How Incorporate Tea into your Beauty Routine

Tea is a daily staple in many cultures. Aside from its high antioxidant properties, it helps in maintaining a healthy weight and supporting the brain. A hot cup of tea serves many purposes including calming one after a hectic day.

Here are some ways for you to incorporate tea into your beauty routine.

1. Black tea

Fights free radicals thereby contributing towards a youthful complexion. Use it to soothe sunburn. The tannin in tea helps energise and repair chafing and burned skin. It also works as a calming aftershave. Its mild antiseptic properties helps to soothe bumpy skin.

2. Green tea

Green tea is an unparalleled antioxidant and gentle circulatory stimulant. Use it as a wake-me-up toner in the morning especially when feeling tired. Place two green tea bags in a cup of boiling water.

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Let it cool and then keep in the fridge. It will stay fresh for a week. This toner is great for soothing puffy eyes after a rough night. You can find innovative ways to use green tea. It is effective in lightening dark circles, as an anti-aging mask, and as a moisturising facial wash when combined with black soap.

3. Chamomile tea

Chamomile is soothing, antiseptic and calming for tired, itchy or angry skin. Conditions like eczema, extreme dryness and rashes benefit from chamomile. This tea is best used as a relaxing toner. After cleansing or a facial scrub, use cotton wool to dab onto your skin in a downward motion. This will enable the pores to absorb the chamomile tea better.

It is recommended you apply it within 10 seconds of cleansing, especially combined with a steam treatment or the steam from the shower.

4. Turmeric tea

Turmeric tea can be made using powdered turmeric and hot water. However it is best made using freshly grated turmeric. Boil this for at least 20 minutes, with or without ginger. Drink the infusion for best results, then sieve and use the leftover grated turmeric as a base for a face mask. Mix with yoghurt, egg white, or cream. You may add a small amount of flour to bind it. Let sit on your skin for a few minutes then rinse with cool water.

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5. Rooibos tea

When you have had your cup of plain rooiboos tea, tear the tea bags and mix the contents with honey and apply onto your skin as a mask. High in antioxidants, this tea is a powerful anti-aging and rejuvenating compound.

6. Neem tea

For athlete’s foot and similar fungus infections, a neem tea soak for 20 minutes daily will help to alleviate the itching. To make it more effective, add a few drops of tea tree oil and some epsom salts.

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What is Double Cleansing for Your Face and How to Do it?

What is Double Cleansing?

Double cleansing is a procedure to clean face by using an oil cleanser and a water-based cleanser ( can be a foam cleanser or a non-foam cleanser). This method is especially beneficial for those who have some interaction in a polluted environment and who wear heavy makeup or SPF. People having oily skin or acne-prone skin can also use oil cleansers that are properly formulated.

Double Cleansing Benefits:

For a youthful look, double cleansing is best especially if you wear heavy makeup. Just washing face won't help in removing all impurities from skin cells. Double cleansing, clears all the dead skin cells and rejuvenate the skin. It also gives an even tone skin and helps to brighten it. Most people do double cleansing in the evening after a busy day. This double cleansing prepares skin for absorbing essence, serum and moisturiser deep into the cells, giving it a youthful look.

Double Cleansing Method:

Double Cleansing consists of two steps. Step one is to cleanse face with an oil cleanser and step two is to cleanse face with water-based cleanser.

1. Cleansing Face with an Oil Cleanser:

Oil Cleansers are used to clean makeup, suncream and sebum from the skin. If you wear makeup then you need to clean your skin with oil cleanser 2-3 times until you don't see makeup in the cotton pad. If you don't wear makeup then cleansing once is enough. It's a natural way to cleanse the skin and remove any impurities or debris from the face.

For cleansing with an oil cleanser, first, don't wash face or hands with water. Apply a few drops of oil cleanser on dry face and massage with fingertips in upward circular motion. By gentle circular motion, skin becomes warm and open pores. This allows cleansing oil to go inside the pores and dissolve any makeup, dirt or oil.

After massaging with an oil cleanser, wet towel in warm water, squeeze extra water and cover the whole face. Dab face skin for a few seconds by a warm towel so it allows pores to open and oil cleanser goes inside the skin pores.

After 1 or 2 minutes of covering face with a warm damp towel, clean the face. You can clean it with a damp towel or you can wash it by water. When you wash face by water, oil cleanser changes into a milky substance and you can give more face massage with it and then wash with water to completely remove it.

You may feel a little oil on your face after cleansing which is fine for your skin moisturisation. The next process is cleansing a face with water-based cleanser.

The Face Shop Facial Cleanser, Natural Rice Water Light Cleansing Oil Moisturizer for Dry or Oily Skin - 150 mL /5 Oz is a nice cleanser for both oily and dry skin. It contains rice water which helps to tighten pores, reduce fine lines and brighten the skin.

2. Cleanse Face with Water-Based Cleanser:

After the first step, some impurities still left on the face. Water-Based Cleansers are used to remove any water-based impurities from the face such as sweat.

Apply water-based cleanser on damp face, gently massage for a minute and rinse face with normal water. Pad dry face with a soft towel.

These two steps completely cleanse skin. This method first got famous in Japan and South Korea, now its popularity also increases in North America and Europe. This double cleansing method is followed by other Korean skincare steps.

[Neogen] Real Fresh Foam, Green Tea, 160 Gram contains green tea which has antioxidants that help to recover dull skin cells. It's 100% real fruit extract foam.

How to Identify a Career That Suites You

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Work is where many people will spend the greater part of their adult life while they are awake. This is one reason why matching your personality, skills, goals and values with your career is something you must approach with great care. The reason why the majority of people treat a job as something which must be tolerated and endured while they wait for the weekend is because many people are in jobs that do not suit their personalities.

Know your personality

The first thing you need to know is what your personality actually is. Not many people are clear about this. If you go on the internet, there are many tests you can take to determine your personality. But even if you do not take a test, ask yourself what you like. For example, do you like working with people or would you prefer to work on your own? Do you like to work with your hands or do you like work that involves using the brain? Male your decisions based on your answers to these questions.

Determine your strengths and natural skills

You will discover that there are some things that you can do very well even with very little training. These are activities which you enjoy and you can do for hours without getting bored or realizing how much time has moved. Examples of such skills include the ability to reconcile people, find solutions to problems, listening, asking questions, writing and organizing information and others.

Consider your values and goals

While many people consider the paycheck as the most important thing to look at when deciding on a job, after working for some time you will start to realize that doing a job that does not speak to both your values and goals can be very draining. This is the reason why you need to consider more that the paycheck when you contemplate a career. This means that before you decide which job you want to take, you must first identify both your values and goals. This will allow you to see whether a job suites these values and goals before it is too late. You will not feel as if you are selling your soul to the devil.

Many of the people who find themselves in jobs that they do not like usually resign, not from the job, but to a feeling that nothing can be done. This is untrue, you can still start doing things, no matter how small, that can lead you into a career that matches the person you are. Start by researching what is needed for you to get your foot at the door.

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20 Minute Morning Yoga Workout to Start Your Day Fresh

Most of us lead busy lives, trying to balance work and private life. It’s difficult. On top of this, we also want to stay active, fit and healthy. So what can we do? Thankfully there is yoga.

A Hatha yoga practice is designed to keep our body in good health, and our mind balanced. In order to see the benefits of a morning yoga workout, it doesn’t really need more than 20 minutes.

Consistency is the key. So the excuse that you don’t have time for a yoga practice, doesn’t really count anymore.

Disappointed? I hope not, as your life will be much richer with a daily 20 minute morning yoga workout.

20 Minute Yoga Workout

Hold each yoga pose for about one minute or 7 deep, long breaths, unless another time is indicated.

• Equal Breathing Pranayama
• Cat-Cow
• Balancing Table
• Butterfly
• Hatha Sun Salutation
• Warrior II
• Triangle
• Tree
• Locust
• Navasana
• Bridge
• Savasana

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Benefits of a Regular Morning Yoga Workout

A regular yoga practice has many benefits. Similar to meditation, the benefits increase when doing it more often or even daily. Which benefits?

Well, let’s see, there are plenty of them. And they are so tangible, that also many doctors and psychologists have come to recommend yoga to their patients.

1. Wakes up your body and mind

A morning yoga workout wakes up not only your mind but also your entire body. It gets your heart pumping, and increases the oxygen supply throughout your body, nourishing every cell, plus it kickstarts your digestion.

2. Improves focus and concentration during the day

Yoga has been shown to improve your focus. By turning our senses inwards and focusing on our breath, we directly train our concentration.

Well, let’s see, there are plenty of them. And they are so tangible, that also many doctors and psychologists have come to recommend yoga to their patients.

3. Improves well-being and lowers risk of mental health issues

Several studies have been conducted, researching the effect yoga has on mental health. While more extensive studies are still needed, a positive effect on people suffering from depression and anxiety has been shown.

This goes back to yoga activating our rest and digest mode, which decreases our stress levels, and helps us to relax.

4. Improves immune system

Regular physical activity is strengthening our immune system, making us more resilient to stress which is a major cause of falling ill.

5. Increases flexibility and mobility

Flexibility is probably the best-known benefit of yoga, as pictures of bendy yogis, young and old, are to be found all over the internet.

So yes, it is true that the yoga postures are designed to increase the flexibility of your muscles and tendons, ligaments and fascia, plus extends our mobility in the joints. This prevents stiffness and creates our general physical wellbeing.

6. Increases strength

Most of the yoga postures demand the engagement of the entire body. In flowy classes like Vinyasa or during Sun Salutations, our balance is challenged, requiring focus, and strength in all our muscles. Even in the ones that don’t seem part of the pose.

7. Increases energy

Do you know that feeling of being alive and energized after having completed a yoga class?

You can get the same feeling after your personal 20-minute morning yoga workout at home. For free.

8. Healthier lifestyle

This is a fantastic side effect of a regular yoga practice. You will probably realize after some time, that after you have completed your morning yoga workout, you don’t want to eat heavy, processed foods, but prefer fresh and healthy meals.

Most of us just really don’t want to ruin that well-being we experience after a yoga practice.

Plus, becoming more aware of our body and mind, we are also growing more mindful about the psychology behind our eating habits, about why we think we need that chocolate pudding every day.

What’s more, many smokers turn to yoga or meditation when trying to quit, as it calms your mind and helps you to overcome the immediate urge of reaching for a cigarette.

Full 20 Minute Morning Yoga Workout

Follow this sequence:

Start in Tadasana, reach your arms up overhead, lean slightly back, Forward Fold, Low Lunge (right leg back), Mountain Pose (Downward Facing Dog with feet close together), Chaturanga, Cobra, Mountain Pose, Low Lunge (right leg front), Forward Fold, come up into Tadasana.

Repeat on the other side to complete one round, continue for 2 more rounds.
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1. Equal Breathing Pranayama

Starting your yoga routine with a Pranayama exercise allows your mind to fully arrive on your mat and to prepare for the yoga practice to come.

Equal Breathing is a calming breath, helping you to bring your senses inwards. It’s important to sit comfortably with a straight spine, so the breath can flow freely.

2. Cat-Cow

From tabletop position, take an inhale and arch your spine, look up towards the ceiling. On the exhale, suck your belly in and round your spine, gaze goes towards your navel. Nothing wakes up our stiff spine in the morning as Cat-Cow.

3. Balancing Table

This is a Core strengthening posture, so take it easy if you’ve just woken up. Extend one leg to the back and the opposite arm to the front.

On the next exhale bring elbow and knee to chest, rounding the spine. Our whole body has to work during this movement to keep the balance and to hold our weight with one arm.

4. Butterfly

This is a beautiful hip opener. You can move the knees up and down for a dynamic pose.

For a more static posture, push the knees down and stay there for a few breaths. Breath deeply into the groin. The butterfly is supporting the health of our reproductive organs.

5. Hatha Sun Salutation

Hatha Sun Salutation is not as well known in the West as Sun Salutation A, practiced in Ashtanga or Vinyasa Yoga. But this doesn’t mean it’s less beneficial or less fun.

Especially in the morning, this simple sequence wakes up our entire body. Perfect for people with little time.

6. Warrior II

Warrior II is an open hip pose. Keep the angle of your back foot less than 90 degrees if your hips are still tight. Relax your shoulders, but keep your arms active, reaching in both directions. Your gaze can be soft, looking over your fingers to the front.

7. Triangle

From Warrior II reach your arm forward as much as you can and hinge forward from the hips. Then let your arms grab hold of your shin or ankle, the other arms reach up towards the sky.

Don’t compromise the openness of your chest for bringing your hand all the way down to your ankle or onto the mat.

8. Tree

The tree is a great balancing pose that can be modified according to your energy in the morning. Feel free to keep your toes on the mat, pointing your knee to the side.

If you weren’t able to identify your mood of the morning yet, you might find out in Tree Pose if you’re calm and focused, or if you are a bundle of nerves.

9. Locust

Locust is opening our chest and shoulders and is strengthening our lower back muscles. So it’s giving us everything we need to sit through a day in those uncomfortable office chairs.

10. Boat

Oh, wait! We also need a strong core to help us sit upright. So there you go, Boat Pose will do just that. Over time you might be able to straighten your legs more and more.

But most importantly, keep your spine straight to avoid back pain, but also to really make your abdominals work.

11. Bridge

You can make Bridge a restorative pose, resting your lower back on a block, or an active pose keeping your hips lifted high, maybe even lifting up one leg at a time. Press your shoulders strongly into the mat, opening your chest up even more.

Careful with your neck here, keep your head still, as you otherwise run the risk of injuring your neck. The cervical vertebrae are the smallest of the spine and therefore prone to injuries.

12. Savasana - 3 minutes

You’ve made it! Even if you don’t feel the desired calmness now but anxious to finally get started with your to-do list, make these last 3 minutes yours.

Spread out on your mat, feel your weight sink into the mat, a little bit more with every exhale, and harness all the benefits of the yoga postures you’ve just done. Enjoy your day!

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How Changing Your Personal Life Can Help You Succeed at Work

Being successful at work is never easy, but it’s definitely much harder if you’re constantly distracted and aggravated.

In other words, whenever you have a problem at home, you won’t be able to do your best at the office. Therefore, you need to organize your personal life first and only then can you expect your professional attitude to change for the better. Here are a few ideas that can help you do so.

How Changing Your Personal Life Can Help You Succeed at Work
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Changing Yourself Can Help You Succeed

Make yourself work harder

Facing obstacles seems tiring and hard at first, but it will eventually help you get better results. When you’re challenged by a coworker or a superior, you have to try harder and make a difference. This is also true when it comes to challenging and motivating yourself to work harder. Fulfilling your own dreams and expectations is important for becoming a more stable person with more self-esteem. Ultimately, only by making yourself happy will you be able to prove to your employers that you’re worthy of their trust.

Find your inner peace

Even though most people don’t realize it, being at peace with yourself is more essential than maintaining a healthy relationship with your coworkers. Since hard work takes a toll on you, working on your inner peace may be the most effective way to restore this balance. That’s why you have to learn how to calm down and become a more composed individual. Some of the things you should take into consideration include meditating and practicing yoga, being in the open more often, smiling and laughing, living in the moment and accepting things as they are – if you can’t change something, at least learn how to cope with it and accept the consequences in a more positive way.

Be more productive

Being highly productive 24 hours a day is impossible – unless you’re a robot, of course! Additionally, you can’t be equally focused on your work every single day, so don’t be surprised if your motivation fluctuates throughout the week. You just need to find a sustainable way to become productive and boost your motivation. For example, try making priorities, getting more work done in the morning, investing in your skills, etc. Drinking more water keeps some people focused, while energy drinks keep them awake. Others, however, turn to smart pills similar to the famous NZT-48 that enhances their cognitive abilities and makes them work harder than before.

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Adopt a new attitude

Working hard and staying motivated on a daily basis gradually wears you down, and as time goes by, you become less and less interested and driven. This is only natural after a while, but what can you do to avoid feeling this way? First of all, you have to adopt a new attitude towards work and learn how to love it again. Finding your passion and sustaining it is vital for being successful in both your personal and your private life.

Be who you are

Staying true to yourself isn’t easy in this world of lies and deception. With so many people trying to reach success using unfair tactics and relying on manipulating others in order to improve their own position, remaining moral is a challenge. And you have to put in a lot of effort if you want to remain ethical and honorable. The best way to do so is by being authentic and not forgetting who you are. We all have our hopes, dreams and aspirations. However, not all of us are brave enough to act on them professionally. Only those who take matters into their own hands manage to score some results. Therefore, keep your own ideas in focus, be independent, remain passionate about your goals and do your best to always stay positive – that’s the only true road towards triumph.

Create the perfect balance

Not everybody is aware what a great work/life balance really is, and why it’s so important. Being able to successfully control both parts of your life can take some time. However, once you manage it, you’ll start being calmer at home and more professional at the office. Recognize the things that prevent you from being so, eliminate them from your life, and there will be nothing standing in your way after that!

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4 Ways That Sleep Helps You Lose Weight

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If you’re trying to lose weight, you know that eating a healthy, well-balanced diet full of nutritious food and getting plenty of exercise is important. But did you know that there’s something that may be just as important – if not more so – for weight loss than diet and exercise?

What is it? – Sleep!

If you’re finding that your pants are still fitting too tight even if you are sticking to a strict diet and are logging plenty of hours at the gym, it just might be because you aren’t getting enough sleep. Study shows that if you’re trying to shed some pounds or transform your physique, hitting the hay is just as important as working up a sweat at the gym and counting your calories.

Here’s a look at 4 ways that sleep can help you lose weight.
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It Gives You More Energy

It’s no secret that not getting enough sleep zaps your energy levels, leaving you completely unmotivated. And let’s be honest: when you have no energy, hitting the gym or even taking a bike ride or a brisk walk is probably the last thing you want to do.

When you get more sleep, you’ll notice a marked difference in your energy levels. When you’re more energetic, you’re more motivated; and when you’re more motivated, you’re more likely to get in that workout. Of course, exercise is vital for weight loss, so in this regard, logging more sleep time can help you log more workout time.

It Curbs Your Appetite

Several scientific studies have revealed that when people are sleep-deprived, they feel hungrier. That’s probably because of the impact sleep has on leptin and ghrelin, to hormones that play a big part in hunger.

Released from fat cells, leptin helps to suppress hunger. It also tells the brain that the belly is full. Ghrelin is released into the stomach when you’re belly is empty and lets the brain know that you are hunger. When you aren’t getting enough sleep, your body naturally produces higher amounts of ghrelin and less leptin. As a result, you feel hungrier, and as such, your appetite increases.

To resolve your hunger, you eat more, which of course, leads to weight gain.

It Helps You Resist Cravings

When you aren’t getting an adequate amount of sleep, the function of your brain is altered. Sleep deprivation reduces activity in the frontal lobe of your brain, the part of the brain that is responsible for making decisions, as well as self-control. Moreover, research suggests that when you are sleep deprived, the reward centers of the brain can be stimulated by food.

All of this means that if you aren’t getting enough sleep, it’s more likely that you’ll crave foods that aren’t exactly healthy – and you’ll give into those cravings, too. Plus, there’s a greater chance that you’ll overindulge in those unhealthy foods.

When you get more sleep, you cravings for unhealthy food will diminish and you’ll have an easier time practicing self control.

It Increases Your Resting Metabolism

Resting metabolism refers to the amount of calories you burn when you are totally at rest. It’s affected by a number of factors, including age, height, muscle mass – and the amount of sleep you get. That’s because it seems that inadequate sleep leads to muscle loss, and since muscles burn calories when you’re at rest, if you aren’t getting enough sleep, then your resting metabolism slows.

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CONCLUSION

If you’re trying to lose weight, getting more sleep is a must. If light is the cause of your sleep deprivation, sleep better with a mask – and reach your weight loss goals, too!

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6 Natural Ways to Get a Glowing and Flawless Skin

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A flawless and healthy skin is the dream of everyone alive, especially women. Achieving this is not impossible and this is what this post is all about, to show you effective natural ways you can improve your skin’s health and appearance.

The importance of a glowing and healthy skin cannot be underrated, it improves your looks, your complexion, and appearance and even the way people respect or rate you.

Your skin which forms part of your immune system and your first line of defense against germs and foreign invaders is a very fragile organ.

You can damage this fragile and important organ by eating unhealthy foods and living an unhealthy lifestyle. These include irregular or less hours of sleep, use of harsh chemicals on your skin, stress, pollution, drinking, smoking, harmful rays, and other unhealthy ways of living make your skin sick and they dull your complexion/appearance.

It might not be possible to completely avoid all of these, but we can reduce some of these and work on ourselves gradually. By doing so, you can slow down the process of aging, you can brighten your complexion and even improve the radiance of your skin.

In this post, we will be taking a look at 6 effective and natural ways to improve your skin’s health and make it glow and radiate. Below are some of them.

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1. Aloe Vera Gel

The gel from fresh aloe vera leaves is one of the best foods for your skin. It is one of the most ultimate solutions for a lot of skin problems.

It nourishes your skin, it makes it glow and give it a bright complexion. Get an aloe vera leave and cut it open using a knife. Use a spoon and scoop out all the gel you can and apply it on your face or other skin parts.

You can also mix this gel with other ingredients like turmeric, milk, or honey and mix very well before applying it on your body. Let it sit for 20 minutes and then you wash it off.

2. Coconut Oil

This is one of the best natural remedy for a dull and dry skin. It hydrates your skin and retains moisture, thereby fighting skin dryness.

It has a lot of vital nutrients which your skin requires and it is a great source of fatty acids. It boosts the antioxidant activity of your skin and it makes you glow naturally.

Use pure virgin coconut oil and apply it as a body cream allover your skin at night when you want to go to bed. You can gently massage specific parts of your body like your face and neck in circular motion after you have applied the oil.

You can do this every night.

3. Turmeric

Turmeric is a popular spice and wonderful herb used in a lot of natural therapy to heal diseases and infections. It contains a powerful compound called Curcumin which is a powerful antioxidant and a potent fighter against inflammation.

It detoxifies your body of free radicals and toxins which can damage your skin and cause infections and other skin problems like skin cancer.

It improves your production of collagen and keeps your skin soft, supple, and glowing. You can drink turmeric herbal tea daily to benefit from this wonderful effect it has on the skin.

You can also use it to make face mask. Mix turmeric powder and gram flour and add enough milk until it forms a thick paste. You can use clean water in place of milk in case you don’t have or use milk.

Apply this paste on your face, neck and problematic skin parts. Leave this paste on the area for at least 15 minutes before washing it away with clean water. Do these twice weekly.

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4. Lemons

This juice of lemon is a potent remedy for dull complexion, spots, age lines and other skin problems and it is an effective skin whitener and it does not have dangerous side effects like hydroquinone.

Juice fresh organic lemons and add some tablespoons of sugar. Mix properly and apply this mixture on your face and scrub your face gently in a circular motion.

Let it sit on your face for 10 minutes and then you wash it off with warm water.

5. Cucumbers

This humble vegetable is packed full with antioxidants and essential nutrients that your skin needs. Cucumber improves your complexion and fight inflammations and swellings.

Get a small cucumber and grate it, add yogurt or honey to it and mix properly. Apply it on your face and wash it off after 10 or 15 minutes. Do this twice weekly and you will tremendous result.

6. Papaya

Pawpaw or papaya is one of the most effective and most popular natural whitening agent, this is due to its rich content of the enzyme papain.

This enzyme acts as a mild exfoliator, it helps to gently remove dead cells from the top layer of your skin and other debris and impurities.

It makes you look younger and also gives you a natural glow. It removes dirt and oil and this helps to prevent acne and other breakouts. It makes your skin soft and supple and absorbs excess oil.

You can mix it with honey. Raw honey is a natural absorber and it also helps in hydrating your skin. The combination of papaya and honey will reduce blemishes, spots, signs of aging, and it will also make your skin firm.

Get a ripe papaya and cut it into small pieces, add honey and blend this mixture. You can add fuller’s earth or sandalwood powder to the mixture and apply it all over your face and neck.

Wash it with cold water after 20 minutes. Do this once every week.

CONCLUSION

The following tips above will help you achieve a naturally glowing skin and a bright complexion. They are far safer than all these chemical-based products and they are very effective.

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16 Ways to get motivated

If you think your motivation is low these days, read this Blog! With the knowledge I have I try to help you achieve the motiavtion within yourself. Read more below!

But it’s not hopeless: with some small steps, baby ones in fact, you can get started down the road to positive change.

Yes, I know, it seems impossible at times. You don’t feel like doing anything. I’ve been there, and in fact I still feel that way from time to time. You’re not alone. But I’ve learned a few ways to break out of a slump, and we’ll take a look at those today.

This post was inspired by reader Roy C. Carlson, who asked:

“I was wondering if you could do a piece on why it can be hard for someone to change direction and start taking control of their life. I have to say I’m in this boat and advice on getting out of my slump would be great.”

Roy is just one of many with a slump like that. Again, I feel that way sometimes myself, and in fact sometimes I struggle to motivate myself to exercise — and I’ll use that as an example of how to break out of the slump.

Here are some things I’ve learned that have helped:

1. One Goal.

Whenever I’ve been in a slump, I’ve discovered that it’s often because I have too much going on in my life. I’m trying to do too much. And it saps my energy and motivation. It’s probably the most common mistake that people make: they try to take on too much, try to accomplish too many goals at once. You cannot maintain energy and focus (the two most important things in accomplishing a goal) if you are trying to do two or more goals at once. It’s not possible — I’ve tried it many times. You have to choose one goal, for now, and focus on it completely. I know, that’s hard. Still, I speak from experience. You can always do your other goals when you’ve accomplished your One Goal.

2. Find inspiration.

Inspiration, for me, comes from others who have achieved what I want to achieve, or who are currently doing it. I read other blogs, books, magazines. I Google my goal, and read success stories. Zen Habits is just one place for inspiration, not only from me but from many readers who have achieved amazing things.

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3. Get excited.

This sounds obvious, but most people don’t think about it much: if you want to break out of a slump, get yourself excited about a goal. But how can you do that when you don’t feel motivated? Well, it starts with inspiration from others (see above), but you have to take that excitement and build on it. For me, I’ve learned that by talking to my wife about it, and to others, and reading as much about it as possible, and visualizing what it would be like to be successful (seeing the benefits of the goal in my head), I get excited about a goal. Once I’ve done that, it’s just a matter of carrying that energy forward and keeping it going.

4. Build anticipation.

This will sound hard, and many people will skip this tip. But it really works. It helped me quit smoking after many failed attempts. If you find inspiration and want to do a goal, don’t start right away. Many of us will get excited and want to start today. That’s a mistake. Set a date in the future — a week or two, or even a month — and make that your Start Date. Mark it on the calendar. Get excited about that date. Make it the most important date in your life. In the meantime, start writing out a plan. And do some of the steps below. Because by delaying your start, you are building anticipation, and increasing your focus and energy for your goal.

5. Post your goal.

Print out your goal in big words. Make your goal just a few words long, like a mantra (“Exercise 15 mins. Daily”), and post it up on your wall or refrigerator. Post it at home and work. Put it on your computer desktop. You want to have big reminders about your goal, to keep your focus and keep your excitement going. A picture of your goal (like a model with sexy abs, for example) also helps.

6. Commit publicly.

None of us likes to look bad in front of others. We will go the extra mile to do something we’ve said publicly. For example, when I wanted to run my first marathon, I started writing a column about it in my local daily newspaper. The entire island of Guam (pop. 160K) knew about my goal. I couldn’t back down, and even though my motivation came and went, I stuck with it and completed it. Now, you don’t have to commit to your goal in your daily newspaper, but you can do it with friends and family and co-workers, and you can do it on your blog if you have one. And hold yourself accountable — don’t just commit once, but commit to giving progress updates to everyone every week or so.

7. Think about it daily.

If you think about your goal every day, it is much more likely to become true. To this end, posting the goal on your wall or computer desktop (as mentioned above) helps a lot. Sending yourself daily reminders also helps. And if you can commit to doing one small thing to further your goal (even just 5 minutes) every single day, your goal will almost certainly come true.

8. Get support.

It’s hard to accomplish something alone. When I decided to run my marathon, I had the help of friends and family, and I had a great running community on Guam who encouraged me at 5K races and did long runs with me. When I decided to quit smoking, I joined an online forum and that helped tremendously. And of course, my wife Eva helped every step of the way. I couldn’t have done these goals without her, or without the others who supported me. Find your support network, either in the real world or online, or both.

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9. Realize that there’s an ebb and flow.

Motivation is not a constant thing that is always there for you. It comes and goes, and comes and goes again, like the tide. But realize that while it may go away, it doesn’t do so permanently. It will come back. Just stick it out and wait for that motivation to come back. In the meantime, read about your goal (see below), ask for help (see below), and do some of the other things listed here until your motivation comes back.

10. Stick with it.

Whatever you do, don’t give up. Even if you aren’t feeling any motivation today, or this week, don’t give up. Again, that motivation will come back. Think of your goal as a long journey, and your slump is just a little bump in the road. You can’t give up with every little bump. Stay with it for the long term, ride out the ebbs and surf on the flows, and you’ll get there.

11. Start small. Really small.

If you are having a hard time getting started, it may be because you’re thinking too big. If you want to exercise, for example, you may be thinking that you have to do these intense workouts 5 days a week. No — instead, do small, tiny, baby steps. Just do 2 minutes of exercise. I know, that sounds wimpy. But it works. Commit to 2 minutes of exercise for one week. You may want to do more, but just stick to 2 minutes. It’s so easy, you can’t fail. Do it at the same time, every day. Just some crunches, 2 pushups, and some jogging in place. Once you’ve done 2 minutes a day for a week, increase it to 5, and stick with that for a week. In a month, you’ll be doing 15-20. Want to wake up early? Don’t think about waking at 5 a.m. Instead, think about waking 10 minutes earlier for a week. That’s all. Once you’ve done that, wake 10 minutes earlier than that. Baby steps.

12. Build on small successes.

Again, if you start small for a week, you’re going to be successful. You can’t fail if you start with something ridiculously easy. Who can’t exercise for 2 minutes? (If that’s you, I apologize.) And you’ll feel successful, and good about yourself. Take that successful feeling and build on it, with another baby step. Add 2-3 minutes to your exercise routine, for example. With each step (and each step should last about a week), you will feel even more successful. Make each step really, really small, and you won’t fail. After a couple of months, your tiny steps will add up to a lot of progress and a lot of success.

13. Read about it daily.

When I lose motivation, I just read a book or blog about my goal. It inspires me and reinvigorates me. For some reason, reading helps motivate and focus you on whatever you’re reading about. So read about your goal every day, if you can, especially when you’re not feeling motivated.

14. Call for help when your motivation ebbs.

Having trouble? Ask for help. Email me. Join an online forum. Get a partner to join you. Call your mom. It doesn’t matter who, just tell them your problems, and talking about it will help. Ask them for advice. Ask them to help you overcome your slump. It works.

15. Think about the benefits, not the difficulties.

One common problem is that we think about how hard something is. Exercise sounds so hard! Just thinking about it makes you tired. But instead of thinking about how hard something is, think about what you will get out of it. For example, instead of thinking about how tiring exercise can be, focus on how good you’ll feel when you’re done, and how you’ll be healthier and slimmer over the long run. The benefits of something will help energize you.

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16. Squash negative thoughts; replace them with positive ones.

Along those lines, it’s important to start monitoring your thoughts. Recognize negative self-talk, which is really what’s causing your slump. Just spend a few days becoming aware of every negative thought. Then, after a few days, try squashing those negative thoughts like a bug, and then replacing them with a corresponding positive thought. Squash, “This is too hard!” and replace it with, “I can do this! If that wimp Leo can do it, so can I!” It sounds corny, but it works. Really.

How the Arrowverse Elseworlds crossover set up Crisis on Infinite Earths

Arrowverse (Elseworlds) Cover

Last night was the conclusion of the CW’s annual three-night Arrowverse crossover, Elseworlds, and a story that began with the Flash and Green Arrow swapping bodies became so much more than that by its conclusion. In its finale, the CW’s suite of DC Universe shows revealed the next crossover-level threat its heroes will face: an adaptation of the 1985 maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The 1985 comic book event is famous for a lot of good reasons. Its twelve issues and multiple tie-ins were the original “most ambitious crossover event in history;” DC Comics’ first line-wide reboot that involved the lasting deaths of several major characters. The events of the TV version will almost certainly have major repercussions for Supergirl, Arrow and The Flash. But first, how did we get here?

Meanwhile, in Elseworlds

Thanks to the machinations of the Monitor, a cosmic entity who is testing different parallel earths to find which one is strong enough to stand up against a mysterious and powerful enemy, Arkham Asylum doctor John Deegan was given the Book of Destiny. With its powers, he rewrote reality so that Oliver Queen was the Fastest Man Alive and Barry Allen was the guy with the bow and arrow.

After some initial confusion, and training in part one of Elseworlds’ three-episode span, part two saw both men and Supergirl track Deegan down to Gotham City to take the Book back. In response, Deegan just rewrote history again, this time to make himself Superman and imprison Supergirl. In this reality, Barry and Oliver weren’t even superheroes: They were wanted criminals known as the Trigger Twins. Short on allies, they decided to make a play to save to Kara and reclaim the Book, but not before a chat with the Monitor.

The Monitor has been granting the Book to different realities to test its heroes, and prepare them for a “Crisis,” but all the other realities that he’s sent the Book to have ended with its heroes being killed. Barry and Kara are destined to die while running in tandem to slow down time and stop Deegan from changing reality a third time — but Oliver, full of hope after being the Flash for a few days, goes to the Monitor and demands that their lives be spared. Whatever he says to the Monitor was not shown in the episode, but he shows up with a new arrow that destroys the Book and saves Barry and Kara from running themselves into oblivion.

But as we’re winding down and Barry and Oliver are sharing a celebratory drink, the plot starts to thicken again. Oliver gets a call from Batwoman back in Gotham City, who’s annoyed that they dropped Deegan on her in Arkham. And it’s revealed that Deegan’s next-door neighbor is none other than Roger Hayden, aka the Psycho-Pirate. Hayden is a little known villain who played a major role in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

“The stage is set,” he monologues, wearing his trademark gold mask that allows him to control the emotional state of his victims, and recites the tagline of Crisis on Infinite Earths: “Worlds will live, worlds will die. And the universe will never be the same.”

During “Elseworlds,” Both the Monitor and the Barry Allen of Earth-90 (John Wesley Shipp from the 1990s Flash series) make allusions to some greater evil on the horizon. That evil would seem to be the Anti-Monitor, who destroyed realities in his effort to become the ruler of all, the big bad villain of The Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Crisis, orchestrated by comics creators Marv Wolfman and George Perez, was created as an cosmic team-up story that would create an in-universe reason for the DC comics multiverse to become one coherent universe and timeline, and that same outcome is likely for its live action adaptation. Though most of the shows are on the same Earth, Supergirl has existed in Earth-38 — due to her original season airing on CBS — and is only able to hang out with the other shows thanks to portal tech they invented for her.

As for what this means for the shows themselves? Crisis in the comics is known for its high death count — a rare thing for comics of its time. And Barry and Kara were its most notable casualties. This is sure to be where long gestating threads pay off, such as Barry’s eventual “disappearance” during a “Crisis,” which was established back in the first episode of The Flash, along with the reveal of whatever deal Oliver made with the Monitor in “Elseworlds.” (Assuming the Monitor isn’t killed in “Crisis” like he was in the comics.) We may even see the return of John Wesley Shipp’s Barry Allen, or John Diggle become a Green Lantern.

Crisis won’t air until next fall — but don’t be surprised if all the shows end their current seasons preparing for the crossover to end all crossovers.

How Your Phone Can Trigger Acne

A lot of people these days are having serious problems tackling stubborn acne and other skin conditions that can affect their facial appearance and cause some discomfort for them and others.

If you are one of such, I am about to expose one common but unknown cause of your stubborn acne.

Acne is skin condition caused by clogged skin pores and it is characterized by inflammation, breakouts, pus-filled pimples, red and tender bumps which can be large at times and appearance of dark spots.

Teenagers and young adults are mostly affected than any other age group. It is estimated that 80% of the world’s population have had acne at one point in their lifetime.

Causes of Acne

There are four (4) main causes of acne:

1. Hormonal imbalance, this happens in the form of hyperactivity of the hormones androgens. Androgens are hyperactive during puberty and a low amount of androgen in a pregnant woman’s bloodstream can worsen acne.

2. Clogged skin pores, acne is triggered when your skin pores are clogged with excess oil, dead skin cells, and other impurities.

3. Excess production of oil, this is the reason why those with oily skin are more prone to acne than other skin types. The bacteria which causes acne feed on this oil below your skin pores and the more oil you have the more your risks of acne.

4. Bacteria and this is where your phones come in. There are a lot of bacteria on our skin, some are friendly and some are not and the population of this bacteria increases during puberty.

Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is one of the bacteria that causes acne. It thrives on oily skin, it releases substances that break down the sebum and eat it as food.

Excess oil and dirt on the skin increases the population of P. acnes and this, in turn, increases the substances they produce which causes irritations in your skin.

This triggers a quick response from your immune system and this leads to inflammation, breakouts and other signs of acne.

They are some widespread speculations that diets like greasy foods, milk, and carbohydrate-rich foods can cause acne. This is not true, they don’t cause acne but they make it worse in those who already have acne.

Other factors that can worsen acne are stress, some medications like corticosteroids and some makeup products like the oily ones.

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How Your Phone Can Trigger Acne

We all know that phone addiction is one common problem we are facing in this generation right now. Many effects of this unhealthy habit are known like the effect of blue light on the eyes, Dangerous rays emitted from the phones, wrong neck posture (tech neck) and many others but one.

Many are unaware of “cell phone-induced acne”. One common and fast way we pick up bacteria like P. acnes is through our cell phones. There are lots of bacteria on your phone but we can’t see them with our naked eyes because they are microscopic.

A study showed that our cell phones have more bacteria than a public toilet. It should not be a thing of surprise to you to know that there a lot of bacteria on your phones.

Our cell phones are almost always in our hands, even when we are in the toilet. I have friends who can’t go to the toilet without their phones. Cell phones magnet bacteria and they create a safe haven for them.

You touch a lot of dirty surfaces and still touch your phones without washing your hands. You drop your phones on dirty surfaces at times and to crown it all, you don’t clean it regularly.

Oils from your face, your makeup, and other environmental toxins settle on your phone screen. All these lead to the accumulation of millions of bacteria on our phones.

The bacteria infested phone then comes in direct contact with your skin when you make calls or pick calls. Whenever you pick or make calls, you introduce these microbes to your skin, they clog the pores of your skin and cause inflammation and breakouts.

Dermatologists also believe that the pressure of the phone on your cheeks/skin triggers the formation of blemishes. When a phone is on your skin, your skin starts to perspire and it even increases the amount of trapped oil in your skin pores and this increases the risks of acne.

How to Prevent Phone-induced Acne

Now that you have known how your phones can cause acne, we will be looking at ways we can prevent this from happening.

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1. Wipe It Regularly

Use an antibacterial wipe or microfiber clothe and clean your cell phone at least once daily. Make this a compulsory routine if you are battling stubborn acne.

Even if your phone doesn’t look dirty, still clean it every day. You cannot see microbes with your naked wipes. You can also try and purchase cell phone sanitizer online.

It helps you cleanse the surface of your phone with the aid of UV light.

2. Use Headphones or Earpiece

The use of ear piece or headphones will prevent your phone from coming in contact with your skin especially if you don’t clean it daily.

You can text more if you can’t afford a headset or a speakerphone.

If you don’t clean your phone daily, you should try and reduce the number of direct contact your phone has with your skin.

3. Avoid Pressure

I am sure most people hold their phones against their cheeks with pressure. When you hold your phone with so much pressure against pressure against your cheeks, you increase your risks of blemishes.

Don’t put unnecessary pressure on your skin, hold your phone firmly but lightly against your skin and you will be able to reduce your risks of phone-induced acne triggered by friction of the skin or pressure.

Too much pressure from your phone on your skin will increase the stimulation of the oil gland and this will lead to an increase in acne flair-ups.

4. Cleanse your Face Regularly

Stubborn acne deserves a regular face cleanse like two times daily. This will help you open clogged skin pores and cleanse your skin, thereby reducing your risks of breakouts and inflammation.

Go for original and natural face cleansers. Avoid harsh and chemical-based products. This will help you reduce your risk of acne even if you use your phone against your cheeks but it will still be better if you reduce the contact your phone has with your skin.