerations (RAU) is another form of mouth ulcer but is considered an immunological deficiency. Why aphts appear in people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease is unknown but often it coincides with flare-ups and usually the ulcer(s) heal(s) with remission of the IBD.

Aloeride® has proven exceptionally useful in the management of mouth ulcers, it significantly speeds up healing time and helps with pain. How to use Aloeride® is discussed further on, first however a little more information to put mouth ulcers in context.

Causes of mouth ulcers can be linked to microbial disease (like Herpes, chickenpox, infectious mononucleosis), to gastrointestinal disease (Coeliac, Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis), to skin disease (like lichen planus, erythema multiforme), to blood disorders (like leukaemia, neutropenia), to rheumatoid diseases (like systemic lupus erythematosus, Behçet’s disease, Reiter’s syndrome) or to drugs (cytotoxic agents, Nicorandril, NSAIDs and oral nicotine replacement therapy). Reading this list you can understand why, if a mouth ulcer persists for more than 3 weeks, a differential diagnosis should be made, possibly via biopsy or other investigations to exclude malignancy or serious conditions.

When not caused by a specific condition, mouth ulcers can be related to food sensitivities or nutritional deficiencies (Oral Surg, 1982, 54: 388-95; BMJ, 1975; 2: 490-3). In one study of 330 individuals with recurrent mouth ulcers, 14.2% proved to be deficient in Iron, Folic Acid and/or vitamin B12. The majority of whom achieved a complete remission when their deficiencies were eliminated by supplements. (J Oral Path, 1978; 7: 418-23). For patients who are deficient in Zinc, taking extra zinc supplements has proved effective (BMJ, 1975; 2: 490-3) and this is because Zinc is required for the development and activation of T-lymphocytes. For centuries, medicated zinc bandages have been found to have a soothing and beneficial effect on leg ulcers.

It is well known that people with Coeliac disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease suffer from a varying degree of impaired tolerance to foods and a reduced uptake of nutrients. Gluten and wheat sensitivity are on the top of that list. Finding well tolerated, highly absorbable wholefood supplements whilst using Aloeride® both as a buffer and to facilitate nutrient uptake will help to overcome such a deficiency.

If you are fair skinned or like to lie in the sun, there is a high probability that you will have fallen victim to sunburn at some point during your life. However, just because it’s a commonplace condition, it doesn’t mean that it can’t have serious side effects.

What are the effects of sunburn?

The best known types of ultraviolet sunlight are UVA and UVB. Too much exposure to either of these rays will damage your skin. Not only will overexposure cause wrinkles and brown spots, prematurely aging the skin, but it can also have far more serious consequences such as skin cancer.

The effects of sunburn and sunstroke are unpleasant - as anyone who has experienced it will know. Short term exposure may result in painful burning and reddened and peeling skin. Sunstroke is more serious: it dehydrates the sufferer and can cause high temperatures, vomiting and headaches.

But the most devastating side effect is undoubtedly skin cancer. It is estimated that 90% of non-melanoma skin cancers and 60% of melanoma skin cancers (the more serious form) are caused by over exposure to the sun. Worryingly, melanomas are not just caused by prolonged and consistent over exposure: any episodes of sunburn, no matter how infrequent, also increase the risk due to the damage this does to your skin cells.

How can I prevent sunburn?

Whilst everyone should take precautions to protect themselves from exposure to the sun, there are some group of people who are more at risk than others:
• People with fair complexions and fair or red hair.
• People who work outdoors.
• Children: the amount of sun exposure is thought to be linked to the probability of developing skin cancer in adulthood.

The good news is that sunburn and sunstroke is entirely preventable: you simply need to take sensible precautions and be aware of the damage that the sun can do to your body.

• In hot places or during a hot day, stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm when it is at its fiercest.
• Cover up: wear a hat to protect your face and neck - the areas most commonly damaged by the sun; and wear loose clothing. Be aware that wet clothing lets through more UV rays than dry.
• Use a good sunscreen with a minimum of SPF (sun protection factor) 15. Apply before going into the sun and reapply frequently throughout the day. Ensure the lotion you choose blocks UVA and UVB rays and be aware that products have a limited shelf life. No sunscreen can completely protect you from the effects of UV rays.
• Keep babies and small children out of the sun completely if possible.
• Do not wash yourself with soap all the time. Soap removes the oil from the skin that is there to keep it supple and resilient. Ingest good quality omega 3 oils preferably together with broad spectrum (water and lipid soluble) antioxidants.
• Taking aloe vera capsules, such as Aloeride® before and during a holiday much helps the skin to stand up to a sudden change in sunlight exposure; it can also help to rejuvenate the skin following exposure. Is there reasonable proof that aloe vera can help over-exposure to sunburn beyond empirical evidence that since time immemorial people used aloe vera for this? Other than the extensive research on burns, there is good quality research on the anti-ageing effect and effect on UV light exposure by Danhof, McKeown, Strickland and Yagi. But be aware, not all aloe vera products will give you the necessary molecules that help your skin to stand up to UV light or not enough of them.

What is the health benefit of sunlight?

Sunlight makes vitamin D which actually is a pre-hormone and its production requires a pre-cholesterol molecule to get UV-B from sunlight onto the skin. Then the liver converts it to calcidiol (storage form) which then is converted by every body cell into calcitriol (a.k.a. activated vitamin D) Vitamin D is the most potent steroid in your entire body. Steroid hormones enable the manufacturing of proteins and enzymes by your genetic material (genome). Yet after you’ve produced about 20,000 units, sunshine begins to destroy vitamin D in the skin. In other words, the same sunlight that makes vitamin D in the first place begins to degrade it - a miracle of self control and safety. So the active form of vitamin D acts by enabling the genetic expression of proteins and enzymes crucial to health in hundreds of tissues throughout the body.

One of the ways in which to increase vitamin D orally is via good, unpolluted fish oils but these are increasingly hard to find. To find out whether you are deficient, the best vitamin D test is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D and optimal levels are 45-50 ng/mL or 115-128 nmol/L (these values are higher than the ‘normal’ values). The amount of vitamin D produced from sunlight depends on exposure time, latitude and altitude of location, amount of skin surface exposed, skin pigmentation and season. UV-B also stimulates the production of MSH (melanocyte-stimulating hormone), an important hormone in weight loss, energy production, and in giving you that wonderful tanned appearance (?-MSH ). However, UV-B does not penetrate very deeply into your skin. The darker the pigmentation or more tanned your skin, the less UV-B penetrates. Remember that glass allows only some 5% of UV-B to enter your home or your car, you must go outside to benefit from sunlight. The take home message is that sunlight has an awful lot going for it providing you avoid sunburn.

According to Professor Michael Hollick, Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Biophysics at the Boston University Medical Centre it is now estimated that the 1,000 IU of vitamin D a day is needed to satisfy the body’s requirement and maintain circulating concentrations of calcidiol of at least 30ng/mL. Too much vitamin D over a longer period of time can be toxic and cause calcification in the kidneys and heart. Fortunately the warning signs are easy to notice: anorexia, disorientation, dehydration, fatigue, weight loss, weakness and vomiting. Dr. Esther John, an epidemiologist at the Northern California Cancer Center, recommends taking a daily 10 to 15 minute walk in the sunshine as it not only clears your head, relieves stress and increases circulation, but also could cut your risk of breast cancer by 50%.

We all enjoy the sunny weather: it can lift our spirits and make us feel happier and healthier. If you are sensible in the sun and follow these simple precautions including using Aloeride® to support your skin from the inside, then there is no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy its positive benefits without the negative side effects.

About 20-percent of all infants suffer brief outbreaks of acne, typically showing up about two weeks after birth. The acne typically disappears after a few weeks but some may last up to three months. There are numerous theories about the cause of baby acne but the current predominantly accepted cause is the beginning of hormone production and the activation of the sebaceous glands. There is also indications that lingering hormones in the mother may also be the cause, but in most instances the outbreak are usually minor and seldom last longer than 12 weeks.

Other theories for the cause of baby acne include the diet of the mother during pregnancy or while nursing. While it has been shown that diet can be a trigger for acne outbreaks, for the most part adults are more prone to acne based on stress, genetic and the accumulation of dead skin cells. The causes of acne in adolescents and adults is well documented to be unlikely related to certain foods, which puts a damper on this theory of baby acne cause.

Typically, baby acne will appear on the cheeks and often include pimples on the chin and neck. For the most part keeping the infant’s skin clean is the most important thing a new parent can do to help clean up the baby acne from their child’s face.

Avoid Harsh Treatment Of The Baby’s Skin

When a newborn suffers from baby acne the parent should never use over the counter acne medication and in most cases the acne will disappear on its own. The parent should also avoid the use of heavy oils and creams on the baby as they can exacerbate the problem actually causing the baby acne to become worse and slow the process.

If the outbreak of baby acne lasts longer than three months, the parents may want to consult with their pediatrician to determine if the pimples are actually caused nu baby acne or are the result of something else. Cradle cap and eczema can sometimes take on the appearance of acne and is often confused by new parents.

Skin affected by baby acne can also become irritated by regurgitated milk and other foods that remain on the baby’s skin as well as rough clothing that irritates the affected area. Low-dose antibiotics may be prescribed in certain cases, but rarely should the parents be more concerned about the appearance of a few pimples on the newborn’s face than they are about the overall health of the infant.

Let’s not sugarcoat it. Acne is a nightmare. For any long-term sufferer of chronic acne, frequent breakouts can impact your appearance, social, and professional life. Acne can also cause the self-esteem to take a nosedive. Acne causes are as individual as acne sufferers themselves and, though acne is the most common skin disorder, there is no cure. This fact is a gloomy reality for those with ongoing, resistant acne. What are common acne causes? Are there any consistently effective treatments? And is there a cure on the horizon? All these questions will be briefly answered in this article.

Managing Acne

Acne vulgaris is a skin disorder caused by overactive oil glands which trap bacteria and result in clogged pores. These clogged pores may become pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, cysts, lesions, or nodules. All acne is different though there are at least four recognized acne causes. These are: heredity, hormonal changes, diet, and stress. Some acne causes can be managed. Heredity is the only cause that simply exists and cannot be changed. Hormones, particularly in women, can be regulated by birth control pills. In teenagers and young adults, avoiding foods that contain white flour or sugar can help reduce insulin levels which can affect hormones. Other dietary changes include, avoiding caffeine, processed foods, carbonated beverages, pasta, and fatty foods. Adding plenty of water, fresh fruits and vegetables, and natural, unprocessed foods to your diet can dramatically impact the skin. Stress can be managed too. Rather than allow your boss, work, relationships, time commitments, or health worries to cause stress, it is beneficial to add relaxation techniques and exercise to manage life stressors. Yoga, exercise, visualization, aromatherapy, and even hypnotherapy can all reduce stress and incidence of acne breakouts.

If natural treatments like maintaining a healthy diet, managing stress, getting plenty of rest, avoiding the sun, and maintaining a strict skin care regimen all fail to clear up acne, other avenues may need to be tried. A dermatologist can recommend prescription medications in oral or topical form. Antibiotics and retinoids are the most successful treatments for acne. Cosmetic treatments such as facials, dermabrasion, and laser treatments are also effective for reducing acne and minimizing acne. Acne causes can change over time, so a treatment that works for teen- hormone-related acne may not work for stress-related adult acne. Unfortunately, acne treatment can be a study in trial and error to find what works for you.

If all else fails, Accutane can be prescribed. Accutane is currently the only quasi-”cure” for acne. This much coveted (and despised) medication has potentially life-threatening side effects but it clears up acne for good in over 60% of acne cases. Accutane’s side effects are severe depression and birth defects. Ask your doctor if you are eligible for this controversial prescription medicine.

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Fortunately for most amateur athletes the problem of overtraining remains a theoretical issue. People training 4x a week or more may experience over-reaching or overtraining. And surprisingly enough, symptoms of overtraining can happen even to anoraks. This article describes useful aspects including the role of Aloeride® and probiotics.

Overtraining, also described as chronic fatigue, burnout and staleness has been defined as an imbalance between physical and/or psychological stress, training or competition and recovery. Early stages of overtraining result from ‘too much throttle and no breaking’ and are called the orthosympathetic form whilst in more advanced stages, your orthosympathetic tone gets exhausted enabling its opposite number, the parasympathetic system to become dominant.

The orthosympathetic overtrainee is in permanent ‘fight or flight’ mode. Both fight and flight should be incidental challenges during which your adrenal glands pump out hormones like adrenaline (epinephrine), noradrenalin (norepinephrine) and cortisol, whilst indirectly raising human growth hormone (HGH) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). These glands however are sprinter organs, they were not designed to cope with a marathon.

The parasympathetic overtrainee mimics some of Addison’s disease symptoms hence it is referred to as Addisonoid overtraining. The marathon of fight and flight has exhausted the adrenal sprinter glands and they now fail to regulate hormonal concentrations properly, this now is a serious problem. On routine blood work the overtainee is likely to show progressive anaemias with low haemoglobin and low haematocrit.

Athletes primarily complain of underperformance of course, other common symptoms are progressively susceptibility to common infections and injury, persistent high levels of fatigue, heavy muscles and depression. As said, an athletes’ reaction to underperformance is often to increase training rather than to rest which exacerbates their recovery deficit (I am tired, but I feel better after exercise, so I exercise is the strategic equivalent of flogging a dead horse). Often symptoms are ignored until performance is chronically affected.

Sleep disturbances like having difficulty in getting to sleep, waking up in the night and waking un-refreshed are experienced by some 90% of athletes suffering from overtraining. Other symptoms include loss of appetite, loss of weight, loss of competitive drive, increased emotional instability such as depression, anxiety, irritability and mental exhaustion, poor attitude to training and musculoskeletal soreness.

A simple DIY monitoring system is by checking the morning heart rate. Take your pulse immediately upon waking whilst still in bed. If your waking pulse any day is elevated by more than 8 beats/minute above its average level for the preceding week you are falling into overtraining.

Alternatively check your morning body weight, the weekly average weight should not vary by more than 2lbs. If it drops by more than 3lbs on any day from a previous stable body weight you are falling into overtraining.

As far as laboratory tests go, a useful immunological marker for excessive exercise is salivary IgA whilst a useful stress marker is Cortisol/DHEA. The stress hormones Cortisol and DHEA are not released constantly throughout the day, but are secreted in a cycle called the circadian rhythm (highest values being in the morning and the lowest at night). When the adrenal glands become exhausted (parasympathetic phase) Cortisol and DHEA in the blood stream become imbalanced. Adrenal Stress Index uses four saliva samples to measure the adrenal rhythm and gives you a DHEA to Cortisol correlation. Of course hypothalamic-pituitary impairment of the corticotrophic axis causing adrenal insufficiency should be taken into account and specific testing of hypothalamus and pituitary gland may be considered.

Three common pathways for overtraining are:
o intensity / load excess
o recovery deficit
o nutritional deficiency

To remedy the first two you need to lower stress load and increase recovery time. In severe overtraining athletes should stop training entirely for 7-14 days, increase sleep to 9 hours of solid sleep a night and increase broad spectrum antioxidant intake to 200% of usual intake.

To support the adrenal glands you can supplement with good quality organic glandular extracts from government inspected, New Zealand or Australia free range animals that have not been fed hormones or antibiotics. Or you can use a complex homeopathic remedy like Glandula Suprarenalis Suis-Injeel (Forte). Appropriate supplementation with good quality DHEA should only be considered if an abnormal adrenal stress test dictates this.

To remedy the last point you need to combine a right-for-you wholefood diet and should consider Aloeride® and probiotics. Combined ignorance and arrogance has many athletes train 3 - 4x /wk without fuelling their bodies appropriately. The famous 5Ps: poor preparation produces poor performance open the gates towards overtraining, injury, degenerative changes and illness.

Improving the immune system of athletes helps reduce the number and length of infections suffered by them. The large, highly immune modulating aloeride fraction within Aloeride® together with good probiotics do exactly that. Also they improve the uptake of necessary nutrients. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial - published in Br J Sports Med. 2008 Feb 13 - was conducted in Australia over a four-month period of winter training of twenty healthy, elite male distance runners. The conclusion was that prophylactic administration of probiotics was associated with a substantial reduction in the number of days and severity of respiratory illness in a cohort of highly trained distance runners likely due to a two-fold (p=0.07) greater change in whole-blood culture interferon gamma (IFN-fx) compared with placebo.

Athletes, anoraks or anybody else suffering from an imbalance between physical and/or psychological stress, training or competition and recovery should change that balance, and ingest Aloeride®, probiotics and highly absorbable wholefood nutrition to recover.