Tag Archive for: A Perfect Pinky

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Different Types of Wrinkles & How to Prevent Them

wrinkles

Wrinkles are the road map of your life. Not sure about you, but I would like a few less streets, thank you! Even though wrinkles can occur from joyful experiences, through smiling and laughing, they certainly aren’t the most pleasant to have.

The main causes of wrinkles, however, are smoking, sun damage, heredity and aging itself. These factors have our wrinkles fall into two different types called Dynamic and Static. Static wrinkles are directly linked to loss of elasticity and collagen through the aging process, while Dynamic wrinkles are created by repetitive facial movements like squinting and puckering your lips around a cigarette or straw.

Let’s take a look at the various types of fine lines and wrinkles and what preventative measures to take in preventing them.

Forehead Wrinkles

Wrinkles on your forehead run horizontally across the top of your T-Zone. These wrinkles are caused primarily when we raise our eyebrows. Some studies suggest that deep forehead creases are an indicator for cardiovascular disease.

Frown Lines

Frown lines, also known as the ” 11’s”, are the vertical lines that appear between your eyes. These wrinkles usually appear due to squinting, stress, aging and heredity.

Crow’s Feet

Although not the most flattering name, these wrinkles are in fact due to lots of laughing and smiling! Crow’s feet are the deep wrinkles that form at the outer corners of your eyes. They also appear from squinting and aging.

Expression

As the name suggests, these wrinkles (Nasolabial folds) are caused by our repetitive facial expressions; how we move our face when happy, sad and everything in between. These lines of character are all over our face, but primarily extend from the edge of our nose to the outer corners of our mouth.

Marionette

Marionette, or accordion lines, run from the corners of our mouth vertically down our chin. As we age, we lose elasticity causing our cheeks to droop and these jowl wrinkles to form.

Lip Wrinkles

These wrinkles have various names such as smokers’ lines, barcode lines or lipstick lines. Formerly, they are called perioral lines. These wrinkles develop from pouting, puckering, smoking, genetics and sun exposure.

Preventative Measures

Protection

Unless you’re planning on living your life as a hermit, you’ll need to protect your skin from the environment. Sunscreen, hats and sunglasses are some of the top ways to prevent those UV rays from creating unwanted wrinkles and further damage.

Products

There are a multitude of products on the market that can prevent and/or treat wrinkles. How do you know which one works best for you? Well, you need to know your skin type and what you need the product to do for you. If your skin feels dry, choose a cream or serum containing hyaluronic acid to boost moisture and elasticity. Shea butter or vitamin C are good choices to soften and smooth existing lines, while repairing your skin from oxidative stress caused by air pollution. 

Healthy Choices

Okay, this one’s a no-brainer! The best wrinkle fighting ways of life are the healthy choices we make. Eating a healthy diet, consuming less sugar, exercising, keeping hydrated and don’t/quit smoking are all things that keep us looking and feeling our best. Let’s face it though, you need to be a little bit flexible. Rest and reducing our stress level can certainly lessen the visibility of those pesky lines. And a glass of wine or a few nachos can certainly help with that!

Physical Adjustments

Although this may be difficult to do, try to retrain yourself to refrain from your wrinkle causing habits. Relaxing your forehead, not rubbing your eyes, not squinting and quit pouting are all movements to be conscious of. The more aware we become of our wrinkle making motions, the more we can adjust to having smoother skin.

Acids, peels, injectables and facial surgeries are all corrective measures for wrinkles, and other facial needs or wants, offered today. If you are considering having a procedure performed, it should be discussed with an experienced doctor as each has its own risks and benefits. Wrinkle treatments are plentiful, but prevention is obviously the optimal choice when possible.

Let’s Connect

We welcome your questions and feedback. You can connect with us via email or telephone. And as always, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest trends and special offers!

Til next time,

A Perfect Pinky Team

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Ways to Stay Healthy During Covid-19 Social Distancing

healthy

Social-distancing, self-isolation, and quarantine. These will be the terms associated with the year 2020. We have been asked to stay home by our respective local health officials, and only venture out for essential services such as trips to the grocery store or pharmacy. With these restrictions, our physical and mental wellbeing have become affected in ways we may not have experienced before. Even though these restrictions on our daily life are temporary, we need to keep positive and in control of our physical and emotional states. Staying physically active and eating our usual nutritious foods are imperative to our present situation. 

Eating Healthy Meals at Home

While some aisles have limited supply right now, we can still create healthy meals with what is on the shelves at the grocery store. There are foods that we can eat from frozen if fresh is unavailable, or meals that can be frozen after we’ve cooked them to limit waste. Remember your plate should be 1/4 protein, 1/4 grains and 1/2 vegetables. Perhaps a little fruit for dessert too. Here are some examples of packed food that will stay fresh for a week, if not longer.

Breads

Bread, bagels, wraps 

Whole Grains

Oatmeal, pastas, rice

Fruits

Some fresh (apples, oranges), dried, frozen or canned, fruit juice

Vegetables

Some fresh (broccoli, potatoes), frozen, canned

Soups and Sauces 

Dairy

Milk, eggs, cheese

Meat

Cooked or frozen

And limit junk foods like cookies and chips.  Even though they taste good, they will leave you sluggish and unmotivated.

Regular Exercise

Keeping your regular workout routine, although modified since we are at home, will help to keep us burning calories and manage our stress levels. And since we have the time right now, starting a regular exercise routine is definitely something to consider. There are a multitude of social media accounts that you can follow that have great beginner workouts to try. We need to get outside too! Enjoy the fresh air of a walk, run or bike ride by yourself, or with your kids and spouse. Physical and emotional health go hand in hand. If you feel good in one regard, odds are you’ll feel good in the other. So, get moving!

We, as a worldwide community, are relying on each other more than ever before in our lifetime. To be able to restructure and rebuild our future, we need to keep healthy, in all regards. Let’s do our best to come out of this pandemic stronger and wiser to be able to enjoy all life has to offer. And lastly, please remember to WASH YOUR HANDS.

Let’s Connect

We welcome your questions and feedback. You can connect with us via email or telephone. And as always, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest trends and special offers!

Till next time,

Phyllis

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Best Detoxifying Foods

detoxifying

In the beginning of every year, many of us make resolutions such as wanting to work out more, not drinking alcohol as often, boosting our water intake, etc. Basically, detoxifying our bodies. Some of the industry’s detoxifying ideas may have validity. However, the best way to detoxify is to stop consuming toxins in the first place. Today, we eat & drink a multitude of processed foods, the most in the history of humanity. Luckily, our body has its own detoxification system consisting of our liver, kidneys, skin, lymphatic system and respiratory tract. To keep these organs in tip-top condition, we need to feed them nutritional chemical-free foods and beverages. The following are the top detoxifying foods for today.

Vegetables

Your mother always told you to eat your veggies! Cruciferous and leafy greens are among the top detoxifying foods. These consist of broccoli, cabbage, and spinach among others. These types of foods are known anti-inflammatory, anticancer and excellent sources of fiber and chlorophyll. They boost liver function and aid in excretion of chemical toxins.

Fruits

Many different fruits provide an abundance of support to our detoxification. Blueberries protect our lungs, fight cancer, lower blood pressure and are a great antioxidant. Apples are rich in a specific type of fiber called pectin. Pectin lowers LDL cholesterol and helps to eliminate toxins like lead and mercury. Lastly, lemons, also known as the “Superfruit”. Lemons contain citric acid that protects our liver function and prevents damage. It is proven that daily walking in combination with daily lemon consumption helps to regulate our blood pressure too!

Green Tea

Green tea has been used for thousands of years as a medicinal aid and is probably the healthiest beverage on the planet. It reduces inflammation, fights cancer, primarily colon, prostate and breast. It is an antioxidant, is fat burning, and boosts our metabolic rate. Green tea drinkers have better dental health too. Catechins, bacteria killers in green tea, lower infection risk in the mouth and reduce bad breath. So, get your teeth and drink up!

Spices and Others

Other compounds that we add to our recipes in the kitchen are beneficial detox foods as well. Garlic kills many consumed carcinogens, is antiviral, antibacterial and helps produce white blood cells. A bright yellow spice called turmeric has been used medicinally for thousands of years for its detoxifying properties. It is antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and helps protect the heart, brain and digestive tract. Ginger is hugely beneficial to our digestion and helps eliminate toxins. It helps our intestines in their detoxification work, and also has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and antioxidant effects.

Keep it Consistent

Cleansing our bodies of toxins isn’t about jumping on the latest fad program or diet. It’s about consistently consuming detoxifying foods and beverages to help keep us healthy and functional. We need to protect ourselves from diseases and viruses as best to our knowledge to live a long, happy, healthy life. If we take care of our body, our body will take care of us.

Let’s Connect

We welcome your questions and feedback. You can connect with us via email or telephone. And as always, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest trends and special offers!

Till next time,

Phyllis

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Maintaining your Weight During Menopause

maintaining weight during menopause

Maintaining your usual weight during menopause can be difficult. Hormonal changes contribute to abdominal weight gain, and aging in itself can cause those pounds to creep up. As we age, muscle mass typically diminishes, while our fat stores increase which in turn, prompts our metabolism to become sluggish. Some studies even suggest that genetics can play a role in the Battle of the Bulge. While we can’t fight either of these “weight gainers”, we can do our best to combat them by a few factors.

Exercise

Physical activity can aid in maintaining your weight throughout menopause. Brisk walking, jogging and strength training all burn calories which make it easier to control those pounds from creeping up. Exercise can aid in promoting fat loss, while preventing muscle loss which normally occurs in menopause. In addition, exercise in general is beneficial for our overall health.

Sleep

Getting proper amounts and good quality sleep is a common problem in menopause. Hot flashes, stress, night sweats and other physical symptoms of estrogen depletion all contribute to poor sleep quality and quantity. And too little sleep prompts higher levels of ghrelin, which is considered the hunger hormone, thus we eat too much. Getting proper sleep and consistent physical activity can help sustain our appropriate weight. Talking to your doctor regarding your estrogen levels is also a good idea.

Eating and Drinking

What we consume has a direct link to how we feel physically and mentally. When we eat and drink properly, it is hugely beneficial in menopause or at any age. Eating proper amounts of protein, high-fiber foods and drinking enough water and green tea all help to burn fat, retain muscle mass and reduce appetite to promote weight stability in menopause. And of course, limiting sugar and alcohol is a must during this or any time in our life. Excess calories from these two things contribute to weight gain and other health problems.

Support

We all need a support system! Surrounding ourselves with people who we can turn to for support in our lifestyle changes help keep us focused. Grab a workout buddy and get moving!

It is common knowledge that gaining too much weight in menopause or any age can be damaging to our overall health. Excess weight increases the risk of acquiring heart & lung ailments as well as various types of cancer including breast and colon. It may be trying and some days super difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle but keep pushing on. Your body and mind will thank you for it!

Let’s Connect

We welcome your questions and feedback. You can connect with us via email or telephone. And as always, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest trends and special offers!

Till next time,

Phyllis

 

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