Skin Creams Can Dry Out Skin

New research by University of Sweden shows that skin creams can actually harm the skin in that they can dry it out and weaken the skin’s existing barrier. It was shown that both the use of vegetable and mineral oil results in skin’s lessened ability to cope with the outside stress.

Click here to see the difference between dry skin and normal, healthy skin.

The topic of using oils came up recently when Susan posed a question (see the topic of post summer skin care here) about the difference between oils in skin care. I recommended the use of natural oils such as coconut oil that are much more gentle on skin and allow it to absorb it fully unlike mineral oils that leave the greasy residue and don’t do much to lubricate the skin. Adding beeswax to natural moisturizer recipes is highly recommended for any skin type but especially dry skin type where it can make a huge difference in how much of the moisture the skin takes in and retains.

Since winter is ahead of us and the dry skin type suffers the most throughout it, here are some great dry skin recipes that can help your skin.

Winter Skin Care

Here are more interesting winter skin care tips:

Winter Skin Care - Six Simple Steps

Everyone likes beautiful skin, don’t they? Dry and chapped skin can be a thing of the past and can be avoided, if you follow a few simple steps.

With winter on its way special skin care considerations are in order. Putting the moisture back in and keeping it there is of prime importance during the winter months. Keeping the moisture in your skin will reduce the harmful damaging effects of the drying winter winds.

Here are Six ways you can help keep your skin hydrated this winter:

1. Drink plenty of water . Hydrate your skin from the inside. Good ole H2O will replace moisture loss. Drink eight - 250ml (one cup) glasses of water per day to prevent dryness.

2. Choose mild soap and cleansers. Harsh soaps will strip the natural oils from your skin. Stick to milder cleansers. Choose the best soap or cleanser for your skin type. During dryer parts of the year switching to a less stringent cleanser is a consideration. If you are currently using a cleanser for an oily skin consider changing to a dry skin cleanser if you suffer from dry skin during the winter months.

3. Take short, warm showers . Long hot showers pull the natural oils from your skin leaving it dehydrated. As an added bonus taking shorter warm showers will help reduce your electricity bill.

4. Moisturize after your shower , and moisturize while your skin is still damp. This will ‘lock in’ the moisture that is on your skin preventing it from evaporating and also the moisturizer will provide additional hydration for your skin. It is important to use a moisturizer appropriate for your skin type. Elbows, knees, heels or other problem areas should receive special treatment to provide additional relief.

5. Invest in a humidifier . Generally dry winter conditions combined with central heating does double duty pulling the moisture from the air and, likewise, from your skin. The humidifier will keep more moisture in the air and thereby slow the natural daily moisture loss of your skin.

6. Don’t forget your sunscreen . A sunblock with a minimum SPF 15 is beneficial to protect yourself from the sun’s UVA UVB rays. Use a sunblock all year round, not just in the summer time. And don’t forget your lips. Use a SPF 15 on your lips to prevent chapped lips.

Invest in the future, protect your skin. You deserve it!

Are Non 12 step Recovery Approaches Effective

There are many effective alternatives to the 12-step addiction recovery approach. This article will describe the major treatments and support groups that one might choose if interested in a non-12-step (alternative) approach. These alternatives need to be widely known because individuals who might never attend an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting might attend treatment or a support group with a different approach. What might not be possible for them in AA might be possible elsewhere. It would benefit everyone if the alternative approaches were as widely known and as easily available as AA and other 12-step groups. Even AA would benefit from the individuals who chose to go elsewhere. Those remaining in AA would know that they were attending because they had freely chosen to attend, not because there might be something better but they couldn't find it!

Let's begin with alternative support groups: SMART Recovery, Women for Sobriety, LifeRing Secular Recovery, Secular Organizations for Sobriety, and Moderation Management. All support abstinence, except Moderation Management, which supports alcohol moderation or abstinence. All are non-profit organizations. All tend to have discussion meetings (with "cross-talk" as opposed to a series of speakers who don't reference each other). Women for Sobriety is the oldest, having started in the mid-1970's. SMART Recovery and Moderation Management are both science based (as opposed to AA's spiritual foundation). The recovery programs offered differ significantly from each other and from 12-step. If they don't hold meetings in your locality there are web-based meetings you can attend.

Are these alternative support groups as effective as AA? We don't know because-this may shock you-from a scientific perspective the effectiveness of AA is unknown. Although it is widely said that "AA is the only thing that works," at best this statement reflects the experience of someone who has been immersed so much in 12-step recovery that they have missed some important facts about recovery. Perhaps the most important fact about recovery is that the majority of individuals who recover do so without attending a support group or treatment (i.e., natural recovery). To be clear, if we have 100 individuals with alcohol problems, what will happen to them is unknown. If we have 100 individuals who have recovered from alcohol problems, the majority of them will have done so using natural recovery.

Do you have a hard time believing that AA is of unknown effectiveness? Consider the comments of two reputable organizations. Every three years the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services sends a report to Congress entitled Alcohol and Health. The 1990 report states: "The effectiveness of AA has not been scientifically documented, and methodological problems make such an evaluation difficult" (pg. 265). The National Academy of Sciences published in 1990 a massive report entitled Broadening the Base of Treatment for Alcohol Problems. The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by Congress as its advisory body on the application of scientific knowledge to public policy. In the United States there is no higher authority on such applications. This report (commissioned by Congress in 1986) states: "AA is considered by many lay persons and professionals to be the most successful treatment for persons with alcohol problems, despite the lack of well-designed and well-executed studies that can be cited to support or negate the validity of this perception" (pg. 111). These quotes may seem old in this internet age, but the situation has not changed. Nearly 20 years later AA remains relatively unstudied from a scientific perspective.

Best Colon Cleanser, How Does Colon Cleansing Work

Throughout our lifetime, you eat a variety of foods regardless of their nutrient contents. The digestive system itself contains at least two gallons of body fluids, liquids, and food. Since these substances may be too much for the colon to handle, some of which line up the colon and fail to be released.

As a result, you suffer from constipation, colon blockage, and then health degradation. Thus, the best mandatory option that you must stick with is to flush out all of these substances. There are times when your body system doesn't react to the natural method of flushing out your feces so it's time that you seek the best colon cleanser.


How to Pick Out the Best Colon Cleanser

There is basically a spectrum of colon cleansers out in the market and you'll just end up confused if you don't start on the right track. Here are a few insights that would help you pick out the best colon cleanser amidst the multitude of products.

Go all-natural. Be sure that the colon cleanser product is made up of genuinely organic components.

Look into its fiber content. The regulation of your bowel movement would be more enhanced by fiber. Generally, you'll need lots of it!

Assess its benefits. Among the benefits which you should look into include the following, relief from constipation and bloating, supports the elimination of organisms, aids in the cleansing of the intestinal tract, and promotes the general health of the internal organs.

Word of Mouth Special on Medical Communication

I thoroughly recommend an excellent edition of Radio 4's 'Word of Mouth' devoted to medical communication. It includes a lively discussion on the pros and cons of 'teaching' communication skills. Shockingly, most medical students emerge from medical school communicating less well than when they started, communication having become ritualised at the expense of sincerity.

The programme also includes a discussion on how pain is talked about. Is a 'menu' of pain words helpful or is it overly constraining? One patient, Elizabeth McClung, explained how she finds the medical repetoire of pain words very limited (stabbing, throbbing, burning, nagging, radiating) and unable to cope with patients' metaphors. There are no easy answers, but the programme is a thoughtful look at it all.