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Fight Oily Skin with Oil

Makeup and hair products leave a lot of foreign matter on our skin and in our hair. If the world isn’t dirty enough, these beauty enhancers are just one more thing to clog the pores and kick start acne. People have fought to get rid of this skin burden forever, and often they just give up and cover the blemishes with more dirty makeup. You might find it surprising that you can fight oily skin with oil.

Oily skin is caused by an over production of the sebaceous glands. The oil gets into the pores and gives the skin a porous look. The pores are enlarged, so dirt and make up get in and cause pimples and blackheads. It seems logical that soap and astringents would be the way to cleanse the pores. However fighting oily skin can be done with oil. The oil in question is jojoba oil. This is a plant based product that comes from the jojoba plant. It is the closest thing to the skin’s natural oils.

When jojoba oil is applied to the skin, it’s similarity to skin oils fools the sebaceous glands into thinking they’ve produced enough. The jojoba actually will draw toxins up out of the pores and cleanse them. The skin will look smoother and less oily. It seems weird that an oil would save your face, but it will.

Wash your face really well at night and then apply a thin layer of jojoba oil. When you wake up in the morning you skin will not be oily, and it will have a natural texture to it. With continued use, the jojoba oil will begin to ease the burden of acne. In that way, oil is fighting oil. It’s all about fooling the body.

Jojoba is a great hair moisturizer, too, so you might want to try it in your hair to prevent acne on the scalp.

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Extreme Side Parts Are the Trend for Summer 2011

Cropped screenshot of Audrey Hepburn from the ...
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The eternal side part is back, but this coming summer, it will be the extreme side part that sets the trend setters apart from the pack. Side parts are eternally youthful, but they can be incorporated into just about every style today. Not only can this simple technique give you a totally new look, but it won’t require an expensive trip to a salon.

The runways are already rife with extreme side parts. Some are neat, clean and straight to show off that smooth healthy hair that defines the girl next door. Some of the styles are mussed up, curly locks that have been swept to the side in extreme fashion to give the model a free spirited appeal. The extreme side part can also help update the classic updo. It gives this uptown style a new angle that can re-frame the face and give a total make-over with a simple motion of the comb.

In many ways, this season’s hair trend is paying homage to some of the classic hairstyles of the Twentieth Century. Audrey Hepburn comes to mind when thinking of that slick, parted updo, and the models do seem to be channeling her classic, yet eternally youthful style.

That’s what it’s all about. The side part always signals that the person under those locks is just a little youthful and fun loving. It is a simple expression of freedom and excitement. With longer locks, the extreme side part can be used to make the hair cover one eye and create a mysterious air. Emo hairstyles have been incorporating this kind of part for some time.

A few words of warning. Experiment with parting the hair on both sides to figure out which way best frames the face. This extreme angle can be unflattering if done incorrectly. Make sure you analyze your features before incorporating this extreme hair style technique.

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Sun Damage Remedies

A Starbucks Green Tea Frappuccino.
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When we’re young, we love to get that incredible tawny tan that signifies how healthy we are. In fact, it’s incredibly unhealthy to take on that kind of sun exposure. In the long run, the skin will lose it’s beauty and leave the face looking dried, wrinkled, and discolored. Although sun damage can’t be completely reversed, there are remedies that will reduce it.

The very first thing to do is wear sun screen. It’s never too late, and if you want to stop the increasing damage, start wearing sun screen every time you’re in the sun. It’s the most important remedy for sum damage.

Retin-A and Vitamin A cream can normalize sun damaged skin by plumping it up and helping the skin rid itself of dead cells. Also, exfoliate regularly. This will help reverse the effects of sun damage by sloughing off dead skin cells. You can also apply antioxidants like Vitamin C and Green Tea to your skin to help improve its health. Antioxidants will neutralize toxin by-products caused by sun damage to the skin.

Laser treatments, chemical peels and microdermabrasion are salon treatments that can remove broken capillaries and lessen uneven skin tone. They’ll also reduce the effect of wrinkles and leathery skin.

Exercise will also give your skin a healthy glow. Where it won’t make the ugly spots and wrinkles go away, it will help you continue to have that youthful, outdoorsy appeal that you had hoped to get by sunbathing. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables that are rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin A. There is also research suggesting that lycopene helps rejuvenate the skin. Lycopene is found in tomatoes. Like the vitamins, it’s a natural antioxidant, and any kind of body repair is about reducing the free radicals and getting the systems back to full health.

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Sun Damaged Hair First Aid

Summer is just around the corner, and that means plenty of time in the sun. Most people understand the effects of sun damage to the skin, but sun damage to the hair may go unnoticed. Don’t forget that your hair needs protection from the sun, too. In fact, it might require a little first aid after a long day in the sun.

Too much sun can actually damage the hair follicles and retard hair growth. The scalp can get a pretty good burn, too, so don’t forget to be good to your head. First, get rid of peroxide products that are activated by the sun. They can cause your hair to split and stop growing.

Once the sun fun is over, and you set to taking care of yourself, make sure you wash your hair with repairing shampoo and a protein conditioner. Rinse your hair and then apply a leave in conditioner to give your locks extra moisture. Once a week use a mint oil conditioner. In fact, only use the hair repairing shampoo once a week, too. It will take about three weeks before a positive effect is seen, but don’t give up. And in the meantime, never go into the sun without a leave in conditioner with UV protection.

You can also rub sunscreen into your scalp to protect your roots. You’ll just need to wash your hair immediately following your day outdoors. An interesting home remedy for repairing damaged hair is to combine honey and olive oil in a bag and then place it in warm water so it mixes together. Apply it to hair from the roots out, put on a shower cap to trap heat, wait 30 minutes and then shampoo and condition your hair.

Home remedies are becoming more commercialized, but taking it back to the basics will save money and be just as good for sun damaged hair.

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Olive Oil as a Hair Repair Remedy

Olive oil from Imperia in Liguria, Italy.
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Olive oil seems to be the natural wonder drug of hair care. It is used for a variety of hair treatment applications. It’s really not a mystery serum. It’s a natural product that has some of the good things that come from nature to make us healthy. Olive oil as a hair repair remedy only makes sense.

For years, health experts have extolled the benefits of using olive oil in our foods. It’s one of the key ingredients in the highly touted Mediterranean diet. It’s rich in Vitamin A and C and Omega-3 fatty acids. All of these components are key to good health and anti-aging. Needless to say, the consumption of olive oil will help all body systems, including hair.

However, there are a number of topical hair applications using olive oil. The remedies include solutions for damaged hair, dandruff and dry scalp, and promotion of hair growth. None are clinically proven to work, but none will cause damage. There’s enough anecdotal proof to certainly give olive oil a try as hair repair remedy.

If you’re looking to repair damaged, dry hair, a combination of olive oil and honey is said to be the concoction to use. It should be heated in a bag and then applied evenly throughout the hair. Put on a shower cap to retain heat and wait 30 minutes. Thoroughly wash the hair and use a conditioner. Repeat this about once a week.

To reduce dandruff and dry skin, combine warm olive oil and lime juice. Dab it directly onto the scalp with a cotton ball. Let it sit about an hour and wash your hair.

Massaging your head for thirty minutes with hot olive oil is said to stimulate hair growth. Likely the massage has more to do with it, but the vitamins in olive oil have long been connected to hair health.

Always rinse olive oil out of hair with hot water to keep it from turning greasy.

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