Daylight Savings & Beauty Sleep

The only part of this "Spring Forward" thing I like is that we are one step closer to summer and longer days! Yeah! :D
But the lack of sleep that most of us will be suffering this week, trying to catch up with that hour loss can take a toll on your looks. The fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty may not be too far off from the truth when it comes to some of the secrets of beauty. In a recent study done in Sweden, photographs of volunteers after eight hours of sleep and then again after being kept awake for 31 hours where shown to participants that rated them on how they looked. The sleep deprived participants were scored as less healthy looking and less attractive. Upon further research, I also found studies linked to weight gain and sleep depravation. So with all of us trying to get our internal clocks back into step, let’s talk about what you can do to get a more restful nights sleep.

1. Create a ritual. Best practice says we should create a routine to sooth ourselves into an comfort zone right before bed. Whether that includes and warm bath, a good book and nice shower some sleepy time tea or whatever it takes to help you wind-down, try to get in the habit of doing the same wind-down routine every night. 
2. Avoid these things. We all know these things but I can’t complete an article like this without including them. So here is the short list. Avoid, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, spicy foods and exercise right before bed.
3. Stick to a schedule. Going to sleep at different times every night can confuse your brain and make it difficult to go to sleep when you want to. Try and hit the hay at the same time every night. Your body likes having a schedule and sticking to it. You will sleep more peacefully if you can manage this habit.
4. Include exercise. Exercise in any form will help you feel physically more tired allowing you to sleep more restfully. Now that it is staying light a good hour after dinner, consider taking a walk and burn off a few of those extra calories. It will help you crash when your head finally hits the pillow! 
5. Ditch the stress. The last thing you want to do before bed is read or look at the news, have a conflictive, discuss or think about the crap from work. Try to keep your mind clear of anything stressful before bed. Keep it light and uplifting. Keep your thoughts/prayers before bed on the side of gratitude. In other words count your blessings before you sleep. :)
6. Eliminate distractions from sleep. Electrical interference in your bedroom can disrupt your sleep. Charge your phones in a room other than your bedroom.  Also, animals can be very disruptive to a peaceful nights sleep. If there is any way you can possibly arrange it, allowing your animals to sleep in a kennel or in another room and it could help to get those extra Zzzz’s you are needing. 

Let’s try our best to keep the world a more beautiful place by getting our restful regime in place. 

Do you have a trick or tip that always helps you to get to sleep and stay to sleep? We would love to hear all about it. Please leave a note in the space below so we can all learn from your tip. Know a friend that needs to hear this message. Please feel free to share or forward this information to them. 

Thank you for stopping by my blog, 

Hope you have a fantastic week and make the most of your week. 

Take Care, 

Michon :)

Sources:

web-md, help-guide, Mayo clinic, Huffington Post Article, beauty sleep, green guide, science daily

Cabin Fever

Do you get that overwhelming feeling of wanting to 'break out' this time of year? The warmer weather we have had over the last couple of days seems to make it even worse. Many of my clients start to get anxious and decide they need a change. Some come in with some pretty drastic changes in mind for their hair, but, is it the right move for you? When you look at the big picture of where you want your hair to be by summer you need to take a few things into consideration before you let someone get carried away at the mixing bowl or with the scissors.

1. Maintenance. How often do you want to be seeing your stylist in order to keep the style looking fresh? The longer your hair is, the easier it is to go a little longer between haircuts. Short hair cuts really do self destruct in 4-6 weeks. Hair grows a 1/4 inch per month. This can be the difference between a spunky, sassy style with “tude”, to a limp overgrown look that is mediocre. Give some serious thought before chopping off too much and then spending the rest of your winter months bluer than you might have been. 
2. There’s an app for that! There are several fun apps available for your smart phones that may help you decide on a new style or color. Simply take a picture of yourself with your phone and then import your picture into the app and shop around. Fun way to “see yourself” with a new look before taking the plunge and being too surprised. Here is a short list of ones I found available for your iphone or droid. Hairstyle Lite, Magic Mirror, Fun and Fashion, Smart Hairstyle and one for your computer if you are not a phone junky like some of us, InStyle Makeover.
3. Coloring. This is a great time of year for low lights. You are still out of the sun most of the time this time of year so it is easier to maintain the rich lowlights you can achieve with a low peroxide, conditioning color that will fade much less this time of year. By summer it will have naturally lifted enough so you won’t have trouble when you want to lighten it again for summer. A nice subtle change that won’t fry your hair. 
4. Deep conditioning treatment with a trim. This is a great way to breath new life into your hair. It is amazing what just a quarter to an eighth of an inch can do to make your hair feel so much better. Add to that, a deep conditioning treatment and you have a new do that is sleek, shiny, polished feeling and will last you a couple of months through the rest of this deep freeze. 
5. Take baby steps. If you are contemplating making a drastic change talk to your stylist about making the changes over several appointments. Take a picture with you and consider their recommendations. Drastic changes done too quickly can be disastrous! Just see what January Jones (the Mad Man movie star) has to say about her impulsive style change and her hair falling out in clumps! 

The way you feel about your hair is very closely connected to your mood. When your hair looks good you feel good. Beware! Remember, you will have to live with this drastic change for months to come. However, if you are of the mind set that “it is only hair” by all means have fun! What else is there to do on these long days but spend time in the salon mixing it up a bit! :)

Thanks for subscribing to my weekly tip blog. 

Please feel free to leave me a comment below and let me know what your favorite strategies for keeping the winter blues at bay this time of year. And if you have any questions or ideas you would like to hear me work on please let me know. Please share this tip with any of your friends that are contemplating big hair decisions! 

Thank you again, 

Have a great week! 

Michon :)

This post has been published in the Galena Times Newspaper/ Spring Edition 2013

Beauty Resolutions

New year resolutions are not the easiest to keep. In fact many of the friends and clients I have spoken to claim they didn’t even bother with it this year. I decided to keep it simple and start with my face first. I have had problem skin my entire life so this comes from my heart. This isn’t just for the ladies. Gentlemen, listen up as all the tips below are just as important for you and your skin. So here is my short list of tips to better, more beautiful skin for the new year. Good, New Year resolutions for anyone.

1. Wash your face before bed. Even if you are not a make-up wearer it is a good practice to wash your face before retiring. The pollution, oil production, sweat and bacteria from the day is sitting there, waiting to turn to acne on your face while you sleep. Best practice is to wash with a gentle cleanser, tone and then apply an active serum to do some overtime work and a moisturizer. Your skin will have the evening to repair itself from the wear and tear of the day. 
2. Exfoliate once a week. The process of exfoliation will rid your face of dry, dull skin by removing dead skin cells from the surface. This ritual helps to keep pores from becoming clogged and leaves the skin refreshed. Exfoliation reduces the size of pores and speeds up the skin renewal process, allowing healthier more radiant skin to take its place. This week’s recipe is a homemade exfoliating mask you can whip up at home to enjoy. Check it out! 
3. Apply SPF every morning. It is important to protect your face from the constant amount of UV that it is getting daily. Remember to choose one that has at least a 30 SPF, is non greasy, and free from parabens. The one I use also has antioxidants including photosomes, roxisomes and ultrasomes that protect against free radicals and enhance DNA repair. (Fancy, huh?) :)
4. Take your vitamins, Vitamin D3 oil specifically. This fat soluble vitamin is an essential nutrient for skin cell growth and replacement. Vitamin D helps your skin form a barrier that locks in moisture and helps keep your skin soft and supple among other things. I found a fascinating article on the web while doing research for this article. Read more at this link.
5. Eat more raw foods. Raw fruits and vegetables are full of water which is what our skin needs the most of. Eating a diet centered around fresh, plant based foods gives your skin elasticity. Raw plants are also high in antioxidants. Think of your plate as a clock, ideally 45 minutes of your plate should be filled with raw fruits and veggies. 
6. Get more sleep. Your skin, eyes and body will feel better and look better when you are adequately rested. Sleep deprivation shows up on your face. A study published in the British Medial Journal, participants rated photos of sleep-deprived faces as less attractive, less healthy and more tired. 

Pretty easy stuff eh? 

Keeping it simple but with things that we will get a big benefit from in the end. If we all do this over the next year we should be looking and feeling 10 years younger by 2014 right? :)

Share this with your friends, and leave me a comment below with your favorite tip for the new year and your beauty resolutions. I would love to hear what you are doing to make positive changes. 

Cheers to a beautiful new year and a beautiful new you! 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Michon :)

Rise and Shine Face Scrub
1 TSP of heavy cream
1 TSP of honey
1 TSP of brown sugar
1 TSP of finely ground coffee

Clean face with regular cleanser to remove any makeup.
Mix ingredients in a small bowl.
Steam pores open with a HOT towel.
Apply mixture to face with a soft wide paint brush. Allow it to penetrate for 5 minutes.
Gently scrub in circular motions over entire face. Be careful not to get too vigorous with the scrubbing or you could aggravate or complicate any skin condition.
Remove with warm wash cloth.
Apply cool clean washcloth to finish and close pores. 

Happy Hands & Cuticles (Winter Edition)

Hands in particular are exposed and at risk for dry, chaffing, irritation and sometimes cracking skin during this cold season. We are washing them more than usual to ward off cold and flu germs. We are drinking less water, which is what our skin, hair and nails need the most. And your oil glands typically excrete less oil during these cold month. All of this leads to dry brittle nails and cracked, dry cuticles. Here are a few tips to help get your fingers off the DOA list.

1. Drink more fluids! It is difficult when it is cold outside to want to be drinking all that cold water. How about switching it up with some nice herbal tea? Sam bought me some of this wonderful tasting white tea that I am loving right now. Highly recommend it! Even a cup of warm water with lemon is a nice soothing way to get more moisture into that skin. Whatever your taste is just try to pump up the fluids at this time of year. 
2. Use a gentle cleanser for all that hand washing. Glycerin soaps are know for their moisturizing qualities. Try to cut back on the antibacterial, harsh soaps. I found this one while searching online the other day that is infused with vitamin E and has an aloe base. And it is orange scent to boot! All things Christmasy! In my shopping cart it goes!  



Cranberry Hempz

3. Use lots of lotion. Keep it in your purse, your car, your gym bag. My favorite at this time of year is the Cranberry Hemp These sweet little gems can be found at my salon and they make great stocking stuffers! 
4. Get a manicure. Have a professional take a look at your patties and give their professional opinion. Besides the benefit of getting your cuticles trimmed, so as not to catch and snag the dry corners on clothing it, many are offering hot oil treatments for free with a mani at this time of the year. 
5. Aloe infused gloves are a great option for extremely dry hands and feet. Just apply a thick coat of lotion or body butter to your hands and then slip on the gloves. Even if you end only wearing them half the night your skin with have the chance to soak in the wonderful emollients from the gloves and the butter and your will find that your hands will be much happier and much more youthful looking.

All ready for another home remedy option for hands and cuticles? I love this one! Trust me you are going to get tired of my endless uses for coconut oil! It is an amazing product and I love the stability of this oil. The fact that it is anti-microbal and solid when kept at room temperature below 76 degrees only adds to my affection.

Bedtime Cuticle Treatment

Empty 2 oz container 

1.5 oz of coconut oil 

4 drops of Lavender essential oil

Warm oil in the container on the defrost setting in your microwave, about 10 - 15 seconds is usually enough in most ovens. Once the oil is liquified add the lavender oil. Stir with a toothpick and allow the oil to come to room temp and solidify again. Place lid on the container and put by your bed side. Apply to cuticles at night as you are crawling under the covers, with or without gloves. The lavender has a natural relaxing sensation on the body that is perfect for this bedtime routine. 

Please feel free to share your home remedies for dry hands with me in the comments below. I would love to hear your approach. Feel free to share this page or forward this link to your freinds. Sign up for my weekly tip in the header above. 

Enjoy,
Michon :)