Properly Cleansing Skin in The Morning

Is it necessary to spend a fortune on your skin?  Not really!  Let’s go over some of the truths and myths regarding cleansing of the skin.  True, true, true…your best friend regarding skin is water.  Water on your face, water on your body and water in your body.  If you are not consuming eight to ten glasses of water per day you are depriving your skin of its most important beauty treatment.  So here goes, I’ll probably bring up a few things you may not agree with initially but for heaven’s sake, why not try them?  At least financially speaking, what do you have to lose?

Stop over cleansing.  Why do we insist on over cleansing?  Why do we wake up in the morning and scrub our faces?  Were you out in the middle of the night gardening or working in the dirt?  Well maybe, but most of us weren’t!  So let me throw this out to you to think about and hopefully try.  When you wake up rinse your face with a little warm water or actually a little milk.  Why milk?  Well, milk is a lactic acid and allows your face to receive a natural acid treatment.  A lot of the products on the market today contain synthetic acids and can adversely affect the skin.   Sensitive skin can actually react with a rash or, unfortunately, permanent scarring.  So in this instance (and pretty much only this instance) “milk does the body good.”  Try to stay with natural acids.  Some other natural acids are:  pineapple juice, lemon juice and tomato juice. See what your skin likes to drink best!

So here’s what I want to stress.  It is a myth that you have to scrub your face or cleanse it in the morning unless you were out digging ditches instead of sleeping.  And if you were, I’m sincerely sorry to hear that.  So, upon waking I say, “Reach for the fridge!” I may not recommend drinking milk for good skin, but it makes a great face wash! And remember, over cleansing will lead to nothing good.  A little warm water or milk is all that is necessary to regenerate your skin in the morning.  Of course if you were one of those unlucky few out there digging ditches, well scrub, scrub, scrub away!

Spa day in your kitchen!

What I’m going to tell you might very well surprise you. I have more food in my bathroom than I do in my kitchen! Well, that might be an exaggeration, but I must say that many of my beauty tips look like you could find them in a cook book. I won’t say that beauty products don’t have their place, but I will say what I say about almost everything. You can fix almost problem anything with your food. Below are some tips and tricks to use what’s in your kitchen or grocery store to get salon and spa results!

• Hair Damage? How about some bone marrow? Are you shocked? So are most people when I recommend asking the butcher in the grocery store for bones and then cooking the marrows until they liquefy. When they’re cool enough to handle apply to your hair like conditioner and wrap the whole mess up in plastic. Leave it in for as long as you can stand it. Over night is best. Believe me this does wonders for colored or heat treated hair.
• Brown Spots? I’ve been asked a lot lately for a chemical free brown spot corrector. Here it is and yes, it starts in the kitchen again. Soak white rice in a pot of water for 24-48 hrs. Drain and use the liquid to wash any areas with dark spots. Keep the rice water in the fridge in a container with a lid and use daily for a week or two. This tip I’ve never used
• I don’t drink milk, but I buy it. Why? Lactade has amazing rejuvenative properties that can keep your skin looking beautiful! Use milk to wash your face a couple days a week.
• Coconut oil is not only great for you, but it’s fantastic for your skin. People are often afraid to put oil on their face, but the reason our faces produce excess oil is actually from being dried out. Give your skin what it wants and it won’t produce excess oils!
• Olive oil is another great all over moisturizer for face and body! Better and cheaper than expensive creams. Also is a great makeup remover.
• Vitamin E is fantastic for your skin, hair and nails. I pop vitamin E capsules and use the oil on my nails and cuticles! It Try it and see for yourself. It works better than the stuff in the nail salon.
• Get egg on your face. No, seriously! Egg white applied with a pastry brush (preferably one that’s strictly for beauty purposes) is great for tightening skin and shrinking pores! The yolk is great protein for your hair too!
• Puffy eyes? Head to the kitchen and grab two spoons. Put them in the fridge for a few minutes then place them over your eyes. The cold of the metal reduces swelling, plus it gives you a few extra minutes with your eyes closed.
• Morning or coffee breath? Chew on some parsley or mint for fresh breath that’s great for you!
• Botox. Surely, you’ll say, I won’t suggest doing that in the kitchen. Well you’re right but I do have a temporary lip booster that’s made from mixing a SMALL amount of cayenne pepper with non petroleum jelly. Notice I emphasized the word small. The first time I tried this I used too much pepper and had plump, burning lips all night. Trust me. A little goes a long way!

So treat yourself to a spa day in the comfort of your own kitchen!

Fastest Way to Achieve a Healthy Glow

Allow me to share with you what I have discovered might be the fastest and most inexpensive way to achieving that beautiful, sought after healthy glow for our skin.  Some time ago I decided to live a vegan lifestyle.  I confessed to you last week that I have reintroduced eggs into my daily diet.  Well I must confess my skin seems to be craving salmon which of course, more importantly, my body must be craving it.  Before I became a vegan, I used to consume salmon almost on a daily basis.  I have in fact decided to reintroduce salmon but not just any salmon.  I want to share with all of you and many of you of course might already know this, but most of the canned salmon is wild Alaskan.

Now that we have discussed that it is A-OK to buy the canned salmon let me give you some ideas to do with it:

• Make a simple salad with canned salmon, extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon and black pepper.
• Serve salmon over salad just like tuna or chicken.
• If you are craving a burger, why not make a salmon patty?
• Combine salmon with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Listen folks, don’t take this lightly, I am quite serious.  I have lived for quite some time without my old staple canned salmon and I am here to tell you I have definitely noticed a difference in my skin.  So do you want great skin?  Stock up on canned salmon but please ensure the can says wild Alaskan salmon on the label.  Oh, and please don’t mind the bones; they’re tiny, a bit crunchy and great for you.  What’s that you say?  You don’t like salmon?  It’s alright, I always have a solution.  You can achieve the same results from canned sardines and anchovies.  Now I ask you, which one do you prefer?