Panda is Cute! But Dark Circles Aren't!

It's the happiest time of the year...also the time when most of us stay up all night hanging out with friends and family.  And those-not-so-cute-on-your-face panda eyes just creep up!!  While lack of sleep can cause dark circles, other little habits that you do can also bring about dark circles.  Wanna stay away from panda-eyes?  Let's explore the do's and don'ts of eye skin care.

Do have a regular sleep schedule.  It’s not only good for preventing dark circles but promotes healthy skin also.
Do exercise!  Increasing your blood circulation will help prevent the clogging of capillaries under your eyes (also prevent water retention so you won’t have puffy eyes)
Do wear sunblock.  Use a broad spectrum UVA/UVB sunblock that contains at least 5% zinc oxide to effectively prevent hyperpigmentation (a.k.a. tanning)
Do remove eye make-up every day.  Wearing make-up for too long, the color in your make-up eventually seeps into your skin and it gets harder to remove.  So don’t wear your make-up over night to avoid smearing, staining pillows, and dark circles!
Don’t stress out.  The skin around your eyes reflects how well you take care yourself.  Eat well, rest well, and pamper yourself...and watch the circles disappear!
Don’t rub your eyes.  I call this the “mini-punch in the eye” because rubbing your eyes eventually gives you black eyes, literally.  The rubbing motion pressures the blood vessels around your eyes, sometime bursting those fragile capillaries and cause bruising.  Just...don’t mini-punch yourself.
Don’t overwork your eyes.  Staring at the computer monitor intensively means you are working those muscles around your eyes.  Give them a rest from time to time.  Over-working them doesn’t mean they get stronger; they just grow tired and slowly becoming wrinkles.

Happy new year to you all!  Wishing you all good health, good beauty and a great year!  Don’t stay up too late!  =D (Also don't forget to check out Jusei Dark Circle Solution)

Make good habits a part of YOU (Part 3)

Three simple (and obvious) lifestyle tips to have great looking skin--drink plenty of water, exercise, and eat right.

At this point you are probably thinking: “ok, that’s what EVERY beauty expert would say, but it’s not easy to do!”  Here is my honest advice--Make them a part of you.  To adopt a habit comes down to nothing but repetition.  

Eating Right
Healthy diet doesn’t just apply to people who are overweight.  Eating right promotes smoother brighter skin, prevents illness, improves mood, and boosts energy (it’s just like exercising).  And you are what you eat.  The best news--to have a balanced diet doesn’t mean you have to give up what you like to eat completely.  You also don’t need to be a chef or a nutrition scientist to know what’s good for you.  Just listen to your body.

I eat just about anything.  I love food.  I love desserts.  I LOVE chocolate.  I just watch when I eat certain food and how much/often.  I never deny my cravings because my body doesn’t listen to my logic.  It’s better to get the craving out of the way ASAP then dwelling on it (and leading to binge eat).  When I eat the food (usually chocolate/dessert) I crave, I eat very very very slowly because 1) I get to enjoy the food and 2) I can tell myself to stop after a few bites.  Every bite of food takes time to travel into your stomach.  After the food gets into your stomach, it takes time for your body to release a chemical to tell your brain to “snap out of the cravings now!”  So portion control is all about eating slowly.

My rule of thumb for food type is: protein in the morning, carbs throughout the day, and fibers at night.  That means in the morning I usually eat plain Greek yogurt with granola.  Lunch is my happy hour (and when I fill my cravings).  I eat whatever I want and usually a lot of carbs.  5pm is my daily work out hour.  So before working out I would eat a snack if I am hungry.  After working out, I would eat salad or fruits or grilled salmon for dinner.  When I am stressed and need something to chew on, I eat baby carrots (no dressing).

That is what a typical day is like for me.  When I am out with friends, I don’t watch what I eat but I do control my portion.  The easiest way to do that is...have a few bites and talk for a couple minutes.  This way I give my body a chance to tell me that I am full.  Once I feel that, I stop eating.  Eating until you have a food coma (or feel like you are bursting) is definitely not what your body likes.

So...slow down and listen to what your body really wants.  You don’t have to deprive yourself from the pleasure of tasty food or turn down your friends when they want to go out.  Keeping a balanced diet can be very simple and you can feel/see it almost...immediately!   

Make good habits a part of YOU (Part 2)

Three simple (and obvious) lifestyle tips to have great looking skin--drink plenty of water, exercise, eat right, stay happy, and know moderation.

At this point you are probably thinking: “ok, that’s what EVERY beauty expert would say, but it’s not easy to do!”  Here is my honest advice--Make them a part of you.  To adopt a habit comes down to nothing but repetition.  

Exercise
Exercise increases our circulation, controls weight, helps us cope with stress, improves mood, prevents a lot of diseases, boosts energy, and much much more.  As I can list many advantages about exercising, I can come up with even more excuses to not exercise.  I have so much other things to do; I hate getting sweaty; driving to the gym is too tiring; running hurts my knees; my workout buddy moved...  These excuses all come down to two things: laziness and laziness!  First, eliminate your excuses.  And then combine exercising with things you love to do.

1. The gym is too crowded, too far, too expensive, etc.  I have a treadmill at home, so no more excuses for me about the gym.  If you don’t have exercise equipments at home and don’t want to get anything large/hard to move, get a yoga mat and an exercise ball or a jump rope.  When I used to live in a smaller place, I used to run back and forth in the hallway or up and down a small step stool.  I find that if I bring the exercise home, all my excuses regarding not liking to leave the house are eliminated.  Keep in mind that beautiful skin and body are at stake and go do something about your excuses!

2. I don’t have time to work out.  Yes you do!  We all do, and we just choose not to make time for working out.  I work on average 60-90 hours a week, but I still find at least an hour a day to exercise.  I just combine it with things that I love to do.  I love watching TV.  On my day off, I’d lie on the couch and watch shows all day.  So...I made a rule for myself.  If I want to watch TV, I have to be on the treadmill and walk at least 3mph.  Combining the things you like with something very painful is the best motivation for getting into a habit.  I didn’t have time to work out, but I would make time for TV.  Now I combine TV-watching with exercising, I have to make time for both.  So if you like to dance, join a dance class.  If you like to read, read while walking/biking in the gym.  If you like hanging out and meeting new people, join a rock-climbing gym or a dance class.  This combining what you like with exercise method also eliminates the working-out-is-sooo-boring excuse.

In the beginning, there is no rule about exercising as long as you make an effort keep at it everyday.  As you become better at it, set goals you want to accomplish (and combine goals with easy rewards).  For example, I push for the last half a mile because I want to see the ending of an episode.  And one very important thing to keep in mind is--just because it works for someone else doesn’t mean it works for you.  So stick with your lifestyle (but do workout for at least 20 minutes a day).  I know I am not a morning person, so I stop trying to make myself get up hours before work to work out (these are the kind of exercise plans that fail very quickly for me).

(To be continued...)

Make good habits a part of YOU (Part 1)

Three simple (and obvious) lifestyle tips to have great looking skin--drink plenty of water, exercise, eat right, stay happy, and know moderation.

At this point you are probably thinking: “ok, that’s what EVERY beauty expert would say, but it’s not easy to do!”  Here is my honest advice--Make them a part of you.  To adopt a habit comes down to nothing but repetition.  This is almost like having a new color to your room.  Say it’s a color you don’t like.  First month you hate it.  Second month you dislike it.  Third month you guess you will live.  After a year, you probably don’t think about it anymore.  If you keep at something everyday for a period of time, you will get used to doing it.  So let’s get down to how to start good habits and slowly make them a part of you.

Drink plenty of water
Water is 70% of our bodies.  Water takes away toxins in your bodies and helps with many discomfort and sickness, including constipation.  And...I don’t like the taste of water and I am too busy to remember something like drink a glass (1/2 pint) every 2-hour.  But I do like the taste of tea, soda, and coffee!  I also notice that I would unconsciously take tiny sips if I use straws.  So here’s what I did.  

Every morning before I drink my coffee, I drink 250 mL of room temperature water.  It begins with a rule--if I really want to drink coffee, I have finish the glass of water.  At first, it takes me...20 minutes to drink that glass of water and I hate every second of it.  Now I do it every morning without thinking about it.  I actually feel like I cannot wake up if I don’t have my glass of water in the morning.  Drinking a huge glass of lukewarm water first thing in the morning can help lubricating your throat (so virus and bacteria don’t get too comfortable hanging out there and give you a cold/flu) and waking up your digestive system (diluting excessive stomach acid and helping with constipation).

From the list of beverages I like, tea is about the healthiest one.  I make batches of unsweetened iced tea and drink it throughout the day.  I can drink about 2000mL of tea ( = 8 cups of water)  in a day.  This part of the drinking-water-habit is easy to adopt because I love tea.  It’s not all about torturing yourself to adopt a habit.  It’s fitting a good habit into your lifestyle.  I’d recommend if you don’t like water, find the best substitute for it.  There are plenty good choices other than tea; for example, carbonated flavored water with zero calories is a great substitute for soda-lovers.

I like drinking with straws (as weird as that sounds).  Instead of setting an alarm clock to remind myself to drink every 2-hour, I just use straws to drink tea.  Even as I am writing this post, I am...*sip*...drawn to...*sip*...drink...*sip*...more...*sip sip*...fluids!  What makes you wanna drink more water?

( I am trying not to write very long posts...and failing at it.  So you can stop here if you’d like or go on and read other parts of this.)