Simple Skincare & Beauty Tips ~ Just for You!
I was at the Wholefoods store a few days ago and one of the workers there and I got to talking about oils and the benefits from them. One of the oils we talked about was Coconut oil and how good it is for your skin! She also told me that it could replace a whole lot of things in my diet including using coconut milk in my coffee but that is another story. 
Haven’t decided if I want to try that just yet.. I have a few cans of coconut milk
Coconut oils natural health benefits not only for your hair, but as your skin as well. In fact many products today have coconut oil in them because of the large number of fantastic benefits it has for your skin.
Did you know that the oil from a coconut is extracted from the shell? And it is included in most face creams because it have been found to nourish your skin? Coconut oil actually works as an anti-aging cream. The antioxidants of vitamin E provide an initial layer of protection against the sun but the combination of this with the Lauric acid found in coconut oil keeps the skin bacteria free. This means that coconut oil is giving your skin a double helping of beneficial effects. This promotes anti-aging skin as it fights off bacteria and strengthens the skin tissue.
Vitamin E in coconut oil acts as an antioxidant – meaning that it protects skin cells from UV light, pollution and the negative effects of smoke and other “free radicals”. The most notable of these is of course the prevention of skin cancer making coconut oil one of the most beneficial forms of sun screen available. This does not mean replace your sunscreen with just Vitamin E.. 
Coconut oil also has fantastic moisturizing benefits that extend beyond simply the high content of vitamin E.
Virgin coconut oil is a highly effective and completely natural moisturizer. It is unlikely to create adverse reactions as it is completely natural meaning that, unlike many moisturizers, you don’t have to worry about rashes and unsightly blemishes appearing on your skin. Further compared to most moisturizing creams – which let’s face it carry extortionate price tag- coconut oil is cheap to buy and lasts a long time.
One of the workers I was talking with using coconut oil on her face and body as a over-all moisturizer because of the price and because it comes in a big jar. She uses it to cook with, and as a moisturizer/conditioner for her hair. $$$ Money Saver!!
In terms of natural remedies coconut oil treats and alleviates many common skin conditions including eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. This is why it is a common ingredient in natural skin treatments worldwide.
How about a simple DIY Face Mask using Coconut Oil?
(Remember test before using this recipe)
Mix together in a bowl a teaspoonful of sea-kep powder (dried and ground)
and 2 Tabespoonsful (1 fluid ounce) of coconut oil.
Massage into your face, neck and forehead for a few minutes.
Leave on for 30 minutes and rinsh off with lukewarm water with a few drops of lemon juice added to it. This will help remove any blemishes and leave your skin soft and smooth. Do this once a week..
Its amazing what coconut oil can do for your skin. It can be turn into coconut butter, there is coconut milk in fact its like there is almost nothing wasted. My favorite part of the coconut is the flesh. I love it fresh right out of the coconut! I really dislike dried coconut flakes.
What are your thoughts about the benefits of coconut oil? I have got to ask, has anyone tried coconut milk in their coffee? 
I get my cool photos here: 123RF Stock Photo Have a wonderful weekend!!
Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it
~ Josh Billings
Healthy skin is really one of the most important ingredients for your own true natural beauty. This article is to give you 10 good skin care tips that we thought might be helpful for you to care for your skin naturally. The list of just 10 skin care tips that should be at the top of everyone’s list. The are in no real order, just tips to help your skin. 
So let’s see what these top ten skin care tips are:
* Knowing your skin type is one of the most important skin care tip. The reason why this is important because not every skin care product suits all skin. In fact, most the skin care products work better if they are used for the skin type they are geared towards. If you got dry skin you do not want to use skincare made for someone who as acne for example. So read the labels to be the skincare products you are using work for you skin.
* ‘Drink a lot of water’. This is just a common tip that just seems to be forgotten. This will not keep your skin moist but will help in overall upkeep of your health (and in turn your skin). This is an important skin care tip.
* Cleanse your skin regularly (2 times a day, once in the morning then at night to remove the dirt for the day, and do this everyday). Its a great skin care tip that helps in getting rid of the dirt and other harsh elements from your skin. Cleansing is especially important when you have been out of your house (and hence exposed to pollutants, dust etc). There is no such thing as makeup so pure you can sleep in, so wash it off every night. Using lukewarm water is best for cleansing (hot and cold water, both, can really dry out your skin)
* Be gentle, after all it’s your skin. Try not do scrub/exfoliate too hard or too often. Using a exfoliate product is good about once a week but more than that you are going to do some damage. Similarly, don’t apply too much or too many different skin care products. You can block your pores or react to one of the products you are not using and not be sure which one. A must-to-follow skin care tip.
* Keep your skin moist at all times. This is one of the most important skin care tip. Don’t let your skin get over-dry. It really does show up on your face. Dryness causes the outer layer of your skin to break, leading to a rough and unattractive appearance. By using moisturisers/ emollients you are not only helping your skin outer look but you are helping your skin keep its moisture in . Moisturisers work best when applied while the skin is still damp.
* Simple tip but it does need to be said. Avoid the use of body soap on your face. Soap should only be used from below the neck. What you use below the neck is not what you should be using on your face. Its a small but important skin care tip.
The number one skincare tip that no one really does enough of is wear sunscreen!
* By using sunscreen you are protecting yourself from sun’s harmful UV radiations. You can use day-time moisturisers that have sunscreen built into them. Use them even when it’s cloudy. And it doesn’t matter what time of year either. UV radiations are known to cause skin cancer, so follow this skin care tip without fail.
And don’t forget the rest of you either.
* A bit of exercise and good sleep are essential too, not just for skin care but for your health as a whole. Lack of sleep can lead to formation of wrinkles below your eyes and lack of exercise can cause your skin to slack. Moreover, exercise and sleep also help in beating stress. So besides being a skin care tip, this is also a health care tip.
* Treat skin breakouts with care. This skin care tip is about not ignoring any skin breakouts or more acne than you have had before. Consult your dermatologist before you try to treat your major breakouts with the newest skincare product on the market. You end up harming your skin even more than making it better. It goes back to another skincare tip, be careful of the number of skincare products you use.
* Beat the stress. In this day and age stress is on of the biggest killers overall. The harmful effects of stress are known to everyone, however, sometimes stating the obvious is essential too which is why its been added as a skin care tip. Yes, stress harms skin too. So, take a break or indulge in a warm bubble bath or just get good sleep.
Copyright 2012 Kim Snyder owner Overallbeauty.com
A healthy body and soul come from an unencumbered mind and body
~ Ymber Delecto
Ageless Beauty! Jojoba acts as a moisturizer and a tonic, its naturally hypoallergenic and it is PH balanced, making it sustainable for all skin types – especially African-American women’s skin.
2 Aging Secrets beat with Jojoba Oil
• As we grow older, personally I like the phrase “As we Mature”, our skin starts to dry up due to a decrease in sebum production in the body. Jojoba Oil acts as a supplement of the sebum. It is actually chemically similar to sebum, so your body recognizes it as sebum and readily absorbs it into your system. Because it is absorbed, jojoba oil works to effectively restore the normal oil balance of your skin, helping to prevent dryness.
• The different antioxidant properties of Jojoba Oil help prevent any Further damage to your skin due to the aging process.
Although the term Jojoba oil includes the word oil, it really isn’t oil at all! Jojoba oil is actually a liquid wax – meaning it won’t clog your pores. Jojoba Oil is great for African-American women with skin problems such as eczema, acne scars, and psoriasis, since Jojoba Oil has anti-inflammatory ingredients.
Jojoba Oil is ideal for African-American women with oily skin because it does not block your pores and does not irritate acne.
Jojoba Oil Benefits:
-Helps soften skin and reduce wrinkles and crows feet
-Helps heal skin from bruises, cuts and scrapes, while reducing scarring
-Great to use for acne, psoriasis, and other minor skin disorders
-Helps reducing irritation and soothes skin after shaving
-Great moisturizer for dry skin, cuticles, lips, and hands
Using Jojoba Oil to assist you in nullifying the appearance of wrinkles is sustainable for all skin types, especially African-American women. Jojoba Oil is actually more preferable over any other anti-wrinkle creams due to the fact that it does not contain any toxic contents. It is hypoallergenic and also very rarely causes any type of skin irritations.
*Be careful though! When purchasing Jojoba Oil make sure to read the label carefully while making sure to select the one that has the most pure and natural form of Jojoba Oil.
One of the most common side effects of aging or maturing African American skin has to do with loss of hydration. Basically, your skin gets more dry as you get older.
Jojoba Oil helps to keep your skin hydrated. It works to protect African American skin from toxins. It is also great for smoothing wrinkles over. It does this by forming a lipid (oil) layer over your skin while easily being absorbed.
When shopping for moisturizers, cleansers, soaps and sunscreens, take note of the ingredients. For your African American skin care regimen, buy products that have jojoba oil as one of the top 3 ingredients to insure the protection of your skin.
Jojoba oil can be used to help nourish and moisturize all types of face and body skin. As an example, applying some jojoba oil to your African American skin can give it a glowing essence not to mention make it look gorgeous.
Or, if you’re in need to remove your makeup, you can use jojoba oil to cleanse your face without any worries for possible allergies or irritations.
Last but certainly not least, Jojoba oil can also be applied to African-American women’s skin in order to fight such conditions as athlete’s foot, warts, cold sores and others. So don’t be afraid to rub the jojoba oil all over your body.
Are you an Ageless Beauty? You bet your beautiful skin you are!
Authors Bio
Juliette Samuel is a person who definitely knows beautiful when she sees it. Juliette has had a very eclectic career working in and around the beauty industry. She has worked as an instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She has also been a Professional Image Consultant.
Currently Juliette works as a Skin Care Therapist, acting President and Chief Nose for NYRAJU Skin Care. As such she is in charge of product formulation, development of all scents produced for the line and understands a thing or two about maturing skin.
Juliette is also a member of NAHA-The National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy, The Society of Cosmetic Chemist and is the Fragrance Editor for BellaOnline.
What does that do for you? It keeps Juliette on her toes when it comes to the type of information that she’ll be able to share with you as readers of her blog or articles that she publishes on and off the web.
I recently had my annual physical examination, which I get once every seven years, and when the nurse weighed me, I was shocked to discover how much stronger the Earth's gravitational pull has become since 1990
~ Dave Barry
This is part two in our series of Basics of Skincare, Tools of the Trade. You can read part one here: Basics of Skincare, Tools of the Trade – Part One
What are moisturizers?
They come in many names, types and ingredients. From your real basic to eye creams, serums, wrinkle cream, day and night creams, anti-aging, dry skin, oily skin, acne. Each moisturizer type is meant to do it’s job working with the rest of what you apply. Serums are applied first, eye cream and then your moisturizer best suited for your skin type, your age and need. “Layering” your moisturizers makes best use of everything you apply; as you get older the more types of specially moisturizers and serums you will need. No matter their price tag, no one moisturizer will give your mature skin what it needs. Depending on your skins needs, age and even time and seasons all play a part in which moisturizer will be needed. Moisturizers are usually a lotion or cream meant to help your skin retain moisture. They also return some of the natural oils lost during cleansing /toning process. Moisturizers stay on your skins surface depending on type and ingredients and only penetrate just deep enough to help your skin renew itself. One of the big reasons why cleansing and moisturizing your face at night is so important. Moisturizers slow down moisture loss with a protective film. They also help offset any tightness and help plump up the fine lines so they are less noticeable, making your skin feel softer. Night creams generally are heavier than day creams. Eye creams usually contain active ingredients to tighten under your eyes, help fight dark circles and help smooth away fine lines and delay the formulation of wrinkles.
What are other products you would use in your skincare?
Other products are used to exfoliate and remove dead skin cells on the top layer of your skin so that it speeds up cell regeneration. They are not products you would use every day, most are used no more than twice a week. They include your mud mask, and other products that exfoliates made with ingredients like fruit seeds, oatmeal, clay for example. They help improve your skin texture and appearance. Masks are best used once a week due to the fact most are made with clays and can be over-drying. Most Exfoliates can come in different ingredients that make them not as hard on your face as clay masks can be. In fact you can find lots of recipes for both masks and exfoliates you can make with items found in your kitchen! Always test before trying anything new you create on the inside of your elbow and wait 24 hours before using on your face.
Check with your dermatologist if you got questions.
There you go! Next time you go to buy something new to help keep Mother Nature a bit longer away, I hope this helps.
Products we recommend for your anti-aging skincare routine:
Reviva Labs 5% Glycolic Acid Cream Exfoliation & Cell Renewal for Mature Skin
Light Skin Peel ~ All skin types!
Men’s Care Repair Moisturizer by Natural Empathy
Essential Fatty Acid (EFAs) Cream For Thin Delicate Skin
You can't lose weight by talking about it. You have to keep your mouth shut
~ Author Unknown
