Primping and Preening: My Beauty Routine

Most beauty consultants will tell you taking care of your body is the first step to achieving the look you desire.  Usually, they each have a different opinion about what to emphasize:  skin, hair, or really good make-up.  There are a lot of different approaches to a beauty routine and every lovely lady has her own version.
My beauty routine is generally low key.  The fewer steps I have to complete before bedtime or walking out the door, the happier I am.

Hair:
My hair is fine, thin and very flat.
Since I am growing out my hair, I decided to use Herbal Essence's 'Long Term Relationship' shampoo and conditioner.  I've probably been using it for about a year now and I am extremely pleased with the results.  While I can't say it has made my hair grow faster, I can say it has kept my split ends to such a minimum it allows me to wait months and months before I go in for a trim. 

Along with my shampoo and conditioner, I use Aussie's Hair Insurance leave-in conditioner.  I like to use it on days I switch up my shampoo (Head and Shoulders, anyone?) and when I am going to apply heat to my hair.  It's also helpful for when my super fine, super thin hair gets static-y. 

I am trying to incorperate Pantene mousse for fine hair to my after-shower routine.  I've yet to figure out how to use it best.

I tried a mayonnaise soak a few times on my hair to amp up the health.  I do not recommend it.  The only result I could see, rather smell, is that my head smelled like mayo for days (even after washes!!!)

Skin:
For my face, my skin tends to be some kind of dry. I cannot seem to find something to even it out.  Right now I use Mary Kay's Timewise face wash and lotion for normal to dry skin.  If you have a suggestion, I'd be more than willing to try it!

To remove my make-up, I use a homemade remover that works wonderfully. It's roughly a half-and-half mixture of olive oil and witch hazel.  I love this stuff.  Kandee Johnson shows you how to make it here.

I need to probably use lotion on the rest of my body more often.  It just takes so long ... and the dog wants to lick it off my legs. Haha!

Other:
Nails - for my finger nails, I have been trying to use some Sally Hansen nail strengthener (Green Tea + Olive) to keep them strong.

Hair removal - When it comes to hair removal, like my older sister I use disposable razors and water.  I haven't used shaving cream in years.  It slows down the shower process.  I should probably use it though.  I tried to do waxing when it came to my wedding, but NO WAY can I do that.  I don't see how girls endure that. 

For my eyebrows, I pluck whe I can.  I can usually go several weeks without having to pluck again but that's mainly because there's not too much to pluck in my case.  Also, every once in a while when I'm feeling ambitious I'll 'groom' my eyebrows according to Kandee Johnson's tips.  It really helps pronounce the shape of my brows well. 


So, those are the basics of my 'beauty routine.'  I try to keep it simple.  As you can see, I am glad to have found Kandee Johnson. Haha.  She has such great tutorials.  If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions don't hesitate to post!

1: My (Un) Beauty Routine

This week, we are outlining our beauty routines and the things we'd like to change or new things we'd like to add into our pampering time. 

Prepare yourself. This is my un-beauty confession.

Skin:

I’ll admit, I don’t know much about skin care. What I do know is that I commit far too many of the carnal sins of skin, for example: sleeping in my makeup on a regular basis.

I wash my face in the shower with Clean & Clear Oil-Free Foaming Facial Cleanser for Sensitive Skin maybe once every two to three days.  

I use Dr. Bronner’s Tea Tree Liquid Castille Soap or Sheepish Grins Goat Milk Soap Bar for my body.

Maybe once a month, just for fun, I use the Queen Helene Mint Juniper Masque or do an oil massage/cleanse with coconut oil and steam it off.

I rarely use lotion or moisturizer, but if I do, I use Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion.

Since having my daughter, my skin has chronically felt like sandpaper. A bit of exfoliation and/or some moisturizer sometimes makes it feel a bit smoother, but I rarely do it.

Hair removal:

I haven’t used shaving cream in years. I never buy my own and don’t want to use all of my husband’s.  I usually use various kinds of super cheap disposable razors, often after my husband has quit using them because they aren’t sharp enough for his face or head anymore. I only shave my legs about once a month, I try to hit up my pits a bit more often!

I dry shave my eyebrows every few weeks with a dull razor (usually while doing my makeup when I notice my brows are out of control) because I’m too lazy/busy to pluck. I have a waxing pot, which I loved to use for my brows, but I’ve been out of wax for over 3 years and haven’t bought any more.

I wear Burt’s Bees Original Lip Balm religiously. I’m an addict. It’s a crisis if I leave home without it.

Hair:

I wash my hair about once per week with Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree Shampoo, which is amazing. I haven’t used conditioner in almost 10 years.

So as you can see, there is LOTS of room for improvement. I really would LOVE to start using some nice products on my face and get it back to feeling nice and smooth on a regular basis. I probably could use a good exfoliation. I would love to get a nice razor and have my own nice shaving cream. It would be lovely if I could wax my brows again! I'm sure some conditioner wouldn't hurt my hair every now and then. In the next few months, I plan to incorporate some of these things into a routine in my life. Taking good care of myself makes me feel much more confident.

Are there any estheticians in our audience that can suggest some good skin care products for combination break-out prone & sandpaper dry skin? A good masque? Exfoliant? I need some advice from a pro!