Natural Ethnic Skin Care: What You Need to Know

Long known, is the fact that there are very few natural ethnic skin care products in the mainstream cosmetics industry to address skin of color properly. Seems almost everything formulated for our skin in the ethnic market is either too drying, too irritating, too greasy, or just plain too ineffective.What makes some formulators of these products think these type of products are going to help our skin? One would wonder what they were thinking. Is there any hope?It is extremely pleasing to say ‘indeed yes’, there is. Start using natural ethnic skin care products. Stop using toxic products. We know just how sensitive our skin is, so the first thing we need to do is avoid chemical-laden skin care and personal care products like the plague.These types of products can prove to be devastating to our skin in many ways. Unfortunately, these products were saturating and even dominating the cosmetics industry for quite some time.In both the ethnic personal care market as well as the mainstream personal care market, there’s a lot left to be desired. By now, you probably have a good idea why it is not recommended to use most mainstream personal care products for sensitive skin of color. Not to worry, natural personal care products are the answer.Natural Skin Care: Herbs Make the Difference for Ethnic SkinWhen it comes to natural skin care, herbs contained in products can have a very positive impact on ethnic skin. There is a fundamental difference in the way herbal skin care and conventional skin care works.Herbs themselves, contain not only single active constituents, but many active constituents that provide necessary nutrients to the skin. These multiple compounds acting together, can more effectively address skin problems from every angle.Remember, plant cells and human cells are very compatible. What does all this mean? It means that herbals treat not just the symptoms, but the underlying cause of any existing skin or health condition more effectively.It is well-known that herbs are more gentle in nature, on not only the skin, but the body as a whole. This can be attributed to the fact that herbs have been extracted as naturally occurring substances. Herbs are gentle and do not produce any major, toxic side effects on skin.This is especially beneficial for skin of color, as it is more reactive by nature than most other skin types and needs both the gentlest, and most effective treatment. Make no mistake about it, herbal skin care may be gentler, but this does not mean it is less effective. You’ll be pleasantly surprised!Remember, 60-70% of what you put on your skin has the ability to penetrate your pores and eventually end up in your blood stream. If you are going to use products to address your skin condition, why not use something naturally healthy as well?Natural products either purchased or home-made from natural ingredients, should be the preferred choice before conventional personal care products are sought after from the mainstream cosmetics industry.Herbals vs. Modern Drugs in the Skin Care IndustryModern drugs contained in mainstream or conventional skin care products (including benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, kojic acid, etc.) are manufactured in laboratories and then produced in mass quantities in factories.Before reaching the general public, these drugs are tested on a large number of users. The knowledge that forms the basis of the conventional or mainstream skin care industry is based on experimental findings and observations.To that extent, herbal treatments are also supported through years of fact-based evidence that has accumulated over generations and across cultures, thus their value is well-known.The unfortunate fact is that the approach to testing herbal beauty remedies has not been as thorough and rigorous as the testing that is seen in the mainstream beauty industry.So much money has been put into funding the analysis of modern drugs (also contained in many skin care products) that they should be able to produce evidence for the benefits of herbal treatments. In the modern drug and personal care markets, it’s all about the money.It is much less cost-effective for mainstream cosmetic and skin care makers to produce active, natural and organic skin care products than to produce unnatural and even unsafe ones.Remember that herbal treatments are different in that they are a complex mixture of a variety of active compounds. These active compounds work together to heal skin more effectively and are difficult to separate making duplication and measurement a difficult task for the mainstream formulator.One Word of CautionWhen selecting herbal ethnic skin care products for our dark skin, we must still be cautious for our skin’s sake. Beware of companies who tout themselves as offering you so-called ‘natural’, ‘herbal’ and ‘organic’ skin or hair care products and they really are not!When it comes down to it, there may be tiny amounts of only one, two or maybe even three organic and/or natural ingredients in the entire product followed or preceded by a host of chemical ingredients such as coloring agents, preservatives, stabilizers, thickeners, PH balancers, fragrance and such. Please read labels carefully. Avoid these products. Your skin will thank you.The Bottom LineDark skin types should be treated with the thorough understanding of our skin’s characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. Once we understand this, we can treat it more effectively with natural herbs and avoid the recurrence of excessive skin problems. We can start by becoming more educated about our beautiful dark skin (you are because you’re reading this article).First, avoid unhealthy and unnatural skin care products, incorporate more fresh, nutrient rich foods in our diets, and use natural ethnic skin care products designed for ‘us’ (even if you have to make your own). You’re on your way!

S&P 500 Rallies As U.S. Dollar Pulls Back Towards Weekly Lows

Key Insights
The strong pullback in the U.S. dollar provided significant support to stocks.
Treasury yields have pulled back after touching new highs, which served as an additional positive catalyst for S&P 500.
A move above 3730 will push S&P 500 towards the resistance level at 3760.
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Pfizer Rallies After Announcing A Huge Price Hike For Its COVID-19 Vaccines
S&P 500 is currently trying to settle above 3730 as traders’ appetite for risk is growing. The U.S. dollar has recently gained strong downside momentum as the BoJ intervened to stop the rally in USD/JPY. Weaker U.S. dollar is bullish for stocks as it increases profits of multinational companies and makes U.S. equities cheaper for foreign investors.

The leading oil services company Schlumberger is up by 9% after beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Schlumberger’s peers Baker Hughes and Halliburton have also enjoyed strong support today.

Vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna gained strong upside momentum after Pfizer announced that it will raise the price of its coronavirus vaccine to $110 – $130 per shot.

Biggest losers today include Verizon and Twitter. Verizon is down by 5% despite beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Subscriber numbers missed estimates, and traders pushed the stock to multi-year lows.

Twitter stock moved towards the $50 level as the U.S. may conduct a security review of Musk’s purchase of the company.

From a big picture point of view, today’s rebound is broad, and most market segments are moving higher. Treasury yields have started to move lower after testing new highs, providing additional support to S&P 500. It looks that some traders are ready to bet that Fed will be less hawkish than previously expected.

S&P 500 Tests Resistance At 3730

S&P 500 has recently managed to get above the 20 EMA and is trying to settle above the resistance at 3730. RSI is in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional upside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge.

If S&P 500 manages to settle above 3730, it will head towards the next resistance level at 3760. A successful test of this level will push S&P 500 towards the next resistance at October highs at 3805. The 50 EMA is located in the nearby, so S&P 500 will likely face strong resistance above the 3800 level.

On the support side, the previous resistance at 3700 will likely serve as the first support level for S&P 500. In case S&P 500 declines below this level, it will move towards the next support level at 3675. A move below 3675 will push S&P 500 towards the support at 3640.

Choosing A Commercial Insurance Policy

Choosing the correct commercial insurance for your business needs can be daunting enough even for a seasoned businessman or negotiator. For a start-up enterprise ensuring that the business has full and proper protection against all risks, it is an even larger minefield.There are however some basic rules of insurance, which if born in mind while looking for the right commercial policy, will ensure that the enterprise is neither under or over insured and has the necessary cover in force.For a commercial insurance contract to be valid the proposer must have what is known in the industry as ‘an insurable interest’ in the object of the cover. This immediately helps define the type of property insurance policy that a businessman might require.The business risks to be insured under the policy are not the physical object themselves but the financial value of such, which is defined as the interest that a policyholder has in the objects should they suffer loss if the insured risks occur.Clearly then the type of policy that a business will require depends upon whether the proposer is the owner of the commercial property, or a leaseholder or tenant.An owner of a commercial premises who lets or leases a building, no matter the type of business activities that may be pursued there, would only have an interest in the buildings fixtures and fittings of the property concerned and any liabilities to the public that may arise from these.A lease-holders interest in the buildings may be dependent upon contract of lease and should be checked thoroughly with the agreement. Often a contract will make it the responsibility of the lessee to provide cover for the lease term.Owner occupiers of commercial premises will have a financial interest in both the buildings and contents of the property and will require insurance for both.Rented commercial property buildings cover is not usually the concern of the tenant who will only have an insurable interest in any contents of the building and in any improvements that they may have made to the property in order to carry out business.Before getting any commercial property insurance quotes it is necessary for the businessman to calculate the values of all the buildings, contents and stock. Buildings value should be based upon the rebuilding costs following a total loss and allowing for inflation. Accurate annual turnover figures will be required for contents insurance. If high value stock items are kept at the property, then the value of these should be determined individually.Applying for commercial insurance quotes online might only take a minute or two to complete, however the preparation needed to obtain accurate data to supply to the insurance company could take a lot longer. It is unlikely that even the small businessman has calculated the value of his office contents for replacement purposes.Ensuring that the information you supply on a commercial insurance proposal form is correct, is not only legally required, but is essential if you wish to avoid problems if a claim has to made at a future date. Problems can quickly arise with disagreements over the value of stock or office equipment values following a major loss, especially where the declared values are not sufficient and an average or proportional reduction to a claim is imposed.Having established any property risks that a commercial enterprise may be exposed to it is then necessary to look at all the potentialities and risks that the business might be liable for, in the course of carrying out its commercial activities.Liability insurance is essential for all enterprises, large or small.Public liability insurance protects the business against any claims from the public for loss or damage suffered, for which the business could be held liable. Employers liability, a type of workers compensation insurance, protects a business against being sued by its employees and is a legal requirement.Most commercial liability insurance is sold by trade or professional type with risks and covers that are specific to that business type. Additional liability insurance such as professional indemnity insurance which covers professionals against negligent advice or product liability for shops providing goods, are examples of such.Buying a combined tradesman or professional service stand-alone liability product is today a simple process using one of the many liability insurance comparison websites that exist online.It is possible to buy commercial insurance for both liability and property combined for any type of business, under what is called a ‘combined commercial insurance policy’. This type of flexible contract allows specific risks to be added and limits of indemnity chosen and is often known as ‘all risks’ cover.For specific types of commercial insurance risks such as shops and offices, where property values and liability cover can be easily assessed, it is now possible to compare many covers and buy online what are known as packaged policies.The Internet offers many full ‘all risks’ commercial insurance policies covering every eventuality and consequential loss, which are available from online insurance brokers, comparison sites and direct from commercial insurance companies themselves. If you have any doubts about the necessary cover for your particular business it is advisable to consult a commercial insurance broker who will offer advice and the latest market information.