Showing posts with label Beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beauty. Show all posts

Friday, August 10, 2007

Facial Masks

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What You Should Know About Facial Masks
CareFair.com


There seems to be differing opinions when it comes to the question: Do masks/facials really work?
More tend to say “yes” than “no,” but there are some conditions:

Consistency
You need to use facial masks on a regular basis. If you only take a multi-vitamin once a month, it’s really not going to make much of a difference and the same is true of facial masks. In order for your skin to reap the full rewards of a facial mask, you need to be applying one at least once a week. Done regularly, a mask can re-hydrate dry skin or soak up excess oil and tighten pores on oily skin. (The best for oily skins are masks make of milk of magnesia). Additionally, AHA peels with concentrations of 20% to 35% with a pH of 3.5 do a fantastic job of making skin appear smoother.

Know your Stuff
If you are applying a facial mask yourself, make sure you are using one that is appropriate for your skin-type. There are ones specifically for dry or oily skin; or if your skin appears to be especially dull you’ll want to find a mask that contains alpha hydroxy acids. Alpha hydroxy masks in particular are much stronger than your average mask, so you should really only use them about once a month. On the other hand, if you are going in for a professional facial or other treatment, make sure you are going to a reputable expert. Many in the field question the use of various peels and other types of skin treatments when performed by anyone other than a physician. If you’re going for a mud mask, an esthetician will do, but anything more complex and you’ll want to make sure you are getting top-notch treatment.

Don’t Expect Miracles, and Just Relax>
Even those who say using facial masks are a bunch of bologna, can’t deny the benefits that come from the relaxation you experience when you are forced to just stop for at least twenty minutes. Just for the sake of argument, let’s say masks don’t do a darn thing for your skin. Well, at the very least, they don’t do any harm and everyone needs at least twenty minutes a week to just lay still and close their eyes.

So, give yourself a facial every week if you feel like it. After all, why not? It certainly couldn’t hurt!
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I'm not a girl who does facial masks daily but at least twice a month. Perhaps I should really start doing it every week in order to have beautiful skin. Although I get quite tons of compliments on my skin, I believe there's still always room for perfection. :) Anyways, as for beauty spas, I don't visit them as it ain't my cup of tea, thus, I prefer facial masks more in the comfort of my own home. Well, surely it's wonderful to visit the spas as they're luxurious and pampering, however, I feel it's much better to spend on something else like make-up and clothes. After all, there's always D-I-Y facial masks. :)

In the meantime, there's other cosmetic facial masks / products which I truly like, and one of them is St. Ives Peel-Off Hydroxy Masque. Each time I use it, I gotta say it would leave my skin smoother, softer and more radiant, and yes, definitely the top of my beauty list. :D

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Skin Whitening / Lightening

Every girl or woman wants to be beautiful. To be more specific, the female gender wants to be beautiful, and there's no doubt I want it too, or perhaps I should say to stay as pretty and beautiful always. I know I'm vain, so do pardon me as I go on with this vanity post of mine. :p

According to wikipedia.com, skin whitening is a term covering a variety of cosmetic methods used to whiten the skin. It is especially popular in Eastern Asian countries, but is also used in parts of Latin America, Southern Africa, Mauritius and the United States.

So, what is up with all the skin whitening / lightening craze that occuring and advertisments /marketing that you see on tv, in magazines, billboard etc.? Well, according to health-cares.net, skin whitening works by absorbing the UV rays, thus preventing the sun from darkening your skin. Also, by reducing the production of melanin, the skin pigment found in your skin which is responsible for skin darkening. In other words, it helps one to achieve a more lighter, youthful and radiant complexion.

As I notice my skin gets darker and more dull lately, I believe it's due to over exposure to sun rays, or perhaps an imbalance diet. At the same time, although I have quite a number of good skin care products, I don't really use them, or should I say I don't use them diligently or religiously. BUT, I finally realize it IS important to maintain a proper skin care regime (basic steps : cleanse, tone and moisturize), and also to protect the skin from harmful rays by slathering the right SPF in order to have GOOD skin.

Thus, I've been doing all those beauty steps lately. Looking back, I used to skip the toning part, but I realized toning does help in one way or another as my T-zone is getting less oily-er day by day. In fact, I'm achieving softer and smoother skin, and let's just see if my Loreal 'White Perfect' skin care set truly works on me. :)

Next time when I look at myself at the mirror and ask "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?", hopefully it'd answer me "Stephanie, you ARE the fairest of them all." Tee-hee :P