Alcohol Derivatives has been a despised ingredient in skin care products for many years. They are notorious for drying the skin and cause irritations. However, not all alcohols are the same. There are certain alcohols that are good for the skin and have potential benefits.

Why are Alcohols Bad for the Skin?

Alcohols, by themselves can have severe impact on the skin. They dilate the blood vessels and interfere with the body’s ability to process Vitamin A. The reduced absorption of Vitamin A accelerates the process of premature aging and causes wrinkles and fine lines to appear on the skin. Alcohol consumption also results in increased flushing of the skin, decreased absorption and efficacy of vitamin A, and increased toxicity of vitamin A and ß-carotene.

Moisturizers that contain a low molecular weight of alcohol fail to be effective because they quickly evaporate from the skin surface. Some of the alcohols that you should completely avoid are ethanol, ethyl alcohol, denatured alcohol, methanol, benzyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and SD alcohol. Denatured or ‘SD’ signifies that the alcohols are processed so they cannot be ingested.

Alcohols That Are Good

There are several cosmetic alcohols that are actually very beneficial for the skin. Also known as fatty alcohols, they help skin care formulations to act as efficient skin care products.

Here are some beneficial alcohols:

Cetyl Alcohol

Extracted from coconut oil, it is an emollient that is included in skin care products to stabilize the formulations. It is a prime ingredient in moisturizers because it helps the moisturizer lock the moisture in the skin and form a protective barrier through which water cannot penetrate. Moreover, cetyl alcohol is also added to skin care products to alter their consistencies or to increase their foaming capacity. It is often included in baby lotions, hand creams, foundation, lipsticks, shampoos, mascara, deodorants, nail polish removers etc.



Stearyl Alcohol

Like the former, stearyl alcohol is also derived from coconut oil. Because it is an emollient as well as an emulsifier, it can be substituted for cetyl alcohol to firm skin care formulations. It is mostly found in creams, lubricants, depilatories and conditioners.

Cetearyl Alcohol

Cetearyl alcohol is an emulsifying wax that is used to soften thick formulas like skin ointments. Derived from natural oils and fats, it is very efficient in stabilizing skin care formulationsbecause it imparts an emollient feel to the skin. It can be used in water-in-oil emulsions, oil-in-water emulsions and anhydrous formulations. Cetearyl alcohol is widely used in cleansers, permanent hair color, face creams, eye make-up and sunblocks.

Lanolin Alcohol

Lanolin alcohol is derived from the sebaceous glands of sheep’s wool. This is the reason why it is often believed to be an allergen and sensitizing agent. However, it is an excellent emollient and its lower concentrations result in lower sensitivity rates. It is used extensively in moisturizers, sunscreen, shaving creams and cosmetics.

It is absolutely safe to use alcohols that are listed safe to be used. In fact, lower concentrations of low molecular weight alcohols do not irritate the skin or cause irritations. All you need to do is to control alcohol consumption, especially so if you are using skin care products that contain Vitamin A.

Some Product Suggestions

Remergent Complete Cleanser

It is a superb skin cleanser that also provides pH correction ingredients which condition the skin and helps it achieve optimal treatment results. It not only deep cleans the skin but also tones it all the time taking care not to cause any dryness. Some of its essential benefits are:

It cleans the skin and tones it thoroughly

It removes all the dirt, debris, residue particles and make-up elements

It prepares the skin and helps it absorb active ingredients more efficiently

It balances the natural properties of the skin

It suits all skin types

It can be safely used two times a day, both in the morning and at night without causing skin dryness.

The product contains a list of ingredients comprising of alcohols like Decyl Oleate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Glycol to name a few.

Obagi ELASTIderm Night Eye Cream

It’s an essential night eye cream that not only improves the skin elasticity but also makes the skin firmer, radiant and youthful. It works at night when the body rests and repairs itself naturally. With regular use, it diminishes wrinkles, fine lines and crow’s feet and replenishes the collagen and elastin fibers within the skin.

Elastiderm Night Cream contains both Stearyl and Cetyl alcohol.



By: Marilynn Syrett

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Whether your female health questions are on early signs of menopause or how to reduce PMS symptoms, you can find answers online to important female health questions.

Busy women today have to keep up with their career, money issues and family. There is hardly time to prepare meals and care for the children and/or partner before and after work hours. Most women in the western industrialized countries become involved with career and family in their late twenties and early thirties. As responsibilities grow, women will typically experience a great deal of stress and have female health concerns.

Along with increased stress may come excessive caffeine or alcohol consumption, sleepless nights, cigarette smoking, lack of exercise, birth control pills, poor nutrition choices, obesity and exposure to the many environmental toxins found in daily life. These lifestyle choices add to the female health problems instead of helping the body to cope with the many demands placed on it.

It is no wonder that many women have female health concerns and begin experiencing health symptoms that make them wonder what is going on and to look for answers to questions such as the following:

Female Health Questions #1 – How Can I Have More Energy and Feel Better?

Lack of energy may be from overexertion or it may be your body telling you that it needs to rest. Anyone can feel tired occasionally. However, constantly feeling fatigued can be a symptom of disease or bodily imbalance and can occur at any age. It may be the first sign that your body is not working as it should and something should be done.

Female Health Questions #2 – Why Am I Gaining Weight?

Weight gain probably means you have gained unwanted weight around the mid-section even though no changes have been made in eating habits. Daily calories might have even been reduced but still the weight remains. Again the logical question is “Why?”

Female Health Questions #3 – Why Am I Having Hot Flashes/Night Sweats?

About half of all women experience hot flashes and night sweats during the years as changes happen in the monthly menstrual cycle. As menopause approaches, they frequently continue for several years following menopause if not treated. With the major changes in the body’s hormones, the brain thinks your body temperature is changing which causes your nervous system to want to cool your body down. Fluctuating hormone levels are the #1 cause.

Female Health Questions #4 – Why Is My Hair Thinning?

Women experience thinning hair and even hair growth in the wrong places. There are various treatments like changing your hair style or using a shampoo and conditioner that makes your hair fuller. However, instead of purchasing female hair loss products, a woman should first look for the underlying causes that are related to hormone imbalance.

Female Health Questions #5 – Can I Find Online Information on These and Related Health Issues?

Yes! A woman should understand what are normal changes in her reproductive cycle and health and what symptoms indicate underlying hormonal imbalances or damage from poor eating habits, stress and other factors. And the health problems you may be having can definitely be related!

A woman with female health concerns should know which symptoms she has. And how mild or severe are those symptoms? What are you demanding of your body? Are you frequently stressed? Are you taking prescription drugs? What about caffeine and alcohol? What support are you giving your body? What do you eat and are you taking a high-quality women’s nutritional supplement? And what is your age? Your age is important because you need to compare your health with other women your age.

Find out more about your health, the symptoms you may have, what these symptoms mean and your options. There is an online test for hormone health related to symptoms that indicate hormones are out of balance. This health test has been developed by a leading womens health clinic, it is used in their practice every day and is available to women online at no cost.

If you are a woman in your thirties or older and you feel your health is not what it should be, get answers to your female health questions by taking the womens health test online and see what the clinic recommends for your health situation. Understanding what is healthy and normal and what is not is crucial when your energy, your health and well-being are at stake.

Copyright 2007 InfoSearch Publishing



By: David Lee Buster

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Here’s one for Ripley’s: In the United Kingdom, a 60-year-old woman was sentenced to six months in prison for stealing over £10,000 of goods from various shops. The stolen items were carefully hidden in her eye bags!

Beryl Payneridge’s career as a shoplifter ended when a security guard at Dixon’s – a British store specializing in consumer electronics – became suspicious of her appearance. The guard said Payneridge looked as if she hadn’t slept for a year or was shoplifting something. When he went through her eye bags, he found a Sony widescreen TV and several DVDs hidden there!

Prior to this, the suspect admitted that she had concealed buttons, soap powder, and fridge-freezers in her large eye bags. In court, the judge told Payneridge, “You took advantage of your naturally sagging features to willfully defraud and burgle shops.”

By now, you probably know that this is a fictitious story cooked up by Paul Deacon in The Spoof! Web site. However, it clearly shows us just how bad eye bags can be. While the problem is rarely serious, eye bags can disfigure one emotionally and psychologically by making you look old and ugly. These psychological scars can affect your work and social life.

“Puffy eyes can be caused by a host of reasons including: allergies, stress, high blood pressure, crying, sun or heat exposure, increased salt intake and even too much alcohol consumption. Genetics and lack of sleep are also major culprits. Since the under-eye area is loaded with blood vessels that tend to retain water, your eyes need extra TLC,” according to the Skincare News Team.

Although eye bags are common in the elderly and tend to run in families, they can also affect children. In kids, this is often caused by allergies or congested sinuses that have become inflamed.

Granting you or your kid have a clean bill of health, you can still get eye bags as the years take their toll on your face. Since the skin around the eyes is thinner, it can easily reflect the ravages of time that may manifest itself as eye bags, puffiness, wrinkles, and dark circles.

“Sometimes what you’re seeing isn’t really darkened skin, but engorged blood vessels under your eyes. Because the skin under your eyes is thinner than skin anywhere else on your body, blood vessels there are more noticeable, especially if you’re fair-skinned,” said Dr. Monica L. Monica, an ophthalmologist in New Orleans and spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Now that you know what eye bags are, what can you do about them? In Japan, people bothered by eye bags can simply purchase a blackcurrant-flavored drink that’s advertised in the subway. This strange concoction will supposedly eliminate eye bags although it’s not clear how many bottles you have to take before this happens! Besides, what if you don’t like blackcurrant?!

A better way is to use Eyevive. This dermatological breakthrough safely and effectively reduces eye bags, dark circles, puffiness, wrinkles, and other signs of aging. Eyevive contains the right blend of peptides, antioxidants and a powerful moisturizer that prevents fluid accumulation around the eyes, improves circulation, and strengthens the skin to give you a smoother and more youthful appearance. Visit http://www.eyevive.com today for details.



By: Janet Martin

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Anti-aging skin care is effective, especially with natural skin care ingredients that focus on the specific concerns of aging skin. Natural anti-aging skin care recipes offer the nourishment that encourages skin rejuvenation and repair while protecting it from additional damage.

Natural ****** rejuvenation recipes work with natural ingredients to reverse aging skin by stimulating skin repair, cell renewal, increasing skin moisture, counteracting free radicals, promoting the production of collagen, and enhancing skin protection.

Skin loses tone and often complexion color changes with age. Metabolism becomes sluggish and circulation slows as people age, causing the skin to lack the nutrients necessary for vibrancy. These changes cause ****** skin to dry out and sag due to a loss of elasticity. The skin also becomes less able to heal itself.

Molecules known as free radicals add to the skin’s deterioration. Free radicals contribute to wrinkles, age spots, fine lines, and many other anti aging skin care concerns. Stress, smoking, insufficient diet, pollution, and excessive sun exposure add to the presence of free radicals and aging skin. The antioxidants in natural anti-aging skin care ingredients, along with daily use of sunscreen, neutralize free radicals.

Another anti-aging skin care problem is a decrease in the skin’s production of collagen and elastin. The skin’s firmness, suppleness, and plumpness deteriorate with a decrease of collagen and elastin causing sagging, fine lines, and deep wrinkles.

Insufficient diet, a lack of exercise, extreme alcohol consumption, sleep deficit, excessive sun exposure, smoking, and stress all add to the accelerated formation of wrinkles and the need for anti-aging skin care.

There is a remedy to halt or lessen these skin damaging issues with a natural anti-aging skin care plan including natural rejuvenating ****** skin care treatments.

An easy anti-aging skin care rejuvenation plan will encourage healing, stimulate natural anti-aging defenses, add moisture, neutralize free radicals, and promote collagen and elastin production. Natural skin care treatment ingredients containing essential nutrients will help with these anti-aging skin care issues. The following natural treatments can fight the signs of aging.

Antioxidants – These powerful anti-aging skin care fighters help to repair and protect skin from free radical damage. Antioxidants stimulate cells and reduce sun damage.

Astringents – Liquid astringents help to thoroughly cleanse the skin and pull tissues together. This tightens skin, reduces the size of pores, and protects against further damage.

Demulcents – Soothing demulcents work to calm irritated and inflamed skin.

Emollients – Emollients work great to sooth and soften dry and sensitive skin.

Exfoliation – New skin cells grow through exfoliation. With the use of a scrub or a natural acid, exfoliating involves removing the outer layer of skin cells, which stimulates the growth of new skin cells.

Humectants – By holding moisture in the skin, humectants aid the skin in retaining moisture.

Moisturizers – Good natural moisturizers add moisture and help the skin seal in its own natural moisture.

If you take the time for natural anti-aging skin care, you will reap the benefits of healing and protection. Natural skin care recipes offer rejuvenating treatments using natural ingredients that proactively address anti-aging skin care issues.



By: Cory Blanchette

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