Skin cancer
Skin cancer is the third most common cancer occurring in women in the 15-34 year-old age group. If you notice any changes in the size or shape of moles on your skin, itching or bleeding, you should see a specialist as quickly as possible. A common site for skin cancer in women is on the legs. With men, it is often found on the back.
With early detection, skin cancer is curable. Be aware and take preventative measures too–avoid burning and always cover up with a high protection sunscreen. Sunscreen worn on a daily basis, is the single fastest way to protect the health and appearance of your skin, both now and for the future.
Photosensitization
The skin can react to plant and fruit extracts and juices (figs in particular), drugs or chemicals when exposed to the sun, resulting in a sore, itchy red rash or blisters.
Soothe with cold compresses, showers and calamine lotion.
If you are going to sunbathe, avoid using perfume, aftershave, anti-bacterial soaps, artificial sweeteners, medications containing diuretics or tranquillizers.
Polymorphic light Eruption (PLE)
This is a common condition whereby the skin is abnormally sensitive to sunlight. It usually starts in the spring when sunlight becomes stronger and lasts throughout the summer causing itching, redness and a variety of rashes. It is thought that UVA plays a particular role in PLE and one clinical trial reported good results when sufferers used a sunscreen with very high levels of UVA protection.
Home Skin-Care Programme
Your kitchen can offer many possibilities for natural skincare.
Avocado
Rich in mono-unsaturated oils, avocados make a healthy addition to the diet from outside and the inside. To make a rich after shampoo conditioner, mash together one ripe avocado, some honey and a little avocado or olive oil. Spread thickly on the hair and rinse off after 5 or 10 minutes.
Cucumber
Use slices of cucumber to pep up tired eyes, or grate a quarter of a cucumber, squeeze it to extract the juice and mix it with a cupful of milk. Use the mixture with cotton wool as a cleanser— ideal for normal to oily skin. Cucumber juice also makes a cooling addition to your basic skin cream.
Milk
Soothe away tension in a warm, moisturising bath with added milk—perhaps not as many tons of asses milk as Cleopatra used, but a cup or two of silver top will yield almost identical benefit.
Oats
A staple food of the scots and recently in vogue for its high content of soluble fibres, which may have cholesterol-lowering effects. Oats can also be made into a useful body scrub. Make a gentle scrub by mixing oats with honey, yoghurt and ground almonds into a paste—good enough to eat.
Water
Drink as much pure & fresh water as you can. It will cleanse your skin from the inside out. Or spray a fine mist of water over your face before moisturising to seal in the moisture and retain a youthful look.
Yoghurt
Egyptian women have used it for thousands of years as a cleanser and beauty aid. Live yoghurt contains bacteria which, in turn, kill the bacteria that may contribute to spots and blemishes. Apply natural yoghurt to the face and skin, relax and leave it on for 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing it off and moisurising.
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