Let's go fem for a bit

Looking for quick/easy beauty tips that make a HUGE difference. Bang for your buck kind of stuff. Here are my tips:

• Love your eyebrows once a week. Keeping your brows clean & shaped makes a HUGE difference in the whole look of your face. It really is one of those minute makeover things you can do. SO much difference, and SO many women don't even think about it.

• Do keep nails clean. I mean - eww. And if your nails have a tendency to discolor of go transparent, invest two bucks in a nail whitening pencil. I can't stand acrylic nails, only do my natural ones, and this is one of the best alternative ways to get anything resembling a frenchie.

• If you have oily skin (me me!), apply a small amount of an acne product all over your face, very lightly, almost like a day foundation. If it overdries you can cut it with a non-oily facial lotion. It has tnothing to do with having acne or not -- they're designed to soak up oil, and will let you have a matte complexion for several hours without any powder.

__________________
-175 pounds
Banded March 1, 2006

Hey Wheetsin, Thanx for the tips. What can I do for weak nails? I don't bite them, but they are so weak that they just kind of flake away.
Also my hair is falling out in clumps at the moment. Is this a banding thing by any chance?
Susannah

__________________


Banded 2/2/07
AP (Small) Band

The hair is a banding thing. How much protien are you taking in?

__________________
Drinking and driving don't mix...that's why I ride a bike.

Banded February 6th, 2007
Dr. Bacal~Oakwood Bariatric Options~Dearborn, MI

Hey Baby, I eat tuna and eggs. I am really stressed about my hair. Susannah

__________________


Banded 2/2/07
AP (Small) Band

Another option for whiter nails is to use a toothpaste to whiten teeth on them. I keep an extra tooth brush around and brush my nails right after my teeth. It seems to work.

__________________
Surgery Date 6/27/06
Dr. Longhi

Woooo great thread, I need more tips!!!!
I'm obsessive with eyebrows, when I get mine waxed, all of a sudden I feel 100000 times prettier. I don't wear make-up, so this is my 'pretty finishing touch' LOL.

I have dark circles under my eyes (inherited by my mom), we've tried a million different costly products- every single one we've ever come across, and they don't work.. so my tip isn't helpful really, just warning you not to waste your money!

Oh I do have one tip.. if you have really dry hair (I do), and it's prone to being frizzy and staticy, or you just want it to look silkier, after showering, get some of your wash-out conditioner, and like a PEA SIZE amount and run it through your hair and leave it in-dry your hair. Your hair will get dirty quicker (RE: shower every day), but it really adds a nice touch :)

__________________

I was just getting a pedicure yesterday - my tip for feeling girly and pretty! - and another woman came in and got her eyebrows waxed. Started me thinking about doing it. So, any tips?! I'm a bit scared of the whole idea, I don't even tweeze them now.

__________________
Banded 8/31/2006 - Dr. Montgomery NWWLS
DH banded 7/2004 - Dr. Montgomery also.
7.25 in a VG band

Make sure you have someone good do it. They can look really wacky if you don't. And if you have sensitive skin, make sure that the wax isn't too hot. I got burned pretty badly once when I got my eyebrows waxed and wound up with some extremely painful blisters. I actually like the no-heat gels like Nad's that you can get at a drugstore. I definitely wouldn't try it on your own at first, though. I would maybe get a good wax once and then maintain it with the no-heat stuff afterwards.

Thread Starter

I do my own eyebrows because my skin reacts completely differently to tweezing than waxing. When I get waxed, I look like someone punched me in the eyes with a board full of nails. It's seriously messed up. I've been asked, "Were you maced?" after a brow waxing. Although diminished, this is still visible the next day.

Another brow tip from me - you can't just trim them and go, you need to "comb" them in the mornings, or they'll be shapely but unruly. An expired toothbrush works great for this - much better than brow combs IMO. AND, if you want to keep your brows in place, you can "comb" them with clear mascara. The mascara comb is the perfect size, and the clear mascara is completely invisible once dry (looks like your brows are wet until then) and keeps your brows in place through the day.
(Before Wheetsin got fat and while she was still in the dating market she used to get Brazilian waxes. We won't talk about how long I looked butchered after those).

Tweezing on the other hand, I do the night before and at most I have one or two little red spots that are gone by morning.

My nails are almost too strong. Meaning - deally nails break before they bend and cause damage. Most of mine will bend and not break, meaning I get the painful "creases" down below the nail line. Ouch!

For weak/brittle nails, wear your nails short and rounded. Trim them with a good pair of nail scissors, not clippers (clippers are evil regardless of nail condition. If you have strong nails always file, never clip), and either after a shower or after moisturizing. Why? Clipping your nails when they're dry puts a lot of impact/pressure on the nail (think of how far the clippings can fly - there's a lot of force there). If they're brittle to begin with, they're more likely to break further. Cuttin them with scissors lets you control the pressure, which means you can make a slow controlled cut. And cutting when they're moisturized gives the nail some flex, so breakage is less likely.

That doesn't change the nail, but it does make them last longer and easier to manage. Keep them conditioned. Every moring I put on hand lotion and speifically put some on my nails & cuticles too. I will even let the little lotion pools sit on my nails while I begin my day, to make sure in penetrates as much as possible.

Some of the higher quality nail strengtheners work very well. A girlfriend of mine (former beautician) recommended one that did wonders for a friend of ours. It had weird application rules, like two coats the first day, then a follow-up coat every 2 days for a week, then strip and begin may be able to help you find it based on this description.

lisa - eyebrow waxing hurts. I can't say it doesn't without being a big fat liar. To me it feels like they're pulling off the top layers of skin. But I have VERY sensitive skin. Everyone always told me, "It hurts less as you go" and I call BS. :) What I finally ended up doing was having them done professionally to get the right shape (that was always the hard part to me - getting the natural arch), and then I just maintain it and "trim the weeds" manually.

Oh, cuticles in bad shape? Get lots of hangnails? Get "dry" looking skina round your nails? Brush them with tea tree oil. You can also use tea tree oil on dry spots on your feet to make them disappear. It's also a really good antiseptic/blemish treatment but NOT at full strength. When I put full strength tea tree oil on my face, I literally get welts. But I can use it if I cut it with other essential oils (my favorite product is called "Desert Sun" and I've only found it at health food stores). I don't have acne, but it works great for bug bites, etc.

__________________
-175 pounds
Banded March 1, 2006

Thread Starter

Umm I did something and my paragraphs got a little out of sequence. So be creative. :)

__________________
-175 pounds
Banded March 1, 2006

OW. My crotch hurts just thinking about it.

I love pedicures! I do them myself more often than not. I have a cosmetic bag with all the essentials, and if DH is watching a boring movie I drag out the stuff and do my feet. I live barefoot around the house, but for work I love sandals with heels so I like to keep my feet worthy, lol!

Does anyone else use Proactiv?
All of my shirts are starting to be bleached looking around the neck line from it. HELP! Does anyone know anything to counter act it?

__________________
Jill
Banded on August 15th:clap2: Dr Bauman, NC
Highest ever 350-ish/Pre surgery305 (edited from what dr has on notes)/258/170
Let the loss begin!






March 20th Goal, 250lbs.
LAP-BAND® surgery is not the easy way out.
"You can fix a lot of things, but you just can't fix 'Stupid'. "

I do. I stopped using the toner and lotion stuff, and it seems to have helped the bleaching. I found out the hard way that the cleanser will bleach towels and washcloths if you don't rinse your face very well after you use it, too. I can't use it to wash my face unless I am in the shower, because I can't get it to rinse cleanly otherwise.

Thread Starter

I do my own pedicures as well. I can't stand for anyone else to touch my feet. Can not stand it. There's no way I could sit and welcome it. Like lianna said, it's a great way for "me" time. I do it while hubby is on his computer, watching a show (we don't like the same ones), doing something for work, etc. It's summer, and during summer I only wear enclosed shoes if I have to. 99.9999% of the time I'm in a low heeled sandal of some type.

(Ladies, before you wear a sandal, slingback, mule, or other heel-exposing shoe, rub on some lotion. We've all seen it - white cracked heel. No one wants to look at that. :) )

Something kinda weird. I keep my toes polished darn near 365 days a year. The only time they aren't done is if It ake off the polish and something comes up to where I can get back to it until the next day. But I detest colored polish on my fingernails. I think (on me) it looks gaudy. Some clear is the most I'll do, and even then I prefer to go natural.

Another tip - if you're going to polish with a darker color, be sure to use a good basecoat. Medium-dark colors can turn your nails yellow over time. The basecoat creates a barrier and prevents discoloration.

Also, don't apply a top coat and think you're done. Top coat needs to be re-applied every few days.

__________________
-175 pounds
Banded March 1, 2006