Essential nail treatment

 

Fingernails and toenails, we also call them as nail plates, are made of keratin. It’s really important to take care for your nails as one would for his/her skin and hair.

• It is important to follow a healthy, balanced diet. We need to avoid fad diets. Certain diets with Extra- biotin or equivalent supplements are found to be beneficial for nail strength and growth.

• Keep your nails dry and clean always. This protects them from fungi and bacteria attack. Don’t adhere to labels on dishwashing soaps claiming they are good for your nails. Combination of hot water and soap can be a damaging.

• Treat wrongly grown and torn nails as soon as they could be possible. Unsightly and painful, ingrown nails and torn nails should be treated immediately to avoid infections.

• Always make sure to avoid certain nail polishes with have chemicals such as formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, and toluene, as they cause your nails to be weaken, brittle and split.

• Washing the dishes, cleaning home with harsh chemicals, or gardening can all be harmful to your nails. Always keep gloves on when doing dishes or anything that involves soakin your hands.

Article by Waleed Hussain

THE ORDINARY : Revamp your skin care

 

-By Huma Batool Nakvi 

The Ordinary is a well renowned skin care brand which sells at their own website, Sephora, Ulta Beauty, and now more widely available at other online websites. But when people hear of The ordinary they know they are going to be getting an affordable product. Nonetheless their products are quite popular in terms of  quality and effectiveness for a wide variety of customers and their skin type. The line is kind of known for their very simple and direct approach when it comes to the name of the product, hence the name "The Ordinary". They are intensely focused on ingredients, percentages, and formulas, which I personally appreciate because let's be frank, I'm a very picky person. I'm all for a brand which is transparent about which ingredients, percentages and formulas they use so if you are too, here's The Ordinary review for you. 

We'll rate the products from least favorite to favorite. 

First off is the Glycolic acid -Toning solution ($9) formulated at 7% with a PH of 3.6. Glycolic acid is used as a chemical exfoliant which dissolve dead skin cells off your skin, which majority of dermatologists recommend over abrasive tools. However it can be very drying for sensitive skin and the Ph level is quite low and any imbalance in the natural Ph levels of the skin of about 5 can cause skin irritation. Its fragrant ingredients can also add to skin irritation. 

Next is Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% ($6). Niacinamide is an incredible ingredient not only for reducing oiliness and sebum production skin which is great for someone with oily skin but is also a brightening agent. In addition niacinamide also calms down redness and irritation in skin. And Zinc also does that so its great that its added with zinc. So someone who suffers from oily skin, pigmentation, and acne scars they could really benefit from this product. 

Moving on to Lactic Acid 10% + Hyaluronic acid serum ($7). Lactic acid is similar to Glycaulic acid and helps in chemically exfoliating and dissolving dead skin cells but its the most gentle of the chemical exfoliants. But 10% lactic acid is a bit high percentage and may not be the best serum for sensitive skin. But it is lightweight and easy to absorb into the skin. It also absorbs moisture from the air into our skin and we all need all the hydration we can get! 

And finally our most favorite product in the entire line: The AHA 30% + BHA 2% solution ($7). AHA is Alpha-Hydroxy Acid is another chemical exfoliant. While BHA or Salycylic acid is another exfoliating ingredient but what we love about it is that it also goes deep into the pores and helps remove impurities from within the skin such as oil, sebum, or dirt making it the perfect ingredient for someone with oily and acne prone skin. And their 30% AHA means its highly concentrated and that's insane and we love that. HOWEVER this product you can only use once a week for 10 minutes because the 30% glycolic acid will bulldoze the dead skin off of your face. 

Hair care

Everybody needs beautiful and healthy hairs. Grooming and maintenance of hair is a daily process. The beauty products that
Enhance the look and feel of these surfaces has created a huge industry. Technology has advanced the cleaning, protection, and restoration of different desirable hairs.

Cleaning and Conditioning Treatments: Shampoo

and Conditioner

Shampoos are used primarily to clean the hair and scalp of dirt and other greasy residue that can build up after time. Shampoos also have many secondary functions including controlling dandruff, reducing irritation, and even conditioning. 

Conditioners, on the other hand, are used primarily to give the hair a soft, smooth feel which results in easier hair combing. Secondary functions include preventing “fly-away” hair due to static electricity, giving the hair a shiny appearance, and protecting

the hair from further damage by forming a thin coating over the fibers.

Coloring and Dyeing

Hair coloring and dyeing have become extremely     successful hair care procedures, due to part to style kits which allow home hair care without professional assistance. The most common dyes are para dyes, which contain para-phenylenediamine (PPD) solutions accompanied by conditioners and antioxidants. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is combined with the para dyes to effectively create tinted, insoluble molecules which are contained within the cortex and are not small enough to pass through the cuticle layers, leaving a desired color to the hair

Bleaching

Like dyeing, bleaching consists of using hydrogen peroxide to tint the hair. However, bleaching can only lighten the shade of hair color, as the H2O2

releases oxygen to bind hair pigments

Certain damaging causes

• combing (generally with plastic objects, and often multiple times over the same area lead to scratching and wearing of the cuticle layers)
• Scratching (usually with fingernails around the scalp)
• cutting (affects the areas surrounding the fiber tips) 
• blowdrying (high temperatures thermally degrade the surface of the hair fibers

Article by : Waleed Hussain