Facial Exercises for a Youthful Complexion

By Van Le | The gym is often a place associated with physical fitness, strong muscles, and a healthy lifestyle. While we commit to hours each day at the local gym to work off those love handles or build the perfect six pack, we often forget to exercise the most important factor in our physical appearance: our face. While professional gym equipment can cost thousands of dollars exercising our facial muscles costs nothing. Exercise leads to stronger muscles and firmer skin, and the results are the same whether done on the abs or face. One of the best ways to reverse saggy facial skin is to exercise the muscles underneath.

Natural expressions - such as smiling - are a great way to work out our face, but the problem is we don’t do it enough or we have habitual expressions such as frowning or squinting that can contribute to wrinkles or fine lines. There are several other ways to exercise our face for a toned, healthier complexion, and they all can be done from the comfort of our own homes.

Forehead: Place your index fingers just above your eyes and pull down your eyes while raising your eyebrows. This facial exercise firms your forehead. Repeat this exercise ten times.

Lips: Suck on your finger as hard as possible and slowly remove it. Repeat this exercise ten times for firmer lips.

Eyes: Sit with your eyes closed and relaxed. While keeping your eyes closed, look down and look up as far as possible. Repeat this exercise ten to fifteen times.

Sit straight with your eyes closed and relaxed. Lift your eyebrows and stretch your eyelids down as far as possible by keeping your eyes closed. Keep in this position for a count of ten, relax and repeat it ten times.

Cheeks: Take your three center fingers and place them on the cheeks and push them down. At the same time, raise your cheeks by smiling as hard as you can. Keep your head back when you are performing this workout.

Neck: Sit straight and tilt your head back looking at the ceiling. Keep your lips closed and relaxed. Move your lower lip over your top lip as far as possible and keep for a count of ten. Relax and repeat ten times.

Double chin: sit straight in a chair and tilt your head back and look at the ceiling. Keep your lips closed and relaxed. Make your lips round, count up to twenty and relax and bring your head back to the normal position.*

As we age, gravity takes its toll, especially around the facial areas. While we can’t turn back the hands of time or stop the natural aging process, we are in control of factors such as how we age and how we can minimize the signs of aging. An overall healthy lifestyle, including a proper diet, adequate amounts of exercise, and everyday beneficial personal choices can all lead to a younger-looking appearance and increased personal happiness.

*Exercise tips taken from fitnesshealthzone.com

Van Le is a staff writer for the CSU Daily Titan and writing intern for Vivoderm Laboratories in Los Angeles, California. She is currently pursuing a Journalism degree at California State University, Fullerton.

For the latest findings on natural skincare and facemasks, you can also link to http://bestfacemask.com

Facials for Acne

The results you get from facial treatments depends on many factors, most importantly the severity of your acne, how often you have the procedure done, how consistent you are with your skin care regimen at home, and the skill of the esthetician performing the treatment.

People with blackheads and other non-inflammatory blemishes may indeed find regular facials help to reduce the amount of breakouts they experience. During a facial treatment, estheticians perform extractions by manually removing pore blockages, or comedones. By extracting these impactions, the pores are cleared of excess oil and cellular debris. Blemishes are less likely to form, improving some cases of non-inflammatory acne.

Mild inflammatory acne can also be treated at the salon, but a dermatologist should see anyone who has moderate to severe acne. A good esthetician will know when a case of acne is beyond her expertise and will refer you to a doctor.

This isn’t to say that those with more advanced cases of acne can’t enjoy or benefit from regular facials. An esthetician can offer treatments complementary to a doctor’s care. Some dermatologists even employ estheticians to perform facials right in their office.

During a facial, the esthetician begins by thoroughly cleansing the skin. Various masks, steam baths, and facial massage may be incorporated into the treatment. The esthetician may use products to reduce surface oil, remove dead skin cells, soothe, or hydrate. Your esthetician can also recommend products for at-home use, like cleansers and moisturizers, that won’t aggravate your acne.

If the skin is at all inflamed, extractions should be held at a minimum if they are done at all. No one, not even an esthetician, should attempt to extract deep inflamed blemishes such as nodules and cysts.

If you decide to make facials a part of your skin care routine, remember you will get the best results if they are done regularly. Be sure to tell your esthetician about all topical and oral medications you are currently using to avoid unwanted reactions. For example, vigorous exfoliation should not be done on anyone taking Accutane (isotretinoin) or using topical retinoids like Differin or Retin A. If a dermatologist is treating your acne, it’s always a good idea to talk to him or her before having any facial treatment done.

_{Source:Gerson, Joel; Ph.D.. Standard Textbook for Professional Estheticians. 8th edition. Albany, NY: Milady Publishing, 1999.}

Facial Toners

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Alcohol-free Facial Toner Best for Balancing skin PH

Facial toner should not be confused with astringent, which can strip the skin of its vital acid balance due to higher concentrations of alcohol. Alcohol-free toner helps to instantly restore the natural PH level of your skin. Toning is a step usually taken after cleansing and before moisturizing. It works best to help balance the skin, remove residual cleanser, clear the pores and soothe the skin.

“Alcohol-free facial toner is a vital transition between cleansing and treatment. The Vivoderm toner, for example, is enriched with minerals and natural herbal astringents to purify hydrate and normalize the skin. The grape seed and green tea extracts soothe and tone the skin preparing it to readily receive the maximum benefits of skin care to follow,” reports Dr. Noushin Adhami, Vice President of Vivoderm Laboratories.

Natural facial toner that combines herbal ingredients, like grape seed or green tea extract work more holistically than alcohol-based astringents. Grape seed contains “oligomeric proanthocyanidin” or OPCs showing medicinal and pharmacological properties against oxidative-caused cellular stress. Radical-scavenging effects have also been reported. The bioflavonoids in grape seed are water-soluble and have antioxidant and ‘adaptogenic’ or stress-resistant properties, which help defend against a number of negative environmental factors, including smoke, radiation and chemicals. Green tea extract has been reported act as a protective agent of skin from ultraviolet light.

What all this means is, in order to achieve optimal health, your skin needs sufficient blood supply, hydration, moisture, oxygen and thickness. The natural facial toner is also a complementary part of the anti-aging prevention tools. Facial toner should promote skin health and vitality by toning the skin and retaining the skin’s natural moisture.

Do Facials Help With Wrinkles

You may have seen an infomercial on television or come across an ad on the internet that claims their product will completely diminish your wrinkles. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If a product really had the capability to get rid of deep wrinkles 100%, you would hear it all over the news and it would probably be on Oprah.

This is not to say that absolutely no wrinkle treatment will ever work. You just need to remember that there is no magic treatment. The best way to have great skin is by preventing. Protect your skin from the sun and take care of it both inside and out. Think about it, what if you had put on SPF 30 sunblock every 2 hours everyday of your life since the day you were born? You would probably look years younger and possibly have not a wrinkle in site. Read more

How Facial Masks Work

Facial masks are a great way to treat your skin to a once a week spa type of treatment. You can find masks for any skin type with a variety of different ingredients. There are mud masks to help to smooth your skin as well as some that are specifically designed to help with acne problems. All masks are good for your skin and help to tone and sooth your skin.

A mask for your face should be applied once or twice weekly. You don’t want to use them too frequently as they can upset the balance of your skin. The way that most facial masks work is that you put them on your face and wait for a specified period of time until you feel it dry and your skins starts feeling a little tight. Don’t freak out, this is a normal part of the process and it is not taking over your face! After this you usually will give it another few minutes and then rinse your skin. Some people choose to use water by itself and others like to remove the mask with a wash cloth, it’s entirely up to you. Afterwards you should dry your face totally and moisturize it because masks remove some moisture from your skin. This is why I sad earlier not to use them too frequently.

There are also full body masks available that can treat all of your skin at the same time. These work in exactly the same way as the ones for your face and they can help renew the look of your skin all over. It is not possible to do this properly at home so you will have to have one of these applied by a professional. Thankfully, there are many full service salons that offer this service and it is a real treat to have done. When you schedule yourself for one of these be sure to drink lots of water before and after to help remove toxins, help replace lost moisture, and re-hydrate you body. Water is crucial because just as with a facial mask these also remove moisture but on a much larger scale.

Educating yourself about different types of lotions and masks will help you keep your skin clear and give you the healthy glow you want. Water is a beauty secret that many women overlook. The key to beautiful clear skin is adequate hydration and water is crucial in this process as it not only helps your skin hydrate itself but also helps to remove toxins. Utilize what you have learned here and you will have beautiful and radiant skin that others will envy.

Facial Mask at Home

Spending a bomb to buy a facial product with claims of having all natural ingredients for beautiful skin and having drastic results on its usage is very depressing for any beauty conscious woman. We see wide varieties of cosmetics available in supermarkets, department stores, health food stores as well as internet and TV.

Not everybody has the same skin type. What product works on your friend’s skin, might not work for you and vice versa. If you buy a product for your skin type, it could have adverse effect as there could be some chemical or ingredient which could cause a reaction on your skin. Moral of the story - “Not all cosmetic products work well for everyone’s skin”.

Cosmetics labeled as having “natural ingredients” do contain some amount of artificial chemicals or elements. With over priced cosmetics made from natural ingredients, many people have started preparing beauty products at home. Making a facial mask at home with all the ingredients available in the kitchen is quite easy and inexpensive.

- Create a salon like atmosphere while doing a facial at home. Ideally they tie your hair in high ponytail or make you wear a band around head. Choose to do what ever you feel comfortable about.

- Start by splashing tepid water all over your face. Massage your face gently with water. Repeat it twice or thrice and let your face air dry.

- While your face is still damp, massage vitamin E on your face. Let your face soak the oil for 5 minutes or so. Use a mild soap to remove the oil from your face.

- Again splash your face with water at room temperate. Repeat it for 2 or 3 times. Avoid towel drying your face.

- Next make your facial mask. Blend 1 egg white or fresh Aloe Vera juice of same quantity, 2 tsp vegetable oil and 1 tsp pure apple juice in a clean bowl.

- Dip your hands in the facial mask and apply the mask to your skin. Start with your chin, move upwards and then outwards skipping the area around the eyes and lips.

- Now you have to just sit back and relax. Cover your eyes with wet cotton balls or cucumber pieces. The mask has to dry completely. An ideal time for a small nap.

- Mask takes anywhere from 20 - 30 minutes to dry. You feel your skin tightened when the mask is dry. Splash water all over face and gently remove the mask with light massage strokes on your face. Continue doing this till your face is cleared of the entire home made facial mask. Let your face air dry.

Use this home made facial mask once or twice a week or depending up on the time you have on hand. You will feel fresh and have much younger looking face all the time.