Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Tips for Taking Time Out for Yourself This Summer


Taking time out of your busy summer schedule to focus on yourself can help make your energy and your emotional mental health. look these ideas for relaxing and recharging in the summertime.

The kids are out of school for the summer, and your home life is bound to get busier. Add to that work tasks that are piling up, a growing list of household chores, and the vacation you’re trying to plan — and you may be wondering how you can possibly capture some of the enticingly lazy feeling of hot summer days.
Taking time out of your hectic schedule just for yourself helps you live a healthier, happier life. “Relieving stress can lower blood pressure, help you sleep better, and even help you maintain a healthy weight,” says Berit Brogaard, a professor of psychology and philosophy at the University of Missouri in St. Louis.
Here are 10 ways to sneak some “me time” into a busy summer day.

  1. Just say no. It’s okay to push back from a few volunteer projects or to let the dishes sit for a few hours so you can take time out for yourself. “Don’t feel bad saying ‘no’ now and then,” says Bo Bradley, a life coach and the author of Achieving the Balance Dream. It's important to free up time to take a walk, work a crossword puzzle, or watch your favorite TV show.
  2. Forage for finds. Lose yourself in a stroll around a flea market or neighborhood garage sale. The hunt for a one-of-a-kind treasure is a great way to snap out of your routine.
  3. Create a musical escape. Can’t leave the house? Turn everyday chores into relaxing moments. Play classical music, or some other type of music that you find soothing, while you’re folding laundry or preparing dinner. Instead of feeling rushed and annoyed that you’re searching for matching socks, you’ll find yourself relaxing.
  4. Join a “time off” team. Join forces with other busy parents and arrange playdates or sleepovers. Spend your night off unwinding with friends at a cafĂ© or coffeehouse. “Just be sure to order decaf so you’re not counting sheep at midnight!” says Brogaard.
  5. Clear your head. A half hour of meditation or yoga can clear your head and relieve stress, helping you feel more relaxed and calm. “These activities regulate the brain waves responsible for our conscious states,” says Brogaard, “and literally make the brain less busy.”
  6. Bury yourself in a book. The quiet atmosphere at a library encourages relaxation, and the cool air can be a welcome relief when the temperature outside is climbing. Spend an hour flipping through your favorite magazines or looking for a fun summer read. “Just make sure you leave the kids at home so you can truly immerse yourself in the experience,” says Brogaard.
  7. Go green. Spending time outdoors resets your natural rhythm, says stress management expert Debbie Mandel, MA, the author of Addicted to Stress: A Woman's 7-Step Program to Reclaim Joy and Spontaneity in Life. Take a nature walk, eat lunch outside, or take a chore outside — such as balancing your checkbook out on the deck. “Any opportunity to get outside will help you feel like you’re part of the summer season,” says Mandel.
  8. Talk to the animals. Sure, the zoo is a great place to take the kids. But feeding the ducks and watching elephants splash in their pool is a great way for grown-ups to unwind too. Playing with your pets at home is another fun way to enjoy some animal company.
  9. Get schooled. Sign up for that ceramics or pastry class you’ve always wanted to take. Learning something new can fuel your creativity and give you a chance to make new friends with similar interests.
  10. Stop by the silver screen. Spend a rainy or sticky summer day at the movies. “A comedy or romance is a great treat for busy, overscheduled parents,” says Mandel. “It’s good for your mental health to laugh and feel like you’re putting your interests first now and then.”
With a little planning and some ingenuity, you can find time this summer to relieve stress and nurture yourself, which will help keep you healthy and give you more energy to meet your family’s needs.

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Laser Skin Treatments for Wrinkles

Fighting off the telltale signs of aging skin, like fine lines and wrinkles? Skin laser treatments can renew your complexion, often with little down time and cumulative results.

When even prescription-strength wrinkle creams, like topical tretinoin (Renova and Retin A), aren’t strong enough to smooth out the wrinkles and fine lines of aging skin, it might be time to consider Plan B — doctor’s office procedures that use high-tech laser therapies to resurface skin.

Already in demand, lasers are growing in popularity because they can be well controlled by the practitioners administering them. Unlike chemical peels that burn off skin layers or dermabrasion that sands them off, lasers either vaporize (ablative treatments) or heat (non-ablative treatments) skin layers. Using heat causes the tissues to tighten and stimulates collagen production, and collagen makes the skin firmer and thicker.

Three Types of Skin Lasers
There are three primary types of skin laser treatments, each resulting in a different degree of smoothing with a corresponding amount of recovery time:
  • Non-ablative rejuvenation. The most gentle of the three skin laser approaches, non-ablative (or non-wound creating) skin lasers work the best on early-stage fine lines and wrinkles. A non-ablative procedure typically requires no recovery time; it also produces the least dramatic results.
  • Fractional rejuvenation. A step up from non-ablative skin layering, fractional procedures provides somewhat deeper rejuvenation, so more noticeable wrinkle reduction can be achieved, with a somewhat longer recovery time. Patients who don’t want to deal with the risks and recovery time of ablative laser resurfacing but who want their aging skin tightened often opt for fractional rejuvenation. Technology advances in fractional skin lasers and the demand for low-risk procedures are giving rise to a growing interest in this level of laser work.
  • Ablative resurfacing. After surgical procedures, ablative laser resurfacing is the most invasive procedure for the reduction of fine lines and wrinkles. The heat from the laser actually causes a visible wound on the skin, so recovery time is required; this can last two to three weeks. This procedure works well for patients with deep wrinkles and extensive sun damage.
Skin Laser Treatment Pros, Cons, and Other Considerations
The best part about using skin lasers to treat wrinkles is that, aside from the ablative procedures, laser treatments generally require little to no recovery time. Some patients report a noticeable decrease in wrinkles after just one treatment, but most require a series of treatments over four to six months, during which time gradual changes occur.
Another upside to the gentleness of these treatments is that side effects are very rare and, when they do occur, they are usually mild. There may be some swelling or soreness, but the most commonly seen side effect is redness around the treated area; usually, makeup can be applied immediately after treatment to help hide it. People who undergo skin-tightening laser treatments need to wear sunscreen on the treated area.
Due to skin laser treatments’ non-invasive nature, skin resurfacing candidates should not expect the same rejuvenation that can be achieved with more radical procedures. And for most patients, results from non-ablative skin laser treatments for wrinkles will only last for about one year or so.
Costs for skin laser treatments for wrinkles vary widely depending on the doctor, and insurance policies typically do not cover wrinkle-reduction procedures because they are elective.
If a skin laser treatment is within your budget and you understand the limitations of the procedure you select, smoother, fresher skin can be in your future.

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Scar Removal: Are Lasers the total Answer?


A scar is an unpleasant reminder of a healthy body process, created when your skin repairs a wound caused by an accident, infection, inflammation, or surgery. Scars vary in shape and size. They may start out red and thick and fade over time, or turn flat, sunken, or lumpy — leading you to wonder about cosmetic procedures to eliminate them.
These days, skin laser technology has advanced to the point where much can be done to treat scars. Laser scar removal or reduction is a common procedure performed in a dermatologist’s office or at a skin laser clinic. With a laser, scars can be lessened significantly and possibly erased, depending on their severity. There are three main types of skin laser treatments available:
  • Laser resurfacing, sometimes referred to as “ablative” laser resurfacing
  • Fractionated laser resurfacing
  • Non-ablative laser resurfacing
Laser Resurfacing
In this treatment, dermatologists use a high-powered laser to remove the top layer of skin that has been scarred. The laser also penetrates to the skin's middle layers, tightening and smoothing the skin.

Laser resurfacing is performed on an outpatient basis in a doctor's office or skin laser clinic, and usually takes one to two hours. Goggles protect your eyes from the laser's bright light during the procedure, and you’ll be given a local anesthetic for the pain and twilight sedation — you’re not “out,” but you are sedated. The dermatologist will run the laser, which resembles a handheld wand, over the scar to remove the damaged skin cells. Each pass of the wand will remove more cells.
There are two types of lasers used for skin resurfacing, each with their own pros and cons:
  • CO2 laser is a powerful laser that penetrates deeply into the skin and is better at removing thicker and deeper scars. As a consequence, recovery time is long, usually about two weeks. The procedure also can be painful.
  • Erbium: YAG laser is less powerful than the CO2 laser and is most often used to treat shallow scars. You’ll need less anesthetic and sedation when you undergo laser scar removal with this laser, and your recovery time is faster, about a week.
Skin laser resurfacing can be expensive, starting at around $2,700 to treat just one portion of the face.
Fractionated Laser Resurfacing
This precise laser therapy uses tiny beams of light that penetrate deeply into the skin. The result is dozens or even hundreds of microscopic holes where skin cells have been removed, surrounded by healthy skin. The holes help break down old skin cells while stimulating collagen production within the deeper skin layers. The surrounding healthy skin helps to quickly heal the damage done by the laser therapy, resulting in fresh, new skin cells.
Topical anesthetic will prevent pain. This therapy is much less invasive and requires little to no recovery time — it also doesn't produce the same amount of skin improvement as full-fledged laser resurfacing. Patients usually experience redness or minor swelling that fades within a few days. You’re likely to need three to five treatments, spaced out at least a week apart. While some improvement will be seen immediately, you will have to wait a few months to get the real results of the treatment. A full-face treatment runs about $1,500, so if you are having a specific area of skin treated you can expect to pay less than that.
Non-Ablative Laser Resurfacing
Dermatologists use infrared skin lasers to heat the inner layers of the skin while leaving the surface untouched. This promotes collagen production and creation of fresh new skin cells that will replace the scars’ damaged cells. The pro for this procedure is the time involved. It does not require the recovery time needed following laser skin resurfacing and also takes less time in the doctor's office, 15 to 30 minutes for each treatment.
As for the cons, the procedure can be somewhat painful, but while the laser is operating, it releases a cooling spray to prevent damage to your surface skin. Also, because the healing is taking place deep inside your skin, it can be months before you see results. Four to six treatments may be required to receive the full benefit of the therapy, with each one costing $400 to $600.
The type of skin laser treatment that will be most effective for you depends on the type of scar you have. A consultation with a doctor experienced in laser scar removal will determine the best strategy

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Anti Aging Skin Care Guide HE Q10 and COQ10

In this anti aging skin care guide, I am going to talk about some ingredients that are found in effective anti aging skin care treatment creams and body lotions. These are not the common things that you typically see in a department store cosmetic, but they are definitely the best.



Clinical research and proven results backs up the claims made by products containing CoenzymeQ10 and natural vitamin E, but this anti aging skin care guide focuses primarily on COQ10. A special form called HE Q10 combines both antioxidants and the manufacturing process is such that the nutrients can penetrate deeply through the skin's layers.

HE Q10 when used as an anti aging skin care treatment has been shown in scientific studies to produce quite a dramatic anti-wrinkle effect. This is due to its ability to increase collagen and elastin production, by nourishing and reducing the effects of free radicals.

The typical anti aging skin care guide often suggests the use of sunscreen. Because of the controversy surrounding the use of those products, I would simply suggest that you avoid spending prolonged periods in the sun. Wear a hat to protect your face. Stay in the shade as much as possible. If you are sailing or participating in another outdoor activity, use a "sun-block" that provides protection from both UVA and UVB radiation.

Sunscreens only protect against UVA radiation, which is responsible for burning, but UVB penetrates more deeply. UVB is believed to cause more aggressive forms of cancer, as well as free radical damage that cause wrinkles. In short, anti aging skin care treatment should not contain sunscreen or an SPF rating, but many do, so shop carefully.

HE Q10 in anti aging skin care treatment is another story entirely. When researchers began to look at the effect that COQ10 had on the skin's cells, they were amazed. Apparently, no one realized that exposure to the sun dramatically decreased levels of COQ10. The nutrient performs many functions in organs throughout the human body, but no one realized the function that it performed in the body's largest organ.