4 Essential Steps for Your Skin Care Routine

The face and the facial skin is the first thing that people see. So when we leave our homes you want to present a clean, clear, beautiful looking face. The facial skin unlike other areas of skin on our body is always exposed to the environment and therefore is easily damaged through sun exposure, chemicals, toxins and pollutants. Taking care of our facial skin is very important not only to stay beautiful but also to avoid increased signs of aging, blemishes, or acne.Although, most skin care products and advertisements are directed at women, men should also have a daily facial skin care routine as well. Men’s facial skin is just as likely as women’s to become damaged, dirty, or acne ridden, therefore making sure you properly hydrate, and clean your facial skin is necessary. Most people have been using the same skin care routine since they were young. They found an over the counter face wash that has worked for them and they stuck with it. However, as we age our skin changes. You may need more than just your average face wash to keep up that clear, youthful looking skin.The best skin care routines involve 4 steps. Diligence and determination are needed to succeed with a great skin care routine. Most people consider just washing or cleansing their face of the daily dirt and grime their best effort to keep their facial skin in good condition. However, it’s the other crucial steps that will keep their skin looking young, vibrant, healthy and firm. Although, all four steps are necessary to keep our facial skin beautiful, 2 out of the four steps are not necessary on a daily basis.The four essential steps to the best skin care routines are cleansing, toning, exfoliating, and moisturizing. Cleansing and moisturizing the face should be done everyday in the morning and before you go to bed. This way the face stays fresh, clean and hydrated throughout the day as well as the night.Cleansing is the first step for proper skin care. Most people clean or wash their face at least one time a day. This step is imperative because it removes dirt, dust, grime, grease and extra oil from the skin. Wet the face and then use a good facial cleanser on both the face and the neck. Massage the cleanser gently into the skin in an upward motion. Then rinse the face with warm water and a soft washcloth or cotton wool. A water-based cleanser is the best for cleaning the face because you can avoid chemicals that may irritate the skin.Toning is the second step in a facial skin care routine. Toning is usually used in the form of toner pads or wipes. Facial toners are used to remove any traces of dirt, grease, or excess cleanser that has been left as residue on the face. Using a toner everyday is an option and some people may even leave it out completely if they feel their cleanser works well enough. A good rule of thumb is to use a toner in your morning facial routine but leave it out of your nighttime regiment.Exfoliation is a key part of any skin care regiment, however should not be done on a daily basis. Exfoliation should be done once a week at most to remove dead skin cells from the face. Although the body naturally sloughs off dead skin cells on its own, exfoliating helps to speed up the process. Dead skin cells can block pores and cause acne so removing these skin cells in a timely manner can reduce the appearance of acne. However, exfoliation can be harmful especially to the facial skin, if done too often. Normal skin cells are replenished every 3-4 weeks; therefore exfoliating new skin cells can damage the appearance of your skin.Lastly but most importantly is moisturizing. Moisturizing the skin is so important because it keeps our skin from drying out; causing wrinkles or cracks and keeps our skin radiant and glowing. Dry skin can be painful, itchy and unappealing to the eye. Skin cells need water to live; therefore overly dry skin can lead to increased skin cell death. Use a moisturizer specifically for the face. Apply your moisturizer when your skin is warm and damp because this is when the pores are open. Leave some moisturizer on the top of the skin to get the full effect for your skin. Moisturize any time the skin feels dry and after both morning and even skin care routines. Make sure your moisturizer doesn’t have any harmful chemicals, fragrances or dyes that can irritate the skin.Natural skin care products should be used for all skin care needs. Natural products avoid harsh chemicals and dyes that can irritate the skin and cause breakouts. Always use products based upon your own skin type. Test products on your forearm, earlobe or neck before you buy them. This way you can know if it will cause any irritation. Always remember to remove all makeup before starting your skin care routine. Don’t just wash away makeup; use proper make-up removers to completely clean the face of makeup residue. Remember to apply sunscreen if there is a possibility you will be out in the sun.

SPDN: An Inexpensive Way To Profit When The S&P 500 Falls

Summary
SPDN is not the largest or oldest way to short the S&P 500, but it’s a solid choice.
This ETF uses a variety of financial instruments to target a return opposite that of the S&P 500 Index.
SPDN’s 0.49% Expense Ratio is nearly half that of the larger, longer-tenured -1x Inverse S&P 500 ETF.
Details aside, the potential continuation of the equity bear market makes single-inverse ETFs an investment segment investor should be familiar with.
We rate SPDN a Strong Buy because we believe the risks of a continued bear market greatly outweigh the possibility of a quick return to a bull market.
Put a gear stick into R position, (Reverse).
Birdlkportfolio

By Rob Isbitts

Summary
The S&P 500 is in a bear market, and we don’t see a quick-fix. Many investors assume the only way to navigate a potentially long-term bear market is to hide in cash, day-trade or “just hang in there” while the bear takes their retirement nest egg.

The Direxion Daily S&P 500® Bear 1X ETF (NYSEARCA:SPDN) is one of a class of single-inverse ETFs that allow investors to profit from down moves in the stock market.

SPDN is an unleveraged, liquid, low-cost way to either try to hedge an equity portfolio, profit from a decline in the S&P 500, or both. We rate it a Strong Buy, given our concern about the intermediate-term outlook for the global equity market.

Strategy
SPDN keeps it simple. If the S&P 500 goes up by X%, it should go down by X%. The opposite is also expected.

Proprietary ETF Grades
Offense/Defense: Defense

Segment: Inverse Equity

Sub-Segment: Inverse S&P 500

Correlation (vs. S&P 500): Very High (inverse)

Expected Volatility (vs. S&P 500): Similar (but opposite)

Holding Analysis
SPDN does not rely on shorting individual stocks in the S&P 500. Instead, the managers typically use a combination of futures, swaps and other derivative instruments to create a portfolio that consistently aims to deliver the opposite of what the S&P 500 does.

Strengths
SPDN is a fairly “no-frills” way to do what many investors probably wished they could do during the first 9 months of 2022 and in past bear markets: find something that goes up when the “market” goes down. After all, bonds are not the answer they used to be, commodities like gold have, shall we say, lost their luster. And moving to cash creates the issue of making two correct timing decisions, when to get in and when to get out. SPDN and its single-inverse ETF brethren offer a liquid tool to use in a variety of ways, depending on what a particular investor wants to achieve.

Weaknesses
The weakness of any inverse ETF is that it does the opposite of what the market does, when the market goes up. So, even in bear markets when the broader market trend is down, sharp bear market rallies (or any rallies for that matter) in the S&P 500 will cause SPDN to drop as much as the market goes up.

Opportunities
While inverse ETFs have a reputation in some circles as nothing more than day-trading vehicles, our own experience with them is, pardon the pun, exactly the opposite! We encourage investors to try to better-understand single inverse ETFs like SPDN. While traders tend to gravitate to leveraged inverse ETFs (which actually are day-trading tools), we believe that in an extended bear market, SPDN and its ilk could be a game-saver for many portfolios.

Threats
SPDN and most other single inverse ETFs are vulnerable to a sustained rise in the price of the index it aims to deliver the inverse of. But that threat of loss in a rising market means that when an investor considers SPDN, they should also have a game plan for how and when they will deploy this unique portfolio weapon.

Proprietary Technical Ratings
Short-Term Rating (next 3 months): Strong Buy

Long-Term Rating (next 12 months): Buy

Conclusions
ETF Quality Opinion
SPDN does what it aims to do, and has done so for over 6 years now. For a while, it was largely-ignored, given the existence of a similar ETF that has been around much longer. But the more tenured SPDN has become, the more attractive it looks as an alternative.

ETF Investment Opinion

SPDN is rated Strong Buy because the S&P 500 continues to look as vulnerable to further decline. And, while the market bottomed in mid-June, rallied, then waffled since that time, our proprietary macro market indicators all point to much greater risk of a major decline from this level than a fast return to bull market glory. Thus, SPDN is at best a way to exploit and attack the bear, and at worst a hedge on an otherwise equity-laden portfolio.

US Markets in green on Friday; Dow 30 up over 345 points, Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 up nearly 1%

US Markets were trading in the green on Friday with Dow 30 trading at 30,678.80, up by 1.14%. While S&P 500 was trading at 3,701.66, up by 0.98% and Nasdaq Composite 10,690.60 was also up by 0.71 per cent

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US Markets in green on Friday; Dow 30 up over 345 points, Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 up nearly 1%
Earlier today, Indian stock markets ended the week on a winning note. It was the sixth straight gains for equity markets. Source: Reuters
US Markets were trading in the green on Friday with Dow 30 trading at 30,678.80, up by 345.25 points or1.14 per cent. While S&P 500 was trading at 3,701.66, up by 35.88 points or 0.98 per cent and Nasdaq Composite 10,690.60 was also up 75.75 points or 0.71 per cent. A Reuters report said that today’s strength was on the back of a report which said the Federal Reserve will likely debate on signaling plans for a smaller interest rate hike in December, reversing declines set off by social media firms after Snap Inc’s ad warning.

Source: Comex

Nasdaq Top Gainers and Losers

Source: Nasdaq

Earlier today, Indian stock markets ended the week on a winning note. It was the sixth straight gains for equity markets. The BSE Sensex ended at 59,307.15, up by 104.25 points or 0.18 per cent from the Thursday closing level. Meanwhile, the Nifty50 index closed at 17,590.00, higher by 26.05 points or 0.15 per cent. In the 30-share Sensex, 13 stocks gained while the remaining 17 ended on the losing side. In the 50-stock Nifty50, 21 stocks advanced while 29 declined.