What’s In The Bottle?
Author: Alayna Fries
Source: isnare.com
Do you ever think about what is really in that pretty bottle you purchase at the beauty counter?…What ingredients make up your skin care products?
I want to share with you about what some manufacturers are doing to the skin care products. You may think your skin care products are the best for your skin, but for the most part are bad and they are doing little good for your skin. When you buy your products to use in the comfort of your home, you may find that you can’t even pronounce the weird names on the label. You may have no idea what they are and probably never heard of them in your entire life. You believe it is okay to use these products because you may have been told that the product is great for you skin. You may have been told it will make you have flawless and fabulous skin and it will make all your skin symptoms disappear.
But then when I found out what was in them, WHOA!!! By my very own experience, I was shocked to discover the information I found about the ingredients I was putting on my skin everyday.
Do you know that most of the skin care products on the market today are full of crap?
I am sure what you discover will shock you as well. I personally found a huge company, claiming their product was Dermatologist recommended and that it won’t clog pores. Then I turn it over to read the ingredients, and found that it contains sodium tallowate, otherwise known as animal fats. Animal fats are known to clog pores and cause acne.
The Skin Care Industry has conducted surveys concerning natural products. These surveys proved that customers prefer all natural products on the market. There has been a heavy increase of natural products on the market, which is good, but what bothers me about this is many of these products are far from being natural. They may contain some natural ingredients or essential oils, but they still contain many harmful toxins and chemicals such as parabens, sulfates, and urea. This can be very misleading to you when you are out shopping for the best product for yourself. Let me suggest you don’t allow these skin care products to go on your skin and in your body! You understand that these products do get absorbed into your body through your skin, don’t you?
Many skin care products on the shelves are loaded with toxic, harmful, synthetic ingredients and they are very damaging to the skin, let alone your health.
Here are some others you have to watch out for…..
EDTA (Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid) is a preservative found in skin care products. It’s primary use as I understand is to keep the product from experiencing changes in color and keeping the product in tact. Which in and of itself does not sound like a really bad thing, my problem with this acid is it can cause redness of the skin as well as enable other toxic chemicals to enter more freely into the bloodstream. Other known hazards of this ingredient are that it prevents the regeneration of the new skin cells.
Glycerin is a fake moisturizer that is derived from propylene alcohol, which as I will discuss as a drying agent. Glycerin is in products claiming that they will hydrate the skin, but it actually does the opposite. My understanding is that glycerin steals or draws moisture from the inside of the body, so it will make it feel like it moisturizes and hydrates, but it really isn’t moisturizing the skin. Once the product is absorbed into the skin, it again becomes dry, it is simply a “quick fix.” What happens when you run out of this product? What does your skin feel like then? Is it still soft and supple? Let me suggest that you consider a product that will promote the natural balance of oils in your skin and body. Look for the ingredient Vegetable Glycerin, this is an emollient naturally extracted from vegetable oils. In my opinion, I think you should give the hand and body lotions up. Throw them out, you will be very happy you did. You will experience softer hands and a softer body. I do.
Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA) This is another one of those acids that scare me. I say this because of the skin damage that may result from long term use for exfoliation purposes. Continued use for exfoliation, can break down the skin’s protective barriers. I say this because I understand it takes more than just dead skin cells off while exfoliating. In my opinion, if you feel you need to use alpha hydroxy acids, do so at your own risk.
Petrolatum this is an ingredient that can actually interfere with the body’s own moisturizing mechanism and can lead to dry skin and cracking. This ingredient is found in moisturizers and lip balms to protect them from chapping and sunburn. The skin can become sensitive to the sun if you use petroleum based products. Think about it like this, what happens when you put french fries in a fryer full of oil, they cook. Do you want to cook your skin? If so, pile on the oil and take a walk in the sun.
The manufacturers say that by using these petroleum based products you can achieve amazing, moist skin, and the dryness will go away. What you may find is that by using these products, your skin tends to become drier than when you began using the product and your symptoms may worsen. Your skin may have been simply over exposed to the ingredient. It also promotes acne and slows down normal cell development.
All of these synthetic ingredients I have discussed to this point are found in most skin care products, so you may want to look at your very own skin care products, and see if you recognize any of those ingredients I mentioned, so you can see what I am talking about.
Are Women Really Having it All
Author: Sandy Francis
Source: ezinearticles.com
At some point in their lives, most women will have to make a choice bewteen their career, and the possibility of raising a family. In the 21st century, is it possible that a woman can have both? The current economic climate dictates that both men and women need to work as many hours as possible. The worldwide recession is hitting home. There are so many permutations. Part time, full time, job share, work from home, self employed. The good thing for potential working mothers is that they have a choice. For women, there are many pressures surrounding the phrase ‘working mum’, mostly from other women, and male employers. Once a mother has made the decision to return to work, there are a thousand things to be concerned about.
Childcare, natural bonding, travel arrangements, time management – the list may in fact be endless. But examination of a gropu of women’s motives for returning to their careers reveals far more than economic concerns. Many young women who had reached seniority within their spheres believed they were being ‘held back’ by their employers, just in case they decided to have children at some point. Many who reached the pinnacle of their careers and then did go on to have children found that their job description would have altered, promotion no longer an option, or their hours drastically reduced. But the argument here is that if they reached senior positions in the first place, it is because they are good at their job.
A child does not alter that fact, but it does alter how everyone else perceives the woman herself. When that woman is balancing a top occupation with organsing a nanny, daycare, transport, shopping, cooking and running a household, outsiders might start to ask questions of her commitment to work or family. Other women often snipe in a backhanded fashion. ‘I don’t know you do it’, can often really mean ‘I don’t think you should be doing it’. Then there is the problem of being made to feel guilty about leaving young children with daycare. Who is really bringing them up? What happens if they are ill? How does that reflect upon the mother? Does she really love her child? For women it seems tough enough without having to answer questions about her maternal instincts. A man is never questioned about his paternal instincts, as men are expected to work and provide a sound basic living standard for his family. A working married mother may wish to continue working to maintain her own standards, enjoy the day with adult conversation, or simply feel like maintaining her own identity. Susan may want to have everyone see her as ‘Susan’, not ‘Eve’s mum’.
But single mothers have the toughest time of all. The alternative to work is a life of living on benefits, which some might accept, but most will not. A single mother probably cannot afford childcare, and has to rely on friends and family a lot more. Working part time, or working from home are great options, but like everyone else, a single mother wants to ensure a decent future for their child. Apart from the financial rewards, working ensures that women feel ‘in control’ of some aspect of their lives. It might not be any fun leaving the house early, and coming home late to cooking and housework, but it tends to lead to independent, solid, rounded children. The days when one or both parents are able to spend quality time with the children makes that time far more special and worthwhile. Working women, on the whole, are far more patient, and tend to do more as a family during their spare time than mothers who are with their children 24/7. While working mums might not be around at all times to be as supportive as they should be, they generally do what they can. Life is never perfect, but until men are able to see a woman’s point of view, it never will be.
Sandy Francis is a recently retired sportsman, who now dedicates his time to his original vocation of writing. His latest website at http://www.dubbletake.110mb.com features articles and solutions on health, fitness, diet, and well being.
