DRY SKIN: tight after being cleansed, looks dry and flaky in places, hardly breakouts, very small pores.
Dry Skins are lacking in sebum, the skin’s natural lubricant, and also lack the ability to retain moisture. Avoid using soap on your face and opt instead for a creamy cleanser wtice a day. Moisturizer is a must.

NORMAL SKIN: smooth and clean after being cleansed, looks smooth and fresh, occassional breakouts, small to medium pores.
Normal skin is perfectly balanced with a healthy glow, fine texture, small pores, and rarely develops spots or shiny areas. With normal skin you can help maintain the natural balance of oil and moisture levels by using a gentle cleanser and oil-free moisturizer.

SENSITIVE SKIN: dry and itchy in places after being cleansed, looks flaky with some redness, breaks out quite often, medium pores.
Sensitive skin can flare up at times of stress or as a reaction to harsh cosmetic prodcuts. Use products that are allergy and hypoallergenic tested with no irritants like alcohol and fragrances. Test new products on a patch of skin before using them on your face.

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Sneezing is a reflex or attempt to get rid of something that gets in your nose, such as germs, dust or pollen. As a result of a signal from the respiratory center in your brain (the medulla oblongata), air comes up from your lungs. The air quickly moves through your nose to clear it, making the sneezing sound. Other reflexes similar to sneezing are gasping, coughing, and yawning.

People sleeping sometimes make a hoarse noise. This is snoring. It is caused by the vocal cords and the soft palate in the back of of the throat vibrating as the sleeping person breathes. It happens most often when the mouth is open because the nasal passages are blocked.

Contrary to popular belief, skincare does consist of more than just “water, soap, moisturizer” (and some people do not even bother with the moisturizer part!). And a lot of people always wonder where their favorite (usually Asian) stars get that pristine perfect clear white skin that seems so unachievable to us “normal people.” Well, time to let you in on a little secret: they don’t just “wash” their faces. In fact, most people employ a three-step skincare regimen. In actuality, you may want to try a five step regimen instead. (more…)

Specialty insoles can close the gap between a shoe’s design and your unique anatomy. You should definitely customize your shoes with over-the-counter replacement insoles if you have any tendency toward shinsplints, arch strain, heel pain, or even knee strain.

The flimsy inserts in your new shoes can lose their cushioning capabilities after 50 miles, but specialty insoles are made for the long term.

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Full-blown diabetes is easy to spot: frequent, uncontrollable urges to urinate; virtually unquenchable thirst; numbness in your hands and feet.

But the symptoms leading up to the full-blown disease are easily ignored. And ignorance isn’t bliss; it’s amputation—or death.

Here are the top 4 silent alarms:

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Unless an unemployed XFL cheerleader asks for a spot, we hate interruptions in the gym. But pausing at different points while you’re lowering a weight (it’s called negative interruption) can make you stronger.

The pauses keep your muscles under continuous tension longer and increase the load at various points in the range of motion, which means greater gains in size and strength.

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A post-workout cool-down can be like great sex after your mate makes you sit through an opera. You remember the fantastic finish, not the tedium that led to it.

A researcher at Springfield College in Massachusetts put students through two stationary-bike workouts:15 minutes with no cooldown, and 15 minutes plus a 5-minute cooldown. Most students said they’d rather repeat the longer session, which felt easier.

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Ever wondered why you’re getting nightmares? You will get a different answer from almost everyone you ask. Parents can get nightmares, if their children were using drugs or because their kid are stealing, or maybe just because they hang out with the wrong people.
Here are some general ideas. Nightmares are related to care and problems. Of course caused dreams filled with fright can be caused by other things, such as horror movies, terrifying news on the TV, drugs (even medications can be a cause), or another terrifying experience before going to bed. Other causes of nightmares can be indigestion, or bad blood circulation. But do not take nightmares too seriously.  It might bring on more unpleasant dreams.

How to prevent nightmares?

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You haven’t slept or slept too little for a couple of nights? Then it’s time to recharge yourself… but if you haven’t slept for 3 days, it doesn’t mean you have to sleep 3 times longer then what you have missed.

Too bad, it doesn’t work like that. (more…)