Archive for April, 2009:
There’s something about healthy looking fingernails that are nicely cleaned and filed to finish off a well groomed and polished appearance. There are some useful tips and information to keep your fingernails healthy and attractive.
One of the most common complaints about our fingernails is that they are prone to splitting and breaking easily. The most common cause of split fingernails is constant and repetitive contact with water from dishwashing, housework or tub baths.
Another contributing factor to split fingernails is frequent use of nail polish remover. Generally speaking, split fingernails are rarely caused by a vitamin or mineral deficiency. Certain prevention measures can be taken to minimize the occurence of split fingernails. When washing dishes or doing any other housework where your hands will be immersed in water, use a pair of rubber gloves with a cotton lining.
Don’t take long tub baths or use a hot tub or whirlpool for extended periods of time. Limit the use of nail polish remover to two times a month or less. If your nail polish chips, just retouch it in between nail polish removals. When you must use nail polish remover, use the type that does not contain acetone.
After you wash your hands, apply a moisturizing lotion not only to your hands but to your fingernails too. Do not get your fingernails manicured too often. Trim your fingernails and file them to reduce rough edges that can catch on fabrics and increase the chance of splitting. If you round the tips to a gentle curve, this will minimize splitting. If you have a fingernail split, you can repair it with either a nail glue or clear nail polish.
Acrylic nails used in manicures, most of the time, do not harm the natural nails. However, if there is a gap between your natural nail and the acrylic nail from it being bumped or jarred, there could be a hazard. This can create a problem as it sets up a warm, moist environment between the natural nail and the acrylic nail. In this environment, either bacteria or fungi can grow readily.
Another problem that can occur with acrylic nails is from them being left in place for too long or from a salon that uses unsanitary tools for the application. Either of these factors can cause an infection which will require the attention of a dermatologist. To prevent any potential problems with acrylic nails, avoid wearing them for too long, remove or replace them if they loosen and go only to a reputable salon that is licensed.
Well, wherever there is money to be made, there are sure to be con-men and con-women who will take advantage of people who may not know any better or who are desperate to get something for a dramatically reduced price or without doctor’s approval, so they can rope people in by appealing to their inner bargain hunter or by simply swindling them into thinking they are a credentialed person. It’s no different when it comes to plastic surgery. It’s not as common here in the US as it is in other countries where illegal cosmetic surgery is out of hand, like Mexico and Brazil, but it’s still something that needs to be dealt with swiftly by authorities because it truly is a life or death situation.
This story is out of the US, New York more specifically, where a woman wanted to get silicone injections into her rear end and thighs (I know, most of us want to slim those down, but some cultures view a shapely figure with lots of curves and a high waist to butt ratio to be very attractive – see cellulite treatments for information on how you may be able to slim down these parts). She began going to a woman a few years back to receive the injections, which would dissipate with time, so she would have to keep going back to keep up the appearance.
Silicone is not legalized to be used for injection into body sites as an enhancement tool, and there are also other thick liquids that are currently being used, illegally, by people who are either licensed or completely unlicensed (it’s illegal either way, but definitely more dangerous when performed by those with no credentials since there is probably a technique used that should not be).
The reason is that it can migrate to other areas of the body, because it is a free floating liquid, and because it should not be used in the body that way, whereas other injectables like restylane and juvederm are ok for that because they have minimum migration risk, and if they do migrate they are generally an inert, unharmful substance to the human body. The woman in New York had gotten these silicone injections for a few years with no incidence, but her last injection proved to be her last.
She contracted an embolism in her lung from the silicone migrating which is actually a fairly rare occurrence, but I’ve read about it happening in foreign countries where this kind of illegal enhancement is very common, which is where the silicone (or some other material) attached itself into the lung, causing complications. The FDA says that if it receives the complaints, it can prosecute those that are using this as a cosmetic surgery filler illegally, but many times these incidents go unreported, either because they aren’t caught, or because the treating doctor did not report it (doctors are not required to report this).
The people who illegally perform these procedures typically get around to patients by word of mouth, and it is particularly popular right now in the Latina and transgender community, where buttock and thigh and breast enhancement is popular but the population segment cannot afford the traditional legal surgeries or procedures to get what they want. Like I had mentioned before, although this silicone treatment is dangerous, the complications are actually fairly rare, and abuse is underreported, so it’s very difficult to catch the offenders unless (unfortunately) someone dies that has received care.
Well, I’ll say it again, I love Plus White whitening toothpaste. It’s dirt cheap, you can get it pretty much anywhere – the grocery store, the pharmacy, target, wal-mart. It also works pretty well. I’m sure it’s not as good as some of those premium teeth whitening products out there today, but it does the job, and it has a nice flavor. The only thing I’m unsure of with Plus White teeth whitening toothpastes is how easy it is on the enamel, and that does worry me sometimes, so I try to only use it about every other tube of toothpaste. It keeps my teeth pretty white even when I’m on a coffee and tea drinking spree, and even though I have blackberries and blueberries every single morning for breakfast, so I can’t complain!
Well, I finally broke down and went out and bought a new (two) bottles of liquid eyeliner, after sucking the one I had for about two years dry finally. I want to start using liquid liner a few days a week, the brown color I bought during the day for more emphasis on my eyes and something a little different from my ho hum brown eyeshadow and brown stick liner, and the black for a more dramatic, bold look in the evening or for special events. I settled on the L’Oreal brand of liquid liner because I really love the way it glides on.
I’ve previously used the L’Oreal liquid liner before, but this is in a new bottle and packaging and the brush is slight shorter. It’s a felt brush, which sounds like it could be awkward to, but in fact the felt brush is ultra easy to use and virtually idiot proof to get a flawless, straight line on your upper lid every time. I bought the dark black color of the Lineur Intense as well as a dark brown color.
I love both of them. They are in tiny bottles, so I don’t know how long they’ll last, but at seven bucks each, it’s not a bad deal in the first place. Plus, liquid liner shouldn’t be kept forever anyways – it loses it’s liquidiness (I should know, I kept mine for two years and then wondered why it didn’t go on as easy).
It will clump up and dry out easily, so it’s better that it comes in a small bottle. If you want that more dramatic cat eye look, or just want more definition to your eye or a different look for a little while, try these L’Oreal liquid liners, they’re inexpensive and they really go on great. They also wear well, but they’re not waterproof, so you can’t be going to any water parks or get caught in a downpour in these products.
I think L’Oreal, for being a drugstore brand of cosmetics, is a great product line and they offer some truly high quality and effective and boldly colored cosmetics for the price minded woman of today, and I’ll always be a loyal user of some of their eye products.
Some states are considering banning teens from tanning in tanning beds, to protect them from the sun damage that most teens don’t care about yet (I know I didn’t when I repeatedly and stupidly fried myself in the sun and in tanning beds, my poor skin!) Ironically, the sunshine state Florida is one of the seventeen states that are now considering putting a ban on teenaged indoor tanning because of the dangers it poses and because teens aren’t thought of as emotionally mature enough to consider the consequences that habitual tanning has on the skin and the overall health.
This would make the tanning decision up to the state, not the parent. Currently, in most states if a person is under the age of 18, which is considered under the age of consent in most states, a parent must sign for their child to have permission to tan in a tanning bed. Some say that this type of legislation goes overboard, but others say that it is necessary to protect them from themselves at that age. I’m tossed up, I’m not really happy about over regulation of any industry, but at the same time I know that I was not fully aware of what I was doing to my body at that young age, nor did I particularly care – I just wanted to look good and fit in – even though my pale skin barely held a tan for a day!
The rules could vary per state, with some states all out banning teen tanning below a certain age for any reason, and some states requiring a doctors note for indoor tanning for anyone under the age of 18, and some states would have different reasons why they may allow tanning to occur in those that are still teens. At any rate, we all know that indoor tanning, especially in excess and on people with very fair skin, increases the risk of skin cancer. The best option is to try a self tanning formula, I do it all the time, and once you get it down to a science, you wouldn’t even know the difference between a fake tan and a real one.
I wrote recently about how I had gotten a whole bunch of Avon makeup and cosmetic products from Amazon (free shipping if you spend over $25 by the way). And Avon products are so well priced to begin with, you get a ton of bang for your buck. However, as I’ve mentioned before, some of the Avon products are the epitome of the saying that you get what you pay for. I’m not a big fan of their lip tints of lipsticks for example. They don’t stay on very long, and they also tend to dry your lips out. Their color concentration isn’t all that great either.
However, they make a great lip balm. The Care Deeply line puts out a clear lip balm with aloe in it that’s only a buck and works great. It’s highly emollient, so a little goes a long way, and it makes you realize that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get an effective lip balm. I had tried out the Slick Tints before, which are tinted stick lip balms, and those weren’t really all that effective as a balm, but they did add a nice color to the lips.
Glazewear liquid lip color is one that I’ve tried. While the color is nice, you can tell instantly that as soon as you put it on, it’s not going to stay on long. I think that it wore off after a few sips of water actually, and it also made my lips dry out quickly, unlike some of the better, higher end lip glosses that I’ve tried. One trait I do like about the Avon product line is that they offer so many cool, modern colors that are relevant to what is in at the time, I just wish the quality of some of it was better.
Oh, by the way, Patrick Dempsey’s wife now has some products with them – her name is Jillian. I think she may be a makeup artist by trade. Their website has some useful makeup tips also if you want to check it out, it’s a good read for some new ideas to spice up your makeup application routine and maybe try some new techniques or colors.
A lot of things are suffering in this recession, and beauty products are one of them. Heck, everything that is considered, at it’s heart, a non-necessity, is suffering and those that sell some items are willing to give quite a few incentives to get you to buy their goods and services. For example, a friend of mine told me that Laser Centers are now offering to sort of negotiate with their patients on services and offerings like laser hair removal, cellulite treatments and things like laser skin improvement and resurfacing.
It doesn’t mean you can get it for free or get it for dirt cheap, but it certainly means that things that used to be non negotiable have taken on a new idea of being a negotiable service. Another example is high end hair products. I keep getting Follica.com emails that they are offering $20 off $100 orders and other freebies that come with an order when you have so much money ordered. That’s just one of them.
Sephora keeps emailing their customers with free shipping offers, free samples, and money off orders, and I just got one today that offers a free eyeliner with any organic beauty purchase. It’s an eyeliner that helps you perfect the smoky eye look, which is really in right now, and smoky eye makeup is a big seller right now because women are learning they can apply this smoldering look themselves, and with some ease!
Avon is getting in on the action with their usual free samples to lure customers in, and I’ve seen lots of the department store brands like Lancome, Estee Lauder, and Clinique offering their notorious free bags of stuff when you make a certain limit purchase. So get out there and take advantage of it while you can. Some of your favorite brands are selling cheap now, but only if you can afford it!
Could it be? Do we have a potential alternative to Botox wrinkle relaxing injections on the horizon any time soon? Well, as with most other cosmetic fads, Botox is bound to sooner or later be outdone by a competitor or even itself, as many companies tend to improve and/or evolve their own existing product lines as new technology and research becomes available.
However, it looks like this latest potential Botox competitor is not made by the same company, and comes out of Europe, where it is already approved and getting high marks for relaxing forehead wrinkles and frown lines, which is one of the most common uses for Botox. It’s another European invasion story of better, more advanced cosmetic products for wrinkles and anti aging coming over to the US.
Don’t expect it to be approved any time soon over here in the US though. We have a longer and more stringent approval process for cosmetic improvement products and anything that involves surgery or new invasive techniques or medications, so there’s no telling how long it might be, if at all, this Reloxin product becomes available here in the US. The benefits of Reloxin are said to be that it may take longer to break down completely in the muscles, which means it may last months longer before needing to be done again, unlike Botox, which typically wears off in a few months and needs to be refreshed.
It also disseminates more widely into surrounding tissues. Err, wait, is that a good thing or a bad thing you say? At least that’s what I thought when I read it, and so it’s true. It’s not the best option for those who get Botox injections to treat any areas around the eye, as it have become more popular to use as a treatment for crows feet and around the eye wrinkles. The problem with Reloxin is that it takes a highly skilled technician to do the injection correctly, because if not, it can easily leak to areas around the eyelid, causing a temporary droop to the eyelid.
Not so attractive, and very scary that it can do anything to your eyes at all. Not worth it if you ask me. It begs the question also, if it can disseminate this efficiently, what’s to stop it from migrating beyond it’s intended site of treatment? I mean, we are still talking about a muscle paralyzing concoction here, and we don’t really want that to go where it’s not supposed to.
Reloxin may also compare to Botox favorably in one other way (besides being a better treatment for forehead wrinkles – NOT around the eyes), in that it may cost about 15% less than Botox if it were introduced in to the US for use. Botox costs just over five hundred bucks for a vial currently, and depending on how much you need per injection, this could last you a whole year if you get minimal injections.
One state apparently has gotten fed up with the amount of reported injuries and infections from a popular method of waxing called the Brazilian method, in women who go get the often painful process done in salons.
Ladies, you probably have heard of a Brazilian wax, or maybe you’ve even had one, but it’s basically where the whole pubic area is cleared of hair by waxing, and it’s very popular, especially during the beach months because you get virtually spotless “down there” while you’re wearing those ittie bittie bikinis. Some women just like the feel of a Brazilian wax year round, and still others claim that it even helps enhance their sexual experiences.
I’ve never had one personally, probably since I’m a big chicken and averse to anything where I’d have to willingly subject myself to painful ripping out of my hair, especially in such a sensitive area, but I know some women who have had them. The state of New Jersey’s board of cosmetology has gotten fed up with the amount of complaints of injury and infection resulting from Brazilian bikini wax hair removal processes, and has imposed a ban on them, making it illegal to perform this specific method of hair removal.
The good news is, you can still do hair removal in your own home, you just have to use extreme caution when working in sensitive areas, especially the bikini area. Some methods of semi permanent hair removal include a personal at home epilator, where hair is removed from the root and skin is kept soft lots longer than with shaving, and another is a permanent body hair removal cream that gets down to the root and prevents fast hair regrowth.