Skin Sensitivity, Sensitive to Scents and Pocket-Sesitive Guide to Beauty: Exfoliating and Breakouts

Again, it’s the literally sensitive people we’re talking to here: skin-sensitive, scent-sensitive and pocket-sensitive.

I remember the time when I used to hear the word “libag” when I was growing up. Luckily it was from one of the mothers in my neighborhood who, after catching up with her running son who doesn’t want to bathe, would scold him and ask him if he wants to get “libag”. “Libag” is the Filipino term for dead skin cells characterized by dark colored muck found on the skin of a person who doesn’t bathe.

Later on in my late teenage years I encountered, in my collection of fashion and beauty magazines, the term exfoliate.

Exfoliate is the root word of exfoliation which is the act of removing “libag” or dead skin cells.

I realized that “libag” doesn’t just necessarily mean the mucked dark colored dirt one sees on an unbathed body. Dead skin cells encompasses the build up of the almost colorless white flakes (most noticeable in dry skinned people) which humans shed daily and the chemical residue that build up on our skin because of the products we use that isn’t always washed off completely all the time.

Much as the least, cheapest and most effective universal advise, based on readings and personal experience, any doctor can give to a sensitive person when it comes to preventing the occassional and unexplainable breakout is: exfoliate daily.

Exfoliation can be done mechanically and chemically. Since am no doctor of dermatology I would tackle the budget-friendly and user-friendly mechanical way of exfoliating which involves the use of abrasives.
An abrasive that can be used on human skin include the microfiber cloths, adhesive exfoliating sheets, micro-bead facial scrubs, crushed apricot kernel or almond shells, sugar or salt crystals, pumice, sponges, loofahs and brushes.
 Adhesive Exfoliation Sheets
 Bath Gloves
 Bath Brush
 Crushed Apricot Kernel or Almond Shells
 Loofahs
 Micro-bead Facial Scrubs
 Microfiber Cloths
 Pumice for Bathing
 Salt Scrub
 Sponges
 Sugar Scrub

The abrasive easiest to use, most economical and safest for people with many sensitivities are the so-called bath gloves which is literally gloves designed to be used in bathing made of nylon and polyster. Another version of this type is the bath mittens but bath gloves is the preferable one. The spaces alloted for the fingers make any grasp of cleanser easier. Because of its shape all areas of one’s body is easily reached making quick showers a possibility. With its retail price ranging from $3 to $5 it is quite surprising why so few have these bath gloves in their bathroom.

Daily exfoliation, specifically with the use of these nylon/polyster bath gloves, makes all the difference. One can immediately sense the cleanliness afterwards with a smooth and radiant skin. Most importantly there is the presence of lesser or almost total absence of acne on one’s face, chest and/or back after only a few days’ use.

The proper cleanser helps and I found one that can be use for the face and the entire body, though I wouldn’t write the brand. Why I believe it works for sensitive people both in performance and, of course, price is what I would reveal in my next article.


Read more: http://healthmad.com/health/skin-sensitivity-sensitivity-to-scents-and-pocket-sensitive-guide-to-beauty-exfoliating-and-breakouts/#ixzz1JGDmPSt5

Skin Sensitivity, Sensitivity to Scents and Pocket-sensitive Guide to Beauty: Hair and Skin Conditioning

Much as it is true that some people can get away without a siphon of conditioner of whatever type on their hair there is also the other reality as drastic as: even if with a moisturizing shampoo, a conditioner afterwards one would still need a leave-on conditioner to keep the now well-moisturized hair together.

My hair and some of those like me blessed with thick, many and wavy curls sometimes with futility wonder what on earth can one do this head of hair that can become so unruly and so hard to take care of.  A mere dream of a day of literally having our hair down is not something surprising for many like us.

There is also the case that sometimes some people can just slather on any kind of lotion or moisturizer on their faces and body without feeling that stinging sensation that sensitive people, like me, do. Then again when we do find one that doesn’t sting it is the product’s scent that doesn’t sit well on us as, again, having sensitivity to scents dictates that we find a scent that wouldn’t trigger our migraines.

Coupled with the title of this article shouting sensitivity of all sorts finding a product that addresses dry hair and sensitivities of all sorts is such a quest that if you find out what works for you stick to it whether it is chemically prepared or not. After all if mother nature hadn’t perfected a remedy for us science tries to make it, right?

With the futile quest to adapt to this type of hair condition thick, wavy hair easily becomes a problem due to the chemicals in hair products that we endlessly, without any positive result, try, Though skin lotions’ bad effect on sensitive people like me isn’t so obvious as our bad hair days it is still disconcerting that we even gambled even a little money to try and take care of our skin the way many people do: through a product seen everywhere mass-produced without the thought that sensitive people like us do need care and do need less-priced products that many manufacturers produce.

Though many moisturizers for the skin and hair abound nowadays it would be worthwhile to note that many of those that we see packaged to address a certain drying problem is (chemically prepared, obviously) but many of them have at least one component that mother nature already has as a solution to our particular problem.

In some extreme cases when everything from diet and proper caring and even doctors’ consultation had already been done as a remedy going back to nature and what its gifts can offer is the only way to go.

These gifts from nature am referring to that can address moisturization for the likes of sensitive people like me are the vegetable oils, fruit oils, plant oils and sometimes animal-secreted-fat. It’s a definite yuck alright but the reality is many chemically-based skin and hair moisturizers and conditioners actually use one of these oils or waxes as their base or at least as one of their components. Manufacturers just add a little bit of something or two to either make storage longer and easier, they add some more chemicals so that these oils and waxes can be combined with another component that would address another problem and sometimes more chemicals are added so that the mere scent they want on their product wouldn’t spoil their targeted effects. Besides with many people being provided work by companies doing toiletries and cosmetics companies have to have their own identity in making their products unique and up to date to at least even stir interest. This is what chemicals do to basic ingredients and this is also the root cause of problems of people like me. Also, one cannot rely on one pure form of vegetable or plant oil or animal-secreted wax for the sole reason that some of these really have to be tampered with in order to be usable. Plus, though the scent of a natural essence of plants’ oil like rose, peppermint, jasmine and the likes can be added to natural plant oils, vegetable oils and even natural wax this makes storing of these concoctions a little shorter.

Much as they say all natural is okay and safe in using any pure form of vegetable oil this is not so the case for a skin that easily breaks out due to oiliness and/ or sensitivity still has to try and find which pure form of vegetable or plant oil would work for her. Fortunately, from experience, if it works for the hair it would work for the skin and vice versa.

The most important thing to consider when it comes to considering using any pure natural vegetable oil, plant oil or wax or considering a product that has these as additives is to consider their clogging probability, i.e., whether they are comedogenic (they can clog pores and produce comedones or acne) or whether they are non-comedogenic (safe to use in acne prone skin).

The following natural oils are classified in the medium clogging probability to high clogging probability so there is no need to know which belongs where or even where this type of oil or element came from. This list isn’t complete.

Corn Oil

Cocoa Butter
Cottonseed Oil
Cocounut Oil
Crisco
Sodium Chloride
Glyceryl Stearate SE
Wheat Germ Oil
Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
Mink Oil
Soybean Oil
Sulfonated Castor Oil

On the other hand the following are the natural oils that have low clogging probability and is safe to use as a sole moisturizer of sensitive people for their hair or skin or basically just be used as a basis of soaps, shampoos, lotions, lip balms…This list isn’t complete.
  Almond Oil (Sweet Almond) – is a superb skin emollient and is used my massage therapists. Almond oil is mild, lightweight and a good substitute for those who rely on olive oil as their moisturizer.
  Anhydrous Lanolin – is a yellow waxy substance from the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals. Though known as ‘Wool Fat’ this is really a wax.
Anhydrous Lanolin is very much used in the beauty world in products ranging from facial cosmetics and popular lip balms. Many protective products for baby’s skin are made from lanolin as those skin products that nursing mothers use.
  Avocado Oil – used for lubrication and cosmetics because of its regenerative and moisturizing properties.
  Beeswax – the wax that honey bees produce in their hives. This contains fatty acids and various long chain alcohols. Its purified and bleached version is used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Beeswax is considered one of the “barrier creams” that usually are known to either be mineral-oil-based-creams or petroleum jelly.
  Candelilla Wax – derived from the leaves of the Candelilla shrub which is native to northern Mexico and southwestern United States. It is mixed with other waxes to raise their melting point. It is used in cosmetics as a component of lip balms and lotions. It is a good substitute for beeswax.
  Glycerin – is a simple alcohol-type of compound that improves skin or hair’s smoothness. It is also used in toothpastes, mouthwashes, and water based personal lubricants.

  Olive Oil – is the most available form of vegetable oil anywhere in the world and its extra virgin type is the preferred grade for moisturizing the skin especially when doing the oil cleansing method (OCM). Olive oil also is known for preventing growth of tumors related to skin cancer.

  Sesame Oil – ideal for oil massage: from the scalp to the feet as this is known to penetrate the skin easily.

 Sunflower Oil – like many oils is known for retaining moisture on the skin.

If you already found a product: pure, chemically-prepared or not that works for you stick to it. You’d save yourself a lot of time, money and a terrible headache.

Read more: http://quazen.com/shopping/skin-sensitivity-sensitivity-to-scents-and-pocket-sensitive-guide-to-beauty-hair-and-skin-conditioning/#ixzz1JGC4nws0

Skin Sensitivity, Sensitivity to Scents and Pocket-Sensitive Guide to Beauty: Coloring / Enhancing Hair the Chemical Free Way

At a time when almost everything comes from manufacturers' million dollar factories and getting everything ready-made from store shelves is as common as having no alternative but to breathe the already polluted air one would seem a sore thumb when one goes back, a little in time, and rely on good old things, good old remedies, good old practices, good old beauty treatments...not by choice but by necessity.


Having a permanent blush on the face when one is not even a Caucasian is a sign of how sensitive a skin is. That's my skin. And people like me with sensitive skin know that this sensitivity extends all over one's body and isn't just confined to the face.


Sensitive skin isn't just a skin that blushes easily, is with a permanent red color or is plainly afflicted with rosacea. Sensitive skin entails tendency to breakout almost anywhere. As much as this would limit already our choice of toiletries and even sometimes put a hamper even on our diet nothing comes closer to being enslaved by this condition than also having a sensitive sense of smell that, if assaulted with strong scents, can send me and those like me to debilitating migraine hell, that even with medication, might take two days to go away.


Much as anything and everything unimaginably bad had been accorded to anything mass-produced I still cannot downplay the ingenuity that modern times' knowledge and convenience brought about, that oftentimes comes, in a single bottle or sachet. I, for one, try out these things out of sheer curiosity and with the hope of making my life a little better and easier coupled with the chance of experiencing what most people are just taking for granted. However if one of my sensitivities is triggered then I try to go back to what works for me and sometimes do a research on how they do these things in the olden days when everything else is much simpler, much less cheaper and most importantly more natural with side effects close to none.


And now, here is the product of my disposition, curiosity and my intention to help and probably educate those who are like me and put them in a category very much different but very much into things that makes one pretty, lovely, confident and one with all the others even if it is just in the quest of taking care of one's self.


Let's start with a sensitive person's guide to coloring her hair...


I’d say go with your natural hue. Black is black. Brown is Brown, Red is red. Blond is blond and, in being natural, white is white. They might come in different shades of darkness or lightness but hair color just falls in these five categories.

Word of precaution and disappointment but there’s nothing in this article on achieving the well-placed highlights that are done in salons made by using chemicals. This is just basically going natural, as much as possible, all the way with a little help from mother nature’s gifts. Likewise, much as there are unbelievably countless natural ways of doing one’s hair coloring, I opted to share the easiest ones to do with the most accessible hair colorant source there could possibly be wherever you are in the world.


Much as one could go for another hair color with the aid of these suggested hair colorants please be reminded at once of the fact that since these are natural and the drastic intensity nor lasting effect by a mere one application of these concoctions compared to the mass-produced hair colorants wouldn’t be realized.
  White Hair – Gone are the days when white hair spells wasting away due to age. At this point, with the likes of glamorous, successful and respected actresses at the prime of their lives like Helen Mirren and Judi Dench it is quite obvious that white hair is now an asset. Of course as with anything and everything white hair is downright an asset provided the hair is cut to compliment one’s face shape and built. It also pays a lot when white hair is shiny and healthy.
  Naturally Darkening White Hair – Make a strong concoction of a cup of hot water with sage and a little rosemary. Let it cool and pour over hair making sure the entire head of your hair gets wet. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes then wash hair as usual. This may have to be done every week or two until the wanted level of darkening is achieved.
  Naturally Making Untouched Hair of Any Color Shine (Natural Clarifying Concotion) - Mix a hair rinse using 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar with 1 qt. of distilled water. Use as a final hair rinse. Note that there are some texts saying that plain white vinegar can’t be used because it can deprive the hair of nutrients. Personally apple cider vinegar doesn’t come cheap in my part of the world (apple trees don’t grow here) and since any type of vinegar is acidic then white vinegar is what I use. It does produce the same shiny and conditioning effect because it gets rid of chemical build-up brought about by things we use on our hair. Plus white vinegar doesn’t smell that much awful unlike when an apple cider vinger is used. You can adjust the water to vinegar ratio as experience had me having a burning sensation on my scalp when I used a different brand of white vinegar. A hair conditioner wouldn’t be needed after doing this vinegar hair rinse.

Reminder When Using Vinegar as Hair Rinse – Vinegar is acidic and the use of a vinegar hair rinse is only advised once a week otherwise the hair would turn brittle. No need to worry regarding the vinegar smell for it would disappear the moment hair dries.
  Black Hair / Brown Hair - Naturally brown-haired people are allowed the most freedom in the hair coloring department since a slight change from going to black or having a reddish tint is not going to take drastic contrast with their natural skin coloring.
Likewise some black-haired women, especially with the naturally straight hair, are advised to have a little hint of color on their mane to add a little drama. Those with natural black curls just need to maintain the shine if they are not interested at all in adding any color to their tresses.
 Naturally Darkening Brown / Black Hair - Rinse hair daily with strong black coffee or black tea. Do this 15 times with the same concoction using a container to catch the liquid and leave on until dry then rinse with water. Repeat weekly until desired shade of black is achieved then do this only monthly to maintain darkened color.
 Naturally Lightening Brown / Black Hair – Mix water in turmeric to form a paste. This could be done by doubling the amount of water based on the amount of turmeric powder. For a whole head of thick, shoulder-length hair try a little medicine measuring cupful of turmeric and twice the amount of water. Though the real root of turmericcan be used this would be time consuming to prepare. Apply the turmeric paste on hair and rinse after 15 minutes then extend next time if desired hair color hadn’t been achieved yet. Expect a yellow or deep orange hint of color on hair so use turmeric sparingly.
  Naturally Enghancing Red Hair - Mix equal parts of beet juice and carrot juice. Rinse hair 15 times with the same liquid using a bowl to capture the concoction for reuse for the remaining no. of rinsings needed for this one session.
  Naturally Lightening Blonde Hair Ever More - Mix 1 cup of lemon juice with 3 cups of chamomile tea. Rinse with this same liquid for 15 times.

Top Reminders:

• If hair is suffering from other problems like split ends these would have to be addressed first with a haircut. Though these natural hair colorants are as pure as they can the way nature intended damaged hair is already damaged hair and they would have to be addressed accordingly.
• As with any hair colorants, chemically-made or not, hair would go a little dry the moment you put color on it.

• Don’t be any wiser and insist on doing these hair coloring your way, for example dissolving turmeric and adding it to your leave-on conditioner. These are colorants and they would stain your skin, your hair accessory and your clothes. Besides nothing is more alarming as seeing one trickle with perspiration from the head in yellow, black or even red.

• The effect of the natural hair colorants depend on one’s natural hair color with white hair and blondes producing the most result with the brown / black-haired people achieving the most sublte.

• These are natural hair colorants and the same intensity and fast results by one application compared to hair colorants chemically produced wouldn’t be realized.

• Be prepared to do a little cleanup wherever you would do your natural hair coloring since they can stain the bowl, the sink, the bathroom…

• If you decide to stick to this natural hair coloring process then when to color again depends on when you think you need it.

Read more: http://beyondjane.com/beauty/hair/coloring-enhancing-hair-the-chemical-free-way/#ixzz1IRiwFKkS