They've pooled their more than 40 years of experience at companies such as Procter & Gamble and Unilever to write a book called Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm? Finally, you can stop scratching your well-coiffed head.
Is baby shampoo good for adult hair?
Most shampoos contain sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), which some people find dries out their scalp. Baby shampoo can be a smart alternative because it contains amphoteric surfactants, which are milder than SLS. The downside is that baby shampoo doesn't clean as well as shampoo with SLS. So if you use a ton of styling products, you might have to wash your hair multiple times with baby shampoo to get it as clean as you would with one lather of an SLS-based product. But that's not such a bad trade-off if your scalp is really parched. WH pick: Dr. Sears Family Essentials Baby Wash & Shampoo ($6, drsearsfamilyessentials.com).
Why do some perfumes last so long?
Fragrances are complex mixtures of natural and synthetic chemicals diluted in alcohol (ethanol, specifically). That alcohol is the first thing to evaporate, which is why you should wait a few seconds before smelling a perfume on your skin. (If you don't, you'll get a nose full of booziness.) Once the alcohol is gone, the scent ingredients—known as top, middle, and bottom notes—develop. Top notes are fleeting (think citrus); you smell them first and then they disappear within a few minutes. Middle notes create the body of the scent and are usually floral or a combo of fruity and floral. Bottom notes are the fragrance anchors; they're the heaviest and stick around the longest. These are often woody, smoky, or musky. So if your favorite scent has serious staying power, it probably has more base notes in the mix.
Do eye creams really reduce wrinkles and puffiness?
Well, yes and no. These creams are essentially moisturizers that have been modified for use on the thin skin around the eyes. While they can't work miracles, they do often contain ingredients that may offer some temporary benefits. They can smooth lines and decrease puffiness with the help of polymers that form a skin-tightening film as they dry. Look for ingredients such as ethylene/acrylic acid copolymer, butylene glycol, and sodium polyacrylate. But as always, the effects vary from person to person, and the results may not be dramatically noticeable.
Is there an easy way to pop a zit?
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, you shouldn't pop, pick, scratch, or squeeze pimples, because you can wind up with more inflammation, redness, and possibly scarring. But if you insist on throwing caution to the wind, here are some tips for minimizing the trauma to your delicate facial skin and helping prevent an infection.
1. Take a warm shower or bath to soften your skin.
2. Wash your face and remove all makeup.
3. Wash your hands to prevent spreading germs and infecting the pimple.
4. Sterilize a needle by washing it with a little dishwashing soap and then dunking it into rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide for 20 seconds.
5. Use the needle to gently prick the white tip of the pimple.
6. Wrap pieces of clean tissue or toilet paper around your index fingers.
7. Gently apply pressure to the sides of the pimple to ease out the pus. Stop when blood or clear fluid comes out.
Five Signs a Product Is Past Its Prime
1 It smells bad
Fragrance is often the first thing to go off. A little fragrance fading is normal, but if you detect a sour or rancid odor, it may be a sign that something is wrong with the product.
2 Its texture changes
Alterations in the consistency of a product may be subtle but significant. For example, if your body lotion looks exceptionally thick or thin, or if it appears too grainy, this may be an early indication of emulsion instability. This means the oil-and water-soluble chemicals are separating. When that happens, the product may not work the way it's supposed to and you could end up with irritated skin.
3 The color shifts
Product colors are very sensitive to light, so it's not unusual for cosmetics in clear packaging to experience a shift in shade. A slight color change doesn't necessarily mean anything is functionally wrong with the product, but if a red lipstick turns orange, that's not good.
4 It grows fuzz
If your product has black spots or fuzzy growth, it could be contaminated with bacteria or fungus. Toss it immediately to avoid getting an infection from it. And by the way, you should never dilute a product with water just so you can get the last little bit out of the bottle. Adding water can also dilute the preservative system, which can allow the growth of potentially dangerous bacteria.
5 The product separates
If a product has separated into two layers, it has gone bad. And you shouldn't try to fix it by mixing the layers together. This is particularly true of dandruff shampoo, sunscreen, and other products that have active ingredients. Once the active drug ingredient has separated from the rest of the formula, it may not work properly.
What causes dark armpits?
Your pits could be darker than they should be for at least four different reasons:
Cause 1: Shaving
When you shave, you cut hair off at, or just below, the surface of the skin. If the hair is darker than your skin color, your skin can appear to have a dark stain, but it's really just subsurface hair. Instead of shaving, try waxing—it gets rid of the hair from a deeper level.
Cause 2: Buildup of Dead Skin Cells
Dark spots under your arms can be the result of dead skin cells that are trapped in microscopic "hills and valleys" on your skin. Try exfoliating at least once a week with a product that contains lactic acid.
Cause 3: Antiperspirant and Deodorant Usage
In theory, some ingredients in these products (perhaps fragrance) could react with your skin and cause discoloration. Practically speaking, this seems unlikely. But many people claim that the darkness goes away when they stop using antiperspirants and deodorants that contain fragrance.
Cause 4: Acanthosis Nigricans
This medical condition causes light-brown to black markings on the neck, under the arms, or in the groin. It can be related to insulin production or to a glandular disorder, and it typically occurs in people who are overweight. If this applies to you, see a doctor and try to limit sugar and simple carbs to control insulin production. You can lighten your underarms with a cream such as Retin-A or one that contains alpha hydroxy acids or salicylic acid.
So...can you get hooked on lip balm?
It's not an addiction in the true medical sense, but yes, you can train your body to rely on lip balm. Here's what happens: When your lips start to feel dry or get flaky, they send a signal to a deeper layer of skin (called the basal layer) to produce fresh, plump skin cells. But when you put on lip balm, you slow down the signal because you're creating a barrier layer that prevents the evaporation of more moisture, so the basal layer never gets the signal to produce new cells. When the lip balm wears off, all of a sudden your lips dry out again and your basal layer has to hurry up and start producing new cells. But because your lips feel dry, you add more lip balm, which once again tells the basal layer, "Hey, everything's fine up here on the surface. We don't need any more skin cells." And the cycle repeats.
What is the difference between an anti-perspirant and a deodorant?
Antiperspirant, as the name implies, interferes with sweat production and stops you from perspiring. Deodorant simply masks odor. Ultimately, both products attempt to do the same thing—prevent you from being stinky—and which one you use is simply a matter of personal preference. If you don't sweat a lot, go with deodorant. Most contain an active ingredient (usually triclosan) that prevents smelly bacteria from growing. No bacteria means no body odor. Otherwise, opt for antiperspirant, which contains zinc salts that block your sweat glands. WH pick: Certain Dri Solid Antiperspirant ($6, at drugstores). No sweat equals no home for bacteria, which equals you staying fresh and clean. The best solution is to use a product that's both an antiperspirant and a deodorant so you are solving both issues and getting the best possible protection. WH pick: Secret Natural Mineral Invisible Solid ($4.29, at drugstores).
Any reason you can't use the same moisturizer for face and hands?
You need to use different products to suit your skin's different needs. The skin on your face tends to be thin and prone to breakouts and wrinkles, while the skin on your hands is thicker and tends to get overly dry or cracked (primarily due to washing them with soap several times a day). So your facial moisturizer should be lightweight and noncomedogenic, and perhaps contain film-forming agents that tighten skin to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Your hand lotion should be a heavier barrier cream that protects your digits from harsh conditions and boosts their moisture.
Can UV nail-polish dryers damage skin?
We looked into UV dryers and found that the light they produce is the same type that causes photo-aging and skin cancer. Fortunately, the danger seems to be pretty slight because drying lamps have a very low power output—only around 10 watts. Compare that with the power of a full-size tanning bed that can put out up to 2,400 watts! Your hands probably aren't in much danger. Still, if you're concerned, put on a little sunblock before using the lamp.
Ref : http://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/beauty-iq
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