It’s pretty difficult to avoid the sun's rays,
but you'll be better off seeing less of them when possible. After all,
the sun causes skin damage, which leads to fine lines and wrinkles that
will show up in your later years. And the tanning beds that provide
artificial sunlight aren’t much better than the sun, so they should also
be avoided. Now that we’ve established this, here are some tips.
#1 Tip: It may seem as though sunblock isn't
necessary during the winter, or on overcast days when the weather is
cold; but you should still take precautions to protect yourself. The sun
will come in contact with your skin as soon as you step foot outside,
which means it’s important to stay protected even if you’re only
checking the mail. Also, your clothes are not a barrier and do not
protect you from the sun, so always apply sunblock over your body.
#2 Tip: The sun is strongest between the hours of 11
a.m. and 3 p.m., so be especially cautious during this time period.
Hats can be fashionable, and women have been wearing them for years now
to protect themselves from the sun. In short, always remember to wear a
hat when you're outside. Sunglasses also are important, fashionable, and
keep wrinkles at bay as long as your glasses block at least 99% of UVA
sunlight.
Benefits from Good Food
Your mother has been telling you for years to
eat your vegetables, and if you're not eating them by now, you should
seriously consider revisiting her advice. It has been proven that having
a healthy diet enhances the health and appearance of your hair, teeth,
nails and skin. And not only do vegetables and fruit work from the
inside-out, but they can work from the outside-in when you make your own
masks and scrubs at home using things found in nature.
#3 Tip: Sticking with the food theme, when you're
baking or cooking, add some ingredients that are anti-inflammatory like
ginger, cinnamon and turmeric. If you’re wondering why this is
important, consider this: when you are exposed to things that trigger
inflammation inside your body like air pollution, the body becomes
stressed and your systems are strained, which leads to fine lines. But
when you ingest foods that are anti-inflammatory, you are lowering the
chances of getting fine lines later on. Here are some other food
concepts that you can associate with enhanced beauty.
#4 Tip (Vitamin C): By eating strawberries, papaya,
broccoli, oranges and bell peppers, you're combating wrinkles and
dryness because of the vitamin C that’s found in these foods. Vitamin C
smoothes skin, and is able to clean up the free radicals produced from
ultraviolet rays. The skin needs vitamin C to produce collagen, which
makes the skin less prone to wrinkles. There are cosmetics on the market
that offer vitamin C as an ingredient, but eating the vitamin C is a
better way to boost your collagen since it’s more natural.
#5 Tip (Lycopene): Found in foods like carrots,
watermelon and tomatoes, lycopene is a substance that helps to keep your
skin smooth. Research has proven that lycopene improves the texture of
skin, so you'll be better off eating garden vegetables and fresh produce
to boost your skin's concentration of lycopene.
#6 Tip (Isoflavones): Eat plenty of tofu, soymilk,
and edamame for a healthy boost of firming collagen action. It has been
proven that people who eat foods with isoflavones have fewer wrinkles
from ultraviolet radiation than those who consume foods that don't have
isoflavones. Also, it’s believed that isoflavones help to keep collagen
from breaking down.
#7 Tip (Omega 3): Tuna, salmon, trout, and sardines
are all loaded with omega 3, which keeps your skin looking youthful by
preserving the collagen in skin.
#8 Tip (Green Tea): When choosing to drink
green tea
instead of coffee, you're hydrating your body, boosting your
metabolism, and loading up on free radical-neutralizing polyphenols,
which have been proven to help prevent cancer.
Hair Care Tips
Hair is one of the most versatile parts of a
beauty regimen, and having healthy hair is just as important as having
healthy glowing skin. Hair is easily damaged with blow dryers, curling
irons, and flat irons that women use daily. Luckily, there are things
you can do to avoid using tools that could potentially damage your hair.
The items you need can sometimes be found at a grocery store, and will
cost much less than a bottle of product loaded with unnecessary and
harmful chemicals.
#9 Tip: Avocado hair masks are great for dry hair,
but can also be used to keep your hair from becoming dry. Avocado is
high in fat and protein, thus making it nourishing while taking care of
frizz. To use this food on your hair, take half of an avocado that has
been peeled, an egg, two tablespoons of olive oil, castor oil and wheat
germ. Smash all of the ingredients together in a bowl, and then massage
the mixture onto your dry hair, working your way from the ends to the
roots. Once you've covered all of your hair, use a shower cap or plastic
bag to cover the strands for 20-30 minutes. Try putting a warm towel
around your covered head until the time is up; it will boost the
condoning process.
Next, rinse the mixture completely out of your hair, and then shampoo
as normal. Dry hair should get this treatment once a week until back to
normal, and normal-to-oily hair that is being treated as a
precautionary treatment only needs this process twice a month. Check
some
recipes for hair masks.
#10 Tip: After showering, your hair is at its
weakest point, and will be vulnerable to breaking, falling out and/or
split ends. To keep your hair from breaking, splitting or falling out,
don't rub a towel on your hair; instead gently squeeze your strands with
your towel to remove as much moisture as you can.
#11 Tip: It is best to wait for your hair to dry
before sleeping since this can cause hair to fall out. And to reduce the
chances of hair falling out while sleeping, use silk pillowcases on
your pillow, or wrap your hair in a silk scarf. Silk is the best fabric
for preventing night time hair loss.
#12 Tip: For hair that is lacking volume, bounce and
shine, massage an egg and mayonnaise mixture onto your hair, working
from the scalp to the ends. Leave the mixture on for 15-20 minutes with a
shower cap or plastic bag covering your strands, then rinse, shampoo
and condition as normal. Repeat once a week for optimal results.
#13 Tip: Soaking your hair in whole milk will also
bring back the shine to your hair. This process takes longer than the
method in Tip #10, but it also sounds more appealing to most people.
Massage your scalp with whole milk and work your way down to the ends.
Leave the milk on your strands for no less than and hour, and then rinse
without shampooing or conditioning. On the following day, shampoo and
condition as normal, and get ready to notice the difference the milk
made. You will need to repeat this process once or twice a week for
glossy locks.
#14 Tip: Your skin isn't the only target the sun has
to destroy. When you're outdoors, your hair is also exposed to the sun,
and the sun drains the life out of hair - taking its moisture, shine
and volume down to zero. In order to avoid this unpleasantness, use
hats, scarves, and umbrellas as a shield against the sun's harmful rays.
If you feel daring, try using the SPF sunblock used on skin in your
hair; use a small amount to rub throughout your strands. You might also
want to try putting your hair in a bun or braid when you know you’ll be
in the sun for extended amounts of time.
Skin Remedies
Many areas of the skin have a tendency to become
dry, itchy and callused if they’re not taken care of. Fortunately,
there are products on the market for healing dry skin, taking care of
callused feet, and creams that treat itchy skin; but there are also home
remedies that cost less, and work better than anything you can buy in a
bottle.
#15 Tip: Use a coffee, sugar, and vanilla mixture on
the knees, elbows, and feet or other areas of the skin that are rough.
This combination not only smells good because of the relaxing scent of
vanilla extract, but it also works because the coffee has very strong
antioxidants, and the sugar works as an exfoliator to smooth skin.
#16 Tip: To create the scrub described above, gather
a one-fourth measuring cup, teaspoon of vanilla extract, half cup of
fresh coffee grinds and a cup of sugar. Once you’ve done this, mix olive
oil with the vanilla extract in a small bowl. In a slightly larger
bowl, put the grinds and sugar together, and then pour the liquid
ingredients into a bowl holding the sugar and coffee grinds. Next, mix
the ingredients together to make a paste. When you are finished, take
the bowl into the shower with you, and shower as normal. Before getting
out of the shower, start massaging the scrub onto your skin, and keep in
mind that you are able to use this scrub over the entire body for
increased circulation.
Avoid using the scrub on broken or sensitive skin and your face. For
skin that is dry and bumpy, use this scrub twice a week, instead of once
a week like with normal skin.
#17 Tip: Avoid dark knees and elbows by moisturizing
two times daily. If you happen to run out of lotion in your home, use
olive oil to massage onto dry knees and elbows. It is important for your
joints to stay hydrated so they don’t become dry and unattractively
dark. You should also pay special attention to your elbows and knees in
the shower when you’re exfoliating the body. Also, rub your joints a few
seconds longer than the rest of your body to keep the skin from
darkening.
General Tips for Looking Youthful
#18 Tip: Change your lip color to a lighter shade
for an instantly younger, more youthful mouth. Go a little further by
adding just a dab of gloss to the middle of both your upper and lower
lips. This gives you a fuller lip, which is great for those who normally
have thin-looking lips.
#19 Tip: Use self tanning lotion on your legs to
mask spider veins, cellulite, and give the legs a slimming appearance.
If you're afraid of not blending the lotion in all of the way, follow up
with a highly absorbing lotion that contains Aloe; this will help to
even out lines that might have been left from the tanning lotion. For an
allover tan that looks like you've been to the beach, put self tanning
lotion on before going to bed, and remember to let it dry or you'll tan
your sheets too! When you wake up in the morning, you'll have some color
without the expense of going on a vacation or having to suffer through
sunburn.
#20 Tip: Use a cream highlighter on the corners of
your eyes. This trick will help hide crows feet and shadows that are
oftentimes forgotten about, and you will have wide and bright eyes that
don't look tired. Next, take a powder that is one shade darker than your
natural skin tone to use on both sides of your nose, chin or jaw line,
and below the apples of your cheeks. This creates the illusion of having
a slimmer face, and any woman can appreciate this.
#21 Tip: Drink plenty of water and avoid sodas.
Taking things a step further, there is a secret to burning extra
calories when it comes to water. Always ask for ice water because it
uses up calories when your body warms the water up to body temperature.
In fact, put ice in everything you drink for a little boost of calorie
burning action. Moving to food, eat fresh fruits and vegetables before
every meal so that you get plenty of food without packing on the pounds.
Celery and pineapple are said to be no calorie snacks, so eat up!
#22 Tip: Use oil blotting sheets throughout the day
if your face tends to become oily often. Oil blotting sheets are a
better way to soak up excess oil without adding more powder to your
face. Speaking of powder, it’s best to avoid this altogether because it
can sink into your wrinkles and add years to your face.
#23 Tip: After you apply your black mascara, go over
it with a blue mascara. It won’t look blue, however, the blue hues in
your lashes will give the illusion of having sparkling white eyes, which
gives an appearance of youth. In addition to this, always curl your
lashes so that you look awake and perky. If you have redness around your
eyes that make you look tired or unfocused, use a peach colored pencil
to line the inner rims of your eyes. This will help brighten the windows
to your soul, and make you feel and look more awake.
#24 Tip: Look for firming body creams and
moisturizers that include seaweed, caffeine, ginseng and mushroom
extract. Firming and keeping your skin toned is a big part of staying
young. The best time to apply firming body creams is before bed, in the
morning and after showering.
#25 Tip: Put your eye cream and moisturizers in the
fridge to keep them cool, which makes these products even more
beneficial. When you wake up in the morning, your eyes can be puffy,
dark, and have visible veins; but once you massage cool, soothing
lotions and creams onto your face, your puffy eyes will disappear. For
an extra bonus, look for eye creams that contain ceramides or
niacinamide to strengthen your moisture barrier and reduce irritation.
#26 Tip: For flower soft lips, dampen a washcloth
with warm water, and rub your lips to remove flakey skin. Then use a
heavy moisturizing lip balm and smother your lips with it. Assuming you
do this, you’ll go to sleep and wake up with healthy looking lips that
are flake-free. If this method doesn't take care of your chapped or
flakey lips, there are exfoliating products on the market that are
specifically-designed for lips. You can purchase them at any beauty
supply store, and at online beauty sites too.
#27 Tip: If do-it-yourself hair treatments aren't
your thing, find a deep conditioning hair mask to use. Next, wrap your
hair up in a towel, and leave it wrapped for 20 minutes before rinsing
it out; this will make your hair silky and shiny like a child's head of
hair. You should use a deep conditioning hair mask once a week for
extremely damaged hair; however, some deep conditioning masks cause
build-up on your scalp, and will require a clarifying shampoo or baking
soda for it to be removed.
#28 Tip: Add a serum into your daily routine for the
highest levels of wrinkle-fighting ingredients. When you choose to use a
serum along with your other face creams, wrinkle creams and
moisturizers, you are boosting the power of the wrinkling fighting
ingredients found inside. For the best results, use serums twice a day
along with your other face products.
#29 Tip: You're never too old to pretend you're a
princess, so sit up straight and walk with your head high. Practicing
good posture will keep you from looking like an elderly woman with a
hunchback when you are older. In regards to keeping good posture, hold
your ears above your shoulders, and your shoulders above your hips. If
you can pull this off, you'll be feeling like a princess in no time.
#30 Tip: You have every right to experiment with
your hair style, hair color and clothing. Okay, so you won’t want to dye
your hair blue, but since you will be covering up grey hair eventually,
there is no harm in trying highlights or lowlights. You can even grow
your hair out, get bangs or try a loose curl perm. When you change up
the way you look, it is an automatic mood boost that will keep you up to
date on popular trends.