Tuesday Tips - SKIN CARE A-Z Continued

Here are tips r-t from "Your Everything Guide to Skin. All you need to know from A-Z." These tips come to you from an article in Elle Magazine. This is a post I started back a few months back, but I have been so busy I haven't even had time to post to my blog. I finally have a free minute so I thought I would give a a few more of these great tips!

r. - RETINOIDS: These chemical compounds are derived from vitamin A and assist in regulating cell growth. Avaliable over the counter (Rentin - A is the prescription version), retinoids are often used to reduce the appearance of lines since they're so effective at getting skin cells to rebuild collagen and elastin. This rapid turnover can sometimes trigger sensitivtiy, however, so most doc suggest starting with retinoids every other night until the skin adjusts to the new ingredient.

s. - SLEEP: Most studies recommend seven to eight hours of shut-eye per night for optimal health and beauty benefits. This is a time for full-body regeneration and skin repair, so derms often tell patients to apply treatments such as retinoids and pigmentation-reducers before bed, giving ingredients like glucosamine, which treats spots and lines, the ideal conditions under which to work their magic.

t. - TEA: Wheather brewed as a soothing beverage or added to a daily skin cream, these antioxidant superstars (the most potent include green and white teas, along with Argentinian yerba mate) also contain large amounts of polyphenol. a known antiager. These types of tea have beed sceintifcally proven to defend against the formation of certain types of cancer when sipped daily, and there's evidence that they fight free radicals, minimize UV effects, and repair damaged cells when applied to the skin.

u. - UV BLOCKERS: The best lotions provide full-spectrum coverage by shielding against UVA and UVB rays. Look for labels listing avobenxone, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide.

v. - VITAMINS: Just as a rainbow-color diet supercharges your energy level, your skin requires a full range of vitamins to keep up it's glow. When mixed into your favorite treatment, vitamins play a major role in important skin function such as speeding up healing, minimizing hyperpigmentation, and booting collagen.

The final post with tips w-z will be coming soon , don't forget to check back for these final skin care tips!

Tuesday Tips - SKIN CARE

Here is a special addition of Tuesday Tips, this the 3rd post out of a series of post on skin care I started last Thursday from an article I read in ELLE Magazine "Your Everything Guide To Skin. All you need to know from A-Z." Tips J-L, Enjoy!

j. - JUICE: Greapefruit, oranges, lemons, and limes, make more than thirst-slacking vitamin packed beverages. Fruit acids, part of the alpha-hydroxy family have also been proven to be brilliant exfloiants (citric and malic acid are two popular varieties.) Unlike scrubs, which pyshically slough off the dead tissue, fruit acids break apart the bonds holding together old cells in surface-dulling clumps. This action also encourages the formation of new cells, which not only makes the complexion radiant and fresh but also evens tone and minimzes hyperpigmentation.

k. - vitamin K: Found in dark leafy greens such as spinach and kale, vitamin k helps build strong bones. Applied topically, it repairs broken blood vessels, zapping dark circles and accelerating bruise healing.

l. - LINE FILLERS: From Restylane to CosmoDerm to Zyderm, fillers (made respectively, of hyaluronic acid, lab produced human collagen and bovine collage) are injectedunder the skin to erase lines and restore fullness. Needle-phobes should opt for creams and cosmetic that mimic the look with optical light diffusers.

Make sure you check make for more skin care tips coming soon!

Tuesday Tips - Soap Savers

How to Get the Most Out of Your Soap!

Do you want that handmade soap to last longer? Get a soap dish that drains and allow your new handmade soap to dry out. When your soap sits in water and gets gooey you waste precious soap and it just rinses right down the drain every time you lather up ! Get the most out of your soap and let it drain and dry out, it will stay harder, last longer, and save you money!

Tuesday Tips -Getting The Most Out of Your Mascara

There are a few basic things you can do to make the most out of whatever mascara you are using:

1. Replace your mascara every 3 months - old mascara doesn’t go on smoothly, making your lashes dry, short and clumpy looking. If you are on a budget, try to find a great drugstore brand.
2. Get a hand mirror - when you apply your mascara, hold the mirror down by your nose and look into it. This will allow you to see the root all the way to tips of your eyelashes and gives you the best length possible for application.
   
3. “Wiggle and Pull” - wiggle the brush back and forth to ensure your lashes grab the most mascara possible from the wand. It’s great for volume and length.
   
4. Go Slow - practice your mascara application technique and take time out of your makeup applying routine to devote to applying your mascara. Great lashes make a big difference!

More tips from http://make-up.lifetips.com/

Tuesday Tips - Breast Cancer Prevention

To go along with our new Speranza Soap "hope" and our recent post on Pink Ribbon products, I decided to this weeks Tuesday Tips on ways to help reduces your risk of Breast Cancer. This Info is courtesy of Breast Cancer Prevention Fund.

According to Breast Cancer Prevention Fund an average of about one out of every 8 women will get breast cancer in the course of a 90-year life span. Knowing what can increase or decrease your risk for breast cancer is important, so here are some tips to help you live a healthier life.

What Can Make Your Risk for Breast Cancer Go Down?	What Can Make Your Risk for Breast Cancer Go Up?
Eating a healthy diet Losing extra weight Regular exercise Reducing alcohol use Quitting smoking Minimizing/eliminating extra estrogen Preventive measures for high risk (surgery, medication)	Personal or family history of breast cancer Smoking Excessive weight Prolonged estrogen exposure Abnormal breast cell growth First full-term pregnancy after age 30 Never having a full-term pregnancy Heavy alcohol use Early start of menstruation Late menopause

Can Breast Cancer Be Prevented?

Although we know some of the risk factors linked to breast cancer, we do not yet know what causes most breast cancer. It could be that a woman of average risk for breast cancer might lower her risk somewhat by changing those risk factors that can be changed. These include giving birth to several children and breast feeding them for several months, not drinking alcohol, exercising regularly, and staying slim. It is also important for women to perform monthly breast self-exams.


Click here to read the rest of this article from Breast Cancer Prevention Fund. This site is full of a lot of excellent info, I definitely recommend checking it out.

Tuesday Tips - Home Hair Care Recipes

Healthy Hair

1. Choose the right shampoo and conditioner. Shampoo washes away dirt, dust, and other particles that don't belong on your hair. Because hair, like skin, tends to become less oily with age, choose a shampoo formulated for dry or normal-to-dry hair. Shampoo gently rather than vigorously, and concentrate the lather on your scalp, carrying it down to the drier ends.

Frequent shampooing will not cause any problems, but be sure to use a conditioner. Although many of the commercial claims for conditioners may be exaggerated, a conditioning rinse can coat the hair with a lubricant that replaces the sebum (the covering that protects the hair's outer layer, called the cuticle) stripped off by shampoo. By doing so, it enhances shine and makes hair more manageable. You don't need expensive products with exotic ingredients unless you like the way they smell or feel.

2. Treat wet hair with care. Use a towel to blot your hair dry rather than rubbing or pulling, and untangle it with a wide-tooth comb. Don't use a brush on wet hair, and avoid hot blow-dryers. High heat on wet hair causes the water under the cuticles to form bubbles like those in boiling water; these bubbles stress and break hair. Set your dryer on the low or medium setting, and keep it moving so that air circulates through the hair rather than concentrating on one spot.

3. Buy good hair tools. Look for combs and brushes with smooth, rounded teeth or bristles. If they feel scratchy when you run your hand over them, they can tear your hair. Brush your hair only enough to style and groom it. The old 100-strokes-a-night rule you may have heard about is left over from the days when people shampooed their hair with soap and had to brush out the resulting film.

4. Don't overprocess your hair. Too-frequent use of perm, coloring, or straightening agents -- or scheduling these processes too close together -- can literally dissolve hair strands.

5. Avoid excessive sun exposure. Sunlight can break down the hair's protein structure, leaving it vulnerable to breakage. Lighter hair (either naturally light or chemically bleached) is most vulnerable because it has less protective pigment. Hair sunscreens have not been proven to prevent damage, but a hat or scarf does a good job of shielding your hair from the sun.



Tips from reader's digest


Here are a few recipes/tips you can make at home.

• Fly Away and Static Control

Ingredients
Natural hand lotion

Directions
Apply a small dab of natural hand lotion to the palm of your hand. Rub hands together and apply to roots of hair.

• Frizz Control for Curly Hair

Ingredients
1 small aloe vera leaf

Directions
Snip off end of leaf and apply a dollop of aloe vera gel to palm. Work through hair to ends.

• Jojoba Hot Oil Treatment
  

Ingredients
2 teaspoons jojoba oil

1 teaspoon soybean oil

Directions
Combine ingredients then warm gently on low heat. Test temperature on inside of forearm. Massage mixture into hair.Wrap hair in a hot towel or cover with shower cap or plastic wrap for 15 minutes. Shampoo & rinse out. Recipe may be doubled for very long hair.

For More Hair Care Recipes Check out Long Locks Hair Care Cookbook

Tuesday Tips -Healthy Skin

Here are some great tips on ways to keep your skin healthy and prevent sun damage.

Daily Preventive Skin Care

The following are some daily measures for skin protection:

• Don't wash your face too often with tap water. (Once a day is enough.) It strips the skin of oil and moisture. In addition, chlorinated water, particularly at high temperatures, poses special risks for wrinkles.
• Wash your face with a mild soap that contains moisturizers. Avoid alkaline soaps, especially with deodorant.
• Pat the skin dry and immediately apply a water-based moisturizer.
• Always apply sunscreen, even if going outdoors for short periods.
• Avoid drinking alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime. Alcohol increases the risk for leaks in the capillaries, which allows more water in and causes sagging and puffiness. Capillary leakage increases when one is lying down.
• Lie on the back when sleeping. This helps offset the effects of gravity.

Avoid Sun Exposure

One of the most important ways to prevent skin damage is to avoid episodes of excessive sun exposure. The following are some specific guidelines:

• Use sunscreens that block out both UVA and UVB radiation. However, do not rely only on sunscreen for sun protection. Wear protective clothing and sunglasses in addition.
• Avoid exposure particularly during the hours of 10 AM to 4 PM, when sunlight pours down 80% of its daily UV dose.
• Avoid reflective surfaces, such as water, sand, concrete, and white-painted areas. Clouds and haze are not protective and in some cases may intensify UVB rays.
• Ultraviolet intensity depends on the angle of the sun, not heat or brightness. So the dangers are greater the closer to the summer-start date. For example, in the Northern Hemisphere, UV intensity in April (two months before summer starts) is equal to that in August (two months after summer begins).
• The higher the altitude the quicker one sunburns. One study suggested, for example, that an average complexion burns in 6 minutes at an altitude of 11,000 feet at noon, compared with 25 minutes at sea level in a temperate climate.
• Avoid sun lamps and tanning beds or salons. They provide mostly high-output UVA rays. Some experts believe that 15 - 30 minutes at a tanning salon is as dangerous as a day spent in the sun. People should not be misled by advertising claims of "safe" tanning or promotions offering unlimited tanning.

Read This Entire Article from Health Central

Check out Tan Central for some great tips on how to apply self tanner, and reviews on products.

Tuesday Tips - Benefits of Exfoliation

Our skin naturally sheds the top layer of skin on a regular bases.
This can result in a build up dry flakes which can leave your skin looking dull. This dry flaky skin mixed with your body's own natural oils can cause clogged pores which blocks moisturizers from penetrating into your skin. This makes it impossible to achieve the smooth beautiful skin we all desire; instead you're left with dry dehydrated skin. One simple addition to your morning routine can turn all this around, exfoliation.

Benefits of exfoliation include:

* Improve the texture of your skin, making it more vibrant.
* Help reduce fine lines and wrinkles.
* Reveal healthier-looking skin below.
* Remove pore-clogging dirt and skin cells shed by your body.
* Help prevent acne outbreaks by keeping skin healthy.
* Allow moisturizers to penetrate your skin more deeply.
* Helps maintain your tan when you exfoliate before applying sunscreen.

Espresso Italiano Body Scrub

Tuesday Tips - The Perfect Manicure

Material you'll need to get started:

• nail clippers
• nail file
• shallow bowl for soaking
• cuticle pusher
• cuticle nippers
• cuticle cream or oil
• lotion

Follow these simple steps for a perfect manicure.

First start out by clipping and filing your nails. It is important to file your nails before your soak because wet nails can become softer and tare more easily. Never seesaw file your nails as this can cause peeling and split. After you have achieved your desired length and shape fill your soaking bowl with warm water and antibacterial soap, for extra dry cuticle add a few drops of oil to your water. Soak your hand for approximately 5 minutes. Next gently push back your cuticle. If you wish your can put a cuticle remover/softener on prior to pushing them back, you can then use a nail brush dipped in water or rinse and towel dry your fingers before moving to the next step. After pushing back your cuticles you may cut any loose dead skin, take care not to clip live cuticle as this can cause infection (this step is completely optional). You can now buff your nails with a 2 way or 3 way nail buffer, this helps smooth out ridges and provides a great shine, which unlike polish will not chip and can last for weeks. Next massage cuticle oil or cream into your cuticles this step is important to do every day as it helps prevent hang nails and cracked cuticle. Finally you should apply lotion to your hands and arms. If you are apply polish place a small amount of nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol to a lint free nail wipe or paper towel and remove to oil from each nail. This step is very important because polish will not stick to an oily nail. Apply a base coat two coats of color and a top coat. Follow this procedure 2 times a week for healthy beautiful nails and hands.

Check out this great manicure box by Sparetime Crafts, this box comes in many colors and patterns, with custom orders available.

New and Exciting Upcoming Features

I have some very exciting things in the works for Bonghi Natura "The Blog". Here are a few things you can look forward to in the up coming weeks. In addition to the release of new products, I will be writing some special weekly posts, as well as random promotions. Some of the posts I'll be starting next week will be Tuesday Tips. These posts will feature beauty tips and articles from myself and others in the industry. Another fun thing I will be starting is Friday Features where I will show off another artist's work. I'm looking forward to showcasing some very talented artist, as well as expose you to some great new products. I will also be posting random promotions and give aways, so make sure you keep a look out. You wont want to miss this!