How To: Correctly Manicure Your Cuticles

 Not enough time or money to head to the spa for a true TLC treatment? Not to worry, we have a short guide that will help you get those ragged cuticles back into shape! You may not know that cuticles serve a very important purpose. They are a barrier from infection and protect the area between the skin and the nail.

DO:

1. If your cuticles have gotten a little out of hand (ha!), start by pushing them back into place. You can do this with an actual cuticle pusher, or use your fingernails to do the pushing. You’ll want to do this when cuticles are softest. We recommend doing this each day in the shower. Be careful though, and don’t push the cuticle too far back.

2. Use a powerful cuticle cream on your nails to keep them soft and healthy.

3. Use gloves when working in the garden or washing dishes to keep hands and cuticles from being exposed to extra germs or becoming dry and cracked.

DON’T:

1. DO NOT cut your cuticles if they are healthy. This promotes infection. If you have a hangnail, clip the hangnail off rather than tear it. Leave as much of the cuticle in tact as possible. Cover nail with a band-aid to keep it from becoming infected.

2. DO NOT overuse nail polish or nail polish removers. Try to find a nail polish remover without acetone if possible.

3. DO NOT use your nails and letter openers or any other office supply. Shuffling papers all day can be hard on your cuticles, so treat them well.

Some more interesting cuticle information:

What are Cuticles?

Nail Care Do's and Dont's

Friday's Organic Skin Care Tip #3

Friday Organic Skin Care Tip #3

After you have cracked the eggs open during baking, use your finger to swipe the excess egg white from the shell.  Apply on face for a quick face mask!

Does Chewing Gum Cause Wrinkles?

This is a very interesting article about the consequences that chewing gum has on your skin…I bet you didn’t even think of this!  Enjoy this article!

Does Chewing Gum Cause Wrinkles?

How To: Get Your Hair to Last Another Day Before Washing

I know, this seems kind of gross.  However, for busy people, dry shampoo can be a lifesaver!  Fortunately, there are ways to make it last without harmful chemicals as well.  If you find that you need to stretch your hair one more day before washing…for whatever reason…try some of these options:

1.  Baking Soda – Take a little (not a lot!) and lightly sprinkle throughout the roots of your hair.  Use a bristled brush to brush the baking soda down towards the ends and out of the hair.  Warning:  your hair might turn a crazy color of gray before it’s brushed out.  Don’t freak out!

2.  Cornstarch – Do the same things as you did with the baking soda, but be careful – cornstarch has a tendency to poof all over the room whenever you use it.

3.  Cocoa Powder – I know, sounds suspicious.  But this is a better option for those with darker hair.  Use this the same as the baking soda and the cornstarch, being careful again.  Brush out!

You can make your own concoctions with ground oatmeal, the above ingredients and some essentials oils.  There are tons of possibilities, so just play around with what works for your hair!

Friday's Tip of the Week

#2 You went to the store and bought strawberries. And didn’t manage to finish all of them, so half the carton is about to go bad. Instead of wasting nearly overripe strawberries, use them to exfoliate your hands and feet! We don’t recommend using the strawberries on your face because the seeds could possibly cause micro cuts on your face, resulting in a possible breakout or sensitivity. However, used on the stronger, more durable skin on hands and feet, your skin will be fine.

Ingredients

• 6 strawberries
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt (either Kosher or Sea Salt)

1. Mash up the strawberries. You can use the back of a large spoon or a potato masher. Do not use a blender because it will leave your scrub a little watery
2. Add the olive oil and salt.
3. Mix together.
4. Massage into hands and feet.
5. Rinse with water.

How To: Soften Your Skin

There are several different ways to soften your skin with both external and internal products.

1. Use additives in your bath to help soften your skin while you soak
1. Add 2 cups of oatmeal to your bath to help soothe skin
2. Add olive oil to your bath water
3. Moisturize after bathing, either with olive oil or a heavy body cream containing vitamin E
4. Use milk in your bath with a few teaspoons of honey
5. Exfoliate with baking soda

2. Take supplements to soften your skin from the inside out
1. Take Evening Primrose supplements
2. Take Flaxseed supplements
3. Take vitamin E supplements
4. Drink plenty of water

Softening Skin Link 1

Softening Skin Link 2

It’s Almost Halloween, Where’s Your Mask?

Hair masks rock. Really, they do. So below are just a couple good recipes for dry and normal hair, and a basic rinse for oily hair and/or to get the mask off. We’ve included the links so you can look up even more awesome recipes from the site itself. If you’re going to try hair masks, here are a couple of tips:

1.     Don’t use a hair mask twenty minutes before a date, or going out, or doing something that requires you to actually DO your hair. The oils/moisture in the mask will still be having a very noticeable effect on your hair, so it might not do what you want. Try doing it three to five days prior to a big event for best results

2.     Don’t rinse out ALL the oil that you just put in. If you are rinsing out your hair and it starts to squeak, you’ve done too much, and just stripped the oils from your hair. Again. Use the rinse provided below. Hair should feel silky and absolutely should not squeak. You can always do another rinse later if you really need to, but better safe than sorry.

Dry Hair

This mask is for dry, frizzy hair. If you’re wondering whether or not your hair is dry, if it’s breaking at the ends, or considerably lighter at the ends than at the root of your hair near your scalp, it’s dry. If you’re hair is curly, then it would also benefit from this treatment, as curly hair is naturally a drier hair type.

Ingredients

• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup plain organic yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

Instructions

1. Beat egg white until frothy.
2. Mix with yogurt and mayonnaise.
3. Massage into wet hair.
4. Cover with plastic shower cap or plastic wrap.
5. Leave in for 30 minutes, then wash out with a mild shampoo.
6. Rinse with very cold water.
7. Use monthly to moisturize hair.

Hair Masks 1

Normal Hair

This protein-rich conditioner nourishes hair and is mild and quick enough for everyday use.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 egg yolk
• 1 cup distilled or filtered water

Instructions

     1.  Beat egg yolk until frothy. 
     2. Add oil and beat until well-blended. 
     3. Add to water and distribute through hair, massaging into scalp. 
     4. Rinse thoroughly.

Hair Masks 2

Oily Hair

If you already have oily hair, we don’t recommend adding a mask to it, as most masks contain oil and you obviously have enough of that already. Instead, try the hair rinse listed below to clarify your hair after conditioning. 

Hair Rinse

To effectively get the hair masks out, or to combat oily hair, we recommend using the following rinse:

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar

Instructions 

      1. Mix well
      2. Rinse hair using about one cup at a time and testing to make sure that you haven't rinsed too much.  

(You can mix more or less of this as needed, just be sure the ratio is one part apple cider vinegar to four parts water.)