Keeping Hair and Skin Healthy during the Winter

Since the long, hazy days of summer with sun-kissed glows and wavy tousled beach hair are behind us, it's time for an updated routine to keep our skin and hair moisturized and healthy during the winter months!

Just because the brisk air sucks the moisture and summer glow from your skin, doesn't mean you can't still achieve healthy radiant skin.

Skin:

1. For skin to look healthy and moisturized, you must exfoliate it! Removing dead skin cells helps your skin appear vibrant and healthy. I make my own exfoliating scrub (from thebeautydepartment.com.)

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• A few drops of water

Mix all these ingredients together and keep them in a container. I use this in the shower about twice a week. It's amazing! The sugar exfoliates and the olive oil moisturizes and makes my skin glow!

2. After exfoliating your skin, follow with a good moisturizer. I use True Elements Daily Perfecting Cream. It's quite pricey, but any moisturizer that works and doesn't irritate your skin will work:) Moisturizer is important if you're going to wear makeup because it makes it apply smoother.

3. Makeup is the next part! If you don't wear makeup, that's perfectly fine. My face doesn't tan like the my arms and legs do, so I like to brush on a bit of bronzer on my face to make my skin glow and look healthier. Make sure it looks natural though! The you-look-like-you-have-a-Barbie-spray-tan-look is not attractive:) I use Bare Minerals bronzer but whatever you find works for you is fine!:)

Hair:

1. Get your hair trimmed! I'm trying to grow my hair out so I was desperately holding onto my dry, split ends, trying to make every inch count. Well it doesn't look good anyway! Get your dry split ends cut off, healthy hair looks much better!:)

2. Once your hair is trimmed, moisturize it! I put coconut oil in my hair every other day (you may not need is so often though.)

• First, put the container of coconut oil in a sink full of hot water to bring the solid oil to liquid form. Then put it in your hands and rub it on the ends of your hair (not the scalp, it makes your hair too oily!)
• Once your hair has soked up a generous amount of coconut oil, wrap your hair in a towel and go find something to do for 1/2 hour.
• Then take a shower and wash the coconut oil out. Make sure you wash it out all the way, or your hair will appear oily.
• Also, make sure you use a good conditioner and leave-in conditioner (it locks in moisture!). After a couple weeks of using the coconut oil, I noticed my hair was much softer and stronger!

Have a great day and Merry Christmas!

~Grace