Simple Ways to get Beautiful Hair and Skin all year round

           

For many people, the winter can cause harmful effects for our skin such as extremely dry skin, and even eczema begins to appear. Even after the winter you may still feel the effects of cracked, flaky, irritated and inflamed skin. Hair also becomes extremely dried out so its important to take action. Try these boosting tips to help keep your skin and hair moist and healthy.
            Firstly, if drugstore products are not helping or even making your skin worse. You should consider seeking a specialist such as a dermatologist or esthetician. When you see a specialist she can figure out what skin type you have, and give you advice on what skin care you should be using.
            Secondly, it’s important to moisturize everyday. Your moisturizer should be “oil based” rather than “water based” because the oil creates a protective layer that retains more moisture. You should always remember that not all lotions will work on your face. You may want to think twice about using a body lotion for your face because it can make you break out. Always looking for moisturizers that are hypoallergenic and non-clogging. Also, you should be using your sunscreen all year round. Winter sun can be damaging for your skin too. You should apply sunscreen to your skin 30 minutes before you go outside and keep reapplying if you are going to stay outside.
    Furthermore, if your skin feels very dry you should avoid using harsh peels, masks, and alcohol-based toners or astringents. All of this can strip necessary oil from your skin. Also, showering for too long in steaming hot water can also dry out your skin. You should stick to taking a 10-minute or less shower with lukewarm water.
            Thirdly, what you eat is vital for your skin. The next time you take a trip to the grocery store, you should fill up a cart with foods that are filled with mono saturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, olive oil, flax or avocados. Vitamin C is also important for the body’s production of collagen so you should consider picking up citrus fruits or dark leafy greens.
            In addition, hair can become extremely damaged during the winter. Shampooing strips vital oils from the scale, so its recommended to wash your hair every other day. To prevent further damage or breakage, avoid blow drying or brushing hair when its wet. When your hair is wet it’s extremely delicate and you will have to use a lot of heat in order to dry it. If your hair feels extremely dry you should consider using argan oil as well.
            Lastly, stress can make skin more sensitive and can cause acne breakouts. It’s important to manage your stress by setting reasonable goals, and taking time to do the thins you enjoy.
            Overall, following these tips can help keep your skin beautiful and glowing all year round.  As well as healthy and bouncy hair so that you do  not have to get as many haircuts throughout the year.

Aromatherapy For Stress Relief

Are you stressed? Aromatherapy can be a tremendous help in stress relief. We are all faced with stress at some point in our lives. Controlling it is crucial to your overall health and well-being. Stress lowers your resistance and makes you more vulnerable to illness and disease. It can also be mentally crippling. Aromatherapy is a technique that uses the body's sense of smell to help boost your mood, relieve stress, energize and encourage better health. 

 

Aromatherapy stimulates different parts of the brain to achieve relaxation. One of which is the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is controlled by the hypothalamus, which is responsible for how the body responds to stressful situations. Another part of the brain that it’s triggered is the limbic system. It is activated once the essential oils are inhaled. The essential oils stimulate the release of neurotransmitters such as encephalins and serotonin, which offers relaxation and elimination of stress.

Using Aromatherapy As Stress Relief

A great way for individuals to use herbal stress remedies is to bear the aroma with them. Prior to leaving the house, add in a few drops of essential oils on a paper towel or a hanky. Place it inside any plastic bag (e.g. a ziplock back) which allows the aroma to be enclosed. Every time one feels stressed, they can inhale deeply with the scented cloth near their noise. It allows the scent to be registered in the brain, which leads to stress relief. Make sure the oil doesn’t come in contact with the nose. The smell can be overwhelming and may also cause an allergic reaction. Aromatherapy for stress can be used with an oil burner. It can feel a room with the wonderful fragrance of tranquility.

 Aromatherapy for Stress – Stress Relief With Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus essential oil is one of the most affordable essential oils in the market. It can stimulate the brain, allowing better concentration. It helps relieve congestion is respiratory problems. It is also effective in warding off insects. It’s incorporated in room humidifiers and vaporizers for its antiseptic effects. Its effects can be strengthened when combined with other essential oils.

 Aromatherapy for Stress – Stress Relief With Lavender

Lavender essential oil has been used by many people with sleeping problems. It enhances sleep quality by inducing relaxation. According to plenty of studies, lavender is capable of relaxing the nervous system; thus, alleviating feelings of anxiety. Even agitated behavior can be reduced. In conjunction with other treatments, lavender aromatherapy can also provide pain relief.

 

Aromatherapy Stress Relief Blends

You can try the following aromatherapy blend to relieve the mental fatigue you might experience after a long day at work or when you’re just plain tired of thinking and want to drift away to a peaceful place...

·         Patchouli (5 drops)

·         Geranium (20 drops)

·         Bergamot (10 drops)

·         Lavender (5 drops)

·         Ylang ylang (10 drops)

Mix the above oils in 5 ounces of Sweet Almond carrier oil. Add it to your hot bath and relax. It’s also great as a massage blend.

Counting sheep and still can’t sleep? If you’re suffering from stress related insomnia try this essential oil blend:

·         Marjoram (9 drops)

·         Lemon (14 drops)

Add the above oils to an aromatherapy diffuser and let the scents work their magic to send you off to a peaceful sleep.

 

Eliminating stress completely from your life is impossible. However, there are ways to manage and reduce it. Whether your stress is mental, emotional, or physical you’ll benefit greatly by following a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and making time for uninterrupted relaxation with aromatherapy pure essential oils.

Pampering4life Health Tip: Stress and Breast Cancer

A new study suggests psychological stress may play a role in the development of aggressive breast cancer, especially among minority populations.
“We found that after diagnosis, black and Hispanic breast cancer patients reported higher levels of stress than whites, and that stress was associated with tumor aggressiveness,” said Garth H. Rauscher, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Rauscher and colleagues studied patient-reported perceptions of fear, anxiety and isolation, together referred to as psychosocial stress, and associations with breast cancer aggressiveness.
He cautioned that patients’ stress levels were examined two to three months post-diagnosis.
Researchers studied nearly 1,000 recently diagnosed breast cancer patients; of those, 411 were non-Hispanic black, 397 were non-Hispanic white, and 181 were Hispanic.
Researchers discovered psychosocial stress scores were higher for both black and Hispanic patients compared to white patients.

“Those who reported higher levels of stress tended to have more aggressive tumors. However, what we don’t know is if we had asked them the same question a year or five years before diagnosis, would we have seen the same association between stress and breast cancer aggressiveness?
“It’s not clear what’s driving this association. It may be that the level of stress in these patients’ lives influenced tumor aggressiveness.
“It may be that being diagnosed with a more aggressive tumor, with a more worrisome diagnosis and more stressful treatments, influenced reports of stress. It may be that both of these are playing a role in the association.
“We don’t know the answer to that question,” Rauscher said.

Emotions lie at the core of these high-risk habits. Poor diet, a lack of exercise and use of alcohol and tobacco all increase your risk of breast cancer. And simply put, you can’t successfully change your lifestyle without reshaping your mind — or at least how you handle negative emotions, anxiety and stress. Connect the dots between how you feel and how you react, then learn to follow a different path. Counseling, meditation, imagery and other tools can help you address negative feelings head-on and teach you how to reverse the behaviors associated with them. So instead of drowning in a carton of ice cream every time you’re stressed, maybe you’ll grab your sneakers and head out for a power walk instead.

Coping with the Emotional Tide of DiagnosisOn hearing those dreaded words, “You have cancer,” even the most well-balanced of us can be thrown into a tsunami of emotions like anger, sadness, and fear. These feelings — which stem from legitimate concerns and questions — can sometimes be difficult to deal with alone.

If you’re struggling with profound emotions, enlist the help of a loved one and talk to your doctor about your options, including therapy and medication. Consider joining a cancer support group. Most hospitals and treatment centers offer one; ask your doctor or care coordinator for details.

 

Believe It to Achieve ItWhile it may seem easier said than done, positive thinking can be a huge help. Behavioral studies show that those who strongly believe in their ability to achieve a certain goal or outcome — such as staying strong enough during chemo to go for a walk every day — generally feel and function better than those who feel helpless over their situation. Here are some practical ways to feel in control of your situation and enhance your quality of life:

• Take an active role in deciding your treatment course and other issues of care.
  
• Tend to your body during treatment — even if you’re having trouble liking your body at the moment: Good nutrition, regular exercise (or as much physical activity as you can handle) and restful sleep help fight stress, boost energy and speed healing.
  
• Nurture your spirit: Engage in meaningful activities — whatever that means for you, whether it involves art, music, volunteering, meditating or spending time with loved ones.

Are you suffering from Adrenal Fatigue?

You may notice from time to time that no matter what you do to stay healthy your body just will not respond correctly. Sometimes, there is more going on then meets the eye. It could be possible that your prolong periods of fatigue is coming from a common illness know as adrenal fatigue.

The adrenal glands are located at the top of each kidney. There are two parts: the medulla, which secretes the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine, and the cortex, which secrets glucocorticoids (cortisol), mineralcorticoids and androgens (sex hormones). Combined, these are referred to as adrenocorticoids. Exposure to prolonged stress leads to adrenal stress and adrenal insufficiency. The adrenals cannot produce enough adrenocortical hormones, and the entire body is affected. Loss of adrenal function can cause death.

When a real or perceived stress is experienced, a complex whole-body response is initiated in the brain and supported by the adrenal glands. Stressors can be physical, such as illness or trauma, or psychological and emotional.

The neurotransmitter epinephrine is released during a stress response. Epinephrine works on the sympathetic nervous system, which controls heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure. Epinephrine also causes vasoconstriction, or narrowing of blood vessels, to help increase blood flow to vital organs and muscles. It causes the pupils to dilate to imporve vision. All of these responses help you when you have to fight or flee a danger.

Adrenal stress arises when, after prolonged exposure to stress, the body becomes adapted to the abnormally high levels of stress hormones and can no longer regulate cortisol production. The adrenal glands continue high output of these stress hormones. This causes a multitude of health problems similar to those found in Cushing's syndrome, a rare disease that affects the adrenal glands. High blood pressure, sleep problems, diabetes, depression, fatigue, truncal obesity and osteoporosis are the consequences of continuously elevated cortisol levels.

Natural Treatmen For Adrenal Fatigue

The last thing you may feel like doing when suffering from adrenal fatigue is exercising. However, exercising can give you an energy boost--try activities you'll enjoy, such as yoga, swimming or hiking.

Eat for long-lasting energy. Eat regular meals with lean proteins sources and complex carbonhydrates, as well as plenty of vegetables and fruit; refrain from eating junk food. Your overall nutrition is important for supporting the function of your adrenal glands.

You can supplement your diet with vitamins, especially B complex vitamins and Vitamin C. According to many experts, other supplements that may be useful for treating adrenal fatigue include astragalus, Siberian ginseng, cordyceps (a fungus), golden root and licorice root.

Drinking Tea To Manage Daily Stress

Often times we think of drinking tea to sleep better at night or relaxing during stressful times. The more popular teas like chamomile tea is the industry standard during stressful times and you can usually find this tea in several stores throughout the country. The popularity of drinking tea is becoming more common because of the recent research linked to the unhealthy habit of drinking coffee, which is leading  more people to drinking tea as a daily alternative. Many people have yet to discovered all of the healing benefits to drinking tea as a daily ritual rather you are under stressful situations or not. Popular activities known for stress relief such as meditation, yoga, and exercise are great to include in your stress relief regimen. We now know that adding tea drinking to your daily list of regimens is also a great benefit to combat stress. Managing your first signs of stress is important to long term success. You may notice there are different types of stress you can experience within your lifetime i.e. eustress, neustress, distress, and acute stress some of it is good stress that you cannot avoid and some is considered bad stress that can cause chronic illness over time. Below is a list to consider when purchasing tea as an alternative to stress relief.

Black Tea-Reduces cortisol levels which can keep stress at bay

Valerian Tea-Natures natural soothing agent which is the best tea for relief from tension

Kava Kava-The best tea to reduce anxiety and stress

Green Tea-Powerful antioxidant green tea packs but is also known to be very effective in reducing stress due to the L-Theanine found in green tea which is a natural stress reliever.

Stress is organized into several categories and measured based on their individual effectiveness on the person. The idea that you can eliminate stress is basically unrealistic but to learn how to manage stress just by exercising alternative remedies could be the answer. Drinking tea during times of high stress is the answer to your body responding in a natural way. Tea can actually speed up the recovery of daily stress and is often known to reduce stress hormones levels back to normal.  Further research is still being conducted to understand the link between drinking tea and actually healing your body and mind. At least it’s great to know you are only a cup away from getting relief. You may also take a closer look at the benefits to drinking tea as a stress reliever http://www.stress-relief-resources.com/herbal-stress-relief.html.