When you spot a person with flawless skin, perfect hair or just an overall appearance of amazing health and vitality, you might wonder what his or her secret is to looking so amazing.
While we can’t look into our crystal balls to let you know what those folks were up to, we can tell you some beauty secrets that you can incorporate into your life, starting right away. (And who knows? Maybe some of these are used by those great-looking people you saw).
As for these best-kept beauty secrets, check out the following tips:
1. Drink a Lot of Water
One of the best things that you can do to improve your appearance and feel better at the same time is to drink lots and lots of water every day. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty—by then, you are already dehydrated. Boosting your water intake will help your skin to stay naturally moisturized, while also giving your metabolism a boost. As a bonus, if you tend to get a lot of headaches, increasing your H2O may help them to be less frequent, while also warding off any incoming pain.
2. Apply an Overnight Mask…to Your Hair
If your hair is on the thick side and/or you deal with a serious case of the frizzies, a deep conditioning hair mask can help keep your locks soft, shiny and manageable. For example, the Moisture Rich Deep Conditioning Mask from Tresemme can be worked into freshly shampooed hair, and then either left on for several hours during the day or overnight. If you go for the overnight option, you might want to cover your pillowcase with a towel. Rinse it out in the morning and your hair will immediately look and feel amazing.
3. Skip the Extensions and Go for an Eyelash Serum
Yes, you could spend a lot of money to get eyelash extensions, or apply a few coats of mascara every morning in an attempt to make your lashes look thicker than they really are. Or you could use an eyelash conditioning serum, which is another way to get gorgeous, lashes without an expensive trip to the salon. The best eyelash serum will moisturize and condition your natural lashes and give you the appearance of longer, fuller-looking lashes.
4. Cover Your Face with Honey
The secret to great-looking skin is probably sitting in your kitchen cupboard right now. Honey is not only naturally hydrating with healing properties, but it also contains naturally occurring antioxidants that can ward off environmental damage. For the “sweetest” honey experience, try to find fresh and local honey from your grocer or farmer’s market, and slather some on your face. Leave it on for about 20 minutes or so before washing it off and patting your skin dry.
5. Listen to Your Mom and Get Enough Sleep
There’s a reason it’s called “beauty sleep.” If you get enough sleep at night, which ranges from 7 to 9 hours a night for most people, you should see a reduction in dark circles, puffiness under the eyes and wrinkles. In addition, be sure you are practicing good “sleep hygiene,” which means putting the phone down at least a couple of hours before bedtime in favor of reading a book, meditating or taking a warm shower. If your room is too hot, invest in a fan and some lightweight cotton sheets, and make sure the windows block any morning sun from streaming in.
The Secret’s Out!
As you can see, you don’t have to empty your bank account or spend hours a day to give your appearance a boost. By sipping more water, practicing self-care and getting enough rest, you should see an improvement in the way that you look and feel.