If you’ve ever seen an older Japanese woman, you have probably been amazed at how smooth, firm, and youthful her skin looked for her age. Japanese women are famous the world over for having a beautiful complexion but good genes aren’t all there is to it. Japanese skincare is based on one special ingredient: wakame. Wakame, or Japanese sea kelp, was introduced to the West relatively recently. Because it has always been a staple in the Japanese diet and it started to be used as an ingredient in Japanese skincare products long ago, Japanese women have been enjoying its benefits for centuries. Wakame is rich in important minerals like sodium, iron, potassium, and calcium. In fact, wakame contains 15 times more calcium than milk! In addition to a host of minerals, wakame contains B-group vitamins, which help to soothe skin irritation. Wakame is also rich in antioxidants thus it fights free radicals and is very effective in anti-aging skin care products. Further, wakame protects your skin from harmful UV rays. What really made wakame a Japanese skincare secret however is its ability to inhibit the activity of the harmful enzyme hyaluronidase. Hyaluronidase breaks down hyaluronic acid in the skin. Hyaluronic acid, along with collagen and elastin, is essential to maintaining the firmness, elasticity, smoothness, and tone of your skin. The loss of hyaluronic acid is one of the leading causes of aging skin. Without hyaluronic acid, the collagen and elastin fibers in your skin will not hold together, leading to a less youthful appearance and dark under eye circles. Japanese skin care companies discovered this long ago thus most skin care products in Japan contain wakame extract. Fortunately, you no longer have to fly to Japan and buy Japanese skincare products in order to experience the benefits of wakame. Online you can find skin care lines that contain a concentrated form of wakame extract known as Phytessence wakame. Phytessence wakame is more effective than any other kind of wakame extract because of its ability to deeply penetrate your skin. Your goal? Start looking for a skin care product line that contains Phytessence wakame. Phytessence wakame is where Japanese skincare tradition meets technology. It is scientifically formulated to give you the best results. Don’t waste your time with products that only contains a smidgen of wakame extract and other beneficial active ingredients. There are products out there that contain a higher concentration of active ingredients like Phytessence wakame and those are the ones you need to look for. When you find them, you will finally understand why Japanese women have such beautiful and youthful complexions. Gordon Hall is fervent about enabling you and everyone to live a healthy lifestyle, and is an ardent reviewer of Anti aging Skin Care and Cosmetic products. Visit his website now at : http://www.healthy-natural-skin-site.com to discover which Anti aging skin care products Gordon recommends after far ranging and extensive research.

If you suffer from dry skin like me, you probably keep your eyes open for any new skin care cream that come onto the market that might help soothe your skin and solve the problem. Well, you may be in luck, because there have recently been some new natural topical creams for dry skin released with new ingredients blended from natural botanical plants and oils. Before we look at a possible solution we need to understand what causes dry skin. Exposure to the sun and wind is one of the biggest factors causing dry skin problems. Soap is another big contributor, if your using one that leaves your skin feeling dry after use, it is removing too much of you skins natural moisturizing oil capability. You should consider using a more natural less harsh body wash instead. Other variables like how you are feeling emotionally and how hectic a lifestyle you are leading can have an affect. We all want nice skins but most of us don’t want to change or greatly interrupt our daily routines with any radical life changing natural healing remedies that can take a lot of time and dedication. Therefore, one of the easiest ways to improve your dry skin is to use one of the new natural topical creams for dry skin. People with dry and particularly dry itchy skin will welcome these new formula creams that include the following ingredients to better moisturize and give a more youthful looking skin. Phytessence Wakeme a powerful antioxidant derived from Japanese sea algae, rich in sodium, iron, potassium and calcium, these minerals are excellent for maintaining the skins moisture balance. Wakame is also rich in B-group vitamins, proven to increase skin elasticity and help heal irritated dry skin. In Japan it is cultivated and eaten both dried and fresh. Cynergy TK contains functional keratin, which is similar to the basic protein found in human skin; it is almost like applying a liquid skin to your face and body. Applications of it to the skin in some studies have shown a 14% improvement in skin moisture retention over 18 days. Scientific studies show the functional keratin in Cynergy TK stimulates the growth of new skin cells. As well as vitamins and minerals creams for getting rid of dry skin need essential oils like Jajoba a deeply moisturizing oil that makes the skin soft and velvet like. Olivem 800 a unique emulsifier developed from natural olive oil formulated to penetrate deeply into the skin to hydrate and rejuvenate it. Active manuka honey a special honey from New Zealand containing unique enzymes with scientifically proven healing properties for the skin. Grapeseed oil a powerful antioxidant, which creates an invisible film on your skin to keep in moisture. D-Panthenol (vitamin B5) helps repair skin tissue and acts as a natural moisturizer, protects skin naturally against sunburn and provides relief from existing sunburn. If your not getting the results you want with your existing skin care maintenance program, think about trying a new skin care regime using natural topical creams for dry skin, which include the above ingredients. Mike Iredale is an advocate of living a long natural and healthy lifestyle, and researches natural skin care and health products to help young and old alike. To learn more visit his site now at http://www.best-health-skin-site.com to find out which company he recommends to give you the best results.

In the first group, the “Negative Effect” group, we have already mentioned the obvious systemic problems that will have an important influence. You must, of course, be fit and well but conditions such as anaemia, over or under active thyroid, or polycystic ovaries, for example, will have a serious adverse effect on hair growth and must be diagnosed and treated without delay. Anaemia may be caused partially by dietary deficiencies, giving rise to low iron and ferritin levels, particularly common in people who do not eat red meat and do not take the necessary “B Group” vitamin supplementation, particularly B12. You do not need to be clinically anaemic before low iron levels in the body will reduce your hair growth rate.

The trace elements present in minute quantities in the body but essential catalysts for the operation of the chemical network, must all be present, even arsenic is now thought to be an essential trace element. The macro elements (calcium, magnesium and phosphorus), the elements present in larger quantities used in the production of bone and other tissue must of course be present in the optimum quantities. All the vitamins (from A to U) must also be present in the body at the recommended level (especially vitamins A, B group vitamins, vitamin C, and vitamin H for hair and skin growth). They are all vital for normal body processes. The body cannot synthesise any of these elements or minerals; they must all come from the food we eat. Likewise with the vitamins, they must almost all come from the food we eat; only a few can be synthesised by the body. Restricted diets, slimming courses and poor nutrition can very quickly lead to specific deficiencies and consequent hair and skin problems. Nutritional problems are by no means confined to Third World countries and many modern sophisticated clinics see cases of nutritional deficiencies. To eat well may seem blindingly obvious, but without a healthy, varied diet, which includes quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables, your hair and skin will not be at their best. If you have any doubt, arrange a blood test or a mineral hair analysis for these levels to be checked.

Just as deficiencies in certain agents will have an adverse reaction, so does the introduction of unwanted agents, especially toxins, into the blood stream. Smoking, excess alcohol, and most induced chemicals (drugs of abuse) will have a serious, adverse affect on hair and skin growth.

Chemotherapy is an extreme example of a severe toxin introduced deliberately into the blood stream to fatally affect the mutant cancerous cells present. The collateral damage to the rest of the body is considerable including (least importantly of all) the hair follicles, which, in response to the severe toxic trauma, immediately and synchronously, stop growing, even though they are in the growth (anagen) phase.

The resultant “anagen effluvium” (total hair fall) results in immediate cessation of hair growth; the now non-growing hairs are held in the follicles for a further short period before being shed to produce temporary total baldness. New hair growth is already activated in the hair follicle and the new hair synchronously re-grows back to its normal position, although the texture and colour of the hair may have been affected by the severe trauma.

Many drugs are of course introduced into the blood stream for their therapeutic effect and these pharmaceutical agents, whilst performing their primary task for which they were prescribed, will also disturb the existing delicate hormone balance to some extent, i.e. they will have side effects. This secondary action, the side effects, is usually negative, but not always and the treatment of high blood pressure with Minoxydil in the 1970s produced not only hirsute women (women with excess hair growth in the male pattern) but re-growth of vellus hair on the bald scalps of men suffering from Androgenic Alopecia, a feat which up until then was thought to be impossible and precipitated an enormous jump in research and development of drugs for the treatment of common baldness.

There are other systemic conditions of a more insidious nature, such as Alopecia Areata, a partial failure of the auto-immune system of unknown cause or origin, although stress, which has the effect of raising hormone levels, is implicated. The white blood cells of the body attack the healthy hair follicles causing breakage and loss of hair in the characteristic coin-shaped patches. The mechanism, although much studied, is not well understood, and there is now thought to be a genetic influence in this condition. A high percentage of Down’s syndrome children suffer from Alopecia Areata.

Systemic problems are the second biggest group of factors involved in hair loss, after the leading genetic group of influences and many serious conditions, secondary syphilis, lupus, HIV, etc., first appear as dermatological problems of the hair and scalp.

Gary Heron is one of Europe’s leading trichologists for the past 20 years dealing directly with every type of hair loss and scalp disorder for both men and women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. Gary has had over twenty years’ experience in dealing with every type of hair or scalp problem. For example, he helps people suffering with scalp disorders such as psoriasis, seborrhoeic dermatitis, folliculitis or from hair loss and thinning caused by genetic baldness, alopecia or through chemical or physical damage.http://www.thewestminsterpractice.com

Gary says,” Everybody will experience some degree of trouble with his or her hair or scalp at some time. However, if you are experiencing hair loss or an irritating scalp problem you do not need to just tolerate it. You can take an active step today and seek help from The Hair Centre”. All treatments products supplied are formulated especially for The Hair Centre by leading trichologists and chemists. They have undergone exhaustive clinical trials and testing to ensure we can target disorders of the hair and scalp effectively.