How To Prevent Breakout And Acne

Yeah! I know. Breakouts and acne are the worst nightmare of everyone; especially the ladies. Most times, we wonder: ‘how does a pimple form?’ Well, that’s an easy one to answer: clogged pores, oil and bacteria. Put these three in a mix and you have the perfect recipe for pimples.

The pore, which is the opening of the hair follicle, becomes clogged with dirt, oil and dead skin cells. Bacteria feed off the oil in the clogged pore and attract white blood cells to the area. Your body then responds to this inflammation causing the redness and swelling associated with pimples.

Females with active oil glands and large pores are also prone to breakouts and blackheads. Other causes of acne are stress, hormones, bad cosmetics, birth control pills and other medications.

The eternal question: ‘how do I get rid of them?’ well I have some few tips for you. You can stop the breakout cycle by attacking each element that contribute to breakouts and enjoy a clearer complexion.

It may sound too good to be true, but studies have shown that taking vitamin C orally helps in the prevention of acne. It helps to build immunity and infection. Vitamin E and Zinc are also good supplements that help preventing breakouts.
Over-the-counter products containing Benzoyl- peroxide is effective for fighting bacteria.

For clogged pores, Exfoliation is recommended.Exfoliation is the removal of dead skin cells that may clog the pores. This could be done by masking or scrubbing regularly.

It is also advisable to stick to one’s beauty regimen. A beauty regimen is a set of rules you stick to for a healthy, glowing complexion. The basic beauty regimen is: Cleansing-exfoliation-moisturize.

For most women, blemishes in areas other than the face are a major problem, from the chest and back, to the shoulders and beyond. Body acne can limit one’s wardrobe options and make one feel a tad insecure. Benzoyl- peroxide and Salicylic acid are also good. over-the-counter products like Neutrogena body scrub is effective in the treatment of body acne.

Although there so many wonderful products that could be used as a first line of defence in the prevention of breakouts, how do you know which one is best for you? Look out for my next post where i will explain the characteristics of various skin types.Some pimples cannot be treated through the use of cosmetics...they could be large in size, hard and very painful.This is the point I advise you to see a dermatologist 'cos most pimples have to be cleansed from within with the use of antibiotics before physical changes would be seen on the face.

Genevieve Pinkball - Stand Up To Cancer

Not another cancer gospel! Yeah right. I guess some people are getting tired of hearing about cancer in the news, in the papers…the truth is the importance of getting checked cannot be overemphasized. Many people are still in obscurity about the traumatising effect the dreaded cancer can have on lives (the diagnosed victims and their families). People may look at this and say, ‘cancer is hereditary, there’s no history of cancer on my family’ or ‘I live well and eat right. Surely I can’t have cancer’. Well, they are not-so-far-fetched misconceptions. Cancer knows no boundaries - not age, gender, location, religion or socio- economic status.

Just think about the many things that might cause the wear and tear that leads to abnormal cell growth—pollutants, hormones, pesticides, smoking, alcohol use, obesity, stress…. Or maybe your cells just made a mistake one day when they were making new genes to pass on to their baby cells. Perhaps there was a misprint in the genetic instruction manual that said switch growth on instead of off.

Breast cancer is always caused by a genetic abnormality (a “mistake” in the genetic material). However, only 5-10% of cancers are due to an abnormality inherited from your mother or father. About 90% of breast cancer is due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and the “wear and tear” of life in general.
While there are steps every person can take to help the body stay as healthy as possible (such as eating a balanced diet, not smoking, limiting alcohol, and exercising regularly), breast cancer is never any one's fault. Feeling guilty, or telling yourself that breast cancer happened because of something you or anyone else did, is not productive.

A few weeks ago, my friends (Darey, Dakore, Funke, Ebun and Kingsley) and I decided to come together to say NO to breast cancer in the GENEVIEVE STAND UP TO CANCER PROJECT. Each of us has gone through our own ordeal with the scourge.

Personally, I lost my sister to cancer. she died two years into her marriage. As if our grieving was not enough, the dreaded scourge struck the second time...and the third. My mother went through the trauma over a period of two years,during which they had to carry out a mastectomy. My mother-in-law was also suffering at that time. They both died in the space of one month. In my opinion, it’s a ravenous disease worse than HIV that is plundering the human race.

I believe that when people like my friends and I come together and speak with one voice, then and only THEN, can the human race have a chance at kicking this harbinger of death and pain into extinction - hopefully in the nearest future.

Betty Irabor interviews Tara on 'Morning Dew'

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. I had a wonderful time at the studios of Inspiration FM where I was privileged to be interviewed by one of Nigeria's top publishers, Betty Irabor on her program, "Morning Dew." I hope you caught it on air...

For those of you who don't know, Betty's the Editor-in-Chief, Genevieve Magazine and the wife of Nigeria's ace broadcaster, Soni Irabor...

How To Keep That Face Looking Good

Hi to all the Fashionistas out there! I know you are wondering how your face can retain its youthfulness and beauty every day.

It’s quite funny, the kind of blunders women make in trying to look beautiful. This, I believe would go a long way in correcting these errors.

Looking good they say, is good business. So here are some useful tips on how your face can remain youthful:

· Don’t apply fresh make on a stale one: oftentimes, ladies see it as time-taking, cleaning off the make-up they applied in the morning, and starting the whole process all over. The truth is so many layers of make-up cakes up the face and all your effort all day would have been wasted. The best bet is to clean the whole thing off and re-do it again. You could also do touch-up depending on how messy the make-up has become.

· Don’t use black pencils on your lips or Eyebrow: the natural colour or shade of the eyebrow and lip line is either dark brown or brown, depending on your skin colour or complexion. The black colour is too strong against the brown skin. If you are not as dark as Alek Wek or Baba Suwe, ‘don’t bother!’

· Don’t use powder puffs: this is what is commonly known as FOAM. The use of powder puff could probably cause break-out (pimples that is) as the powder could clog the face pores. So use a powder brush instead. Besides the foam holds bacteria; a powder brush can easily be washed unlike a puff.

· Use facial scrub: ensure that you use facial scrub. This helps to remove dead skin layers and open up the skin pores. The usage of the scrub varies (depending on your skin type). You could use a scrub once a week for dry skin types, three times for combination skin types and five times for oily skin types.

· Wash your face every night before going to bed. This would get rid of all the make- up and oil on your face; while asleep, the skin needs to be refreshed and the natural oils can give back to the skin while you are asleep.

Always remember- looking good is good business, so stay beautiful and be beautiful.