Vitamin C Injections for Smooth and Glowing Skin: 5 Negative Effects You Need to Know When Taking Vitamin C Injection

Vitamin C injection is in trend.

Smooth skin secret revealed: Barbie Hsu mention about taking Vitamin C injection in 
her beauty book . Image from zokn

It has become increasingly popular when Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu mention about it in her beauty book. Apparently a lot of asian celebrities do it.

Vitamin C Benefits
Vitamin C does not only reduce the severity of flu and cold symptoms but they can protects, promotes, and repairs skin. Research also suggest that Vitamin C effectively fade facial sun spots. It is proven antioxidant that slows the rate of free-radical damage -- free radicals are unstable molecules that damage collagen and cause skin dryness, fine lines and wrinkles.

Vitamin C Recommended Dose
Vitamin C can be obtained directly from fruits such as papaya, mango, orange, pineapple, kiwi fruits, green vegetable, and potatoes. Recommended dose for adult is between 50-75 mg per day. Broccoli provides 89mg of vitamin C in a 100g serving, a 100g serving of kiwi fruit will provide 93mg of vitamin C, and papaya provides 62mg per 100 gram serving. (source: Health.Alicious.Ness)You may need to take a dietary supplement of vitamin C if you don't eat enough fruits and vegetables.

Now and Then: Local singer, Adira is noticeably fairer than when she first started in the industry. She is speculated taking Vitamin C injection monthly but denies the rumors by saying her glowing skin is a result of proper diet.  

Vitamin C Injection vs Vitamin C Tablet
Why many people preferred Vitamin C injections rather than oral supplementation? That's because Vitamin C injection is more effective. There is a limit to the amount of vitamin C that can be absorbed when taken orally. Only 5% of the Vitamin C is actually absorbed by the bloodstream, whereas 95% Vitamin C gets into the veins and directly into the target cell when taken by injection. 

Vitamin C Injection Supplier
Vitamin C is not only available in beauty clinic this day. Just type 'Vitamin C Injection' on Google Search and you'll get more than 2 million result, most of them selling Vitamin C Injection. Yes, you can DIY Vitamin C injection at home. Basically a box of Vitamin C injection consist of 6 ampoules of Vitamin C, some 10 ampoules, some 20 and the other 30 --- depends on the brand. And each injectable ampoules contain 500mg of Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid), the other 1800mg or 1000mg, and it varies among brands.

Vitamin C Injection Dose
From what I heard from friends, Vitamin C 1gm dose (1000 mg) to be injected in 10 consecutive days. Typically, the effects on the skin can be seen in three to four days after injection. The skin becomes firmer, pigmentation is noticeably reduce, your face will instantly look brighter and smoother. To maintain the positive result, user is usually advise to get the jab once a week.

Vitamin C Injection Side Effects
Obviously, taking 1gm dose a day of Vitamin C injection is far exceed from the safe recommended dose. The British Nutrition Foundation warn that vitamin injections can be toxic. Here are potential side effect you may experience when you take Vitamin C injection.

1. Kidney Damage
Vitamin C megadosage or Vitamin C injection can lead to increased risk of developing kidney stones, particularly if you already have a history of oxalate kidney stones. There also has been a report of kidney failure (renal failure) caused by a vitamin C overdose given by IV.

2. Severe diarrhea
Severe diarrhea is another possible symptom of a Vitamin C overdose. This can cause significant discomfort, dehydration, causing extreme thirst, fatigue, low urine output and reduced blood pressure. Diarrhea and vomiting can also cause electrolyte imbalances.

3. Liver disease
Vitamin C can help your body absorb iron from your diet. When you overdose with vitamin C, it can cause you to absorb too much iron, which lead to hemochromatosis. Hemochromatosis is also called iron overload. Abdominal pain, fatigue and joint pain are among the symptom. Hemochromatosis can lead to a dysfunctional liver and very possibly fatty due to the high iron levels.

4. Jaundice and blurry vision 
Continuous overdosing on vitamin C has also been known to cause jaundice and blurry vision.

5. Error in injection technique 
Using injection method especially when you do it on your own is an invasive nature. A fault vitamin C injection technique may hit a muscle or fat tissue instead of blood vessels. This error may leave user at risk of tissue death or in medical term known as necrosis. Blue, purple, or gray cast to the skin is a sign of necrosis. The healing process will take a long time depending on the severity of the necrosis.

Vitamin C injection is a quick fix to a smoother and clearer skin. They're also cheaper than surgery procedure. However, Dr Fiastuti Witjaksono advise that one should not take vitamin C injection if vitamin C can still be obtain in any other way.

What's your choice?

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Yay! No Acne Fears Now!

Our faces show people a million things about us. The expressions we make and the individual beauty of each face is how we distinguish and recognise each other. When a face is covered in acne it really affects self confidence.

If it’s affecting you then read on to find some safe tips to help you completely rid yourself of the acne troubles.

1. Sandal wood is the best natural medicine to clear acne.
You can mix the sandal wood powder in water and apply on the affected areas and on blemishes. As sandal wood acts as a soothing ingredient there will be no burning sensation.

2. Consuming ginger and garlic really helps in avoiding acne. 
As they have a lot of natural anti-bacterial properties and act as excellent antibiotics.

3. A face mask of honey and cinnamon can also be applied that can be washed after 10 minutes.
This will remove the excess oil from your face and give a clear and clean skin tone.

4. A camomile teabag once cooled can be placed on the blemishes and removed after few minutes. This will reduce the redness and swelling around the area will disappear.

5. Applying an ice cube at the starting stage of the acne formation will also be helpful in clearing it at the primitive stage only. It will also reduce the reddish swelling on the skin.

6. Consuming a lot of water in a day will make a lot of difference in clearing the acne. It detoxifies the skin that prevents the formation of acne.

7. The vitamin such as zinc can be consumed that diminishes the free radicals that are formed under the skin. Consuming zinc supplement on a daily basis helps you in dealing with cystic acne.

8. Use Cleansers and Toners on a daily basis as these will ensure you pores are clean and there is no build up of bacteria.

9. You can opt for a cosmetic surgery procedure that includes lasers such as Fraxel and Fractioned, CO2 resurfacing and other treatments such as microdermabrasion, dermabrasion and fillers.

10. Collagen injection can also be used to clear the scars that are left by acne. This injection stretches and fills the gaps in the skin making the scars disappear. A small amount of Neosporin applied to the affected area in the early stages can help reduce redness and fight against infection.




About the Author:
My name is Rod Kelly, a content writer from UK. I am into Health. You can follow me @thefreshhealth :)


 

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Jennifer Ansiton Age-Defying Secret: I Stopped Dieting

Jennifer Aniston is one of the hottest 43 years of old in the world. She don't look her age. Her age-defying body is better than girls half her age. Voted Hottest Women of All Time by Men's Health magazine recently, she shares her age-defying factor to The Malaysian Women's Weekly Malaysia.

Jennifer Aniston smoking hot on The Malaysian Women's Weekly
for June 2012 issue

You spoke about laser porn. Have you done it?
I love laser porn! I've done laser, but I haven't tottaly figures it out yet. But it makes you feel good, and it'll help the sun spots go away. And Paul (Rudd), he looks younger than we first met!

Everybody is really interested in your lifestyle. How do you take care of yourself, you don't seem to age. Do you workout a lot?
I workout and drink lots of water.

Are you a runner now or do you still do yoga?
All of it. But I haven't done much in the last year after a terrible knee injury.

In the Best Shape of Her Life: Jennifer Aniston at the 64th Annual Directors Guild Of
America Awards on January 28, 2012 and a flashback of Friends season 16 years back.

Do you have a diet you follow or no diet?
I stopped dieting when I figured out that you just have to eat regularly and within moderation. But I was like, the fads are too much...and the fasts. When you hear people saying, "I'm going on a cleanse,", "I'm going onto this", it's just so bad for your body.  I think it's really about honesty. This is going to sound so silly, but going in the sun for 20 minutes a day is really important, it's not the enemy. And I think being happy and smiling and laughing a lot is important too.

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Acne Treatment: Reduce Milk Consumption and Other Acne Diets

Even thick makeup can't hide Victoria Beckham's spot

Acne is an embarrassing skin conditions to most people. It's not only leave ugly scars, but it can cause low self-esteem. Acne does not affect teenagers alone. Many adults do suffer from it as well. Victoria Beckham is a rich and famous celebrity who suffers from serious adult acne.

Apart from using the right skincare to cure acne, a diet play a good role to treat one. What we eat can affect the hormones that contribute to the oil production, hyperproliferation, and inflammation that cause acne. Disease Proof has interesting facts about it.

1) Protein

Protein intake especially from dairy products determines circulating of IGF-1 levels. IGF-1 which stands for insulin-like growth factor 1 is a factor to changes in gene expression that cause inflammation, hormonal changes, increased oil production, and development of acne lesions. A research of scientists from RMIT University in Australia comes to build on a hypothesis stating that replacing high-carbohydrate foods in one's diet with products rich in proteins could lead to a decrease in acne by more than 50%. Fish, such as salmon, white-meat poultry (lean protein is the best), eggs, beans, cheese and yogurt are excellent source of protein.

2) High glycemic load foods

In several studies, a low glycemic load diet has been shown to improve acne symptoms, and decrease IGF-1 and skin oil production. High-GL foods like refined carbohydrates which produce dangerous spikes in blood glucose not only can cause serious health issues like diabetes, heart disease, and several cancers but also raises IGF-1 levels, further contributing to acne. Example source of refined carbohydrates are table sugar and syrup, sweetened fruit juice, beer, wine, soft drinks, sweet tea, sweetened canned fruits, frozen foods with sugar added, cookies, cakes and candy.

3) Protective micronutrients

Maintaining micronutrient adequacy may help to prevent acne. World Health Organization define micronutrients as nutrients that required by human in small quantities to enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances essential for proper growth and development. Micronutrients such as carotenoids which can be found in green and orange vegetables, and Vitamin E which is abundant in nuts and seeds are proven to be an effective acne fighting agent.

4) Dairy Products

A three-year prospective study of US girls aged 9-15 year old in 1996 found that girls who had 2 or more servings of milk per day are 20% increase in acne prevalence compared to girls who had less than 1 per week.In the Nurses' Health Study, dairy products eaten during high school were associated with prevalence of physician-diagnosed severe teenage acne. According to the study, milk intake may affect acne severity through the Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) pathway. Moderation of milk intake may be useful as part of the management of teenage acne.

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The Top 6 Cause of Skin Pigmentation

Lindsay Lohan has uneven pigment and dull texture. Image by totalbeauty.com

Skin pigmentation is a flat brown spot on your skin. It is usually caused by an age factor. As we get older the skin will lose its elasticity and less able to repair itself from damage. But younger people may experience skin pigmentation too.

There are a few factors that relate to skin pigmentation;

1. Pregnancy

During pregnancy, a woman's facial skin may darken when exposed to sunlight. This condition is called melasma. Generally, the skin will return to its original pigmentation after pregnancy.

2. Medication

Melasma can occur while woman taking birth control pills. The skin pigment usually appear around mouth and cheeks. More commonly it resolves after  stopping the oral contraceptive pill. Antibiotics (tetracycline) and antimalarial drugs may cause hyperpigmentation in some people too.

3. Exposure to the sun

Regular expose to the sun are the fastest way to damage and age the skin. When the skin cells called melanocytes get damaged by the sun, we produce freckles which are abnormal collections of melanin pigment, packaged in a different way than a normal melanin pigment is packaged. They are most common on areas regularly exposed to the sun such as the face and hands. 

The best advice is avoid the midday sun and avoid excessive sunbathing. Always apply around your face and neck a Sunblock Lotion, SPF 50 or at least SPF30, to prevent skin pigmentation.

4. Diet

According to research, the sensitivity of skin is known to increase with the intake of foods containing psolarens such as parsley and lime. Since, skin becomes more sensitive, its exposure to sun causes skin discoloration.

5. Genetic factors and disease

Liver disease causes yellow skin, albinism causes white skin, anemia causes paleness and cyanotic heart disease causes cyanosis.

6. Unhealthy lifestyle 

Unhealthy lifestyle including smoking and stress can contribute to uneven skin pigmentation. Quit smoking and learn to manage your stress.

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Julianne Moore Advice Young People: "Stay Out Of the Sun!"

Pose for InStyle: Julianne Moore looks seductive and amazingly youthful.

Sun is a good source of Vitamin D. Vitamin D are essential to build strong bones and teeth and  helps the immune system to fight infections. But exposing yourself to the sun too long can damage your skin. Skin cancer and risk of eye damage are among the danger.  Sunlight is also responsible for premature aging.

Julianne Moore at 50: Looking fabulous on InStyle cover, May issue.

Skinnyvscurvy quoted Julianne Moore on how she keeps her skin soft and wrinkle-free: "I say this to every young person I know. Stay out of the sun! I have very fair skin and it would have been super-damaged. I always wear sunscreen and I walk on the shady side of the street." The 50-year-old actress is on the cover of InStyle magazine, May issue. She looks amazingly gorgeous.

Wear umbrella when you are outside to protect you against the sun.

When you are outside, using sunscreens can help you reduce the risk of skin damage from sunlight. The hours between 10 am and 3 pm are the worst times to be outside. To give your skin a chance to fully absorb, apply sunscreen about one-half hour before going out in the sun. The sunscreen SPF number gives you some idea how long you can remain in the sun before burning. For example, you would normally burn in 10 minutes without sunscreen, applying a 15 SPF sunscreen may provide you with about 150 minutes in the sun before burning.

Many people thinks sunblock and sunscreen are the same. According to Harvard Medical School report, this opinion is wrong. Sunblock reflect the UVB light and blocking the sun's rays from reaching our skin. Sunblocks, such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, are highly effective in protecting against both UVA and UVB rays, the types of UV radiation that cause sunburn and skin cancer.
Sunscreen absorbing and reflecting UV rays and allows a certain range of UV light to be absorbed into the skin.It helps protect against UVA rays as well as UVB. You'll see these ingredients listed as oxybenzone, octyl salicylate, or octyl methoxycinnamate.

P/S: My husband use to got sunburn after playing golf, even when it's cloudy outside. I suggested him to use Banana Boat Sport Sunblock Lotion, SPF 50 and it worked very well on him.

Which do you pick, a sunscreen or a sunblock?

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Posh Spice's Acne Battle: How to Handle Adult Acne

Spotted: Victoria Beckham

Almost all kids suffer from acne. But teenagers is not the only group whom affected by acne. Adults suffer with acne too. High-profile celebrity, Posh Spice aka Victoria Beckham suffers from serious adult acne. She was plagued by skin problems since her teenage years. In 2007, she was pictured by the paparazzi with an incredibly spotty forehead.

What is the causes of adult acne? Hormonal imbalance likely the cause of both teen and adult acne. Women may experience acne during pregnancy or after discontinuing use of birth control pill.

Acne is also stress-related. When you’re stressed out, your adrenal glands secrete androgen which enlarges the oil glands and stimulates excess sebum production. Your pores get clogged and you end up with pimples.

RELATED: Healing Adult Acne: Your Guide to Clear Skin And Self-confidence

Despite of many myths, chocolate, caffeine, or eating junk food like french fries and greasy pizza are not statistically related to causing acne based on overall studies. However unhealthy lifestyle, diet and cosmetic may lead to adult acne.

Adult acne treatment and skincare solution

Adapt a healthy lifestyle. Avoid eating too much meat, sugar and processed food, instead include more vegetables, fresh fruits and whole grains in your meals. At the same time, take up some form of exercise to sweat out the toxin and cut down on smoking, caffeine and alcohol.

Over scrubbing can irritate the skin and dry it out excessively, stimulating the sebaceous glands to react. Avoid overly harsh skin care solutions. Benzoyl peroxide makes an effective treatment for mild to moderate acne. I recommend Proactiv Solution. My sister using this and I can see her complexion improve within 3 months of use. However, each person will respond differently to skin care products. So, if you haven't find the one that suit you yet, don't be discouraged, take time to evaluate the various options.

Keep your hands away from your face as much as possible. Resting your chin on your hands or rubbing your nose can encourage the growth of bacteria and cause breakouts. Picking at pimples can drive bacteria deeper into the skin, potentially increasing inflammation and scarring.

Keep stress level under control. Cortisol, a stress hormone, can stimulate over-production of oil, which mixes with dead skin cells and bacteria to create breakouts. Check the product you use too. Some cosmetic, moisturizers and sunscreens can clog pores and create breakouts. Even the one which claim for oily skin.

Nothing we can do about hormonal changes which cause acne, but we can take a hygienic approach to avoid it become worst. The latest news, Victoria Beckham is pregnant with her fourth child. This fourth pregnancy has helped get rid of her acne.

Victoria has tried everything under the sun for her skin, yet nothing has worked as well as getting pregnant with her fourth baby. "The hormones really suit her and she's said this pregnancy has cleared up her spots," said a source. The texture of her skin is much smoother and any open pores seem to have closed up. "She's been drinking lots of water and eating fruit like kiwis and strawberries", the sources added.

MUST READ: That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between by Victoria Beckham

Victoria is due to give birth to her fourth child this summer, and even husband David Beckham think she is sexier than ever.

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Unreveal the 5 Simple Celeb's Skincare Recipes

Song Hye Kyo

Song Hye-kyo  born February 26, 1982. She is a famous South Korean model and beautiful actress. You can spot her fair appearance in a number of drama like The World That They Live In as Joo Joon Young (KBS, 2008), Full House as Han JiEun (KBS, 2004) and Sunlight Pours Down as Ji Yeon Woo (SBS, 2004), just to name a few. She is undoubtedly successful playing her role in every drama she is in, but that is not the talk now. Her most porcelain and smooth skin is every girl's envy. The question is how she get that perfect skin and keep it?

Song with Hyun Bin in one scene of  "The World That They Live In"

Beauty  recipe 1: egg white and honey for skin whitening
This is a face mask consisting of one raw egg white (without the yolk) and a spoonful of honey. Blend well and apply to the face and let it dry. After which, rinse off with water. Use this mask on your skin every fortnight and apply it just before bedtime.

Beauty recipe 2: honey for skin brightening
Diluted honey with double the amount of water and massage well into the face. Rinse afterwards. Again this should be used every fortnight and this recipe is good to brighten skin and reduce fine lines. Additionally, Song Hye Kyo also mentioned another recipe of blending together a spoonful of honey, a spoonful of powdered milk and one raw egg white together. Use a cotton pad to apply the blend as a light layer on the skin. Rinse away after 20 minutes. According to her, this is great for dry skin if used every fortnight.

RELATED PRODUCT: SK II Whitening Source Derm-Renewal Essence
 

"Full House" scene with Rain

Beauty recipe 3: milk for soft and smooth skin

Another of Song Hye Kyo’s beauty secret is to use milk to wash her face as well as using milk as mask for facial. Cleopatra is well known to love milk for its beauty properties on her skin.

RELATED PRODUCT: Clarins White Plus HP Intensive Whitening Smoothing Serum

Beauty recipe 4: ice cubes for slimmer face
The lovely actress also uses ice cubes to massage into her skin, firming and tightening up her skin thus making her face seem smaller. But using ice too frequent may cause broken capillaries for some skin types.

Beauty recipe 5: vegetables and fruits for beauty inside out
Apart from these natural beauty recipes, Song Hye Kyo is also particular about her diet, staying away from food that is bad for her skin like chocolate, coke, black tea plus junk food and instead eating lots of fruits, veggies and occassionally, eggs. A true practitioner of beauty from inside out!

PS: Plan Your Meal Here

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