Beauty myths:
Drinking lots of water keeps skin
youthful-looking.
People have got to stop drinking numerous glasses of water a day, thinking it is helping their skin. Water does help clean the kidneys and acts as an appetite suppressant. But short of bloating and temporarily getting rid of some wrinkling, it doesn't do a whole lot for the complexion.
Soap is bad for the skin.
People have been bullied in the past: "You use soap on your skin? Oh, my word!". Traditional soap was a mix of animal fats and fruit/vegetable oils. This has a high pH and can in fact be drying, particularly to aging skin. But these days, newer soaps have been formulated with synthetic surfactants, which cleanse skin in a milder manner than true soap. Some soaps even have emollients (moisturizers) added, so they are good for the skin. If you prefer that "squeaky-clean" feeling soap provides, there's nothing wrong with using it.
A split end can be repaired.
This is true only if you're willing to snip the hair beyond the point of the split. While some conditioners can temporarily 'glue' split ends back together, there is no way to re-attach the hair shaft permanently when the individual layers of cells separate. This is the result of too-frequent or too-harsh chemical processing, styling or just plain over washing. When shampooing, concentrate on cleansing the scalp, which is mostly where skin oil accumulates. As the shampoo is rinsed out, it will clean the length of the hair.
It's too late to start using sunscreen.
It's never too late to start protecting skin from the sun. The cumulative effect of the sun is what's damaging, so by avoiding it, you could halt some of its progress. Furthermore, there is clinical evidence that once you start protecting the skin, it has the ability to repair itself. This repair is not going to happen overnight; it's a gradual process that can take a couple years to yield significant results.
Scalp massage can turn around hair loss.
If it can, it's never been scientifically proven. Proponents of massage, claim myriad benefits, including an increase in circulation to the scalp, which causes the hair bulb to be flooded with the nutrients necessary for healthy hair growth. However the scalp is already one of the most vascularized areas of the body. There may be a placebo or anti-stress component, which could account for the limited success in a few people.
You can shrink a pore.
The size of your pores is genetically determined. Cosmetic companies are making many millions by convincing women they can be shrunk. Once you reach puberty, the pores become their adult size. However, they can appear to be overly enlarged if they become impacted with keratin, sebaceous material or bacteria. Anti-agers such as Retin-A and alpha-hydroxy acids can break up these materials to return pores to their normal appearance.
Dry skin causes wrinkles.
The reality is that most of the lines and wrinkles you see in the mirror were caused by the sun. The other 20 percent are the result of facial expressions such as smiling and frowning. If one smokes, the appearance of these wrinkles are accelerated many years. However if someone is very dehydrated, the skin will appear more wrinkled. Also as one ages, the skin makes less natural oil. This will make the wrinkling more apparent. A moisturizer will help smooth away some early fine lines.
Alcohol-free is better.
Hardly. When people see 'alcohol' on a label, they usually think of isopropyl, or rubbing alcohol which imparts a cooling, drying sensation to the skin. This however couldn't be further from the truth. From a biochemical viewpoint alcohol just means that there's a molecular compound with an OH at the end of it. What's at the other end could completely alter its behavior in products. For example, cetyl, benzyl or oleyl alcohol are all so-called fatty alcohols, which act as emollients. These decrease water loss from the skin and soften it.
Everybody needs a moisturizer.
This is another multi-million dollar myth the cosmetic companies want you to believe. In reality, you only need a moisturizer if you experience the following clinical signs: redness, scaliness or itchiness. These are more frequently seen in cold weather. The drier your skin, the heavier a moisturizer you need. When does it make sense to have two different moisturizers? If you're extremely dry on, say your hand and only moderately dry on your body, use separate products.
Once you have a face lift,
you'll need another.
This sounds like a myth that a lot of celebrities have taken at 'face' value, but it has no basis in fact. What is true is that a face lift doesn't reverse the aging process. It just makes you look better than you would have looked without it from that point on. It's not unusual for a person who's had a face lift to decide one still looks pretty good, or at least better than all ones friends, and opt out of the second surgery.
Beauty Facts:
1.) ALWAYS make sure that you condition your lips using any kind of chapstick or moisturizers. Make sure to carry chapstick with you everywhere you go and reapply as often as you please. The more you reapply, the softer and healthier your lips are going to be.(Blistex Silk-n-Shine,$2.99 at drugstores)
2.) In the morning before applying anything on your lips, put some lotion on your lips and take your toothbrush and gently brush over your lips. This helps the dead skin come off and it leaves your lips much smoother cleaner!
3.) If you're looking to make your lips fuller and more plump, try Too Faced:Lip Injection ($18.50 at Sephora).
4.) If you want a fuller look and your lips are too sensitive to lip plumping formulas, try taking a lip pencil (Super Duper Lipstick Pencil by Joey New York, $16 at Ulta), and contouring the outside of your lips. After you finished lining the outer part of your lips, take a nude colored lipstick and apply it. Rub you lips together back and forth. This will make you lips looking ravishing!
5.)If you are looking for a natural look, a nude color lipstick or lip gloss is always the way to go. You can never go wrong in a nude color.
6.) Your smile always looks its best if your teeth are pearly white. Try Crest White Strips ($25.99 at drugstores).
Eyes
1.) Before applying mascara, in order to get the full volumized effect, curl your eye lashes. Take you eyelash curler and place your lashes in between. Tighten the curler firmly for about 5 seconds. DO NOT sqeeze to hard! Squeezing to hard may cause damage to your eyelashes. After you finished curling your lashes, then apply the mascara. Take you mascara and work upward on your eyelashes slowly.
2.) The color you choose for you eye shadow is competely up to you. If you are looking for colors such as blue, green, purple, and other bold colors, make sure not to apply too much because you will definitely end up looking like a clown.
3.) Before you apply your eyeshadow, make sure you put a pale shade of powder on your eyelids. This will cause the eyeshawdow to hold much better, and it will not crease as much.
4.) If you choose to apply eyeliner, start from the inside of your eyelid and work your way out. It is much more precise that way. Also, try using a liquid liner (Liquid Eyeline Colorstay by Revlon, $6.99 at Ulta). It looks much more distinct.
Face:
1.) To keep your face clean and flawless, washing you face at least once a day is necessary! It is recommended that one should wash their face in the morning and at night. Try Dove Gentle Exfoliator ($3.99 at Target).
2.) To get soft and radiant skin, apply a mosturizer before going to bed at night. Try Dove Night Renwel Mosturizer ($9.99 at Target).
How to apply foundations, bronzer, and blush:
First, take you foundation and apply it EVENLY onto your face. Make sure you use make-up sponges to apply the foundation becuse it gives it a better look and a more even application.
After you have finished applying your foundation, application brush (Ultimate Kabuki Buffer Brush, $22 at Bare Escenctuals) and swirl it around in your bronzer (Warm Radiance $24, at Bare Escentuals), tap the brush, and then apply in a circular motion onto your face. Keep repeating this procedure until you are finished applying your bronzer. Makre sure that you DO NOT use too much bronzer. This can cause you to look to orange.
After you have finished with your bronzer, it is not now time to apply your blush. Take your brush and swirl it around into a small amount of the blush (True, $24 at Bare Escentuals), and then highlight your cheek bones. (The besy way to do this is to make your face into a fish face, and then brush the blush along your cheek bones.) This helps bring out you cheek bones. After you are done accenting your cheek bones, take a little more blush and brush it across the apples of your cheeks.
Note:
Make sure that you take care of your skin everyday! The better care you take of it, the more radiant it will be!