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Top 10 homemade beauty tips to say bye to winter blues
Friday, January 11, 2008
The air is crisp, the wind is harsh and your skin is dry.
Yep, it's winter, and that means cracked skin, chapped lips and frizzy hair. Instead of spending tons of money buying this week's newest beauty fad that claims to cure all problems, you can create some homemade items that will have you looking like America's Next Top Model. Here are 10 simple ways to say goodbye to those winter blues and hello to beautiful skin and hair.
Extras
Get ready; it is time to raid your kitchen and bathroom cupboards.
1. Dry cuticles
Nothing makes your hands look more ugly than those dry and cracked cuticles. To help repair those damaged cuticles you must trim them back, but first soak your hands in some warm water because you can cause more damage if you cut them when they are dry and hard. Using a mixture of ½ cup warm water, 1 teaspoon honey and 2 teaspoons lemon juice, soak your fingers for at least 15 minutes. To finish off, massage a moisturizer around each cuticle. I prefer to use olive oil, but you also may use vegetable shortening or petroleum jelly. Before you know it, you'll be finding more and more reasons not to wear your gloves.
2. Exfoliate and moisturize
This time of year your skin can become very dry. To get rid of dry, flaky skin, you can easily make a homemade salt scrub to use when you take a shower. The great thing about this is the base ingredients of the mixture stay the same and then you can get creative with what scent to use by just picking an essential oil that pleases your senses. To start, mix 3 cups of Epsom salt with ¾ cup of olive oil. From there add about 40 drops of your favorite oil. I tend to like fruity scents such as citrus or lemongrass, but you can purchase a large variety of essential oils at your local health food store. The next time you take a shower, rub the salt scrub on your dry skin and watch as it exfoliates and moisturizes. However, because oil does tend to repel water, you may want to clean the bottom of your shower after using this so that you don't slip and fall from any residue that is left from the scrub.
3. Frizzy hair
Whether you are wearing toboggans, skull caps or any other winter hat, one thing is inevitable: When you pull off your hat, you are going to have a static situation with your hair. To ease the frizz, simply press a dryer sheet right onto the top of your hairbrush. Just press the bristles through and then brush your hair. The dryer sheet acts as a guard against the static and may even leave your hair smelling snugly fresh.
4. Stinky feet
Are your feet all stinky from wearing winter boots or shoes? For a simple fix, look no farther than the tea bags in your kitchen cabinet. It's time to get out your pitcher and brew up some tea. Get out a basin or bucket and pour some generic tea that has been brewed and cooled directly into the bin. Soak your feet in the tea for at least 15 minutes. Rinse them off with some water and you will soon discover that you have given the boot to your stinky feet situation.
5. Chapped lips
We sit there, licking our lips, applying lip gloss, but no matter what we do we can't seem to get rid of those chapped and dry lips. Have no fear, with a few tricks you can keep your lips moisturized, even during the harshest of winters. A quick way to remove dry skin from your lips is to take a piece of Scotch tape and place it directly onto your lip. Pull away quickly and the dry skin typically comes, too. Have a low pain threshold? Don't worry; it isn't the least bit painful.
If you have a little more time on your hands, take a towel and soak it in some warm water. Wring it out and place it over your lips for about 5 minutes. Take an old toothbrush and ever-so-gently rub the bristles across your lips, removing the dry skin. Once complete, use petroleum jelly as a gloss and place a coating on your lips to moisturize.
6. Face
Most of us typically suffer from drier skin during the winter months. For this reason, we should avoid clay-based facial masks, which tend to dry out skin even more. Instead, open up your fridge and grab some fruit. Take a papaya or a bunch of grapes and smash them into a pulp. Place the pulp on your face and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Then just wash the fruit off with a little warm water and voila! — you have a refreshed face. If fruit isn't what you are looking for, try mixing 5 teaspoons of honey with 2 teaspoons of carrot juice. Follow the same directions as above and you will find that your skin is as smooth as the day you were born.
7. Softer hands
and elbows
Do you have scaly hands? Are your elbows dry and discolored? Well, all you need is some petroleum jelly to fix these problems right up. Before you go to bed for the night, slather some petroleum jelly directly to your elbows. Take an old pair of tube socks and cut off the bottom so that it is just a tube of fabric. Slide the sock around your arm so that your elbow is covered and leave them on through the night. You can do the same thing for your hands. Just slather them in the petroleum jelly and add an old pair of gloves or socks right over your hands. As the sun comes up you will be saying good morning to some soft hands and elbows.
8. Dry hair
Yes, I hate to break it to you, but even our hair seems to dry out during winter. To keep that bounce in your step — and in your hair — massage olive oil directly into your hair from root to tip. If you are like me and have naturally oily hair, just massage the olive oil into the ends of your hair. Let the oil stand for about 15 minutes and then shampoo as usual.
9. Cracked heels
With all those boots and winter shoes we wear, our heels tend to become dry and cracked. Get out your basin or bucket and soak your feet in a mixture of warm water, salt and baking soda for 15 minutes. After soaking, use a pumice stone to scrub off the dead skin. From there, you can moisturize like you did your hands and elbows. Simply take some petroleum jelly and generously slather it onto your feet. Put on a pair of socks and it is time for bed.
10. Hydrate
One of the best, and least expensive, ways to keep your skin and hair healthy during these harsh winter months is to keep yourself hydrated. Make sure to consume plenty of water throughout your day so that your body is receiving all the moisture and hydration it can. Yes, you may make a few more trips to the restroom, but look on the bright side — after doing all these beauty tricks you will have something fabulous to look at in the mirror.
Contact this writer at jgarringer@coxohio.com or (937) 225-0720.
