her juvenescent elixir

If you have about 30 minutes you can do your own facials at home. [once a week or once a month.]

Get started:

Boil 4-6 cups of water in a large pot [dutch oven will work.] or if you have a facial steamer use that. Boil the water for several minutes, then reduce the heat and let it sit a few minutes. [No longer than 10 minutes.]

You can add a few tea bags [2-6] or essential oils to the water as it heats. Try different herbs or combinations of herbs and oils for the most benefit depending on your skin type. [NOTE: do not add oils directly to the water in your home steamer as this may cause clogs and break your machine. You can add the oil to a towel or cotton pad and hold it near your face.]

• for combination to oily skin: lavender oil, rosemary leaves, basil leaves and witch hazel bark can be used to clear the skin of harmful bacteria and impurities.
• for dry skin: rosewater, chamomile tea and jasmine will help sooth and not irritate the skin.
• for sensitive skin: distilled water, rose petals or rosewater will not irritate the skin usually.

Wash your face as usual.

Exfoliate your skin using an exfoliating pad, an electric toothbrush, a cleansers with microbeads, or a face towel or sponge.

Move the pot [or turn your steamer off] to the location where you want to do the steaming. Lean over the pot with a towel over your head to preserve the steam. [If it hurts or stings, it's too hot, wait 2 more minutes and try again.]

Steam for about 15 minutes, no longer.

Your pores are open; this is the best time to take care of pimples and blackheads.

• for whiteheads, take a sterilized needle and pop it and press gently with a cotton ball to ease the pus out. stop pressing when blood or clear fluid appears. use toner or hydrogen peroxide to clean the area.
• if the pimple is on the verge of popping, you can squeeze it, but not with your bare hands. take two clean q-tips and press on either side of the zit gently until it pops. then use hydrogen peroxide to clean it out. if it doesn’t pop right away, leave it alone. and apply benzoyl peroxide each day until it dries out. sometime it can dry out in a day or two.
• if the pimple is deep and red and cystic, leave it alone or go see a dermatologist who can inject cortisone to dry it out.
• for black heads, you can use a pore strips to move the dirt out of the pore.
• you can apply retin-a or alpha hydroxy to the blackhead to speed up cell turnover.
• never squeeze your blackheads. if it’s a really bad problem, go see a dermatologist.

While pores are still open, apply your facial mask. whatever kind you want. I use mask made specifically for oily skin as I have a problem with blackheads and acne.

Leave the mask on for 3-15 minutes. If it’s homemade mask, you can leave it on longer than the store bought masks.

To reduce puffiness: You can use cold cucumber slices, cooled chamomile tea bags, a cool gel eye mask, or a refrigerated damp cloth to place over your eyes.

Rinse your face with lukewarm to cool water.

Pat dry face and then apply toner or witch hazel to your face, jaw, and neck.

Massage in your moisturizer [really massage it in, don't just sit it on top of your face or it will do nothing.] let it sit in your face at least 10 minutes before applying make up.

7tTips for perfect manicure from Nail Aid.

Press a cosmetic cotton pad saturated with nail polish remover onto the nail, wait for 10 seconds, then draw the pad to the nail tip with a 1-way stroke. Rubbing back and forth will leave stains on skin & cuticles.

2. How to create nicely shaped nails.

After filing your nails straight with a regular file, use a low grit buffing block to smooth out uneven edges to give your nails a finished look. Buffing the edges seals the open layers of filed nails to prevent breakage or chips. Use the buffing block just like the way you use your file.

3. How to remove dry, ragged cuticles quickly.

Once a week, apply a cuticle remover at the cuticle line and wait for 5 minutes. Use a cuticle wood stick and scrape back & forth at the cuticle line to remove dead cuticles- dry skin bits that cling to the base of the nail. Rinse nails with a soap gel. Use a nipper and nip - don’t pull – cuticle bits that stick up and hangnails. If your live cuticles are too thick and you want to have them trimmed, have a manicurist trim them once in a while. Frequent trimming will make them harder and thicker. Avoid trimming your own live cuticles. Use cuticle oil daily. Fast absorbing Cuticle Cure softens hard cuticles and ragged, dry cuticles and makes nails stronger and flexible, which helps reduce nail breakage. Keep Cuticle Cure in your purse or at your desk to keep cuticles looking moist after washing your hands each time.

4. Washed and dry nails.

Apply nail products, whether nail color or nail treatments, to nails that are washed and dry, free of any oil or lotion. Nail products will peel or chip when applied to dirty nails. Dead cuticles have to be removed first. If a nail product is applied over dead cuticles, it’s going to lift.

5. How to build hard, strong nails.

Always use nail care and nail treatment products that are free of toxic chemicals. Besides harming your health, formaldehyde, toluene & dibutyl phthalate cause nails to dry, yellow, and become brittle. Even if you don’t wear nail color, wearing just a nail treatment alone will prevent your nails from breakage and protect them from the drying effects of water and harsh cleaning products. Always apply a nail treatment base coat before applying nail color. When applying a nail treatment, cover the sides and the corners of the nail. These areas are where the breaks start. For fast nail growth use Grow Tougher for thin nails & slow growth nails and Nail Recovery for repair of ripped nails & peeling nails, after the removal of artificial nails. As a nail hardener and nail thickener, Brush on Wrap for splitting nails is uniquely formulated to provide an instant manicure for its sheer white tint will give your nails a clean, polished look.

6. How to have a long-lasting manicure.

After cleaning and drying your nails, apply your base coat. Applying a nail treatment base coat first helps grip nail color to the nail. Always allow one coat of nail treatment to dry to the touch before applying another coat. Besides nourishing your nails, a treatment base coat will help prevent nail color stains on your nails. Apply Fast Dry Top Coat every 3 days for protection from nail color chipping and nail color peeling and to provide a high gloss shine. When applying a nail treatment or color, wipe the brush inside the bottle to remove excess. Then, put a little stroke near the cuticle line to remove a little more product before placing the brush as close as possible to the cuticle line. This method will give you thin coatings for long wear.

7. Some final do’s and don’ts.