10 Tips for Healthy Skin

10 Tips for Healthy Skin

Source: http://training.seer.cancer.gov/ss_module14_melanoma/images/illu_skin01.jpg

How our skin and hair look is important to many of us. At the same time, your skin and hair are organs that do special jobs that support life. Skin protects your inside organs from injury, bacteria, and viruses. Your skin, hair, and sweat glands help control body temperature. Body hair also alerts you to heat and touch. You can take steps to keep your skin and hair healthy. You can also look to your skin and hair for clues to your overall health. And, as a bonus, good skin and hair care will help you to feel your best,too. Your skin is an organ that is just as important as your heart or lungs.


1. Protect your skin from the sun and avoid prolonged exposure. Sun exposure increases your risk of skin cancer, such as melanoma, by causing mutations in your DNA. It also causes premature aging of the skin (which results in wrinkles and thin skin), brown discolorations and uneven texture. Seek shade under an umbrella or tree, and wear sunscreen, a hat and sun-protective clothing.

2. Avoid tanning salons. They emit UV radiation, which causes wrinkles, melanoma and other skin cancers. 

3. Perform a monthly skin check.You are most likely the first to notice a new growth that could be cancerous. Every month, examine your skin from head to toe. For your back and other hard-to-see spots, use a handheld and/or full-length mirror, or enlist the help of a partner. If you see something unusual, seek medical attention as soon as possible.

4. Moisturize your skin.During cold and dry weather, apply a thick moisturizing cream. When the weather is warmer, switch to a lighter lotion.

5. Avoid irritating chemicals and harsh soaps. Choose moisturizing, gentle cleansers, especially if your skin is dry or sensitive. Use soap only where needed, such as the underarms, and avoid areas that tend to dry out easily, such as the arms and legs.

6. Keep skin from drying out by drinking plenty of water and using gentle moisturizers, lotions, or creams.

7. A healthy diet can help you look and feel your best. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. Research suggests that a diet rich in vitamin C and low in fats and carbohydrates may promote younger looking skin.

8. The regular elimination of toxins and waste is essential to maintaining healthy skin .Just like periodic cleansing is necessary for digestive health, including cleansing foods and herbs in your diet will effectively remove cellular waste and reduce inflammation, keeping your skin clear, youthful, and positively radiant.

Aim to add more of these top 5 cleansing foods to your diet:
Lemon:Squeeze into your water first thing in the morning.
Garlic:Eat raw for most benefits, great in salads or pesto.
Ginger:Goes great in Asian recipes or as a tea. 
Chamomile: as hot or cold tea .
Dark leafy greens:Great cooked or raw in salads, wraps,or stews.

9. Manage stress 
Uncontrolled stress can make your skin more sensitive and trigger acne breakouts and other skin problems. To encourage healthy skin take steps to manage your stress. Set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list and make time to do the things you enjoy.

10. Don’t Smoke 
Smoking makes your skin look older and contributes to wrinkles. Smoking narrows the tiny blood vessels in the outermost layers of skin, which decreases blood flow. This depletes the skin of oxygen and nutrients, such as vitamin A, that are important to skin health.

Dandruff-Home Remedies

Dandruff-Home Remedies

Dandruff is a chronic ,non inflammatory condition of the scalp that is characterized by excessive scaling of scalp tissue. It is not a disease but rather a normal physiological event unaccepted socially.

For most people, the signs and symptoms of dandruff are unmistakable: white, oily looking flakes of dead skin that dot your hair and shoulders and an itchy, scaling scalp.

It appears at puberty, reaches a peak in early adulthood, levels off in middle age, decline in advancing years, and disappears in old age.it is seasonal, mild in summer months and most severe in winter. Poor hygiene does not cause dandruff in a non -dandruff person, but exacerbates existing symptoms. Dandruff is a stable process( not subjected to sudden shifts in severity from week to week).   It is less subjected to outside stress.

Almost any adult is a candidate for dandruff, but certain factors can make you more susceptible. Dandruff usually begins in young adulthood and continues through middle age. That doesn't mean older adults don't get dandruff, however. For some people, the problem can be lifelong.  Because more men than women have dandruff, some researchers think male hormones may play a role in dandruff. Men also have larger sebaceous glands that produce an oil called sebum.

You can't prevent dandruff, but you can take steps to reduce your risk.

Dandruff is a chronic condition that can almost always be controlled, but dandruff treatment may take a little patience and persistence. In general, mild scaling can often be helped by daily cleansing with a gentle shampoo to reduce oiliness and cell buildup.

1. When regular shampoos fail, OTC dandruff shampoos may succeed. But dandruff shampoos aren't all alike, and you may need to experiment until you find one that works best for you. Dandruff shampoos are classified according to their active ingredient:

2. Learn to manage stress. Stress affects your overall health, making you susceptible to a number of conditions and diseases. It can even help trigger dandruff or exacerbate existing symptoms. 

3. Shampoo often. If you tend to have an oily scalp, daily shampooing to remove the excess oil may help prevent dandruff. Cut back on styling products. Hair sprays, styling gels, mousses and hair waxes can all build up on your hair and scalp, making them oilier. 

4. Eat a healthy diet. A diet that provides enough zinc, B vitamins and essential fatty acid may help prevent dandruff. 

5. Get a little sun. Sunlight may be good for dandruff. But because exposure to ultraviolet light damages your skin and increases your risk of skin cancer, don't sunbathe. Instead, just spend a little time outdoors. And be sure to wear sunscreen on your face and body.