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Beauty Blunders By Post 50 Women

When women reach the age of 50, sometimes they try to look out for the next big thing for anti aging. But no matter what your age is, no advice works for everyone. Check out these top beauty blunders:

Post 50s are always looking out for the next 'new thing' -- that one diet that will help us drop 15 pounds, or the skin cream with the latest anti-aging ingredient that promises to erase every wrinkle -- instead of just taking some good, simple advice about what really works (and what doesn't). No matter how many magazine articles or books we read about how to look (and feel) fab over 50, a lot of us are still stuck in bad beauty habits that make us look anything but fab.

Here are the most common beauty blunders, and the simple things you can do about them:

#1 Clothes That Are Too Loose And Baggy

In an attempt to hide or cover up our bodies, especially if we've packed on a few post-menopausal pounds, we end up looking heavier. No matter what our size, a woman over 50 should have the right fit--not tight, but a fit that defines the waist. Best way to do that? Make a great tailor your new best friend

#2 Trying To Dress 'Young' Instead Of 'Great'

We live in a world that's constantly shouting in our ears, "Young is better!" ... but don't listen! We've earned every crow's foot we have, and buying into that nonsense is the perfect recipe for a fashion fail. When writing my first book, "The Best of Everything After 50," I interviewed Diane von Furstenberg who told me that the key to looking great is to be comfortable. If you're tugging at your too-short skirt you'll be more focused on covering your thighs than on what you should be engaged in. There are no style rules, but there are definite guidelines, the most important one being this: Just because you're over 50 doesn't mean you have dress like a frump. Update your wardrobe with a few essential basics and build from there.

#3 Wearing The Wrong Bra

The majority of American women wear the wrong bra size, and it shows. We just don't take the time to get properly fitted by an expert. The right bra can make all the difference in how your clothes fit, and how you look in them. Make sure to get a few different ones for specific clothes, including one specifically for wearing under a t-shirt or other smooth shirts, and buy them in colors that are close to your own skin color for wearing under white or light colored tops.

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Although looking young is good, for me as long as you are comfortable and like what you are wearing, then go for it. Just like the advice we get when we were teens, "Become what you wanted to be".

Bath Salt: Your New Anti Aging Ingredient

I have seen many skin care products loaded with bath salt and promises improved skin. Have you ever used it? Here are some of the benefits of bath salt:

Improve your skin quality with bath salt

When stocking up on skincare products and toiletries in anticipation of a harsh summer, the one item we give a royal snub is bath salt.

Despite coming in pretty packages, loaded with fancy ingredients, and giving off a sweet scent, we walk past the bath salt display rack at a cosmetic shop and proceed to fetch our facial gels and body creams. Blame it on its pretentious price tag or the popular perception relegating these glittering bathing crystals to the smooth atmosphere of a spa, we have never really explored beyond its expensive packaging.

The benefits of bath salt are many, and go beyond mere exfoliating dead cells to make skin soft and supple. A nice long soak in a tub sprinkled with bath salt releases muscle tension and improves common irritations such as insect bites, minor rashes, calluses on feet, while working on serious skin conditions like athlete's foot, eczema, and psoriasis. Says Nandita Suri, business director of Levo Spa, Ibis Hotel, Gurgaon, "Whether you have sore, tired feet from standing all day, or a stiff back from working at your desk, bath salts can help improve the way you feel and ease away the tension."

Just as we cannot do without a sunscreen lotion in summer, a jar of bath salt can be as indispensable if you've caught a bad tan or suffer pigmentation of skin.

How to pick your bath salt
Always ensure the bath salt is crystalline not lumpy, and contain all natural ingredients and nutrients. Available on the market in a rainbow of colours, choosing the right bath salt can be quite a task for a novice. Advices Sukhchit Dahuja, MD, Sawasdee Traditional Thai Spa, Delhi, your choice of bath salt should depend on what you wish to achieve in the bath. "Cool hues such as blues and purples are generally soothing, while warm hues such as orange and yellow are energizing. Besides, the benefits of bath salt differ with grain size, for instance, finer grains dissolve quickly and work well as skin scrubs," he shares.

One can even enhance the benefits of bath salt by infusing it with essential oils such as lavender or vanilla.

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I have used one of these before. I think it was from China though. It exfoliates your skin, making way for new skin. This is much like using baking soda.

Bee Venom: The New Magic Anti Aging Ingredient?

Have you ever heard of bee venom as a magic ingredient for some skin care creams? Well, apparently, it is the latest skin care buzz..

The latest magic ingredient being added to skin creams, lip-plumping potions and sticky face masks has been creating buzz.

Bee venom, long used in ancient medicine, is being touted as a "natural Botox" that stimulates the body's production of collagen and elastin to smooth, lift and tighten skin. The venom also contains a compound called melittin, which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Much of the clinical research into bee venom has focused on its effect on diseases like cancer and arthritis. Studies of its uses as a skin-care treatment have been limited.

"I couldn't find any legitimate scientific studies of the benefit of bee venom either topical or injected," says David Leffell, a professor of Dermatology and Surgery at Yale School of Medicine. "Within the world of anti-aging…every six months there is a new agent that comes on, but one of the things that is important is whether or not it can get through the skin."

Dr. Leffell says he remains skeptical of the extent that bee venom could smooth or tighten skin. There is evidence, however, that the honey also in many of the products could be beneficial as a moisturizer, he says.

Still, demand has been strong since British tabloids reported that Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, used bee-venom skin-care products before the royal wedding last year. More recently, actress Gwyneth Paltrow said on her blog Goop that she had "been given bee venom therapy for an old injury" and as a result the injury had since disappeared.

One gram of venom from New Zealand, a major producer, is the equivalent of 10,000 bee stings and costs about $304—more than eight times the current value of gold, according to industry sources. Venom produced outside of New Zealand is sold at lower prices.

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I am not sure if I would want to try this. Though it doesn't sound dangerous, but I would rather spply something that does not involve "venom" in it..

Can Alzheimer Be Prevented?

Alzheimer and dementia are two of the known health risk among seniors. But can this be prevented? Dr. Barnes said it could.

Worldwide there are an estimated 33.6 million people living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and related dementia – 500,000 of those being Canadian, and six million new cases diagnosed per year.

In a Globe and Mail article dated July 20, 2011 seven health risks were outlined that may contribute to Alzheimer risk.

Dr. Barnes, in her research, used mathematical modeling to estimate the global impact of modifiable risk factors with 17.2 million of these current cases being preventable. Here is her research summarized:

Low education: associated with 19.1 per cent or 6.4 million cases (use it or lose it. The more educated a person the more likely they are to engage in stimulating brain activity).

Smoking: 13.9 per cent or 4.6 million cases (smoking weakens blood vessels and affects blood flow to the brain).

Physical inactivity: 12.7 per cent or 4.3 million (exercise is one of the top things that will slow and delay AD and dementia).

Depression: 10.6 per cent or 3.6 million cases (those with serious depression have double the risk of developing dementia).

High, poorly and controlled blood pressure: 5.1 per cent or 1.7 million.

Diabetes Type 2: 2.4 per cent or 800,000 cases.

Obesity: two per cent or 670, 000 cases.

I recently gave a lecture to the retired RN’s (registered nurse) group in town on the subject of improving memory and brain function. During my research I wrote a new newsletter – my first since getting my prescribing rights in August of 2010. In the process I researched the work of Dr. Amen and Shankle in their book Preventing Alzheimer’s. The main theme of their treatment protocol is to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s long enough so that living a natural life span without dementia is possible.

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Some of the anti aging research are done to prevent this kind of health risk when we get older. The most important thing to do is to make sure we have sufficient nutrition for the body and for the mind as well..

Prevent Early Signs of Aging

When you reach the age of 30, (earlier to some) you will probably noticed the signs of aging already, like wrinkles. Here are some of the things you can do to prevent the signs of aging..

So you’ve hit 35 and are just beginning to notice your first signs of aging – thinning of your skin and fine lines. Your skin feels dry even after applying the richest moisturizers. You notice age-spots and broken blood vessels that just won’t go away. Your first wrinkles are starting to stare at you from the mirror.

Before you hit that panic button, you need to understand that ageing of your skin and formation of wrinkles are completely normal processes. In fact, your skin is the first ‘organ’ which reveals your age.

All these effects are mainly due to two factors related to natural ageing – the thinning of the epidermis (the topmost layer of our skin) and reduced blood flow to the skin. Certain factors expedite these effects – excess exposure to sunlight, smoking, alcohol and an unhealthy diet.

Most people believe that ageing of the skin is inevitable and do not care much. However, what you need to know is that with a few lifestyle modifications and some tender loving care, you really can look as young as you feel. To help put you on the right path, here are a few tips that you should stick to in order to keep your skin looking as young as possible:

1. Avoid excess exposure to the sun:

It’s the no. 1 cause of wrinkles with dozens of studies documenting the impact. Protect your skin from sun rays firstly by staying indoors while the sun is strongest. Secondly get into the habit of wearing a sunscreen with a good enough SPF every time you go out. Apply it at least 20 to 30 minutes before stepping out in the sun and reapply it every few hours.

2. Drink lots of water:

Insufficient hydration is the second major cause of excessive wrinkles. In order to stay moist and elastic, your skin needs a constant supply of water. If you fail to get enough fluids in your body, cells will start to lose elasticity and eventually wrinkles shall start surfacing.

3. Quit smoking:

Apart from the many well-documented ill-effects of smoking on the body, smoking also causes premature ageing of the skin mainly by reducing blood supply and nourishment to the skin. This makes the skin lose its elasticity and moisture. Also while smoking, some repetitive actions like squinting to protect the eyes from aggressive fumes and constantly dragging the cigarette fumes into his/her mouth causes wrinkles over time at the corners of the eyes and the mouth.

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Early prevention can help to slow the signs aging. Remember not to expose your skin under the sun too often. Be sure to wear sunscreen or any good sun protection!

Skin Aging Facts

No one really wants to talk about aging. However, there's more to aging that we know. This information might change your mind about aging..

No one likes to discuss the aging process, if it were up to most of us we would completely remove it from our vocabulary!

The fact of the matter is, over 50 percent of the US population is over the age of fifty and so is their skin. The positive side is that the skin care industry has uniquely morphed into an anti-aging mastermind; mixing, blending and creating jubilant concoctions of miracles in jars!

The down side is, we have yet to discover the fountain of youth; and bottom line, Mother Nature is far more powerful than any miracle in a jar and yes, the aging process goes on.

Both internal and external factors influence the aging process, and understanding them, can help you prevent and improve them.

The Basic Components

There are three primary layers; the epidermis, dermis and sub-cutaneous layer; each layer distinct in shape, components and function. These layers work collectively to repair, protect and maintain the integrity of the skin as a whole.

The epidermis is a miraculous self-renewing entity that continuously renews itself by a process known as differentiation. In this process a single epidermal basal cell progresses from the lower basal layer, moves upward and becomes a keratinocytes and ends in the outermost layer of the skin as a corneocyte. The completion of this process provides the skin with unyielding protection (as long as it is not damaged in some way), while simultaneously creating a network of fatty acids, lipids, triglycerides and protective pH.

While quite impressive, this epidermal layer would be impossible without the activity of the dermis below. The efforts to renew the outermost layer of the skin can only be accomplished with inner workings of the dermal layer, the efforts of fibroblast cells, collagen, elastin, blood vessels and capillaries. The dermis also contains a unique packing material known as glycosaminoglycans. Glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans are polysaccharides, long chains of amino sugars that are naturally produced within the body and lubricate, protect and even influence cellular activity.

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The most important thing is to take care of our skin as early as possible. Be sure to keep it as youthful and healthy as possible..

Researchers Looking up for Anti-aging Solutions

Researchers are searching for anti aging solutions for illnesses such as heart and lung diseases..They aim to find if living in high altitude can affect aging..

What do astronauts and mountain climbers have to do with your wrinkles or heart disease? A lot, thanks to recent studies that have researchers looking up for anti-aging solutions for ailments like skin damage to heart, lung and brain diseases.

The high altitudes found at Mount Everest and the unique conditions of living in space have proven to be ripe for research. In late May, a team of researchers from Mayo Clinic accompanied 10 climbers to Mount Everest to see what effect high altitudes have on the brain, heart and lungs, The Wall Street Journal reported.

By studying the climbers, six of whom reached the summit, the researchers hope to gain insight into heart failure, lung disease and sleep apnea -- all conditions related to a low-oxygen, or hypoxic, state. The longer people spend at extreme high altitude, the longer their bodies lack the needed amount of oxygen and the lower their energy—stresses similar to those caused by the diseases.Researchers compared their bodies to the climbers -- who were already acclimatized to the extreme altitude -- and used biosensors to track just how bodies respond to low-oxygen conditions, Wired reported. The study's results could have a big impact on a number of health issues, including fluid building in lungs and "[limiting] growth of certain solid-tumor cancers, which need oxygen and blood vessels to grow," The Wall Street Journal wrote.

And far higher than the world's tallest mountain, researchers at Utah University discovered that a "space drink" astronauts drink can stave off the damaging effects of radiation, the main culprit behind wrinkles and other age-related blemishes. Just what exactly is in the fruity miracle drink astronauts know as AS10? According to Redorbit.com, AS10 contains a blend of fruits, including cupuacu, acai, acerola, prickly pear and yumberry. All of the fruits provide vitamins and phytochemicals, which are known to block the harmful effects of radiation. The drink also contains grape, green tea, pomegranate and vegetables.

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I have watched a documentary about Japanese people living in high altitude. They wanted to find out why people live longer in Japan than in most places in the world. It was found out that high altitude could really slow down aging..

6 Floral Extracts for Anti Aging

Have you ever used floral extracts as your anti aging solution. Well, here are some of the floral extracts that you can use and their skin care benefits..

These days, skin care is coming up roses — and daffodils, cornflowers and Echinacea. Here are six potent floral extracts that can cure a range of anti-aging skin care concerns, including calming sensitivity, zapping adult acne or firming skin.

• Feverfew to reduce redness: Named for its traditional use as a fever reducer, this daisy-like flower is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, ideal for soothing sensitive skin and reducing redness. Studies on people with sensitive skin found significant improvement in redness, irritation, and roughness after applying a product with feverfew twice daily. Planning a day in the sun? Wear a feverfew-infused lotion, which helped prevent sunburn-induced redness in a study.

• Echinacea to clear acne: Best known as a natural cold fighter, Echinacea was used by Native Americans and early settlers to treat skin infections, wounds and stings. This colorful herb is commonly used to allay acne by killing bacteria and reducing swelling. It’s particularly helpful for grownups battling breakouts and wrinkles. Echinacea is rich in echinacein, a substance that assists fibroblasts (the cells that create skin-smoothing collagen) in working more efficiently.

• Evening primrose to ease eczema, psoriasis: The lightweight oil extracted from the seeds of this wildflower quells the itching, dryness, and scaliness of eczema and psoriasis, show a number of studies. Its soothing nature for skin care comes from a rich supply of linoleic acid and gamma linoleic acid, essential fatty acids that are key players in keeping skin hydrated. Their other important role: to assist in the production of prostaglandins, substances that regulate inflammation.

• Cornflower to soothe puffy eyes: This brilliant blue flower boasts a long history as the go-to remedy for eye troubles. Even today, practitioners of herbal medicine treat conjunctivitis with a cornflower eyewash and relieve strain by applying a poultice of petals over the eyes. Studies explain why it’s a natural for peeper problems: besides being antibacterial, the flower heads contain several anti-inflammatory substances, says a Journal of Ethnopharmacology study. Fear not if you’re out of practice making poultices but still want to reduce under-eye puffiness: The blossom is found in a bevy of products.

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I have never used any of the things mentioned here. But I have used sunflower oil in my face when I ran out of olive oil and it was good for the skin..

Anti Aging Seeds

Our planet Earth is blessed with superfoods that can help us with almost anything, from anti aging to cure for certain illnesses. Here are some of the seeds that can help us in various health benefits..

If there is one miracle worker when it comes to health, whether it be for weight loss purposes, disease prevention, anti-aging, energy, beauty or longevity – the seed deserves ultimate recognition. We are very fortunate that we have such superfoods available to us, especially since all seeds boast their own unique health benefits. They are powerful little guys when it comes to your health and can be used therapeutically to aid with certain health ailments and concerns. I’ll give you the run down on the unique benefits of a few celebrity seeds, but I’ll also tell you what all seeds have in common.

Weight loss promoting. Seeds are high in protein, which is a key element in achieving successful weight loss. Protein is important to include in your diet for keeping blood sugar levels balanced which helps fight cravings and reduce hunger. And yes, seeds are also high in healthy fats.

Hemp hearts are a fabulous seed to include in your diet if you have a weight loss goal in mind. In addition to their other amazing health benefits, they’ve gained publicity for packing a considerably high amount of protein. They have a slightly nutty flavor and are great on top of yogurt, blended in smoothies and even sprinkled on whole grain crackers and homemade dips.

Detoxifying. Seeds are also high in fibre, which can be referred to as an “internal scrub brush” for the intestines. Fibre promotes healthy digestion and elimination which is essential to help rid your body of toxins naturally.

Flaxseeds have been known to promote a healthy colon and assist with the detoxification process due to their high omega 3 and fiber content. Be sure to eat them ground, as their tough outer shells can make it hard for the body to breakdown and take advantage of their amazing health benefits. (This is sometimes referred to as “flaxmeal.”) While ground flaxseeds are the most nutritious form, you can also purchase flaxseed oil which can be incorporated into homemade salad dressings, poured over veggies and oatmeal.

Disease-preventing. Due to their omega 3 fatty acids and the variety of vitamins and minerals they contain, seeds help lower the lousy cholesterol (LDL), a culprit in promoting heart disease, intracellular damage and inflammation. LDL cholesterol even changes the form of white blood cells, making them less resistant against disease. In turn, seeds raise HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) which helps us with the detoxification process and keeps the LDL cholesterol away. Chia seeds are particularly high in omega 3 EFA’s and since they are so tiny and flavorless, you can sneak them into any dish. Mix them in with whole grain pastas, include them in soups, stews, baking and sandwiches. You’ll hardly notice them and they’ll work healthy magic!

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It is important that we are aware of these super seeds because these seeds can help us in many ways..Be sure to include them in your daily meal next time...

How to Slow Down Aging

We all know that we cannot stop aging. But, we can still slow it down. Here are some of the things you need to know to slow down aging..

We can't prevent aging -- but we can age optimally

Aging is actually the No. 1 risk factor for a lot of things you don’t want to have. And while we can’t prevent aging, we can do a lot to ensure that we age optimally. That means reducing the effects of what I call “the Four Horsemen of Aging”: four processes that systemically break down our bodies, age us from within, damage our organs and tissues (including our skin) and contribute to every degenerative disease known to humankind.

The Four Horsemen of Aging: inflammation, oxidation, stress and sugar

A full explanation of how these four processes contribute to the diseases and ailments of aging would take a book. (In fact, I wrote one: It’s called The Most Effective Ways to Live Longer.) But briefly, let me explain.

Oxidation is damage from free radicals that can impact your sex life, the appearance of your skin and the condition of your brain.

Inflammation is the starting point for heart disease and is a big factor in Alzheimer’s, dementia, obesity, diabetes and cancer.

Stress causes your body to release hormones (like cortisol) which, among other nasty things, can shrink the hippocampus, an important area of the brain involved in memory and thinking.

Sugar sends your “fat-storing” hormone (insulin) into overdrive and contributes to aging and disease in multiple ways.

Luckily, there are a number of steps we can take to reduce the damage.

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There are many superfoods out there that you can eat that are rich in anti oxidants and also know as anti aging foods. Coffee is known to have anto aging properties so if you are a coffee drinker, then thats good news for you..