Neck Skin Care

I can't say it enough: In the vast majority of cases, it's the neck - not the face - that gives away a person's age. And the reason isn't that the neck is naturally more prone to aging, but simply that many people forget to take care of it. So let's consider a few key do's and don'ts for treating your neck right:

Do prevent future damage with one simple ingredient: sunscreen. The way your neck ages is about 20 percent genetics... and 80 percent skin care habits. Good sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher) is the cheapest and most effective thing you can do for your skin, but many people stop applying it somewhere around the jaw line. And remember: That V-neck top is adorable, but it may also mean slathering on more sunscreen than usual. Leave no exposed skin unprotected!

Don't rush out and spend a fortune on special neck creams. Do start using the products you already own on your neck. Whenever you apply your night cream to your face, apply it to your neck. When you use a retinol product, or a retinoid like Retin-A, Tazorac, or Differin, don't forget your neck, which needs powerful wrinkle-fighting ingredients just as much as your face. (The skin on your neck is particularly delicate, though, so you might find you can only use retinoids two or three times a week without irritation.)

Do start using ingredients that can help generate new collagen and elastin and restore some of the neck's elasticity. Topical vitamin C, found in serums like SkinCeuticals' C E Ferulic, has been shown to boost collagen production. (Like retinoids, though, vitamin C may be too irritating to delicate neck skin to use more than every other day.) And Relastin Skin Revitalizer, a rich moisturizing cream, actually promotes the formation of new elastin.

Don't assume that there's nothing to be done about neck sagging once it starts. In fact, a growing number of dermatological treatments quickly and effectively improve the neck's appearance. Botox, for example, can be injected into neck muscles to relax them and minimize the appearance of the neck folds and vertical bands that become more prominent with age.

The Titan laser, safe for use on any skin tone, uses infrared light to stimulate new collagen production and cause existing collagen to contract. (Typically, about three treatments and three to six months are necessary to see optimal results.) And if the Titan isn't available at your dermatologist's office, Thermage treatments also target the dermis to heat and tighten existing collagen while stimulating the development of new collagen; it is not safe to use on darker skin tones, though, and meets with varying degrees of success from patient to patient.

Do remember that the texture and pigmentation of your neck contribute to its youthful (or aged!) appearance as much as sagging. The Fraxel laser is one of my favorite treatments for zapping sun spots and smoothing the skin on the neck.

Do read Nora Ephron's unabashedly honest book I Feel Bad About My Neck for a funny and wise look at this topic and many more.

Wishing you great skin!

Yahoo.com

Big Belly Linked To Dementia

NEW YORK - Having a big belly in your 40s can boost your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease or other dementia decades later, a new study suggests.

It's not just about your weight. While previous research has found evidence that obesity in middle age raises the chances of developing dementia later, the new work found a separate risk from storing a lot of fat in the abdomen. Even people who weren't overweight were susceptible.

That abdominal fat, sometimes described as making people apple-shaped rather than pear-shaped, has already been linked to higher risk of developing diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

"Now we can add dementia to that," said study author Rachel Whitmer of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.

She and others report the findings in Wednesday's online issue of the journal Neurology.

The study involved 6,583 men and women who were ages 40 to 45 when they had checkups between 1964 and 1973. As part of the exam, their belly size was measured by using a caliper to find the distance between their backs and the surface of their upper abdomens. For the study, a distance of about 10 inches or more was considered high.

The researchers checked medical records to see who had developed Alzheimer's or another form of dementia by an average of 36 years later. At that point the participants were ages 73 to 87. There were 1,049 cases.

Analysis found that compared to people in the study with normal body weight and a low belly measurement:

• Participants with normal body weight and high belly measurements were 89 percent more likely to have dementia.

• Overweight people were 82 percent more likely if they had a low belly measurement, but more than twice as likely if they had a high belly measurement.

• Obese people were 81 percent more likely if they had a low belly measurement, but more than three times as likely if they had a high measurement.

Whitmer said there's no precise way to translate belly measurements into waist circumference. But most people have a sense of whether they have a big belly, she said. And if they do, the new study suggests they should get rid of it, she said.

It's not clear why abdominal fat would promote dementia, but it may pump out substances that harm the brain, she said.

Dr. Jose Luchsinger of the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, who studies the connection between obesity and Alzheimer's disease but didn't participate in the new work, cautioned that such a study cannot prove abdominal fat promotes dementia.

But the study results are "highly plausible" and "I'm not surprised at all," he said. High insulin levels might help explain them, he said.

Dr. Samuel Gandy, who chairs the medical and scientific advisory council of the Alzheimer's Association, said the results fit in with previous work that indicates a person's characteristics in middle age can affect the risk of dementia in later life.

And it's another example of how traits associated with the risk of developing heart disease are also linked to later dementia, he said.

YAHOO.com

My First Photo Edit ;p

Before
After

It's a little amateur though..haha!

Black Saturday/ Sabado Gloria

Black Saturday at the beach.

Quiet

I have so many things in mind I refuse to let it out until the day I graduate. Hehe.

Hypocrisy Bites!

Last Saturday was the 3^rd regional student congress with its theme, “Quest for Professionalism in Nursing” and we opted to go because of its importance to the profession. The ADPCN members are there and not to mention “Big Names” from the BON, PNA, PRC, CHED and DOLE and it was held in the most generous and suitable school for the occasion. Different nursing schools from the region were there and as expected, students were there for their school’s pride. I, on the other hand, was there because it was my choice.

The lady from the BON delivered her speech very well. It was so enticing that the audience was silenced and everybody was looking at her in admiration. I find it so amusing though that our Dean exaggeratesly nods her head every time the speaker speaks about messages agreeable to the audience. After that, the rest are boring.

An open forum was held right after the five guests have delivered their concerns for the audience. It was the students versus the five (BON, PNA, PRC, CHED, and DOLE). Questions in relation with the profession were asked. One question which really kept in the inner corners of my mind was from a student who lacks the required OR and DR cases. “Is there a chance that you will lessen the twenty-five required cases? The BON threw back the question. “If we will lessen the twenty-five required cases, will it guarantee us that you will become competent nurses when you will pass the board exam? Twenty-five cases aren’t even enough to make you a competent nurse” she added as our dean nodded her head in agreement. The next statement she mentioned made our dean so embarrassed if she was a butter she would melt right then and there. “I tell you this, if you are a graduating student by March and your cases are still less than 10, then your dean is not doing her job, am right?” I call her answer a nominee for the scene stealer award. Our dean just bowed her head in embarrassment as the students clapped and wooed in response with the BON’s emancipating answer.

The program ended after the open forum leaving us in high spirits. Sometimes, statements were so agreeable you say yes when in fact it was against you. =)