5 Sensitive Skin Care Tips

A lot of people claim that they have sensitive skin when they break out after using a certain product or were exposed to the sun. However, most of than not, the culprits behind the blotchy skin and zits are using inappropriate products for one's skin type and bad skin habits. If you are one of the many who break out or itch after sun exposure or using a product, it is a good idea to determine if sensitive skin is really the cause or something else.

How to tell if you have sensitive skin?

Generally, sensitive skin is thin with visible broken capillaries under the skin's surface. Sensitive skin also has fine pores. When exposed to moderate changes in temperature, sensitive skin reddens easily, whether from cold or heat. Sensitive skin tends to rash easily when exposed to dirt or even moderate strength skin care products. If your skin manifests these signs, chances are high that you really have sensitive skin. For a thorough skin assessment, a visit to a dermatologist is in order.

Since caring for sensitive skin can be quite difficult, it is advisable to limit the use of skin care products. Generally, simple skin care regimens are more effective on sensitive skin since it prevents product overload. Sensitive skin care relies on strengthening the skin to reduce sensitivity and increase tolerance.

How to care for sensitive skin?

1. Hydrate your skin.

Sensitive skin is prone to dryness which can lead to increased sensitivity. Drinking eight or more glasses of water and applying a lightweight and hypoallergenic moisturizer a day can help restore your skin's moisture or lipid barrier that acts as defense mechanism against allergens.

2. Eat skin-friendly food.

Fruits, vegetables, and other water-rich foods are essential in correcting skin imbalances. The vitamin, mineral, and water content of these foods hydrate your skin and restore its health. On the other hand, eating spicy food and drinking alcohol and caffeinated drinks can increase your skin's sensitivity.

3. Limit sun exposure.

Sun exposure can cause sensitive skin to redden and burn easily. Before going out, apply sun protection on your face using sunscreen and on your body with sunblock lotion. You can extend the protection to your lips to prevent them from darkening. Applying an SPF-rich lip balm under your lipstick or gloss can help protect your lips. Umbrellas, sunglasses, and hats protect your body, eyes, and face from overexposure to the sun.

4. Protect skin at all times.

Even when you are indoors, your skin still needs protection. If you are staying in an airconditioned room or one with forced heating, apply a lightweight moisturizer frequently. this will prevent your skin from drying out due to the extreme temperatures.

5. Avoid products with artificial colorants and synthetic fragrances.

Colorants and fragrances are added to skin care products only for increasing marketing appeal. Your skin do not actually benefit from these additions. Often, they even cause allergic reactions and increase your skin's sensitivity.

Aside from these tips, it is also a good idea to switch to skin care products that are specially formulated for sensitive skin. A thorough skin assessment and consultation with a dermatologist can reveal to you skin care techniques and products that can help strengthen your skin and minimize its sensitivity.

5 Easy Ways to Soothe your Mind

Below I’ve listed 5 basic points that have helped to lift my spirit and with practice will also help yours:

1. Meditation! Meditation is one of the greatest self healing tools available and costs nothing except a little of your time! There are many meditation techniques out there, find one that suits you and begin.

By putting some meditation music on and spending time in quiet contemplation it can soothe your soul and reconnect you with the highest aspect of yourself.

2. Aromatherapy and Essential Oils.

Rebalance and rejuvenate your spirit through blending a selection of essential oils together in an aromatherapy oil burner. I’ve found the following blend works extremely well when there’s a need for nurturing, support and healing:

Approximately an hour before retiring to bed place a few drops of the following in an aromatherapy oil burner with some water (for safety’s sake, extinguish the flame before lights are turned off for the night):

4 drops Jasmine

4 drops Rose

4 drops Neroli

3 drops Lavender

3 drops Bergamot

The smell divine! I use this one every now and again and not only sleep like a baby but anxiety and stress disappears, and feels like the weight of the world has lifted from my shoulders by the following morning! (If you have a small bedroom you might like to half the amount of drops)

3. Breathe! Stand with feet a shoulder-length apart. Take 3 slow and deep breaths using the diaphragm muscles. Breathe in through the nose, and breathe out through slightly parted lips. As you do these imagine you’re inhaling your personal power, filling every cell in your body, from your diaphragm up to the top of your head.

Be your personal power and notice how much taller, straighter and stronger you become. Repeat the steps above.

4. Be in the Present Moment. Take a few deep breaths and focus totally on this moment, right now.

If you’re reading a book or magazine, or even this article, totally focus on the words and take in their meaning. There is only you and this article now in the present moment.

If you’re in the workplace, focus totally on the task at hand, and only this task, and what you must do in order to complete it. Nothing else matters except you and the task at hand.

5. Set an intention. When I’m on the lookout for something new and useful for me, I set my intention on what it is I’m after.

For example, I may want to find a book that will give me answers in regards to directing me to another healing modality or skill. I then meditate on this intention, give it a timeframe then open my heart to it. Lo and behold I will have a book in my hand in no time at all! I love the power of intention – I also use intention for getting a parking space when I go shopping!

These days I rarely get sick and when I do and have a medical checkup, doctors tell me I’m actually very healthy (surely they can find something so I can get some sympathy around here!) which also includes blood test results.

I still do sadness and unhappiness well (I’m still human) though neither lasts long whereas in the past it would last many days sometimes weeks. What lasts much longer is a peaceful state.

When using the 5 points above, my spirit lifts and life once again becomes more peaceful and joyful.

4 Easy Ways To Relieve Headache

Having headache is annoying and sometimes it is difficult for us to avoid. Mostly when we are under pressure, headache appeared automatically. If it gets worse, we might faint due to the pain we felt.

A headache is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head. It can also attack at our upper back or neck. There are different types of headache, but most of the time headache brought on by stress, too long in front of computer, noise and others.

One of the main causes of headache is tension in the muscles of the neck, scalp and jaw. We usually deal with it by taking some sleep or consume over-the counter aspirin to release our pain. However, can we do this at any place?

Obviously, we cannot sleep at the office or at the mall. In addition, we might run of aspirin when headache strike us.

Do not worry! The easiest way to handle headache and we can do it everywhere is through massage. Massage is the practice of applying pressure or vibration to the soft tissues of the body, to heal injury, relieve psychological stress, manage pain, improve circulation and relieve tension.

When we suffer from headache, we can help ourselves with self-massage. Simple and everybody can do it, either at work or home.

Here are four easy ways in massage to heal our headache.

1. Eyes Area Massage -- Close your eyes. Place your middle fingers to your eyes that are above cheekbones. Massage that area gently but firmly in circular motion for 1 minute,

2. Eyes to Nose Massage – Using thumb, go along the underside of eyebrows (along the bone on top of eye socket). Feel where this bone meets the bridge of your nose and eyes and find a point where there is a small indentation. Very gentle pressure, press your thumbs into the points. You can do it four times by holding and press that area for 10 seconds in each press.

3. Neck Massage -- Massage a point where you can feel it by moving the middle fingers of your hands to the back of your head and feel the base of your skull. Specially, at the tops of your neck that meets the base of your skull. Massage for a minutes using finger tips gentle in circular movement.

4. Scalp Massage – Let your palms of your hands massage your scalp on the top of your skull for a minute gently.

Once you have done all those massages, start taking a deep breath. Lift your shoulders towards your ears for five to 10 seconds to relief remaining pain, and then let them drop back down into their natural position.

You are going to feel better when you can do that for a couple of times. Your massage will relief your headache and your head will feel less weighty.