Health Tips1

Skin Care Tips

Exfoliate, exfoliate For a fast, at-home body exfoliation, mix olive oil with sea salt or sugar. Smooth over skin in circular motions all over the body, avoiding the breast area. Rinse off in the shower and apply your favourite moisturizer.

Body brush Dry brushing your skin before a shower is a great way to stimulate the natural oil glands in your body. Using a natural bristle body brush, start at your feet and lightly brush your skin in a circular motion. Follow by a warm shower and slather your body with your favourite moisturizer.

Hand moisturizer For regular, well-moisturized hands, keep hand cream on your desk at work or in the car. Apply the cream throughout the day to rejuvenate your cuticles and keep skin saturated.

Natural cleansers Dip into your fridge for facial cleansers when your regular cleanser runs out. In a pinch buttermilk, yogurt and even cream are gentle, natural skin cleansers.

Moisturizer alternative Instead of using a cream moisturizer after you bath or shower, rub almond oil (available at your local health food store) into your skin for a treat. Combined with a few drops of your favourite essential oil (peppermint, lavender or neroli) it will leave your skin smooth and supple.

Make shaving easier An easy way to avoid razor burn after shaving is to moisturize beforehand. While shaving cream is the most popular method, try prepping your leg with hair conditioner for a few minutes before shaving. It will hold moisture on the leg longer and provide a very smooth shave.

Tired eye solution Need to get rid of tired or puffy eyes immediately? Keep a spoon in the freezer and apply to eyelids for a few minutes to reduce redness.

Sunscreen Its a must, essential for preventing sun damage and lowering your risk of developing skin cancer. Many skin care lines have facial moisturizers with SPF already included; they offer a more luxurious, makeup-friendly texture than traditional sunscreens. If you use only one product, sunscreen should be it. A lotion like Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Lotion with SPF 15 moisturizes, protects with SPF, and smoothes skin with alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) and vitamin C -- practically the perfect all-purpose face lotion.

Eye cream The skin under your eyes is more delicate and dry than the skin on the rest of your face. It's wise to invest in an eye cream, which treats the eye area with more emollient moisturizers. Some eye creams even claim to minimize dark circles and temporarily tighten fine lines.

Retinols If you're concerned with wrinkles and pigmentation spots, a face cream with retinol (a derivative of vitamin A) can help. Use it in place of your daytime, SPF moisturizer after you wash your face at night

Body lotion with alpha-hydroxy acids A lotion with skin-sloughing AHAs smoothes your whole body, including hands, feet, arms, and legs. For tough dry spots, apply extra lotion before bed and let it soak in while you sleep.

Cosmetic Tips

Make-up timeline To ensure your eyes stay healthy and free of infection when using make-up, heed the following due-date rules. Throw out your mascara after three months, powder eye shadows every nine to 18 months, and cream eye shadows every six to 12 months. Sharpen your eyeliners often to keep them clean.

Mascara mistakes To avoid mascara flake-off or smudging on your face, apply a thin cost of mascara to top lashes only. Then run an eyelash brush through lashes to prevent clumpy mascara build-up.

Get a rosy glow Want your face to radiate a healthy glow? Try using a gel blush or cream (instead of powder) in a rosy shade of pink to create a more natural look. Gels or creams are more transparent and blend smoothly – rub it on the apples of your cheek and blend up towards the eye for a glowing complexion.

Minute manicure Need a fast fix for unpolished nails? File nails into a square shape, buff them to create a bit of shine and apply a clear coat of polish. Next rub in cuticle oil around the edges of the nail and moisturize your whole hand. It takes less than 15 minutes and will give your appearance a polished look.

Brow etiquette The trend in eyebrows for this season is natural looking, not sparse and skinny. Use a tinted brow definer or eye shadow to fill in scanty brows.

Fix tired feet Pamper your tired feet with a luxurious footbath. Fill a basin with warm water and add a few drops of essential oils. Next place marbles or small stones (found at your local garden centre) into the basin. Run your toes and soles of your feet over the marbles, and relax for 15 minutes.

Eye/lip pencil care Before sharpening your eyeliner or lip pencil, place them in the freezer for 10 minutes. They will harden slightly and not break when sharpened.

Eyeliner hint Women with deep-set eyes should use liquid liner instead of regular pencil eyeliner, to prevent smudging in the crease of the lid. Liquid liner does not smudge as easily.

Nail polish know-how Is your nail polish from last season too thick? Chances are the polish has begun to thicken at the bottom of the bottle. Add a bit of nail polish thinner to the bottle to get the maximum use of your nail polish.

Foundation Tester When picking out a concealer or foundation, always test the colour on the inside of your wrist. The skin there is the most unblemished and will give you a good idea of how it will look on your face.Extend your foundation Want to extend the life of your foundation and cut down on heavy concealer? Mix a drop of it with your natural moisturizer to create a luminescent look for your skin.

Curl Your Lashes Before curling your eyelashes, heat the curler with a hair dryer for a few seconds. Test to make sure it is not too hot, then apply to eyelashes. The heat will lock in the curl on extra long eyelashes.

Foundation Secret Apply foundation to your face AFTER you have done your eye make-up. This helps you to fix any last minute smudging from mascara or eyeliner under the eyes.

Lipstick Trick Love matte lipstick, but feel your dry lips wreck the look? Apply a lip balm to lips before starting your make-up routine. By the time you have done your eyes and rest of the face, your lips will be moisturized and ready for the matte lipstick.

Manicure tip If you have been sloppy applying nail polish, simply soak nails (when dry) in warm water for a few minutes and then rub off extra nail polish gently with a finger.