Pollution

Pollution

Pollution and other harmful chemicals are another cause of free radicals in the skin and can contribute to ageing. Day after day it acts on your skin and ages your skin prematurely. Your face, neck and hands are at highest risk. Your skin can protect itself from the pollution but if the pollutants stay on your skin for a longer period that can cause serious problems. The air pollution not only irritates your lungs but also affects the way you look.

The pollutants cause premature aging of the skin as they “suck out“the oxygen from the skin cells and your skin looks dull and sagging. The complexion becomes grayish, rashes appear and small pimples form. Despite causing premature aging, pollution can also cause skin allergies, diseases, pigmentation, eczema and even acne. Pollution damages your skin as it increases the free radicals and the effect of the UV radiation; it decreases collagen and elastin production, resulting in a rough skin texture, clogged pores and fine lines.

On average we breathe in two grams of pollution and eat five kilogram each of food additives and pesticides every year. Avoiding pollution is tricky. However, you can help fight internal damage by increasing your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, which contain antioxidants to fight the damage, and also by choosing organic product where possible.

Lack of sleep

Lack of sleep

Not getting the right amount of sleep is a disaeter for your skin. Night-time is when the skin repairs itself-you built new cell and replace collagen and elastin damaged by the day expoure to sun and pollution. The skin is also more absorbent at night, which mean it takes in treatment more effectively. In fact research shoes that up to 25 percent more of some vitamin treatment enter the skin at night compared to during the day. Lack of sleep cut these benefits andcauses side effects of its own, such as dark circles, sallowness and puffiness under the eyes, as the skin diverts blood to fuel the tired brain and other organs. Lack of sleep will leave you with spotty, dry skin- this will be most noticeable on the face where your skin is thinnest and most sensitive.skin will also start to get scaly and possiblely after a few bad night,s sleep as it gets more and more dehydrated.

Solution
Sleep experts admit that some of us do thrive on four hours a night, while others need atleast ten to feel their best. To find out how much is right for you, go to bed when you are tired and get up when you wake up, for a week, and calculate how long you spent in bed. Divide the week,s total by seven that,s your optimum sleepload.

Researchers have found that taking a bath with the water at atemperature of 38 to 41 degrees Centigrade promotes the production of sleep hormones, add some lavender or melissa oils to the water and you will compound these benefits. Milky drinks can also induce sleepiness, and if all else fail, try some herbal help with supplements of valerin or passionflower, which have been shown to assist people to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

Stress

Stress

Stress is any change in your normal routine or health. Stress occurs when bad things happen, as well happy things. Getting a raise or promotion is stress, just as getting fired from your job is stress.

Stress affects the skin in a number of ways. First, it increases level of adrenal hormones like testosterone. Which have been linked to the triggering of acne. In fact stress is being blamed for the increase in so-called adult acne in career women. The stress hormones also cause blood flow to be directed away from the surface of skin to yours limbs and major organs.

Women are particularly susceptible to stress caused by hormonal changes. During puberty, your menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause your hormone levels fluctuate consistently and cause stress.

Emotional and physical changes that happen in your life, illnesses, and environmental components such as extreme heat, cold, or altitude, and toxins cause stress. Pushing your body too hard at work or at play will soon deplete your body of the energy it needs to restore itself and result in your becoming over stressed.

Solution
Studies show that stressed skin doesn’t absorb products as well as relaxed skin. If stress does hit, knowing how to keep calm will help your skin survive. Try sniffing lavender or add a few drops to your bathwater (it has been shown to increase relaxation level in the brain) exercising, which slows the heart rate and triggers the production of more calming chemicals.

You can find many simple and inexpensive ways to reduce your stress level on your own. A good way to start for many people is to cut out artificial stress reducers such as alcohol, which can mask symptoms and often make symptoms worse. Eat a well-balanced diet which includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, as well as foods which are high in complex carbohydrates, moderate amounts of protein, and low in fat. Avoid excessive amounts of caffeine which has been shown to increase anxiety.

Alcohol

Alcohol

Alcohol is a diuretic, it dehydrates the body and can sap it of Vitamins B. A deficiency in vitamins B can result in dry thin skin and trigger other skin conditions such as acne, rosacea. Alcohol may cause blood vessels to dilate, creating puffiness around the eyelids and a generally swollen appearance. Because of its diuretic effects, it increases leakage of blood vessels and capillaries, especially under the eyes, also leading to puffiness and redness of the lower eyelids. Another unattractive effect of alcohol is a lowered resting muscle tone, which can make the face look drawn.

Alcohol can also bring about the clumping of the capillaries. So instead of the millions of red blood cells circulating freely, they tend to clump together and clog tiny blood vessels interfering with circulation so that the cells don’t get enough oxygen. The tiny ruptures that take place in small blood vessels are a major factor behind the appearance of broken capillaries on the face.

It dehydrates the skin- as little as two drinks a day have been shown to dry the skin enough to make wrinkles more prominent. Finally, alcohol destroys vitamins B and C, the most important nutrient for healthy skin functioning. Alcohol-related problems can accrue after two drinks, so try not to drink more than this a day. Aim for three alcohol free days a week and try to drink at least two glasses of water and try to drink at least two glasses of water for every glass of alcohol.

Smoking

Smoking

After exposure of sunlight, smoking is the next most damaging thing you do to your skin. The main reason that cigarette smoke is toxic to your skin is that four thousand beauty busting chemical compounds are produced when tobacco burns! Also the nicotine in cigarettes constricts blood vessels and deprives your cells of oxygen and nutrients. Studies show that during smoking there’s thirty per cent decrease in oxygen supply to your skin. Cigarette smoke is also hazardous to the healthy turnover of your skin cells. Finally, a chemical reaction occurs which creates a protein that causes the destruction of collagen and elastin. Add to this constant creasing and wrinkling of the eyes due to smoke irritation and pursing of the lips as you inhale and it’s easy to see why the average smoker looks around 10 years older than a non-smoker of the same age.
Cigarette smoke contains more than 4000 toxins many of which are absorbed directly into the bloodstream and are taken by the blood right into the structure of your skin.
Smoking cigarettes reduces the efficiency with which the skin can regenerate itself – smoking causes the constriction (narrowing) of the blood vessels at the top layers of the skin which in turn reduces blood supply (to the skin). It is the reduced blood supply which causes a reduction in the availability of oxygen (which is necessary for all living cells) and the removal of waste products, dead cell fragments etc… which provide the necessary environment for regeneration.
It does show its effects of smoking on lips. Smoking making the lips black and deprive them of their natural look. People spent much money on cigarettes and tobacco, which gives them nothing but diseases and side effects.
Solution
Choose a day
The day before, throw away anything that reminds you of smoking: cigarettes, matches, ashtrays. It will also help to wash curtains and Hoover carpet and furniture to get the smell from your house.
Change your routine:
Avoid activities you associate with smoking, or do them differently.
Eat lots of fruit and vegetable
This helps neutralize the nicotine in your system faster and reduce withdrawal craving. If cravings do strike, sniff black pepper oil. Studies have shown that it stop them in their track.

Sun burn

Sun burn
Did you know that if you protected your skin from the sun you wouldn’t get a wrinkle on your face until you were 60? It is important to never underestimate the effect of sun on your skin. The effect of sun on your skin is the single most damaging factor in the life of most people's skin,and yet thousands of people take no care whatsoever to reduce this impact. This is why it is becoming more and more important that people do become aware of the effect of sun on your skin.
The effect of sun on your skin begins with the way the sun’s rays destroy collagen. Collagen is the substance that gives your skin its elasticity, and without it, wrinkles appear on your skin. In the peak sunlight, collagen and elastin damage can occur in as little as three minutes.
The effect of sun on your skin often produces a tan, which unfortunately many people consider to be healthy and vibrant looking. A tan is actually evidence that your skin has been damaged, not that it is healthy, and should be avoided. If that tanned look is truly important to you, begin to look to artificial tanning agents.
Solution
So just remember, keep wearing your sunscreen and stay out of the sun when possible. For day by day, wear SPF15, but if you are on the beach or sightseeing on holiday, wear SPF30 or above.Australian research has shown that this done more than just protect against further damage.
Stay out of the sun or atleast stay covered up between the peak hours of 11 to 3 o, clock, these hours can still cause damage to your skin.

Dead skin

Our Skin

The human skin is a complex organ. It consists of several layers, which are involved in a range of functions, from defense against external pathogens to temperature regulation. The skin is the largest organ of the human body and renews itself every 28 - 30 days.
The structure of the skin is basically divided into two general layers, the dermis (link to previous article) and the epidermis. The latter is divided further into 5 layers. The layer at the very surface of the skin is called the Stratum corneum, which consists mainly of dead skin cells.

Dead Skin

Dead skin has a way of making skin look dull and lacking in luster. It is so important to shed or slough away dead skin that show themselves in the form of awful looking cells of the skin that are dying.
The body sheds these dead skin cells of it's own accord, however, exfoliation through the use of skin brushes, luffah's or exfoliant skin care products, helps to stimulate new cell growth and reduces build up of dead skin cells.
Under normal circumstances, every minute of the day we lose about 30,000 to 40,000 dead skin cells off the surface of our skin - that's about 4 kilograms per year of dead skin cells. In fact, much of the dust in a house is to a great extent comprised of our dead skin cells.
Main factor that destroy skin
All the skincare in the world won’t help if you don’t tackle the factor that destroy your skin. If destroying your skin beauty is your intention, then here are some quick and possibly solution to do it.

1. Sun
2. Smoking
3. Stress
4. Excessive Alcohol
5. Lack of sleep
6. Pollution
7. Lackof exercise
8. Dieting and fatty diet