Some women may find their skin they are in fact to start with to stop trying to reduce what can be done is not realized. In fact, the average woman on her skin daily, most of which include harmful chemical Guardian puts twelve products. Dr. Myron Wentz, founder and chairman of USANA Health Sciences this June / July “USANA Health Sciences 2005 points in the beauty of some people about that beauty is only skin deep” magazine: “has to say. Nonsense ! I think that real beauty is a reflection of true health and true health trust every body and every cell deep inside begins. But the truth is really health and beauty such as solar radiation, which we need protection from environmental insult is an external component, is, our environment and air pollutants in the drying effect… If your skin healthy is not the fact, a healthy body, you just can not be included in the. If your body is ultimately your toxic substances are absorbed in the subjecting your skin healthy and can not be. ”

So, what can women do? How can they combat environmental pollutants can, of solar radiation, and the drying effects of wind, will have an impact on what? How very best products on your skin they are using so that they believe can be in and out can be healthy? Here to assist in this process are 7 tips:

1. So what is in skincare products to be aware of. Use products that are all natural as possible.

2. Technology products include the renovation of the leather surface for a look. DSR away, Crows feet and laugh lines such as lethargy existing signs of aging smooths.

3. Use products that have regenisomes. Regenisomes Sunday Performance after the skin cell renewal rate of penetration. The Sunday Damage to be undone, photosomes use of light and sleep time to renew the skin’s ultrasomes.

4. Products with Proteo – Find C and Proflavonol income tax. Time before these two vitamins in the sun, pollution due to aging, and other environmental factors to protect the skin. They also keep the skin smooth and firm looking to provide advanced nutrition.

5. If, using products that are paraben-free possible. Parabens that widely in personal care products, shampoos, conditioners, hair styling products such as synthetic chemical preservatives are used, the makeup, the face masks, skin lotions and creams, and deodorants. They also usually baby lotion, shampoo, and infants and other personal care products for children are found. In addition, parabens in many foods and pharmaceutical products are. Benign and malignant human breast tumors, researchers at the beginning to find parabens are doing. Some studies, however, many products have challenged their toxicity to humans and their long-term influence is concerned, the risk for harmful chemicals to relieve the risk of end products can paraben are using.

6. Drink plenty of water! With toxins flushes the body out of the water hydrates the skin and hair.

7. Limit stress or learn to manage effectively. Stress both emotionally and physically is harmful. That works best and use it on a daily basis that the search activity stress reliever!

Some substances actually cause an?allergic reaction that results in hives, while others have absolutely nothing at all to do with allergies. Strawberries, for example, contain a chemical that can cause cells in your body to release histamine, a chemical also produced in allergies, which allows blood plasma to leak into the skin and form the hives, explains Philip C. Anderson, M.D., chairman of dermatology at the University of Missouri?Columbia School of Medicine.

And sometimes only a tiny amount of the culprit is needed to set off a reaction. “You can be sensitive to fish and order something completely different in a restaurant. But it’s cooked in a pan that was previously used to fry fish, and you break out in hives,” explains Larry Borish, M.D., staff physician at National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine in Denver.

Don’t confuse hives with other skin eruptions. Hives (or urticaria) occur when blood plasma leaks into the skin, causing “wheals” or swollen areas. They can be as small as a pencil eraser or as large as a dinner plate, and they usually last only a few hours. But new hives may form continuously. And as they form, they often itch.

An attack of hives generally lasts a short time, often just a few days. (Some people, however, may be plagued with recurrent outbreaks or with hives that persist for years.) Here are some tips for relief.

Take an oral antihistamine. The most recommended remedy is over-the-counter Benadryl but it may cause drowsiness. “That may not be so bad, since hives are generally worse at night, and the itch is more annoying then,” says Borish.

Don’t scratch. “It’s said that with hives, a million scratches are never enough and one is too many,” says Borish. Scratching can increase local inflammation and even cause more hives.

Wear gloves to bed. If you think you’ll scratch in your sleep, gloves will help prevent damage.

Wrap up the affected area. Wrap an elastic bandage around the area with hives or cover it with clothing so you can’t reach it with your fingernails.

Use a milk compress. Wet a cloth with cold milk and lay it on the affected area for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. “Don’t freeze the skin,” warns Judy Jordan, M.D., a dermatologist in San Antonio and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology. “Just cool it.”

Chill the itch. Hold an ice pack or ice cubes in a thin towel on the skin for five minutes at a time, three to four times a day.

Take a bath. Put half a box of baking soda or one cup of oatmeal in the water first, says Jordan.

Try cortisone. A one percent cortisone preparation, available without a prescription, may help.

Try to ferret out the cause. “In the overwhelming number of patients, there’s no explanation found,” says Borish. “We only find the cause 20 to 30 percent of the time.” Do remember that hives generally show up within half an hour of eating. “You don’t get hives the next day from something you ate the night before,” he says.

Avoid the trigger. This one’s pretty obvious, but if you know that cold sets off hives, don’t put your hands in the freezer. In fact, jumping into cold water could be life-threatening, points out Borish. And there’s no question, he says, that if you’re prone to hives, stress will trigger them.

Treat the underlying infection. If hives turn into a chronic problem, they may be due to an infection. “You can have a tooth or yeast infection and not be aware of it,” points out Jordan. Consider these possibilities and have them checked out.

Relieve the pressure. Hives often form where clothing is tight, such as under bra straps or waistbands.

Use a moisturizer. If dry skin contributes to the itch, apply a moisturizer to relieve it.

Don’t make the problem worse. Nonprescription anti-itch lotions or creams can cause allergic reactions. If you react to topical Benadryl and topical products ending in “-caine,” you’ll be in worse shape after using them. Calamine lotion, that old standby for so many itches, doesn’t do much for hives either.

Genital herpes is a viral infection marked by sores that look like fever blisters on the genital area. There’s a reason they resemble fever blisters, too. Both genital herpes and fever blisters are caused by the herpes simplex virus. There are two strains of herpes simplex virus?Type I and Type II. The Type I virus usually causes fever blisters, also called cold sores, on the mouth, face, and lips, although it can also cause sores in the genital area. The Type II virus, on the other hand, most often causes sores in and around the genital area.

Herpes is a “contact virus.” In other words, you can only get it from skin-to-skin contact with someone who is infected. Herpes is passed from partner to partner through oral or genital sex. Infected persons can pass the virus on to a partner when the virus is in an active state (when sores are apparent) or a preactive state (marked by itching or tingling in the area where sores generally appear). However, in some cases, the virus can be passed before the infected person knows he or she is shedding the virus.

The bad news is that once you contract herpes, it cannot be eradicated. “Once the herpes virus enters the body through mucous membranes in the genital area or mouth, these tiny organisms travel up the nerve endings to the base of the spine,” says Sadja Greenwood, M.D., assistant clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California at San Francisco. Once established, the virus stays in the body permanently, feeding on cell nutrients. It may remain dormant, causing no symptoms, or it may recur at any time.

The first episode of herpes, before the body has built up defenses, is usually most intense and occurs a couple of days to two weeks after exposure to an infected partner. The first signs are itching, tingling, and a burning sensation or minor?rash. Then, small, red sores develop. In women, the sores can occur in and around the genital area and, in some cases, on the buttocks, anus, navel, and thighs. In men, the sores usually appear on the shaft and head of the penis, although they can also develop on the testicles, in the area around the penis, and on the buttocks, anus, and thighs.

If you develop a sore or rash in the genital area, you need to see a doctor for correct diagnosis and treatment. Doctors don’t have a cure for herpes, but prescription medications can help relieve the symptoms and, in some cases, shorten the duration of an outbreak. You can, however, take steps at home to ease your herpes symptoms, lessen the number of recurrences, and prevent the virus from spreading.

Keep a herpes diary. Such a log can help you identify the things that trigger your herpes recurrences,?such as certain?foods, stress, drugs, trauma, and menstruation, says Anne Simons, M.D., a family practitioner in the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “Ask yourself: ‘What occurred just before my outbreak? Did I change my diet? Was I under any unusual stress? Did I use recreational, over-the- counter, or prescription drugs?’ If you can identify and avoid your triggers, you may be able to avoid painful outbreaks,” she says.

Ice it. At the first sign of symptoms (tingling, burning, itching), apply ice to reduce pain and swelling, says Amanda Clark, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. Place crushed ice cubes in a plastic bag (a bag of frozen peas or frozen unpopped popcorn also works), and wrap it in a cloth that is the thickness of a sheet (a terry-cloth towel is too thick to transmit the cold?effectively). Place it directly on the area. Keep it in place for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Reapply several times throughout the day.

Dry it out. External drying remedies like baking soda and cornstarch may lessen the itching, says Greenwood. You can also try using a hand-held hair dryer on a cool setting to help dry out the sores.

Wear baggy pants. Tight-fitting underwear, nylons, or pants can irritate the genital area and stimulate a herpes outbreak, says Susan Woodruff B.S.N.,?childbirth and parenting education coordinator at Tuality Community Hospital in Hillsboro, Oregon. They can also increase discomfort when sores are present. She advises opting for comfortable, baggy shorts and slacks.

Tea for one, please. “The tannic acid in black tea is very soothing to genital tissues,” says Clark. “Place cold, wet tea bags right on the sores.”

Cool it with Burow’s. Simons recommends applying cool compresses soaked in Burow’s solution (available without a prescription in pharmacies) to the sores four to six times a day. Follow package directions for preparing the Burow’s solution.

Take a hot bath. Sitting for five to ten minutes in a hot “sitz” bath (a bathtub filled with three to four inches of water) three or four times a day?sometimes inactivates the sores and speeds healing by drying out the sores, says Woodruff. “The warm water brings circulation to the area, which seems to have a positive effect,” she says.

Take a nonprescription pain reliever. Over-the-counter analgesics like acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin can reduce pain, says Greenwood. Take two tablets every four hours as needed for pain.

Wear cotton underwear. Avoid synthetic fabrics that can trap heat and moisture in the genital area. Choose cotton underwear that “breathes.”

Avoid arginine. Although the link between food and herpes remains fuzzy, some experts believe that the herpes simplex virus is stimulated by arginine, a substance found in foods like chocolate and peanuts. Experiment for yourself. If you find your herpes is affected by arginine-containing foods, avoid them, says Greenwood.

Keep dry. Keep the genital area as dry as possible. After a bath or shower, pat (don’t rub) the area dry with a soft, dry towel. Use a different towel to dry the rest of your body to avoid spreading the virus to other parts of the body, and never share your towels with others. If the area is too tender to towel dry, try using a hand-held hair dryer on the cool setting, says Simons.

Don’t use ointments. Viruses, including the herpes virus, like environments that are moist. Avoid using petrolatum or antibiotic ointments on your sores; these products may prevent drying and slow healing.

Hands off. Keep in mind that herpes is a contact virus. You get it and pass it from skin-to-skin?contact. If you have herpes sores and touch them, you can spread the virus to other parts of your body, such as your eyes or mouth. Avoid directly touching any active herpes sore.

Relax. While mind-body science is still in its infancy, and researchers aren’t sure exactly why stress affects herpes, the experience of many women indicates that herpes sores tend to erupt when one feels run-down or overly stressed. Hence the association between colds and cold sores. To minimize any possible effect from stress, try to get plenty of rest and, if necessary, try some form of stress-reduction technique, such as regular aerobic exercise or progressive relaxation, says Greenwood.

Practice safe sex. If you or your partner have active sores or feel sores coming on, avoid sexual contact, advises Greenwood. (A condom may prevent herpes spread from an infected man, but protection isn’t always 100 percent. Condoms won’t halt virus transmission from an infected woman.) Talk with your sex partners honestly about your sexual histories. Use a condom with all new partners.

Maintain good general health. The body’s immune system is better able to fight off the advances of the?herpes virus and other organisms if you’re in good health. Keep the machinery running at full power by eating a well-balanced, low-fat diet and exercising regularly. Avoid immune-lowering activities like cigarette smoking and using drugs and alcohol.

Get support. Stress promotes herpes and herpes tends to cause stress. It seems like a vicious cycle. How do you break it? Get support by joining a herpes support group in your area. Many people feel embarrassment, guilt, and frustration about their herpes. Talking with others who share your problem can be healing. They may not only help you overcome your negative feelings about herpes, they may offer coping tips and strategies that they’ve developed through experience?strategies that may, in turn, help you.

The eyes may be the window to the soul, but your fingernails may provide a peek into the status of your health.

Remember, the symptoms listed?here may possibly signal the health problems listed; they do not provide definite diagnoses.

But if you notice any of these, let your doctor know.

? Pale or bluish nails: This may indicate anemia.

? Pink color slow in returning when nail is squeezed: This may indicate decreased or slowed blood circulation.

? White spots: These occur as the result of an injury to the nail; they’re not due to zinc deficiency, as some people believe.

? Beau’s lines: These horizontal depressions occur after a traumatic event, such as a high fever. “You can actually date the event by measuring the nail and figuring in the growth rate,” explains C. Ralph Daniel III, M.D.

? White lines parallel to the lunula (and not the cuticle): These indicate some sort of systemic (bodywide) insult.

? Clubbed nails: These nails are shaped like the backside of a spoon and may indicate cardiopulmonary disease or asthma.

? Spoon nails: These dip inward and could mean certain types of anemia or injury.

? Pitted nails: These punched-out looking spots may signify psoriasis.

? Anything resembling a wart around the nail: This could be a skin cancer and needs to be examined by a doctor.

? Dark spot. This could be melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. If the spot “bleeds” into the cuticle or nail folds or if you’re fair- skinned, this is a serious warning sign that requires immediate medical attention.

Scratch an itch. Strum a guitar. Peel an orange. Your fingernails come in handy all day long, but too much use?or misuse?can cause problems ranging from nasty fungal infections to brittle, broken nails.

Your nails are made of keratin, the same type of protein that goes into your hair. Each nail actually consists of several parts, all of which play an important role in its health and growth:

?

• Nail plate: This is what you see as the fingernail.
• Nail bed: This lies below the nail plate; the two are attached. The capillaries in the nail bed nourish the nail and give it its pinkish color.
• Nail matrix: You don’t see most of this, yet it may be the most important. Ifs below the cuticle at the base of the nail. Cells in the matrix produce the fingernail. If the matrix gets damaged, your nail will be distorted or may even stop growing completely.
• Lunula: This is the part of the matrix that you can see. It’s the moon-shaped portion at the bottom of your nail.
• Cuticle: This fold of skin, made of dead cells, keeps foreign substances, like infection-causing bacteria, out.
• Nail fold: The nail fold is the ridge of skin around the nail.

?

Although plenty can go wrong with the nails, one of the most common complaints dermatologists hear is that fingernails are brittle?”whether they’re soft and brittle or hard and brittle,” says Lawrence A. Norton, M.D., clinical professor of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine.

“Brittle nails can be compared to dry skin of the nails,” explains Richard K. Scher, M.D., professor of clinical dermatology and nail specialist at Columbia University School of Medicine in New York. “You treat them like dry skin?use moisturizers and avoid harsh chemicals and detergents that are drying.”

“Such nails are often shingling?they split like roof shingles at the end of the nail,” says Norton. He blames the condition on nails dried out from indoor heat, exposure to detergents, and too?frequent use of nail polish removers.

Nails that are soft and brittle, on the other hand, need to be kept dry. “You’ve used too much lotion or kept your hands in water too long,” says C. Ralph Daniel III, M.D., clinical professor of medicine (dermatology) at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

Trauma, the doctors’ term for injury, is another major problem for fingernails. “You hit your fingernail with the hammer,” says Daniel. If a bruise forms beneath the nail, a doctor may have to relieve the pressure that builds up.

Injuries also open the door to infections, especially fungal infections. Although these generally plague toenails more often than fingernails (because of athlete’s foot), fungal infections can strike the nails on the hands, with some unpleasant consequences.

And finally, certain skin diseases, such as psoriasis, can show up in your nails.

What you don’t want to occur: Separation of the nail plate from the nail bed, a condition called onycholysis. It can occur after an injury, infections, allergies to nail cosmetics, exposure to chemicals, or diseases like psoriasis. If the nail appears white, it may have separated. You’ll need to see your doctor and you’ll want to be careful not to aggravate the problem further. Unfortunately, once the nail separates, it won’t reattach until a new nail has grown out.

You also want to take good care of the nail matrix. If this is damaged, it will start producing a deformed nail or, even worse, no nail at all.

Here’s what the experts recommend you do to keep your nails as healthy and attractive as possible:

Avoid the culprits. The housewife or househusband is exposed to detergents and cleansers, the janitor to strong cleaning fluids, the bartender to citrus fruits, and so on, says Daniel. If you can’t stay away from these substances, wear gloves whenever possible. Otherwise, you risk brittle nails and even nail separation, or infection, which could lead to a deformed nail or even the loss of it.

Wear vinyl gloves for wet work. That’s vinyl, not latex or rubber,?stresses Daniel, which will make hands sweat. In fact, Scher recom?mends wearing cotton gloves under the vinyl gloves.

Wear cotton gloves for dry work. You’ll help protect nails from damage or possible injury.

Keep your nails short. Try giving that advice to actress/singer Barbra Streisand or Olympic star Florence Griffith Joyner. But face it, the shorter your nails, the less the risk of damaging them.

Be careful of nail bangers. Don’t use your nail in place of a screwdriver, says Daniel. Try not to hit it with a hammer. You get the idea: Such actions can injure your nails, opening the door to infections, stopping nail growth. or causing bruises. “If your nail turns black and blue, go to your doctor or the emergency room,” says Daniel. The pressure should be relieved on the blood vessel that’s been injured underneath the nail.

Moisturize your nails. “Soak them in tepid water,” says Norton. “Then massage in a moisturizer to hold the water. There’s no fat in your nails to hold the moisture in.- He suggests trying any product with phospholipids, urea, or lactic acid?all are “humectants,” which will hold water; two he recommends are Complex 15 or Aquaderm. Daniel suggests white petrolatum or Moisturil.

Avoid moisture. Sounds like a contradiction, right? If your nail becomes infected, particularly with a yeast organism, it’s important to keep it as dry as possible. The nail plate may look chalky white, yellowish, brownish, or even green when an infection has set in. The nail may separate from the bed, or the nail fold may be red and irritated looking. See your doctor if you’re not sure what’s happening.

Care for your cuticles. But not the way you may think. “Don’t use mechanical instruments and cut them,” warns Scher. Soak them first, then push them back with a moist towel. He warns against orange sticks and cuticle scissors. “When you clip cuticles, you’re breaking down the normal barrier to bacteria and moisture,” says Norton, “and that can lead to an infection.”

Don’t pick or tear at hangnails. Otherwise, you’re opening the door to infection by making a break in the skin where bacteria can enter. Daniel suggests clipping the dry part of the hangnail with fine scissors and applying an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment. Keeping your hands, nails, and cuticles moisturized will help prevent future hangnails.

Realize the risk with nail cosmetics. Sculptured nails can hold in too much moisture, says Norton. The glues used in nail wraps can cause reactions resulting in permanent damage to the nail bed and root, says Daniel. The most common problem is separation of the nail from the bed. But if you notice any pain or tenderness, you’re probably reacting to the glue, and you need medical attention, stresses Daniel.

Forget formaldehyde. Although most fingernail polishes and nail hardeners are not supposed to contain formaldehyde, some still do. And if they cause an allergy or irritation, you can end up with nail separation.

Cut down on polish remover. “Apply and remove polish no more often than once a week,” advises Daniel. “The acetone in polish remover dehydrates the nails.”

Don’t eat gelatin hoping to build strong nails. It just doesn’t work.

Ditto for calcium. “Calcium has very little, if anything, to do with how hard your nails are,” Daniel says. Unless you are crash dieting or suffering from a malabsorption problem, your nails are not influenced that much by what you eat, says Scher.

Even more sobering is the increased risk of developing skin cancer from excessive sun exposure. People who are fair-skinned are at greater risk of developing such cancers than are darker-skinned individuals. To avoid the dry skin, wrinkles, and increased cancer risk from sun exposure, Parker suggests these tips:

Wear sunscreen. Sunscreens are rated by their sun protection factor, or SPF. The higher the SPF number, the greater the sun protection.

Cover up. Wear a lightweight, long- sleeved shirt and a hat when you’re in the sun.

Avoid the sun between 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. This is the time of day when the sun’s burning rays are at their strongest, so try to plan outdoor activities for earlier or later in the day.

Use lotions. If you must sunbathe, apply cream-type lotions and occasionally “spritz” your skin with mineral water to keep it moist. Keep your tanning?sessions as short as possible, and moisturize afterwards.

Everyone occasionally suffers from dry skin, according to dermatologist James Shaw, M.D., chief of the Division of Dermatology at Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center and associate clinical professor of medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University, both in Portland. “Dry skin is largely influenced by genetics and by climate and other drying factors like taking hot showers,” he says.

When there’s not enough water in the skin’s top layer (called the stratum corneum), the skin becomes flaky, itchy, and unsightly. In extreme cases, this layer can become rough, cracked, and scaly, and chronic dermatitis (skin irritation) can develop.

Normally, the outer layer of the skin is kept moist by fluid from the sweat glands and from underlying tissues. Oil, produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin, helps to seal in that fluid. But lots of things rob moisture from the skin’s outer layer. Some people simply have an outer skin layer that doesn’t hold water well. Others may have less- active sweat glands. Age is also a factor in dry skin. The older you get, the less oil the sebaceous glands produce, and the drier your skin is likely to be.

One of the greatest skin-moisture robbers is low humidity. Cold, dry air, common in many areas during the winter months, sucks water from the skin. Add the drying effects of sun and/or high altitude to low humidity and the parching is compounded. Heated or air-conditioned air in your home or office may also be dry and cause your skin to lose moisture.

Water can actually take moisture from your skin. Overbathing or bathing in hot water for long periods of time causes a repeated wetting and drying of the tissue that holds the outer layer of skin together and, over time, can make it less able to hold and retain water. “People who bathe several times a day or take lots of hot tubs are actually leaching important proteins from their skin that normally keep the skin moist,” explains Frank Parker, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.

Harsh soaps, detergents, household cleansers, and chemical solvents can also take their toll on the skin. These products can damage the skin’s outer layer. People who must frequently wash and dry their hands, such as nurses and hairstylists, often complain of red, chapped hands, so-called “dishpan hands.”

While you can’t keep skin away from all of the external moisture robbers, here are some tips to keep your skin moist and youthful-looking for years to come:

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Always keep a lotion or cream on your skin, especially if you tend toward dry skin, says Parker. “Apply moisturizer right after you bathe, while?you’re still damp,” he says. Pat, don’t rub, yourself dry-damp with a soft towel. Apply moisturizers throughout?the day whenever?your skin feels dry and before retiring to bed.

Which moisturizers should you use? “The more oil a product has in it, the more protection it offers, and the thicker the product, the more it seals in moisture,” says Shaw. “Thin lotions are mostly water. Cold creams are thicker and have more oil and less water. And products like Vaseline [petrolatum] are all oil.”

Dermatologist Margaret Robertson, M.D., a staff physician at St. Vincent Hospital and Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, advises using a thick, unscented moisturizer that doesn’t automatically disappear on the skin. She says you can mix water with petrolatum to form a cream that provides good moisture protection.

Take short, cool showers and baths. Hot water actually draws out oil, the skin’s natural barrier to?moisture loss, and can make itching worse, says Shaw. Bathe or shower only as often as really necessary and no more than once a day. If you insist on long, hot soaks, always apply a moisturizer immediately after bathing.

Use soap sparingly. Shaw advises decreasing soap and water washing. “People wash too much,” he says. “Overwashing with soap and water harms the skin’s outer layer.”

People who suffer from chronically dry skin should take brief baths or showers and lather up only the groin, armpits, and bottoms of the feet, says Robertson. When you use soap, opt for milder, oilated or superfatted soaps such as Dove, Basis, or Aveenobar. For super-dry skin, you may have to use a soap substitute to cleanse your skin.

Don’t be abrasive. Scrubbing your skin with washcloths, loofah sponges, or other scrubbing products dries your skin out even more, says Robertson. “Often, when people have dry skin, they develop scale and try to scrub it off with washcloths or sponges,” she says. “But they’re doing more harm than good.”

Oil that bath. “Bath oils can help,” says Shaw. But, he warns, if you put the bath oil in the water before you get in and get wet, the oil can coat your skin and prevent it from becoming saturated with water. Instead, he recommends adding the oil to the bath after you’ve been in the water for a while or applying it directly to your wet skin after bathing. (If you do add the oil to your bathwater, be sure to use extra care when getting in or out of the tub, since the oil will make the tub slippery.)

Robertson says that mineral oil makes an excellent bath oil. However, she warns not to soak, even in an oil bath, for longer than 20 minutes.

Raise the humidity. The higher the humidity, the less dry the skin. “In the tropics, where the humidity is around 90 percent, no one suffers from dry skin,” says Shaw. He says once the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the humidity tends to drop off too.

Sixty percent humidity is perfect for the skin. It’s the point at which the skin and the air are in perfect balance and moisture isn’t being drawn from the skin into the air. If you live in a dry climate or if the humidity in your office or home is less than 60 percent, consider using a home humidifier. Even a vaporizer or kettle of water on slow boil can raise the humidity in a room somewhat.

Avoid detergents, cleansers, and solvents. Common household products, such as cleansers, window cleaners, ammonia, turpentine, lighter fluid, and mineral spirits can dry and damage the skin’s outer layer. Avoid directly exposing your skin to such products by wearing vinyl gloves and using less- harsh alternatives (for example, vinegar and water make a great window cleaner) whenever possible. Use a long-handled brush to keep your hands out of dishwater.

Nix alcohol-based products. Some people like to cleanse their faces with alcohol wipes or astringents. They leave the skin feeling clean and tingling, but there’s a price. “Alcohol-based products have a drying effect,” says Shaw.

Use cream- or oil-based makeup. If you wear?foundation and blusher, choose oil-based types that help retain moisture rather than water-based?products, says Robertson. In the evening, wash off makeup with mild soap. Then, rinse thoroughly, blot dry with a soft towel, and moisturize well with a heavy, cream-type moisturizer.

Cool it off. Hot environments heated by wood stoves or forced air heating systems dry out the skin. Shaw recommends keeping the air temperature a few degrees lower to keep your skin moist.

Toss off the electric blanket, pile on the comforter. The heat from electric blankets can dry out your skin, too. Shaw says that for people who have chronically dry skin, opting for an extra blanket instead of an electric one is a good idea.

Avoid too much alcohol. The effects of excessive alcohol consumption usually don’t show up on the skin for several years. “We don’t really know if there’s a cause-and-effect relationship between drinking alcohol and dry skin,” says Robertson. “But we do know that alcoholics tend to have drier, more wrinkled skin.”

Each time you drink alcohol, your skin loses moisture needed to keep it young-looking. When alcohol enters the bloodstream, it lowers the water concentration of the blood. To replace the lost water, the body draws water from surrounding cells. Limit your intake to no more than two ounces per day. Better yet, avoid alcohol altogether.

You scramble home to prepare the appetizer tray for the guests who will be arriving any minute. You have just one more carrot to slice when, “Ouch!”? your knife slips and slices not the carrot, but your finger. You’ve got a cut.

“A cut is an incision into the skin,” explains Robert Matheson, M.D., a dermatologist in private practice in Portland, Oregon. “It’s a vertical slice into the skin that affects only a limited number of nerves. In contrast, a scrape involves the traumatic removal of skin in a horizontal fashion. It scrapes away the skin’s surface and exposes a larger number of nerves, usually making it more painful than a cut.”

An amazing number of things happen when you cut or scrape yourself. When you disrupt the skin, a clear, antibody-containing fluid from the blood, called serum, leaks into the wound. The area around the cut or scrape becomes red, indicating that more blood is moving into the wound site, bringing with it nutrients and infection-fighting white blood cells. Nearby lymph nodes may swell. After a few days, pus (which contains dead white blood cells, dead bacteria, and other debris from the body’s inflammatory response to infection) may form. And finally, a scab develops to protect the injury while it heals.

Even being extra careful, you can’t always avoid the scrapes and cuts of life. But you can learn how to care for them and speed their healing:

Stop the bleeding. When you get a cut or scrape, the first thing to do (after admonishing yourself for being so clumsy) is to stop the bleeding. “Apply pressure with a clean cloth or tissue to stop the blood flow,” says Louisa Silva, M.D., a general practitioner in Salem, Oregon, who sees plenty of cuts and scrapes in her private practice. If possible, elevate the wound above the heart to slow the blood flow. Don’t use a tourniquet.

Wash up. One of the most important things you can do in treating a cut or scrape is to make sure you cleanse it thoroughly. “Wash it thoroughly with soap and water,” says dermatologist Paul Contorer, M.D., chief of dermatology for Kaiser Permanente in Beaverton, Oregon, and clinical professor of dermatology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.

Matheson says soap and water is usually sufficient, but you can also use over-the-counter cleansers like Hibiclens that don’t sting. If the wound is really dirty, he recommends using hydrogen peroxide to bubble out debris. Apply it carefully, since it can damage surrounding skin.

Bring on the antibacterial ointment. Contorer says antibacterial ointments can be very helpful. Polysporin, Neosporin, and Bactine are examples of antibacterial ointments available without a prescription. Matheson says he prefers Polysporin to other ointments because it contains fewer ingredients that may cause allergic reactions.

Close the skin. Properly closing the skin is important in cuts that are an eighth to a quarter
inch wide. Matheson says closing makes the cut heal faster and reduces the chances of scarring. Be sure that you have thoroughly cleansed the cut before attempting to close it. Line up the edges of the cut, then apply butterfly strips or an adhesive bandage to keep the cut closed.

Cover it. “It’s important to keep a cut or scrape covered,” says Silva, “to keep the wound clean and protected.” Instead of covering with plain gauze, which tends to stick to wounds, Silva recommends using Telfa, a coated. gauze-type bandage. Adhesive bandages often have Telfa on them, she says, but you can also buy larger pieces of Telfa in the pharmacy and cut them to fit. Cover the wound with the Telfa pad, and use adhesive tape to hold the pad in place.

Keep it clean. The initial washing isn’t enough to prevent infection, says Matheson. You’ll need to remove the bandage and wash the wound every day with soap and water. Then re-cover it with a clean bandage.
Don’t let it dry out. One of the myths about cuts and scrapes is that a thick. crusty scab is good. Not so, says Matheson. “Don’t let your wound get dry and crack,” he says. “If you keep it relatively moist, you’ll speed healing and minimize scarring.”

If a scab forms, don’t pick at it; this disrupts the skin and can introduce bacteria. Instead,
Matheson recommends soaking off crusty scabs with a solution of one tablespoon of white vinegar to one pint of water. The mildly acidic solution is soothing and helps kill bacteria.

Contorer advises patients to use a water regimen at night before retiring. “I have them wash the wound thoroughly and then cover it with a little Vaseline to seal in the moisture,” he says.

Both doctors emphasize that a certain amount of air circulation is important to wound healing. You want the bandage or covering to be tight enough to protect, but not so tight that it seals out all air and causes the wound to become too moist.

Don’t get locked up. Silva says it’s important to have a tetanus shot within 72 hours if you haven’t had one in the last five years. Tetanus bacteria, which causes “lockjaw”??? a condition that can
involve stiffness in the jaw and other joints, paralysis, and even death?exists in our soil, she says. “It’s still very much a threat in this country.”

Protect it from sunlight. To avoid the skin darkening that often occurs when a cut or scrape heals, Contorer says to avoid sun exposure during the healing process and apply over-the-counter hydrocortisone to the wound.

Matheson suggests using a good sunscreen for several weeks on areas where you’ve had a wound. Look for a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. (Of course, to shield your skin from damaging ultraviolet light and protect your skin from sunburn and skin cancer, it’s wise to wear sunscreen on all exposed skin when you go outside during the day, especially if you are fair skinned.)

Here are some guidelines to getting a better fit:

• Have the salesclerk measure each foot twice before you buy any pair of shoes. Don’t ask for a certain size just because it’s the one you have always worn; the size of your feet changes as you grow older.
• Be sure to try on both the left and the right shoe. Stand during the fitting process, and check to see that there is adequate space ( three-eighths to one- half inch) for your longest toe at the end of each shoe. Remember, your longest toe may not be your big toe; in some people, the second toe extends the farthest. Likewise, your feet may not be the exact same size. If one foot is slightly larger than the other, buy the shoes for the larger foot and use padding, if necessary, for a better fit on the smaller foot.

• Make sure that the shoe fits snugly at the heel.
• Make sure the ball of your foot fits snugly into the widest part of the shoe?called the ball pocket.
• Shop for shoes at the end of the day, when your feet are likely to be slightly swollen.
• Walk around the store in the shoes to make sure they fit and feel right as you stride along.
• Don’t buy shoes that feel too tight, expecting them to stretch out. If they don’t feel right in the store, they will never fit comfortably. They should not need to be stretched.
• If you are not sure about the fit, check into the store’s refund policy. If possible, take the shoes home, wear them on a rug for an hour, and if they don’t feel good, take them back.
• When buying shoes for everyday use, look for ones with fairly low heels.
• Make sure the material of the upper is soft and pliable.
• Have several different pairs of shoes so that you do not wear the same pair day after day.

Alternating your shoes is a wise move, not only for your feet but for the shoes. You may discover, as most people do, that your left and right foot are not exactly the same size. Or you may have a high instep, a plump foot, or especially long toes. While these characteristics may make it somewhat difficult to step into every pair of shoes you try on, they do not mean that you must resign yourself to never finding a pair of shoes that fit. All it takes is a little time and the determination to walk in comfort.

One last reminder: Like Cinderella, who was the only one able to fit into the glass slipper, the person who buys a pair of shoes is the only one who should wear them.

Many podiatrists, however, advise against the use of these products as home remedies, mainly because the active ingredient is an acid that can burn healthy skin as well as the dead skin of a callus or corn. If you do decide to try one of these products, follow the package directions carefully and be sure to apply the product only to the area of the corn or callus, avoiding the surrounding healthy tissue ( one way to do this is to spread petrolatum in a ring shape around the corn or callus). If your corn or callus does not improve within two weeks, stop using the product and see a podiatrist. If you are diabetic or have any medical condition that hinders circulation, do not try one of these products at all; see a podiatrist at the first sign of any foot problem.

The following ingredients are not generally recognized as being safe and effective for removing corns and
calluses, according to the FDA: iodine, ascorbic acid, acetic acid, allantoin, belladonna, chlorobutanol, diperodon hydrochloride, ichthammol, methylbenzethonium chloride, methyl salicylate, panthenol, phenyl salicylate, and vitamin A.