Banish the Dark Circles Under Your Eyes

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• Posted December 4, 2012 at 10:03 pm
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We’ve all experienced those Monday mornings after a long weekend when we stumble to the bathroom mirror to discover prominent dark circles underneath our eyes. For some people, this is a hereditary condition that they have to live with over the long-term, and for others it’s a result of fatigue or illness. In either case, careful application of makeup around the eyes will help you look fresh and rested, even if you don’t feel it.

First a word about what these dreaded dark circles are. For those with darker skin, one of the main causes periorbital hyperpigmentation, which just means that there is more pigmentation around the eyes than the rest of the face. The skin around the eyes is some of thinnest in the whole body, and for lighter-skinned people, when the skin is pale because of tiredness, illness, or because they inherited especially thin skin from their parents, these blood vessels will show through the skin a bit like a bruise. As we age, our skin also becomes thinner, so older people are more likely to have dark rings than younger people.

Cover Up With Concealer

Both concealer and liquid foundation will do the trick, but not all concealers are appropriate. Cream concealers work best. The skin around the eyes is a highly mobile and expressive area, so a dry product will be prone to cracking.

The concealer should be applied after foundation and eye makeup, and it should be applied sparingly. Too much concealer, over too wide an area, will not create a desirable look. Carefully cover the dark areas, and then blend the concealer outwards.

Use A Cold Compress

Applying a cold compress to the area around the eye may reduce the appearance of dark circles. Because the circles are caused, in many cases, by blood vessels that are visible beneath the skin, and applying a cold compress causes those tiny blood vessels to constrict, the flow of blood and the coloration it causes is reduced.

There are various natural remedies that have a similar effect. Applying cold cucumbers to the eyes for 15 minutes may help to reduce darkness and puffiness, as will a cold teabag or ice-cube wrapped in a cloth. Some people use a frozen spoon, although you should take care with this method — too cold and it’s possible to cause serious damage to your eyes and the skin around them.

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Are You Using the Right Moisturizer?

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• Posted November 27, 2012 at 4:13 pm
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Using a moisturizer is an essential part of an effective daily skincare regimen. Keeping the skin of the face hydrated is one of the best ways to ensure that it retains a youthful and bright appearance. In addition to the aesthetic benefits, moisturizing also helps to keep the face’s delicate and exposed skin in a healthy condition, combating the occurrence of painful dry or flaky skin.

However, much of the benefit of using moisturizer depends on choosing one with a formulation that is designed to work best with your skin’s type and condition. Applying the wrong formulation can lead to a less than ideal appearance, and in some cases can exacerbate skin conditions like acne and shininess.

Know Your Skin Type

The most important part of choosing the right moisturizer is to be aware of your skin type. Skin is a complex organ that differs between people. A friend may report that they had a fabulous experience with a particular product, but that doesn’t mean that it’s right for you.

Help Your Face’s Natural Defenses.

Skin has evolved with a degree of natural protection in the form of oils that create a protective barrier against the elements, preventing moisture from being lost. People with naturally dry skin, or those who find that using facial cleansers strips away those oils and leaves the face feeling raw and exposed need to choose an oil-based moisturizer to replace the skin’s natural oils.

On the other hand, if you are prone to oily and shiny skin, using a oil-based product is going to exacerbate the problem, and so you should choose a water-based, non-greasy product.

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Eating Your Way to Healthy Skin

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• Posted November 20, 2012 at 4:39 pm
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In many ways our dietary instincts are not well suited to the age we live in. Before the dawn of civilization, we were hunter-gatherers, roaming the grasslands in search of tasty roots, vegetable, nuts, and the occasional morsel of meat. Sugars and fats were a rare treat, and necessary to a healthy diet, so our bodies evolved a taste for those foods.

In the modern world, sweet and fatty food is all too common, so we seek to satisfy our evolved cravings and end up indulging to excess in just those foods that are the least good for us.

The skin is our largest organ, and it’s an extremely complex system that can easily be affected by our diet. In many cases, it’s exactly the foods we desire the most that can have a harmful effect on the skin’s health and appearance.

The Good

That’s not to say that the foods that are good for our skin are not appetizing. It just takes a bit of knowledge and self-control to find the tasty treats that will both make our skin look great and contribute to a healthy diet overall.

Vitamins

Vitamins A, B, C, and E are particularly good for the skin.

Vitamin A is essential for maintaining a healthy skin. It’s a necessary nutrient for forming the epithelial cells that are found in the skin and other parts of the body. It’s also a powerful antioxidant that helps to protect the skin from harmful the free radicals that contribute to aging.

Vitamin B is actually a collection of related vitamins, many of which are essential to keeping the skin in tip-top condition. Biotin (B7) is an essential vitamin for the production of many of the elements of the skin. B2 helps maintain the skin’s chemical balance. B6 prevents puffiness, and B12 controls cell aging and growth.
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Is Beauty Sleep A Myth?

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• Posted November 13, 2012 at 4:48 pm
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Anyone who has rolled out of bed in the early hours, staggered into the bathroom, and caught a glimpse of themselves in the mirror might be predisposed to assume that the ancient advice connecting sleep and looking good is not entirely on the up and up.

However, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that getting a decent amount of shut-eye every night is an essential part of any skincare and health strategy.

To be clear, we’re not talking about rigidly insisting on forty winks in the late afternoon to replenish and revitalize before partying until 4 and getting up at 7 to go to work.

The key is sufficient and consistent sleep, and the avoidance of both sleep deprivation and building up a sleep deficit.

Evidence shows that sleep-deprived people are judged as less attractive by their colleagues. In a Swedish study that took photos of people after a good night’s sleep and after they had been deprived of sleep for 30 hours, the former photos were considered more attractive by observers.

So far, so obvious. No one looks good after a 30-hour stretch of sleeplessness. This writer can barely function after 12 hours without nodding off, so looking sparkling and fresh after 30 is definitely out of the question. However, sleep deprivation doesn’t have to occur all in one go. Cutting your ideal sleep time by a couple of hours a day over the course of a few days will have the same effect as a 30-hour deprivation.

The body needs sleep to replenish itself and carry out essential maintenance work. If you deny it that, you’ll start to look rough around the edges in no time at all.

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