True beauty begins on the inside. Being a genuine and good person on the inside shines on the outside. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Your adornment must not be merely external—with interweaving and elaborate knotting of the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or [being superficially preoccupied with] dressing in expensive clothes; 4 but let it be [the inner beauty of] the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, [one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature] which is very precious in the sight of God.” (AMP)
Even so, sometimes you want to help the outside feel a little more attractive and there is nothing wrong with that! Below are some simple things you can do.
If you have any ideas you would like to contribute to this page, simply contact me. I may add your idea to this page with credit to you.
Hair
- Hair porosity means the ability of your hair to absorb and retain moisture. Learn about your hair’s porosity and treat it accordingly. To discover it, place a naturally shed hair (NOT one plucked from your scalp!) in a bowl of water. If it floats, it is low porosity. If it sinks slowly, it is normal porosity. If it sinks quickly, it is high porosity. Following are tips for low, medium and high porosity hair care. These are basic tips. It may require some experimentation to find what works best for your hair.
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- Low porosity hair responds best to products without heavy oils (like coconut) and are water based. It also usually benefits from washing daily due to the fact it accumulates a build up of products quicker than other hair types. Use baking soda or a gentle clarifying shampoo to keep build up at bay. Shampooing and conditioning less often can result in dry hair that breaks easily. It also requires frequent deep conditioning with a water based product or something with light oils such as olive oil.
- Normal porosity hair responds best to products that are free of heavy oils and fairly light. Somewhere between how to care for low porosity and high porosity hair lies the best way to care for normal porosity hair.
- High porosity hair responds best to the higher end products that contain heavier oils (like coconut oil). It responds best to infrequent shampoos and co-washing (using conditioner to wash the hair instead of shampoo). Heavy leave in conditioners often keep high porosity hair healthy and strong.
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- When rinsing your hair, use the coldest water you can tolerate. Doing this helps to help seal in the conditioner by closing the cuticle of the hair. Warm water does NOT do this.
- Try to avoid frequent use of heat appliances such as hair driers and straight irons on hair. If you do use them, use them after applying a heat protecting product.
- If you wear your hair up, try not to pull it too tightly. Also, use gentle hair bands when possible. Never use rubber bands as they break and pull the hair.
- If your hair breaks easily, try drying with a microfiber towel instead of terry cloth after shampooing. Sleeping on a silk or satin pillowcase also helps.
- Frequent trims every four to six weeks keep hair healthy and encourage growth.
- If you have naturally curly hair, you can make your own curl refresher that works better than anything you can buy! Fill a spray bottle with some of your favorite daily conditioner, curl defining mousse or gel, and water. Shake well then spray on your hair and scrunch. Air drying is best, but blow drying with a diffuser works well too. The amounts of ingredients depend on your hair, so you may need to experiment a bit. For my very low porosity hair, I fill the bottle about 1/5 of the way with conditioner, another 1/5 with curl definer and then top off with water.
- Rather than buy a leave in conditioner, you can make your own. Simply add your favorite daily conditioner to a bottle and fill the rest of the way with water. Ratio of conditioner to water will depend on your hair’s porosity. Low porosity hair usually works best with about 1/3 conditioner and the rest of the bottle water. You may need to add more or less conditioner, depending on your hair’s needs.
Hands And Nails
- Protect your hands and nails by wearing rubber gloves when exposing them to water and wear yarn or wool gloves in cold weather. Both dry the skin and nails out incredibly fast.
- Remember, fingernails are NOT tools! Avoid using your nails to open soda cans and other such tasks.
- When filing nails, file in one direction only.
- Good circulation around nails helps them to grow strong. Use a nail brush and clean them daily.
- If your nails break often, they probably are brittle and in need of moisturizing. My Nail Fortifying Oil Pen can help strengthen brittle nails.
- Moisturize hands and nails often, but especially during cold months, after exposure to water and after using hand sanitizer or alcohol based cleaning products such as cleaning wipes. Consider using my Healthy Hands And Nails Cream to keep hands soft.
- An excellent, heavy duty moisturizer is castor oil. It is sticky though so it is best to apply sparingly. Massage it into and under your nails as well as hands. I find it most beneficial to apply at bedtime so it has hours to work without me needing to wash my hands. And, if you accidentally apply too much, simply rub a fairly light lotion into your hands too. As counter intuitive as that sounds, it actually works well! Lotion helps the skin absorb the extra castor oil.
- Do not wear nail polish all of the time. Nails need a break, so do not wear polish constantly. Even taking off only a couple of days between manicures helps.
- When you do wear polish, start with a good base coat. It will protect your nails from becoming too discolored from polish and help your manicure last.
Skin
- Your skin is your largest organ. Take good care of it. Treat it gently and with love.
- Do not take extremely hot showers often as it dries out the skin (and hair).
- Exfoliate your skin often. Exfoliation removes dead skin cells to reveal the softer, healthier skin underneath. My Naturally Radiant Exfoliant uses oatmeal (among other ingredients) to moisturize as it gently sloughs away unhealthy skin while not stripping the skin of moisture.
- Moisturize after every shower or bath, and moisturize according to your skin type. If it is oily, use a light moisturizer made for oily skin. If dry, use something heavier. I offer several types of moisturizers on the Moisturizers page
- Patchouli oil is a great way to deal with some skin blemishes such as pimples, boils, psoriasis and eczema. Use only a small amount on the blemish a couple of times a day. If you are under a doctor’s or dermatologist’s care, check with your doctor before trying this!!
- For exceptionally dry skin, castor oil can be your friend. Add a small amount to very dry areas. A little goes a very long way though! If you accidentally use too much castor oil, try adding a light lotion. The lotion helps the skin absorb extra castor oil.
- Looking for a very effective moisturizer you can make yourself? Try green tea and olive oil! Make very strong green tea and mix it with olive oil. (I find 2-3 parts tea to 1 part oil to be a good ratio.) Shake well and apply to the skin.
- Moisturizers are most effective when applied after a bath or shower. The pores are open which allows moisturizer to absorb well.
Miscellaneous
- Applying perfume or cologne on certain spots on your body will help you enjoy the fragrance longer than others. Here is a diagram of those places:
- Use an unscented moisturizer first, before applying your scent. It helps your fragrance last longer.
- Apply a couple layers of scent. It also helps your scent last longer.