Three New Year’s Resolutions for Your Skin

Beautiful skin takes effort: if you’re not already doing these things make them your 2013 New Year’s resolutions for you skin:

1. Wear sunscreen everyday. Study after study proves that sun damages the skin. You might not notice day-to-day or month-to-month or even year-to-year, but decade-over-decade sun exposure ages your skin faster, causing you to look older at a younger age than someone who wears sunscreen regularly. Resolve to wear sunscreen everyday to stay beautiful and look younger for longer in the decades to come.
2. Go for facials. Ideally, since the skin renews itself approximately every 30-days, it is ideal to get a facial monthly. For many this may not be practical — which I understand — so try at least to go for a facial four times per year, when the seasons change, as the change of weather has  big impact on your skin’s health and appearance.
3. Exfoliate. Sloughing-off dead skin is one of the easiest and least expensive things you can do for beautiful skin. You can do it yourself, at home, in the shower, once-a-week to keep your skin fresh. It will also remove small blackheads on the surface and help to prevent a build-up of oils under the dead skin that causes blackheads and whiteheads. Just be sure to also moisturize your freshly exfoliated skin to keep it looking beautiful. And use sunscreen.

There’s a lot more to beautiful skin, but if you can commit to just these three basics, your skin will look more beautiful skin in 2013. Wishing you Health, Beauty and Joy in the new year from Calla Skin. Happy New Year!

8 Glasses of Water A Day. Really?

We’ve all been told what the Mayo Clinic touts, “You have to drink 8 glasses of water a day to stay healthy.” Whether or not its true, many of us simply can’t seem to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. It just seems like too much.

But dehydration is bad for the skin. If you want beautiful skin you need to hydrate. So what can you do?

4 Steps to Staying Hydrated

1. Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it causes you to urinate, which is dehydrating. If you drink alcohol, for every drink you urinate 50-60% more liquid than you consumed. Unfortunately, if you drink extra water to make up for it, which most people don’t anyway, you’ll only be able to retain about 50% of it meaning that you’d need to drink at least 2 glasses of water for every 1 glass of alcohol just to maintain your hydration levels. So, drink in moderation and be aware that you’ll need to work extra to replenish your hydration levels after a drink, especially after a night of drinking. Check out this article for more on the science behind alcohol and dehydration.

 

2. Sweating

Depending on the intensity of your exercise, and the environmental conditions such as running in hot humid weather or an air-conditioned gym, you will sweat more or less, but you will sweat and you will become dehydrated if you don’t replenish fluids. This article from myfooddiary.com shows you how to calculate how much water you lost exercising by weighing yourself before exercise and then after, assuming the weight loss primarily came from sweating. Basically, for every pound of weight-loss, they recommend you drink 3 glasses of water to replenish your pre-workout hydration level. If you were already dehydrated, you’ll need more, and they caution, exercising dehydrated can be dangerous so they also provide a guide for how much to drink before, during and after your workout. Check it out.

 

3. Diet

Many foods are high in water content, such as fruits and vegetables, even fish and meat, let alone smoothies and soups. Not all your hydration has to come from drinking pure water. But beyond water, omega-3 fatty acids from oils, fish, nuts, and supplements really help the skin hold in moisture and stay hydrated. So, think about the moisture content of the food you eat and adding healthy oils to your diet.

 

4. Moisturizing

Keeping you body hydrated is important, and keeping your skin hydrated by protecting against evaporation and damage through moisturization and sunscreen are very important to maintaining radiant, hydrated and healthy skin. Moisturize daily and use sun protection all year, even in winter in cold climates.

 

Here are a couple more interesting articles on hydration:

• Hydration Tips
• Hydration 101

 

When I started getting interested in becoming more aware of my hydration, I started drinking a glass of water (with lemon juice) first thing in the morning when I get up. I also carry a bottle of water around with me so that I can have a sip of water whenever I think about it or feel thirsty. When I eat a snack or meal, I usually drink some water first. In general, I feel better, more energy, and less tired on days when I know I’m hydrating.

What are your tips? Please share in the comments.

If you feel that your skin is dry or you are having trouble staying hydrated you might considering coming in for a skin consultation and hydrating facial. If the problem continues, you might want to visit a health care practitioner for medical advice. The tips in this article do not replace or substitute for medical care and advice from your health care practitioner.

 

Secret To Naturally Beautiful Skin

My favorite book these days is Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko.

Green for life is a book with recipes and research about green smoothies.

I’m sharing it with you because I know if you start including green smoothies in your day, your skin will be healthier and look better.

Green smoothies are an easy and efficient way to ingest healthy amounts of nutrient-rich foods. My husband and I first started with juicing and then switched to green smoothies in order to benefit from the fiber which was being removed during the juicing process. We add fruit, such as apples and mangos etc., for taste, and also to get our daily portion of fruit too.

As a result of drinking green smoothies, both my husband and I have noticed improved health and are feeling great. Recently we started drinking 2 green smoothies a day, and within a couple days were already noticing the difference. These things are amazing.

Benefits:

• clear and glowing skin
• decrease acne
• increase energy levels
• shinier healthier hair
• improve overall feelings of health
• better elimination
• less urge for unhealthy snacking
• weight loss

Check out this book, or Google green smoothies to learn more. If you want to improve your health in an easy and natural way, this is a great way to go.

Which Finger To Apply Eye Cream?

Using the Ring finger is the ideal way to apply eye cream.

Instinctively, most people use their index finger, but that’s a mistake!

The index finger is the dominant finger because it is the strongest and most versatile. As a result, we use it as the primary finger for just about everything. But applying eye cream with your index finger is like watering your flower pot with the garden hose instead of a watering can.

When it comes to the eyes, what’s needed is gentleness and softness, like the soft flow of water on your delicate flowers from a watering can.

The Ring finger is the right finger for applying eye cream because its skin is soft, and it naturally uses just the right amount of pressure to apply the cream without pulling or rubbing the skin.

So the next time you’re applying eye cream, whether in the morning, at night, or both, remember to use your ring finger and dab or tap the cream around the eye rather than rubbing it in. A little goes a long way.

What Is The Best Season For A Facial?