How to Achieve The Perfect Wet Shave
Most men tend to view shaving as a pain in the face! That type of attitude can lead to careless cuts, riveting razor burn, and infectious ingrown hairs. It just doesn’t have to be that way! Take a minute to think about what you are doing when you shave… you are scraping an extremely sharp blade across your skin in an effort to remove the hair growing out! That canNOT be good for you if you are doing it wrong.
As anyone who’s ever had a professional barber shave knows, with right tools and methods, shaving can easily go from a daily hassle to a daily indulgence. We are here to make sure you are equipped with both to re-create that barber experience at home.
First things first, always shave after (or during) a nice warm shower. Water hydrates the skin to ensure the blade will glide smoothly over the surface being shaved. Warm water dilates the blood vessels on the skin’s surface, which in turn opens and relaxes pores and makes the hair follicle more pliable. Therefore, the soft hair will bend as the razor passes and allow the hair to be cut at a better angle… achieving a closer shave. There are several face cleansers available that will help you clean the “canvas” you will be working on.
Prep
There is only one thing to say here. Pre-shave Oil! Pre-shave oils are an essential part of achieving the perfect shave. They work to protect the skin and soften the beard. You don’t need much. A couple drops should do (about the size of a nickel). Rub the oil between your hands to warm it up then massage it into the beard using upward motions to lift the whiskers off your face. After you finish, wash your hands to remove the residue before picking up your razor.
Lather Up!
This is where the fun begins. First, make sure you have a high quality shaving cream. Preferably one with a high fat and glycerin content, which make for good lather and protection. You can certainly use your fingers, but we strongly suggest a high-quality badger-hair brush. Wet the tip of the brush with some warm water and, using two fingers, embed a small amount of shaving cream into the center of the brush. Give it a couple seconds to let the warm water heat up the cream. Then, work up a good lather by rubbing the brush in circular motions all over the beard. Once you look sufficiently like Old St. Nick… you are ready to shave.
Shave
Warm the blade with some hot water to make sure it is ready for action. You don’t have to start in any one location, but it’s generally easier to start from the outside and work to the inside. Go WITH the grain and don’t apply too much pressure to keep from over irritating the skin. Razor strokes should generally be about two inches in length. Rinse the blade with hot water between strokes to keep it warm and free of shave gunk.
For an extra close shave, you can re-lather and go at it again using either a sideways motion or against the grain stroke, depending on the sensitivity of your skin. You don’t have to worry about getting ingrown hairs at this point because the hair has already been trimmed back and will not tuck up under the skin.
Here’s the last little secret… rinse thoroughly with COLD water. The first splash might be a little shocking, but after the initial chill the cool water will soothe any irritation, close pores, and refresh the skin.
Moisturize
Okay, so you just scraped a small layer of skin off your face. What next? Add back a little moisture and nourishment to regenerate the skin. A nice alcohol-free antiseptic misting toner (we like hydrosol rose water) works wonders to soothe and invigorate when the skin is freshly shaven. Follow with patting on a thin layer of aftershave balm to complete the process.
Congratulations… you are now a shaving guru!
Tyler Sims is the CEO and founder of
Female Hair Loss and Menopause
Menopause is one of the most common causes of female hair loss and one of the least happily endured symptom. Female hair loss can be pretty devastating to any woman in today’s modern society, which emphasizes the importance of an attractive hairdo. Just think on the thriving multi-billion dollar in the hair care industry and the numerous advertisements on shampoo, styling products and hair loss treatments.
Like childbirth, menopause is a natural occurring state for women and – also like childbirth – the changes manifested in the body can be traumatic. Women begin menopause between the ages of 30 and 70, with most beginning between the mid 40s and mid 50s. However, menopause can occur unnaturally, that is, after surgery or medical treatment. In this case, the symptoms may be much more severe and female hair loss is much more likely.
Female hair loss is not a guaranteed symptom of menopause. It is less common than, for example, hot flashes and mood changes. Women experience female hair loss to varying degrees and some don’t experience at all.
Exactly what causes hair loss is still not clear. But many experts have said that the most common cause is androgenetic alopecia or genetic balding. This refers to a genetic process whereby individual hair follicles metabolizes the sex hormone testosterone. Menopausal women experiencing hair loss experience a higher rate of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. It is the effect of DHT on hair follicles that results in heair loss.
In the same respect, women who have abnormally high levels of male sex hormones can also experience thinning of scalp hair. Signs that these women display include plenty of body and facial hair, abnormal menstrual patterns and enlarged clitoris.
In addition, factors like anemia, thyroid disorders, fungal infections and stressful life situations can cause hair loss in menopausal women.
In the same way that female hair loss shows itself as a manifestation about three months after the originating cause begins, so too does female hair loss take about three months to show the effects of treatment. Estrogenic treatments like soy isoflavones or hormone replace therapies, will need to be implemented for about three months before you can determine whether or not it’s working for you.
How negative a menopausal woman feels towards her hair loss differs from individual to individual. In situations where it affects her quality of life and self esteem, it is best to address the problem quickly. A proper evaluation by a professional for causes of hair loss is necessary to determine the underlying medical conditions and an appropriate course of treatment that produce the condition.
Kathlene Capelle writes on hair loss treatment, female hair loss, male hair loss, cause of hair loss, natural hair loss remedy and hair care tips. Her blog also includes home made recipes for hair loss. For more articles, tips and latest news updates, please visit hair-loss-remedy” title=”hair loss remedy hair-loss-remedy-central.com.
Calcium: Another Perspective – Part 2
The garage door slams behind me as I hear the echo of my own words returning from the dark and empty halls of my house; “Honey, I’m home!”…(home)…(home). During the following moments of silence, the ritual begins, once again, for another evening of bachelorhood as I instinctively negotiate the unseen obstacles and reach for the light.
When you have lived alone as long as I have, you find ways to entertain yourself and pretend that you are not quite so alone. I’m sure others have their own routines. For me, it means immediately targeting the TV remote, partly for the background noise and partly so that I have someone/something to talk to/at. Fortunately, I have not lived alone so long that I think the TV talks back to me… yet.
On this particular night in February, 2006, one of the national news programs is on as I neatly hang my jacket (okay… I actually toss it on the chair) and wander back into the kitchen to ponder my dinner options. I have my head stuck in the ‘fridge listening over my shoulder to the anchor-dude talk about one crisis or another as I am sniffing expiration dates for freshness on packages that are trying to scurry to the back of the shelf. As I reach for the “mystery pot” (a leftover remnant from Thanksgiving… 2004) I hear the unmistakable voice of the anchor-dude projecting well above the subtle sound of the throaty growl emanating from the pot:
” Researchers conclude that calcium supplements have no effect on women with osteoporosis.”
BANG!
“Ouch!”
“What!?!”… (what)…(what)
That was my introduction to the news regarding the widely publicized results on the long-term calcium studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine (Vol. 354, pp. 669-683). Last month, in my article Calcium: Another Perspective – Part 1, I suggested a broader view of the study results. When something is being publicized that does not make sense, it never hurts to step back and try “reading between the lines”;. Also, I mentioned two dimensions that can influence a health condition: Lifestyle and Environmental dimensions. The topic of calcium supplementation is an excellent example of the effect of modern influences on a health supplement program.
As I stood in front of the TV rubbing the back of my head, I was growing increasingly frustrated listening to the over-simplified statements being delivered to millions of viewers around the country. I was thinking how remarkably irresponsible it is to take a watered-down piece of the study results and present them as being some sort of proof that calcium does not do any good. At the same time, I was thinking what a wonderful example this will be to show how study results can too often be manipulated to suit some other agenda. And I could just feel it in my bones (no pun intended) that there was much more to this story that was not being shared.
A few days later, after having the opportunity to review the study in detail, some issues became apparent. I know there are many others who had very similar reactions, although, perhaps not while grappling with a new life form in their kitchen.
To repeat a point from Calcium:Part 1, there is no such thing as a magic bullet when it comes to preventing, or reversing, osteoporosis. This is not a trivial problem, and I have become just as frustrated in the past when I heard a “professional” suggesting that the solution to prevent this condition is to supplement a diet with calcium. Both perspectives are equally absurd.
As any problem that is considered complex, there are many factors that affect it. And this is the basic complaint I have about the results of the study as they were publicized. There is no indication suggesting the study coordinators have accounted for numerous Lifestyle and Environmental dimension factors.
I am not going to attempt to cover every factor that could be discussed within either dimension. I will only mention a few of the most compelling points. And if you need a review of the definition of the two dimensions, you can find those in Calcium:Part 1.
We know that for several decades, women have been encouraged to consume additional calcium to prevent osteoporosis, yet the rates of occurrence continue to accelerate. And we know this is an issue mostly affecting modern cultures, especially the U.S. population. We also know,from bone density analysis (actually indicated in the study), that women who *consistently* take their calcium supplements *do* show the benefit of healthier bones. So, what other factors are present to either increase the withdrawal of calcium from the body, or reduce the absorption of calcium being taken into the body?
Within the Lifestyle dimension, well-known negative factors are the consumption of soft drinks (especially diet forms), caffeine, alcohol, diet of excess protein and sugar… basically anything that contributes to an acidic effect on the body. This will cause calcium to be drawn from the bones as a buffering agent. Cigarette smoking should also be mentioned since this has a negative impact on osteoclast/osteoblast cells responsible for maintaining healthy bone mass. It is also worth mentioning that soft drinks are high in phosphorous, raising levels in the blood, and since the body needs to maintain equal levels of calcium and phosphorous in the blood, more calcium will be pulled from the bones to make up the deficit.
Also under Lifestyle, we can mention the importance of weight bearing activities in exercise to help reduce the risks of the body throwing off calcium. The body is quite remarkable in its ability to identify when not to put effort into maintaining some part of itself. We see the effects of muscle atrophy for anyone who has ever been in a cast. But did you also know that when you have a cast on your leg or your arm the bone will start losing calcium? The same thing happens to astronauts in space; the body recognizes it does not need to maintain the same levels of bone density for strength when it is not needed in a weightless environment. This mechanism also encourages the body to build or maintain strong bones when regular exercise is applied.
Under the Environmental dimension, one of the most fundamental factors to consider is the water you drink. Even without taking into consideration the concerns for heavy metal impurities, and fluoride, there is much to be concerned about regarding the acidic quality of water. High quality water should be on the alkaline side of the pH scale. But sadly, all those “specialty” waters that come in their plastic bottles are all acidic, as is water produced by the common Reverse Osmosis water filters. And remember, our body will try to buffer an acidic state with calcium.
So, these are just a few mentions of something that has the ability to skew results in a long-term study. I did not see where these types of habits and environmental factors were accounted for in the results as published. And, of course,the anchor-dude on TV failed to mention these deficiencies in the formula. But millions of people were hearing how all those years they have been taking their supplements might have been for naught.
But wait! There’s more!
Even though the news media did not pick up on some of the study subtleties, other groups who scrutinized the results did notice something worth mentioning. It turns out that adherence to a supplementation program is crucial. Apparently, only 59% of the 36,000 women in the study group actually adhered to the supplement program during the seven years of following the women. In this group, the data does, in fact, show a benefit for calcium/vitamin D supplementation, where
they showed a 29% lower number of fractures then those on placebo. This means, that calcium and vitamin D supplements did significantly reduce the risk of hip fractures. But you have to take them consistently.
We will save for another time getting into the pros or cons of popular forms of calcium. My main goal here was to broaden your perspective about news items that sometimes just don’t sound right. This was one of those times.
It is true that simply popping a pill may not be adequate to prevent or reverse osteoporosis. It is equally true that taking calcium supplements will help if other factors are taken into consideration. Allow yourself to pause and ponder, when your inner voice tells you something does not add up. Sometimes the only way something you hear makes sense is when you step back to gain a new perspective and read between the lines.
Perhaps then, you too will instinctively negotiate some unseen obstacles as you reach for the light.
Bill Evans is President of Applied Health Solutions, Inc., specialists in anti-aging formulas to help reverse the effects of Time. For more information, please visit appliedhealth.com appliedhealth.com
Part 1 of this article is available for viewing at appliedhealth.com/AHS-Journal/Newsletter-Archive/Calcium%3A-Another-Perspective-%11-Part-1/ Calcium: Another Perspective – Part 1, Applied Health Journal Archive
Getting Fit at the Gym
Going to the Gym Health Club is the answer for many people who want to get fit.
At a gym health club a person has personal trainers and dietitians to help them along their healthy path. Everything they need is at one location for one price. It makes getting in shape convenient. With the busy lifestyle so many people have today, gym health clubs are a great solution. A person looking to get in shape need only find a gym health club in their area. They simply sign up for the gym and then can begin taking advantage of everything they have to offer.
A gym health club is something many people are taking advantage of. They are simply a one stop shop for fitness and health needs. A person can get everything they need at a gym health club without ever having to go elsewhere.
In this day and age it seems everyone is trying to lose weight, build muscle and just get in shape. The news about heart disease, cancer and other health issues is overwhelming in the push to get fit. That is why there are more gym health clubs now than ever before. A gym health club offers an all around solution for the person looking to get fit.
Most gym health clubs offer an array of options. They offer classes ranging from kickboxing to yoga. They have personal trainers to work one on one with a person to ensure they are getting the best workout possible. They also have dieticians to help ensure the persons diet is on track too. Everything a person needs to get in shape is all at the gym health club
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preferedforms.com preferedforms.com
Believing in good balanced diet, taking vitamins and minerals. Daily exercise, yoga, stretching, breathing exercises, drinking enough water, meditation, relaxation, positive thinking, and trying to be happy.