7 Easy Ways to Get Your Skin, Hair, and Nails in Shape for Spring
Glowing skin, natural makeup and beautiful hair – and every now and then a burst of unexpected color – are beauty musts this spring. Here are seven quick ways to get your skin and hair looking gorgeous this season.
1. Treat your face to a facial: If you do only one thing for your face this season, get your skin shipshape. Spring is a great time to take your face in for a tune up, be it for a facial or to try a new treatment or product that targets your problem areas. If your usual routine doesn’t seem to be working and you want to take things up a notch, a customized facial might just be just the boost you need. Along with the usual face pampering and cleansing, a more customized approach fine tunes and targets areas of your skin that need extra help. Rose, an aesthetician atFountain Medical Group in New York City, recently customized a facial for my skin that included tackling both my oily T-Zone and some fine lines near my eyes. She ended with a burst of oxygen serum, which she massaged all over my face. The results? Everyone asks if I’ve just returned from vacation or fallen in love!
2. Get an acne coach: If acne is your issue and you’re in need of more help than the drugstore, but don’t want to spend a fortune on a fancy dermatologist, consider enrolling in Clear Clinic’s acne coach service. For $87.50 per month, you receive three full-sized, customized skincare products and one-on-one coaching help from a skin care professional trained by one of New York City’s top dermatologists, Dr. Eric Schweiger. Your coach will monitor your skin’s progress, changes and needs, so you won’t be going it alone.
3. Soften your skin: Keep an eye out for Dove’s DermaSeries launching later this spring. The line will be sold at major drugstore chains and bridges the gap between drugstore brands and pricey dermatologist-created brands found in department stores. The line’s five core products were developed with a team of dermatologists and are geared to skin that needs extra softening. The Ultra Caring Gentle Cream Face Cleanser (which will retail for $15.99) deep-cleanses skin without leaving it feeling tight or dry. And don’t forget to give your hands some TLC, too. EOS, best known for its popular sphere-shaped lip balms, has created purse-friendly hand lotions enriched with Vitamin E and Shea butter. They come in an array of cute colors and cost about $1.99 at drugstores.
4. De-puff your eyes: If you haven’t gotten enough sleep and need a quickie face rescue, consider G.M. Collin Anti-Aging Instant Radiance Eye Patches (normally $50 for 5 pairs, though they’re often on sale on Amazon for $37). They’re simple to use: Just place them under your eyes and leave them on for about 20 minutes. Use before a party to keep yourself looking refreshed all night long. Another great option: Repêchage Eye Rescue Pads ($38, repechage.com), which are loaded with anti-aging, nourishing ingredients like seaweed and green and black tea extracts. Putting them on is like treating your eyes to a ten-minute vacation. Of course, if you’re really in a pinch, and all you have at your disposal is the crisper drawer, head to the fridge and slice some cucumber. Apply to closed eyes for about 10 minutes. Feeling very industrious? Grate about two tablespoons of raw potatoes, insert into two emptied teabags and place over your eyes for an easy brightening fix. Or ditch the potatoes and wet two chamomile teabags, instead. Press out the moisture and use as eye compresses, and you’ll get basically the same effect.
5. Try a Tousled Hairstyle: The genius product of the month award goes to Pureology for its Sea-Kissed Texturizer ($28, ulta.com), which tames frizz in curly hair, yet adds body to fine hair. Also worth an honorable mention: Nourage ($60, nourage.com), a new keratin-rich line of supplements meant to stimulate healthier hair growth.
6. Neaten Those Feet: As we move into sandal season, prep your piggies by using Rituals Yogi Secret Holy Basil & Fresh Mint cleansing foot scrub ($16.00, Rituals.com) when you shower. By taming calloused areas and keeping feet smooth, this product really helps extend the life of your pedicure. And speaking of pedicures: Zoya nail polishes are formaldehyde-free and come in kicky summer colors including Hudson, a gorgeous shimmery lilac. Give yourself an at-home pedi with a shade from their Awaken line (about $9.00 a polish, Amazon.com).
7. Go Naked (with Your Eye Makeup): Urban Decay’s cult classic, Naked Basics ($28.00, urbandecay.com) is a six-eyeshadow palette that takes eyes from barely enhanced to understated smoky. Prestige Cosmetics eyeshadow inComet ($12.35, sears.com) is another great neutral shade-a peachy nude that flatters nearly every skin tone.