5 reasons herbal products may not be really safe after all!

2014 May 15. | Szerző: shannon

Herbal products derived from plants are widely used in several countries, especially India and they continue to gain popularity among consumers. But consumers need to know that there are very few valid medical studies on the herbal products which are actually safe. It is difficult identifying chopped, processed herbs or plant mixtures, variability in the toxic constituents of a plant, nomenclature, adulteration and establishing the chronic toxic potential of a plant.

1. When it comes to herbal medicines, there are a lot of contaminants that can make their way into a product – heavy metals may find their way into the plants through the water used in irrigation or the soil in which the plants grow.

2. Microorganisms grow better in the presence of organic matter obtained from plant and animal sources and they can contaminate the product. There may be pesticide residues that have found their way into the plant material and then, into the product.

3. Sometimes, improper storage may lead to chemical degradation of one of the components in the herbal formulation and toxic substances may be produced.

4. Occasionally, an unscrupulous manufacturer may add in a less expensive substitute for a particular herb. This substitute may have similar physical appearance to the herb prescribed in the recipe, but it will obviously interfere with the product’s ability to elicit the desired therapeutic effects.

5. It is common knowledge that most herbal remedies take longer to act as compared to allopathic medicines; so an unprincipled manufacturer may resort to mixing in allopathic medicines into a herbal product in order to make it appear fast-acting and increase its popularity. Sometimes, inadvertent adulteration can occur because of confusion in the vernacular names of some plant sources.

Over time, drug regulatory authorities have woken up to the need for standardisation of herbal products. Recognising that close to 80% of the world’s population still relies on traditional systems of medicine for their healthcare needs; the World Health Organization has specified guidelines to be followed by manufacturers to ensure they make pure herbal products of good quality. If there is one myth this discussion has cleared up, it is this – ‘herbal’ should not be read as a synonym for ‘safe’. Only when the manufacturer of a herbal product is deeply committed to providing quality medicines will we have the confidence to consume such products without any qualms.

short prom dresses | navy blue bridesmaid dresses

Organic beauty, spa products are a rage

2014 March 28. | Szerző: shannon

Where in today’s world, people prefer to have an organic lifestyle, it is finding an entry in cosmetics’ as well

The term ‘organic’ can mean so many different things, from carbon compounds to fundamental laws. Now- with the times where people are getting more and more conscious about their health and lifestyles, they are preferring to move towards ‘organic living’- which includes- consumption of products which are safer for all living things, pro-environment and healthier and maintain ecological balance too. It refers to using the products made out of totally made sans the use of chemicals. Be it food, fabrics or cosmetics- organic products are catching up popularity.

There is one more aspect to going organic — usage of organic cosmetics, beauty and spa treatments. Interestingly, this is a sector wherein the preference for usage of natural products was always high in demand. It is just in the case where people need a quick treatment, they prefer chemical based treatments. Otherwise, higher emphasis of all the beauty treatments as well as hair treatments is towards usage of herbal and natural ingredients in the beauty products. Like for facials, home-care products, spa and salon regulars always prefer herbal products. Similar is for spa treatments where we have sea-based minerals, sea weed, algae products- these are all 100% natural. It is undoubtedly preferred as they are eco-friendly and show good results on long term-basis on your skin and hair. It seems like surely the chemical-free products are finding more and more takers day by day. And why not?

When the side effects are almost zilch, beauty is going ‘organic way’!

kissydress short prom dresses | kissydress black prom dresses

Cleo de Nile Monster High Makeup Tutorial

2014 January 23. | Szerző: shannon

Cleo de Nile is the freakishly fabulous mummy ghoul from Monster High.

Here’s how you can copy Cleo de Nile’s makeup look for a costume party or for Halloween!

What you’ll need:

– darker foundation and powder

– eyeshadow primer

– purple and red eyeshadows

– ivory eye pencil

– white cream eyeshadow (optional)

– black liquid liner

– false lashes

– black eye liner pencil

– white eyeshadow

– red lip pencil and lipstick

– bronzer

Cleo de Nile Makeup: Face

Use slightly darker foundation to mimic Cleo’s mocha skin tone. Blend well into the skin to create an even canvas and set it with powder.

Cleo de Nile Makeup: Eyes

Prep eyes with a primer on both upper and lower eyelids, then use a purple eyeshadow on the upper eyelid and blend the edges with a burgundy red color. Use a clean fluffy brush with a rounded tip to create a smokey eye effect.

Define the area under the eyebrows by tracing a line with an ivory pencil. Create the effect of big, doll-like eyes using the same pencil on the lower lash line. You can even go over with a white cream eyeshadow to open up eyes even more.

Draw an exaggerated cat eye with liquid eyeliner and square out the outer corner. Add burgundy eyeshadow under the lower liner using a small, stiff brush.

Apply two pairs of false lashes on both upper and lower lash lines. Draw on Cleo de Nile’s strong eyebrows with a black eyeliner pencil, then highlight the brow bone with white eyeshadow.

high low prom dresses | backless short prom dresses

Cleo de Nile Makeup: Lips

Line the lips with a red pencil and fill them in with a burgundy lip color. Create an ombre effect by applying black eyeshadow to the outer edges and blend with the burgundy color.

Cleo de Nile Makeup: Finishing Touches

Draw on Cleo de Nile’s blue beauty mark on the left cheek or use a stick-on rhinestone. Then add bronzer to the cheeks, temples and jawline to warm up the skin.

Complete your Cleo de Nile look with an Egyptian style wing with long dark hair and straight across bangs.