Ancient Chinese Medicine Secrets For Younger Looking Skin

By Sally Perkins

Skin aging is a common concern among millions of people all over the world, and some people won't hesitate to spend a lot of money to keep their skin looking young. According to a survey, most people spend over 25 percent of their beauty maintenance budget on their face alone. Moreover, it was found that more women in their 30s choose to invest in anti-aging products and facial moisturizers than any other age group. Using pricey creams and serums may give your skin a youthful glow, but traditional Chinese medicine and therapies may be even better to prevent and combat wrinkles, fine lines, and other visible signs of skin aging. Here's are some ancient Chinese medicine secrets for younger looking skin.

Almonds to reduce fine lines

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Several factors, such as constant exposure to direct sunlight, lifestyle habits, and an unhealthy diet can cause skin aging. Having dry indoor air can also result in dry skin and make it look older than it really is. This is why it's important to increase the moisture in the air with a humidifier to keep your skin looking supple and young. Apart from adding humidity to your indoor air, another thing that you can do to keep your face smooth and wrinkle-free is to use almonds as part of your beauty regimen.

Almond oil has been used in ancient Chinese practices to help soothe and soften the skin. Since it contains Vitamin A, it can also stimulate the production of new skin cells and reduce fine lines. You can use a small amount of almond oil as a facial moisturizer, or use it as a makeup remover. You can also try using ground almonds as an overnight mask. Prepare an ancient Chinese skincare recipe by soaking almonds in water and peeling the brown skins off. Grind the peeled almonds and mix with one egg white. Apply to your face and leave it overnight; rinse it off in the morning with cool water to reduce fine lines.

Acupuncture for wrinkle-free skin

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Acupuncture can stimulate the body's healing responses, depending on where the needles are inserted. To improve wrinkles, an acupuncturist will insert needles in certain facial points to trigger the production of collagen in the body. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, but as we age, our bodies produce less and less collagen, which can result in wrinkles and older looking skin. By increasing the body's collagen stores, acupuncture can help to give you that radiant glow that you once had. Avoid reversing the effects of facial acupuncture by limiting your exposure to direct sunlight, avoiding smoking, and refraining from eating too much sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Soy to increase skin firmness

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Food therapy is an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine since the food we eat can have an effect on the way we look and feel. Soy products such as tofu and soy milk have always been consumed by women in various parts of Asia, which may explain why their skin looks younger than their years. Studies show that the nutrients in soy can increase the production of elastin in the body, which can make the skin stronger, firmer, and less likely to sag. You can include tofu or miso in your everyday meals, or mix warm soybean milk with a little ground almond, and drink it in the morning to enhance your skin's firmness.

Having younger looking skin doesn't have to cost you a fortune. Try these traditional Chinese remedies to get rid of fine lines, wrinkles and sagging, and enjoy having beautiful and healthy skin as you age.

Featured image photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Unsplash

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by Emma

The Stages of Drug Rehab and Recovery

By Emily Blunt

To overcome an addiction is not a simple process. It is a journey through unknown territories before you can finally reach your destination. Understanding the concept can be helpful when you are looking into treatment options for yourself or your loved ones. When you are coping with drug addiction, you believe it is time to clean up your body, and you should enter a professional drug treatment program.

Recovery from drug addiction requires effort, time, support, and willpower. When you choose to go with a professional drug treatment program, you will enter into a journey through four different stages of rehab recovery as you learn to develop a healthy and sober lifestyle. Every treatment program for drug or alcohol recovery goes through a series of steps. Here, we will discuss the stages of drug rehab treatment.

The four stages of drug rehab treatment are as follows-

Treatment initiation
Early abstinence
Maintaining abstinence
Advanced recovery

Stage 1- Treatment Initiation

When you get out for help from a professional drug rehab program, you start with the first stage of your recovery, treatment initiation. In the early days of your rehab, you probably will have some conflicting feelings about giving up your drug permanently, and you may think that your substance abuse problem is not as bad as others. At this point in the treatment, the aim is to help the individual participate in treatment actively and accept that frugality is the aim.

To achieve this, a substance abuse counsellor may help the individual to do the following-

To look at the damaging effects of addiction
Explore the feeling of refusal with regards to the problem
Help the person to become motivated or recover

However, during this stage of treatment, an individual’s drug use history evaluation will be held. The treatment program will be initiated, and the counsellor will work with the individual to develop a treatment plan.

Stage 2- Early Abstinence

Once you decide to continue treatment for your substance abuse problem, you will enter the second stage of rehab, known as early abstinence. However, early abstinence from drugs is significantly associated with positive treatment outcomes. This can be a challenging stage to handle because of many factors, which include the following-

Continued withdrawal symptoms

Physical cravings
Psychological dependency
Triggers that can appeal you into a relapse

Threats at this stage of treatment can include cravings, social pressure to drink, and high-risk situations that can target alcohol consumption. During the early abstinence stage, your addiction counselor will start to teach you the coping skills you need to live a sober life.

Some helpful strategies include the following-

Encouraging participation in healthy activities
Finding alternative behaviors to occupy in rather than turning to alcohol
Participation in self-help group that offers support and information
Recognizing environmental triggers that can lead to cravings, including people, place, or a thing.

Stage 3- Maintaining Abstinence

After 90 days of abstinence, you will move from the early abstinence stage of recovery to the stage of maintaining abstinence. If you have started with a residential treatment program, you will now move to the counselling phase of rehab program on an outpatient basis.

The focus of this stage of rehab is to maintain abstinence by avoiding a relapse. You will learn the warning signs and the steps that can lead to deterioration. The maintaining abstinence stage of rehab will begin about three months into your rehabilitation program and last till you reach five years clean and sober.

Stage 4- Advanced Recovery

After five years of abstinence, you will reach the fourth and final stage of your rehab, advanced recovery. At this point, you take all your tools and skills that you have learned during your rehab counselling and put them to use to live a satisfying life.

In this stage, the below strategies can help-

Developing a long-term goal
Creating a daily schedule
Developing social relationships with people who are not addictive
Engaging in recreational activities which do not involve drugs
Finding ways through spirituality, religion, social action, or community work

Learning to apply these strategies will help you remain sober, but you will also have the skills to become a healthier person and a better family member. After all, recovery is much more than just staying sober. It is more of learning to live a happier and healthier life.

Author Bio

Emily Blunt is a passionate blogger who is exploring the field of addiction recovery. With the help of her blogs, She provides information and knowledge about various addiction recovery techniques and rehab centers.

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