All Natural Lip Exfoliator

All Natural Lip Exfoliator 

Here’s an all natural – yet simple and effective – way to treat your lips after a long Winter.

Feel free to follow us, however you like: Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram

Tags: all natural, Beauty, DIY

Prevent Premature Wrinkles

Wrinkles are going to come to us eventually, right?  Why not live as long as possible without them? If you are concerned about future wrinkles, it’s important to know that there are some things you can do to prevent premature wrinkles, and there are some things that you might be doing that could cause premature wrinkles!

Causes of Premature Wrinkles

To first understand how to prevent premature wrinkles, you need to know what causes them. Here are some of the most common reasons why men and women are starting to see wrinkles at an earlier age:

Smoking - Whether you smoke yourself or just exposed to it, you are exposing your skin to free radicals that accelerate the aging process. The cigarette smoke damages the microcapillaries in the skin, which limits the skin’s ability to absorb nutrients. When the skin doesn’t get the nutrients it needs, the aging process is accelerated, thus causing premature wrinkles. As you age you will get wrinkles regardless, but if you smoke, your wrinkles will come earlier and be worse, or more pronounced.

Alcohol – Alcohol contains toxins that not only damage your liver, but it also has some negative effects on your skin. Drinking alcohol will decrease your levels of vitamin A, which causes your skin to replace old dead skin cells with new ones. Without this vitamin A, your skin is left in a world of mess, leaving dry sagging looking skin.

Drinking alcohol also increases the risk of leaks in the capillaries, which allows for more water in the skin, causing puffiness and sagging. A caution to those who drink  alcohol right before you go to bed, capillary leakage is increased even more when you drink alcohol before you lie down.

Lack of sleep – After a couple of days of missing your much needed shut eye, it’s getting hard to try and hide those dark circles, isn’t it? If you continue to miss out on the sleep that you need, it’s been shown to cause premature wrinkles. They call is “Beauty Sleep” for a reason!

Excessive sun exposure – We know that the sun is great for your skin and helping you get the necessary amounts of vitamin D. We also know that too much of a good thing can be bad, and this definitely runs true when it comes to sun exposure. Excessive sun exposure, though, causes wrinkles. Avoid getting a sun burn and your wrinkle-less face will thank you ; )

Lifestyle factors - Studies have shown that stress ages you. A lot. If you are under a lot of stress for long periods of time, it can have a negative effect on a number of things, including your skin.

Over/Under weight - It’s important to maintain a healthy weight. There was a study that showed that with  identical twins, the twin who was underweight or overweight looked significantly older than their sibling. If you want to look good at any age, make sure that you maintain a healthy body weight.

How to Prevent Premature Wrinkles

In addition to avoiding all of the things that cause wrinkles, here are some additional steps you can take to prevent premature wrinkles and enjoy young skin for as long as nature will allow.

Healthy eating - Eating a diet full of fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats (unsaturated fats, like Omega-3′s) will boost the skin’s natural defenses against sun damage, which may help prevent premature wrinkles.

Find healthy food that is full of antioxidants since they inhibit the breakdown of collagen fibers in the skin, keeping your skin young for a longer time. Bee pollen has been shown to prevent premature aging of the cells by stimulating the growth of new skin tissue, which smooths out wrinkles.

Sleep – When you get your rest, you will not only feel better, but you will actually look better than if you were sleep deprived. Get your rest every day, because sleeping well just once a week doesn’t cut it.

Take care of your skin - In the prevention of premature wrinkles, nourishing your skin is an important way to take care of your skin.

I could list all of the ultra expensive and popular lotions that you can try, but why not go raw and natural? You can put Organic Coconut Oil on your skin. Yes, you read that right. You can put Coconut Oil on your face without having to worry that it will cause a break out.

Coconut Oil aids in healing and repairing skin, and it removes the layer of dead skin cells, which helps to keep the skin smooth. Coconut oil also goes down into the deep layers of the skin which strengthens the underlying tissues.

Here’s what you do: Wash your face at night and put some raw coconut oil on your skin and sleep through the night with it on. In the morning, rinse your face and apply your daily moisturizer.

For all of you guys reading this…skin care doesn’t apply just to women!

Exercise - Exercise definitely makes you feel younger and stronger, so how can it help your face? When you have a great workout, you sweat and detoxify. This is great for your skin, and helps keep your skin looking young! You can also do “workouts” for your face, called Facial Yoga. These simple movements are a new trendy way to keep your face youthful.

Release negative energy/stress - Remember what I said about how stress effects how you age? You need to find an outlet! I can understand that you can’t always just quit a stressful job since it pays the bills. One thing you can’t lose is your health, so I urge you to find something (healthy!) that will help you relieve some of that stress! Take a vacation, get a massage, or get a good workout in every day – something that will release any negative energy or stress that you might be feeling. This will help all aspects of your life – not just your skin!

Wear Sun Protection - I know that some fun in the sun is good for you, but all in moderation. If you are going to be outside for long periods at a time, then you should wear sun protection – literally! Wear a hat with a big rim to cover your face, big sunglasses to cover your eyes  (and prevents you from squinting!), and even a light long sleeved top to cover your arms.

Feel free to follow us, however you like: Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest

Tags: Beauty, Health, lifestyle, preventive

Pedicure, anyone?

With Spring in full bloom and Summer on it’s way, I think it is about time women take out the nail polish and rock a beautiful pedicure. You deserve it.

Nail Polish 

Women seem to spend more time picking out the color they want rather than a brand of nail polish that will be safest for them to use. I know I have been guilty of this!

Ideally, you should choose an all natural nail polish  is water or mineral based rather than chemical based. This means  you would be buying nail polishes that don’t contain ingredients like dibutyl phthalates (DBP), which is an unhealthy chemical you will want to avoid.

Check out the nail polish from Go Natural®, a company that sells chemical free nail polish that is durable and chip-free. If you are looking for a nail polish that is geared towards girls, check out Piggy Paint®. They sell high quality nail polish that is non-toxic and provides plenty of colors to choose from.

Nail Polish Remover

Now that you use a non-toxic nail polish, it’s time to remove it once you are ready for a new color.

Try avoiding nail polish removes that that contain ingredients such as acetone, since it is a harsh chemical that dries out your nails and any skin that’s exposed to it.

You can try a natural nail polish remover such as the one from Honeybee Garden, which is enriched with horsetail extract to strengthen nails and fortified with vitamin E and aloe to soothe and protect cuticles. Another nail polish remover you can try is “Almost Natural” Nail Polish Remover by Miss, since it doesn’t have any acetone, ethyl acetate, or harsh odors. Also, it’s made with all organic ingredients.

Feel free to follow us, however you like: Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest

Tags: all natural, Beauty, chemical, Health, nail, nail polish, nail polish remover, non-toxic, Organic, Vitamin E

Look and Feel Better – Instantly!

Want to be more attractive? You can instantly look and feel better by one simple trick. It’s all about posture!

Stand, Walk,  and Sit up Straight

Walking with great posture shows confidence, while walking or standing with a slouch just looks frumpy and simply unflattering. You aren’t a caveman, so don’t walk like one!

You shouldn’t toss good posture out the door once you sit down. When you are sitting down, it’s important that you keep your feet flat on the ground and sit up straight instead of slouching. Not only will this not scrunch up your stomach to make you look like you have extra belly fat, but it will prevent you from feeling pain in your lower back.

Tips for better Posture

•Imagine there is a string on the top of your head, and someone is pulling on it and pulling you up. This is a visual that is commonly used to help with encouraging good posture. I remember taking a Dance class and this was a common technique used to prevent us from slouching.

• Strengthen your core, which helps support the spine for better posture. The muscles in your abdominals help support your back, so try doing the plank or other exercises that strengthen your abdominals.

• Avoid toting a heavy purse or bag. Heavy purses cause too much weight to be on one side of the body. It would be helpful to switch what side you hold your purse, so you don’t cause to much stress on one side of your body. If you use a backpack, make sure that you are wearing it properly, and it isn’t hurting your back, neck, or shoulders.

• If you are sitting for long periods of time, use a chair that is ergonomically designed for better support.

• Have someone remind you if you are slouching. This way, you can correct your posture immediately.

This means that not only will you look better, but you will feel better too!

Image Source: iptmiami.com

Feel free to follow us, however you like: Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest

Tags: Beauty, Health, lower back, pain, posture, sitting, standing, walking

8 Easy Steps to Beautiful Hair

We all want beautiful hair that is worthy of a hair model. Do you blame us?

Start doing these easy tricks to be on your way to beautiful and sexy hair:

1) Don’t wash your hair every day.

We’ve all seen someone with very oily and dirty hair. We so badly want to avoid this situation, and have been advised to wash our hair every day to avoid such a hair disaster.

How often should you wash your hair?  Everybody’s hair is different, so there isn’t a single answer for everyone.

Your hair has natural oils that are very healthy for your hair. If you over wash your hair, you end up stripping your hair of it’s natural and healthy oils, which your hair needs in order to have a healthy ph balance and moisture.

2) Deep Condition and Moisturize

Most people need some extra help to condition their hair, especially if you opt to dye your hair. For dyed hair, it would be ideal to treat your hair once every two weeks with a deep conditioner like Damage Remedy™ Intensive Restructuring Treatment by Aveda.

To strengthen weak or dry hair, especially during the Winter months, try adding a leave-in conditioner like Fortifying Leave-In Treatment by Biolage.

Another simple trick to add moisture to your hair is having a Humidifier on at night. This helps keep the moisture in the air and helps to prevent your hair from getting too dry.

3) Get the proper Nutrition

If you have a nutrition deficiency, it will have a negative effect on your hair (among other things). A nutrition deficiency, such as not getting enough iron, can cause excessive hair loss.

Have a healthy and well-balanced diet to enjoy beautiful hair. Avoid fad diets…they do nothing good for your hair.

4) When Dying your Hair…

If you decide to dye your hair, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind.

First of all, don’t dye your hair too often. If you dye your hair more frequently than every 8 weeks, you will be causing serious damage to your hair. The less dying you do, the better.

Second, don’t be cheap. If you buy cheap dye, it’s going to show in your hair. Personally, I go to an Aveda salon to get my hair dyed since their dye is superior and less damaging to my hair.

5) Avoid Heat!

If at all possible, avoid heating your hair. Nothing will damage and dry out your hair like adding heat to your hair on a regular basis. When possible, try to avoid blow dryers (cool air is OK), curling irons, flat irons, hot curlers, etc.

No blow dryers? No curling irons? I know what you are thinking! One of my favorite hair styles is when I curl my hair into big wavy curls (see photo). To keep my hair looking it’s best, I still curl my hair -just sparingly. I try to save my curly hair-do for a hott date with my husband or some other special occasion. Because I curl my hair sparingly, my hair looks fabulous straight or curled.

6) Just say “No” to Alcohol

Stay away from products that have alcohol in them. Once you put hair products that have alcohol in them, it dries out your hair and ends up causing damage to your hair. Usually, you will find alcohol in cheap products you find at the supermarket. Look for high quality products that are all natural.

7) Brush Properly

Like  you’ve probably already heard before, don’t try to brush your hair when it’s wet.

Find the right brush for you. A brush with natural (boar) bristles are a healthy way of distributing your scalps natural oils.

8) Regular Hair Cuts

Getting your hair cut is a great way to get rid of those pesky split ends and keep your hair looking it’s best.

If you are growing out your hair, you should still get your hair trimmed. Be sure that your stylists cuts just enough to get rid of the split ends without compromising any hair growth. If you are following all of these healthy hair steps, you shouldn’t have to have too much of your hair cut off.

Do you have any additional healthy hair tips? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!

Feel free to follow us, however you like: Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest

Tags: alcohol, Aveda, Beauty, boar brush, conditioner, damaged, dry, Hair, hair cut, hair dye, Healthy, heat, moisture, Nutrition