Skip to main content

Fermented Beauty: Japan's Skincare Magic

 

One day, I was reading a book written by Grace Maeda “Japanese Secrets of Beautiful Skin and weight control” and came to know that, why Japanese women and men are famed for their beautiful skin and longevity? After reading the title of the book, I was so curious to know the reason behind their beautiful skin and longer life.

If you have ever wondered whether you could be as radiant as a model on the cover page of a magazine, the answer is yes. By following certain lifestyle strategies and beauty techniques, you can also accomplish an amazing beauty makeover that is based on real, rather than cosmetic changes. But the first element of success is the determination to succeed. If you are determined to look beautiful and feel great, you have to be disciplined in your daily lives. When you feel fit and look great, all the other challenges of modern life-at home and also at work become easier to handle.

The first step is to forget about disappointments you may have had in the past and put them all aside and commit yourself to creating a new you now. No doubt, long lifespan of Japanese is partially a tribute to medical progress also, but it is equally a product of the traditional Japanese diet and lifestyle. It is a fact that, people who enjoy the best health are those who maintain a balanced diet and lifestyle. In this modern world, the major factors that are adversely affecting our health and well being are worry, stress, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, misuse of cosmetics and inadequate body care because of busy routine. However, poor diet, lack of exercise, misuse of medicines and cosmetics and inadequate skin and body care can be controlled and once they are, the negative effects of stress and worry can be minimized. According Maeda, most of the women don’t know the basic techniques for a beautiful life. Overuse of unnecessary medicines, impure cosmetics, fat and sugar rich diet often served to create more stress and less beauty in the life of most of women.

In an interview, the oldest woman in Japan revealed the secrets of her longevity and beauty of Japanese women:

  • A life relatively free of worry and anxiety
  • Plenty of Japanese-style food (that is, a daily variety of low-fat foods served in small portions)
  • Regular and frequent baths
  • A full night’s sleep, every night
  • Women, who live in tightly knit family groups, take nightly bath and retire early.

The staple Japanese diet consists of rice, fish and vegetables and according to experts it is a very healthy diet. Health, beauty and fitness are deeply connected. By following a healthy lifestyle, not only will you live longer you will live better too. Hence, the secret of Japanese good health is a sensible diet and rigorous routine of bathing for cleansing and relaxation as relaxation slows our heart rate, reduces our blood pressure and relieves tension. It also aids digestion as we absorb essential nutrients more efficiently when relaxed, which helps to fight off disease and infection. But it doesn’t mean that Japanese women relax the whole day. They too work in an office but they do not like to sacrifice quality just to save money.

Now I will tell you a Japanese woman’s daily routine; in the morning she will have a cup of tea, toast and maybe a small green salad. For lunch, she likes to go out for a set meal (usually rice, a serving of meat or fish, some vegetables and tea). In dinner may be fish again, or perhaps an Italian or French meal, they are unlikely to eat desert, if they eat, the portions served will be about half of the size of those in the U.S. Research suggests that healthy diet have not only physical but also mental health benefits. Sadness and worry all are reflected in a poor complexion, but when we are healthy, satisfied personally and professionally and have a lust for life, our face shows it.

We cannot turn back the clock, but remember that the means of controlling age are in our own hands. Do you know, we actually have four types of ages?

  • Age according to the year we born: The only way of appraising how old we really are.
  • Skin age: When the sebum film that naturally coats and moisturizes the skin breaks down, and then needs to be helped by applications of good quality creams or lotions.
  • Appearance age: An active life, positive outlook and careful makeup and cleansing routines help determine how old or young we are in appearance.
  • Sexual age: It is up to the individual, a fulfilling and satisfying life with a loving partner is a part of the way to stay youthful, whether you are twenty eight or eighty two.

To conclude, in order to have a great skin, be happy as a positive mindset promotes the healthy functioning of nerves and hormones, this in turn ensures good circulation and the production of natural chemicals for all parts of body, including skin.

Source:

Japanese Secrets to Beautiful Skin: The Maeda Program; By Grace Maeda, Lucille Craft

Popular posts from this blog

Know your cooking oils

  Cooking oil is a plant, animal or synthetic liquid fat used in cooking, frying and also in food preparation and flavoring. It is one of the key items in our kitchen and plays a crucial role in the body. There are wide varieties of cooking oils such as olive oil, soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, peanut oil etc. from plant sources and butter and lard are examples of animal-based oils.  Fats are hydrocarbon molecules and formed through replacement of the hydrogen of each hydroxyl group by a fatty acid. As three chains of fatty acids can be attached to each glycerol molecule, the resulting molecule is called a triglyceride (fat). Fats may be monounsaturated (MUFAs), polyunsaturated (PUFAs), saturated or trans based on their fatty acid composition. Saturated and Unsaturated fatty acids In saturated fatty acids, the carbon chain has the maximum number of hydrogen atoms attached to every carbon atom. If a pair of hydrogen atoms is missing because of a double bo...

Indigofera tinctoria (Indigo): A potential source of anti-dandruff agents

  Hair plays a vital role in enhancing the personality of a human as they are the first noticeable part of beauty for both men and women. Even minor changes in hairs like greying of hair, early hair fall affect the self-confidence and self-esteem of an individual. Premature grey hair, hair loss, dandruff, fungal infections are the common hair problems.  Dandruff is a common scalp disorder affecting almost half of the population at the pre-pubertal age and it is mainly  due to exposure towards microbes, chemical agents and biological toxin present in the environment.  Although the dandruff may be non-threatening, it can negatively affect person’s self-esteem and body image. The hair beauty of individuals to a great degree depends on the health, habits, diet, routine job, climatic conditions and maintenance. Scientists revealed  several etiopathologic pathways with complex mechanisms responsible for dandruff but it is widely accepted that  Malassezia  (l...

Red and Blue Light Sensing in Plants

  Photoreceptors allow living organisms to optimize perception of light in the natural environment and thus to gain information about their external world. Analyses performed in different organisms have revealed wonderful examples of structural modifications of the light‐sensing proteins themselves, as well as diversification of the signal pathways they use in relation with their evolutionary history and function. In different organisms, the same photoreceptor may have a very conserved role or may modulate different responses. Two different photoreceptors may be involved in the control of the same physiological response. Light signals are amongst the most important environmental cues regulating plant growth and development which is achieved through a suite of photoreceptor proteins. These photoreceptors can detect the presence, intensity, direction and color of light, and in turn utilize this information to direct their growth. In plants, many types of photore...