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Unique Handcrafted Mineral Cosmetics
& Natural Skin Care
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| Our skin
is our body's largest organ and it's main function
is to provide a protective cover for all of our inside
parts .. It also helps to regulate body temperatures
and is sensitive to touch, pressure and pain ..
Our skin is made up of thousands of components that
includes sweat glands, oil producing (sebaceous) glands,
blood vessels, nerve endings, hair follicles, collagen
fibers, fat cells and sweat pores. The visible skin
on the surface is just a small part of this complex
organ. |
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The
skin is made up of three major layers: the epidermis,
the top outer layer, consisting of dead and dying cells
that are constantly being replaced by new skin cells
formed in the dermis; the dermis, the middle layer,
consisting of blood vessels, nerve endings, sebaceous
(oil glands) and sweat glands - it also houses collagen
fibers which give skin its strength and resilience;
and the hypodermis, the bottom layer, consisting of
fat cells that cushion the blood, lymph and nervous
system veins. |
The
first step in any personal natural skin care program
is to establish which skin type you have. There are
five basic groups, and a simple tissue
test will establish which one is yours. It is
worth doing this test even if you are confident of
the result. Health, time, environment, and even seasons
can cause temporary or permanent changes in skin conditions.
In fact, it is worth repeating the test every six
months. The five common skin types are:
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Normal - No immediate signs of dry or oily areas.
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Dry - Dry to the touch, possible flaking and no oily
areas.
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Oily - A slight shine to the skin, possible oil apparent,
with no dry areas.
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Combination - A combination of the above types.
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Aging - Usually dry, possible hot to touch with visible
signs of topical damage.
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Does
Skin Type Change? - Yes,
most definitely. What most fail to realize is that your skin type
changes often, based on your environment and lifestyle. Many things,
both internally and externally, can change your skin type. Keeping
a journal
of your skin type (pdf file - you will need adobe
acrobat reader to view this file) each day and noting down
any of the factors listed below, will greatly help you understand
your skincare needs and determine an effective skincare regime.
- Stress
- Smoking
- Hormonal changes such as menstrual
cycles, pregnancy and menopause
- Health problems such as (minor)
cold/flu to (serious) thyroid disorders
- Medications
- Skin disorders such as rosacea
or psoriasis
- Predisposition such as sensitive
skin, oily vs dry or prone to acne
- Climate
- Exposure to the sun
- Diet
- Personal Hygiene Routine
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The
Tissue Test - You need a completely clean face for this, so
remove any traces of make up and give your face a final cleaning,
using warm water and cotton pads or balls. Gently towel dry and
wait for about 30 minutes before covering your face with a one
ply or layer of a family size paper tissue (we've found that commercial
grade packaging thin tissue paper, the plain white thin stuff
you buy to stuff in a gift bag, works awesome). Lightly press
all over your face and leave for about one minute. Then remove
the tissue carefully and examine near a window or a bright light
source.
- Normal Skin - Faint oily traces on most of the paper that covered the
face.
- Dry Skin - No oily traces - very often aging and mature skin is dry.
- Oily Skin - Clear oily stains over most of the paper that covered the
face.
- Combination
Skin - Oily patches at the sides of the nose and around
the mouth and forehead.
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Our
Skins Aging Process - Our facial skin is naturally thinner
and more sensitive than the skin on the rest of our body. It is
therefore, on the face that the first signs of aging begin. The
natural processes of the skin's decline in youthfulness is at
first unnoticeable. By the time we reach adulthood the life span
of our skin cells has shortened significantly. When we were children
our skin cell life span was about 100 days. As adults, the average
life span of skin cells is 1/2 of that (50 days)! The earliest
visible signs of aging is more than likely going to be the appearance
of wrinkles. There are two types of wrinkles and both signify
the different stages of the aging process. The timing in which
they start to appear is related to genetics but can be accelerated
by over exposure to sunlight, smoking, drugs, pollution, extreme
seasonal changes, stress and dietary imbalances. By the time we
reach ages:
- 20 to 25 - The appearance of small fine horizontal wrinkles are evident,
but faint. Could be found between the eyebrows and the outer
corner of the eyes typically called 'expression' lines and
are more dominate when smiling or laughing.
- 25 to 35 - The existing 'expression' lines may start to become more
visible in this time frame and you may start to see more 'expression'
lines appear in places like the forehead and possibly around
the mouth. It is also possible at this time frame that gravity
could take it's first toll by causing fatty cells to migrate
downward, causing faint vertical lines between the outer edges
of the nostrils and corners of the mouth. There may also be
a slight 'softening' of skin on the face and neck.
- At
40 - Gradually the 'expression' lines and gravity lowering
wrinkles become deeper and more harder to rid yourself of
them. Lack of skin tone may increase, especially around
the neck area. Our necks have fewer fat cells and sebaceous
glands, necessary for proper skin hydration and without
proper hydration the skin on the neck is particularly vulnerable
to the aging process.
- 45 to 55 - Early changes in this time frame may include structural
changes of the facial contours, more than likely caused by
bone thinning and loss of skin elasticity. The collagen in
the skin may still be intact but has become softer and dryer,
also at this time, the skins ability to retain moisture has
diminished greatly. At this time period, our rate of aging
increases and the skin becomes thinner and as the elastin
continues to disappear, the collagen structure gets disrupted,
inevitably causing the skin to 'flatten.'
- 55
to 65 - Significant lowering (gravity again) of the
skin towards the chin may have become apparent, facial shape
changes could be showing around the jaw line and chin. The
skin texture of the face and neck has become thicker. The
disruption of the skins collagen is continued and the cells
that are responsible for restoring elastin in the skin may
have disappeared completely.
- After 65 - As the skin continues to change structurally, the skin's
functions also change. Healing takes longer, bruising shows
more, the skins ability to flush toxins out slows down, sensitivity
could be reduced, and blood circulation slows. In time the
skin may become more sensitive to infections and production
of Vitamin D and protection from against the sun is impaired.
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In
closing, although aging may be genetically determined and ultimately
inevitable, the irreversible process can be slowed down with proper
maintenance and preservation of the skin's structural and functional
integrity. So
treat your skin well and it will provide you with a life long glowing
protection!
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All Rights Reserved.
Content contained in this site is provided for informational
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Customer reviews are provided for informational purposes and
reflect the individual reviewer's results and experiences only
and are not verified or endorsed by Cory Cosmetics.
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