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Friday, June 5, 2009

How to Grow A Rubber Tree Plant

With the rising population and declining size of houses, having a garden is something that majority of the people cannot simply afford. In such a case, the only option for having greenery around you is to go for plants in the balcony and also adorn your room with houseplants. In this context, rubber plants have wooed many people. Since it is easy to plant as well as care for, many people are opting for a rubber plant in their house. In case you are one of them, this article will prove to be quite handy. Go through the following lines and get tips on how to grow a rubber tree plant.

Growing Rubber Tree Plants

Preparation


In the preparation stage, you will be required to get the soil as well as the planting container for your rubber tree plant. Talking about the former, it is always advisable to make use of professional planting mix, which contains equal parts of sand, peat moss and garden loam, for your rubber plant. Such a soil drains well and will suit the plant, which doesn't gel well with soggy wet soil. As for the next aspect, keep in mind that a rubber tree plant will grow to be about 4 feet in height, when mature. So, it is advisable to go for a large planting container.

Planting

After you have arranged for the soil and planting container, it is the time to visit your local nursery and get a rubber tree plant for your house. It will be best to place the plant in a larger plastic container at first, filled with the plating mix and having lots of drainage holes. Thereafter, you can put it in a copper, brass or any other container that is impermeable in nature. Before that, do make sure to add 1 to 2 inch rocks or gravel to the bottom of the container. This will help provide drainage material to the plant.

Watering & Feeding


After you have planted the rubber tree plant, it is the time to take care of its watering and feeding needs. Undertake watering only when you feel that the soil is completely dry, all through the planting pot. At the time of each watering, feed the plant with water soluble plant food. The best way of watering your rubber plant would be to place the entire container in a bathtub or bucket of lukewarm water. This will help provide moisture to the deepest roots as well. it is advisable to use lukewarm water for watering and be less frequent in the winter months.

Cleaning


Apart from watering and feeding your rubber tree plant on a regular basis, it is important to clean it as well. Making use of a damp cloth, wipe the leaves of your rubber tree plant every couple of weeks. As you clean the plant, its leaves will attain a glossy sheen naturally, thus doing away with the need of using any commercial or homemade leave shine product. As it is, making use of shine products has been known to clog the pores of a houseplant, interfering with its breathing in the process.

Maintenance

While a rubber tree plant has the ability to survive in almost any amount of light, it will grow the best in a well-lit area. As for the temperature, maintaining a normal household temperature will do just fine. Another important aspect of maintaining a rubber tree plant comprises of pruning. For the purpose, cut below the thin areas, as close to the larger, internal stems as possible. Remember, the pruned area will get additional branches soon enough. Prune in a way that reduces the overall size of the plant and removes overlapping branches as well, but encourages strong internal growth.

How To Make A Homemade Bath Scrub

Each and every person in this world craves for a skin that is soft, smooth and completely free of any unwanted marks. In order to achieve this very purpose, they undertake a large number of steps, applying different types of creams and lotions, going for cosmetic treatments, making use of body scrubs, and so on. In case you are one of those who resort to the use of body scrubs, this article will prove quite handy to you. Go through the recipes given below and know how to make a homemade bath scrub.

Homemade Bath Scrub Recipes

Recipe 1

Supplies Needed
3 cups Epsom Salt (or coarse sea salt)
1 cup Almond Oil (or canola oil or olive oil)
Essential Oils (for fragrance)
Mixing Bowl
Spoon

Instructions

Take a large container or pot and put the salt in it.
Add the almond oil to the container and mix well.
Mix in the essential oil.
Your bath scrub is ready to be used.

Recipe 2

Supplies Needed

1 cup Epsom Salt
2 drops Essential Oil (of your choice)
2 drops Food Coloring (of your choice)
2-3 drops Jojoba Oil (almond oil or olive oil)
1 tbsp Baking Soda
Mixing Bowl
Spoon

Instructions

In a bow, put Epson salt and the essential oil. Mix well.
Add food coloring and jojoba oil, stirring the mixture thoroughly.
Finally, add baking soda and combine together.
Your bath scrub is ready to be used.

Recipe 3

Supplies Needed

3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp Coarse Sea Salt
Mixing Bowl
Spoon

Instructions

Put the olive oil in the mixing bowl and add coarse sea salt.
Making use of the spoon, mix the salt and oil thoroughly.
Your bath scrub is ready to be used.

Recipe 4

Supplies Needed

1 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Vitamin E Oil
4 drops Lavender Essential Oil
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Mixing Bowl
Spoon

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, combine together olive oil and vitamin E oil.
Add lavender essential oil, followed by pure vanilla extract. Stir well.
Finally, add sugar to the mixture, stirring gently.
Your bath scrub is ready to be used.

Using the Bath Scrubs

Get into the shower and make sure that all the parts of your body get wet.
Scoop a handful of the body scrub onto your hands or on a body puff.
Scrub the mixture into your skin, making use of a circular motion.
In case of hands, feet, elbows and knees, scrub a bit extra.
Rinse off the body scrub with the help of warm water

Some Tips

While making any body scrub, you can add aromatherapy oils to the recipe, to provide a soothing effect as well.
Try to avoid rubbing the scrub on your face or around the eye area. In case it gets into your eyes, immediately wash off with water.

Cause Of Dark Circles

Our face attracts the most amount of attention. Therefore, we pay most attention to the way our face looks. We take special care of our face, its skin, its appearance and we try to present our face in the most beautiful manner we can. In a person's face, it is the eyes that catch the attention of the observer. If the eyes are beautiful the beauty of the face is enhanced. But a problem that a number of women face is dark circles under the eyes. When a woman has dark circles under her eyes, no matter how beautiful her eyes are their impact is diminished because of these dark circles. If we understand the cause of dark circles then we may be able to deal with them and treat them if possible. There are a number reasons for dark circles under the eyes. Given below are some of the common causes for the unsightly dark circles.

Heredity: Dark circles under the eyes can be an inherited trait. If you have dark circles, then it is likely that other members of your family have dark circles too. The skin under the eye is very thin. When blood flows through veins close to surface of the skin it can produce a bluish tint. If your skin is transparent then the darker the circles will be. Transparent skin is also a inherited trait.
Exposure to Sun: Exposure to sun especially during the summer months can make the skin under the eyes look darker. This is true for dark skinned people as well. Suntans are caused by an increase in the natural pigmentation of the skin, as a result of exposure to the sun. This increase in pigmentation is drawn to the surface. This applies to the skin under the eyes as well.

Allergies and Eczema: Any infection of the eye that leads to itching can contribute to dark circles as rubbing and scratching the eyes darkens the skin. People who suffer from hay fever will notice that dark circles appear when the allergy is at its height. Certain food allergies can cause dark circles too.

Medication: Any medication that dilates your blood vessels can cause dark circles under the eyes. As the skin under the eye is delicate an increase in blood shows through the skin in the form of dark circles.

Nutrition: An improper diet, an unbalanced diet or lack of a nutritious diet can cause dark circles under the eye.

Tiredness and Lack of Sleep: A lack of sleep or excessive tiredness can cause the skin under the eyes to become pale, thus, making the blood flowing under it visible.

Pregnancy and Menstruation: During pregnancy and menstruation the skin becomes pale and the veins under the skin become visible.

Age: As you grow older there are greater chances that you will have dark circles and they may become more prominent and permanent. If there are too many folds in the skin under the eyes, it will make the dark circles more prominent.

Besan For Glowing Skin

It’s a shampoo, face scrub and hair remover powdered into one. There is more to besan or gram flour besides making great pakoras.

Though besan has been primarily used in the kitchen, it has other uses too. Gram flour or besan is considered safe enough to be used on an infant’s head during their first head bath. It even finds its place in solah singhar or the 16 steps that a bride uses to adorn herself. It is also supposed to be an effective depilatory. Apart from the above, besan or gram flour has many more uses.

Here is how you can incorporate this powdered wonder in your beauty rituals.

Skincare

A complexion lightening mask

Take four almonds with a teaspoon and a half of gram flour, a teaspoon of milk and four drops of lemon juice. Mix it and apply it on your face. Leave it on for the bleach to take effect.

Take lemon juice, mixed with gram flour, milk cream and honey for dry skin. Replace milk cream and honey with sandalwood powder and curd for oily to normal skin. Apply it on your face to ensure a clear complexion.

Add milk, rose water, carrot juice and cucumber juice to the above to remove freckles. Leave on for 15 minutes and rinse off.

A complexion revival mask

Mix together a teaspoon of gram flour with a pinch of turmeric powder, a few drops of lemon juice and half a teaspoon each of olive oil and milk. Apply it on your face. Remove after 10 minutes.

A face wash

Take a teaspoon each of turmeric powder, milk cream, sandalwood powder and besan. Use it daily.

Removing unwanted facial hair

Take a teaspoonful of gram flour and make a paste by mixing water in it. Apply it daily and scrub it off when dry.

Whitening the knees, neck and hands

Mix lemon juice and gram flour and apply it on the knees, hands and neck to whiten them.

A besan pack

Take one spoonful of besan, a pinch of turmeric (haldi), half a spoon of honey and half spoon of olive oil. Mix it well and apply.

A cooling mask

Take a spoonful of besan, two spoonfuls of curd. Mix well, and apply it on the face. Let it stay for half an hour and wash off.

For pimples

Add curd to gram flour to make a paste and apply it on the face. Completely rub it off before it dries. Repeat every two days. This is also good for removing blemishes. Make curd out of skim milk for oily skin.

Warm some honey and add some besan to it. Apply this paste to your face. Wash with warm water after it dries.

For blemished skin

Add cucumber juice to some besan to form a paste. Apply it to the face and wash off after it dries. This will also tighten the skin pores.

Besan for oily skin

Make a thick paste out of curd and besan. Just apply it on your face and leave it to dry for a few minutes.

Besan for dry skin

Use full-cream milk instead of curd to make a paste with besan. Apply a mixture of the milk and gram flour onto your skin and leave to dry.

To take care of chronically dry skin, mix a teaspoon of milk cream with gram flour and a teaspoon of honey and a pinch of turmeric. Apply this regularly on your face.

A skin glow mask

Soak tamarind root for some time. Grind and mix it with a little gram flour and apply it on your face, hands and other parts of your body. Your skin will have a golden glow after you wash this off after 10 minutes.

For healthy hair (all types)

Mix a cup of curd, two teaspoons of besan, an egg white and the juice of half a lemon. If you have very dry hair, substitute the egg white with a teaspoon of olive oil.

Body scrubs

Mix together a tablespoon each of besan and corn flour. Use this mix to wash your face and body. This is an excellent scrub and will remove your dead skin cells, leaving you feeling clean and glowing.

Mix some fresh cream and besan. Apply this paste on to your body. Avoid the area around the eyes, eyebrows and lips. Shower after five minutes. This will make skin smooth.

Unwanted facial hair

Apply a mixture of fenugreek powder and besan on the unwanted hair. Let it dry and rub off.

Mix besan, milk and turmeric (you can add lemon juice and sandalwood powder) and apply on face. Let it dry and rub off in a circular motion.

Mix besan, lemon juice and malai. Apply on areas with excess hair and rub off.

Face packs

For normal skin

Mix two tablespoons of gram flour and four tablespoons of milk in a clean container. Apply this all over the face and the neck avoiding the area around the eyes and lips. Leave on for 10 minutes and then wash off.

For oily skin

Mix two tablespoons of honey with a teaspoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of rosewater. Apply this all over the face, leave it on for about five minutes and wash off.

For dry skin

Mix a tablespoon of milk powder with a teaspoon of gram flour and two tablespoons of rose water. Leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes and then wash off.

Simple Tips to Help Keep Your Face Looking Younger

As you get older and older, you gain wisdom and a few wrinkles to go along with it. However, there are tips below that can help prevent those unwanted wisdom lines aka wrinkles.

Sunglasses and Sunscreen
The sun is the number one influencer of wrinkles and other abnormalities that make someone look older such as blotchiness, liver spots, broken blood vessels, dryness, and sun related skin diseases.

So, a very inexpensive way to prevent fine lines is protecting yourself from the harmful rays of the sun with a facial sunscreen and sunglasses. In the morning before you even put on your make up, put a SPF 15 facial moisturizer sunscreen on your face all year round and even during the winter when the sun is rarely shining.

Just because the sun is hiding behind the clouds, it still emits harmful UV rays. Before you leave the house, equip yourself with sunglasses that block out the UV rays. Make sure when you purchase sunglasses that it has UV ray protection because not all sunglasses have this feature.

Don’t Smoke
Smoking in general has negative effects for the body and even contributes to wrinkles. In fact, smoking constricts the skin tissue from receiving oxygen and nutrients which causes a pasty complexion and premature wrinkles.

Water
By keeping the skin hydrated, soft, and moist, water is nature’s fountain of youth. The average person needs six to eight glass of water each day especially during workouts and for the hot weather. On the contrary, soda, tea, coffee, juice, and alcohol can not be substituted for water. In fact, alcohol is the worst to drink since it dehydrates and robs the skin of essential minerals and nutrients similar to smoking.

Ironically, water has other benefits besides from reducing wrinkles such as suppressing appetites and getting rid of waste material. It is a good idea to always keep a bottle of water handy.

Anti-Aging Skin Care
If you have a few wrinkles on your face and you want to get rid of them, you can try Jevene anti-wrinkle cream, which reduces the appearance of wrinkles and age spots, penetrates and moisturizes your skin even deep below the skin surface. It is a safe alternative to painful Botox injections.

Having a Better Sleep

We all love to take a few days off to relax and unwind. Whether it’s a trip to the beach, a drive to see relatives, or even a camping trip, it’s great to take time away from the everyday routine. But have you ever noticed that while you can usually control where you go on vacation, you can’t always control where you sleep?

“When you go on vacation or visit with relatives, you usually take whatever “bed” you’re given, whether it’s a plush bed at a high-end resort or the pull-out sofa at your aunt’s house,” stated Andrea Herman, Director of the Better Sleep Council. “Sometimes you sleep better, sometimes worse, than you do at home. Either way, it’s a good opportunity to evaluate whether your own bed at home is as comfortable as it can be.”

“Going on vacation can make you aware of what does, and does not, feel comfortable to you. For example, sleeping on a king-size bed that gives you and your partner more room to move around may lead you to realize that a larger bed would be a better choice for both of you,” stated Herman.

Sleeping somewhere other than your own bed can also make you aware of your needs for comfort and support. A mattress that is too hard, too soft, or even one that feels just right, can make you think about how your own bed at home feels in comparison. And, if when you return home you find that your mattress is not as comfortable as it should be, it may be time for a new sleep set.

Aside from your mattress, other controllable factors you can be on the lookout for when on vacation include noise, light and temperature. “Getting a great night’s sleep in a cool, dark room while on vacation can make you realize that closing your curtains or turning the thermostat down a notch might help you sleep better in your own home,” stated Herman.

The room you sleep in should be quiet and relaxing. Unwelcome noise or light, an uncomfortable or worn-out mattress and foundation, or a room that’s too warm or too cool can prevent you from getting the sleep you need.

Skin Lightening Treatment

Many skin lightening treatment products contain hydroquinone which destroy melanin. It is responsible for pigmentation and protection from cancer-causing ultraviolet rays of the sun. Everyone has melanin. The only difference is how much do they have. The more melanin in your skin, the darker your complexion will be.

Hydroquinone is a white crystalline de-pigmenting agent. When used in large concentrations, it can kill you. You may experience nausea, shortness of breath, convulsions and delirium. Prolonged use can likely lead to the irreversible skin damage such as wrinkles, severe acne, and marks.

Recently, many skin lightening products limit the concentration of hydroquinone to 2%. However, many consumers use too much prescribed skin lightening creams which contain low doses of hydroquinone to treat uneven pigmentation. This has caused them to suffer some side effects.

Many dermatologists and skin care experts aggressively promote skin lightening creams which they claim can even out cosmetic conditions such as vitiligo, liver spots, and other superficial blemishes. But these creams contain high level of hydroquinone. Many studies have substantiated that hydroquinone is not safe for skin bleaching. Moreover, it increases the risk of

* cancer
* adrenal gland problems
* all health conditions related to mercury poisoning
* developing a unusual metabolic disorder called ochronosis, which result in physical changes to the skin and tissues surrounding the eyes, ears, and joints

There are alternatives to hydroquinone when treating dark spots, hyperpigmentation, freckles, and melasma. Below is the list of botanical drugs that are now being widely used in many skin care preparations.

Arbutin is a plant-based hydroquinone. Wheat products, pears, coffee, tea and leaves of certain fruits such as cranberries, blueberries, and mulberries contain this natural melanin inhibiting compound. It disrupts the reactions that cause the natural process of melanin. A study in the Journal of Dermatological Science reported that arbutin is less effective than niacinamide or kojic acid in inhibiting the production of melanin.

Ascorbic acid or vitamin C has demonstrated its ability in lightening the skin. Studies show that after three months of treatment of using a combination of ascorbic acid and lactic acid, the skin of victims with medium to dark skin tones improved noticeably.

Kojic Acid is a by-product from the manufaturing of sake (Japanese rice wine). If your skin cannot tolerate hydroquinone, then you can consider kojic acid. Nervertheless, it has raised some health concerns.

Glutathione is an antioxidant. Our body produce glutathione witht the aid of a selenium and protein balanced diet. The International Journal of Cosmetic Science claims that it is an effective skin lightening ingredient. However, no one has established the standard amount of glutathione for skin lightening.

Grape seed extract has the potential to be a natural skin lightening compound. Researchers in Nago City, Japan observed the reversible action of skin darkening due to ultraviolet exposure that when they fed their guinea pigs with foods that have 1% grape seed extract. However, the same dosage did not have similar results with pigs.

The next time when you look for skin lightening treatment, make sure you go for natural. It is safe for your skin. Unlike mercury or hydroquinone, you don’t have to take the risk of developing cancer.

For more safer skin bleaching, visit this skin lightening treatment site that provides valuable information on how to eliminate age spots, freckles, hyperpigmentation and melasma without side effects.

Beauty Tips for Men

       Most men will not admit to needing beauty tips but deep down some men are just as insecure about their looks as women are. Men freak out at the sign of gray hair as much as women do, the best way to years off the way you look is to get rid of gray hair. You should begin covering it up as soon as you begin to see it, if you wait until there is a lot then it becomes more noticeable. By using products like Just for Men you can color that gray away.

If you have hair that is a little on the long side and you start to notice that you are going bald. Try cutting your hair to a shorter style. Avoid the comb over altogether it just makes you seem older. As you begin to lose hair on top you may notice nose, ear and back hair. You can trim ear and nose hair and if you wish to you can get a wax to remove any unwanted back hair.

For skin care, try using a light moisturizer on the skin with sunscreen. It is just as good for men to get into a daily regimen for skin care. Do a cleansing then use an exfoliate scrub or mask and then follow with a light moisturizer. Once your skin begins to get smoother and softer, shaving won’t be such a chore. Also include your hands and feet in your daily grooming routine. Use a pumice stone to remove dead skin cells and then moisturize, you don’t have to use the pumice every day but try to do it at least once a week.

Some extra grooming tips are: If you are not the ironing type of person then right after drying your clothes in the dryer remove them so they do not wrinkle. In the warm and hot weather, wear light colors and cotton clothes. These fabrics will absorb less heat and any stains will be kept at a minimum. Also, to avoid embarrassing stains, consider trimming or shaving your under arm hair. There will be fewer odors and you will actually be cooler.

Here is a tip for extending the life of your razors, buy a bottle of mineral oil and some rubbing alcohol. When you are done shaving, clean out the razor and dry them. Then completely submerse the razor head in a shallow dish of mineral oil, use the rubbing alcohol to wash away the mineral oil.

Self-Medicating with Food

What does food mean to you? 

Is it a way to nourish and support your body in excellent health?
Is it a way to satisfy your physical hunger?
Is it an experience that you relish and enjoy?
Is it a way to fill your emotional emptiness, to numb out and suppress your feelings? 

If you identify with the latter - if you use food to avoid responsibility for your feelings, then you are self-medicating with food. You are using food addictively - as someone else might use a drug or alcohol.

It is easy to self-medicate with food because it is so available for most people. The chances are that if you are reading this article, you have a computer and enough money to buy food. You don't need a prescription for it and it is not illegal. Therefore, it is readily available.

What is the underlying issue here? Why are you devoted to self-medicating? You are devoted to self-medicating when you are NOT devoted to taking responsibility for your feelings.

When your primary intention is to avoid responsibility for your feelings, then you will likely find numerous addictive ways of doing this - from blaming others and feeling like a victim, to numbing out with substance and process addictions. The bottom line is that until you decide that you want to take full 100% responsibility for your own feelings, you will continue to self-medicate.

What is so scary about taking responsibility for your feelings? Why will you do almost anything to avoid this responsibility, including ending up sick or obese from self-medicating with food? What do you tell yourself will happen if you take responsibility for your feelings?

• Do you tell yourself that you can never fill yourself as much as someone or something else can and if you take responsibility for your own feelings that you will never get what you really want?

• Are you telling yourself that there is too much pain to manage - that you have to numb it out to survive?

• Are you telling yourself that you don't deserve to take responsibility for your feelings?

• Are you telling yourself that it is selfish to take care of your own feelings - that a caring person takes care of others' feelings?

• Are you telling yourself that it is too much work and you don't have the time?

• Do you tell yourself that if you open to your feelings and to taking responsibility for them, you will become too vulnerable and end up being controlled and taken advantage of by others?

• Are you telling yourself that your inner child is too needy and demanding and you can't possibly meet your needs?

• Are you telling yourself that if you take responsibility for yourself you will end up alone - that others' will be too upset by your self-care and leave and you will be more unhappy than you are now?

• Do you tell yourself that if you take loving care of yourself, then you will outgrow your relationship or not want to be in this relationship?

• Do you tell yourself that you are taking care of your feelings and you don't understand why you have a food issue, or that eating the way you eat is taking care of your feelings?

All of these things you might be telling yourself are coming from your wounded self and are lies that you tell yourself.

This is not an exhaustive list regarding what you tell yourself that causes you to fear taking responsibility for your feelings. You might want to take a moment to look inside and see what you tell yourself that causes you to self-medicate rather than take responsibility for your feelings.

Taking responsibility for your feelings means that you are devoted to the practice of Inner Bonding - that instead of self-medicating you are doing Inner Bonding whenever there are distressing feelings.

You will know the joy and fulfillment of taking responsibility for your own feelings only when you do it! Start today with bringing Inner Bonding into your life throughout the day.

Hair loss

       At any one time, about 10 percent of the hair on your scalp is in a resting phase, so after 2 to 3 months, the resting hair falls out and new hair starts to grow in its place. This growing phase lasts for 2 to 6 years and each hair grows approximately 1 centimeter per month during this phase. About 90 percent of the hair on the scalp is growing at any one time. It is normal to shed some hair each day as part of this cycle, but some people may experience excessive hair loss. Hair loss of this type can affect men, women and children and it could be annoying problem.

What is hair loss?

Partial or complete loss of hair is called alopecia. Hair loss usually develops gradually and may be patchy or diffuse, occurring all over the scalp. Roughly 100 hairs are lost from your head every day, and an average scalp contains about 100,000 hairs. Each individual hair survives for an average of 4-1/2 years, during which time it grows about half an inch for a month. Usually in its 5th year, the hair falls out and is replaced within 6 months by a new one, but genetic baldness is caused by the body’s failure to produce new hairs and not by excessive hair loss. Both men and women tend to lose hair thickness and amount as they age, although inherited or pattern baldness affects more men than women. About 25% of men begin to bald by the time they are 30 years old. About two-thirds are either bald or have a balding pattern by age 60. Typical male pattern baldness involves a receding hairline and thinning around the crown with eventual bald spots, and ultimately man may have only a horseshoe ring of hair around the sides. In addition to genes, male-pattern baldness seems to require the presence of the male hormone known as testosterone. Men who do not produce testosterone because of genetic abnormalities or castration do not develop this pattern of baldness. Some women also develop a particular pattern of hair loss due to genetics, age, or male hormones.
These male hormones tend to increase in women after menopause. The pattern is different from that of men, because female pattern baldness involves a thinning throughout the scalp while the frontal hairline generally remains intact.

Who is most likely to get it?

Alopecia areata or hair loss affects an estimated four million Americans of both sexes and of all ages and ethnic backgrounds, and it often begins in childhood. If you have a close family member with the disease, your risk of developing it is slightly increased then for someone who does not have family member with the same problem. If your family member lost his or her first patch of hair before age 30, the risk to other family members is greater, so overall, one in five people with the disease have a family member who has it as well.

What causes excessive hair loss?

A number of things can cause excessive hair loss, for example, about 3 or 4 months after an illness or a major surgery, person may suddenly lose a large amount of hair. This hair loss is related to the stress of the illness and is always temporary. Hormonal problems may cause hair loss as well. If thyroid gland is overactive or underactive, a person’s hair may fall out. This hair loss usually can be helped by treatment for thyroid disease. Hair loss may occur if male or female hormones known as androgen and estrogen are out of balance. Correcting the hormone imbalance the doctor may stop patient’s hair loss. Many women notice hair loss about 3 months after they have had a baby, which is also related to hormones. During pregnancy, high levels of certain hormones cause the body to keep hair that would normally fall out, so when the hormones return to pre-pregnancy levels, that hair falls out and the normal cycle of growth and loss starts again. Some medicines can cause hair loss as well. This type of hair loss improves when you stop taking the medicine, such as blood thinners, also called anticoagulants, medicines used for gout, medicines used in chemotherapy to treat cancer, vitamin A, birth control pills and antidepressants. Beside this, certain infections can cause hair loss. Fungal infections of the scalp can cause hair loss in children but that infection is easily treated with antifungal medicines. Finally, hair loss may occur as part of an underlying disease, such as lupus or diabetes, so since hair loss may be an early sign of a disease, it is important to find the cause so that it can be treated.

Could hair loss be a symptom of a serious disease?

Alopecia areata or hair loss is not a life-threatening disease and it does not cause any physical pain. People with this condition are generally healthy otherwise. However, for most people, a disease that unpredictably affects their appearance the way alopecia areata does is a serious matter. The effects of alopecia areata are primarily socially and emotionally disturbing, but also because loss of eyelashes and eyebrows and hair in the nose and ears can make the person more vulnerable to dust, germs, and foreign particles entering the eyes, nose, and ears. Alopecia areata often occurs in people whose family members have other autoimmune diseases. Examples of such diseases include diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, pernicious anemia, or Addison’s disease. People who have alopecia areata do not usually have other autoimmune diseases, but they do have a higher occurrence of thyroid disease, atopic eczema, nasal allergies, or asthma.

Can improper care cause hair loss?

If you do not care properly about your hair, it is also possible for you to start loosing your hair. If you wear pigtails or cornrows or use tight hair rollers, the pull on your hair can cause a type of hair loss called traction alopecia. If the pulling is stopped before scarring of the scalp develops, your hair will grow back absolutely normally. However, scarring can cause permanent hair loss as well. In the same time, hot oil hair treatments or chemicals used in permanents, may cause inflammation of the hair follicle, which can result in scarring and hair loss.

What is common baldness?

Common baldness means male-pattern baldness, or permanent-pattern baldness. Male-pattern baldness is the most common cause of hair loss in men, where men who have this type of hair loss usually have inherited the trait. Men who start losing their hair at an early age tend to develop more extensive baldness, although hair loss typically results in a receding hair line and baldness on the top of the head. Women may develop female-pattern baldness, in which form of hair loss, the hair becomes thin over the entire scalp.

How to stop hair loss?

Perhaps it is possible to do something, for example, the doctor will probably ask some questions about diet, any medicines you are taking, whether you have had a recent illness and how you care for your hair. If you are a woman, your doctor may ask questions about your menstrual cycle, pregnancies, and menopause. Your doctor may also want to do a physical exam to look for other causes of hair loss. Finally, blood tests or a biopsy, which means taking a small sample of cells of your scalp to examine under a microscope, may be needed as well.

Treatment of hair loss

The doctor first needs to evaluate the reason why someone is loosing hair. After that, depending on the type of hair loss, treatments are available. If a medicine is causing your hair loss, your doctor may be able to prescribe a different medicine than you are using right now. Recognizing and treating an infection may help stop the hair loss, and correcting a hormone imbalance may prevent further hair loss. Medicines may help slow or prevent the development of common baldness, such as minoxidil (brand name Rogaine). This medicine is available without a prescription and is applied to the scalp and both men and women can use it. Another medicine is finasteride (brand name Propecia). This one is available with a prescription, it comes in pill form, and can only be used by men. However, you must know that it may take up to 6 months before you could tell if one of these medicines was working. 
If adequate treatment is not available for your type of hair loss, you may consider trying different hairstyles or wigs, hairpieces, hair weaves or artificial hair replacement, depending on personal preference. 

Home care for hair loss

Hair loss from menopause or childbirth often returns to normal 6 months to 2 years later, but for hair loss caused by illness such as fever, radiation therapy, or medication use, no treatment is necessary. The hair will usually grow back once the illness has ended or you finish with your therapy. You might desire a wig, hat, or other covering until the hair grows back. 

Hair transplants performed by a physician is a surgical approach to transferring growing hair from one part of the head to another part. It is somewhat painful and expensive, but usually permanent for most patients. Hair weaves, hair pieces, or changes of hair style may disguise hair loss and this is generally the least expensive and safest approach to hair loss. Hair pieces should not be sutured to the scalp because of the risk of scars and infection that are reported. However, it is important to know when you should call your health care provider. Call your doctor if you are losing hair in an atypical pattern, if you are losing hair rapidly or at an early age, or if you have any pain or itching associated with the hair loss. It is also important to report the doctor if the skin on your scalp under the involved area is red, scaly, or otherwise abnormal, if you have acne, facial hair, or menstrual irregularities, or if you are a woman with male pattern baldness.

Most Effective Hair Loss Treatments

           Male pattern baldness is the most common form of baldness. Baldness usually starts with the hair at the temples, which gradually recedes to form an "M" shape. It is affected by three factors, namely age, inheritance to bald early and an abundance of the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is the main androgen implicated in malepattern baldness. 5-alpha reductase enzyme converts the testosterone into DHT, which damages the susceptible follicles, and baldness will set in. 


It affects some 25% of men in their 20’s and an astounding 2/3 of all men after the age of 60. Estimates suggest more than 80 per cent of cases are hereditary. Expenditures for hair transplantation in the United States alone exceeded $115 million in 2007, while global revenues for medical therapy for male-pattern baldness recently surpassed $405 million.

The effects of baldness can be devastating with social and psychological consequences. Men can be very sensitive about baldness. Young men in particular, who experience substantial hair loss at an early age, fall victim to low self esteem, even resulting in depression. From a survey done in Australia in 1998 of 850 men aged between 18 and 40, a quarter of these men reported low self-esteem as a result of losing their hair and one fifth of them felt less attractive. A massive three quarters of them believed that balding men looked older than non-balding men. A further 16% of them felt inferior compared to men with no hair loss.
Common treatment options for male pattern baldness

Baldness is a normal part of the ageing process for most men. No treatment is needed by most affected men. For some men, baldness can be distressing, particularly if it is excessive or occurs early in life. Treatment may then help. Today, there are a myriad of options the customers can choose from to suit their individual and specific needs.

Minoxidil (Rogaine) 


It is a solution that is applied directly to the scalp to initiate growth in the hair follicles. It was the hair medication of choice for years, because in many men it not only slowed down the process of hair loss but also could grow new hair follicles. Evidence shows that minoxidil is effective in frontal areas of the scalp, and not just in the vertex area in male-pattern hair loss. But the previous degree of hair loss returns when you stop applying the solution. Most patients found the 5% solution more effective than the 3% variant, but this could sometimes be irritating and have a greasy feel. Side-effects are uncommon. For example, skin irritation or a rash sometimes occurs.
Finasteride (Propecia, Proscar)

It works by blocking the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. The hair follicles are then not affected by this hormone, and can enlarge back to normal. Propecia has been found to be very effective in slowing hair loss than promoting new hair growth, but its effectiveness in this regard has been remarkable, making it a very popular male baldness treatment. The previous degree of hair loss returns when you stop taking the drug. Side-effects are uncommon. The most common is that about 2 in 100 treated men report loss of sex drive (libido).

Hair transplants


Hair transplants consist of transplanting bald resistant hair follicles from areas where the hair is continuing to grow and placing them in areas that are balding. The transplanted hair follicles will typically grow hair for a lifetime because they are genetically resistant to going bald. This can cause minor scarring in the donor areas and carries a modest risk for skin infection. The procedure usually requires multiple transplantation sessions and may be expensive. Results, however, are often excellent and permanent.

In recent years hair transplantation techniques have evolved from using large plugs and mini grafts to exclusively using large numbers of small grafts that contain from between 1 to 4 hairs.

Laser therapy


Nowadays, low level laser therapy is being used as a hair loss treatment. To treat baldness with laser light therapy, laser rays are directly applied to the scalp by a mechanical device so that red blood cells are stimulated. For hair applications, the first and most significant condition in choosing laser wavelength is depth penetration, which should be sufficient to target hair bulbs typically resting at a 5-6 mm depth. 

Lasers are said to work by converting ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to ADP (adenosine diphosphate), releasing energy and causing cellular metabolic changes. During this process, additional nutrients and oxygen are provided to the scalp assisting the normal chemical processes performed by those cells, increasing overall blood circulation to follicle area and to stimulate the hair organ (nerves, muscles and growth centers of the hair follicle). Lasers, when applied to the scalp and hair, have been said to improve overall hair quality, promote hair growth, and increase hair shaft diameter.

Other treatment options

Electric pulse treatments


Electric pulse treatments are a non-surgical procedure for the treatment of hair loss. In this procedure, electric pulses or electric frequencies from a positive influence of an electrostatic field are targeted at dormant hair follicles to promote hair growth. This treatment can be a good option for individuals suffering from male or female pattern baldness, thinning hair, hair loss due to chemotherapy and hair loss due to some illnesses.
Infra red and Ultra violet light treatment

Infra red light and ultra violet light are directed at areas experiencing hair loss in order to stimulate blood circulation, increase cellular activity, and increase oxygen and nutrient supply to the hair follicle. When used properly Infra red light and UV light will both promote extended periods of hair growth and reduce the length of the resting phase in the hair growth cycle. They have only been shown to be consistently effective for the treatment of mild hair loss.
Steamer treatment

It has been shown to work on the same principle as a sauna bath; it opens the pores and allows the discharge of waste matter, and allows greater penetration of the scalp cleansers. This type of treatment could be carried out in your own bathroom with hot towels on the scalp, or in a real sauna where you get the full benefits on whole of your body. Its benefits are still unsure.
High frequency

A high frequency current (ultra violet light) which stimulates the surface of the scalp by means of massaging the cells of the scalp, also improves the process of nourishment, stimulates local blood circulation and local glandular activity, supplies heat and is soothing to the nervous system of the scalp. Its benefits are still unsure.
Scalp Massager

A properly done scalp massage can increase blood circulation to the hair follicles, increase relaxation, decrease stress, condition the scalp, and boost the strength of the hair roots. The kneading pressure applied by massage warms the skin and opens up blood vessels to increase flow and boost circulation. 
Specialist shampoos and scalp tonics

Most clinics have their own range of hair tonics, shampoos and conditioners. A few top clinics sell several months course of tonic, shampoo and scalp cleanser. They are quite expensive compared to what the consumer is getting for their money. It is advised to confirm about the contents of tonics, shampoos etc. to justify the price. Ask for the three main ingredients, write them down and then make sure to consult your doctor before buying any of these products.

If the products are so good then the clinic should give you a free trial of their products, thereby you can see if they work for you, and you can go ahead and buy the products. If the clinic does not provide you with a free sample then it cannot have too much faith in its own products. 

Standing on head

Twenty, thirty years ago, many renowned alternative healers used this idea to treat male hair loss. Standing on your head supposedly increases the blood flow to the area. It is believed that hair growth will be achieved by causing optimum blood flow to the scalp. No expensive equipment is actually needed for you to try out this method. You can simply lie on a bed and allow you head to overhang the end or you can place a plank of wood on an incline and lie on that. Even easier is to stand on your head against a wall. The recommended time for this exercise is thirty seconds once a day.

Honey and Skincare Recipes

           Did you know that even many centuries ago, honey was a noted facial skin care product that's an important part of the skin care treatment and even hair care of legendary beauties? Cleopatra was known to bathe herself in milk and honey. Poppea, the wife of Nero, used honey and milk as facial lotion. It helped to keep her looking youthful. 

The nectar collected from the flowers is transformed into honey to dress upon some of the most mouth-watering desserts. With the passage of time honey has continued to be one of the main ingredients for skin care. It has maintained its importance due to the beneficial factors. The healing capacity of honey is stupendous making it one of the favorite components for home remedies. Honey has many good properties like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium, chlorine, sulfur, iron and phosphate. It contains vitamins like B1, B2, C, B6, B5 and B3. There is presence of copper, iodine and zinc in small quantities. 

Honey's natural antioxidant and anti-microbial properties help to protect the skin from the damage of the sun's rays, supports the skin's ability to rejuvenate and refresh depleted skin, leaving it feeling silky soft and supple. One of the most common skin benefits of honey is related to minor acne treatment. Honey absorbs impurities from the pores on the skin, making it an ideal cleansing agent. 

Recipes 

* Honey Cleanser 
Mix 1 tbsp. honey, 2 tbsp. finely ground almonds with 1/2 tsp lemon juice. Rub it on your face. Rinse it with warm water. 

* Honey Toner 
Make a concoction of 1 tbsp. honey with peeled and deseeded apple. Apply this paste on your face for 15 minutes. Rinse it with cool water. 

* Honey Facial Mask 
1 tbsp. honey, 1 egg white, 1 tsp glycerin and in proportion add flour to all the ingredients to whisk up a smooth paste. Spread this paste all over your face including the neck and leave it for 10 minutes. Wash it off with warm water. 

* For A Pleasing Bath 
To have relaxing bath add 1/4 cup honey to your bath water and ease out in that smooth and silky water. 

* A Smooth Conditioner 
Mix 1 tsp. honey with 1 tsp. vegetable oil and 1/4 tsp lemon juice. This mixture is very natural conditioner to be rubbed on every part of your body which is dry. Leave it on for 10 minutes and later rinse it off. 

* Hair Shine 
Stir 1 teaspoon honey into 4 cups (1 quart) warm water. Blondes may wish to add a squeeze of lemon. After shampooing, pour mixture through hair. Do not rinse out. Dry as normal. 

* Lip Care 
The use of honey on chapped lips is a great hit. 

* Body Scrub 
Use 1/4 cup freshly ground coffee, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 2 tbsp. wheat germ, 2 tbsp. honey, 1 tbsp grape seed oil, 1 egg white. Mix buttermilk, honey, grape seed oil and egg white. Keep adding coffee and wheat germ to this mixture slowly to avoid any lumps. Apply this paste all over your body when in bath helping in exfoliation. Rinse it completely and pat dry to see the effects. 

* Moisture Mask 
Mix 2 tablespoons honey with 2 teaspoons milk. Smooth over face and throat. Leave on for 10 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.. 

* Honey Hair Conditioning Treatment: 
For lustrous, silky, healthy hair and scalp, simply combine 1/2 cup honey and 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup olive oil. Massage scalp with this conditioner, then put on a shower cap for 30 minutes. Shampoo and rinse as usual.

Download whole websites to your computer

Download whole websites to your computer - and view them offline.

Website eXtractor saves you time and effort by downloading entire Internet sites (or the sections you stipulate) to your hard drive.

Whether you browse the web for research, work, or fun, there's nothing worse than having to wait for page after page to load in Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator (or in other popular browsers). The problem is they will only load one page at a time. So if you are viewing a large website with a thousand pages, you'd have to click the mouse a thousand times ... and ... choose a directory/folder a thousands times when you want to save each file. You end up spending a lot of time waiting around and not enough time reading or viewing pages on the Internet.

The bottom line is: Using a regular browser to surf large websites or photo galleries takes the fun out of web browsing and makes research a real chore.

But now, with WebSite eXtractor, you can download whole websites (or parts of them) in one go to your computer. You can then view the whole site offline at your leisure - and you can whiz through the saved pages at lightning speed.

NOTE: If you surf the Internet using a dial-up connection, Website eXtractor will save you money. You simply download the websites you want to view, disconnect, and then view them offline.

WebSite eXtractor is a great tool for researchers, journalists, students, equity analysts, business and marketing executives - as well as for those who want to browse family websites containing digital photo albums. It's also ideal for viewing the large photo galleries associated with online dating.
Transfer whole websites to CD-ROM or floppy

Another big benefit of the program is it changes html-links to relative names. In other words, it turns web addresses (URLs) into addresses that work on your computer. This means you can easily move whole websites or information to CD-ROM, floppy disk, or to another hard drive.

If you run a business, you could use this feature to put your website on to a CD-ROM or floppy disk and hand it out as an electronic brochure (saves money in postage rates). Researchers, writers, and journalists can easily archive reference material from the Internet.

Website eXtractor is designed to download websites exactly the way you want them. You can include the parts you need or exclude the parts you don't need (from directory, domain, and file names; to types of files, their size, or any other properties).


Website Extractor is the best of the best
in Windows © Freeware, as determined
by the readers of alt.comp.freeware

Emazing.Com - Download of the Day

The program can download up to 100 files at a time, which saves you a huge amount of time compared to ordinary browsers. All data retrieved is stored in the directory you select and contains only the files and directories matching your filter instructions.

Website eXtractor automatically lets you download any files that were not copied due to transfer errors or bad connections. The program is equipped to run through a proxy server and download only revised or new files, bypassing documents that have already been copied - again saving your time and money (especially if you're using a dial-up connection).
Search robot

Website eXtractor is essentially an intelligent search robot that navigates the hyperlinks of cyberspace and downloads the websites and pages you want to store on your hard drive. With Website eXtractor, you can:

# Limit your search by domain types (.com, .net, .uk, etc.) by using the sophisticated filtering options based on a list of key words and other options.
# Scan websites both online and offline (on your own hard drive) using the built-in browser.
# Change html-links to relative names, allowing you to easily move information to CD-ROM, floppy disk, or to another hard drive.
# Select the documents you download by type and name using the superb filtering features.
# Set download depth for websites (you can choose to download only the first few pages of a site and weed out the material you don't need).

Website eXtractor is easy to use and can be configured to your individual needs. The program's user interface was engineered and designed after extensive consultation with user groups and by assessing their likes and dislikes.

Let's sum up what features make Website eXtractor a top-of-the line, "can't do without" browsing tool:

# Ability to download a large number of websites to your PC, which means you don't have to click your mouse a hundred times or more when you want to save files in a folder or directory. (You can go and get a coffee and when you return all the files you need with be neatly downloaded into the folder of your choice - ready to view offline).
# Conveniently browse graphic-heavy websites that take an eternity to load (no more frustration).
# Great for viewing websites with photo albums or galleries. Even high-speed connections take a long time to download graphics. And, the truth is, viewing such sites is far easier when done offline.
# Create databases from downloaded websites using the DB Maker program.
# Make an exact copy of your own business or personal website and transfer it to the server of another provider - very handy feature for webmasters.

Click here to check out screenshots of Website eXtractor.
Trial Version
Click here to download a trial version of WebSite eXtractor now. See how powerful it is for yourself. You get 30-days FREE trial and can download a maximum of 5,000 files in a single session using the trial version.

* Download

Effective Wrincle creams

How effective is the product you use?
The topical wrinkle reducing product market is exploding. It generated over $1.5 Billion in sales in 2007, with that number expected to double by 2010. You do not have to look far to hear about these types of products. There is huge interest in this market and advertisements can be found everywhere, from TV, to radio, newspapers and magazines. While the majority of these products are marketed to female consumers, surprisingly, our research indicates that men account for approximately 25% of this market. It seems that women are no longer the only gender searching for the fountain of youth.
Treatments and products once only provided by dermatologists are now accessible to consumers. There are over 200 products currently marketed to remedy the signs of aging, from Botox alternatives to alpha-hydroxy serums and wrinkle relaxers. These products range in cost from under $10 to over $300 per ounce. How does the consumer determine which products are effective? How does the consumer determine which product is right for them?
In this article we offer our readers a comprehensive list of anti-wrinkle products based on our evaluations. We reviewed the over 200 products currently available for the treatment of wrinkles. Our assessment included review of the following product attributes: long term effectiveness for wrinkle reduction; instant reduction of fine lines and wrinkles; antioxidant protective properties delaying skin cell aging; skin renewal and collagen stimulating properties; and skin smoothing and firming properties. Based on the outcome of our evaluation of these product attributes we ranked each product accordingly.
Our list is presented in descending order based upon the cumulative score of product attributes. You may not see the product you use, or are interested in using, on this list as it did not rank in the top 25. Our list is dynamic in that we are constantly reexamining and updating our rankings due to the availability of new products.
During our research, the skin care specialists we consulted provided useful tips that contribute to achieving and maintaining younger looking skin, including the following:
Be certain to consistently apply the product(s) you choose in accordance with its directions for use;
Pay special attention to your neck and hands while applying the product(s) you choose, as these areas reflect your age;
Always use sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of at least 15;
Drink at least eight glasses of water a day to stay well hydrated;
Avoid excessive intake of caffeinated and alcoholic beverages, as they may contribute to dehydration and exacerbate the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles; and
Be sure to get adequate rest every day. 

How can u get Yellow Teeth White Again

A thorough dental cleaning is the first step in reducing this type of stain, then add whitening and you will get a dramatic result! Intrinsic stains are stains within the tooth and are caused by absorption of dark beverages such as red wine or coffee into the porous enamel of your teeth.Gone are the days for drawn out teeth whitening methods and as with so many things these days when we want something we want it today and this no more true than teeth whitening.

The latest and quickest process is the laser system which takes just over one hour and offers excellent instant results. White teeth that you are proud of and after completing your Zoom teeth whitening treatment you are likely to feel proud and regain your sense of confidence and this can be achieved in less than a one hour treatment. Teeth are the first thing people see so maintaining good dental health is really important. It can also be caused by genetics, high metal contents in water, even childhood or in utero exposure to antibiotics. Zoom! whitening is remarkably effective, reducing and often eliminating, intrinsic stains.