Skin Is In: Sans Makeup Tricks

Skin is the largest organ on our bodies. It protects us from harmful products and bacteria that wants us sick or dead. Okay, sorry for being so blunt, but your skin should be cared for 100% of the time! Drink water in ounces half your body weight DAILY, replace your shower head with a filtered one, and wash daily! Here are the top 4 things you need to know about your skin and how to protect it:

1. Large areas of skin- (LEGS-ARMS-BELLY) 
• Basically your daily cleansing should consist of a moisturizing soap such as Olay, Dove, or Aveeno. You want to use something that is appropiate for your kind of skin. Everything is not for every one! 
• Eczema is a very common skin condition that is very sensitive to frangrance, so if you have this, you may want to use a medicated soap, like Neutrogena Extra Gentle Cleanser.
• Moisturize!!! Eucerin is fantastic for giving you an all-day moisturizer, even in the summer! Another good one is an olive oil + coconut oil cocktail. Whichever you choose, make sure you make it a habit of putting some moisturizer on your ashiness!
• Make sure you use an SPF when you go into the skin!! SPF 30+ will do great if you're going to be in the sun for 3+ hours. Don't get caught without it!! 
2. Face

• Your face should never be washed in the shower because you shouldn't be using the same washcloth on your face than on your body. Yuck! Wash your face after you get out of the shower with either your hands or a fresh washcloth. The hand method is good for people with very sensitive skin and dry skin. Oily faced people should use a washcloth (like me) because the washcloth is good for giving you a nice clean canvas. Wash your face with Witch Hazel, plain water, or a alcohol free cleanser. I can never use a cleanser on my face for long because it starts breaking me out, so if you find that your skin is getting worse, stick with the basics!
• Wear SPF! Even ethnic women should wear SPF to protect their skin!! My favorite SPF for my face is Palmer's New Facial Moisturizer+SPF. It's really gentle on my skin and does wonders for my sun hating nose, which almost ALWAYS gets sunburn! 
3. Under arms, bikini line, knees and elbows
• For my ethnic women and olive skinned women, we shave under our arms and sometimes that leaves us with darkness under our arms or bikini line. Use baking soda, preferably everyday, and make a paste with water and massage the areas with it for about 1-2 minutes. This will cleanse the crevasses and under the surface that causes the darkness. For the knees and elbows, make sure you use sunscreen!! When you go outside with shorts and tank tops, protect those areas with sunscreen and it will lighten. You can also use Ambi Fading Cream in the Wintertime.
4. Lips

• If all else fails, have some Chapstick or Blistex! When you are just doing the groceries or the laundry, you don't need a bright red lipstick to impress. What you really need is a moisturizer, that's it. Your lips have very thin skin on them, so they are prone to chapping and peeling. If you want smooth lips more, try using A&D Ointment on your lips at night. This will heal your chapped lips and leave you with smooth, beautiful lips! I know... I tried it!