Imagine your skin, your hair, your figure all going under the revealing eye of the microscope. That’s what happens when you step out into clear summer sun. Every mark, every imperfection shows up unmercifully. Does this idea bother you?
If so, the smart thing to do is to start prettying up now so that you will be ready for summer when it does come. Let’s cast a weather eye towards those vulnerable points mentioned.
Skin: If the skin of your arms and legs, kept under cover since the beginning of winter, is not pretty when you look at it again, do something about it in a hurry.
Mottling, gooseflesh, and unevenness of texture respond wonderfully (though not overnight) to washing with a soapy loofah or body brush, followed by a very light massage with a well-soaped pumice stone. Use a light circular movement, and don’t go on too long or your skin may feel sore.
Another good gooseflesh “rub” is coarse, damp salt massaged well into the skin and then rinsed off thoroughly. When dry, rub in a little cream or almond oil, but only as much as the skin will comfortably absorb.
If your skin is naturally oily, apply cream or oil to arms and legs only, and finish off the rest of you with light cologne or toilet water.
Feet, too, can be made fit to be seen in almost no time at all if you just take a little trouble in advance. Massage, oil rubs, and so on hold good for feet as well.
Or maybe your back is less than flawless? Young girls often suffer agonies of embarrassment over a spotty back. Fortunately, the sun itself is an excellent treatment for this, and if you do your sunning in small doses in the early days the chances are that, aided by a light cover-up preparation, you will be able to wear a backless swimsuit along with everyone else when the time comes.
Hair: Ask any lass who enjoys looking nice (who doesn’t?), and she’ll tell you that half the fun of outdoor living depends on an easy-care hairdo that’s simple to set.
Keep it as casual as you like, but unless the hair is naturally wavy it generally needs a pre-summer permanent wave to hold any setting. If you are planning on a perm, start putting your hair in condition for it right away.
First, take a long look at your hair in a mirror under a strong light. Is it dry and brittle? Massage the scalp and hair with a leave in hair-conditioning oil or cream before each shampoo.
Does your hair look dull and lustreless? Brushwork is the best way to make your hair shine. Every day, brush well and massage the scalp to nudge lazy oil glands into action. Follow your weekly shampoo with a creme rinse (conditioner.)
But, above all, do remember that seawater and sun are pretty rough on hair, and unless you give it some care and attention all the time you could easily wind up with the dull, dry hair that nobody dreams about.
Figure: If you’ve put on pounds, and inches during winter, shape up to summer with a simple diet (avoid these 4 diet mistakes) and exercises you really enjoy.
A four-week program of these can easily make that new swimsuit your favorite and most becoming garment.
Like people, diets vary considerably, but most agree on adequate helpings of meat, much fresh and cooked fruit and masses of vegetables of all sorts.
You will find that if you only cut down on fats for a little while and eats less sugar and starch, those odd pounds will soon disappear.
Now, about exercise. Don’t try to argue yourself out of it, five minutes a day is enough to help your shape and it makes a grand beginning to the day.
Sitting, walking, stooping, reaching are all good for your figure if you do them properly.
Besides doing these “invisible” exercises, pick out one or two active ones as a solid basis for daily figure work.
bio: As a wellness researcher, fashion and beauty blogger, Natalia spends her time reading, discovering, and writing tips on Health & Beauty. She also loves to hangout and explore the unknown cities with her friends.
Leave a Reply