A New York City Health and Beauty Blog

DIY Pumpkin Foot Scrub

DIY pumpkin foot scrub

I love a good DIY beauty product. Natural products are great alternatives for those with sensitive skin because you know every single ingredient that goes into the product.

Celebrate today with a DIY pumpkin foot scrub from celebrity nail artist and owner of As U Wish Nail Salon, Skyy Hadley.

“Pumpkins are more than just for carving on Halloween,” she noted. “They’re rich in vitamins and nutrients and can do wonders for your feet!” They contain “various enzymes that help nourish and brighten the skin, and just by adding raw sugar you have a perfect foot scrub,” she said.

PUMPKIN FOOT SCRUB
Ingredients:
1 can pureed pumpkin
1 cup plain yogurt
½ cup raw sugar

2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:
Mix pureed pumpkin in a bowl. Stir in a yogurt, honey, sugar and olive oil. Wash your feet in warm water, and while your feet are moist, apply the scrub using your hands in a circular motion. Massage the mask onto your feet for 10 minutes on each foot and remove with warm water and a washcloth.

Beat the mirror: try these makeup tips

Beauty-tips

Where there’s a mirror, there’s a face feeling inferior. You’ll wake up, shuffle to the bathroom and catch a glance in that glass before you’ve even had the chance to wash your rough visage.

Sagging skin, darkened eyes and hair with about as much volume as broken speakers – style isn’t a word people would readily associate with you.

Because good health and well-applied makeup is all part of the fashion game. Just imagine if Cara Delevingne couldn’t apply her eyebrows properly – we’d be living in a world of chaos.

So what products can you use to match your style aspirations with cosmetic quality?

Crème de la crème

So many people have hair that major high street shampoos can’t (or won’t) cater to. Instead of leaving frizzy hair tamed, some shampoos leave them worse than when they started.

That’s why you’ve got to take your hair into your hands, with a product like Wen styling crème.

Available from Wen’s website, this crème is rubbed onto hair after rinsing it of conditioner. Once it’s set, you’ll enjoy follicles that are shiny and frizz-free.

While most products imply they’ve got some kind of miraculous quality, this crème really can tame even the frizziest of manes. Give it a go.

Luscious Lush

Lush has been trading ethical soaps for well over a decade, taking on places like the Body Shop and beating them at their own game.

Hundreds of products are available from the store chain, and almost all do their best to contain natural ingredients. Animal testing is proudly eschewed, farmers are paid fairly and no one in the top bracket of leadership is paid an extravagant amount.

The company even won the Observer Moral Company of the Year award. While you won’t directly feel more fashionable when you use their products, you will have a keen sense of the ethical advantages your purchase has made.

Turmeric

You might have used turmeric as an ingredient in your meals. But did you know it has a brilliant application in style?

Used in India for centuries, turmeric can be great for brightening and evening out the complexion, providing you with an excellent base before you apply any other makeup.

Moreover, this fantastic concoction is jam-packed with antioxidants, fighting free radicals and making your skin far healthier.

In terms of natural ways to help your skin, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Got any more fashionable ways to improve your hair or skin? Then let us know!

By Kevin Fullerton

Beauty Food: Tea

Alvita Green Tea

Tea is a popular healthy food and has been so for many centuries. Personally I’m an avid tea drinker because a hot cup of team is very relaxing and soothing. I drink tea year-long not just because it tastes great but it’s also a wonderful beauty food. There are many types of teas that are healthful, here are a few of my favorites:

  • Chamomile – One of the most popular herbal teas today, Chamomile has been traditionally used for calming and relaxation.
  • Passionflower – Used for more than 200 years by Native Americans, Passionflower is traditionally used for easing occasional nervous tension and supporting restful sleep.
  • Green Tea – green tea has numerous beneficial properties and is often consumed to promote energy and general well-being.
  • Raspberry – Native to North America, Raspberry leaves are highly valued because of their unique astringent properties. The tea remains popular among midwives and herbalists today.

Green tea is full of antioxidants that have been used for many beauty treatments including soothing tired eyes and as an astringent. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition green tea can help to speed up the metabolic rate and speed up fat oxidation to support weight loss. Green tea is also known to simulate hair growth and keep hair shiny and soft. Just steep three tea bags in a liter of water and rinse your hair with it after you’ve conditioned it. One of my favorite brands of tea is Alvita because their tea is fantastic – its organic and their tea boxes are 100% recycled paperboard.

What is your favorite kind of tea?

Beauty Food: Lemons

 

Beauty Food: Lemons

Lemons are universally celebrated for their many uses in the world of beauty. See below for tips to look ones best, despite the harsh winter weather.

1.  Heal that dry skin. Cold winter winds can wreak havoc on your skin! Mix equal amounts of lemon juice and honey and apply on your face and neck. After 10 minutes rinse off with cold water. Lemon contains hydroxyl acid which is highly valued in many beauty products.

2.  Lemons work wonders on chapped lips. As with the dry skin, chapped lips are hard to avoid in the colder months. Mix a teaspoon each of cream, lemon juice and honey and rub it on your lips. Use for a week and see your chapped lips disappear – naturally!

3.  Revitalize dull or damaged hair. Combine ¾ cup olive oil, ½ cup raw honey, and 3 tbsp of lemon juice. Set aside. After shampooing your hair, towel dry and work the lemon juice mixture into your hair by combing it evenly throughout. Cover your hair with a plastic cap for ½ hour. Shampoo and rinse hair thoroughly.

4.  Keep your breath nice and fresh. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice onto your tongue and swish it around in your mouth, swallowing the juice after a few swishes. This can lower the pH level inside your mouth and kill the bacteria that cause bad breath.

5.  De-bloat with lemon and cucumber. Take 1 cucumber, 3 stalks of celery, ½ a lemon, 1 kale leaf and 1 green apple and blend in a juicer. This simple, natural juice helps to fight unsightly bloating (and ease abdominal discomfort in the process).

For more wonderful tips to get the most out of every lemon, visit www.limoneira.com.

Eat Your Way to a Whiter Smile

Eat Your Way to a Whiter Smile

There’s no doubt about it, everyone wants a whiter smile. Whiter teeth look healthier, dazzle in photos and on screen, and help raise your self esteem. Nobody wants teeth that are yellow or coffee-stained. Of course, there are a variety of toothpastes and mouthwashes that all promise us a whiter smile.

A trip to the dentist and proper brushing techniques help promote a healthy white smile, but you can also get a whiter smile by eating the right foods. By following a healthy diet and avoiding certain snacks, you can start having a healthy mouth, too.

Avoid sugar and candy

Naturally, avoiding sugary snacks and candy should be a given. Not only is it not healthy for your body, but sugar can also wreak havoc on your teeth. Sugar will increase acidity levels from the bacteria in your mouth. The sugar from soda will also encourage bacteria in your mouth to break down, increasing the release of acid that can weaken the enamel on your teeth and produce cavities. Candy that is sticky or gummy will stick to your teeth, making it hard for saliva to clean it away.

Drink more water

Water is healthy for your body and your smile. When you drink water, it helps wash away any acid-producing foods in your mouth. If you don’t have time to brush your teeth, a quick swish of water can help wash away that excess food. Always try to choose water over soda or other sugary drinks.

Add cheese and milk to your diet

Since childhood, you have always been told to drink your milk. Drinking milk also helps promote proper dental health. Both cheese and milk protect the enamel on teeth and help keep cavities at bay. They also encourage more production of saliva, which can help neutralize the acidity levels in your mouth. Not only do they neutralize acid, but cheese and milk also act as a buffer, protecting tooth enamel from erosion.

Sugar-free chewing gum: Not a bad habit after all

Do you like to chew gum? As long as it is sugar-free, it’s not a bad habit. Chewing gum increases saliva production in your mouth, which neutralizes acid and protects enamel. When there is more saliva in your mouth, it helps wash out food to avoid contact with your teeth. If you have a craving for a snack or something sweet, sugar-free gum is a healthy substitute.

Maintaining a whiter smile with your diet can be very simple when you follow the right steps. By simply eating healthier foods, adding dairy products, avoiding sugar and brushing daily, you can have a whiter and brighter smile. There’s nothing like that sense of confidence when you smile and show off those pearly whites!

About the author:

Dr. Joseph Zelig, D.D.S., is a Board Certified Periodontist and a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. A practicing periodontist, speaker and educator, Dr. Zelig is currently practicing at Smile in the City (http://www.smileinthecity.com/) located in Manhattan, New York.