Skin care and skin care products from the Skin Care Friends!

It happens to all of us one day. Looking in the mirror you notice many wrinkles that you’ve never seen before. Is it just aging at work, or is there more to it? Too much sun, stress, smoking and many other factors can lead to wrinkles in our skin. There may be many ways to get the wrinkles, however they are now easy to rid yourself of as well. Botox treatments and botox creams can visibly lessen the effects of aging and smooth your face quickly and easily. You can use modern botox treatments and botox creams to lessen and even get rid of frown lines, crows feet and the lines on your brow. Improvements are usually seen within days and with botox injections could last up to 4 months. By adding a botox replacement cream to your daily cleansing you can get rid of visible facial wrinkles for a very long time.

Do you even know what botox is? Strangely enough it is actually a toxin that is produced by a bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. Strange that one of the best anti-aging products of our time is actually a toxin that in large quantities is capable of causing paralysis and botulism, a disease associated with food poisoning. While large quantities of botox are dangerous, in small quantities it works wonders in removing wrinkles. The way it does this is when small diluted amounts of botox are injected by a trained administrator into the facial muscles causing a controlled weakness in the muscles which acts to smooth the skin overlying those muscles.

Botox was first approved by the FDA in 1980 as a treatment for lazy eye and uncontrolled blinking. It wasn’t until quite recently, in April of 2002 that the FDA approved the use of botox to treat frown lines between the eyebrows. Of course, physicians have been using botox since then for all types of facial smoothing as well. Don’t mistake the injectable botox with the anti-aging botox creams out there though, they are not the same thing at all and work by completely different mechanisms. Both can be very useful against the war on wrinkles though.

Botox is certainly the star of the cosmetic enhancement industry these days. No one can avoid the mentions of botox and if you’ve got wrinkles beginning to form maybe your considering using it as well. After all, rumors abound about Hollywood celebrities that are using botox to maintain their young appearance. Maybe you want to keep the smooth skin of youth as well and maybe you’re considering botox treatments. Botox injections and botox creams can work wonders, but if you decide to go for the injections make sure the person with the needle is a trained medical professional. If botox is applied incorrectly it can easily do more harm than good.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I wish I had a blackhead remover when I was younger. I can remember spending hours in front of the mirror squeezing and poking at the nasty black dots on my nose and cheeks. Had I known that a blackhead remover would do the job quickly and painlessly, and most importantly without leaving any scars I would be much better off now.

Well, at least you can benefit from my knowledge gained over the years and won’t have to suffer with blackheads and the embarrassment they cause. Just as a quick background for those who might not know, a blackhead is formed when the pores in your skin get blocked by dirt and oils. The oils that your body produces naturally then get trapped inside the pore along with dead skin cells and as the oil and dead skin cells oxidate they become black in color. Blackheads are also called comedones, but it doesn’t matter what you call them they are unsightly and unwanted. Here’s some advice for you to avoid them completely.

One very helpful and relaxing method to help with blackhead removal is to use a warm compress each night before your nightly face cleansing. Make sure you are using a clean cloth and simply run it under hot water to make it warm and damp and then place it over your face for 15 minutes or so. The warmth and moisture will help to dissolve and loosen all the dead skin, oils and dirt that are clogging your pores. It will also get your skin ready for the next step of cleansing properly.

Cleanse your face before bed each night with a gentle soap and warm water. There’s no need to use abrasive cloths, harsh chemicals or anything else that will further irritate your skin. A simple gentle cleanser will work just fine to remove the built up dirt and debris in your pores, especially after they have been prepared with the warm cloth in the prior step. In fact, using harsh materials and cleansers on your skin will cause you to have more problems in many cases as the skin produces more oils to try and repair the damage you are doing. Stop with the harshness if you want to get rid of blackheads.

One other simple thing you can do on a nightly basis to help with blackhead removal is to use a beta hydroxyl acid lotion or toner. Also known as salicylic acid, it has been proven to help exfoliate your skin, removing the dead skin cells that are helping to block your pores. Once you get the pores open it is much easier to put your blackhead remover to work and be rid of the nasty blockages.

Benzoyl peroxide is another good ingredient for fighting blackheads. If you have acne problems or know anyone who does you have very likely heard of this chemical before since it is the main ingredient in most acne treatment formulas. There are two keys to using benzoyl peroxide properly to remove blackheads. First of all make sure that your skin care product contains a minimum of 2.5% benzoyl peroxide and secondly do not overuse the product. Benzoyl peroxide can be very drying, which is good initially, but if you use it too much you will dry your skin too much and your body will respond by going into high gear with its oil production. The end result of that is even more clogged pores and more blackheads. Sometimes a little is better than a lot.

Finally, stop using any and all oil based skin products. When you use an oil based make up its impossible for your body to break it down and as it soaks into your pores its also virtually impossible to wash out. The result is that your pores slowly get clogged with the cosmetics and you end up with nasty blackheads and pimples. There are clog free cosmetics (called non-comedogenic) that you can buy and if you must use make up I recommend that you use these non-comedogenic formulas.

When all else fails, or if you just don’t have the ability to follow through with the prevention of blackheads you can get a blackhead remover which is a tool that was designed to remove blackheads easily and safely. They are made by most of the big cosmetic companies and you can probably pick one up for less than $5.00. Try to get a blackhead remover that is made of stainless steel as these are easiest to keep clean and sterile. You certainly don’t want to introduce more bacteria to your already infected pores when removing a blackhead.

Popularity: 6% [?]

I guess the term body butter could sound pretty kinky huh? I’m not here to talk about a new way to have fun with your partner though, I want to talk about good skin care and how to deeply moisturize your skin.

A body butter is a cream that is applied to the entire body with the intention of deep moisturization of the skin. It includes ingredients that will aid in the hydration of your skin, leaving it soft and supple. Typically these butters are used during the driest times of the year, like the northern winters, when the dry air pulls moisture from your skin. A good body butter will not only hydrate your skin, but will also protect it from the drying effects of the winter air.

While some body butters contain additives and preservatives, the best of them are made from all natural ingredients. One ingredient to be especially wary of is paraben, which has been connected to certain types of cancer. Just take a moment to look at the ingredient list of any potential cream and make sure that it is all natural and you will be safe.

Some of the ingredients you will find in a natural body butter include derivitives of mango seeds, cocoa seeds and the Hawaiian kukui nut. Many popular body butters are made from shea butter as well as olive, almond and avocado oils. All of these natural ingredients are very good at protecting the skin from losing moisture as well as having high level s of anti-oxidants and a variety of vitamins. Depending on what characteristics and benefits you require you should be able to find a body butter that meets your personal needs.

Some of you may be thinking that your normal moisturizing lotion is fine and why would you need a body butter. The reason you get more benefit from a butter lies in the way it is made. In addition to cold pressing the oil from the seeds, a second process is performed where the crushed seeds are heated which allows additional fats and oils to be extracted. This creates a thick rich emulsion that has superior skin hydrating properties.

You will find body butters to be most popular during the winter months when cold dry air is most harsh to your skin. Dry skin can become easily irritated and itchy so having a treatment that helps rehydrate the skin is very welcome. Care should be taken by those with food allergies when choosing a body butter. Even though you won’t be eating the butter, you just put it on your skin, the high concentration of the ingredient does pose the risk for an allergic reaction.

You can find a wide range of body butters for sale online from a large variety of beauty companies including Hempz, Nuetrogena and even Vaseline makes several body butter formulas. Prices vary widely from a low of a few dollars all the up to butters costing in excess of $100! Of course the cheapest way to have body butter is to make it yourself. This also lets you control exactly what is in the butter.

You can find many recipes online, but I have included here a very simple recipe for making body butter at home. You can even experiment by adding additional ingredients or replacing ingredients with your favorites to customize the butter to your liking and needs. This recipe is made with Shea butter and olive oil simply because they are easy for everyone to get at stores near their home. If you want to experiment you will probably have to go online to order cocoa butter or some of the more exotic butters and oils.

Basic Body Butter Recipe
1 1/3 cups shea butter
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp Vitamin E oil
½ oz fragrance oil (see note)

Begin by heating the shea butter over low heat in a non stick sauce pan until it is melted and liquid. Once the shea butter has become liquefied add the olive oil and mix well. Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool for 40-45 minutes, but keep an eye on it because you don’t want it to solidify completely. Add the vitamin E oil and fragrance.

Blend everything well with a wire wisk until you get a mousse like consistency to the butter. Once you reach this point you can transfer the butter to an airtight container. Anything that has a sealable lid is fine, including Tupperware. Just make sure the container is air tight otherwise the butter could spoil if exposed to air for long periods of time.

NOTE: When choosing a fragrance make sure to choose one that is safe for bath and body applications. If you’re not sure then you can skip this and the butter will still smell wonderful when you’re finished.

That’s really all there is to it. Enjoy the wonderful feeling this butter gives your skin. You can even do more research to find out which ingredients have the benefits you are looking for such as those for really dry skin, for oily skin, extra anti oxidants, more vitamin A, etc. This way you can create the perfect body butter for your skin.

Popularity: 14% [?]