myhealthandbeauty-blog1

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Quote of the Day

 ‘It always seems impossible until its done” - Nelson Mandela

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My last post was about sunscreen and the importance of wearing it. I remember one day being excited that I found a facial moisturizer that was actually moisturizing and had SPF 50 in it and didn’t leave me feeling too greasy. I later got to school and was immediately told by my peers that my skin had a whitish tint to it. I hurried to the bathroom and too my horror there was definitely a white cast on my face. So to avoid this, I compiled a list of women of color friendly sunscreens of different SPF ranges.

 Here are some affordable women of color friendly sunscreens:

 1)      My current favorite

  Aveeno Positively Radiant Moisturizer with SPF 30

I feel this is really good because it really moisturizes and makes your skin bright while also protecting it from harmful rays. It is $18 at Walgreens which isn’t a bad because of the amount of product in the bottle and because of its benefits. The only downside is that it does burn so if you have really sensitive skin I do not recommend.

   2.  Aveeno Protect + Hydrate Lotion Sunscreen with Broad Spectrum SPF 30.

  $11.99 at Walgreens

  3.    Cetaphil Daily Moisturizer SPF 15

$12- Walmart, Target

 4.  Clinique Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen Fluid

This one is a bit more expensive as it is $26 and can be found at Sephora.

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Protect Yourselves

Summer is approaching and it is time to remind everyone to wear sunscreen! When I was younger my mother would stress the importance of applying sunscreen before I went out for my day. I didn’t really take her seriously but now as I am in my early 20’s I find myself being way too concerned about premature aging.

However, my concern about premature aging is nothing compared to something that can potentially affect every human regardless of age or race. Skin cancer is real and we all have to take measures to protect ourselves.

The most common types of skin cancer melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. Although they are all dangerous, melanoma is the most deadly.

Here are some tips:

Always apply your sunscreen 30-40 minutes before going out into the sun.

Reapply your sunscreen every 3 hours. I know that seems like a lot but we do sweat a lot (and go swimming) in the summer so it’s important to make sure that you have applied enough to protect you.

Lastly, it doesn’t matter what SPF you use! Apparently you can use whatever SPF you want from SPF 15-80 but you need to remember the last step that I talked about. REAPPLY IT!

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Eating healthy while in college

So I have been trying different things out with my diet to see how it would affect my daily life. I had always heard and seen people talking about how a clean diet and daily exercise can affect your health mentally but never actually tried to change my lifestyle. I do have to note that this wasn’t consistent but I did do well for about three weeks.

Dairy-

I have done pretty good at cutting dairy from my diet. I made the switch to exclusively consuming almond milk and I haven’t had ice cream or milkshakes in a while and it has created such a difference in my life.  I’ve listed some differences below:

1)     Less bloating

2)     Not feeling sluggish

3)     Less breakouts/clearer skin

4)     A clearer mentality

Try exercising for at least 30 minutes a day!

The internet is full with at home work outs. There are many different platforms to choose from. We have Youtube which has very detailed videos and Instagram in which many people are now using because of the Insta story feature. Find a work out on these sites/apps that is good for you and follow through with it!

Water, water, water

I know sometimes we can become frustrated when people say “just drink your body, and your skin will clear up”. But water literally flushes out the toxins from your body. Obviously its not just going to miraculously clear everyone’s skin but it will cause it to glow and it helps with under eye bags and just energizes you all together! 

If you have any suggestions or if you have started a healthy diet recently, let me know what you think!

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We’ve all had those days...

So today I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed and unmotivated. This semester has been the most challenging mentally and physically because I am trying to figure out how to balance school, my internship and my social life. I know that I’m not the only one that is feeling this way, especially as it is midterm time and we are all college students. But I think that it is important to keep pushing no matter what because the end goal is the most important and you want to know you gave the semester your all! When I’m feeling uninspired one of the main things that I do is listen to music, and since today is International Women’s Day, I decided to make a short empowering playlist composed of songs performed by women!

1)     Run the World – Beyonce

2)     Bossy- Kelis

3)     Flawless- Beyonce (Remix is popping too)

4)     Roll it Gal- Alison Hinds

5)     Upgrade You- Beyonce

6)     Try Again- Aaliyah

7)     Pretty Girl Rock- Keri Hilson

8)     Survivor- Destiny’s Child

9)     I’m Coming Out- Diana Ross

10)  Just Fine- Mary J Blidge

11)  Hard-Rihanna

 If you have any songs that you enjoy and inspire you please comment and share!

And remember…” life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”

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Growing concern in Mental Health of College Students

Anxiety continues to be one of the top health issues among college students. 1 in 5 college students are affected by anxiety or depression and the daily pressures of it all keeps getting worse. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 40 million U.S adults suffer from an anxiety disorder and 75 percent of them experience their first episode of anxiety by age 22.

Why are college students suffering so much?

College students have a variety of problems to worry about. Staying on top of classes, extracurricular activities, financial issues, internships/jobs, and relationship issues are among some of the factors that contribute to the growing concern of their mental health.  With all of these responsibilities comes lack of sleep, poor diet or just not enough time to participate in activities that make us truly happy.

Our digital age. Students with heavy presence on social media see lifestyles that they can’t relate to and this can make them feel like they are doing something wrong with their lives leading to seeing themselves as a failure.

While there are valid reasons why students suffer from anxiety, there are steps that college students can take to help ease the stress of their daily responsibilities:

Time management

Investing in a planner and planning out events and work ahead of time helps a lot.

Exercise

Taking out time to regularly exercise and not being too harsh on yourself is helpful also.

Disconnect

Over consumption of social media can be very unhealthy. If you find yourself spending so much time that it takes away from your obligations, give it a rest. And most importantly, sleep!

If none of these methods work for you there are ways that you can seek professional help.  Most college campuses offer counseling services which include individual therapy and support groups. A lot of the time we just need someone to vent to and help guide our way.