Make Up – Wear or not to wear

Make Up – Wear or not to wear

A few weeks ago, I decided to stop wearing makeup for awhile. If I were being partially honest I would say this decision was based on the hot weather and humidity, which caused any makeup I applied to promptly slide off my face in an unsightly Maybelline mudslide.

I thought my makeup hiatus would last a few days, but I ended up enjoying the barefaced lifestyle so much that I didn’t open my makeup bag for two full weeks. This might not seem like a long time, but I’ve worn makeup almost every day for many, many years. A makeup-free vacation, weekend, or random weekday wasn’t uncommon for me, but to give it up for 14 days in a row for no particular reason was definitely a major adjustment. I learned some things about makeup, and about myself, in the process…

“Getting ready” time is important, even if it doesn’t involve makeup. When I took makeup out of my “getting ready” equation, I discovered I could be out the door in about 10 minutes (get dressed, de-frizz hair, locate keys — Boom! Done!). But one thing I realized during my makeup hiatus was that even though it was nice to streamline my routine, I actually missed the chunk of time I spent in front of the mirror. Leisurely applying my powder and mascara allowed me ample time to wake up, have a few solo dance parties, and mentally steel myself for the day. Now I know that even if I’m not wearing makeup, I still prefer to give myself a generous chunk of morning prep time.

Skincare is more important than makeup. Before my makeup hiatus, I put minimal energy into taking care of my skin and maximum energy into covering up any skin issues that arose from my negligence. Going without makeup made me want to switch up my priorities. The more TLC I give to my skin, the less makeup I want/need to wear.

 Removing eye makeup is a pain in the ass. When I wore makeup daily, spending a few minutes every night removing said makeup was just a given. No matter how tired I was, I knew I’d have to prop myself up in front of a mirror and wipe away my eyeliner and mascara — and I couldn’t rush it too much either, because hello, eyelashes are fragile. You know what’s awesome? Just being able to splash your face with water and go to bed. I could really get used to that. In fact, I kind of did get used to it during my makeup hiatus, and now taking it off seems even more annoying/time-consuming than usual.

I love the feeling of the sun on my bare face. This wasn’t a huge epiphany, because I don’t wear makeup on beachy vacations, but it was so nice to feel the sun on my face while doing everyday things like running errands or taking walks through my neighborhood. (Oh, and just in case my dermatologist is reading this, of course I was still wearing sunscreen!)

There are two very different reasons I wear makeup. One reason is rooted in self-expression. I might have the urge to play with a fun eye shadow color or wake up feeling kind of vampy and want deep red lips to match my mood. The second reason is rooted in insecurity and the belief that I don’t look good enough without makeup. The two weeks I spent not wearing any makeup really highlighted the difference between these two motivators for me. There were days that I felt like wearing makeup because I wanted to define my eyes for a night out or just really missed my hot pink lip gloss, and there were other days when I wanted to wear makeup . Ideally, I’d like my daily makeup habits to be motivated by creativity and expression rather than fear and self-doubt. It’s a challenge, but I think I’m on the right track.

Kate from learnandgrowbooks.com

Kate is the founder of Learn and Grow Books, which is a website for parents and teachers of pre-K children.

Will Washing Your Hair With Conditioner Work?

Will Washing Your Hair With Conditioner Work?

However, this idea is not new. Clarence Robbins, a well known expert on the science of hair, wrote about the damaging potential of shampoo in his book, Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair, in 1979.

But, there’s an even newer method that’s gaining popularity: washing hair with conditioner. But does it work? Yes…sort of. Conditioners do contain ingredients that have the potential to cleanse hair because of their detergent-like qualities, meaning when combined with water, they can help rinse away dirt and bacteria.

However, these ingredients, which are called cationic surfactants, are positively charged and are therefore attracted to the negative charge carried by the protein in your hair. This means they are more likely to stick to your hair, rather than rinse away. Translation: Conditioner probably won’t rinse gunk out of your hair nearly as well as shampoo, but it might leave your hair feeling nice.

Even knowing this I still had my doubts. I anticipated that my hair wouldn’t feel as clean as it does after my normal regimen, but I was wrong. After washing with conditioner, my hair looks and feels clean, soft, and smooth. I also expected that the conditioner would weigh my hair down, but my locks still had plenty of body and volume.

Interested in trying it out yourself? Here’s how:

1. Pick a no-frills conditioner.
Inexpensive conditioners make better cleansers because they lack the softening ingredients that are packed into costly conditioners. They also typically contain more of those conditioning ingredients that can have cleansing potential.

2. Be prepared to scrub for a while.
After you soak your hair in the shower, put a big pile of the conditioner on the top of your head and start scrubbing it in. Since it won’t create any lather, you really have to work at rubbing the conditioner into your hair. Focus on the roots and hairline where hair tends to be the greasiest. After scrubbing, I applied more conditioner and piled my hair at the top of my head for the rest of my shower.

3. Rinse the conditioner out completely.
For an extra boost, I then applied my regular fancier conditioner to the ends of my hair, and rinsed that out.

A Word of Warning
This trend is not recommended for anyone with very oily or greasy hair, or if you haven’t washed your hair in a few days. Also, if you start using this method, I’d alternate with shampoo every once in awhile for a more stringent cleaning.
Kate from learnandgrowbooks.com

Kate is the founder of Learn and Grow Books, which is a website for parents and teachers of pre-K children.

Why Skin Care is Important?

Why Skin Care is Important

Skin care plays a very important part in your life. Since your skin is something that everyone can see, and you will always have the same skin for your whole life, then it is very important to take care of it and keep it in the best shape that you can.

Get enough sleep. The amount of sleep you get can make a real difference to your skin. A lack of sleep causes your skin to look washed-out and dull, with dark circles under your eyes. You may also suffer from unsightly breakouts more often. Try to get a full night’s sleep – 7 hours or more. You will wake feeling refreshed and your complexion will have a healthy glow.

If you have a serious skin care issue, don’t hesitate to speak to a doctor. Your skin requires care, just like the rest of your body. If you are suffering from serious acne, uncomfortably dry skin or other issues that don’t resolve with over-the-counter treatments, your doctor may have prescription medications that can help you.

Skin becomes infinitely more sensitive, so avoid conditions which are hot and humid as these tend to exacerbate the problem and result in excessive tenderness and redness. This includes saunas and spas, Jacuzzis, and even long, hot baths or showers.

Your skin needs vitamins! A deficiency in certain vitamins, such as Vitamin B or K, can cause dry skin as well as cracks at the corners of your mouth. Take a multivitamin daily to ensure that you are giving your skin all the nutrients it needs to be healthy and youthful.

Treat your skin with care to limit the potential damage from a daily routine of cleaning. Don’t take long, hot showers or baths, as these can strip your skin of its protective oils. Take shorter showers and lower the temperature of the water. Use gentle cleansers instead of stronger soaps to clean yourself.

Vitamin H is an important part of a vitamin regiment that promotes healthy looking skin and prevents age spots. Vitamin H gives your skin a natural glow. Additionally, vitamin H makes your skin smoother, making it look more beautiful and more even. While it may seem too good to be true, vitamins can help your skin stay healthy and more youthful.

If you have serious skin problems like psoriasis or eczema then you should make sure that you carry your prescriptions with you at all times. These sorts of skin problems tend to flare up in the winter when the air is drier so it is important that you take you medicine around with you.

With proper care, your skin will stay in good shape for a long time. If you use the tips provided to you in this article, you can greatly increase your chances of having nice skin throughout your entire life. Always remember that your skin is not replaceable and that you will have it for your whole life. To that end, it should be well taken care of.

Kate from learnandgrowbooks.com

Kate is the founder of Learn and Grow Books, which is a website for parents and teachers of pre-K children.

Hand and Nail Care Tips

Here are some Hand and Nail Care Tips.

Hand and Nail Care Tips

To harden soft nails, soak them in warm olive oil for about 20 minutes, on alternate days.
To remove stains from your nails, mix one tablespoon of lemon juice in a cup of water and soak your nails in this liquid for a few minutes.

Then, wash off with warm water and apply a hand moisturizer.
It is not a good idea to remove the cuticles from your nails, as it will make the nail susceptible to infection. Rather, you should make use of good quality cuticle oil and gently push back the cuticles, with the help of an orange wood stick.
Try to stay away from acetone polish removers as much as you can and stick to the one that make use of acetate.

Still, try not to use a polish remover more than once a week.
In case you wear nail polish, make sure to give your nails a break from time to time. In other words leave them without polish for a few days, every now and then. Otherwise, they will develop an ugly, yellow tint.
If you want to give a natural sheen to your nails, just like the colorless base coat, rub petroleum jelly on your nails and then buff them, with the help of a soft cloth.
If you have brittle nails or split or dull nails, then increasing your consumption of Organic Silica, Vitamin B (especially B5) and MSM (Methyl-Sulfonyl-Methane) will surely help.
Never ever resort to nail biting, as it is extremely destructive for the nails as well as the cuticles. If you are in the habit of biting your nails, drop it as soon as possible.
Whenever you wash your hands, while bathing as well as otherwise, make sure to dry the nails properly and apply a hand cream or lotion, using it on the nails as well. This is because soap makes the nails dry and brittle.
The best time to file your nails is when you are already wearing a polish. This will prevent splitting or breaking of nails.
If you have brittle nails, it is advisable to wear a nail polish, or at least the colorless base coat, as much as you can.

Hand and Nail Care Tips

Beautiful, well-kept and delicate hands are important.

Hands tell you a number of things about yourself. Hands tell you how you lead your life and how you take care of your body and skin. It is said that the hands tell you how old a woman is. No matter how old you are, your hands tell an observer a lot about yourself as a person. Dressing up in fancy clothes is of no use if you do not take care of your hands and feet. While speaking or communicating with others you use your hands to express yourself, emphasize a point etc. Hands play an important role in communication. Imagine what life would be like without your hands. It is a part of the body that you use the most, you cook with them, get dressed with them, write with them, empathize with them and shake others hands when you meet them. Take good care of your hands and treat them well as they are essential for your existence.

Here are few hand care tips:
• The skin on your hand is thin and delicate; therefore take special care of them.
• Moisturize your hands at least four times a day.
• Use your face exfoliator on your hands once a week.
• Once a week apply your face cream on to your hands before you go to bed.
• For dry hands after washing your hands with soap, wet them again. Pour salt on your hands and then scrub them under water. Dry hands and apply moisturizer on them.
• For greasy hands, after washing your hands rub cornmeal on them.
• Wear rubber gloves while working at home and in the garden.
• Protect and prevent your hands from aging and abuse.
• Protect your hands from the ravages of changing weather.
• Protect your hands while working in the sun.
• The best way to take care of your hands is to protect them on a daily basis.
Home Remedies for Hand Care
We often forget to take care of our hands. Through we use our hands to do all the work in and outside the house we seem to pay very little attention to taking care of them.

Hand Care Recipe
Our hands have a very few oil glands, with the result that they tend to get dry easily and very often as well. As they come in contact with chemicals, detergents, garden dirt, and so on, when you undertake cleaning works, they are exposed to further damage.

How to Have Beautiful Nails
Your nails form a very important part of your hands and they too need to be well taken care of. Well-kept hands, with neat, clean and healthy nails, are a pleasure to behold. On the other hand, dirty and poorly kept nails will make your hands look ugly, even though the latter are healthy and well cared for.

Kate from learnandgrowbooks.com

Kate is the founder of Learn and Grow Books, which is a website for parents and teachers of pre-K children.

Nail Salon

Have you gone into a Nail Salon, and thought about the color you were going to wear then or before you go? If you are like me, I go for the colors that I don’t have at home. My skin is very pale in color. I love how the bright colors look on me. I go for the bright colors that I don’t have at home.

I have a lot nail colors. I have about 40 of them. My friends and family buy them for me as  gifts and just they know I really like them.

The last time I went to the place that I go when I was in Walnut creek CA. This is the place I have been going  to when I lived in Walnut Creek. The people usually  take care of me  weren’t there. But I still got my nails done.

I had a new person take care of me. At the time I was wearing Sun Shine Yellow color. Just on my toes. Not my hands. I just wanted my feet to get done. It took a long time for the yellow to come off. They had to use a lot of nail polish remover. Some of the yellow nail polish got on one of the white towels,  and on the chair.  The Owner was not happy. For the whole time that I got my nails done she would talk to the person who worked on my nail in her language not English so I won’t hear. The person who worked on my nails rushed and hurt one of my toes. It’s a long time for the polish to come off all the way. I got the strong colors that last. My favorite brand for my nails is Sally Hanson. The company has bright colors that I like. They last a long time even when you don’t use a top or bottom coat. I like to change my nails color a lot. Some time I change the color about twice a week.

Well the color I got from the nail salon looks to be like Smurf Blue. I don’t have this color at home. I hope that it would last a long time. I was wrong. It lasted four days before coming off. My nails looked good  in the nail salon. But when I took a close look one foot looked different and the shapes of the nails. I don’t always wear a top and bottom coat. Sally Hanson nail polish lasted longer than the nail polish from the salon. The nail salon used top and bottom coat. I paid a lot of money for a shit job. Won’t be going back there. Why is it hard to fine a good place for nails? I don’t mind spending money on good work. I tip big too.

Kate from learnandgrowbooks.com

Kate is the founder of Learn and Grow Books, which is a website for parents and teachers of pre-K children.