Easy Ways Men Can Take Care of Themselves
The Building Blocks This lesson is the first in several about skin care.
To know easy ways to take care of yourself, you must know about all skin and types of skin.
For this reason we are going to talk in this lesson primarily about men's skin.
Men's skin is more complex than a women's so it needs to be your foundation of skin care knowledge.
I could go into several more reasons as to why I am starting with men, but the most important is this.
Men stay looking younger longer than women.
You need to know why.
I recently gave a talk at an Elks Lodge for a number of older ladies.
I was shocked to discover that the women did not know that their skin is different from men's.
One woman even believed that because they shave every day it makes them look younger.
I immediately came home and decided to write about men's skin.
In its most simplistic explanation, a man's skin is naturally younger, tighter and firmer because it's richer in elastin and collagen.
End of story! Nature cheated and gave them an advantage.
Yes, it helps to have a daily skin care routine starting as young as possible, but no matter what you do they will always start out with an unfair advantage.
We do however have a few advantages over them; first, a man's skin is much thicker than a women's, actually about 20% thicker than a woman's.
To men, thicker skin means having a larger number of active sebaceous glands.
In short, men get much oilier and stinky much faster.
Second, their skin is very prone to lack of moisture or dehydration simply because they shave it quite often.
When skin is lacking in moisture it gets grimy, dirty and toxic much faster.
No matter your type of skin I cannot emphasize enough the importance of daily cleansing.
Deep cleansing with a healthy, non-toxic product is very important to healthy skin.
As we age there are biochemical changes that happen to our skin.
Basically elastin and collagen levels decrease and the connective tissues that cause skin to be young, firm and resilient lose their staying power.
This happens 10 to 15 years sooner in women, so women don't beat yourselves up because your husband looks younger than you, and men please don't give the ladies a hard time.
We're pretty sensitive about our premature aging.
Today's men are increasingly attentive and concerned about the physical condition and look of their skin.
More men than ever are involved in taking better care of their skin.
An easy daily ritual of purification, cleansing and moisturizing will keep skin looking in the pink.
Although men may be increasingly aware of how to care for their skin, some aspects may be preventing them from succeeding.
For many men, non-toxic, natural or organic skin care is something that never crosses their thoughts.
Outside the world of shaving their faces, it is uncommon for a man to dedicate time to his skin, particularly the skin on his face.
Proper skin care is crucial for the present and the future of your skin.
The body's primary protection against infection, microorganisms and disease is the skin or epidermal system.
Skin is also your most important guard against the negative effects of the sun, weather, and toxicity.
Skin performs necessary functions for the body; it regulates body temperature and purges the body of perspiration and toxins, to name a few.
At first to a man who only washes his face with soap and water, complete skin care may seem like a difficult routine.
On the other hand, the payback of these few simple steps is ample.
Daily face washing keeps pores from clogging.
Clogged skin creates a variety of skin conditions, from pimples to ingrown hairs, which are not only painful and ugly, but can also leave tarnished marks on the skin forever.
Everyone from age twelve should practice a skin care routine twice a day including products, at a minimum that cleanse and moisturize.
A moisturizer with SPF (Sun protection factor) 15 or higher protecting from both UVA (Ultraviolet radiation of relatively long wavelengths) and UVB (Ultraviolet radiation of relatively short wavelengths) rays is best.
By looking at men in a broad-spectrum it has been found that male skin; is oilier, has bigger pores, a superior blood supply, and has an increased tendency to sweat.
Men are less apt to wrinkling than women, and may require deeper cleansing daily.
The skin's maturing process is the same for men and women, but for men it occurs later.
In a man's skin, the dermis layer is thicker and wealthier in collagen.
The epidermis is often more oily and grimy.
As a result, it's more resistant than a woman's skin to the effects of the sun and other environmental issues.
Around the age of 40 to 60 years (depending on the man), the dermis layer of a man's skin goes through a thinning process.
The percentage of collagen decreases naturally yet noticeably, causing deeper wrinkles to appear.
Just as for women, men can drastically minimize the signs of aging with proper skin care.
Typically a routinely used mud mask can help significantly during and just prior to this process.
Daily shaving tends to dry skin.
Many over the counter products are available and have been specifically designed to treat all skin types.
Good skin care can only be achieved using healthy products specifically designed to treat your skin type daily.
Common skin problem types are:
Moisturizing creams, cleansers, face and body wash, mud masks, scrubs, exfoliants and night renewal creams are now readily available for men.
Ingredients used in making male skin care products can vary.
Ingredients range from sea salt to coconut oil and aloe vera to even beer.
Each Product is studied and clinically tested and then developed for specific uses and diverse types of skin.
Research is required on your part to find the most economically smart and healthy working product for your particular needs.
Oily and acne prone skin sufferers tend to run from moisturizer or oils.
This is the worst thing a person with oily prone skin can do.
When skin is not given regular moisture it overproduces oil.
The use of the correct moisturizer mimics the body's own sebum and will send out signals to even out the body's overproduction of oil.
Moisture for oily and acne prone skin is critical to ending acne.
Witch hazel, lavender, chamomile, sage, mint and tea tree are naturally antiseptic and help to heal and soothe the skin.
An important side note: I cannot tell you how many people I have spoken to that have started a skin care routine only to stop it within the first thirty days.
Most often the reason is this, "It made me breakout.
" If you begin a good skin care routine the products will push impurities and toxins to the surface of your skin.
This can initially cause some inflammation and breakout.
Do not stop using the product or you will have to go through the skin purification process all over again at another time.
Aging skin needs even more help including oils, antioxidants and pure water.
The lips and soft tissue around the eyes are particularly prone to loss of youth and elasticity.
Antioxidants A, C, E flax seed and fish oils are beneficial, but the proper amount of pure filtered water daily is paramount.
People often disregard it when I talk about water being critical to healthy skin, but it is probably the most important thing you can do for your body and skin.
The most common comment I get is, "I don't drink water or I hate drinking water.
" All I can say is that to those people is that they are coming to as an expert with a problem in their body.
I am telling them the first and most critical step to solving that problem.
The definition of insanity is repeating the same action over and over, but expecting a different outcome.
Just try to drink the water you are supposed to daily.
You may have a few days of having to go to the restroom a lot at first or not liking the flavor but your body will adjust.
I promise you will not be sorry.
Trying to make your skin healthy and not drinking enough water every day is like trying to wash your car without water.
It doesn't work...
Ever! My husband actually did cell hydration research in college.
In his experiments he and his colleagues found that when water was added to cells they became small, but when the cells were deprived of water they expanded and continued to expand until they received moisture.
An obvious act of desperation by the cell, being larger would obviously help the cell reach more area in the blood stream increasing its chances of receiving fluids.
If you think about this logically you can understand how difficult it would for the skin to receive water when it gets its nutrients in only finite amounts.
Additionally, how could anything other than very small cells fill in the wrinkles in the skin? A large cell just won't be able to manipulate itself into the craters, crevices and irregular shapes that need nourishment and sustenance in the skin as well as small cells.
(On an unrelated side note...
imagine how much heavier you would look with plumped up cells as opposed to small cells.
Something to think about when you are on your next diet, LOL! Don't laugh, it's true.
) Although skin is your largest and most important body system when trying to prevent aging, disease and toxicity it is the last body system to receive nutrients from the blood stream.
The skin is a vital organ and only gets its vitamins, minerals and moisture in small quantities over time.
For this reason if you do not care for your skin daily and drink the correct fluids you might as well give up on having healthy skin.
Dermatologists agree unanimously that eating a balanced diet and staying active are essential to having healthy skin.
What goes inside will show on the outside.
Double or triple your intake of fruits and vegetables.
They contain many anti-oxidants that can stop and reverse skin damage.
Do your best to avoid processed sugars and unhealthily oiled foods.
Substitute olive oil or grape seed oil in place of butter or vegetable oil when you cook.
Just make sure you pay attention to your flash point in the oils you use.
Olive oil turns to unhealthy oil at 375 degrees so if you are cooking on high use high flash point oil like grape seed oil.
Grape seed oil's flash point is 420 degrees so it will stay healthy at higher temperatures.
Coconut oil is even higher.
For example: If you are cooking with olive oil at 400 degrees you might as well save the money your spending on the expensive olive oil and use butter or regular vegetable oil.
The result would be the same.
Unhealthy! Sweat daily.
Not only is this great to detox your body and get your heart rate up but it cleanses your pores and increases the metabolism.
Additionally the bulk of your body is made of water; common sense dictates that we keep it hydrated.
Drink at least half of your weight in ounces of water per day (i.
e.
: if you weigh 200 pounds drink 100 ounces of water daily).
Increase your intake if; you are a drinker of beverages that dehydrate you such as soda and alcohol, or you sweat during the day.
Stay tuned for the next continuation...
Easy Ways to Take Care of Yourself.
An important end note: Use a NON-TOXIC chemical free daily skin care regiment.
There is no required safety testing for cosmetics in the United States.
It has now been proven that 60% of everything you put on your skin enters the blood stream.
So if you wouldn't feel safe swallowing it, DON'T put it on your skin.
(If you don't believe it try putting a piece of garlic between your toes, after about 15 minutes you will taste it in your mouth.
) Cosmetics companies can use almost any chemical they want, regardless of risks.
Please...
please read labels before you buy.
Try using products that have ingredient lists with elements you recognize.
If the word looks chemical it probably is.
Many cosmetic companies state, "It's used in food so we use it in our makeup and skin care.
" The problem with that statement is this...
since cosmetic companies and food manufactures began the practice of putting known unsafe ingredients into their products cancers and autoimmune disease have increased to what I personally believe is a VERY alarming rate.
What you don't know will kill you so be an educated consumer.
To know easy ways to take care of yourself, you must know about all skin and types of skin.
For this reason we are going to talk in this lesson primarily about men's skin.
Men's skin is more complex than a women's so it needs to be your foundation of skin care knowledge.
I could go into several more reasons as to why I am starting with men, but the most important is this.
Men stay looking younger longer than women.
You need to know why.
I recently gave a talk at an Elks Lodge for a number of older ladies.
I was shocked to discover that the women did not know that their skin is different from men's.
One woman even believed that because they shave every day it makes them look younger.
I immediately came home and decided to write about men's skin.
In its most simplistic explanation, a man's skin is naturally younger, tighter and firmer because it's richer in elastin and collagen.
End of story! Nature cheated and gave them an advantage.
Yes, it helps to have a daily skin care routine starting as young as possible, but no matter what you do they will always start out with an unfair advantage.
We do however have a few advantages over them; first, a man's skin is much thicker than a women's, actually about 20% thicker than a woman's.
To men, thicker skin means having a larger number of active sebaceous glands.
In short, men get much oilier and stinky much faster.
Second, their skin is very prone to lack of moisture or dehydration simply because they shave it quite often.
When skin is lacking in moisture it gets grimy, dirty and toxic much faster.
No matter your type of skin I cannot emphasize enough the importance of daily cleansing.
Deep cleansing with a healthy, non-toxic product is very important to healthy skin.
As we age there are biochemical changes that happen to our skin.
Basically elastin and collagen levels decrease and the connective tissues that cause skin to be young, firm and resilient lose their staying power.
This happens 10 to 15 years sooner in women, so women don't beat yourselves up because your husband looks younger than you, and men please don't give the ladies a hard time.
We're pretty sensitive about our premature aging.
Today's men are increasingly attentive and concerned about the physical condition and look of their skin.
More men than ever are involved in taking better care of their skin.
An easy daily ritual of purification, cleansing and moisturizing will keep skin looking in the pink.
Although men may be increasingly aware of how to care for their skin, some aspects may be preventing them from succeeding.
For many men, non-toxic, natural or organic skin care is something that never crosses their thoughts.
Outside the world of shaving their faces, it is uncommon for a man to dedicate time to his skin, particularly the skin on his face.
Proper skin care is crucial for the present and the future of your skin.
The body's primary protection against infection, microorganisms and disease is the skin or epidermal system.
Skin is also your most important guard against the negative effects of the sun, weather, and toxicity.
Skin performs necessary functions for the body; it regulates body temperature and purges the body of perspiration and toxins, to name a few.
At first to a man who only washes his face with soap and water, complete skin care may seem like a difficult routine.
On the other hand, the payback of these few simple steps is ample.
Daily face washing keeps pores from clogging.
Clogged skin creates a variety of skin conditions, from pimples to ingrown hairs, which are not only painful and ugly, but can also leave tarnished marks on the skin forever.
Everyone from age twelve should practice a skin care routine twice a day including products, at a minimum that cleanse and moisturize.
A moisturizer with SPF (Sun protection factor) 15 or higher protecting from both UVA (Ultraviolet radiation of relatively long wavelengths) and UVB (Ultraviolet radiation of relatively short wavelengths) rays is best.
By looking at men in a broad-spectrum it has been found that male skin; is oilier, has bigger pores, a superior blood supply, and has an increased tendency to sweat.
Men are less apt to wrinkling than women, and may require deeper cleansing daily.
The skin's maturing process is the same for men and women, but for men it occurs later.
In a man's skin, the dermis layer is thicker and wealthier in collagen.
The epidermis is often more oily and grimy.
As a result, it's more resistant than a woman's skin to the effects of the sun and other environmental issues.
Around the age of 40 to 60 years (depending on the man), the dermis layer of a man's skin goes through a thinning process.
The percentage of collagen decreases naturally yet noticeably, causing deeper wrinkles to appear.
Just as for women, men can drastically minimize the signs of aging with proper skin care.
Typically a routinely used mud mask can help significantly during and just prior to this process.
Daily shaving tends to dry skin.
Many over the counter products are available and have been specifically designed to treat all skin types.
Good skin care can only be achieved using healthy products specifically designed to treat your skin type daily.
Common skin problem types are:
- Sensitive skin (characterized by redness, a burning sensation, and a trend toward razor burn),
- Dry skin (may experience itching, tightness or a lack of elasticity),
- Acne or rash prone (characterized by pimples, razor bumps, and ingrown hairs),
- Oily skin (may experience acne, blemishes and excess sweating).
- Prior to shaving, steam the face or applying a hot water-soaked cloth before shaving to open up the hair pores and follicles by 30 percent.
- During shaving use shaving gel.
It is a great deal better than shaving cream, which has air pockets that are believed by some to cause nicks and cuts.
Try applying gel smoothly, in flat upward and even strokes.
Some researchers believe that lathering produces air pockets.
Air pockets create the same effect as a cream which can also tend to dry out the skin.
A good swivel-headed razor has been shown to decrease nicks, as opposed to a disposable razor. - After shaving, use a moisturizer or an after-shave balm.
Splashing the face with cold water or applying a cold wet cloth after shaving closes the skin pores, but avoid using water only.
A mixed combination of witch hazel and aloe vera from the refrigerator is a very soothing post-shave moisturizer.
Moisturizing creams, cleansers, face and body wash, mud masks, scrubs, exfoliants and night renewal creams are now readily available for men.
Ingredients used in making male skin care products can vary.
Ingredients range from sea salt to coconut oil and aloe vera to even beer.
Each Product is studied and clinically tested and then developed for specific uses and diverse types of skin.
Research is required on your part to find the most economically smart and healthy working product for your particular needs.
Oily and acne prone skin sufferers tend to run from moisturizer or oils.
This is the worst thing a person with oily prone skin can do.
When skin is not given regular moisture it overproduces oil.
The use of the correct moisturizer mimics the body's own sebum and will send out signals to even out the body's overproduction of oil.
Moisture for oily and acne prone skin is critical to ending acne.
Witch hazel, lavender, chamomile, sage, mint and tea tree are naturally antiseptic and help to heal and soothe the skin.
An important side note: I cannot tell you how many people I have spoken to that have started a skin care routine only to stop it within the first thirty days.
Most often the reason is this, "It made me breakout.
" If you begin a good skin care routine the products will push impurities and toxins to the surface of your skin.
This can initially cause some inflammation and breakout.
Do not stop using the product or you will have to go through the skin purification process all over again at another time.
Aging skin needs even more help including oils, antioxidants and pure water.
The lips and soft tissue around the eyes are particularly prone to loss of youth and elasticity.
Antioxidants A, C, E flax seed and fish oils are beneficial, but the proper amount of pure filtered water daily is paramount.
People often disregard it when I talk about water being critical to healthy skin, but it is probably the most important thing you can do for your body and skin.
The most common comment I get is, "I don't drink water or I hate drinking water.
" All I can say is that to those people is that they are coming to as an expert with a problem in their body.
I am telling them the first and most critical step to solving that problem.
The definition of insanity is repeating the same action over and over, but expecting a different outcome.
Just try to drink the water you are supposed to daily.
You may have a few days of having to go to the restroom a lot at first or not liking the flavor but your body will adjust.
I promise you will not be sorry.
Trying to make your skin healthy and not drinking enough water every day is like trying to wash your car without water.
It doesn't work...
Ever! My husband actually did cell hydration research in college.
In his experiments he and his colleagues found that when water was added to cells they became small, but when the cells were deprived of water they expanded and continued to expand until they received moisture.
An obvious act of desperation by the cell, being larger would obviously help the cell reach more area in the blood stream increasing its chances of receiving fluids.
If you think about this logically you can understand how difficult it would for the skin to receive water when it gets its nutrients in only finite amounts.
Additionally, how could anything other than very small cells fill in the wrinkles in the skin? A large cell just won't be able to manipulate itself into the craters, crevices and irregular shapes that need nourishment and sustenance in the skin as well as small cells.
(On an unrelated side note...
imagine how much heavier you would look with plumped up cells as opposed to small cells.
Something to think about when you are on your next diet, LOL! Don't laugh, it's true.
) Although skin is your largest and most important body system when trying to prevent aging, disease and toxicity it is the last body system to receive nutrients from the blood stream.
The skin is a vital organ and only gets its vitamins, minerals and moisture in small quantities over time.
For this reason if you do not care for your skin daily and drink the correct fluids you might as well give up on having healthy skin.
Dermatologists agree unanimously that eating a balanced diet and staying active are essential to having healthy skin.
What goes inside will show on the outside.
Double or triple your intake of fruits and vegetables.
They contain many anti-oxidants that can stop and reverse skin damage.
Do your best to avoid processed sugars and unhealthily oiled foods.
Substitute olive oil or grape seed oil in place of butter or vegetable oil when you cook.
Just make sure you pay attention to your flash point in the oils you use.
Olive oil turns to unhealthy oil at 375 degrees so if you are cooking on high use high flash point oil like grape seed oil.
Grape seed oil's flash point is 420 degrees so it will stay healthy at higher temperatures.
Coconut oil is even higher.
For example: If you are cooking with olive oil at 400 degrees you might as well save the money your spending on the expensive olive oil and use butter or regular vegetable oil.
The result would be the same.
Unhealthy! Sweat daily.
Not only is this great to detox your body and get your heart rate up but it cleanses your pores and increases the metabolism.
Additionally the bulk of your body is made of water; common sense dictates that we keep it hydrated.
Drink at least half of your weight in ounces of water per day (i.
e.
: if you weigh 200 pounds drink 100 ounces of water daily).
Increase your intake if; you are a drinker of beverages that dehydrate you such as soda and alcohol, or you sweat during the day.
Stay tuned for the next continuation...
Easy Ways to Take Care of Yourself.
An important end note: Use a NON-TOXIC chemical free daily skin care regiment.
There is no required safety testing for cosmetics in the United States.
It has now been proven that 60% of everything you put on your skin enters the blood stream.
So if you wouldn't feel safe swallowing it, DON'T put it on your skin.
(If you don't believe it try putting a piece of garlic between your toes, after about 15 minutes you will taste it in your mouth.
) Cosmetics companies can use almost any chemical they want, regardless of risks.
Please...
please read labels before you buy.
Try using products that have ingredient lists with elements you recognize.
If the word looks chemical it probably is.
Many cosmetic companies state, "It's used in food so we use it in our makeup and skin care.
" The problem with that statement is this...
since cosmetic companies and food manufactures began the practice of putting known unsafe ingredients into their products cancers and autoimmune disease have increased to what I personally believe is a VERY alarming rate.
What you don't know will kill you so be an educated consumer.
Source...