My research has always turned up statistics that claim most of us are exposed to about 175 chemicals every day. I’m in the mind that these estimates are just way whacked out low. Between chemicals in our air, water, food, soil, clothes, bedding, carpets, furniture, cleaning products, makeup, shampoos, soaps, housing structures, manufactured products, and so on, I’m thinking we have become not much more than chemical sponges. It’s no wonder that whoever isn’t dying of cancer is dying of coronary issues or diabetes, and if those three aren’t killing someone, something else besides good ole father time is usually at work – even if it’s just the chemicals the pharms are feeding someone for insane reasons that they create to keep people eating their chemicals.

There is really only one defense in a chemical laden environment and that is to learn exactly what chemicals are out there and where they hide. Then you find ways to avoid them. When house cleaners became toxic nightmares, there was nothing to stop us from using salt, baking soda, and vinegar to clean with. They work just as well and are actually cheaper – so why the rush to buy all the poisonous ones? Mostly it resulted from people just trusting that government agencies like the FDA would protect us from the corporations that line their pockets. Oops. Well, that didn’t work for us.

There are a few organizations, though, that actually recognize that chemicals cause diseases. They are not afraid to talk about it and are not afraid to point out where they are and what they can do to us. Of course, it takes citizens to unite against anything they find out to get chemicals banned, but we can’t do that until we know what is out there.

That’s why I’m putting this link up for all of you. The Center on Disease Control has made a list of chemicals that are out there, where they are and what they do. It took them well over 500 pages to list them. 500 pages. You still think you’re exposed to less than 200 chemicals every day? Anyway — the link I’ve posted below takes you straight to that report, so put on your reading glasses, click that link, and prepare to be absolutely amazed and scared crapless. Serious – you couldn’t think of fiction this frightening.

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/pdf/FourthReport.pdf

Go download your copy of this free report today and find out what you might want to be missing.

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GET MORE GREAT INFORMATION ON NATURAL SKIN CARE

The first thing you must remember is that your skin still needs Vitamin D. During warmer days you should consider getting out and getting some sun on your face. If the weather turns too cold to expose your face or other skin to the sun, an occasional trip to a tanning salon can give your skin the Vitamin D that it needs. While seasons change, your need for Vitamin D doesn’t. You don’t need to park on a tanning bed until you look like you live on a beach, but a twenty minute session two or three times a week will keep you from experiencing dangerous Vitamin D deficiencies throughout the cold months. You may also want to take supplements. If you do supplement, use Vitamin D3 supplements, which are far superior to the older Vitamin D (2) products. You can now get organic dairy products with D3 added as well. Vitamin D deficiency can wreak havoc on every system of your body, so make sure you get only the best supplements and as much of it from sunshine as possible.  Contrary to widespread opinions, your skin will wrinkle faster with a lack of this vital nutrient than it will if you spend a few minutes in the sun each day. The Vitamin itself works to fight any wrinkling caused by normal amounts of sunshine.

A second consideration is that the Omega 3 oils are still important even if your body isn’t using them to alleviate the effects of UV rays. Omega 3 coats your cells in the type of oil they need to absorb both oxygen and nutrients. If you are considering a low fat diet for the winter, don’t consider compromising your Omega 3 intake. The added lubricant around your cells will also protect them from hostile low temperatures.

When it gets frigid outside you will be dressing to stay warm. Some types of materials can irritate skin. Wear cotton close to your skin and leave the scratchier wools for outer layers. Avoid synthetic fibers whenever possible. Synthetics contain toxins which won’t help you avoid eczema or dry itchy skin. If you must wear synthetic fibers, wear a soft natural fiber underneath it. You want to dress warm, but you also want your skin to be able to breath easily and keep it from irritation.

When outside wear a non-toxic healing balm on exposed skin areas such as your lips and nose. Inside, make sure your bath products are as toxin free as possible. Products with fragrances may be natural, but they can also be dehydrating so avoid scented products. Products that provide rich suds also dry skin, not to mention other damages they can do when absorbed into the skin. Always moisturize with a good toxin free moisturizer after bathing and again before going outside. If your skin needs oil as well as moisture, olive oil will provide good protection from the cold. If the air in your home is too dry a humidifier will help fight dry, itchy skin. If you don’t have access to a humidifier, boil a tea kettle or pan of water now and then to put some humidity in your air.

Moisture in the air isn’t the only moisture that becomes scarce in winter. In cooler temperatures you can be easily fooled about the amount of water you are drinking. You might not realize that your body sweats at low temperatures just as it does at high temperatures, too, so you won’t feel the dehydration as sharply or quickly as you will in the summer heat. Dehydration, though, will be just as hard on your body and skin as it is any other time of the year. Dehydrated skin is more susceptible to damage from dry, frigid weather than moist skin. Make sure you are getting enough to drink. Choose water that is not fluoridated as the fluoride can cause a whole new host of problems to contend with.

When winter is at it’s most damaging, by paying attention to these few details we can keep our skin looking and feeling good all year round. Your face will be just as radiant at the ski lodge fireplace as it was at the beach bonfire just a few months before the cold hit.

©2010: Sally Taylor

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If you spent the night before slamming down daquaris or margaritas, the bad morning might not be such a surprise. We all know if we get a bit toasted, that is what our face is going to look like in the morning. Sometimes, though, why we look so awful some mornings just isn’t instantly apparent to us. We may wonder for a few minutes, do some sort of fix or make an attempt to hide the devastation, but in the long run how far do we go in examining why we look so much worse some days than on others?

The truth is that if you are experiencing bad mirror days fairly frequently, it is something you should be taking note of very closely. Your skin is an organ and when it is looking bad, it’s not going to be functioning all that well, either. If your skin is doing poorly, many other organs that you can’t see may be suffering just as badly. The bad mirror day is not something to just blow off and ignore.

When you find yourself frequently waking up badly, you need to start taking notes. There are many reasons that you might be looking worse than usual, or that it is becoming more usual to look pretty bad when you wake up. It’s time to start making a check list for yourself to get to the bottom of the situation. You will want to examine all the things that you can think of that might have a negative effect on your skin so you can see if there is some pattern so you can avoid irritants before the damage becomes permanent.

The first thing to ask yourself is if you drank enough water the day before. Dehydration will take an almost immediate toll on the body. Fortunately this one is easy to fix if you do it right away and don’t allow yourself to repeat the dehydration too often. If your checklist includes a lack of liquids as a usual item, start right there and make sure that you can write it off your list in the future. That may be all it takes to correct the bad mornings. If not, you need to look further.

Lack of sleep is another reason for looking run down that is pretty easy to figure out. Not getting enough sleep once in a while is pretty normal. If you are experiencing lack of sleep too often though, you are putting your whole body in jeopardy. You might need to make some life adjustments to ensure you are able to sleep a bit longer each night. Perhaps you have a job that is too demanding for you and need to find a different company to work for that is not hazardously demanding. Maybe you need to hire someone to take care of a few odds and ends for you that keep you running just a little longer than is healthy. Perhaps your spouse needs to be made to understand that you are having too many demands on your time and you need to have more help or to be left alone to sleep longer. Whatever adjustments would aid you in getting the extra sleep you need should be made. Lack of sleep can do more than make you look like a zombie. It can be deadly.

What did you eat the day before? Did you eat a lot of processed foods or drink soda pop? Write down everything you can remember. You might find a pattern in what you eat and how you look. Processed foods and beverages contain a myriad chemical additives and all forms of sugar and sugar substitutes. By writing down what foods you ate each time you wake up less than prime you may be able to narrow down exactly which foods you are having the worst reactions to and can get them out of your diet before they destroy your whole body’s health. The more of these chemicals and sugars you can cut out of your diet, the more generally healthy you will be and the better your skin will look.

Was your room too hot or too cold the night before your mirror screams at you? If your checklist shows that your room was either hotter or colder than normal when you wake up looking bad, you have an easy solution on hand. A room that is too hot can make eyes puffy and lined. A room that is too cold can just upset good sleep.

Are you exposing yourself to forms of pollution some days that you aren’t always exposed to? When you wake up looking bad, take a washcloth and pour some rubbing alcohol on it and wipe your face. If you are wiping off blackish dirt, think about where you were the day before. If you can avoid going somewhere that always results in black film on your skin, avoid going there any more often than you need to. If you have to go there, make sure to wear a non-toxic makeup foundation when you go. It’s much better to have toxic waste sitting on your makeup than absorbing into your body through your skin. Be sure to wash your makeup off thoroughly when you get home. If you remove brownish residue when you wipe your face, you aren’t getting your makeup off well enough before you go to bed and need to improve your cleansing routine. Even the best non-toxic makeup will still clog pores and keep your cells from breathing freely at night. After you wipe your skin clean with the alcohol, be sure and moisturize with a non-toxic moisturizer. Alcohol is a great cleanser, but it will dry your skin if you don’t moisturize after you clean with it.

Are you getting enough aerobic exercise? Your skin may suffer if you are not. Conversely, if you are exercising daily or most days and your skin is breaking out or otherwise looking bad, your body might be expelling toxins through your skin. Some of the previous points on the checklist will reveal if you are taking in too many chemical toxins. If you can’t correct the problem with better hydration and nutrition, you may have something more serious going on that you need to look into.

Illness can also show up on your skin and if all other points of your checklist don’t show up a problem and you are cleansing your skin thoroughly each night, you might need professional help to find out if you have a deficiency, imbalance, or even an illness you are not aware of in your body that you need to address.

No matter what you do, you will never be able to completely avoid an occasional bad mirror day. By keeping track of your activities though, you can reduce them to a minimum. . A little bit of applied vanity can go a long way in maintaining your body’s optimal health. It won’t hurt your self esteem to look better most days, either.

©2010: Sally Taylor

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It may seem that you can scrub wrinkles away to an extent.  After washing our wrinkles don’t appear to be so deep.  For a few hours they may not be as noticeable.  The water used when we wash will temporarily hydrate and plump skin so wrinkles may appear to have been scrubbed away.  Another  reason wrinkles may appear lighter after a good washing is that gentle scrubbing can help exfoliate dead skin cells which will make wrinkles appear deeper and more pronounced than they may actually be.

All in all, however, the only way a good scrubbing can actually erase wrinkles is if you take the first layer of skin right off.  It is not advisable to do so.  Chemical peels are sometimes used in this manor to take the top eroded layer of skin off.  It will take a few days for the skin to heal and accidents can happen. Nobody should EVER try this process on their own. Even trained professionals  run into problems now and then.

The problem with the chemical peel is that it does not get to the root of the problem of wrinkling so it won’t be long before your skin looks just the same as it did before the peel.

If your skin is wrinkling, you can make it look a bit better externally by gently scrubs followed by moisturizers.  You can also use lightly acidic face masks such as the one in my guide Secrets of Beautiful Skin and Hair Revealed.  When used on a regular basis an acidic skin mask will keep pores clear and keep skin exfoliated properly.  Use a mask that you need to wash off rather than a peel off mask as there is more drawing power in the wash off masks to keep your pores clear.

At the depth of the issue, however, if you want fewer wrinkles, you have to tend to those from where they originate – inside your body.  Your skin is an organ and no amount of anything you can slap on it from the outside is going to keep it young and supple.  While you must work on your skin from the outside, you must give this organ what it needs internally to stay healthy, too.

If you do not drink enough water, your skin will become dry and no amount of lotions or oils will be able to fix dehydrated skin – you must drink dehydration away.  Your skin also needs the proper nutrients to function correctly and if it isn’t getting what it needs, the wrinkles are going to set in no matter what you do on the outside.

Only proper internal maintenance accompanied by a good external care system will fix damaged skin or prevent problems in the first place.

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Will Soap Dry Your Skin Out?

There seems to be some information floating around about the danger of soap drying out skin.  The issue can be a confusing one because of all the propaganda that the skin and hair care product industries have distributed in their attempts to sell their products.  Unfortunately, much of the information out about soap drying out skin is not real helpful to those who want to keep youthful skin or returned damage skin to health.  A quick look at the issues involved with soap use should clear up your skin questions pretty quickly.

Our bodies produce and coat our skin with natural oils.   These oils are important in the functioning of our skin cells, but it can cause a few problems for skin health, too. This fact is more important to understand today than ever before.  At one time our earth was natural and pure.  Today we are exposed daily to over 6,000 toxins in our food, air, water, and living environments.  Today we are seeing increases of bacterias and viruses which continue to become more dangerous as they become more immune to our efforts to kill them.  As these elements keep hammering our skin to gain entry to our bodies, our skin’s health becomes more and more important to, and more difficult to,  maintain and optimize.

Just as oils in our cupboards become rancid, so will the oils on your skin due to exposure to harmful elements. While the oil on our skin is vital to our health, it also makes a great adhesive for environmental toxins and germs.  Many toxins do not merely adhere to skin, they actually soak into the body from it and thus gain entry without being filtered through our liver and other detoxifying organs.  Toxins that gain entry to the body via skin are therefore much more toxic than those we ingest through our food and water.  Germs also adhere to skin oils and multiply, some finding entrance through areas in which the skin integrity is compromised and through our pores.  As long as oil which has collected these elements stays on the skin, your body is in a very compromised state. Skin oil needs to be washed off frequently to get rid of the collection of these toxins.

It is also, at this point, important to understand the purpose of soap.  The purpose of soap is not to moisturize.  It is to clean. A good soap made without toxins will do just that.  Anti-bacterial ingredients are not necessary, and actually are poisonous and can cause much havoc to your liver and other vital organs.  You do not need anti-bacterial agents.  Soap should merely be a tool to help wash away oils contaminated with toxins and bacteria.   Choose your soap very carefully and make sure you know what every ingredient in the soap does and make sure it has no toxic chemicals.  Wash your skin with a wash cloth, soap and water.  Once you are done, you need to moisturize and you need to do that without fail.

Do not fail to realize that skin needs moisture to stay supple, too.  Moisture and oil must not be confused. Right after washing you skin will feel and look just a little plumper from the water used to wash.  That water will evaporate rapidly though, leaving skin dry and tight. By adding a layer of moisturizer right away after washing, you can avoid that dryness. If you have dry skin, you may want to use a bit of oil after washing, but it is best to let the skin breathe naturally and replace the oils from your own metabolic process.  If your skin is dry, that is a signal that you need to fix what is wrong with your metabolism.  If your metabolism is running smoothly your body will replace the oils you washed off fairly quickly.  Eating enough of the essential oils for your body goes a long way to maintaining the correct flow of oil to coat your cells.  Omega 3 oils from krill oil and raw, ground flax seeds will provide vital oils for your body to use to replace skin oils.

Another issue with washing skin is that it takes time for your skin to metabolize Vitamin D3 you get from sun exposure. If you know you can get more sun exposure daily to keep a layer of this vital vitamin/hormone on your skin, washing will not set you back on your supply.  If you know you are going to be unable to replace that layer daily, you might have to choose between hearty washing and just a light wash with plain water for a day or so until you can get more sun exposure so as to get rid of as many toxins as you can without disturbing your Skin’s vitamin D resources.  If you have been exposed to a lot of toxins, you might well decide to wash heartily and take a Vitamin D3 supplement that day.  Make sure you study the facts about your needs for this vitamin and how to take it for maximum absorption.  Skin without enough Vitamin D will not stay healthy very long – and neither will any other part of your body.

Natural skin oil is vital to good skin, but once those oils become polluted, they do nothing more than harm your body.  Washing your skin with non-toxic soap is a very important part of any skin care regime.  It’s not a non-toxic soap that hurts your skin, it is not continuing with a good after wash care regime that will cause any negative long-term effects that you would see from washing alone.

©2010; Sally Taylor:  Sals Secrets Revealed

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There are two main mistakes people make removing their makeup.  One is that makeup isn’t removed completely.  The other is that the wrong products are being used for removal.  Both can be disastrous for skin integrity.  Both will clog pores and coat skin so it can’t breath properly.  Makeup removal doesn’t need to be a science, though and can be done in much more skin friendly ways than skin care product manufacturers will lead you to believe.  It can be done more cheaply than they will tell you as well.

Many manufacturers want you to believe that soap is harmful to your skin.  Some soaps are, but it is because they are loaded with toxins.  If you look specifically for soaps that are toxin free, there is no problem with using soap on your face.  Soap and wash cloth are very good  and effective tools for cleansing makeup and airborne toxins from your skin. Light scrubbing with a wash cloth will remove makeup, dead skin cells, and many impurities that other methods of makeup removal will leave behind. Always remember that soap is not meant to moisturize your skin, it is meant to clean it. Make sure you rinse soap from your skin thoroughly.  You can’t be over cautious washing soap away.  All the extra water will do is help to flush pores clean of debris.

To make sure you have not left residue on your skin and to close your pores, wipe your skin with hydrogen peroxide to remove any residue that may have accidentally be left behind. A hydrogen peroxide molecule is actually nothing more than a water molecule with an extra atom of oxygen.  The extra oxygen in the peroxide can be absorbed by skin cells and will give them a terrific boost.  Peroxide can dry your skin on its own, just as soap and water can, though so you must always – let me repeat that – you must ALWAYS use a water soluble, toxin free moisturizer after cleaning your skin.  It is important to make sure your moisturizers are water soluble to ensure they are not coating your skin in ways that defeat the purpose of washing your makeup off in the first place.

Never use a cleansing creams to take off makeup or air pollution residue.  These products are sold by making people believe that soap is bad for your skin and that their products will keep skin soft and supple.  Cleaning and moisturizing are NOT, and never will be, a single step process.  You must clean first, and then moisturize.  One step processes will leave residues that will choke the vitality out of your skin rather rapidly.  You may think you are just aging badly when in actuality you are just completely smothering your skin cells and clogging pores.  Removing mascara should be done before general makeup removal and it takes a little more effort to remove it than face makeups do.

Some mascaras can be removed with soap and water as well.  If you are like me, you are using more high intensity mascara than that which washes off with water.  I don’t savor the idea of getting caught in rain or some quick emotional outburst and wearing black streaks down my face as a result.  There are some products on the market that are built for mascara removal, but most are nothing more than oils you can buy more cheaply or they are a mix of some pretty harsh chemicals.  If you are using a mascara that can’t be removed without chemicals, it’s just plain time to rethink what you are doing to yourself.  If you need more power than soap and water to remove mascara, use olive oil or coconut oil to remove it.  Put a generous coat of the oil on your lashes and let it sit for awhile.  Adding some warmth to it by blowing heat from a blow dryer can speed up the process if you are in a hurry to remove it.

When taking the mascara off, do not pull at your eyelashes. If the oil has not worked completely even gentle pulling can pull lashes out. Rub the oil off with a cotton ball or wash cloth.  Do not use paper towels or toilet paper to do this as there are wood fibers in paper that can clog pores and otherwise irritate your skin.  If light rubbing does not take your mascara off, then dab more oil on your lashes and give it more time to work.  After mascara is removed, the residual will be removed when you wash the rest of your makeup off of your skin.

No matter how well you remove makeup, your pores will capture and build up some elements over time.  It is important to remember to clear your pores once or twice a week no matter how well you take your makeup off.  Once debris does get lodged in pores, washing just isn’t enough to clean them out and the result can be very unwelcome.  Steaming can help quite a bit to clean pores out.  There are also face masks you can use for more heavy duty clogging problems.  Masks that have to be washed off are often more powerful than peel off facials.  By using a non-toxic facial periodically with a good facial mask, your skin will keep its integrity for years longer than you may be expecting.  That kind of surprise is worth the effort.

2010 © Sals Secrets Revealed

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While toxic chemicals and bacteria are usually just inadvertently not cleaned from our water before it is piped into our homes, there are some additives dumped into our water purposely, and even in the name of “health benefits”. Fluoride is one of these toxins, and fat retention is just one of the many health disasters that can result from the addition of this substance to water.

The use of fluoride in water began many decades ago when tests showed that fluoride could be good for teeth. While natural fluoride can be beneficial in small doses such as the .04 ppm that you find in mother’s milk. There are many facts about fluoride, though, which have been kept from public knowledge for the many decades we have been encouraged to faithfully drink our toxic waste. The most devastating of these facts is that the fluoride being dumped in your water is not natural, that is calcium/magnesium fluoride, but rather is a by-product of industry and is in the form of silica/sodium fluoride – which is poison at all concentrations. It has been recently revealed that tests done on fluoride used natural fluoride, yet that there is a difference between natural and industrial fluoride seemed to be left out of the material used to seduce many officials to approve water fluoridation programs. After all, silica/sodium fluoride was too toxic for the EPA to approve to be dumped, so industries had to find a way to dispose of it. It seems that they found one.

Another fact about fluoride, both natural and industrial, which is urgent for people to understand, especially considering the ever increasing obesity problem in the US, is that fluoride was used for a long time in Europe as a sedative. Fluoride is known to be an endocrine disruptor. The NRC has warned that doses of fluoride as low as 0.01-0.03 mg/kg/day can adversely effect thyroid functions – especially in those with reduced iodine intake. Without proper functioning of the thyroid, the metabolism will slow, the person will feel less energy and it will become more difficult to burn calories, which will be stored as fat instead of used for energy. Since fluoride is hard for the system to remove, as you continue to drink it, it builds in your body causing increased metabolism dysfunction, increased inability to burn fat, and increased disability to lose weight. Because of the recent popularity of foods which block iodine from the thyroid, such as soy and peanut butter, these risks are even more pronounced since the soy craze became popular in the US.

There are many effects of fluoride that is being dumped into our water besides increasing the weight of our population. Earlier I posted an article which tells about how fluoride can quickly make you look years older. These two problems with our poisoned water supply are just the tip of the fluoride scandal but are two great beginning reasons that you need to get rid of fluoride in your water immediately.

Now is a very good time to call your local water supplier and ask about the amount and source of fluoride in your water. Be sure to ask the source, as natural fluoride does occur in water in some locations. and even if your municipality does not actively medicate your water you will be exposed. You might need filters even if you can convince your water suppliers not to actively poison your water.

Not all water filters will remove this toxic substance from your water. Reverse osmosis is the best of these filters. Be sure to make it very clear when you buy a filter that you are interested only in filters which remove fluoride, and check the statistices on the amount of fluoride you can count on each to remove. Remember that when you bathe, fluoride can be absorbed through the skin where it will go around your filtering organs to cause even more havoc to your health.

If you find that your water is being polluted with industrial fluoride in your area, there is now an organization that can help you organize and fight to have this toxin dumped into your water. You will find more information at http://www.fluoridealert.org/ about the health effects of fluoride and about fighting fluoridation in your own water supply.

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The diet industries want you to think it’s all YOUR fault. They will hook you up to every diet plan ($$) that you could ever imagine.  We have calories drilled into our heads – followed up directly with calorie burners ($$)  of every kind.

Calories might have been a leading factor in weight control several decades back – but they aren’t the main problem these days.  Fat isn’t an illness, a lack of control, or a disease…….it’s just a symptom of some major things going wrong that diets and drugs ($$) aren’t going to do much of a twit about in the long run.  In fact – many of the reasons that you can’t lose weight or that you are putting weight on far too easily haven’t even got ANYTHING to do with food itself!

Okay – I’ll admit that there are people who just really eat too much. But there have always been people that have just plain eaten too much. The percentage of people who are fat because they just truly overeat is very small, though.   Over-eating doesn’t begin to  account for the recent rise in obesity statistics. The fact is that the statistics for the percent of overweight people have close to tripled in the last few decades.  What has changed in the last few decades that is making us,  and keeping us, so fat?

It’s still true in today’s world that you have to burn calories that you intake or you will get fat or stay fat.  It’s also true that people are finding it harder to burn calories than ever before.  Conveniently, there are lots of pharmaceutical drugs ($$) out on the market now that will burn those calories for you. There are a lot of natural remedies ($$) out there, too.  Both have one thing in common.  If you stop taking them your body still isn’t going to burn calories by itself so the problem is going to just recycle on you.  You will either stay fat or you will have to take spendy remedies for the rest of your life – remedies that might also have side effects. Sweet, eh?

The only way to lose weight in today’s world is to find out what our marvelous pharmaceutically owned medical complex  isn’t telling you about why you aren’t burning calories and fight those causes.

Some of those causes will shock you, too. There are loads of them. Some of the reasons are pretty scary. Others aren’t so frightening. You can’t do much about any of them until you know what they are and which ones are affecting YOU.  You may find there are several reasons your body has decided to store calories instead of burning them.

You can diet until you can’t see straight, but until you know why your body isn’t burning the calories you are taking in, diets aren’t going to do much but frustrate you or give you some heavy duty mental complexes.

If you are having a problem controlling your weight and are sick of the diet run around you are getting, I have some information  that will make a whole difference in how you look at weight control.  I’m not going to tell you how to diet – well, I do give some tips on foods because food IS still relevant to weight, but this isn’t a diet manual…..it’s a manual that tells the different reasons your body is storing instead of burning calories. As I said earlier – many of the reasons don’t have one thing to do with food. Once you know what reasons may be affecting you personally, you can actually fight against calorie storage in ways that will actually make a difference.

When you are ready to get down to some serious insight to why you can’t lose weight -

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The first notorious reason given for not wearing makeup is that many are loaded with ingredients which are not healthy. Many are, but there are also many which are now made with only safe ingredients. The best of these are those which are not tested on animals. Think about that. If a product is being tested on animals, you automatically have a red light. If ingredients are safe in the first place, there is no need to torture our fellow creatures to make sure that it will not harm us. While I strongly advocate these makeups because of my devotion to animal rights issues, it just makes sense to use products that are known to be harmless in the first place. Why would anyone want to take risks like that? Always use products that don’t need testing on animal to determine their safety.

Of course, the safety of the product isn’t the only health issue people see connected to wearing makeup. Makeup covers skin cells and gets into the pores making it hard for skin to breath. There is no getting around that one, however, there are actually times that the coat of makeup on your skin can have some benefit. If you are going into areas such as large cities where the air is polluted, your skin is going to get a coating of pollution. You can check that fact by washing your skin well before going into the city. As soon as you get home soak a washcloth with some hydrogen peroxide and wipe your face and neck with it. Look at the color of the dirt coming off your skin. Dirt is not soot black, it is brown. It’s a safe bet, however, that the residue on your washcloth is soot black.

The black residue on your washcloth is the soot from the city air and is loaded with toxins. These toxins coat your skin and clog your pores just as a coat of makeup will do, but unlike well chosen makeup, they can damage your skin and body. While it is your skin’s job to protect you from these toxins, it is far from a bad idea to protect your skin from them. Putting a coat of makeup over the skin will provide a layer of protection for your cells and keep the toxins out of your pores. Eventually these toxins will leak through, but the makeup buys you some time and protection until you can wash them off. It is still a good idea to clean your skin and pores thoroughly as soon as possible.

If you are going out to areas which are not extensively polluted, it is still a good idea to go without makeup and let your skin get some fresh air and sunlight. By that I don’t mean you should slather your skin with sunblock. Some sunblocks will clog pores just as handily as pollution and makeup, but sunblock is not good for your skin at any level whether it just sits on your skin or absorbs into it. Many sunblocks have ingredients which are much more harmful than any ingredients in makeups. Not only are you dowsing your skin with carcinogenic toxins when you use them, you are also inhibiting your body’s ability to produce Vitamin D. This vitamin is vital not only to healthy skin, but lack of it has been found to be a culprit in the development of eleven different cancers and scads of other diseases and ailments. Sunblock also goes an extra measure to hinder the body’s natural production of melatonin which can cause a whole new array of health nightmares for you. So what do you do if your skin is sensitive to burning?

Take a good makeup foundation with you when you go out. For outdoors recreational use you will want to choose a foundation that has zinc oxide in it. If you can’t find one, you can make your own sun block by mixing your foundation with zinc oxide. Making your own sunblock in this method will allow you to avoid damage from sun without having the painted clown face that zinc oxide on its own can produce. That’s probably not the look you want to achieve on a date to go hiking.

Let your skin get some sunlight so your body can produce Vitamin D and melatonin. You will want at least a half hour of natural sunlight before you put anything on it to protect it from burning. Give your skin as much time to breath naturally as possible before applying the foundation to it but never let your skin burn. Burning causes major skin damage no matter what else you are doing or are not doing to protect it. Make sure you put a good coat of foundation over any areas of skin that are exposed and likely to burn. If you find that the foundation you are using doesn’t work well, you might want to find another that does a better job for you.

There are times that it is better to go without makeup and let your skin breath naturally. Even world class models do not “paint up” on a full time schedule. Sometimes just a coat of mascara can enhance your appearance enough that you can feel comfortable not wearing a coat of foundation for just quick trips out of the house or visits with friends. A quick analysis of the environments you will be going into will give you an idea of whether it is better to go natural or with a layer of makeup on your face. It is a wise idea to spend some time every day without any, but if you have chosen your products well and are diligent about cleaning them off and giving your skin time to breath there is no reason why you can’t “paint the barn if it needs painting”.

2007-2008 © Sals Secrets Revealed

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Skin care product manufacturers make a lot of money selling you cold creams and “special” cleansers deemed to be good for your skin. They have gone through much expense to make women believe that soap will destroy your skin in order to get you to opt out of buying that bar of soap and buying their products instead. If you take a look at what they are selling, however, you will find that what you are buying is a lot of problems for your skin down the road that you will need more products to correct. Unfortunately, as your spending escalates, your problems do as well.

Cold creams are an unfortunate purchase for anyone. Not only do many of these contain toxins, which in themselves can ruin skin integrity, they also are a terrific way to clog pores and choke skin cells, and some even provide excellent breeding grounds for bacteria and fungus to grow. To reverse pore clogging and remove film you need more products to effectively get the creams off of your skin and out of your pores. While you can remove the creams with some astringents, toxins from the creams will absorb into your cells and tissues where they will not be so easily removed. If the cream is actually toxin free they will not remove toxins from your skin completely as the cream itself will leave a film residue on your skin. Astringents can be purchased to remove the creams. These actually will do nothing more than what manufacturers say you should avoid using soap for in the first place. Now you not only have absorbed any toxins the creams may contain, you have also spent quite a bit more than you needed to. It is a vicious and expensive cycle.

Cleansers which work more like soap, such as body washes, are actually not any better than soap and may also contain harsh chemicals or toxins. Those without toxins are not much different than soaps without toxins – just more expensive. If you have an endless supply of cash that might not bother you. As for me, I’d rather have the extra money to spend on other wants rather than wash it down my bathroom drain. The amount I can save buying an inexpensive bar of non-toxic soap instead of a non-toxic body wash will buy me a month’s supply of a supplement that will work to rebuild my collagen to keep my skin integrity solid and beautiful.

The truth is soap is made to clean your skin. That is what it does. It was not meant to moisturize skin. That is why you need to use a moisturizer after you wash your skin. You may have been warned that scrubbing with a wash cloth will pull your skin and cause it to wrinkle. Nonsense. If your skin integrity is good it can take a bit of scrubbing. If your skin is stretching from a bit of scrubbing you need to pay attention to your skin integrity rather than buy more cleansing products. Scrubbing helps ex-foliate and remove debris from the surface of pores so it is actually good for your skin to scrub a bit. If you scrub too hard, of course, you can cause raw patches, but you don’t need to scrub hard if you are keeping up with proper daily and weekly skin care.

Some soaps are harsher than others and you will want to use soaps that do not irritate your skin. Make sure to read the ingredients of the soaps you purchase to make sure you are not using soaps with toxic ingredients. Remember that high prices do not necessarily mean a safer product. Some soaps also can leave a bit of a film on your skin. Soap film can be easily removed with just a splash water with vinegar or salt mixed into it, so soap films are not as big of a problem as manufacturers would like you to believe. Soap film is more easily washed away than many residues from cosmetic products.

Once you dry your face and neck be sure to use a moisturizer. You would need the moisturizers if you used cold creams which always require astringents to remove properly as well so you are not losing ground. Soap is not meant to moisturize, so if you are buying soaps that promise to do that you are wasting your time. As stated, some soaps are milder than others, but soap is on your skin for just a moment and any moisturizers in soap would be washed off before they have time to penetrate. A good moisturizer is one that is water soluble and absorbs quickly. If you have dry skin, you might also want some emollient oils in your moisturizer. If your skin is oily, make sure you are using just plain moisturizers. As with soaps, make sure you buy a moisturizer with no toxins. Health food stores will have many – but do not assume just because you found it in a health food store it is toxin free. Check the ingredients and if you have questions, leave it on the shelf.

Never – never – never use ANY product that is anti-bacterial. Bacteria can be washed away effectively with soaps, which is how a soap works against bacteria in the first place. If you are worried about bacterias, rinse with vinegar or salt water which both effectively work against bacteria and fungus without exposing you to poison, which is what “anti-bacterial” agents are.

When planning what to use to cleanse your skin with – remember what your goal is. It is to clean your skin. That is what soap does. Do not confuse the goal of cleaning with the goal of moisturizing, fighting wrinkles, or clearing acne. There are ways to do all of the things you need for your skin using natural items kept in most households. You can find out all of these methods in Secrets of Beautiful Skin and Hair Revealed.

2007-2008 © Sals Secrets Revealed

MORE ABOUT SKIN REPAIR AND CARE