You can’t fake good health.  Makeup, hair styles/accessories, under garments and clothing can change your outward appearance, but the results are temporary.

Healthy skin is the result of a DAILY regimen that addresses your skins specific needs & requirements.  I used to spend quite a bit of time every morning applying mineral foundation to cover my acne scars.  Weekly AHA peels, Glowshine Anti Acne & Skin Lightening Lotion mixed with Vitamin C + Koljic Acid, twice daily and Burnout Clean and Clear sunscreen, got rid of my darkest, oldest spots and scars. It took 3 months for the newest scars and about 8 months for the oldest scars to fade. My cleansing, toning and masque regimen  kept (and continues to keep!) new pimples from forming:  This was my biggest challenge, as I am a reformed pimple popper. I stopped wearing foundation over a year ago because I no longer had to cover up hyperpigmentation.  YIPPEE! Now, I just use a long wear Maybelline Super Stay in Wine (this stuff really STAYS on ALL DAY), eye liner, mascara and a little eyeshadow.

Every one, all ages and skin types, needs to wear sunscreen every single day.  It doesn’t matter what the weather is like outside or whether or not you plan on leaving your house for the day. UV rays come in through your windows (in your home AND your car) and they can and will damage your skin if it’s unprotected.  Sunscreen is especially important for skin that has hyper-pigmentation issues or if you use any alpha hydroxy acid products on skin that’s exposed to the sun (AHAs increase your skin’s sensitivity to the sun). Without the adequate protection provided by sunscreen, UV rays can and most likely will darken existing acne scars. Unprotected skin is also more likely to develop dark spots sometimes referred to as “sun spots”. Make sunscreen part of your daily routine. Make sure that your children, spouses, etc. are also applying sunscreen each and every day.

The same preventative measures apply to hair care. It only takes about 30 minutes to deep condition your hair. The WONDERFUL results are WELL worth half an hour, once a week. Healthy hair “behaves” better, looks fabulous and requires less styling products because you don’t need to mask or correct anything.  With a cordless heat cap, you don’t even have to set aside a block of time to do a proper deep conditioning treatment.

On Saturdays or Sundays, I warm up my heat cap right before I’m about to go into the shower. I rest it just outside the shower and then, after cleansing my hair and applying my deep conditioner, I put the heat cap on.  It takes about 15 minutes for my hair to get thoroughly heated, so during that time I use a pumice stone or scrub on my feet, exfoliate my whole body, shave, etc.  I remove the heat cap about five minutes before the end of my shower to let my hair cool down. Right before I’m about to step out of the shower, I turn off the overhead water flow, turn off the hot water and run cold water over my hair from the bathtub faucet to completely seal the cuticles on my hair.  You don’t have to deep condition every week, but you REALLY should do it twice a month.

EXERCISE. You’ve got to work out. I know it’s difficult to find time for exercise: work, family commitments, etc. all require precious time.  If you absolutely have no time to work out, use the time you do have to “squeeze in” some exercise: You can do sit ups, leg raises, push ups or upper body exercises using dumbbells or canned vegetables as you watch TV.  If you have a stationary bike, treadmill, etc. you can get on it as you catch up on your reading. Put ankle weights on and do rear leg lifts as you wash the dishes. Use your imagination and please, share your tips…  right HERE!

I have a very small window of time to exercise in the mornings, so I double up my lower body and upper body weight lifting exercises to speed things along.  It works out WONDERFULLY because I’m able to get & keep my heart rate in it’s target range as I do my strength training: This cuts down on the amount of time I have to spend on “straight up” cardio work (on my bike or elliptical machine).   Thanks to my Accumen Heart Rate monitor, I can monitor my cardio workout from start to finish.

For a healthy heart, everyone needs to do at least 20 minutes of aerobics (cardio vascular exercise that causes your heart to beat within its target range) 4 days a week.  Aerobic exercise will also force your body to burn fat for energy. In addition, your body will continue to burn fat for several hours after your workout is over. Here’s more good news about exercise: Working out with weights build lean muscle. When you increase your muscle mass and decrease your body fat percentage, your body burn calories (fat) even when you’re not working out! Please know that increased muscle mass does NOT mean you’ll get bigger or become muscle bound. It’s actually the opposite: Muscle takes up less room than fat, so there’s a good chance that you’ll see a decrease in your overall size (your weight will most likely stay the same & could possibly increase).

Making time every day for proper skin & hair care will have many benefits; much more than I can even list!  Find the time to take care of yourself and the rewards will be well worth the effort!