Skin
Splash your face with lukewarm water-never use hot water as that will open up your pores, which will allow dirt and grime to enter your skin. Using hot water will also lead to extreme dry skin. Use a cleanser or face wash that is fit for your skin type and massage it into your face for about a minute targeting areas where acne is located.
Rinse your face with the coldest water your face can bear.
Pat your face dry and apply an astringent or toner all over your face and give it a second or two to dry. You don't need to apply a toner if don't want to. If you are younger than 16, toners should definitely be avoided. Apply a moisturizer all over your face as this will hydrate your skin.
Use any medications prescribed by your dermatologist (if you have one) or any treatments that you may have now. If you don't have any skin problems, you can skip this step.
Lightly exfoliate your skin (and lips) with a scrub or exfoliant every other day. Make sure every night you put on Vaseline on your lips and you will wake up to smooth, luscious lips; in the daytime, always apply a lip balm (Carmex or Chapstick) is recommended so as not to get dry, cracked and chapped lips. Also, fix up any skin discolorations. If you have random splotches of dark color on your skin, see a dermatologist. Try to fade dark under eye circles with eye rollers (such as Garnier Fructis). If you have freckles, be excited! Just 2% of the world have them.
Hygiene
Exfoliate by using a loofah while bathing, it removes dead skin cells which turn gives you glowing, smooth and soft skin! Put on lotion no longer than three minutes after you bathe so that your skin does not dry out. You can never overdo moisturizing!
Shave every other day. In the American society, shaving your underarms, legs, bikini area, and sometimes arms, are considered to be hygienic; use a good razor like Venus Embrace. Shaving is optional and it is perfectly acceptable not to shave.
Pluck your eyebrows when needed to. People aren't exactly in love with gorilla eyebrows but once they are tamed, people will be jealous. If you have super thin eyebrows, take an eyebrow pencil and fill them in.
Make sure you put on some deodorant (or antiperspirant if you sweat) and apply perfume on your "hotspots" such as your neck, wrists, inside of elbows, back of knees, etc.
Brush your teeth very well.This is very obvious, but no one wants to smell bad breath when you are talking to them. When brushing your teeth, make sure you brush your tongue, gums, backs of teeth, and inside of cheeks. If you feel as if your teeth are a bit "yellowish", whiten them by using homemade remedies, professional dentist visits, mouth trays, etc. Always floss and use mouthwash after brushing your teeth. If you have retainers, clean them every day. If you have braces, be extra careful when cleaning.
Wash your hands every time you use the bathroom -- you wouldn't believe how many people don't!
Optional: take vitamins! Ideally you should be getting all the necessary vitamins and minerals you need from your diet but taking a vitamin/mineral supplement can be good for an extra boost.
Health
Set a good sleep schedule. You will look and feel ten times better if you do! That doesn't mean you should go to bed at 7:00 every night. But if you go to bed at ten, and wake up at six, that's a good eight hours! When sleeping, you should have at least 8-9 hours of sleep. However, some people manage to be can sleep for only 7 hours while some people need to sleep 10 hours. It all depends on your body and you will eventually find the number of hours you need. You don't have to keep the schedule up during the weekends. Make sure you don't go to bed at ridiculous times though (1:00 in the morning is not the best bedtime). You don't want to wake up with blood-shot, baggy eyes, and tired and dull skin. You need your beauty sleep!
Incorporate at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5-6 times in a week. This could include taking yoga classes, riding a bike, running a mile or two, lifting weights for a half an hour or dancing around the house to your favorite songs.
Eat a healthy diet. DO NOT TRY TO STARVE YOURSELF, you will ultimately fail and end up either with an eating disorder or bigger than when you started - either way you will be unhappy. Make sure you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables every day and drink 2-3 litres of water (more if you're exercising).
Hair
Wash your hair around once a week if it's curly or dry, and every other day if it's straight or oily. You don't want to wash your hair every single day though because that will make it lose its natural oils. If your hair is short, you can look at inspirations such as Rihanna and Victoria Beckham for hairstyles whereas if your hair is on the longer side (shoulder-length and longer), you could look at Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé for your inspiration.
Work with your hair. In order to work your hair, you could keep it straight, wavy, curly or afro centric but it should always have some kind of shine. You definitely don't want dull, frizzy hair. In order to do that, find some products that produce shine such as Garnier Fructis and TRESemmé.
Make sure that if you are going to put heat on your hair, you use some kind of protection so as not to get split ends. It is best to air dry your hair instead of blow drying it to relieve it from all of the heat.
Don't straighten your hair every single day. It creates split ends and causes a lot of heat damage and the consequences are not worth it. Some appliances that may come in handy are: flat irons (for days where you want pin straight hair), curling wands (where you want lose waves and no creases in your hair from the clamps of curling irons), curling irons (for days where you want big, glamorous curls) and blow dryers (when time is running out and you don't have time to air dry).
Makeup
Put some concealer on blemishes if any -- no foundation, for that only clogs your pores.
Use black or brown pencil eyeliner. By putting black or brown pencil eyeliner on your lower lash line and a peach-colored pencil eyeliner on your lower waterline, your eyes will look brighter and more awake.
Add about two coats of a volumizing mascara after curling it, slap on some lip balm and/or lip gloss, and you're ready to go! Stay natural.
Alternatively, don't wear any makeup at all. Makeup can be fun and a confidence boost but you don't NEED it. Do whatever you feel comfortable with.
Inside Out
Respect everyone you meet even if they give you a reason not too; try hard to not make any enemies and think before you speak. However, don't be afraid to stand up for yourself, others and the things you believe in.
Use the morals that your parents taught you wisely. However, you don't have to agree with everything your parents believe and think - make your own decisions, be your own person. If you are sexually active, use condoms, birth control, etc.!
Hang out with your friends every other weekend and hang with your family the remaining weekends. Live life to the fullest and shoot high.
Read a book every once in a while. It's actually best to dedicate a certain amount of time for daily reading. You can get books from your library, your English teacher, or a bookstore. Know your favorite genre. If you have an addiction to historical fiction novels,read from that genre. However, it's important to read out of your genre sometimes as well. Try your hardest at school. You might not get a 4.0 GPA, but strive for it by studying. Most importantly, be yourself. It may sound cliché, but if you really find out your true self, your life will be amazing!
Comments
0 comment