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Female doctor measuring heart rate of young girl
 by Victoria Santalesa

ID Health Warning Signs With These Health Checks

You’ve got a significant other with significant needs, kids with busier schedules than most adults, a boss who has you on speed dial, and a mother who’s always, well being a mother. Sometimes you need to look out for number one. After all, when it comes to your health, no one’s going to be able to function if you can’t. If your hectic life has you too busy to see a doctor, you need to take matters into your own hands, Here are a few diagnostic tests that can help you make sure you can your machine running clean so you can make sure everyone else’s is.

Eye Check
When your checking your eyes, you want to see firm clear eyes with even lashes looking back at you. If you see redness or irritation on the surface of your inner eyelid, it could be Ectropion, which is an age related condition causing drooping of the lower lids and exposure of the inner eye. Ectropion can lead to damage of the cornea and should be treated.

Bumps on the eyelid and missing lashes could be cancerous. Look out for bumps that increase in size and grow thicker and darker.

Skin Check
Check your skin by running your fingertips and eyes over your skin, and have a family member check your back. Look for an even texture over individual body parts and consistency in skin’s appearance. If you see a new mole, or one that has changed color of shape, take note. Asymmetrical growths, growths with uneven coloring and borders, or growths larger than a pencil eraser should be examined for melanoma.

Small sandpapery patches of skin could indicate actinic keratosis. Be safe rather than sorry, and see a professional; ten percent of actinic keratosis develops into skin cancer.

If you see a shiny brown or pink bump with a rolled raised border that wasn’t there before, have it checked out. It could be basil cell carcinoma.

vine vera banner ID Health Warning Signs With These Health Checks

Balance Check
While checking your balance requires a bit of exertion, it may be worthwhile. Stand on a flat surface, folding your arms across your chest. Stand on your favored leg and raise the other foot on a few inches from the ground without resting it on the other leg. Time yourself to see how long you can maintain the position without losing your balance. Do the test one time with your eyes open, and one time with your eyes closed. If you can’t hold the position with your eyes closed, you may want to consider consulting a doctor. A study of 53 -year- old women and men found that those who could balance on one leg with their closed for over ten seconds had a lower risk of death in the 13 years after the study than those who could not.

Hair Check
While hair loss or thinning is normal, especially after 50, quick changes can indicate an underlying condition. If your hair loses density at a fast rate, over a rate of about three to six months, it may mean anemia, thyrhoid disease, or iron loss. Says dermatologist Chris Adigun, if you “notice more hair in your brush, in the shower drain, and on your pillow,” it may be a cause for concern.

Heart Check
A DIY heart check can be done by placing two fingers on the side of your windpipe. Count the beats for fifteen seconds and multiply that number by four. This should give you your beats per minute. A resting heartbeat of 60 to 100 is normal. If your heart rises at work, or when you think about work, it may mean that stress levels are high. High stress may lead to diabetes, heart disease and obesity. A rate exceeding more than 100 may mean a doctor’s appointment should be scheduled. Tachycardia, or rapid heart rate can be caused by anxiety, cardiac issues, to alcohol, among other factors.

Are you keeping tabs on your health? Let us know how your doing your DIY checkups and how they’re helping you!

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Woman applying lipstick
 by Victoria Santalesa

The Beauty Of Poliosis

How we all wait for the day when our mother’s promises come true. When the features that we most wish we could be rid of become the envy of the ‘cool kids’ at school. When the thick heavy brows we spent our lifetimes trying to pluck into non- existence show up on the cover of Vogue, when the poliosis that made some a target for classroom bullies becomes an inspiration for the latest trend in hair.

What is Poliosis?
Poliosis is a condition resulting in the depigmentation of the hair. It can affect hair on the eyebrows, eyelashes, or head. It is caused by a decrease or lack of melanocytes and melanin in the hair bulbs of the affected follicles.
Poliosis may be mistaken for age- related hair graying. It can affect both men and women and is often associated with thyroid disease, chemotherapy, irradiation and malignancy.

Types of Poliosis

  • Genetic: Sometimes poliosis is inherited. White patches of hair can be present from the time of the baby’s birth and are caused by genetic issues, such as gene mutation.
  • Acquired: If poliosis is non-congenital, it may be due to a side effect of medical conditions that reveal themselves later in life.

Diagnosis
Although this disorder is not linked to any certain medical condition, it is important that it be properly diagnosed. Most healthcare professionals will do so by establishing the patient’s family history followed by a physical examination, nutritional and endocrinal surveys, a skin sample analysis, and a blood test.

Treatment
Although there is no “cure” for poliosis, there are a few preventive methods which include:

  1. Elimination of factors that lead to the formation of white patches
  2. Treating those factors.
  3. Discontinuation of the use of antibiotics
  4. Exposure to UV-B lamps
  5. The application of Ammi magus lotion or ointment
  6. Epidermal grafting on the depigmented skin under the white patch

The Beauty of Poliosis
One needs only to look at 23- year old Brianna Worthy to appreciate the beauty of poliosis. Brianna says, “I had several names, such as skunk, that kids would try to insult me with as a child. Sometimes it would bother me when I was younger, but I grew to end up really loving it in my hair and was confident that it was my own unique signature look.” And the biggest perk? Brianna’s daughter will carry on the legacy. Millianna was born with her own white streak making the mother-daughter duo one of the cutest teams ever seen.

Let us know your stand on poliosis! To dye or not to dye? Let us know!

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Women getting her skin examined at the doctors.
 by Victoria Santalesa

Understanding the Two Types of Melanin

Hair dye.  How we love our hair dye.  Because of hair dye, we don’t have to hit the genetics lottery. Little girls born with  brown hair can grow up to be blondes and red heads. Blondes can grow up to be goth chics. From the bleach blond of Marilyn Monroe to the honey blonde of Beyonce, from the jet black of Nikki Sixx  to the sometimes blue of Katy Perry to the sometimes pink of, well Pink, we have to have our hair dye and are willing to take some extreme measures to make sure we have it.  For years, men and women would prefer to  damage, torture and strip their hair rather than have it be (gasp!!)  their natural color.  Even though many of us would rather trade their natural hair color for, well almost anything else,  melanin is the pigment that is responsible for it. Melanins are also responsible for our skin and eye color.  Most melanins are dark, from black to brown, but other melanins are reddish or yellowish.Animal melanins are divided into two groups, eumelanin (eu = good) and pheomelanin (pheo +cloudy or dusky)

Skin
In her book, “Skin: a natural story, Dr.Barbara Jablonski says,  “In Homo sapiens, skin colors make up an exquisite palette varying in almost imperceptible degrees from the palest ivories to the darks browns.”  pheomelanin is usually  found in large quantities  fair skinned redheads and is also, interestingly enough, found in freckles, lips, and nipples. (Julianne Moore must have a bunch.) Eumelanins are more common in humans, predominantly darker skinned people.  High concentration can be found in moles.  (Think Cindy Crawford) Because people with red hair are less capable of producing eumelanin, their skin is more susceptible to burns and aging.

Hair
Eumelanin is predominant in black and brunette hair.  There is brown eumelanin and black eumelanin.  Contrary to what you may presume, brown eumelanin without other pigments actually causes blonde hair.  pheomelanin is found in red hair. While people with dark hair may produce pheomelanin it is usually hidden by the dominant eumelanin. Blond and red and auburn streaks are usually the results of the pheomelanin showing through.  Grey hair contains only a few melanin granules, white hairs contain none.  The apparent whiteness is a result of the way they reflect light.

Eyes
Eye color is  dependent on the ratio of eumelanin and pheomelanin in the outer layer of the iris. People with darker colored eyes have more melanin in general, and more eumelanin than pheomelanin. People with light colored eyes(blue or green) have less melanin and more pheomelanin than eumelanin.  (Bet you’re thinking, “Why don’t we have yellow eyes?”)Hazel eyes are in between.  Eyes appear blue and green rather than red and yellow because of light scattering off proteins in the eye.

In conclusion, it seems that melanin has a whole lot to do with our appearance and making us who we are.  Of course, new technologies allow us to change our pigmentation at will, be it using hair dye, colored contact lenses or even photoshopped. Here’s hoping you love your blue/black/brown/pink/freckled/mocha/moled/orange/yellow hair/eyes and skin just the way it is!

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Man getting ready to groom himself.
 by Mayank

Grooming Guide for Guys

Men have different standards and practices than women when it comes to personal grooming. It often requires a bit less time, a lot less product and is more of a maintaining personal appearance than working towards prevention of signs of aging. However, just because guys grooming is less involved than their women counterparts, that does not mean that it does not need to be done. Resveralife provides a complete grooming guide for guys.

Guy washing his face with water.

Face
Okay, so you probably aren’t interested in cleansing, toning, applying serums then eye creams then moisturizer, but there are a few things you can do to benefit your face. First, do make sure you exfoliate it about two to three times per week to help clear out your pores, reduce sebum and take away dead skin cells. You can use either a facial scrub designed to exfoliate or a chemical exfoliant such as Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Perfecting Liquid, which has salicylic acid to help gently exfoliate your skin daily.

Man applying a moisturizer.

Once your face is clean it is a good idea to add a bit of moisture back in. A bonus is if you use a moisturizer with a built-in SPF of 25 or higher. Look for moisturizers with vitamins A, C, E and resveratrol to help slow the signs of aging. And for men with a beard, investing in some beard oil to help soften and strengthen your facial hair is a great idea. Keep all facial hair neatly trimmed, including rogue eyebrow hairs and nose hairs.

Guy getting his back waxed in a salon.

Body
Body care for men is pretty much a functional issue. Keep yourself clean, prevent body odor and you’re good to go, right? Kind of. Of course you need to use soap of body wash to cleanse your body and a deodorant is definitely an important step in grooming. But there are other things you can add to your routine to take grooming a bit farther.

Chest hair is definitely becoming a more popular trend with celebrities sporting hairy, rather than waxed, chests. Still, if you have abnormally long chest hairs you can use your razor on a long setting to take down both the length and some of the volume.

While chest hair is pretty much the norm now, nobody likes back hair. This one you probably don’t want to attempt on your own. It sounds super “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” but waxing is what male grooming experts recommend. The back, as opposed to the chest, is far less sensitive to waxing and is one of the easiest areas for waxing. Before you go take a dose of Advil to help control inflammation and pain and afterwards do not apply any product to your back for about 24-48 hours to minimize irritation.

If your arm and shoulder hair bother you, you could go ahead and shave that as well, though waxing leaves the hairs that grow back a bit finer than when shaving.

The guys guide to grooming is undoubtedly shorter than one for ladies would be, but it is an important guide. Taking proper care of your body, and appearance, has a positive impact on your entire life.

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