95% of chemicals used in fragrances are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum. It has been estimated that more than 3000 different chemicals are used in fragrance production. Do these figures shock you? Yes, manufacturers are very clever – we see the packaging and the adverts showing flowers and nature, and we assume (as the manufacturer intends us to assume) that the fragrance in the product is derived from nature, but most fragrances are chemically derived. They do not use essential oils because they are too expensive. They do use synthetic chemicals because they are cheap.

We are exposed to perfume or fragrance throughout the day. We may not wear perfume ourselves, but our shampoo, soap, shower gel and cosmetics are likely to contain synthetic perfumes, unless we look at the label and shop carefully.

We encounter more smells in our household products – cleaners, washing powders, polish, air fresheners, etc. If we go out, we experience these smells on other people and in offices and stores.

Perfume mixes added to products are listed in the ingredients as ‘parfum’ or ‘fragrance’ depending on the part of the world you live in. Even some products that appear to be unperfumed will contain synthetic perfumes in order to cover an unpleasant odour from one of the active ingredients, or to ensure that the product always smells the same. The exact composition of these may vary over time even for the same product, as the manufacturer adjust the fragrance mix in relation to variations in the smell of the raw ingredients.

Even some essential oils are not entirely natural, as harsh chemicals may be used in their extraction process. Chemical solvents such as hexane and heptane are used to extract the maximum amount of oil from the plant, so it is important to buy good quality oils from a source you trust.

Allergies to fragrances are very common. The main organs affected are the skin and the respiratory system, but neurological damage has also been reported. Some people feel that we should have a right to fragrance-free air as well as tobacco-smoke-free air. There are also concerns about the impact of synthetic chemicals on the environment, as they do not necessarily break down easily.

Of course, there is a role for fragrance. The power of aromatherapy oils to heal and lift the spirits is well documented, but the widespread use of synthetic fragrances should be seen as pollution of both our bodies and our environments.

Jane Thurnell-Read is a writer and researcher on health, stress, alternative medicine, and happiness. Visit her web site http://www.healthandgoodness.com for tips and information on how to live a happier, healthier life no matter how busy you are.

Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA; thioctic acid; lipoic acid) is a potent antioxidant that combats oxidative stress and is capable of chelation of metal ions, reparation of oxidized proteins, and regeneration of antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, tocopherol, and glutathione. ALA (fat soluble) and its reduced counterpart, dihyolipoic acid (DHLA) have proven effectiveness in both lipophilic and aqueous environments.

ALA adds to the antioxidant efficiency of vitamin C, vitamin E, and glutathione. In addition to this, ALA assists some important enzymes that are responsible for the conversion of food into energy.

In the modern city, free radicals are almost omnipresent; they have their potential sources in the environment, such as car exhaust, radiation, and ultraviolet rays. ALA helps the body in the ongoing fight against the toxic effects of free radicals. ALA has its benefit revealed in a number of diseases and disorders. Its usage slows the aging process, helps the liver to remove toxins, and decreases the adverse effects associated with some analgesic drugs. It also holds the efficiency of effectively removing glucose from the blood.

ALA shows its therapeutic benefit in complications associated with diabetes, such as macular degeneration, neuropathy, and cataracts. It has been found to be capable enough to reduce the symptoms associated with nerve damage (i.e. burning, pain, numbness) in diabetic patients. Because of its efficiency to cross the blood-brain barrier, the benefit of ALA in stroke and other brain disorders is probable. ALA is also of benefit in the treatment of HIV-AIDS, cancer, cognitive decline, and cardiovascular disease.

Alpha Lipoic Acid provides detailed information about alpha lipoic acid, ALA products, ALA research, ALA side effects and more. Alpha Lipoic Acid is the sister site of Hyaluronic Acid Web.

Many people avoid artificial colours in their foods, but don’t check out the colours in cosmetics and personal care products. It is only in recent years that cosmetics have started to carry a full list of ingredients on their packaging.

Making sense of the ingredients can be difficult for the lay person. This is particularly true for colourings, which often go under the guise of numbers rather than names.

In many countries colours in cosmetics are listed as colour index numbers. C.I. numbers are allocated by the Society of Dyers and Colourists. The scheme covers colours used in food, personal care products, cosmetics, household products and fabric dyeing. So, for example you will not normally see ‘tartrazine’ listed in your lipstick ingredients, but it may be there listed as C.I. 19140. Erythrosine will be listed as C.I. 45430, and so on.

The USA uses a different system: the FD & C colors have been categorised by the American Food & Drink Administration for use in foods, drugs and cosmetics. So in this system tartrazine is FD & C yellow 5, and amaranth is FD & C red 2.

The ‘E Number’ system is used by the European Community (EC). This is a system of giving code numbers to food additives, some of which are also used in cosmetics and personal care products. This system is also used in some other countries but without the E prefix, so E102 becomes simply colour ‘102’.

All this confusion for the average consumer would not be important, but for the fact that some of these colours are known to cause problems in susceptible individuals. For example, tartrazine (also known as FD & C Yellow 5, CI 1914 and EI02) can cause migraines, itching, rhinitis and agitation in susceptible individuals. Many individuals avoid its use in food, but do not realise how extensively it is used in cosmetics, such as lipstick, and personal care products.

The big worries in terms of colours in cosmetics and personal care products are lipstick, coloured lip balms, lip gloss and lip pencils, because anyone who uses these regularly ‘eats’ a fair quantity over their life time, but these colours also appear in skin cream, foundation, mascara and so on too. (Remember also that these colours can also be in ‘natural’ cosmetics and skin care products.)

Another worry is that even the ‘experts’ cannot agree on an international ’safe’ list of colours, so that a colour may be allowed in one country, but banned elsewhere. For example, quinoline yellow is allowed within the European Community and in some other countries, but is banned in Japan, Norway and the United States.

As ever, the advice is: keep yourself informed and read the label. Here is a list of the different names and numbers that common colourings go under:

Tartrazine: E102 or FD & C Yellow 5 or C.I. 19140
Quinoline yellow or E104 or C.I. 47005
Sunset yellow or E110 or FD & C Yellow 6 or C.I. 15985
Amaranth or E123 or FD & C Red 2 or C.I. 16185
Ponceau 4R or E124 or C.I. 16255
Erythrosine or E127 or FD & C Red 3 or C.I. 45430
Red 2G or E128 or C.I. 18050
Allura red AC or E129 or FD & C Red 40 or C.I. 16035
Patent blue V or E131 or C.I. 42051
Indigo carmine or E132 or FD & C Blue 2 or C.I. 73015
Brilliant blue FCF or FD & C Blue 1 or C.I. 42090
Fast green FCF or FD & C Green 3 or C.I. 42053
Green S or E142 or C.I. 44090

Jane Thurnell-Read is a writer and researcher on health, stress, alternative medicine, and happiness. Visit her web site http://www.healthandgoodness.com for tips and information on how to live a happier, healthier life no matter how busy you are.

ALA proves beneficial to the human skin mainly by virtue of its potential antioxidant ability. The universal antioxidant inhibits cross-linking and thereby slows the aging process. It safeguards from wrinkling of the skin, hardening of the arteries, and stiffening of the joints. In one short-term study, a high dose of ALA was found to reduce mild-to-moderate wrinkles by up to 50 percent. In another study, ALA Cream usage resulted in a significant improvement in the appearance of certain types of scars.

ALA acts as a co-factor in a key biochemical pathway responsible for the production of energy in the cells (citric acid cycle). ALA exhibits a moderate anti-inflammatory effect and has a modest capacity to neutralize and eliminate a variety of toxic metals from the body. However, serious scientific research is required for the confident prescription of ALA Cream as a wrinkle cure option. Even then, the use of ALA Cream can be tried as a preferable remedy, because of its relative safety as compared to other marketed agents such as Retin A, vitamin C or glycolic acid.

One of the most significant disadvantages of ALA use is its high market cost. However, because of the ready availability of the R-form lipoic acid in the market, it is always preferential to home-prepare the cream for self-usage. This also helps optimize the dosage required. It should also be noted that only R-lipoic acid holds the efficiency to improve cellular energy production and reduce inflammation.

The topical products of Dr. Perricone, based on Alpha Lipoic Acid and vitamin C, include: N.V. Perricone ALA Nutritive Cleanser (to tone the skin), N.V. Perricone Vitamin C Ester Amine Complex Face Lift (lifts the skin and helps treat underlying causes of inelastic skin), N.V. Perricone ALA Eye Area Therapy (to nourish, restore, and protect the eye), N.V. Perricone ALA Lip Plumper (enhances fullness, contour and color of lips), N.V. Perricone ALA Evening Facial Emollient (to smooth, renew, and refine the skin overnight), and N.V. Perricone Face Finishing Moisturizer (to soothe, hydrate, and protect skin).

Alpha Lipoic Acid provides detailed information about alpha lipoic acid, ALA products, ALA research, ALA side effects and more. Alpha Lipoic Acid is the sister site of Hyaluronic Acid Web.

Most consumers give little thought to the recognized allergens, probable carcinogens, hormone disrupters and synthetic industrial chemicals that have been inadequately tested and yet, can be found in the formulae of our skin and body care products, shampoos, conditioners, cosmetics, perfumes, infant body care products, etc. These products line the shelves of high-end department stores, drug stores, specialty retailers, and natural health retailers. With media reports warning of the toxic soup most of us bathe in daily, the ugly side of the cosmetic and personal care industry is on the radar of consumer groups such as The Breast Cancer Fund, Think Before You Pink, Environmental Working Group, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, as well as concerned physicians and scientists.

The public believes that the industry is regulated by a federal agency that insures toxic chemicals are not added to the products we use many times daily. So, you might wonder, who is responsible for regulating the personal care industry and looking out for consumer health and safety? The cosmetic industry will direct you to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the FDA will direct your query to the Cosmetics Ingredient Review (CIR) panel, and the CIR will share all the wonderful research they are conducting in the name of safety for the consumer. The problem with this picture is the CIR panel is funded by the giant mainstream personal care products companies whose ingredients and products must pass their review prior to entering the marketplace. These well recognized companies continue to use known or suspected toxic ingredients in their product formulae.

Of the FDA’s $800 million annual budget, less than 1% is allocated toward regulating the cosmetic industry. Neither the FDA nor any other government regulatory body actively assesses the safety of cosmetics before they are placed in the marketplace.

Testing for Safety?

According to Darin Stechman, Clinique’s brand representative, “Product safety has always been a top priority at Clinique Laboratories, and is ensured through state-of-the-art testing methods.” However, this testing, according to Stechman, does not include tests that establish long-term toxicity potential, carcinogenic properties, systemic absorption properties or chronic effects of daily use. Instead, large, mainstream cosmetics companies focus their research and both human and animal trial tests on assessing pre-marketed products for only allergenic reactions and skin irritations. Beyond skin eruptions and rashes, emerging science suggests that untold numbers of cosmetics and personal care ingredients may be silently and insidiously promoting cancer, disrupting women’s reproductive functions and causing birth defects.

According to Susan Roll of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, “one third of personal care products contain ingredients classified as possible human carcinogens.” Hence, chemicals such as acrylamide (in foundation, face lotion and hand cream) linked to mammary tumors in lab research; formaldehyde (nail polish and blush) classified as a possible human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency; and dibutyl phthalate (industrial chemical commonly found in perfume and hair spray) known to damage the liver, kidney and reproductive systems, disrupt hormonal processes and increase breast cancer risk, are widely used by mainstream skin care and cosmetics manufacturers. Known by hundreds of long, intimidating chemical names, these ingredients are in the products we use in our daily personal care rituals.

It’s the daily grooming ritual that is of greatest concern. These toxic ingredients are absorbed by our skin and into our bodies. The cumulative exposure to a myriad of personal care products containing carcinogens, mutagens and reproductive toxins has not been assessed.

The Ugly Side to Pretty

Many believe that by purchasing products marketed as “natural” and “organic” from health stores, high-end department stores and other specialty retailers, they are guaranteed toxin-free ingredients. Unfortunately, major loopholes in federal law allow the $35 billion cosmetics industry to police itself, allowing unlimited amounts of toxic chemicals into personal care products with no required testing, no monitoring of health effects and inadequate labeling requirements.

According to Janet Nudelman, coordinator for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, “The U.S. government, in relation to the FDA, has not been on the side of consumers and has not been on the side of public health.” This is obvious since cosmetic industry representatives serve on government panels that are looking into the consumer safety issue they are supposed to be regulating.

How to make Healthy Choices.

Since the CIR is funded by the well known cosmetic manufacturers and the FDA allocates so little funding toward regulating the cosmetics industry, how can the consumer confidently make healthy choices when purchasing personal care products?

Since 2000 The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a team of scientists, engineers, policy experts and lawyers, have dedicated countless hours examining data, scientific studies, and performed their own laboratory tests to expose threats to your health and the environment, and to offer solutions. Their web site, www.ewg.org provides practical information you can use to protect yourself and your loved ones.

The EWG analyzed the health and safety reviews of 10,000 ingredients in personal care products. They discovered that there is very little research available to document the safety or health risks of low dose repeated exposures to the chemical mixtures in these products. According to the EWG, the absence of this data should not be mistaken for proof of safety. The more these low dose chemical exposures are studied, the more is understood that they can cause adverse effects.

Based on their findings, the EWG has developed Skin Deep www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep, a sophisticated online rating system that ranks brand name products on their potential health risks and the absence of basic safety evaluations.

Janet Nudelman, of The Safe Cosmetics Campaign, says she uses Skin Deep regularly to look up ingredients in personal care products to find the safety reading. Her decision to purchase a product is based on the results.

In recent years, organic and 100% pure and natural products have become available from such companies as suki’s, Farmaesthetics, GratefulBody, Affusion, Monave, Earth’s Beauty, Simply Organic, WildeWood Naturals, Munchskins and more.

The health and safety of you and your loved ones is your responsibility. Read the labels of personal care products closely. If there are ingredients that you are not certain about, write them down and do a quick search to insure they are safe for use by you and your loved ones.

References:

Breast Cancer Action www.bcaction.org

Breast Cancer Fund www.breastcancerfund.org

The Make-up Labyrinth. Shauna Dineen, E The Environment Magazine, November-December 2005

Environmental Working Group www.ewg.org

www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep

Safe Cosmetics www.safecosmetics.org

Pamela Cronan-Maddox, an ovarian cancer survivor is the visionary and president of The Alchemist’s Apprentice, http://www.alchemistsapprentice.com. The online apothecary is dedicated to providing the finest 100% natural and organic skin care and body care products for the entire family. Visit The Alchemist’s Apprentice for all your personal care product needs.

For ages man has been trying to defy Father Time and Mother Nature. Eternal youth is a myth but you can definitely defy old age with anti aging diet. And contrary to popular myth, anti aging diet does not translate into starving yourself.

A strict adherence to any anti aging diet not only delays aging, but also prevents a large number of diseases and the ensuing stress and fatality. Such a diet plan is guaranteed to make you look younger and stay healthy too.

Anti aging diet is actually a form of calorie restriction. However, it is fundamentally different from the numerous fad diets that are featured in the newspaper daily. In this diet program, you eat less overall and keep a tab on the amount of fats and carbohydrates you are consuming.

How you keep a check on the calories is up to your convenience. You can skip your lunch, or gorge on all kinds of foods for a few days and then go hungry the other days of the week or you can limit your food intake on all days of the week.

The anti aging diet plan maintains a fine line between consuming less and being starved. That means you do not compromise on the essential nutrients by having more of anti aging food like fruits, vegetables and fishes.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, except avocadoes, coconuts and olives, are storehouses of essential vitamins and minerals. They are low on calories and devoid of fat, cholesterol and sodium, the culprits behind coronary diseases, diabetes and hypertension.

The anti aging diet program also emphasizes the intake of fruits and vegetables for they contain antioxidants in large measures. Antioxidants induce longevity by countering free oxygen radicals, which erode cell membranes and life-nourishing proteins. Antioxidants also stem the neural degeneration that comes with senility. It is no wonder that the National Cancer Institute recommends a daily anti aging diet of five fruit-and-vegetable portions. But the more, the merrier.

You cannot banish fat entirely from your diet but the anti aging diet plan counsels that fish be the source of this fat. The omega-3 fatty acids contained therein, inhibit the growth of cancerous cells, stimulate the immune system, reduce the chances of cardiac arrest and ward off depression.

Anti aging diet has caught on like nothing else and people are already swooning over the Jennifer Anniston endorsed Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet. Both are essentially low carbohydrate diets.

While the Atkins Diet is formulated on the principle that when you are running low on carbs, the body is left with no other choice but to burn the fat, the South Beach Diet recommends complex carbs, which take time to break down so that you have less sugar cravings.

The hype surrounding anti aging diet seems justified for nothing less than your health is at stake.

David Maillie is a chemist with over 12 years experience in biochemical research and clynical analysis. He is an alumni of Cornell University and specializes in biochemical synthesis for public, private, and governmental interests and manufactures various skin peels for plastic surgeons, medispas, and in home use. He can be reached at M.D. Wholesale: http://www.bestskinpeel.com

Many people worry about scars from a cosmetic point of view, because they feel that they are unsightly, but they can also have a direct and dramatic impact on health, because they can interfere with the energy flow in the body causing lasting damage.

The acupuncture meridians form part of the underlying energy system of the body. Imbalances in this system can lead to acute or chronic ill health as the life force energy or “Chi” is not fed correctly to the tissues and cells of the physical body. In classical oriental medicine there are 14 major meridian lines. There are two meridian lines on the midline of the body: the governing vessel running up the back of the torso and the central or conception vessel running up the front of the torso. The other 12 meridians all run bilaterally. These meridians have the names of specific organs, e.g. the liver meridian, the small intestine meridian, but do not necessarily run on the body in the area of the organ. The acupuncture meridians can relate directly to the health of the internal organ associated with it.

Ideally the meridian energy system is in dynamic balance, changing and re-balancing according to internal and external circumstances. However, for many people the meridian energy is more often out of balance than in balance, leading to health problems. Many things can lead to imbalances in the meridian energy, including psychological stress, pollution, inadequate nutrition, etc.

What is less well recognised is that scars can affect the meridian energy flow. Obviously the larger the scar the more likely it is to run across a meridian, but even a small scar can have a devastating effect if it runs across a meridian, particularly if it crosses an acupuncture point.

Health kinesiology has a specific technique for correcting energy imbalances in scars. The scars can be as a result of an accident or operation, from a burn or a vaccination or as a result of acne or other skin problems. Muscle testing is first used to establish that it is necessary and appropriate to correct the energy imbalance in a particular scar. The client then has to place part of their hand or hands [often the tip or pad of one or more fingers] on the scar. The exact part of the hand to use and the exact point on the scar to touch are established through muscle testing. The practitioner also establishes through muscle testing which acupuncture points need to be held to bring the disturbed energy back into permanent balance. This technique, one of many powerful procedures at the disposal of the Health Kinesiology practitioner, takes minutes to perform but can result in a life time’s benefit for the client.

As well as the direct benefit in terms of health, Health Kinesiology scar corrections can result in improvements in the cosmetic appearance of the scar. When the scar is causing energy disturbance it often does not heal well: it may continue to look red and raised long after the normal healing process should be complete. In addition many people report what is known as altered sensation in the region of such a scar. This is where the area feels unusually cold or numb even though there appears no physical reason for these sensations. Often after the Health Kinesiology treatment for the scar there will be pain, tingling, heat and increased redness in the area; sometimes small spots will appear along the scar line. These reactions, if they occur at all, usually only last a day or two. The end result is usually that the scar feels more comfortable and looks much better. Clients will often say that the scar now feels like it is part of their body rather than something separate.

Some years ago, a 29 year old woman called Julie consulted me about a spectacular skin rash. It had started with a few spots on her chest and 2 days later she had developed spots all over her body. Eventually the spots had dried and crusty scabs had formed, leaving her skin looking as though she had a bad case of psoriasis. In fact Julie’s younger sister did have psoriasis. Her GP and the skin specialist were mystified and finally attributed the problem to a course of sun bed treatments she had just completed. When I take a case history I always ask the client about accidents and operations. Julie told me that a mole had been removed from the inside of her right thigh 10 days before the problem had started. The scar was very small and neat but it ran directly across the liver meridian. Through muscle testing I established that the scar was indeed disturbing her liver meridian energy and was causing her physical liver to function less well. This was leading to the body having problems with metabolic by-products which would normally be broken down by the liver. These were being excreted through the skin leading to the severe skin rash. I used Health Kinesiology techniques to re-balance the energy around the scar and to support her liver. The skin problem disappeared very quickly.

A small child, David, provided a wonderful example of the benefits that can be achieved when scars are repaired energetically. He was born with an exomphalos, which means that the midline of the body does not join and some of the internal organs are outside the body. At the time David was born many children died from this condition, and he needed immediate major surgery, so he is lucky to be alive. He was left with a very large scar [over 7 inches long] plus some subsidiary scarring also on his torso. There are several meridians running up and down the torso: the central meridian, the liver meridian, the kidney meridian, the spleen meridian and the stomach meridians. I first used Health Kinesiology on him when he was 8 years old. The main scar from his birth was still red and raised with a lot of keloidal tissue. He had a very small appetite and preferred to eat little and often rather than having a normal meal. His mother had difficulty finding trousers which were comfortable for him to wear because the waist bands tended to rub the scar. He was also severely dyslexic.

After working on this scar David’s dyslexia improved dramatically, the redness disappeared and much of the keloidal tissue was reabsorbed. He also started to eat more. When his mother discussed this with him, he told her that he used to feel that his stomach would burst open if he ate a lot. [He had thought this was normal because it had always been the case for him]. Doing the energy work on his scar has changed all that. It has also improved the energy flow through the torso meridians in general and through the central meridian in particular. Interestingly the central meridian is involved with the brain, so this may be the reason for the dramatic improvement in his dyslexia. There is still a distinctive scar there, but it no longer causes him any discomfort.

Scar work can sometimes lead to scars disappearing altogether. A teenager came to see me, accompanied by her elder sister, a medical student, who was extremely sceptical about the work we were doing. Sandra wanted help with respiratory problems. During the session I did some energy work on a scar caused by a scratch from the family’s cat. The scar was fairly superficial but had been there for about two months. It was not the cause of Sandra’s problems, but it was interfering with the flow of energy through the lung meridian and hampering her body’s attempts to rebalance itself. By the time Sandra and her sister reached home [ approximately 1 hour after the energy work on the scar had been done], the scar had completely disappeared, much to the amazement of my client. The sceptical medical student apparently went very quiet at this point.

Scars do not only affect the physical body they can have profound effects on a person’s sense of emotional well being too. Alice consulted me after she saw the improvement in her son’s hyperactivity as a result of health kinesiology. She found that she frequently allowed small things to overwhelm her. She also said that she was obsessive and constantly checking things. She lacked self-confidence and would often apologise repeatedly even when she knew she was not responsible. The first appointment she had with me was very short and we only had time to do a little piece of work, which involved rebalancing the energy for a bunion operation scar on her right foot. This was in the area of the spleen meridian. Shizuto Masunaga and Wataru Ohashi describe the psychological imbalances associated with the spleen meridian as including over-concern for details, restlessness associated with anxiety and a tendency to over eat [Zen Shiatsu: How To Harmonise Yin and Yang For Better Health]. When Alice came for her next appointment a month later she told me that she was not checking things so much and that the difference in her had been noticed both by her husband and her mother. I carried on with further HK work and Alice became progressively calmer, less obsessive and more self confident. She also lost 2 stone in weight.

HK techniques can be used with dramatic benefit for scars: they can help to improve the physical appearance of scars, allow the scarred area to feel more comfortable and improve the energy flow so enhancing overall health. I look forward to the day when part of the preparation for an operation will involve establishing the least energetically disturbing place to cut the skin, and energy work to repair any unavoidable damage will be a normal part of post-operative care.

Originally published in ‘SE/SW Connection’

Jane Thurnell-Read is a writer and researcher on health, stress, alternative medicine, and happiness. Visit her web site http://www.healthandgoodness.com for tips and information on how to live a happier, healthier life no matter how busy you are.

Which wrinkles and lines bother you the most? Are these lines and wrinkles the type that are best eliminated using Botox?

If you choose to eliminate only the wrinkles that can be treated with Botox, will any of the remaining ones still leave you unsatisfied with your appearance? For example, if you want both your frown lines and marionette lines removed, you will likely need a different cosmetic procedure to have the marionette lines eliminated.

It should point out that Botox injections work best on crow’s-feet (wrinkles radiating from the outside corners of the eyes), worry lines (horizontal forehead lines), and frown lines (vertical lines, also called glabellar lines, that appear be­tween the eyebrows). These are wrinkles that are typically caused by chronic contractions of the muscles under or adja­cent to these areas of the face. Laughing, smiling, frowning, and squinting are some of the common facial expressions that can cause these lines. If you have lines and wrinkles on other parts of your face that concern you, you may need other types of cosmetic procedures to eliminate them. With that in mind, consider these questions:

Which wrinkles and lines bother you the most? Are these lines and wrinkles the type that are best eliminated using Botox?

The followings are the types of lines and wrinkles:

From the top of your face down, bothersome facial wrin­kles have the following names and locations. Notice that Botox is not the best choice for all types of wrinkles and lines.

Forehead lines: horizontal lines, often called worry lines. These lines form mainly because the underlying frontalis muscle, which stretches across the forehead, moves when you make facial expressions. When you lift your brow—sometimes referred to as the "aha" or surprised look—the muscle contracts, which causes the skin that is covering the muscle to pull, wrinkle, and then return to its original position when you relax the muscle. Now consider the countless number of times you’ve used these muscles. As you age, your skin be­gins to lose its elasticity, it suffers from sun damage, and the constant contracting and relaxing of the muscle results in forehead lines. These can be eliminated using Botox or filler injections such as collagen or fat.

Frown lines: vertical lines, also known as glabellar lines, that appear between the eyebrows. These linescan make you appear serious, angry, or stressed even when you’re not. It is for the removal of these lines that the Food and Drug Administration gave approval for Botox in April 2002. These lines are best removed with Botox. If you’ve frowned a lot over the years and the lines are very deeply etched, you may also need wrinkle fillers (e.g., collagen, fat) to eliminate these lines. Your doctor will discuss your options with you.

Crow’s-feet: lines that radiate from the outside corners of the eyes. They’re also known as periorbital lines. If you have these lines, they’re most likely the result of smiling and squinting. If you look in the mirror ands mile or squint, notice how your muscles contract and cause your eyelids to nearly cover your eyes and how the muscles contract at the corners of your eyes where the lines appear. Crow’s-feet are best eliminated with Botox, plus adjunctive treatment such as collagen, chemical peels, or laser resurfacing.

Laugh lines: also known as smile lines or nasolabial lines, they are the two vertical lines that run from the out­side corners of the nose down to the top of the outside of the upper lip. Even though they are called laugh lines, gravity and aging are also factors in their development. They can best be eliminated using wrinkle fillers (e.g., collagen, fat, AlloDerm, Cymetra, Gore-Tex, or SoftForm).

Lipstick or smoker’s lines: the tiny radiating lines that appear above the upper lip and below the lower one. It seems as though everyone has a different name for these annoying wrinkles, which are best removed using laser resurfacing, chemical peel, microdermabrasion, or wrinkle fillers—tissue augmentation (e.g., collagen in­jections, AlloDerm, fat)—in addition to Botox.

Marionette lines: the often deep lines that run down from the outside corners of the mouth toward the chin. These lines develop from a combination of factors, in­cluding gravity (the cheeks tend to sag from the force of gravity) and thinning of the supporting tissue that comes with age. These wrinkles are best eliminated using wrinkle fillers or laser resurfacing. Another option is a face-lift, a complex surgical procedure.

If you’ll still be bothered by the remaining lines and wrinkles, are you willing to have other cosmetic procedures done to correct them? Naturally, you will need to discuss all your options and prices with your doctor, but you should be aware that other procedures may be needed for you to get the look you desire. You also should know that while Botox injections don’t involve any recovery time, some other cosmetic procedures do.

Ito Nakamura is a Internet Health Enterprenuer specialising in marketing Contact Lenses; health supplements; health exercise equipments & beauty products. http://www.detoxprofessor.com

There is no dearth of skin care creams and lotions in the market. Name an ailment, and you will find hundreds of skin care creams, lotions and other products for it. As a result of ongoing research and due to ever increasing demand, the number of skin care products seems to be on the increase. Skin care lotions and skin care creams are the most popular forms in which these products are available, and there always seems to be a debate on which form is better?

Well, there is no definitive answer to this. It seems more like a matter of personal choice. However, greasy creams are surely less popular as compared to the non-greasy (or less greasy) ones. Since the application of skin care creams is easier, they seem to be preferred (over lotions) in cases where the skin care product is not to be removed immediately after application. So, skin care creams seem more popular as moisturisers than as cleansers or toners. For toners, lotions seem to be preferred over skin care creams. There are some skin care creams that acts as toners too, but generally the toners are available in liquid form only. For cleansing, lotions and skin care creams are equally popular; however, the tilt seems more towards lotions.

Creams are known to be most effective in keeping skin moist; hence, the most popular form of skin care creams is moisturisers. Due to the same reason, a lot of people tend to associate skin care creams with dry and sensitive skin. Though it is true to a certain extent, skin care creams are not used only for dry skin, they are also used for making products for oily skin e.g. vitamin A creams and sulphur creams that help reduce the rate of sebum production.

Skin care creams are also used for products that cater to skin disorders especially for disorders that require the application of product over a small localised area. This is again due to the fact that skin care creams are easier to apply (without wastage) on the affected area. However, in cases where skin needs to be washed using a medicine/product, lotion is a better choice. Mostly, the manufacturers too realize this fact, making it easier for you to choose between a lotion and a skin care cream

Eye-creams and anti-ageing creams are other examples where skin care cream is preferred over its lotion counterpart.

Whatever your choice be (cream or lotion), knowing how to use it effectively, is more important than anything else.

Ellen for http://www.ultimate-cosmetics.com Find lots of makeup and beauty tips here with loads of information on skin care. Also find about skin vitamins.

What impact does the experience of trauma have on health?

Well this is perhaps the single most neglected factor by healers and other healthcare practitioners. Let me explain.

When an individual experiences trauma of some kind what it gets stored chemically in their nervous system.

In order to go on functioning the "information" associated with the trauma i.e. the actually memory and the emotional repercussions, needs to be "compartmentalized". That is it needs to be kept "unconscious" or out of consciousness.

This requires energy. What energy? One’s vital life energy!

This is the vital life energy that is supposed to maintain and direct the mind/body’s functional and structural integrity.

As an individual moves through his/her life and more trauma are sustained and accumulated more and more of their vital life energy is compromised in this way. Of course as you can see this cannot go on forever.

What is also happening is that the trauma is being stored "in" the body at the molecular and cellular level. In other what are “toxic" memories take on physico-chemical form and become lodged right inside the body itself as what I call "toxic memory fragments" (TMF’s).

These TMF’s act to undermine the structural and functional integrity of the mind/body at every level. They then compromise the mind/body’s ability to ward of future threats to its integrity.

It is my view that these TMF’s actually are responsible for most illnesses and the aging process itself.

A new process called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) (MRP) has been developed recently to help permanently release these TMF’s. It does so by releasing the entire memory fragment of the trauma from the individual’s mind/body.

This allows the individual to release and reclaim "stuck" vital life energy that then spontaneously resumes its normal function in maintaining the health, vitality and youthfulness of the mind body.

Dr. Nick Arrizza is trained in Chemical Engineering, Business Management & Leadership, Medicine and Psychiatry. He is an Energy Psychiatrist, Healer, Key Note Speaker,Editor of a New Ezine Called "Spirituality And Science" (which is requesting high quality article submissions) Author of "Esteem for the Self: A Manual for Personal Transformation" (available in ebook format on his web site), Stress Management Coach, Peak Performance Coach & Energy Medicine Researcher, Specializes in Life and Executive Performance Coaching, is the Developer of a powerful new tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that helps build physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being by helping to permanently release negative beliefs, emotions, perceptions and memories. He holds live workshops, international telephone coaching sessions and international teleconference workshops on Physical. Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Well Being.

Business URL #1: http://www.telecoaching4u.com

Personal URL: http://www.telecoaching4u.com/Spirituality_And_Science.htm