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Nobody likes the idea of smelling bad. Even the idea of smelling oddly different is not appealing. Of course, some of us have a stronger and more repugnant natural body odor than others. Not surprisingly, how someone smells varies from person to person. Our natural body odor changes from day to day slightly as well. Even our mood and attitude can change how we naturally smell. What we eat such as garlic and onion can change the odor our body puts out for a time.

In Ancient Egypt, both men and women would take extended bathes with special ingredients added to coat our skin in a new aroma. Changing how we smell has been in our history as long as noticing we all smell different. Perfume is one way in which we can change how we smell to ourselves and to others.

Buying a perfume is not an easy task. Most people do not know how to properly find a perfume. Just because a perfume smells good to you does not mean it will smell good on you. Here are a few tips to consider when buying that new perfume.

1. Always try a perfume before you buy the perfume. Something that smells marvelous in a bottle may not sell marvelous on your body. Perfume is a chemical reaction between two or more different added ingredients. When you add your body’s natural chemistry to the equation, the perfume will smell different on you than in the bottle. Testing a perfume before you buy it will save you time and money.

2. After you try on the perfume, wait ten minutes to get the full effect of the natural aroma of the perfume. Ten minutes is how long it takes to fully mingle with you and your natural aroma.

3. If you are going to try that perfume, a small dabble on a piece of your open skin is ideal. Spraying the perfume in the air is not going to let you know the true smell of that perfume when mixed with your natural aroma. Therefore, it is wise to add a small amount to your own skin. Do not do a full over body spray, just a little.

4. Never try on more than three perfumes in a single day. The nose is wonderful and miraculous, but adding too much to quickly will confuse that smeller. Waiting for at least ten minutes before each testing and only doing three tests a day means that you will be spending at least 30-minutes at the perfume counter. In addition, perfume you are testing may get mixed together on your body. So it is always wisest to wait.

5. When purchasing your perfume, try to consider if that smell will be used for day, night, or both. Some people like a different type of smell for the time of day.

6. Finally, ask how long the aroma stay with the body. Most high-quality perfumes will last between 4-6 hours when applied directly to the body.

Whatever you decide when purchasing new perfume, remember to get one that is best suited for you. Try it on and wait. Perfume depends on your body chemistry to mingle happily with the new smells. Perfume companies work hard to create perfumes that will fit most of our body chemistries and not get tainted.

S. Thomas writes about perfume and maintains a perfume related resource website at http://www.perfumeo.co.uk .

Microdermabrasion is a non-invasive skin treatment that removes the dead and damaged upper-most layer of skin cells to reveal healthier skin cells beneath. While there are a multitude of treatments available, it has its positives and negatives.

Plastic surgery is probably one of the fastest growing specialities of medicine. It is helping to ease cosmetic concern in both the young and the elderly via the development of new techniques and practices. A part of the body that causes a lot of stress to people in such a way, is the skin, and more-so the skin of the face and neck. Blemishes in these areas, which include acnes, scars, wrinkles and discolored skin, not only affect our physical appearance, but also our all important self-esteem and confidence. The process of microdermabrasion as explained above, is a new type of procedure that, along with previous ones, can now help alleviate these problems.

Microdermabrasion is a non-surgical technique which is obviously non-invasive, and is accessible in plastic surgery clinics, spas, and private health clinics. Basically, the process involves using a rough surface to remove (abrade) the upper-most surface of the skin (the part with the blemishes). The abrasive surface can consist of zinc, aluminium oxide crystals, and even micro-diamond (more expensive) surfaces.

As the outer most layer of skin (also known as the stratum cornea) is scraped off in dust form, it is sucked off immediately with a small vacuum device. Microdermabrasion is completely safe and does not have any unwanted side-effects, because this layer of skin is just dead and will not detrimentally effect the healthy skin lying underneath it. It doesn’t affect the muscles, fascia, tendon sheath, or nerves, so anaesthetic is not required.

Although microdermabrasion may sound like a heaven-send to those who have had difficulty using other skin cleansing techniques; there are some things it cannot do. It doesn’t get rid of deep, coursing wrinkles, strong discoloration or deep scars. One myth is that it can be used as a one-time treatment to easily treat acne, however, repeated microdermabrasion is required to keep acne from relapsing.

With smaller blemishes however, your skin will be smoother, cleaner and will be left looking more natural. There will be a reduction in the number of fine lines and wrinkles, scars and acnes.

Like I already said, microdermabrasion is a good alternative to invasive skin surgical procedures that encompasses the ever controversial field of plastic surgery. Just remember to keep in mind the drawbacks or the treatment, and the efficacy of the treatment providers.

Asanka Samaranayake (BSc Hons Neuroscience) and Darren Patten (Bsc Hons Surgery & Anaesthesia)have a specialist interest in microdermabrasion and provide you with an indispensable resource at http://micro-derm-abrasion.net

Women have been wearing cosmetics for thousands of years. Archaeologists have evidence of men and women using cosmetics in Egypt over 6000 years ago! Wealthy Egyptian women would paint their nails, massage their faces with creams and oils, apply lipstick and eyeliner, and even color their hair. Obviously, things haven’t changed that much over the last few millennia!

The most important thing you can do when applying makeup is to start with a clean face. A clean face gives you the perfect palate for applying the rest of your cosmetics. A dirty face, on the other hand, will make it much more difficult. A clean face will also help keep your skin look clear and healthy.

After you have thoroughly cleaned your face, apply foundation smoothly and evenly. When applied correctly, it should not look like you’re wearing foundation. The purpose of foundation is to smooth out your skin colors to cover up any blemishes and to help you put your cosmetics on better. Your face should feel light and natural. If it is obvious that you’re wearing foundation, or if your face feels like it’s covered with guck, then you’ve put too much on. Also consider if you have the right type of foundation. To work properly, the foundation has to match your skin tone as closely as possible.

If you are having trouble picking the right color of foundation, talk to a cosmetics consultant at one of the cosmetics counters at your local department store. If you’ve only put a bit too much foundation on, you can blot at your skin with some toilet paper to remove the excess foundation without having to start from scratch.

If required, you can then apply some concealer to your face with your fingers. Concealer can be particularly useful around your eyes so any dark circles don’t have you confused for a racoon! No matter where you use concealer, always remember to blend, blend, blend. If the concealer is not blended into the rest of your face, it will only draw attention to the spots your are attempting to cover up.

It is only after you’ve washed your face and applied foundation and concealer that you’re ready to move on to the more noticeable cosmetics such as eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, blush and lipstick.

The ancient Egyptians mainly made their cosmetics from clay and oils (with the occasional dash of mercury). Modern cosmetics are made from an unbelievable array of products. Lipstick often contains fish by-products and blush can contain mica, a translucent mineral! While the Food and Drug Administration controls what can be used in cosmetics, the precise ingredients are often protected as trade secrets.

If you really want to know what’s going on your face, you can chose to buy organic cosmetics that will make their makeup from simple, natural materials. This can also be a useful strategy if you are concerns about animal testing. If you only want to buy cosmetics that have not been tested on animals, make sure to inquire whether the cosmetics you are purchasing were tested on animals or not.

Steve Dolan is a cosmotologist who likes to experiment with the latest in cosmetics. Find out the latest and greatest at http://www.feicosmetics.com.

Acne scar treatment is only given to those who experience no new re-occurences of acne. If breakouts continue to occur, the patient should first stop it with a specific treatment. Only then comes the following treatments that are as described in this essay.

Microdermabrasion:

Microdermabrasion is a ground-breaking beautifying treatment that very efficiently removes the upper layer of dead skin cells to reveal healthier skin below. It removes fine lines, wrinkles, scars and stretch marks and generally damaged skin. It can be done professionally at doctors clinics, spas and even at home, if you are experienced enough. Professional treatments can be quite costly and for a whole treatment regime can cost up to $1000-$2000 depending on where you live. In simple terms, tiny micro-crystals (e.g. aluminium oxide) are blasted onto the skin to remove the dead skin cells, and then a wand is used as a vacuum to clear them up right afterwards. Creams and special ointments can be used to supplement the procedure to make it more enjoyable. If you didnt already know, the procedure is painless and there are very few side-effects.

Chemical Peels:

Chemical peels use special acids that are applied to the skin, their effect is similar to that of microdermabrasion, but because of the strength of the acids, the procedure is faster. The only disadvantage is that it can result in allergic skin itching post-procedure, and it is not very effective in severe cases of acne scars.

Laser Treatment:

This is quite a new approach, and it is still not 100% clinically approved for use in clinics, although some clinics around the world have been recently approved- be sure to check out for these in your area. Again, this technique basically involves microscopically burning away the acne scars by removing the upper-most dead skin cells. But be warned, because soreness and swelling have been reported rarely after undergoing this procedure.

Augmentation:

In this technique, material such as collagen is injected into the acne scar, and this causes the scar to cascade upwards towards the surface of the skin. Compared to laser treatment and microdermabrasion this procedure doesnt causes much swelling, and the recovery time isnt as long.

Subcision:

Subcision is normally combined with microdermabrasion or laser therapy, and it involves detaching the acne scar from the skin beneath. A blood clot forms under the scar and allows the connective tissue to build up under the scar.

In conclusion, there are many and more ways to remove acne scars. Weigh out the advantages and disadvantages of each method before going forth and deciding with haste. Remember that acne scars are removable, just make sure you get the right opinion from your family doctor first.

Asanka Samaranayake (BSc Hons Neuroscience) and Darren Patten (Bsc Hons Surgery & Anaesthesia)have a specialist interest in microdermabrasion and provide you with an indispensable resource at http://micro-derm-abrasion.net

Microdermabrasion is a ground-breaking beautifying treatment that very efficiently removes the upper layer of dead skin cells to reveal healthier skin below. It removes fine lines, wrinkles, scars and stretch marks and generally damaged skin. It can be done professionally at doctors clinics, spas and even at home, if you are experienced enough. Professional treatments can be quite costly and for a whole treatment regime can cost up to $1000-$2000 depending on where you live. In simple terms, tiny micro-crystals (e.g. aluminium oxide) are blasted onto the skin to remove the dead skin cells, and then a wand is used as a vacuum to clear them up right afterwards. Creams and special ointments can be used to supplement the procedure to make it more enjoyable. If you didnt already know, the procedure is painless and there are very few side-effects.

Some people question whether home microdermabrasion will cause more redness or soreness than professional microdermabrasion. The truth is that there will be slightly redder skin after home microdermabrasion, but this is purely because of the modified chemicals within the kit that are safe to be used at home. Make-up can easily be applied to cover this redness, and it will only take 1-2 days for your skin to return to normal.

Further, microdermabrasion is not only limited to the face (as many people falsely believe). You can use it on nearly any surface with skin on it. Knees, elbows, shoulders, your back, remember also that mothers can also use to remove stretch marks.

More people worry that their skin will start to scale off after the procedure. This is normal, there can also be redness after home microdermabrasion especially, so dont be alarmed. It is a side-effect of the sometimes incomplete abrading effect of the crystals that were used to remove the dead skin cells; some skin cells on the surface of your skin will continue to fall off, but only temporarily for a day or two after the procedure.

A final pressing issue is how much force one should I apply with a home system. Gentle force with circular motions over the specific area is the answer. It is not good to apply heavy pressure. Also, if you are someone with sensitive skin, test microdermabrasion on a small patch of skin before you carry out the whole procedure, just to make sure you are not allergic to the material.

Asanka Samaranayake (BSc Hons Neuroscience) and Darren Patten (Bsc Hons Surgery & Anaesthesia)have a specialist interest in microdermabrasion and provide you with an indispensable resource at http://micro-derm-abrasion.net