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Weaning off Sunscreens - An Ingenius Sunvisor My Crutch towards Sun-Freedom
October 10, 2009 – 6:44 pm
The day that skin care products become Obsolete
July 16, 2009 – 2:35 am
A new development in cell cultures promises the possibility of “disposable skin”.
See the article here: http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-07/scientists-design-technique-artificial-skin-mass-production
Will there be a day when lotions could be replaced by stepping into a high-tech glass chamber where light and energy rejeuvenates every square inch of skin back to a toddler’s impeccable, smooth, and plump baby skin?
Quick Summary of Beneficial Skin Rejeuvenating Ingredients and new web findings
July 14, 2009 – 6:17 pm
I just found a new site full of enticing anti-aging skin care ingredients and recipes that are fairly up to state-of-the-art, including penetration enhancers that help deliver active ingredients to deep levels of the skin where they are most needed and best utilized.
Here is the URL: http://www.bulkactives.com/
While I haven’t yet purchased anything from this site, I encourage you to take a look and if you have any recommendations for other good manufacturers and suppliers of high quality skin care ingredients for DIY skin care, please share!
Another site I just came across also offers a free anti-aging skincare ebook with a list of contents that start with chiral therapy. Chiral therapy is important in skin care but few skin care companies seem to pay attention to this. You can download the ebook here:
http://www.youlooksoyoung.com/YourPrescriptionforAgelessSkin.pdf
What got my attention from this website was their wonderful list of key nutrients for hyperpigmentation and lightening age spots that safely lighten the skin:
Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (vitamin C), Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Extract, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Rumex Occidentalis Extract (Tyrostat®), Glucosamine Sulfate, Tocopherol, Tocotrienol (Vitamin E), Retinyl Palmitate, Retinol, Avocado Oil, PhosphatidylCholine and Squalane
They also enlisted my favorite ingredients (key antioxidants, vitamins and minerals) I apply for general use; they use it for eye therapy to erase wrinkles, reduce hyperpigmentation, and dark circles:
Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (Vitamin C), Tocotrienols (Vitamin E), Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Glucosamine Sulfate, Ubiquinone (CoEnzyme Q-10), Dimethicone, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Borage Seed Oil (rich in GLA’s), Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Grape Seed Extract (rich in Bioflavonoids), Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Squalane, Retinol (Vitamin A), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), Green Tea Extract (EGCG), Resveratrol, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Ursolic Acid, Panthenol (Vitamin B5), Ellagic Acid (Pomegranate Seed Extract), Superoxide Dismutase
Another formula they tout on their site looks more generic: Moisturizing Rejuvenation Therapy, Key antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to moisturize and reduce wrinkles:
Dimethicone, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Avocado Oil, Glucosamine Sulfate, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (Vitamin C), Lecithin, Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), Retinol (Vitamin A), Squalane, Tocopherol (Vitamin E)
Happy skin-caring!
Handcraft Your Own Potent Spa Products
June 2, 2009 – 9:04 pm
I just found another resource for DIY beauty junkies here, all about handcrafting your own spa products, such as scrubs, polishers, and masks: Click Here to find out more!
- Learn how to make beauty products at home for fun and profit!
- Never pay for gifts again! Customize soaps, oils and beauty products for your friends.
- Realize your dreams of blending unique, exotic spa products that are tailored to you and only you!
Beautiful Skin by Choosing Good Lighting
May 22, 2009 – 3:24 am
What kind of light will make my skin look most beautiful and my makeup most impeccable? Thinking out loud, I ponder whether candlelight really makes me look my best. To be honest, I really love retail store changing rooms. Rarely do I see myself with bad skin in those “transform me, genii” cubicles. Perhaps it’s the distraction with the clothing. But I do suppose that retail stores employ more magical mirrors and lighting (just like the music) to increase browsing time and spending. It’s part of the works. Maybe department store skin care and cosmetic counters should change their lighting to be different from retail lighting because most of the time customers will realize that they look pretty good already and the price tags don’t justify the spending 
Most of my woeful skin moments occur at night in front of the bathroom mirror. Would it be possible that the lighting in my bathroom is the source of all my skin stresses? How can I enjoy seeing perfect skin in the mirror more often? And which types of lights should I sit under or around on a date? From my observations, daylight can do wonders for a teenager’s while maturer women benefit from specific indoor halogen lighting.
I have noticed this forever and have always been sensitive to it, but am now taking a more detailed and serious look at the effect between indoor lighting and how I feel about my own skin, as well as my makeup application. Sometimes my skin looks AMAZING, absolutely baby-ish incredible (so do other guys and gals in the room), under certain retail florescent lighting, halogen lighting, and other forms of white light, even when no one is particularly made up. Sometimes, what looks like the same lighting will give me bags and shadows under my eyes and other ill appearances. Makeup looks well blended under certain lighting and a mess under other lighting. Sometimes I look best in a yellow hued light, as if the room’s ambiance is my “tan”. Old bathroom florescent lights with a blue green tint make me look the worst, as do some yellow bulb lighting that accentuate redness, roughness, and active pimples (boo!), which were completely invisible under daylight.
Has anyone gotten this down to a formula? Those makeup mirrors that claim to come with superior lighting for makeup application don’t really serve any purpose for me; my experiences with them were mediocre at best. How important is lighting to you when it comes to perfect skin?
We might even be able to turn this into a Law of Attraction thing by presuming that by “seeing yourself in better light” so to speak, you will feel better and actually experience less skin imperfections or makeup over-dos than if you always saw yourself under crappy lighting and collect a litter of “fix-my-skin” products that actually add to the stress and worsen your skin!
Respond here below or at InnerRewards: http://www.innerrewards.com/topics/beauty/discussions/lights-camera-action-lights-a-factor-to-perfect-skin-and-makeup/
Omega-3 Supplements Updates
May 19, 2009 – 1:08 am
Krill oil vs. Fish oil? I found krill oil supplements at Costco when I was shopping for omega-3 fatty acids. Amongst all the varieties of fish oils and flaxseed oils of Omega-3 fame, krill oil came in a tiny bottle that was 4 times the price of its gigantic bottles of fish oil counterparts.
Next thing I know someone is posting questions on InnerRewards http://www.innerrewards.com/topics/food-nutrition/discussions/krill-oil-vs-fish-oil/ asking about krill oil. And here I post my answer!
Krill is super high in omega-3 fatty acids, being the major food source of deep cold water fish (the ones we extract fish oil from) from salmon, to seals and whales. A lot of omega-3 supplements in Asia and Europe are labeled KRILL OIL or SEAL OIL. Yes! It’s true! Imagine your omega-3 oils coming from aquatic park performing animals. Nasty imagery aside, health and beauty benefits are our focus for now.
Fish oil is much more commercially available and affordable than krill oil, and provides EPAs and DHAs in either ester form (not so good in many experts’ opinion, very synthetic and “pure”) or triglyceride (natural fats) form, a form that our digestive system is most familiar with.
Krill oil on the other hand is touted to be of a composition that is most “cell friendly” than triglycerides— in “phospholipid” form — of which our cell walls are of the same structure. How this fares through our digestive tracks, I am not sure. I agree that it sounds great on paper! (see http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/07/23/krill-oil-48x-better-than-fish-oil/)
Krill oil is definitively “better” than the standard pharmaceutical grade fish oil because it contains extra antioxidants like vitamins A, D, E, and astaxanthin, which are absent from fish oil. Taking krill oil eliminates your need for extra fat-soluble antioxidant supplements… so think of it as a 4-pills-in-one type thing.
If you’re going for EPA and DHA (specific forms of Omega-3 that benefit brain, mood, and are potent skin beautifying agents), Krill oil and fish oil are DEFINITELY better than flaxseed oil, being animal based and much easier for the human body to effectively absorb than flaxseed omega 3s. Krill obtains their high omega-3 content from algae, I suppose similar in molecular composition to the Alpha Linolenic acid (omega 3 vegan form) in flax, which requires mega enzymes from the mammalian body to convert to EPAs and DHAs.
I am upgrading my Omega-3 to Krill oil the next time I go Omega-3 shopping!!
Beauty Food Log YUNKER Co-Q10 Supplement Jelly Drink
May 7, 2009 – 1:58 pm
When browsing through a local Japanese market, I saw these adorable little aluminum foil packets with a sucker device attached that is labeled as a jello-drink that is infused with beneficial antioxidants and nutrients. It is made by SATO in Japan, distributed by Sato Pharmaceuticals in Singapore and contains the following:
10mg of Coenzyme Q10, 15 mg of Royal Jelly Extract, 3mg of Oriental Ginseng Root Extract, 24mg of L-Leucine, 19mg of L-Isoluecine, 15mg of L-Valine, 7mg of L-Carnitine as LCarnitine L- Tartrate, and 5mg of alpha Lipoic Acid.
This fascinating ingredient label instantly attracted my attention and my dollars. The texture is absolutely refreshing, being a suckable drinkable jello, and the flavor is a mild herby sweet.
I sucked down two 150g bags of these things and I love them! It’s really nice to see this types of product on the market.
Three Steps to Clearing Acne Fast
May 6, 2009 – 1:25 pm
Having suffered from acne for about 4 years, having tried everything, and finally successfully “won my battle” against it, I must say that the two key active ingredients to use for effectively reducing acne and one lifestyle must. See this link for my discussion activity with the “pros” : How to Reduce Acne and Skin Congestion
The two actives are: NIACINAMIDE (at least 5% in aqueous solution) and MANDELIC ACID (at least 10%, optimally 15%). These two ingredients work wonders on acneic skin, leaving every other acne-fighting ingredient in the dust as supportive ingredients at best.
The number one most important lifestyle habit to take on is perform deep cleansing and detox every day. This runs close to the danger of becoming “laxative dependent” but as long as you choose your deep cleansing formulas wisely, your daily cleansing efforts (involving bowel movements! a must!) will reflect positively on your skin.
The fastest and quickest way to stop acne breakouts immediately is taking ibuprofen at as high a dosage as your body can handle. i have found that the Advil liquid gel caps work faster and better than generic ibuprofen tablets. This also depends on your body weight and is NOT a long term solution.
Spicy Beauty: Chili Pepper Your Way to Hotness
May 6, 2009 – 1:17 pm
Hot peppers, green chilis, red chilis and other chili peppers have a 10,000 years history in the human diet, adding flavor and aroma to dishes, enhancing the enjoyment of food, spicing up “reproductive” romance, and providing potent nutritional support to the body. The spiciness and heat of chili peppers, the main “attraction” of the flavor, comes from a natural anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory nutrient called capsaicin, which is used widely in pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals for the treatment of many inflammatory diseases.
Chili Peppers Soul to Spicy Flair and Exotic Cuisines
Chilis, green, red, yellow, all hot and spicy, have the power to transform simple food into culinary creations. Chilis improve appetite, enhance digestive function, and enjoyment of food in significant ways. In our diet-crazy era where we force ourselves into militaristic eating habits and a myriad of dietary restrictions, hot chili peppers remind us through our tastebuds and burning tongue into embracing the enjoyment of food once again; to indulge freely in sensory happiness, which are crucial to any healthy lifestyle. Hot chili peppers are so “addictive” and so popular that according to food historians, despite having its domesticated and agricultural origins in South America since 7500 B.C., chili peppers and hot peppers spread quickly and became an essential favorite through all major culinary centers, including China, India, East Asia, and Southern Europe.
Chili Peppers a Healthy and Nutritious Addition To Any Dish
Hot chili peppers contain high levels of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 (niacin) and an adequate amount of pro-vitamin A (beta carotene), all of which are significant antioxidants that protect the body from oxidative stress and free radical damage. Capsaicin, the chemical that releases spiciness in hot peppers, is one of the most potent anti-inflammatory agents that occur naturally.
Hot Peppers’ Natural Illness Buster: Capsaicin
Capsaicin naturally present in hot peppers is a potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory that provide much benefits to the body. Its health effects are so noteworthy that it has been formally included by the medical industry as a successful treatment for bad cholesterol, various types of Arthritis, heart diseases, high blood pressure, inflammatory diseases, muscle pains, cluster headaches and migraines, obesity, insulin problems, ulcers, night vision issues, and even certain cancers.
Chili Peppers Have Anti-Bacterial Potential
Spiciness from hot peppers have anti-microbial effects and help keep food fresh for longer without refrigeration in countries that have limited sanitation technology.
Hot Chili Pepper Warnings
Despite all of its great health benefits and culinary value, exercise eating hot peppers in moderation and eat them fresh. Because of how intense they are, hot peppers can easily trigger a variety of gastro intestinal problems, from ulcers, stomach perforation, acid reflux, indigestion, irritated bowel syndrome, to diarrhea. Many dried hot pepper powders may be contaminated with industrial chemicals that are known carcinogens.
See more discussions on Green Chilis and Hot Peppers at The Health Benefits of Green Chilis on my favorite Health Beauty Wellness Community!
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