Ingrown Hairs...and what they really look like

Ingrown Hairs

These unsightly and painful ingrown hairs are come in both men and women particularly in the face (for men) and the bikini area (for women).

An ingrown hair is nothing more than a hair that has gotten trapped into the hair follicle or grown down back into the skin as a pose to growing upward.  How do you get ingrown hairs? Ingrown hairs come from improper shaving, shaving to close to the skin, cut, dull blades, and irritation from going over the same area too many times.

Preventing Ingrown Hairs:

1. Using proper shaving techniques will help lessen your chances of ingrown hairs.  I know most people have no clue what I'm talking about when I say proper shaving techniques, but there is one and it's really simple.  Just like with waxing, you want to shave against the direction of hair growth.  For example: If you take a look at the hair on your legs, you will notice that more than likely the hair is growing downward.  Instead of shaving downward like your hair growth.  You need to take your razor and shave upward using light smooth strokes. 
2. Having a good shaving cream that is moisturizing and has salicylic acid in it will help has well.  Salicylic acid is an exfoliating product that opens up pores and will help free up any trapped hairs.
3. Exfoliating one to two days after shaving will remove any dead skin cells, soften skin, and open those pores to allow the skin and hair to breath and grow in an upward position.  Notice, I said to exfoliate one to two days after shaving, and the reason being is because any type of hair removal is a form of exfoliation.  You don't want to over exfoliate the skin.  Besides, using a sugar or salt scrub right after a fresh shave may cause irritation, burning, redness, and or light swelling. 
4. Always use a brand new blade or razor.  When using a dull razor you may have to go over an area more than once and you may have to shave closer to the skin which are two things you want to stay away from.

Products to help get rid of Ingrown Hairs:

• Tea Tree Oil is a wonderful product for ingrown hairs because not only does it tones the skin leaving it feeling refreshed, but it is also an antiseptic with anti-fungal properties.
• Pure salicylic acid.  Again this exfoliating product will open up pores and help free up any trapped ingrown hairs. 
• Witch Hazel is just like tea tree oil in the sense that it is an antiseptic and will help rid your skin of any bacteria.  
• Sugar or Salt scrubs are great exfoliants for ingrown hairs.  They open the pores, remove dead skin cells and leave skin feeling soft as a babies bottom.  
• Gently tweezing ingrown hairs out and then treating with any tea tree oil, salicylic acid, witch hazel, or sugar scrub will give you great results as well. 

Note: Stay away from alcohol when dealing with ingrown hairs.  While alcohol will dry up the bump, it won't get rid of the hair or probably.  What alcohol will do to an ingrown hair is cause the hair to only get trapped deeper into the skin by drying out the bump.  

THE MARILYN MONROE MAC COLLECTION IS HERE

Check out the hottest new fall make-up collection to hit the streets....Are you ready for the wrath of Marilyn?

"Beneath the makeup and behind the smile  I am just a girl who wishes for the world."

_Marilyn Monroe

Contouring

Contouring is one of my favorite parts about make-up.  It's an advance form of make-up and takes a lot of practice in order to master and do it properly. The purpose of contouring is to define, hide, or strengthen your face, by using dark or light shading.  Dark shading will minimize facial features and light shading will make facial features more prominent. If you're unsure of how to contour I've found this website with the perfect diagrams of each different facial shape.  It shows exactly which areas to highlight and which areas to contour in order to create perfect look. Check it out!
 http://www.my-virtual-makeover.com/contouring.html

Benefits of contouring:

• If you have a round, pug nose you can contour the sides in order to make your nose appear more slender.
• Highlighting under your eyes with a concealer or foundation 1 to 2 shades lighter than your exact foundation color will open your eyes, hide dark circles, and help to define your cheeks. 
• Contouring a large forehead will reduce the appearance and make it seem smaller. 

These are just a few of the many benefits of highlighting and contouring.  The website above provides everything you will need to know in further details. 

What are your favorite skin care or make-up products?

Tell me 2 of your favorite skin care or make-up products and I'll tell you mine.

Aveda Lavender Oil is absolutely one of my favorites, this product is perfect for calming, soothing, and healing the skin. This plant based essential oil is used for various different skin problems such as: sunburn, chafing, eczema, wounds, cuts, and rashes.  It's antiseptic and anti-fungal properties are what make it so unique and useful to the skin. After any type of hair removal always apply a little lavender oil to help heal and soothe the area.

Aside from me loving the name of this MAC Lipstick called "Lady Danger" I just love the color pigmentation and how long it stays on my lips.  It's very bright, bold, and edgy.  Lasting up to at least 3-4 hours without having to reapply.  This reddish/orange lip color is sure to spice up any make-up look, but you can't be afraid to wear color.

My Top 5 Beauty Quotes

“Don’t be too serious: It’s only Makeup! " - Francois Nars 

Makeup is a way for a woman to look and feel like herself, only prettier and more confident”- Bobbi Brown

“Beauty without expression is boring." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick." - Gwyneth Paltrow

"Makeup allows you to express your inner beauty onto your outer canvas" -Tiffany Cantlow 

WAXING VS. SHAVING

While, there are many methods out there for hair removal, I want to talk about the two most common.  Waxing and Shaving. Which do you prefer? 

Waxing.  Well first, what is waxing? Waxing is a semi-permanent form of hair removal that is either hard or soft and can be used on just about any part of the body including: eyebrows, cheeks, lip, chin, legs, arms, underarms, abdomens, bikini, and feet just to name a few.  

• When using soft wax you will take a wooden (disposable) stick, spreading a thin layer of wax over the area with the unwanted hair going in the direction with the hair growth.  A paper or cloth strip is then pressed down and taken off in the direction against the hair growth.  
• Unlike soft wax, hard wax utilizes itself.  Meaning, there are no strips needed in order to remove hair.  YOUR WAX IS YOUR STRIP. You will spread a thick layer of wax over the area with the unwanted hair and let it cool down so that it can harden.  Once the wax has harden the wax is easily removed by pulling the wax off the skin.

Pros

1. Waxing can last anywhere between 4-6 weeks depending on hair growth.
2. Reduces chances of getting ingrown hair bumps
3. Over a period of time frequent waxing will weaken or completely damage the hair follicle causing the hair to soften, thin, or stop growing. 

Cons

1. In order to have a successful wax application you need at least a quarter of inch of hair (which means you have to walk around a little hairy in between waxes)
2. Waxing can be painful slightly or very painful depending on a persons pain tolerance. 
3. Expensive
4. If your being waxed at a salon or spa your putting yourself at a higher risk to being susceptible to skin infections or possibly disease if the place is not sanitary.  
5. Unlike shaving you can't keep going over the same are until the hair is gone.  With waxing you have once, maybe twice to get a clean hair removal otherwise you may cause irritation, redness, bruising, and swelling. 

Shaving.  What is shaving? Shaving is the easiest and most common temporary method for hair removal, used with a razor or any other kind of blade implement.

Pros

1. Pain-free
2. Shaving is easy, convenient, and can be done at anytime.  All you need is some shaving cream or body wash.
3. Inexpensive and doesn't take a lot of time.  You can shave your legs or any other body par in about 5mins or less. 

Cons

1. Shaving means simply cutting the hair off the surface of the skin, and because your only cutting the hair and not removing it from the follicle it causes rapid re-growth.  Unlike waxing, shaving only last for a few hours-day before hair stubble begins to form. 
2. If your not careful when shaving or using a dull blade (which makes it harder to glide across the skin) you can easily cut yourself and cause bleeding and scarring. 
3. Shaving causes uncomfortable itching when the hair begins to grow back and puts you at a higher risk of ingrown hair bumps.
4. Compared to other hair removal techniques like waxing, shaving actually causes the hair to grow back stronger, thicker, and more dense.
5. Frequently shaving can also cause ingrown hairs as well as irritation and redness. 

Knowing your Skin Type

Knowing your skin type is important and very necessary in order to make the proper decisions when choosing skin care products, treatments, and home care regimens suitable for your skin.

Do you know your skin type? Well, if you don't I'm about to help you figure it out.  There are 5 basic skin types: Normal, Oily, Dry, Combination, and Sensitive.  Now of course skin can be way more complex than that, but for the sake of keeping things simple and learning the basics we are only going to categorize skin by those 5 types.  Now, let me break each one of those skin types down for you.

• Normal Skin- Now normal skin is something we all want to have.  This skin type is the least problematic, very vibrant and has good elasticity.  It's also healthy, clean and has good circulation.  Maintenance for this skin type is just that, MAINTENANCE!  
• Oily Skin- If you fall in this category your skin will most likely have a greasy look or a constant shine throughout the day.  You'll generally have larger pores and are prone to breakouts or acne, which can be problematic. However, the good thing about oily skin is that it is less likely to have wrinkles and tends not to age.
• Dry Skin-If you fall in this category your skin will mostly likely feel tight after washing it, you may or may not have flakiness, small pores, and an ash look. Dry skin can be, but is not known for being problematic and is prone to wrinkles, irritation, and aging.  Hydrating this type of skin is the most important thing.
• Combination-The most common skin type for most people.  If you have combination skin then your skin is dry and oily at the same time.  Typically oily in the T-zone area (forehead & nose) and dry around the eyes and on the cheeks.  
• Sensitive-If you have this type of skin then your skin is the most problematic and fragile of all skin types and you really have to be careful how you treat it and what you use on it.  Many people with sensitive skin have tight skin and the skin is EASILY irritated and inflamed.  Prone to reddish areas on the face as well as scaly and breakouts in spots.  

DO YOU KNOW YOUR SKIN TYPE NOW?

Why do you wear make-up?

There are many people who love make-up and can't live without it and then there are some who have never ventured into the crazy cosmetic world other than a chap stick application.  Many people, women especially, where make-up for many different reason.

I know me personally I wear make-up for many different reasons.  It really just depends on my mood.  As a professional make-up artist my make-up is inspired by numerous things like:  where I'm going, how I'm feeling emotionally, what I'm wearing, a picture, place or thing.  I really just never know until I see the finished product.  Lol 

I know some women are so into everything natural that they don't foresee wearing makeup because they feel it isn't pure and takes away from individuality.  While every one is entitled to his/her own opinion, I couldn't disagree more.  I see make-up as another creative way to express yourself.  Now, I will admit that some people get a little carried away with make-up because I sure have seen my share of bad make-up, but those are just people who haven't fully been educated on proper make-up applications.

So why do you wear make-up? Is it to cover up some scar, hide acne breakouts, or make you feel pretty because you have been told you were ugly? Let's talk about it.