MANAGE STRESS WITH BREATHING TECHNIQUE AND LOOK BEAUTIFUL

We at Herbally Radiant have been emphasizing the need for calming the mind and maintaining emotional balance because any stressful disorder reflects on skin as well, impacting adversely on the beauty.

It is in this context that we appreciate the article in the NY Times which highlights the advantages of breathing exercise.

Long a key part of meditation and some kinds of yoga, breathwork is now becoming a discipline in its own right. It has been long recognized that deep, controlled breathing can calm someone having an anxiety attack or help anyone in need of a little more stress-relief and mental clarity. Hillary Clinton, for example, has talked about using alternate side nostril breathing to help her relax while on the 2016 presidential campaign trail. But what’s new is that scientists have found a physical link between breathing and what they call “emotionality.”

A study published last March in Science showed a direct anatomical link between the parts of the brain that control voluntary breathing and the parts that control emotionality. Altering the activity of this connection changed how aroused, alert or calm mice were. “It’s an important finding because it shows that there is a causality between the two,” said Andrew D. Huberman, a professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford University.

He’s also developing an app with Brian MacKenzie, a strength and conditioning coach in San Mateo Hills, Calif. The goal of the app will be to customize breathwork for people by giving them a simple inhale-and-exhale test and incorporating other data provided by those who sign up for it.

“Breathwork can be thought of as exercise in that, if done correctly, has immediate benefits — physical, emotional and cognitive — but breathwork also has longer-term benefits if you do it regularly,” Dr. Huberman said. “The idea is that people can alter and strengthen the neural pathways that link breathing with emotion regulation centers in the brain, which can help them feel calmer and more alert, and sleep better, depending on the protocols they use.”

The R&D team at Herbally Radiant has experimented with a combination of Essential Oils in its products to assess their mood balancing properties.  Such formulations help fight stress and calm down the nervous system.  This therapeutic characteristic of our natural products has been appreciated by the large number of its customers. 

AMAZING EFFECT OF ESSENTIAL OILS IN BEAUTY PRODUCTS

While doing research on Essential Oils (EOs), we came across a good piece by Tenneke Barresi that explains the process of production of EOs.

In Hertbally Radiant products, especially those produced to bring under control skin disorders like acne, blemishes, dark lines and for preventing premature aging signs, a combination of EOs are used to give the basic organic ingredients the ability to penetrate the pores of the skin as rich nutrients.

The EOs are concentrated, aromatic volatile compounds that can sometimes seem magical. The term “essential oil” is actually short for quintessential oil from the Aristotelian idea that matter is composed of four elements, namely, fire, air, earth, and water. The fifth element, or quintessence, was then considered to be spirit or life force. Before we understood the science of extraction, it was believed that by extracting essential oils you were capturing the spirit or life force of the plant.

Distillation: Because water and oil, including essential oil, don’t mix, the essential oil can be found floating on the surface of the water. It is then easily siphoned off. Some essential oils are heavier than water and are found below the water instead of floating on top, such as with clove essential oil. The remaining water is what is commonly called a hydrosol or distillate. The most common types of distillation include:

• Steam Distillation: By far the most common method of extraction. During this process, steam is introduced into the still at a high pressure and high temperature.
• Water Distillation: In this method, the plant material is in direct contact with the water. Most commonly used for extraction of flower petals like Rose and Orange Blossom as steam causes this delicate plant material to clump together making it difficult for the steam to force its way through.
• Water & Steam Distillation: This starts the same as water distillation, except the plant material is placed on a grid above the water and steam is introduced from outside the main still compartment.
• Fractional Distillation:  A fairly new method of extracting different constituents from the plant by halting the distillation process at precise pointsm, its separate constituents are collected and combined with other constituents from other plant materials also using fractional distillation. The result is complex scent profiles that often don’t resemble the original plant materials at all.

Cold Press: Cold Press or Expeller Press is a purely mechanical process for removing essential oils. It’s generally limited to citrus such as orange, grapefruit, lime, and lemon as the essential oils are contained in the peel of the fruit. 

1. Simply soak the rind of your citrus in warm water until warm and soft.
2. Remove from water and place on cutting board or in a large mixing bowl with a nice flat bottom.
3. Take a sponge or clean cloth and press down on the outside of the rind allowing the sponge/cloth to soak up all of the liquid.
4. Squeeze your sponge into a clean bowl and wait for the water and oils to separate. siphon off the oil and voila! You have a citrus essential oil – home made! This is not a very sanitary method and if you siphon any water into your oil you could potentially be growing bacteria and mold so I would suggest you use your oil immediately, or add it to a skin or hair care recipe with proper preservation.

CO2 Hypercritical Extraction :CO2 extraction is pretty exciting from a science perspective. CO2 under pressure turns into a liquid with is then used as a solvent to extract the essential oils. The best part, the CO2 is completely inert and will not leave a residue. Often CO2 extracts retain more of the plant’s original properties which are often not present compared to other extraction methods.

The EOs market in US has grown by nearly 200% since 2012, and the present size of $ 1.6 billion market is likely to go up as 57% of the 13-34 age group have begun to follow the trend toward natural health care, of which well-being and wellness are essential components. This segment of consumers is reporting that they feel more stressed out, and need to clear their minds.  Most of the EOs have calming effect. 

The benefits from EOs can be optimized with the advice of experts. Just going by DIY formulae that are being put out on the internet might not be the ideal way.  There are no standards regulating the quality and purity of the EOs, and there are frequent reports of adulteration, or impurity of EOs especially from the online vendors. The consumers also need to learn which are Essential Oils and which are courier oils.

Herbally Radiant has been using only the USDA certified natural ingredients and fine blends of Essential Oils. Most of these formulations are mood balancing, and accelerate epidermal regeneration to create more evenly toned skin. 

The anti-aging formulations launched by Herbally Radiant (RADIANT and REJUVENATING) eight years ago enjoy the trust of its customers as these prevent visible signs of aging by improving skin hydration and elasticity, reducing the appearance of over-pigmentation and skin inflammation. 

ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS TO PREVENT PREMATURE AGING

Top 5 Ingredients for aging skin

If you are keen to understand the aging process and the ingredients that can help prevent premature aging of skin then Teeneke Barresi has something useful to say.

A healthy-looking, glowing complexion can be routinely maintained even by those who are inching towards 50's or 60's.  It is more a question of healthy lifestyle and effective skin care regimen. With advancing years, the skin tends to lose elasticity, collagen, and simply doesn't "turn over" as quickly as it did when we were in our 20's and 30's.  Careless skin care regimen speeds up the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and our aging skin appears dull. It is natural for us to want to look and feel beautiful and comfortable on our skin.  The following five ingredients play an important role to ensure attractive looks and bright skin :

1. Hyaluronic acid: Dry skin reminds me of a dried up lake bed. Cracks and crevices everywhere! Hyaluronic Acid is one of the best ways to bring moisture to dry skin. Imagine that dried up lake bed being suddenly flooded with water. This is what hyaluronic acid feels like, and the best part is that with all of that moisture filling up your skin there’s far less chance that your skin will resemble that lake bed at all.  
2. Vitamin C :Vtamin C can help skin’s appearance by decreasing the visible signs of aging and sun damage. Products that contain vitamin C are best used in after sun products and at night.
3. CoQ10: When applied topically, CoQ10 creates a youthful appearance.  Generally, after the age of thirty optimum levels of CoQ10 in the skin begin to decline. CoQ10 is not only critical to the cells ability to produce energy, it’s also critical to the production of collagen and elastin. Collagen is important because it makes skin appear firm and smooth, while elastin gives your skin the appearance of flexibility and elasticity. The loss of collagen and elastin can cause skin to appear wrinkled and sagging. 
4. Alpha Hydroxy Acids: Exfoliation helps to reveal fresh skin which becomes more important as we age.  The regenerated skin cells give a fresh look with crystal clarity. 
5. Ceramides: These are lipid molecules found in cell membranes that help skin retain moisture. Ceramides help restore moisture and act as a natural barrier protecting the skin from our environment and from drying. These powerful little molecules are a must have for aging skincare. Pro tip: Retinol can be extremely drying so pairing ceramides with retinol helps to keep skin moisturized while still receiving all of the benefits of retinol.

Of course, there are many more natural ingredients that help retain the young looks. Herbally Radiant has been manufacturing with USDA certified organic ingredients most effective anti-aging skin care products for the oily, normal and dry skin.  The combination of essential oils used in Herbally Radiant products (Radiant and Rejuvenating range) provide extra strength to the formulations.

Our customers have testified that our wonderful cleansers activate cellular cleaning process and the serums and moisturizers accelerate epidermal regeneration.  Since these ingredients work from within, they have an amazing effect that lasts much longer.

TYPES OF SKIN THAT NEED CARE

Esthetician Kasia Hampton has good tips for those trying to take care of their beauty. She explains according to the skin types.

Oily : It may sound counter-intuitive but because you are drying out your skin, tightening the large pores and trying to get rid of all that excess oil and stripping your skin of its natural oils, you may end up with a plethora of oil on the surface.  The skin is telling your body that there is just not enough nourishment (oil) or hydration (water) in the skin, so it makes up for it by making more and more to satisfy itself.

The most basic way to even out the oil in oily skin is to use a non-drying or gentle foaming cleanser, to be followed with a toner, which helps to tighten pores and balance the pH of the skin. Finish with a light-weight moisturizer twice a day, every day.  Once to three times a week use an exfoliant which takes away that peeling, flaking skin on the surface (this is not dry skin) and once a week try a deep cleansing mask or alternatively a calming hydrating mask.  Get the skin fed with what it needs, and it will aid towards normalizing your skin.  When it does get to normal you can then add in treatment products such as serums which would be used once a day, every day, under moisturizers.

Normal : Normal skin does not look oily or dry, and there are small to medium pore sizes with on-and-off flakiness on the surface.  To keep normal skin normal, try to use a non-drying or cream cleanser followed by a toner and a light to medium moisturizer.  An exfoliant is beneficial here as well, once to twice a week.  Keeping this up will give your skin its basic needs to keep going strong.  Of course, adding serums, treatments and masks are all a bonus and quite beneficial to this skin type.

Most normal skin will be plagued with some oily areas and some dry areas. Try to use the same natural organic products on the entire face but treat some areas (usually T-zone is the oilier area, and cheeks are the drier) with more advanced treatments to help get the skin back to normal.  Peels and Microdermabrasion are great for that rapid exfoliation to reveal new glowing skin layers.  All skin types may use this type of exfoliation but normal skin has the fewest contraindications than any other.

Dry : This skin type tends to feel dry and tight all the way down.  What is key in helping the appearance of dry skin is finding something that soaks in and fills up the dry cracks and crevices (not completely literally) and satisfies the skin so there is no dry feeling.  You will need a crème with the right combination of oils and water that will saturate the skin until it plumps up and is no longer dehydrated, improving the appearance of dehydration lines (those little crisscross lines that fall horizontally across the face).  Start with a rich crème cleanser, followed by an alcohol-free toner and a rich moisturizer for day and night.

We recommend products made of natural ingredients (Herbally Radiant has been producing these out of USDA certified natural ingredients.) Dry skin doesn’t necessarily need exfoliation, but once a week is great with a mild exfoliator or enzyme mask.  There is always room for serums and special treatments with dry skin.  These dry skin products are usually the pricier options because dry skin can take in so many more ingredients than other types.

Chaotic or troubled : It is troubled, confused and just doesn’t know how to act. Sounds like its main group it descends upon…teenagers!  Of course, it gets the best of us at older ages too, the main culprit is hormones which usually attack the teenager.  With chaotic skin, I have found that being gentle and kind to the skin is best.  Sometimes using over the counter products can over dry the skin and make troubled skin even worse.  By using gentle products, (made with natural ingredients are the best), you may find that the skin is calmed and appearance is improved.

Anyone with acne, including adults, can benefit from calming and soothing products. Herbally Radiant has most effective treatment for these: its CLEAN range of cleanser, toner, and serum.

Around the eyes: The eye area is very delicate.  The skin is much thinner with smaller and fewer pores so it’s beneficial to use an eye crème, gel or serum specific for that area.  There are excellent natural ingredients that help improve the appearance of puffiness, dark circles, fine lines, “chicken” skin and crow’s feet.

Make sure you are using the right products for your skin type. Avoid products marketed with unverifiable claims. Read the ingredients on the label. Using genuine natural products are the safest bet for all.

COOL MIND HAS WONDERFUL EFFECT ON BEAUTY

'Meditation For Fidgety Skeptics' Offers Practical Advice For Stressed-Out Cynics

Rachel Martin writing for NPR quotes ABC News anchor Dan Harris in his new book "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics how even a short daily meditation can do wonders for mental health. Dan had a panic attack on life TV after years of working in war zones and using drugs to cope with the stress.

After his own studies and opinions of several neuroscientists, he explains how meditation can lower blood pressure, help with depression and increase awareness.

Coming in the beginning of the new year, Dan's advice is very timely and he emphasizes that a 10-minute daily meditation is a great habit.

From the point of overall beauty and beautiful appearance, one needs to live with a cool mind. Stress and tension are harmful to the facial skin as these speed up the appearance of aging signs. Herbally Radiant has advised its customers to cultivate the habit of controlling tension and stress in order to maintain beautiful looks. 

GOOD IMMUNE SYSTEM FOR HEALTH OF SKIN AS WELL

Today's Wellness column of NYTimes highlights the basic element of human health, i.e., immune system.  at the Herbally Radiant we believe that a healthy body possesses strong immune system which, among other benefits, is the best guarantee to maintain a beautiful appearance.

In answer to a woman's letter, it says:  Someone with a weakened immune system is likely to be more vulnerable to passing bugs than someone with a healthy one. There are different types of patients who are more resistant to infections or who have a slower progression of infectious diseases based on certain immune features and the physicians recognize them as having a stronger immune system.

A healthful lifestyle clearly boosts the immune system, while the opposite is also true: Practicing unhealthy habits like not getting enough sleep, a poor diet and lack of exercise can weaken the immune system.

Smoking, or even living with a smoker, can also cause structural damage to the lungs, and could make someone more vulnerable to certain infectious diseases. Smoking is harmful, especially for the skin. It speeds up the appearance of aging signs. 

The immune system’s responsiveness typically declines with age, making older people more vulnerable to many pathogens than they were in their younger days. The features of the weak immune system also get reflected in the skin and overall appearance.  

While aging process cannot be halted, one can continue to feed the skin the best nutrients in the form of serum, moisturizer and cleanser that strengthen the skin cells and accelerate epidermal regeneration resulting in a more evenly toned skin. 

WHY FIBER-RICH DIET IS IMPORTANT FOR BEAUTY

For good health and strong metabolism, a diet of fiber-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, is essential.  Gut health is important for maintaining healthy shining skin. The good piece in New York Times explains how fiber-rich diet works for our gut health. 

Scientists now explain that the fiber we eat feeds billions of bacteria in our guts. Keeping them happy means our intestines and immune systems remain in good working order. 

In order to digest food, we need to bathe it in enzymes that break down its molecules. Those molecular fragments then pass through the gut wall and are absorbed in our intestines.

But our bodies make a limited range of enzymes, so that we cannot break down many of the tough compounds in plants. The term "dietary fiber" refers to those indigestible molecules.  nue reading the main story

But they are indigestible only to us. The gut is coated with a layer of mucus, atop which sits a carpet of hundreds of species of bacteria, part of the human microbiome. Some of these microbes carry the enzymes needed to break down various kinds of dietary fiber.

From the point of maintaining and preventing premature aging signs on skin, Herbally Radiant R&D team has been recommending high fiber diet which helps better circulation of blood to skin cells. The natural formulations developed by Herbally Radiant help in the epidermis renewal process from basal layer to the stratum corneum. The epidermis is rebuilt from within, and the skin barrier is restored.  Good gut health with the help of fiber-rich diet speeds up this process.