Seeing that your hair and skin are not in a healthy state as much as you want them to be should start ringing your alarm bells. This is a wake up call for you to start paying more attention to them. But by alarm bells ringing, we don’t mean that you start panicking. Don’t ever think that you can’t revive your healthy hair and skin back. Nothing is too late if you start acting now!

Act Now!

• What have you been eating?
  If you’re noticing that your skin is becoming dull and your hair getting dry and brittle, one of the first things you should take a look at is your diet. In all that rush, you may have been feeding yourself pizza, cheeseburgers and everything else from fast food restaurants everyday and this is bad news for your health including the health of your skin and hair. Start a healthy track with your meals.
  
  A balanced diet is recommended. You need to have carbohydrates, protein and fibers in all your meals everyday. You should also load up on fruits and vegetables that are packed with antioxidants such as spinach, kale, broccoli, blueberries and strawberries as they help keep the skin more youthful and at the same time protect both your skin and hair protected from damage. Nuts are also great addition to your diet as they are filled with antioxidants and some having essential fatty acids which are great for keeping the hair and skin moisturised.
• What’s in your beauty regimen
  No matter how busy you are you should spend time caring for your skin and hair. You should check what’s in your beauty regimen as you may be using products that are just not doing your skin and hair any good. Throw out any product that contains preservatives such as Parabens, BHA/BHT, DMDM hydantoin, phenoxyethanol and TEA(triethanolamine) as they have been linked to cause cancer and tumors. Products containng Fragrance or synthetic Parfum and Phthalates should also be avoided as they have damaging effects on the liver and reproductive organs. Other ingredients to watch out for are Triclosa, Petroleum or Petrolatum, Paraffin, surfactants and colorants. All of these ingredients we mentioned have ill effects on the body.
• Opf for Natural Products Instead!
  Natural products that are free from harmful chemicals are ideally the only products that should touch your skin and hair. The Moroccan Argan oil is one such product. Packed with nutrients such as Vitamin E, Carotenoids, Ferulic acid, essential fatty acids, Sterols, Polyphenols, Prostaglandins and Squalene, the oil will keep the skin and hair healthy and protected from the damaging effects of free radicals.

Goodbye dryness!
Some swear by the healing powers of lemons and their ability to restore moisture to your skin, however there is one product out in the market today that is a powerful moisturizer. The Moroccan Argan oil is a potent moisturiser as it is loaded with nutrients having moisturizing properties. Vitamin E and essential fatty acids are known to have great moisturizing effects. However there is still one more nutrient that sets apart this oil from other moisturisers. Sterols are also found in this oil. Sterols lock in moisture to the skin therefore keeping it well hydrated! This addresses the very root of dry skin problem. The skin dries out because of moisture loss and not lack of moisture. Daily application of the oil on skin’s problematic areas like the knees or elbows will spell a lot of difference.

Use homemade facial scrubs
Don’t listen too much on advertisements. The state of your face does not rest entirely on a bottle of lotion sitting on a grocery shelf. While commercial products do help improve skin, they are chock full of extra chemicals that could do their own damage in the long run. In fact, homemade ingredients like baking soda can do just as effective job at exfoliating your face.

To make your own baking soda facial scrub, mix in four teaspoons of baking soda and one tablespoon of water until you’ve formed a paste. Let this alone for about two minutes, and then apply to your face (which should be washed prior). Rinse the paste off your face with cold water to close your pores.

Coffee versus cellulite?
Coffee grounds play a role other than simply to perk you up in the morning. Apply coffee grounds on your skin where there’s cellulite to minimise their appearance. The coffee draws out water, at the same time making your skin smoother. Add in four teaspoons of Argan oil to the coffee mix and we’ve got a real winner.

Fight acne and pimples
Mint—who would have thought it? Pimples respond well to the menthol components in mint, and subsequently the inflammation on skin is reduced. The same can be said of Moroccan oil. Its anti-inflammatory components greatly reduce the amount of redness and swelling usually associated with acne. Its essential fatty acids also bring down over production of sebum which is known to trigger acne!

Dealing with dark circles
To help get rid of dark circles under your eyes, parsley is great for topical application. It’s contains a lot of vitamin K which reduces the amount of blood flowing to the eye. Add some yogurt and Moroccan oil to create a nourishing paste and apply. Leave for twenty minutes before rinsing off.

First off, regular exercise is a must to keep your skin healthy. This is pretty basic, but keeping your whole body healthy encompasses all your bodily systems, including the skin. In addition, constantly working those muscles will improve your circulation and increase the nutrient flow into all the organs, much more the skin giving it a rosy glow.

Though exercise is a good thing, exercising well is just as important. For instance, if you have a habit of tensing your face and neck muscles, this can ultimately lessen the strength in these muscles and cause the surrounding skin to sag. Try to have fun while you’re working out. Think of it as an anti-aging endeavor that renders just as much enjoyment as well as health benefits.

Smoking is a definite no-no. Aside from preventing oxygen to fully circulate to the skin, it also causes the skin to discolor.

This might seem a bit strange, but don’t get too disappointed that you didn’t get a window seat on the plane. Passengers in window seats tend to be exposed to high levels of UV radiation in the higher altitude. Even down on the ground, it’s best to keep out of direct sunlight, or avoid going outdoors between ten in the morning and four in the afternoon. It is important to always lather on sunscreen lotion. Apply Argan oil on your skin daily as the oil also protects the skin from damaging effects of free radicals and they keep the skin well moisturized.

Avoid peeling your skin as this exposes the underlying layers of skin to microorganisms, subsequently causing irritation. Bacterial infection is also what causes acne and individuals with acne tend to have scarring in some form.

Going to bed early is a must if you want to maintain your youthful appearance. Human growth hormone is produced in high levels, promoting collagen production. Night time is also a great time to apply Argan oil as it contains enzymes that help increase collagen levels as well.

And of course, the ultimate health tip—this secret has been uncovered so many times but few of us have an easy time keeping it. Stick to a healthy diet, preferably one with lots of fruits and vegetables for the micronutrients your skin needs, and skip on excessive sugary and salty junk food. You’ll definitely see a difference in your skin in a couple of weeks.

Go for flat pants
Unfortunately, if you want to look younger, lose the pleats—they’re definitely not the way to go. Flat-front pants are good for making your legs look longer, and also giving the impression of a flatter and slimmer stomach. Flat pants also make you look better proportioned.

Expose some skin
Roll up your sleeves (literally) by exposing the thinnest part of your arm, which is generally from your wrist to your elbow. This makes you look a bit more slender. Opt for sleeves that cover just three quarters of your arm (or less), or full length sleeves that you can fold back and roll up to further emphasize your arms.
Your shoulder is also a good place to bare some skin, as it’s a part of the body that doesn’t age as fast as the others. Wear a boatneck blouse to keep it in view, or if you have a nice bust, show it off with V-necks.

Pick the right bra
The right bra is neither too tight nor too loose. The latter can result in the back of the bra lodging upward, leading to the sagging of breasts and also emphasizing back fat. Remember though, that your bra should not be all about preventing back fat. A good bra should also provide adequate support.

Slim your legs
Cover your legs in a tinted body moisturizer, or a glow-tinged bronzer that’ll throw the light strategically, making it look like your legs are slimmer. The bronzer also hides spider veins, and then balances out the color. Add the Argan oil in the picture for a healthy, anti-aging touch, and you’re good to go. Moisturizing the skin daily with Argan oil will help keep your skin healthy and youthful as it is packed with antioxidants, essential fatty acids and many other nutrients that love the skin. Now this is a beauty heads up you’d love!

Go for tall
Want legs that go on forever? Take care to match your shoes, panty hose, skirt, and pants. Darker colors will make your legs look thinner and keep the focus off large feet and ankles, though nude-colored shoes and nude pantyhose can do the trick too.

Spice up jeans
Time to let go of your love for baggy sweatpants or at least love them a little less. Use jeans to highlight your better physical assets, keeping in with today’s straight or bootleg styles. A dark color of jeans will also elongate your legs. Keep your belly in check with jeans that close right below your navel. Pair it up with loose, comfortable blouses that don’t highlight tummy. Try body shapers that keep your torso looking nice and tight, or a push-up bra to help with your bodily proportions.

It’s more than that though, dry skin can also be taken as a sign of aging, as we tend to lose our natural moisture as we advance in years. Cosmetics aside, the main disadvantage to having dry skin is that it becomes more vulnerable to breaks in integrity, and subsequently infection.

Keeping the moisture
But if dry skin is caused by aging, shouldn’t it be impossible to stop it? While there’s no point staving off the inevitable, there are methods to keeping your skin well-moisturised via external sources. Experts iterate that to slow the onset of dry skin, all one needs to do is keep them from drying off.

One way to do this is to minimize long, hot showers. Sure, it feels good after a long day at the office, but too long showers can strip your skin off natural oils. This is also true of cleansers that contain mineral oil or petroleum; these are effective at drying out your skin, more so if you’ve made a habit of applying them daily. If you have any skin care product in your regimen that contain artificial fragrances and dyes, skip on them; they are known to irritate the skin and cause inflammation.

Makeup use
What most women don’t like to think about their makeup is that powders, creams, and lipsticks are often viable breeding grounds for bacteria. It’s always better to use disposable sponges, at least you don’t have to run the risk of infection by re-using them. Remember that acne is caused by bacteria setting up camp in your pores. This ultimately causes inflammation, which may lead to acne. Acne almost always leaves some form of scarring, damaging otherwise smooth skin. You might also want to regularly clean your makeup brushes to prevent bacterial buildup on them.

Home remedies
Home remedies are not only convenient and inexpensive, but they actually work too. Milk, for instance, can help soothe itchy skin, mostly because the lactic acid corrects the pH imbalance that’s causing the itch. Lactic acid also dissolves dry, dead skin tissue and stimulates new cell growth. You might also consider adding Argan oil to your skin regimen. A natural extract, Argan oil keeps your skin looking healthy and well-moisturized, not to mention well-supplied with the nutrients it needs.

Other products are available in the market as well. Look for creams and lotions that contain glycerin, allantoin, and bisabolol to help lock in moisture, boost healing, and soothe skin.

Eat (and drink) right
This cannot be stressed enough. Where do you expect your skin to get the nutrients it needs without a viable source? Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, and don’t forget to hydrate. Essential fatty acids and Omega-3 acids are a must, so keep fish in your diet to keep things balanced. Vegetable and fruit juices are a good source of antioxidants; the more colored your fruit is, the better. Opt for deep greens and oranges to decorate your plate at every meal. Don’t skip on the eight glasses of water a day, either.

Keep skin moisturised
While it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to take a lot of baths, healthy skin needs moisturizing from external sources as well.
You might want to incorporate a commercial moisturizer in your skin care regimen, or even better, try more natural moisturizers such as Argan oil. Even the mildest commercial moisturizers contain a certain amount of chemicals, some of which might not fully agree with your skin. However, Argan oil is a good, healthy alternative for your skin as it does not contain any harmful or toxic ingredients. Instead the oil comes with nutrients that absolutely love the skin such as Vitamin E, essential fatty acids, Sterols and numerous other antioxidants.

If possible, keep a humidifier in your home to keep the surrounding air from drying out too quickly. Use moisturizing lip stick to keep your lips from becoming chapped throughout the day; you may even use your toothbrush to gently exfoliate the lips during your oral care routine.

Keep skin clean
Taking baths and showers rids your skin of microscopic debris, so even if you don’t feel especially dirty at the end of the day, a lukewarm bath does wonders for hygiene. Skip on the hot showers, as they tend to remove much needed moisture from your skin. Use a scrub to actively exfoliate dead skin cells. For the body wash, use a mild, moisturizing brand that doesn’t have too many chemicals in it.

Live healthily
The basic equation of it is: live healthily, and your skin will look the part. This includes getting a good night’s sleep, regularly engaging in exercise, and overall, feeling good. Keep a fixed sleeping routine of six to eight hours (ideally), and start hitting the gym during your free time. And while it might be hard to pass up on those French fries and junkfood, the pay-off will be worth it.

• Time to go for creamy cleansers. Once the fall season sets in, the temperature will start going down and as we go further down the season, the temperature would plummet, making you shiver. This drop in temperature will make the air dry making your skin dry. The strong winds that usually blow during the fall season will also rob your skin of its natural oils, therefore dry skin will be a dilemma. So better start using creamier cleansers or cleansers with moisturising effects.
• Wake your skin up. Taking a shower has this refreshing effect on the skin. Of course, taking a shower means washing away dirt, grime and toxins that are latching on to your skin. Don’t take a hot shower, the normal tap temperature would do but if it feels too cold, just set the temperature to lukewarm. For that refreshing feel, choose a body wash with peppermint oil.
• Seal in the moisture. Right after taking a shower, seal in the moisture by applying moisturiser. You’re best bet into keeping your skin well hydrated all throughout the season is the liquid gold of Morocco known as the Argan oil. The oil contains high amounts of both essential fatty acids and Vitamin E which are known for their moisturising properties. It also contains Sterols which help lock in moisture into the skin. Aside from Vitamin E, Argan oil comes with other antioxidants such as Ferulic acid, Carotenoids and Polyphenols. These antioxidants will protect the skin from environmental damage and also repair the damage the skin has sustained during the fun summer season.
• Keep your body hydrated. This past summer season you probably have always been drinking water to cool off and fight the sweltering heat. This constant drinking of water of course ensured that your body was well hydrated all summer long. But it is also important to keep your body hydrated all year long. Drink plenty of water and eat fruits and vegetables with high water content. Try switching your cup of coffee to a cup of herbal tea at least once a week.

Like many of you, I am still uncertain of where I am in the whole yes to facial, no to facial debate. To help us decide though, here are a list of things estheticians say they never tell their clients.

Scars
Yes, facials are not only painful. Some can even leave your face scarred. Estheticians admit some of them are not thoroughly trained to determine what methods should be or should not be done on a certain skin type. They explain there are, indeed, scar-inducing procedures that some certain skin types cannot tolerate.

Do It at Home
While no esthetician would say you can do what they do at home, they admit though that you can minimize your visits to their clinics if you have the proper tools, knowledge and skin care products at home. One tip is to massage your face regularly just like what estheticians do to improve blood circulation in the face. Fresh blood on your face’s skin nourishes cells and helps in the turnover of new cells. Also, complement your DIY facial with a great skin care routine that you will follow religiously. One product that could be a great addition to your routine is Argan oil. Argan oil had been getting a lot of media attention lately for its skin benefits. Packed with essential fatty acids, Sterols, Vitamin E, Carotenoids and other antioxidants, the oil keeps the skin moisturised, youthful and protected!

Not Trained to Pop Pimples
Most schools, they admit, do not teach extraction or pimple popping. It’s up to estheticians to learn this procedure on their own.

No Need for Peel
Some women love diamond peel as part of their facial sessions. Estheticians, however, admit this is an unnecessary procedure especially for women with sensitive skin

No Immediate Results
Unlike botox or injections, facials will not yield immediate results. Don’t worry though because estheticians say most of their clients who regularly visit for a facial aged more gracefully than others.

However, dermatologists share a number of common bad habits most women do because they think it’s good for them. Read on ladies and be shocked!

Steering Clear of Oils
Shocked? I’m sure. Knowing that acne is caused by an excess of oil, it makes perfect sense to stay away from any product that will make the skin oilier. Or so I thought. Apparently, the skin is not that simple. Applying oil on our faces, experts say, actually promotes lower oil production because our oil glands no longer have to overproduce.

Most essential oils have anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties as well that help fight acne. Argan oil, meanwhile, is loaded with essential fatty acids which help bring down overproduction of sebum. It also has nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties. This makes Argan oil another great option to fight off pimples.

Consuming Too Much Dairy Products
While our parents told us to drink milk so we could grow taller, now that we’ve reached our height peak, we may have to slow down on our dairy intake. Dairy products are inflammatory and consuming too much may trigger an outbreak. Also, refrain from eating more than the dietary requirement of protein. It takes a lot of energy to digest protein. This energy can be used for other skin benefitting factors like cell renewal and collagen production.

Cortizone Dependence
Addiction may also be a proper term. Remember that cortizone is a type of steroid and steroids have addictive qualities. While its initial function is managing inflammation, if used too much, your skin will become dependent and will react if you stop use.

Washing But Not Air Drying Your Make-Up Brushes
You’ve heard this tip a number of times already. Wash your make up brushes. However, the advice usually stops there. Ladies, after washing, you need to air dry them too. Why? Because a moist brush stored in an airtight make up kit to dry is a magnet to bacteria. Imagine them growing in number on your brush. The thought is enough to make me squirm.

Just Drinking Water
Yes, I was just as shocked. Remember the age old advice of drinking eight glasses a day? Apparently, drinking is not enough as you lose the water you drink when you pee. Experts say it’s better to eat water. Not literally, silly! Eat foods with high water content like watermelon and cucumber!

1. Exercise Regularly
   What better way to flush out toxins than sweat them out. Most women with perfect skin say working out makes them feel healthier and this state is reflected in their skin. Ever notice how you need not wear a blush-on when you’re working out? That’s because even without it, your face looks flushed and more alive already. That’s what exercising does. Also, working out is a great way to de-stress. And we all know what stress does to our skin.
2. Stick to a Good Skin Care Routine
   This means that you have to cleanse, tone and moisturize twice a day. No matter how tired or how busy you are, these three steps should never be skipped. To make the effort worth it, use products that serve multiple functions. For instance, for your moisturizer, why not use oils like Argan oil. This miracle oil from Morocco will not only moisturize the skin, it will also help fight off aging. On top of these, the antioxidants in Argan oil will help protect your skin from environmental damage too.
3. SPF Forever
   Why is it that women with already perfect skin hate UV rays more than those who have lots to improve on? Most women with perfect skin admit to playing hide and seek with the sun often. They say that if they can’t help going out, a wide brimmed hat is a must. They also follow the age old advice of reapplying their sunscreens every two hours. Wow! The commitment! That’s why their blessed with to-die-for skins.
4. Eat Well
   Women with great skin couldn’t underscore this more…you look what you eat. So on top of their strict skin care habits, these women are strict when it comes to their diets too.
5. Hydrate
   They don’t care whether you drink eight glasses a day or eat a number of water-rich foods often. What’s important they say is that you drink or eat water to keep the body hydrated!
6. Barely There Make Up
   Barely-there make-up? These women literally rarely wear make-up. They say it clogs their pores so they prefer not to wear any most of the time!