Blackheads : Causes, Prevention and Home Remedies

A blackhead as in Wikipedia, is a yellow or blackish bump or plug on the skin. A blackhead is a type of acne vulgaris. Blackheads are caused by excess oils that have accumulated in the sebaceous gland's duct. The substance found in these bumps mostly consists of keratin and modified sebum (an oily secretion of the sebaceous gland), which darkens as it oxidizes.

Clogged hair follicles, where blackheads often occur, reflect light irregularly to produce a blackhead's "black" hue. For this reason, the blockage might not necessarily look black when extracted from the pore, but may have a more yellow-brown colour as a result of its melanin content.

Prevention is the best step towards eliminating blackheads. Avoid all facial products that are thick, greasy and oily. Use a cleanser that is water soluble and also gentle and only use a moisturizer on areas of the skin that need it. Exfoliate your skin every day with an exfoliating cream or a wash cloth, and use products to help absorb any excess oil that may be on your face during the day.

There are several treatments and remedies for blackheads that you can use to get rid of your blackheads and prevent further outbreaks.

. Apply a thin film of adapalene gel once daily before bedtime. Its mainly available in the form of "Differin".

. Exfoliate the blackhead prone area 3-4 times a week using facial exfoliators and scrubs.

. Use creams containing AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Fruit acids) like glyco-creams that will clear away any dead skin cells and "expose" the blackhead. Use the AHA's every 3 days or so.

. Avoid washing the face with soaps more than twice a day. Instead wash your face often with plain water splashes.

. If blackheads look ready to pop out, you could try removing them gently by using a blackhead extractor. This is a neat little instrument with a hole at one end, available from chemists.

. Wash your face thoroughly with warm water. Add the juice of a single lemon to a saucepan of hot water and use it to steam your face. Steam your face for at least 10 minutes. The steam also makes your face sweat and this helps to wash out your pores. You can then scrub your face lightly to get rid of any excess oil.

. Grate some carrot and cucumber. Allow the juice of these vegetables to drain so that you get at last a teaspoon of juice. Crush � a clove of garlic along with this juice and apply it to your face. Keep it on for fifteen minutes and then wash it off with warm water. Rinse your face with cold water and pat dry.

. Roast the skin of pomegranate and grind it. Mix this powder with lime juice and apply over the blackheads.

. Peel cucumber and place in blender. Blend until cucumber is of a pasty consistency, but not too watery. Take the mixture and apply as a face mask leaving it on face for 25 minutes.

. Steaming opens up the pores, which makes it easier to get rid of the blackheads from the chin, nose, ears and other areas of the face. Boil some fresh water in a large pot and after it comes to a boil, take it off the flame and leave it to cool for around five or ten minutes. Then cover your head with a thick and large towel, before bending it over the pot. The steam needs to permeate your skin for at least 5 to 10 minutes before the blackhead removal process can be initiated.

. Around quarter cup of honey should be applied like a face mask each night. Wash your face with warm water before applying the honey evenly. Allow your skin to soak up the moisturizing properties of the honey for at least 20 minutes or so, before washing it off with some warm water.


~Source:ultimate-cosmetics.com~

Natural Face Lift : How To and Home Remedies

The fine lines, the sagging skin, the wrinkles that appear at the outer corners of our eyes� these are all typical signs of aging that we all must contend with as our body grows older and older, year after year.

The best and safest method for face lifts is through facial exercising. The proper exercise for face lifts remedies the cause of the aging process of the face by tightening elongated muscles, thereby producing face lifts where the contour has drooped, a firming up where the face appears flabby, and a filling out by rebuilding atrophying muscle tissues.

You can start a facial fitness regime any where and at any time, though most women will opt to do it in the privacy of their own home as they may look a tad silly doing these exercises in public. Let�s start from the top of the face down:

The Forehead
Take your fingers and place them just above your eyebrow. With your fingers, pull the skin down. Now try to raise your eyebrows against the pressure that you are applying with your fingers. Repeat this ten times. This will help smooth out any wrinkles that may be on your forehead.

The Eyelids
Take your thumbs and place them at the corners of your two eyes. Now shut your eyes tightly, and then pull the skin upwards towards the forehead. Repeat this process ten times, and you should be finding that your crows� feet are far less noticeable.

To try and manage sagging eyelids, take your index fingers and hold them close to the brow bone. Now raise your eyebrows. While you�re raising your eyebrows, try to close your eyes. Repeat this step ten times.

The Cheeks
The best way to give your cheeks a good work out is to start by forming an �o� shape with your lips. Now try to push them forward as quickly as you possibly can. Release the �o� shape, and then smile as large as you possibly can. Follow this routine ten times and rest.

The Lips
To exercise the lips, push your lips outwards in a large and pronounced pout. Alternatively, you can try to suck on your finger as hard as you can. This will help keep those dreaded lip wrinkles at bay. Repeat this step ten times.

Fat-ten-u

I recently bought the book Food in the United States, 1820s-1890. I came across an ad for an interesting product that was sold in the late 1800s called Fat-ten-u. Check your calendars, it's not April fools day anymore; this is for real. Fat-ten-u was a dietary supplement guaranteed to "make the thin plump and rosy with honest fleshiness of form." I found several more ads for it online, and they feature drawings of despondent, lean women and drawings of happy overweight women accompanied by enthusiastic testimonials such as this:

"FAT-TEN-U FOODS increased my weight 39 pounds, gave me new womanly vigor and developed me finely. My two sisters also use FAT-TEN-U and because of our newly found vigor we have taken up Grecian dancing and have roles in all local productions."

I'm dying to know what was in this stuff, but I can't find the ingredients anywhere.

I find this rather extraordinary, for two reasons:

• Social norms have clearly changed since the late 1800s. Today, leanness is typically considered more attractive than plumpness.
• Women had to make an effort to become overweight in the late 1800s. In 2011, roughly two-thirds of US women are considered overweight or obese, despite the fact that most of them would rather be lean.

A rhetorical question: did everyone count calories in the 1800s, or did their diet and lifestyle naturally promote leanness? The existence of Fat-ten-u is consistent with the idea that our bodies naturally "defended" a lean body composition more effectively in the late 1800s, when our diets were less industrialized. This is supported by the only reliable data on obesity prevalence in the 1890s I'm aware of: body height and weight measurements from over 35,000 Union civil war veterans aged 40-69 years old (1). In that group of Caucasian men, obesity was about 10% of what it is today in the same age group. Whether or not you believe that this sample was representative of the population at large, I can't imagine any demographic in the modern US with an obesity prevalence of 3 percent (certainly not 60 year old war veterans).

Here are two more ads for Fat-ten-u and "Corpula foods" for your viewing pleasure:

Cough : Causes, Prevention and Home Remedies

A cough is a sudden and often repetitively occurring reflex which helps to clear the large breathing passages from secretions, irritants, foreign particles and microbes.Frequent coughing usually indicates the presence of a disease. Many viruses and bacteria benefit evolutionarily by causing the host to cough, which helps to spread the disease to new hosts.

A cough is not usually a threatening condition and will resolve naturally, but it can be troublesome, particularly when coughing at night keeps you up and prevents you from recuperating. A productive cough is more likely to indicate an acute disease such as a virus or infection.If you have a productive cough in conjunction with fever, wheezing, or any such malaise, you should immediately visit a doctor, even if these symptoms only present when lying down.

A non-productive cough, however, is more likely a symptom of something chronic, such as asthma, bronchitis, or COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder). Environmental factors can also cause either a productive or non-productive cough. Things such as allergies, dust, and certain molds can cause coughs in anyone who is exposed to them for long periods, very often not even being aware of the cause�s existence, in the case of molds and some allergies.

There are many synthetic medicines that cure cough instantly. However, natural remedies for cough could be advantageous.

. The extract of tulsi leaves in fresh water should be given every 2 to 3 hours. It helps to mobilize mucus in bronchitis and asthma.

. Fill a cut lemon with black pepper powder and salt and suck on the lemon. This is said to reduce coughing.

. Eating garlic or rubbing garlic on your throat and chest are techniques used by some people to combat cough.

. Grapes tone up the lungs and act as an expectorant, relieving a simple cold and cough in a couple of days. A cup of grape juice mixed with a teaspoon of honey is advised for cough relief.

. Aniseed is another effective remedy for a hard dry cough with difficult expectoration. It breaks up the mucus. A tea made from this spice should be taken regularly for treating this condition.

. Mixing honey and hot water, or honey and tea to sooth the dryness in the throat are wide spread and masses of people swear this is the best of the home relief options for coughing.

. Combine honey and grape juice and drink this mixture warm. This really helps for that nagging wet cough.

. Boil mint leaves and eucalyptus in water, and then inhale the vapors. This helps to clear the lungs and break up �gunk� in the sinuses.

. Drink hot carrot juice. Nutrients in carrot juice can suppress the body�s natural cough reflex.

. Prepare a natural cough syrup by mixing 2 tbsp lemon juice in a cup of water. Add a tbsp of honey and ginger juice in equal proportions. Drink this syrup several times a day to ease cough.

. Increase the intake of fluids in the day time when you are at work. A nice chicken broth/soup or vegetable soup with garlic in it would also help.

. Mix three drops of cedar oil with olive, sweet almond or jojoba oil, and message onto your chest a few times daily. Another way to use this is to add about 12 drops of these to boiling water and inhale the steam.

. Mix a few drops of eucalyptus to oil to jojoba, sweet almond oil and rub it onto your chest. You can also add 12 to 15 drops of eucalyptus oil to steaming water and inhale the vapor.


~Source:coughtreatment.org~

Natural Remedies For Asthma : Causes, Prevention and Home Remedies

Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.Asthma affects people differently. Each individual is unique in their degree of reactivity to environmental triggers.

Common asthma triggers include:

Animals (pet hair or dander)
Dust
Changes in weather (most often cold weather)
Chemicals in the air or in food
Exercise
Mold
Pollen
Respiratory infections, such as the common cold
Strong emotions (stress)
Tobacco smoke

People with mild asthma (infrequent attacks) may use quick relief medication.

. Honey is one of the most common home remedies for asthma. It is said that if a jug of honey is held under the nose of an asthma patient and he inhales the air that comes into contact with it, he starts breathing easier and deeper.

. Figs have proved very valuable in asthma. They give comfort to the patient by draining off the phlegm. Three or four dry figs should be cleaned thoroughly with warm water and soaked overnight.

. Lemon is another fruit found beneficial in the treatment of asthma. The juice of one lemon, diluted in a glass of water and taken with meals, will bring good results.

. Five grams of gooseberry mixed with one tablespoon of honey forms an effective medicinal tonic for the treatment of this disease. It should be taken every morning.

. The roots of the bitter gourd plant have been used in folk medicine for asthma since ancient times. A teaspoon of the root paste, mixed with an equal amount of honey or juice of the holy basil leaves, given once every night for a month, acts as an excellent medicine for this disease.

. A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction and honey to taste, acts as an excellent expectorant in cases of asthma. The decoction of fenugreek can be made by mixing one tablespoon of fenugreek seeds in a cupful of water. This remedy should be taken once in the morning and once in the evening.

. Ten garlic cloves, boiled in 30 ml of milk, make an excellent medicine for the early stages of asthma. This mixture should he taken once daily by the patient. Steaming ginger tea with two minced garlic cloves in it, can also help to keep the problem under control, and should be taken in the morning and evening.

. Avoid fried and other difficult to-digest foods, strong tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages, condiments pickles, sauces and all refined and processed foods.

. Avoid foods which tend to produce phlegm, such as rice, sugar, lentils, and yoghurt.


~Source:home-remedies-for-you.com~

Sexual Disorders : Causes, Prevention and Home Remedies

Sexual disorders or sexual malfunction as in Wikipedia, refers to a difficulty experienced by an individual or a couple during any stage of a normal sexual activity, including desire, arousal or orgasm. The lack of a fulfilling sex life can often lead to psychological and some physiological problems that affect our everyday lives.

Sexual disorders may be classified into four categories which are sexual desire disorders, arousal disorders, orgasm disorders and pain disorders. There are many factors which may result in a person experiencing a sexual disorders. These may result from emotional or physical causes.

The physical causes include:

1. Certain medications may suppress the libido and lead to sexual disorders.

2. The usage of recreational drugs also adversely affects a person�s sex drive.

3. Back injuries and especially injuries to the spinal cord can have a significant impact on a person�s sex life.

4. Hormonal deficiencies, especially low levels of the male and female sex hormones can affect the sex drive.

5. Certain diseases also have a negative impact on a person�s sex drive and can lead to sexual disorders. These include multiple sclerosis, diabetic neuropathy, endocrine disorders, tertiary syphilis, and tumors.

6. A reduction in the sexual urges is also natural as a person ages.

The emotional causes include:

1. Past or present sexual trauma has strong underlying effects on a person�s sex life and may lead to multiple sexual disorders. This can be readily seen in victims of rape or childhood sexual abuse.

2. Stress also has a significant negative impact on a person�s sex drive. Stress is the single biggest cause for sexual disorders today.

3. Anxiety disorders can also lead to sexual problems.

4. Depression also has a negative effect on a person�s sex life.


The earliest attempts at treating sexual disorders, especially erectile dysfunction, date back to Muslim physicians and pharmacists in the medieval Islamic world. They were the first to prescribe medication for the treatment of this problem, and they developed several methods of therapy for this issue. Nowadays,there are numbers of remedies that can be utilized to help overcome sexual disorders.

. Garlic is a potent aphrodisiac and can help to cure impotence in men. Just chew on two to three cloves of garlic every day or add garlic to your meals.

. Massage therapy can also help to relieve stress and promote blood flow to the organs of the body, including the sexual organs, to improve their functioning.

. Aromatherapy has a powerful effect on the body and mind and can help to relieve stress and other psychological triggers associated with sexual disorders. Some of the essential oils that can help reduce stress and rejuvenate your sex life include lavender, jasmine, cardamom, clary sage, and rose.

. The regular practice of yoga can help to relieve sexual disorders stemming from both physical and emotional problems.

. Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. Exercise is supposed to release �happy hormones� known as endorphins that will add to overall positivity and good health.

. Ensure that you have a healthy diet � avoid too much red meat and high fat foods in general, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, make sure that your diet contains enough fiber and gives you all the required vitamins and minerals.

. Avoid indulging too much in substances like coffee and alcohol and quit smoking.

. Foreplay would more aptly and scientifically be known as sensory pleasure aimed towards sexual gratification. Irrespective of gender, this is an important part of the sexual game in any normal and healthy relationship that includes sex as an important factor.

. Don't be afraid to talk to your doctor and your partner.

. Various creams and jellys, relaxation techniques, regular penetration are helpful to overcome from female sexual arousal disorder.

. A hot bath before intimacy helps in relaxing both body and mind. Adding a few drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil will prove beneficial as it known to intensify sexual desire while energizing the body as a whole.

. Chewing a small piece of ginger 15-20 minutes before making love is also believed to be beneficial as it helps to focus on the act, thus increasing the intensity of love-making.

. While bananas are more highly regarded in the sexual zone because of their shape, they also contain B vitamins that help convert carbohydrates into energy and help the body produce sex hormones such as testosterone.


~Source:home-remedies-for-you.com~

Great New Product

Do you feel sad sometimes? Are you tired when you get up in the morning? Do you get winded running sprint intervals? I've just found a great new product that I think can help. It's called bozolol.

Bozolol is an amazing nutritional supplement extracted from the bozolol berry, harvested wild in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. To the native Ilotaca tribe, the bozolol berry is sacred because it alters the molecules in your brain to make you smarter AND sexier.

Here's how it works: bozolol actually increases the uptake of fat-soluble vitamins from your food, while reducing inflammation in the arteries and helping you shed fat faster than a pork roast! Guaranteed! Learn more about it here. 

April fools!