Hair and skin care

Beauty magazines show tons of beautiful girls and women in ads for hair and skin products. But, don’t be fooled into thinking you need these products to look your best. Instead, try these time-test-ed beauty basics, which will keep you looking naturally beautiful! Skin care 101
* Wash your face regularly using a mild cleanser and warm water. Be gentle—don’t scrub hard! Avoid astringents, which can dry out and irritate skin.
* Use only light, water-based moisturizers. Look for one that has SPF 15 or a higher number sunscreen.
*For sensitive skin, try products that say “fragrance-free” or “without perfume.”
This is the same girl! Don’t compare yourself to mod-els. They have a team of stylists as well as camera tricks to make them look so perfect.
 Always wear “broad-spectrum”
sunscreen, which protects against UVAand UVBrays. Wear sunscreen even on cloudy days. SPF alone does not protect against these two types of harm-ful rays. Follow the directions on the bottle to put more on after a while. Wear lipscreen with at least SPF15. And, your skin needs more than just sunscreen.
• Wear long-sleeve shirts, pants, and a hat.
• Stay in the shade.
• Stay out of the sun in the middle of the day, when rays are strongest.
*Wash your hair regularly, but only as often as you need to. Washing too often can strip away the natural oils that give hair shine and body.
 If you’re allowed to wear
makeup, use only water-based
products that say “noncomprehending” or “nonacademic” on the label. Make sure to take off your makeup before going to bed.
* To control acne, try over-the-counter products that you can buy without a doctor’s order.
These products come as gels, lotions, creams, and soaps. Your doctor can treat more serious acne problems.
* Drink plenty of water.

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sexuallY transmitted diseases (stds)

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are on the rise among young people. STDs are caused by
many different virus sand back-triathlete spread through sexual contact. Some examples of STD s
are chlamydia, crabs (pubic lice), genital herpes, gonorrhea, hepatic-tis B, HIV/AIDS, and syphilis. Even
if you’re not sexually active now, it’s vital to know how to protect yourself later.Four key things you need to
know about STD s
1. STDs can affect anyone—women and men of all ages and racial and ethnic backgrounds. Teens
and young adults get STDs more often than any other age group. About three million teens get STDs every year. That means about one in four sexu-ally active teens gets an STD.
2. You can get an STD by hav-ing any kind of sex, including vaginal (penis is put into vagina), oral (sucking and/or licking of sex organs), and anal (penis is put into butt). You can also get an STD by having other close
sexual contact with someone who already has an STD.
3. Often, STDs cause no symp-toms at first. Even if you have no symptoms, you can still pass
an infection on to another per-son. If you get symptoms, they can seem like other problems that aren’t STDs, such as yeast infections.

4. While some STDs can be treated and will go away, others can’t be cured. You can only try
to make the symptoms better. If untreated, some STDs can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, cancer of the cervix, or even death. If you think you have a problem, see your doctor right away.
Your doctor will check your skin, throat and genital area. Your doctor may also test your blood, urine, or a sample of tissue or fluid from your body. If you have an STD, your doctor can start taking care of you right away. Even if your STD is cured with treatment, you can still get it again if you are sexu-ally active and do not protect yourself. Protect yourself from STDs

* You can’t get an STD if you do not have sex of any kind or close sexual contact with some-one. The best way to protect your health is to wait until you are married to have sex.
* Condoms can’t protect you from all STDs. But, if used correctly and used all the time, condoms will lower your chances of getting some STDs. Condoms will also lower your chances of getting pregnant.
* Talk to your parents or guard-ians, an older brother or sister, or another trusted adult about sex to helpyou make wise choices.Abstinence—not having sex—is the only 100 percent sure way to not get an STD.How do I know if I have an STD? You should see a doctor right away if you have lower stomach pain or have vaginal discharge(fluid) that is yellow, gray, or green with a strong smell. In between periods, it is normal to have a clear or whitish fluid (discharge) coming from your vagina.See your doctor if you have any of the other symptoms of com-mon STDs that follow.

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premenstrual sYndrome (pms)

Are you feeling grumpy, tense, tired or depressed? Maybe you cry a lot and crave certain foods, too. Or
maybe you have felt changes in your body, like acne, a bloated stomach,breast aches or slight weight gain. If
you feel this way and it’s also a few days before your period, you might have premenstrual syndrome or
PMS. Don’t worry! PMS is a normal part of having a period, and you will feel better soon!
If you get PMS, try…

* Eating more healthful foods and less sugar and fat.
* Eating less salt the few days before your period, which can help stop bloating.
* Drinking less caffeine (found in soda, tea and coffee) to feel less crabby and help ease breast
aches and cramps.
* Eating small meals often each day rather than big ones.
* Exercising for at least 30 min-utes, four to six times a week. If you have cramps or aches and pains, don’t exercise so hard—you can walk instead of jog.
* Sleeping at least 8 hours each night. 
Teen tip:
To make menstrual cramps bet-ter, put a warm water bottle or heating pad on your lower back
or lower belly. You may also try hugging a pillow. Don’t ever take medicine without permis-sion from a parent or guardian.
* Keeping a regular schedule for exercise, meals and bedtime.
* Talking to your doctor about your PMS symptoms. Your doc-tor may have you take a pain reliever that has ibuprofen or pyroxene, which you can buy at a grocery store or drugstore without a doctor’s orders.
Make sure you have perms-Sion from a parent or guard-Ian first. Your doctor may give you other medicines if the symptoms are really bad.
Fun quiz
No one knows for sure what causes PMS, but it seems to be linked to the changes in h _ _ _ _ _ _ levels that happen during your menstrual cycle.
*Hint: You can find the answer in one of the web sites listed at the end of this section.

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Your period

Your period doesn’t have to keep  you from doing the things you  like to do. Nobody even needs to
know you’re having it but you!tampons or pads? It’s your choice What you should know about
tampons:
* Tampons are put inside of your vagina to soak up blood before it leaves your body. Instructions
come with tampons to show you how to put them in.
* Some tampons have a plastic or cardboard covering—called the “applicator”—that makes
it easier for you to put the tampon in. Do not leave the applicator inside your vagina.
* All tampons have a string at the end to help you take it out when it needs to be changed (at least every 4 to 8 hours).

* Tampons will not get lost in your vagina or “slip up.”
* You can wear tampons when you swim. Water does not enter your vagina.
* It is VERY important that you use the tampon with the lowest level of absorbency (the amount
it can soak up) for your needs. Don’t use a “super” tampon
if you only need a “regular” tampon.

• Strange vaginal discharge
(fluid) with an unusual scent,
look, or feel
• Feeling of confusion
It is possible to tear your hymen by putting in a tampon, but this is
rare. If it does tear, this does not mean you are no longer a virgin.
You are a virgin until you have sexual intercourse.What you should know about
pads:
* Pads stick to the inside of your underwear and soak up the blood that leaves the vagina.
* Some pads are thin, for days when your period is light. Some are thick, for when you are
bleeding more. You also can use thicker pads at night when you sleep.
Using tampons that are too ab-sorbent or not changing them often enough can put you at risk for toxic shock syndrome (TSS), a rare yet dangerous infection.Tell an adult and call a doctor if you are using tampons and have the following:
• High fever that comes on all of a sudden
• Muscle pains
• Dizziness or fainting
• A rash that looks like sun-burn
• Bloodshot eyes
During the day, it is best to check your pad every couple of hours so that you can change it before it is soaked with blood.
* If you are worried about any smell, changing pads often and keeping up good hygiene will help control this. You do not need to use deodorant pads.
* You probably don’t want to wear pads when you swim. They will soak up water and be bulky.

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Taking care of your reproductive health

Your body The way the female body is designed is really cool if you  think about it. Check out these graphics to learn about the major reproductive organs. These are the parts of the body involved in making a baby. Ovary—Women have two ovaries, which have eggs (ova) and make female hormones. One of the ovaries lets go of an egg about once each month as part of the menstru-al cycle. This is called ovulation. Fallopian tube—When an egg is released, it travels through the  fallopian tube toward the uterus. Fertilization—When a man’s sperm  and a woman’s egg join together.  This usually happens in the fallopian tube.

Uterus—The uterus is a pear-shaped, hollow organ where a
baby grows during pregnancy. The
lining of the uterus is called the
endometrium. This lining is shed
during a woman’s period. Eggs
that are not fertilized are shed
along with the lining of the uterus.
Cervix—The cervix is a slim
entrance between the vagina and the uterus. The muscles of the cer-vaginal openingmons
pubis labia clitoris urinary opening anus Nipple Areola (the dark area around the nipple)
vix are flexible so that it can expand  to let a baby pass through during birth. (Very cool!)
Hymen—The hymen is a thin piece  of tissue that covers the open-ing of the vagina. This tissue can be broken through with the first sexual intercourse. Vagina—The vagina is a muscular
passage that leads down from the cervix to the outside of the body.

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