Vitamins for a Healthy Skin

Everyone wants to be beautiful and a glowing skin can and does negate the need of plastering yourself with cosmetics to appear attractive. With our daily hectic lifestyle and inadequate rest, acquiring dn maintaining a healthy, glowing skin seems to be a lost battle. Yet, it takes little to have that all encompassing glow.

A good night’s sleep, adequate intake of water and moderate exercise all helps keep our skin supple and soft but including a few vitamins in our everyday diet can help achieve great results in a relatively less time.

Vitamin A, B, C, K and E are all great for your skin and are easily available in a variety of food that we eat as well as in a few cosmetic products.

If you are having adequate Vitamin A in your diet, then you probably do not need to add supplements. Deficiency in Vitamin A leads to dry, flaky skin and it would be a good idea to include more of this Vitamin in your diet. Vitamin A maintains and repairs your skin tissue and prevents acne. It helps reduce sebum production and is a very effective antioxidant that helps flush out free radicals and toxins from your body thereby improving wrinkles and fine lines. Vitamin A can be found in sweet potatoes, baby carrots, mango, spinach, cantaloupe, milk, and egg yolks. Too much intake of Vitamin A is also not good as it leads to brittle bones and eventually, fractures. Instead, try using topical gels, creams etc to nourish your skin.

Vitamin B Complex is very important for your skin.  Biotin, a nutrient that forms the basis of skin, nail, and hair cells is the most important of all B Vitamins. Deficiency can lead to dermatitis and hair loss. Biotin is present in foods including bananas, eggs, oatmeal, salmon, flounder, chicken, turkey, beef and rice, plus your body also makes some biotin on its own. Niacin, another B Vitamin is also useful in soothing dry, irritated skin and to even out a blotchy skin tone. Niacin helps the epidermis to retain moisture, prevents hyper pigmentation and prevents ultraviolet-induced cancer. Needless to say, B complex is essential in the functioning of your immune system and your antibody production.

Vitamin K. helps in clotting of blood. It helps prevent dark circles if applied topically and is also a great healer of bruises.

Vitamin C can be found in papaya, broccoli, oranges and orange juice, strawberries, kiwi, grapefruit and grapefruit juice, and even raw peppers. It works wonders for your skin by countering the free-radical damage caused by the Sun’s rays (sun burns). It also enhances collagen production, acts as an antioxidant and reduces fine lines and wrinkles, giving you a youthful look.

Vitamin E is found in sunflower seeds, wheat germ, peanut butter, almonds, canned salmon, canned tuna fish, olive oil, and lobster. It helps reduce wrinkles thereby improving the skin’s texture. It is also an antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory properties. Vitamin E moisturizes the skin, making if soft and supple.

Add these wonder Vitamins to your daily diet and use them topically for that glowing, oh-so-beautiful skin and say goodbye to those expensive spa treatments. 

How To Avoid Common Fashion Mistakes

Fashion plays an ever important part in our daily life, yet a few avoidable mistakes could turn a potentially fashionable person into a fashion disaster. The basic rule is NOT to follow fashion trends blindly.  Every person, whether a man or a woman, has different body type, complexion and personality that needs to be kept in mind while dressing.

A well shaped body can carry off much of the designs or styles that are in vogue. If you are slightly on the heavier side, then it would be wise to avoid certain cuts and falls that would accentuate your faults instead of highlighting your assets.

Colors should be chosen according to one’s complexion. Contrary to popular belief, light colors suit lighter skin tones whereas people with a dark skin tone should avoid them altogether as the contrast makes a dark skin look darker. Medium to dark shades are perfect for dark people as they accentuate the skin tone and lend a healthy glow. Too many colors would mar a dress and the wearer. If you do have to mix colors, keep it to a maximum of three to avoid looking, well, funny! Coordinated colors look best on any person.

The same goes for prints. Mixing too many types of prints is a fashion disaster. Keep to a single print for a fashionable look. If you have to mix, then go for a print with bold. For example, wear a printed shirt with a pair of trousers or a skirt with a bold color. Large people should avoid large prints at all costs as they accentuate the size of the wearer.  Also wear prints according to your age group and the occasion. A middle aged person would not look great in bright, fluorescent prints and you definitely don’t want to wear a Hawaiian shirt to work, especially a board meeting! Neither would you want to be seen in a Garfield tie at work!

Stripes are another fashion accessory that can add to your glam quotient if used carefully. A tall person would do well to wear asymmetrical stripes. A short person would do well to wear vertical stripes as it gives an illusion of height. Broader people should avoid horizontal stripes at all costs as they tend to lend breadth to a body. Needless to say, they work wonders for thin people.

Larger busts can be minimized by low ‘V’ shaped necks as well as scoop necks. These also add length to one’s neck. They should avoid high necks and turtlenecks as they add volume to breasts. Halters can be carried off by anyone with a well toned shoulder and arms. Same is the case with sleeveless and short sleeved shirts and dresses. These accentuate your shoulders, arms and neck and draw attention to them. Avoid them if you have heavy, bulky shoulders and arms and a short neck. Heavy arms can attain a slimmer look with a three quarter sleeve instead of a short or full length sleeve.

If you have short, stocky legs then it is better to avoid wearing short skirts and dresses however much they may be ‘in’ this season. Instead try sticking to A-line cuts which will add length and grace to your legs. Avoid low rise jeans as they too make short legs seem even shorter. Instead, opt for hamsters and slightly flared boot cuts and straight legs.

Tight fitting clothes look great as long as you have a great body to flaunt. It does not really add to your sex appeal if you have a tight fitting dress plastered over love handles. Or for that matter wearing super-tight jeans may make your thighs look like thunder-thighs and have the excess fat of your waist roll up and hang over your jeans like a padding of fat and it definitely would not look appealing to you or anyone else for that matter. Wear your size, no matter what it may be. That would help increase your ‘fashionista’ aura.

Last but not the least, wear the right size undergarments. A ‘show’ is not fashionable at all and you really don’t want to flaunt your innerwear brands, whether it’s a Victoria’s Secret or a Playboy! Bra straps and panty hemlines peeping from under your clothes looks tacky to say the least. Leave them for the music videos.