Clear Up Acne

Everyone hates Acne, I had the worse acne like 3 months ago and I'm so glad that it's all gone now. Anyway to those who's experiencing Acne here's some ordinary things that can help say goodbye to acne and hello to clearer and more healthy skin.

Aspirin

Even those of us who are well past adolescence can get the occasional pimple. Put the kibosh on those annoying blemishes by crushing one aspirin and moistening it with a bit of water. Apply the paste to the pimple, and let it sit for a couple of minutes before washing off with soap and water. It will reduce the redness and soothe the sting. If the pimple persists, repeat the procedure as needed until it's gone.

Olive Oil

Okay, the notion of applying oil to your face to treat acne does sound a bit wacky. Still, many folks swear this works: Make a paste by mixing 4 tablespoons salt with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Pour the mixture onto your hands and fingers and work it around your face. Leave it on for a minute or two, then rinse it off with warm, soapy water. Apply daily for one week, then cut back to two or three times weekly. You should see a noticeable improvement in your condition. (The principle is that the salt cleanses the pores by exfoliation, while the olive oil restores the skin's natural moisture.)

Toothpaste

Your teenager is bemoaning a prominent pimple, and the day before the dance too! Tonight, have her or him dab a bit of non-gel, nonwhitening toothpaste on the offending spot, and it should be dried up by morning. The toothpaste dehydrates the pimple and absorbs the oil. This remedy works best on pimples that have come to a head. Caution: This remedy may be irritating to sensitive skin.

Treat Dry, Chapped Skin

Say goodbye to the uncomfortable feeling of dry, chapped skin with these softeners and exfoliants.

Lemons

It's bad enough that your elbows are dry and itchy, but they look terrible too. Your elbows will look and feel better after a few treatments with this regimen: Mix baking soda and lemon juice to make an abrasive paste. Then rub the paste into your elbows for a soothing, smoothing, and exfoliating treatment.

Milk

Treat yourself to a luxurious foamy milk bath. Toss 1/2 cup or so of powdered milk into the tub as it fills. Milk acts as a natural skin softener.

Petroleum Jelly

If you're constantly applying hand lotion to your tired, chapped hands, but then taking it off again so you can get more work done, try this tip. Apply a liberal amount of petroleum jelly to your hands just before you go to bed. By morning, they'll be soft and smooth.

Plastic Bags

If your hands are cracked and scaly, try this solution. Rub a thick layer of petroleum jelly on your hands. Place them in a plastic bag. The jelly and your body's warmth will help make your hands supple in about 15 minutes.

Shortening
Why pay for fancy creams and lotions to moisturize your skin when ordinary shortening can do the trick at a fraction of the cost? Some hospitals even use shortening to keep skin soft and moist, and you can too. Next time your hands are feeling dry and scaly, just rub in a little shortening. It's natural and fragrance-free.

Manicure and Pedicure Tips

Like every other girls out there, I do love manicure and pedicure. It's not only making the nails looks cute and cool but most importantly it helps to keep the nails clean. Here's some fresh ideas I've read and wanted to share for beautiful fingers and toes.

Bath Oil

Heat 1/2 cup bath oil mixed with 1/2 cup water on High in your microwave for 30 seconds. Place the solution in a deep bowl and soak your fingers or toes in it for 10-15 minutes to soften cuticles or calluses. After drying, use a pumice stone to smooth over calluses or a file to push down cuticles. Follow up by rubbing in hand cream until fully absorbed.

Castor Oil

If you were ever forced to swallow castor oil as a child, this may be a pleasant surprise: The high vitamin-E content of that awful-tasting thick oil can work wonders on brittle nails and ragged cuticles. And you don't have to swallow the stuff. Just massage a small amount on your cuticles and nails each day and within three months you will have supple cuticles and healthy nails.

Cooking Spray

Need your nail polish to dry in a hurry? Spray it with a coat of cooking spray and let dry. The spray is also a great moisturizer for your hands.

Film Canisters

Create a small, spill proof carry case for nail polish remover by tucking a small piece of sponge into a plastic film canister. Saturate the sponge with polish remover and snap on the lid. For an emergency repair, simply insert a finger and rub the nail against the fluid-soaked sponge to remove the polish.

Lemons

Pamper your fingernails without the help of a manicurist. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon to 1 cup warm water and soak your fingertips in the mixture for 5 minutes. After pushing back the cuticles, rub some lemon peel back and forth against the nail.

Marshmallows

Get the comfort of a salon treatment when giving yourself a home pedicure. Just place marshmallows between your toes to separate them before you apply the nail polish.

Mayonnaise

To add some oomph to your fingernails, just plunge them into a bowl of mayonnaise every so often. Keep them bathed in the mayo for about 5 minutes and then wash with warm water.

Petroleum Jelly

During home manicures, it's hard to keep the nail polish from running over on your cuticles. Petroleum jelly can help your manicures look more professional. Dab some along the base of your nails and the sides. If polish seeps off the nail during the manicure, all you do is wipe off the petroleum jelly and the sloppy nail polish is gone.

Styrofoam

When applying nail polish, a foam pellet or a small chunk cut from a block of foam packaging placed between each finger or toe will help spread them apart and keep the polish unblemished until it can dry.

Vinegar

• You can soften the cuticles on your fingers and toes before manicuring them by soaking your digits in a bowl of undiluted white vinegar for five minutes.



• Your nail polish will have a longer life expectancy if you first dampen your nails with some vinegar on a cotton ball and let it dry before applying your favorite polish.
  
  

Dandruff Solutions

Good news to those who are having dandruff's, you can shake away your dandruff problem with these common household items you can find on your own home. I've read this article from one of the magazines and I wanna share it you.

Aspirin

Is your dandruff problem getting you down? Keep it in check by crushing two aspirins to a fine powder and adding it to the normal amount of shampoo you use each time you wash your hair. Leave the mixture on your hair for 1-2 minutes, then rinse well and wash again with plain shampoo.

Baking Soda

Got a bit of a "flaky" problem? To get dandruff under control, wet your hair and then rub a handful of baking soda vigorously into your scalp. Rinse thoroughly and dry. Do this every time you normally wash your hair, but only use baking soda, no shampoo. Your hair may get dried out at first. But after a few weeks your scalp will start producing natural oils, leaving your hair softer and free of flakes.

Lemon

If itchy, scaly dandruff has you scratching your head, relief may be no farther away than your refrigerator. Just massage 2 tablespoons lemon juice into your scalp and rinse with water. Then stir 1 teaspoon lemon juice into 1 cup water and rinse your hair with it. Repeat this daily until your dandruff disappears. No more itchy scalp, and your hair will smell lemon-fresh.

Mouthwash

To treat a bad case of dandruff, wash your hair with your regular shampoo; then rinse with an alcohol-based mouthwash. You can follow with your regular conditioner.

Salt

The abrasiveness of ordinary table salt works great for scrubbing out dandruff before you shampoo. Grab a saltshaker and shake some salt onto your dry scalp. Then work it through your hair, giving your scalp a massage. You'll find you've worked out the dry, flaky skin and are ready for a shampoo.

Vinegar

To give your dandruff the brush-off, follow up each shampoo with a rinse of 2 cups apple cider vinegar mixed with 2 cups cold water. You can also fight dandruff by applying 3 tablespoons vinegar onto your hair and massaging into your scalp before you shampoo. Wait a few minutes, then rinse it out and wash as usual.

Dusting Tricks

Im very particular when it comes to cleaning the house. As much as possible I always want everything to be clean, especially when it comes to cleaning dusty area. I know everyone would agree that its time consuming but heres some tricks for timesaving and efficient way to dust your home clean.

Baby Wipes

Believe it or not, some brands of baby wipes -- Huggies, for instance -- can be laundered and reused as dust cloths and cleaning rags for when you straighten up. It probably goes without saying, but only "mildly" soiled wipes should be considered candidates for laundering.


Periodically shaking out your PC's keyboard is a good way to get rid of the dust and debris that gathers underneath and in between the keys. But that's just half the job. Use a baby wipe to remove the dirt, dried spills, and unspecified gunk that builds up on the keys themselves. Make sure to turn off the computer or unplug the keyboard before you wipe the keys.

Fabric Softener

• Are you frustrated to see dust fly back onto your television screen, or other plastic surfaces, right after cleaning them? To eliminate the static cling that attracts dust, simply dampen your dust cloth with fabric softener straight from the bottle and dust as usual.


• Clean glass tables, shower doors, and other hard surfaces, and repel dust with liquid fabric softener. Mix 1 part softener into 4 parts water and store in a squirt bottle, such as an empty dishwashing liquid bottle. Apply a little solution to a clean cloth, wipe the surface, and then polish with a dry cloth.
  

Fabric Softener Sheets

• Because television and PC screens are electrically charged, they actually attract dust, making dusting them a never-ending chore, but not if you dust them with used dryer softener sheets. These sheets are designed to reduce static cling, so they remove the dust, and keep it from resettling for several days or more.


• Cleaning venetian blinds is a tedious chore, so make the results last by wiping them down with a used dryer fabric softener sheet to repel dust. Wipe them with another sheet whenever the effect wears off.
  

Gloves

Need to dust that collection of glass animals or other delicate items? Put on some fabric gloves -- the softer the better -- to clean your bric-a-brac thoroughly.


If your chandelier has become a haven for spiderwebs and dust, try this surefire dusting tip. Soak some old fabric gloves in window cleaner. Slip them on and wipe off the lighting fixture. You'll beam at the gleaming results.

Oven Mitts

Although oven mitts are typically confined to kitchen duty, they're actually great for dusting and polishing around your house. Use one side of the mitt to apply wax or polish to your furniture, and the other side to buff it up. It's a great way to use old mitts or all those extra ones you've collected.

Paintbrushes

• Are your window screens screaming out for a good cleaning? Use a large, clean paintbrush to give them a good dusting. Then shake off the brush, dip it into a small dish of kerosene, and "paint" both sides of your screens. Dry off the mesh with a clean cloth.


• A feather duster or dust rag is fine for cleaning shelves and such, but neither one is much good when you need to get into the tiny cracks and crevices of chandeliers, wicker furniture or baskets, and all sorts of knickknacks. That's when a small natural-bristle paintbrush can be indispensable. The soft bristles are perfect for cleaning out areas that are otherwise impossible to reach. It's also excellent for dusting delicate items such as porcelain or carved-wood figurines.
  

Pantyhose

• Looking for a simple way to dust baking pans and surfaces with exactly the right amount of flour? Just cut the foot section off a clean old pantyhose leg, fill it with flour, tie a knot in it, and keep it in your flour jar. Give your new flour dispenser a few gentle shakes whenever you need to dust flour onto a baking pan or prepare a surface for rolling out dough for breads or pastries.


• Having trouble catching those dust bunnies residing underneath and alongside your refrigerator? Round them up by balling up a pair of old pantyhose and attaching it with a rubber band to a coat hanger or yardstick. The dust and dirt will cling to the nylon, which can easily be washed off before being called back for dusting duty.
  

Pillowcases

Have you ever seen dust bunnies careening off your ceiling fan when you turn it on for the first time in weeks? Grab an old pillowcase and place it over one of the ceiling fan blades. Slowly pull off the pillowcase. The blades get dusted and the dust bunnies stay in the pillowcase, instead of parachuting to the floor.

Socks

Forget wasting money on those expensive gadgets and gizmos for cleaning venetian blind slats. Just slip a sock over your hand and gently rub the dust off. You can use some dusting spray on the sock, if you like.

Squirt Bottles

A clean, empty squeeze bottle may be just the cleaning tool you need to get the dust out of the corners of your picture frames and other tight spaces. Use it to give a good blast of air to blow out the dirt you can't otherwise reach.

Toothpicks

To get rid of dirt, grime, and cobwebs in hard-to-reach cracks or crevices, dip an ordinary toothpick in some alcohol and run it through the affected area. Also try this to clean around the buttons of your phone.

Umbrellas

The next time you climb up there to clean the chandelier or ceiling fan, bring an old umbrella with you. Open the umbrella and hook its handle on the fixture so that it hangs upside down to catch any drips or dust.

10 Steps to Smarter Food Shopping

With whats happening with the economy nowadays, I guess most of us are finding ways on how to stretch every single dollar were earning especially when it comes to food shopping. Here are some simple steps I got from an article that can help save more money while buying healthy goods.

1. Make a list.
Before you shop, write down what you need -- to reduce the chances of buying what you don't.

2. Limit your trips.
Make your shopping list long so you have to make only one or two trips to the store per week. Besides being more efficient, this provides less opportunity to make impulse purchases.

3. Avoid shopping on an empty stomach.
When you're hungry, you're more likely to grab high-fat snacks and desserts.

4. Follow the walls.
Limit browsing to the perimeter of the store, where you'll find the freshest, most healthful foods: raw produce, low-fat dairy products, fresh lean meats and fish. Venture into the interior aisles only when you're after specific foods such as pasta and dried beans, to avoid picking up extra items not included in your diet plan.

5. Pay attention to portions.
Those cookies look great -- and hey, eating them only costs you 75 calories. But check the serving size: 1 cookie. Eating "them," say three cookies -- brings your calorie count up to 225.

6. Ignore the pictures.
Golden sunshine glows on heaps of freshly harvested grains -- an image of good health that signifies nothing. Look at the side of the box instead for the facts, and choose foods that are high in fiber and low in fat and calories.

7. Grade your grains.
Want high-fiber bread? Look for the words "whole grain," "100 percent whole wheat," or "stone-ground" on the label. Breads labeled simply "wheat" -- even if they are brown in color -- may not contain whole grains. True whole-grain bread contains at least two grams of fiber per serving.

8. Watch the language.
Beware of foods labeled "no sugar added" -- the wording is carefully chosen, because the product may be loaded with natural sugar. You'll find the real story on the label, under "Sugars."

9. Add some spice to your life.
Instead of creamy condiments, load up on such spices as basil, chives, cinnamon, cumin, curry, garlic, ginger, horseradish, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, parsley, and Tabasco sauce. They're very low in carbohydrates, fat, protein, and calories.

10. Keep your eye on the cashier.
You're waiting in line, nothing to do -- a captive audience. It's no accident that supermarkets pile their impulse items next to the registers. Keep a couple of items from your basket in your hands. It'll stop you from reaching for the candy bars.

How to live longer

Of course everyone wants to live to a ripe old age. Although you cant predict exactly how many years you'll have, there are some clues. For one, there's genetics, the rest depends on your lifestyle. Heres how you can add years to your life from these simple tips I've read.

+1 year
PLAY WITH YOUR POOCH - When you interact with animals, ypur blodd pressure ans stress hormones levels drops and your body's level of the mood boosting hormone oxytocin increases. And a less stressed heart is a healthier one.

+2 years
MAKE LOVE OFTEN - Having sex not only emotionally connects you and your loved one but also relieves stress, lifts spirits, induces sleep, ansd aven counts as exercise, all of which help you live longer. A study found that adults who made love at least three times a week looked 10 years younger that their less lusty counterparts.

+3 years
EXERCISE - Walking just a half hour a day can lengthen your life according to studies. Regular exercise helps you burn calories and maintain a healthy weight which can ward off some ailments.

+6 years
FLOSS - The same bacteria that causes periodontal diseases like gingivitis also trigger an immune response that causes your arteries to swell, constrict blood flow and collect plaque, all increasing risk of cardiovascular disease. Routine daily flossing combines with brushing after meals and periodic dental checkups will help rid your mouth of these bad bacteria.

+7 years
LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE - An optimistic outlook increases life span by at least seven and half years even after accounting for age, gender, socio economic status and physical health according to researchers. That glass is half full attitude boosts your body's immune system, enabling it to better handle the destructive effects of stress.

+8 years
KICK THE NICOTINE HABIT - Smokers who quit by by age 35 live an average of six to eight years longer that people who continue lighting up, research shows. Giving up smoking lowers your risk in developing fatal condition including lung cancer, heart disease, stroke and chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

The Benefits of Prune Juice

Although I really hate Prune Juice, I have no choice but to have couple of glasses today because Im experiencing constipation. I bought some over the counter laxatives and took it but its been 24 hours already and nothing happen, thats why I went to walgreens right away to buy the Prune juice. Though Im having hard time taking it but Prune juice can help relieve and prevent constipation, its proven and tested base on my experience but the effectiveness varies from person to person. In addition, I have been using Prune juice for many years to treat mild constipation. The most beneficial nutrient in prunes and prune juice is soluble fiber and this insoluble fiber in prune juice is also beneficial to the body, particularly in liver and intestinal function. In reaction to the indigestible form of fiber, the stomach produces fatty acids that act as a natural laxative, cleaning the colon and helping to maintain healthy regularity. If you haven’t tried prune juice to relieve constipation, I recommend that you give a try, you'll be pleasant with the result.

SPICY FOODS CAN BURN FAT!

Losing weight is always a battle for me. Right now Im working as hard as I could in losing some pounds and after reading that spicy foods can burn fat, I was really glad, since Im a spicy foods lover. The spicier the better. I spent most of my life with people with mixed culture, which played a greater part with my food preferences.

So heres how it works: The speed of your metabolism is often said to determine how easy you will put on weight or keep it off. To some extent this is true, your metabolism is processing of food to give the body energy and nutrients that it needs to survive. It is thought that 60% of the calories that the metabolism uses are to keep everything within the body functioning. 30% is used to give us the energy to go about our daily activities. 10% of the calories are needed to process the food that is eaten. There are many ways about how to boost the metabolism so that it burns the calories faster and thus allows us to lose weight, eat more food or eat the foods we like to eat and not gain weight. One of these is eating spicy foods which will boost metabolism and aid in weight loss. It gives a little kick to your heart rate. These little kicks will result in a temporary increase in your metabolism, which will help you burn fat a little easier for a bit.

Magic Power of Sleep

Since I arrived here in US my sleeping pattern has gradually change. I dont get enough sleep compared back home. A lot of factors contributes to my sleep deprivation and when I read this article, I find it interesting, since the benefits of sleeping affects the whole you. How it makes you happier, sexier, even thinner. Its called the Magic Power of Sleep.

The massive decline in sleep happened so slowly and seamlessly that sew seemed to notice the trend. Was it because the growing seduction of the internet, video games and endless TV channels? Never disconnecting from work? No matter how it happened, millions of chronically sleep-deprived are putting their health, quality of life andeven lenght of life journey in jeopardy. New evidence shows why getting enough z's may trump all your other priorities.

MAGIC POWER # 1 LIVE LONGER AND HEALTHIER - Sleeping better may help you fight off illness. When people are sleep deprived, there are higher levels of stress hormones in their bodies and an increase in inflammation both of whick can decrease immune function.

MAGIC POWER # 2 LOOK BETTER, FEEL BETTER - People limited to only four or five hours of sleep a night for several nights not only experience more physical ailments but also undergo changes in metabolism similar to those occurring with normal aging. Its no wonder we look terrible after sleepless night. One of the reasons may be the growth hormones. They're are essential to keeping us looking good as we get older.

MAGIC POWER # 3 BE HAPPIER, LESS STRESSED - The inability to sleep causes more stress, which can have a devastating impact. People who dont sleep get depressed and depression causes insomnia, its a vicious cycle. But we know the inverse is true: that more and better sleep can make you feel happier.

MAGIC POWER # 4 BUILD A BETTER BRAIN - Not only does sleep deprivation lead to poor health, it also affects concentration, problem solving, skills, memory and mood. Better sleep may equal better decision making.

MAGIC POWER # 5 LOSE A FEW POUNDS - With sleep deprivation, we see a reduction in metabolism and an in increase in appetite. Inadequate sleep lowers levels of leptin, the hormone that causes you to feel full, while increasing levels of ghrelin, the homone that makes you feel hungry. Sleep deprivation also influences your food of choices, making you crave high carb and high sugar foods. This is because sleep loss decreases inculin sensitivity.