ProActiv Solution is one of the most commonly used acne treatment solutions in the market. It is endorsed by various celebrities. The makers of Proactiv, Dr. Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields, claims that this is the answer to your acne problem. Regardless of the type of your skin, your age or the intensity of your acne, it can solve it for you!

How Does Proactiv Work?

Proactiv Solutions works by unclogging skin pores and destroying any bacteria that are hiding deep in your pores. As you can derive from its name, Proactiv ‘proactively’ stops acne by treating it right before it breaks out. It is the perfect combination of skin care agents and medicines mixed with the right concentrations to effectively stop acne breakouts. This is because it is hard to remove all the blemishes once breakouts occur. This is why this acne solution acts as your prevention to any possible breakouts.

This acne treatment system works in 3 steps – Renew, Revitalize and Repair. In these three steps, there are different products which you can use to achieve acne-free skin.

• RENEW. In this stage, you will use a medicated skin cleanser packed with benzoyl peroxide. This are made with micro-crystal particles which can penetrate through your pores, killing bacteria and removing dirt.

• REVITALIZE. An alcohol-free toner which will give you a nourished, soft and fresh skin by removing any impurities or excess oil.

• REPAIR. A feather-light medicated lotion that is designed to deeply unclog any of your clogged pores, resulting to a cleaner and fresher skin.

>> Click here to get a risk free 30-day trial of Proactiv acne solution.

Various Proactiv products

Aside from the products which you can find in the basic acne treatment package, there are also other additional products which helps support and maintain your now cleaner, smoother and acne-free skin.

Proactiv Refining mask

A therapeutic clay face mask is made to soothe and comfort any irritations and to prevent further breakouts from occurring. This does not only give you blemish-free skin but a radiant glow as well. It also acts as an emergency pimple treatment as it can get rid of blemishes overnight with just one dab.

Proactiv Body Wash

A deep-cleansing body wash which promises a blemish-free body skin. You do not have to worry about having acne on your chest, shoulders or back anymore! It also has micro beads which exfoliates dead cells, leaving your skin clean and soft.

>> Click here to read the many more Proactiv reviews from current users.

Happily the natural thicker eyebrow is more acceptable today than the harsh plucked arch of recent years. Here are some makeup tips for beautiful eyebrows:

• Never try to completely reshape brows. Always follow their natural line, and pluck only if necessary to give a better shape.
• Pluck from underneath, but don’t be afraid occasionally to pluck a few strays from the top if they are growing wild.
• Always use a slant-edged eyebrow tweezers – it is easier to work with.
• If you pluck brows after a shower or bath you will find that it does not hurt so much and the hairs come out easily.
• If you draw blood, apply a tiny bit of antiseptic lotion with a cotton-wool bud.
• If your eyebrows have suffered from a surfeit of overzealous plucking and consequently won’t grow back, you can fill in tiny bald patches where necessary with delicate fine lines, drawn with a very sharp pencil.
• Don’t draw an eyebrow in one arched stroke. Use light, feathery strokes that look like hairs.
• If you have very full brows, brush a little Vaseline on them to keep them glossy.
• If brows are very heavy and black you may lighten them by bleaching. It is wise to have this done professionally unless you have a very steady hand.
• Never color brows more than two or three shades darker than your natural hair. This is particularly true for blonds who do not look good with heavy dark eyebrows.

The tissue around the eyes is different from the skin on the rest of your face; it is thinner and drier and therefore more prone to wrinkling and sagging, so an eye-care product has to be more emollient. The skin around the eyes also benefits from a high concentration of the soluble protein collagen.

There are excellent eye-care products on the market, but while you are looking for the one that suits you, best you can use Vaseline. If you are tight on budget, Vaseline is a good choice – it is good for the lashes too, and cheap.

Never manipulate the skin around the eyes, as it stretches very easily. If you apply make-up or cover stick under the eyes be extremely careful not to stretch the skin, and when you powder do so with a fine mist only.

For circles and puffiness under the eyes – Soak cotton-wool pads in cold witch hazel, lie down and place on your eyes. Leave for 15 minutes.

For exhausted eyes – Lie down for 15 minutes with one of the following on your eyes: witch hazel (as above), cold tea bags (drink the tea first J),slices of fresh cucumber.

For lined eyes – Soak cotton-wool pads in warm almond oil and leave on as long as you can all night if possible (keep in place with an eye mask). A good temporary remover for fine lines is egg white, brushed gently underneath the eyes in a thin film. Apply make-up over this when dry. When removing, use lots of cream as egg whites are quite drying. This is good for a special occasion or party effect, but should not be overdone.

Skin reflects your mental and physical health more than any other part of your body, so you should give it particular care. And make-up, however skillfully applied, cannot hide the signs of stress on your face or the fact that you’ve been over-indulging in booze, cream buns or late nights. Do so if you must – but in moderation.

What about good habits?

Of course at the same time, you need to sprinkle in some good habits too. Here are 3 critical ones.

1. Do not smoke. Quite apart from all the other serious effects smoking has on your health, studies of regular smokers have shown that the skin of their faces looks older and more lined than the skin on non-smokers of the same age.
2. Be sure you have enough sleep. Chronic tiredness is very ageing.
3. Use a moisturizing preparation daily. Choose a preparation suitable for your age range and your skin type, and remember that you will need to change this preparation as you get older.

Clean your face with make-up remover or lotion, massaging it on your skin for five minutes then removing it gently with cotton wool.

Step 2: Steam your face.

Take a pot of boiling water and place it on a hotplate on a low table. Sitting in front of the steaming pot, take a large towel and make a tent over your head. Holding the edge of the towel about six inches in front of your forehead, lean over the pot, but keep at least one foot away – if you get too close you can burn your skin or come out looking a bit lobsterish. After ten minutes pat your face dry.

Step 3: Apply a mask.

You can use either a proprietary brand or a natural home-made one. After ten minutes, remove the mask with damp cotton-wool balls. Try not to talk or move your face while the mask is on. Spray your face all over with a fine mist of Evian water or dab with damp cotton wool. Gently pat your skin dry.

Step 4: Apply moisturizer.

Lastly, apply a light moisturizer. If possible, do not apply make-up for several hours after your facial. Let your skin breathe.

Some tips for winter skin care

We often forget that cold weather can be just as harmful to the skin as the burning rays of the sun. Protect lips and under eyes with a chap stick and under-eye cream. The tissue around the eyes is extremely vulnerable, and usually the place where lines first appear. I have even seen ten year olds with lines under their eyes, and I’m sure it wasn’t from too much television.

Always protect against the drying effects of wind with a strong barrier cream or moisturizer, and apply these under make-up too. You should always wear sunglasses in very bright wintry sunlight and especially in snow. Squint lines occur just as much from the reflection of snow as they do from sand and water.

Moisturizers are valuable for all skin types. The keratinocytes of the epidermis have a high water content, but a modern environment in a centrally heated office or home means that moisture is continually being drawn out of the skin. If the keratinocytes lose some of their water content, small lines appear on the skin and it loses its youthful bloom. Most skins look better and feel more comfortable if a moisturizer is applied in the morning after washing the face. In some dry environments this may need to be re-applied at lunch time.

Low-end Moisturizers

At the lower end of the scale are the light moisturizing lotions, which are generally inexpensive and often aimed at both sexes and a wide age-range. These can be used not just on the face but on any other part of the body, and may be non-perfumed and non-colored. Preparation such as Neutrogena moisturizer falls into this category. These are very suitable for teenage or mildly dry skin if it feels tight or slightly uncomfortable after washing. These preparations are also often marketed as day-time moisturizing agents for use under make-up.

Heavier Moisturizers

Heavier moisturizing and nourishing preparations, containing both moisturizing and nourishing preparations, containing both moisturizing agents and heavier lipids (oil and grease components) aimed at replacing the body’s lost surface sebum, are often marketed as night-time moisturizers or night creams. Another constituent may be a humectants – a preparation that attracts moisture to the skin from the surrounding atmosphere.

These heavier moisturizers tend to be thicker creams that are sold in pots rather than in bottles, and leave the skin surface looking slightly shiny and oily. These may make older, drier skin more comfortable but should not be used by teenagers or by anyone with a tendency to acne as they may clog the pilosebaceous follicle openings (pores) and make the situation worse.

A condition known as cosmetically-induced acne is the result of applying excessive grease to the skin. This grease may be found in heavier moisturizing creams and in pomades and greases used to tame curly hair. For this reason, cosmetically induced acne can often be seen around the hairline.

Night Creams

Some of the more expensive, heavier night creams and moisturizing creams have very specialized actions and special ingredients. One particular type of ingredient advertised in some of these products are liposomes.  Liposomes are small sphere that carry lubrication in the form of lipid and fatty, oily material plus water between individual cells on the skin surface down into the deeper cells of the epidermis.

Thus, the claims that these liposome-containing preparations can penetrate deeper into the skin than other products may be correct. Remember, however, that all this action is going on within the epidermis and above the basement membrane, so the main value is that they help plump up the keratinocytes in the deeper as well as the more superficial layers of the epidermis, but have no effect on the underlying dermis.

Therefore, be cautious when you select a skin care product that is suitable for your skin.

Before you shampoo, always comb your hair to separate snarls and tangles and to get rid of some of the dirt and hair spray. Never try to pull snarls with a brush or comb when the hair is wet, as this will cause breakage. Hair is slightly elastic and stretches when it is wet, so that when it dries it can snap like a twig.

To get the best results invest in a shower attachment from the chemist or hardware store (the plastic ones are quite cheap, and last for ages). This ensures thorough rinsing off of all the shampoo and makes the whole process much easier.

Different types of hair need different shampooing techniques.

Fine hair

Fine hair needs to be washed at least twice a week to keep it looking fresh and full. It is best to alternate types of shampoo, using a conditioning shampoo one day and a mild one the next.

The hair should be completely wetted with warm, never hot, water and then a small amount of shampoo, just enough to raise a lather, should be worked methodically into the scalp and hair for about 30 seconds. Shampoo only once, then rinse thoroughly. Most instructions on shampoos recommend two applications, but I believe firmly that too much washing robs hair of its natural oils. Provided you wash your hair really thoroughly, one lot of shampoo is just as efficient as two.

Once a week apply conditioner to the ends only. Too much conditioner on dry fine hair tends to make it unmanageable.

Medium hair

This hair can go for up to eight days without looking as if it needs washing. But you (or your beloved) are the best judge of that, since hair should smell good as well as looking good. It may need more frequent shampooing, especially if you smoke or are around people who smoke – smoke smells have a nasty habit of lingering in the locks.

Medium hair can take two washes and a lot of rising with lukewarm water. Use conditioner as necessary.

Oily hair

Although this is the type of hair that needs washing the most, it is best not to do so too often as this stimulates the surface of the scalp to produce even more oil.

Shampoo once or twice, trying not to rotate the scalp too much. Do not use a cream rinse or conditioner on oily hair and try to cut down on the amount of fatty and fried food you eat, as this will cause less oil to be manufactured in the sebaceous glands.

Finally, never use ordinary soap or detergent on any type of hair, as this leaves a dull film which makes the hair lank and lifeless for weeks.

For smoothing out frizzy hair

This is a very old recipe. It doesn’t straighten the hair, but it does smooth down the scales of the hair shaft, making the hair shinier and more manageable.

Make a thin paste (the consistency of cake batter) from a cup of flour and approximately two-thirds of a cup of cold water. Mix until all lumps have disappeared. Apply to dry, un-washed hair, smoothing the hair straight back. Leave for 20 minutes then rinse thoroughly. It will take about 5 minutes to rinse all the flour out. Now shampoo hair once with very mild shampoo.

A conditioner for very dry hair

Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Massage thoroughly into the hair and scalp. Wrap a very hot damp towel around the head for 20 minutes, and then shampoo twice. This will give a shiny gloss to the hair.

• A Healthy Day Food to Healthy Skin – Morning [Part 1 of 3]
• Healthy Afternoon food for Beautiful Skin [Part 2 of 3]

For dinner time, what is your favorite food? Are they healthy food for a healthy diet? Dinner is for most of us the big meal of the day, perhaps a family gathering or sometimes a social occasion. You may find it hard to deprive yourself while everyone else gets stuck into the chips, but if you start thinking of eating for energy, vitality and health rather than of dieting, and begin to see the results in your own body, you will soon be able to resist such temptations. A baked Potato with a little margarine, besides tasting delicious, is full of iron and calcium and less fattening than chips. (Always eat the skin of a baked potato – it is full of nourishment.)

Obviously you’re going to want to have meat sometimes for dinner, but since animal fats are particularly high in cholesterol it is best to cut off all visible fat. Turkey and chicken have fewer calories than beef or lamb, and fish has fewer still. And did you know that you can even eat spaghetti and not gain weight! Pasta, eaten as a main course with a salad, is a well balanced meal with about the same calorie count as meat and two vegetables.

An additional tip – One of the best ways I know of losing weight is to push yourself away from the table having only eaten half a portion of everything. Try it for a week – you will definitely lose pounds.

Let’s get started straight away. After your morning breakfast, probably by around 11am you are feeling puckish and heading for the biscuits, doughnuts and a nice cup of coffee. Try instead a hard-boiled egg, a piece of cheese, and apple or a banana (contains iron and is actually lower in calories than two biscuits).

Next, is time for your lunch, instead of a sandwich, hamburger or hot dog, have a salad. There are countless different kinds of salad, and they are all delicious, filling and nourishing. Most people’s idea of salad is a bit of limp lettuce and a soggy tomato or two, but salad making is as much of an art form as cooking, and with nearly as many variations. I truly believe that the less your food is cooled the better it is for you. Therefore, in salads, you can put practically every raw vegetable and fruit that exists.

If you must eat dessert, then have a yoghurt (great for the intestines), fresh fruit or tinned fruit without the juice.

What about teatime? Teatime is the time of day when most of us need a lift. I certainly do, and that’s when a strong urge for something sweet usually comes over me, and with my tea I will have one or two chocolate digestive biscuits. Needless to say I don’t eat them every day – but I do believe in a little sustenance around 4 o’clock. I may have some peanuts or almonds (another fabulous and natural food) or one piece of toast and honey, or some Cheddar cheese and an apple. Then by dinner time I am not so ravenous that I fall upon my food like a fugitive from a concentration camp.

When it is dinner time, wait for our next post on A healthy day food for beautiful skin.