5 Cosmetology Musts!

These are 5 things that no matter who you are, your hair type, skin type, your lifestyle or your job you must do!  These things are essential not just to cosmetic beauty but to the health of your skin and hair. Trust me if you don't follow these rules you will regret it in 30 years.

1- Prevent Aging
I know that girls who are 16 think it's ridiculous the spend money on anti-aging serums, but when you have crows feet at 25 you wont think it's so ridiculous! I suggest buying Mary Kay's Time Wise Night Solution. It has a lot of awesome anti aging benefits and a little goes a long way. I suggest you use it every night before bed.

2- Protect Your Skin from the Sun
Facial Sunscreen is another MUST! Everyone should were facial sunscreen every single day! Clouds, rain and snow all reflect light. UVA and UVB rays cause about %80 of the damage attributed to aging skin. Protect your skin! This isn't just about preventing wrinkles. Protecting your face from the sun also prevents skin cancer. I suggest you apply Mary Kay's Day Solution Sunscreen every single morning.

3- Protect your Hair from Heat!  I can't say it or stress it enough, you have to protect your hair from heat! Seriously! Here is a link to my beauty blog post all about heat protectants and how to find which ones will work best for you and your specific hair type.

4- Apply Translucent Powder
Translucent Powder looks great over foundation and other makeup. It will help set your makeup, blend it, make it look great on camera, but it will also protect your skin from pollution in the air. Although Foundation does do this also, translucent powder does not set into your skin the way most foundation does. So not only does it look fabulous, there is a practical reason for it too! And if you don't use foundation, translucent powder is a great alternative! I prefer Mary Kay's once again!

5- Don't Over Wash Your Hair
Every other day is almost to often when it comes to washing your hair. If you are washing it every day stop. If you feel like it gets to oily you should try The Ultimate Hair Cleanse. Buts seriously, stop over washing your hair. You will be sorry in 30 years when it is dry and straw like from all of this abuse!

Age Before Beauty

The effects of aging in skin and hair's health are very apparent. Hair loses pigmentation causing it to become straw-like and white or gray. Skin begins to sag and wrinkle and becomes thin and more transparent. There are several things that happen as your skin ages. There are a few things you can do to prevent the signs of aging and even repair it to some degree, although not every thing can be reversed.

I recommend using anti-aging or age-repair line of skin care as soon as you turn 40 (or earlier if your signs of aging are becoming more apparent younger). I have had a good experiences with Dermalogica's Age Smart sets. The restore elasticity and help prevent the loss of collagen in your skin. Another great line in Philosophy. I recommend hitting up your local ULTA and talking tot heir skin therapist about which of the products from those lines she recommends. Philosophy also has a great age repair foundation called Miracle Worker!


If you are looking for a less expensive option I recommend the Volu-Firm set from Mary Kay. It doesn't work as well as Philosophic or Dermalogica in my opinion, but you will see results after continuous use. The set includes a day and night cream as well as a cleanser, moisturizer and eye cream.


Here are some links to other common problems found when aging. These links have answers to these  very common problems and may or may not work for you. 

Eyebrow/lash loss

Hair becomes straw-like and dry

Removing Makeup Even though you have Sensitive Skin

Light Weight and Simple Foundation Options

(For this one specifically I recommend CC or DD creams) 

Diminishing Dark Circles or Puffiness under your Eyes

***Thanks to Pat for asking this question***

How can I remove all of my Makeup with Sensitive Skin?

I have one answer for that. Mary Kay Makeup Remover. It is oil-free and tear-free and it is amazing! It removes mkaeup quickly and effeciently, and although it isn't recommended you could actually pour some of this into your eye with out it hurting. It is so gentle and gets rid of all of your makeup. I suggest buying cotton rounds (or using a piece of toilet paper folder up) and pouring a little onto it. The hold the cotton round onto your closed eyelid and lashes for about 15 seconds and then gentles rub from side to side to remove the makeup.

Nothing I have found works better or lasts longer! And it's only $15 for a full bottle. I have had my one bottle since April of 2013 (it is currently almost March of 2014) and I still have 1/4 of the bottle left! And I use the same bottle on myself and my clients! It is amazing!

Here is a link to the full product review!

***Thanks to Sandra for asking this question***

Is Equate and other off brands just as good as name brands?

In a word no. This question is a little tricky because some items are fine. For example I use equate toothpaste, go ahead and use equate tampons if you'd like, but I never trust equate when it comes to makeup and skin care. Why? Because the quality isn't the same.

For example if you take Equate's Blackhead Clearing Scrub which is supposed to rival Clean&Clear's Blackhead Eraser Scrub and look on the back, the ingredients list is almost identical. But here is the problem, ingredients are listed in order starting by the items that make up highest content of the product. So if your cereal's first ingredient is sugar, then it has more sugar in it than anything else. The problem with this is if the first three ingredients on two bottles of product are listed as water, polyethylene and salicylic acid that doesn't mean they are the same. One product could have %40 water, %20 polythene and %10 salicylic acid while the second product could have %40 water, %39 Polythene and %2 salicylic acid. Just because you read them the same doesn't make them the same amount of effective. You have no idea what concentration of ingredients are in what products, all you know is the order.  My advice? Stick with brand you can trust.

*** Thanks to Shaylee for asking this question***

Is Pantene a High End Product Line?

I am actually glad I got this question! I would love to address this! Pantene is a drugstore line of hair care products. In the 80's it was a high end line that was used in Salons until the company found a few ways to cut costs and produce it in larger quantities so they could bring it to the masses. Pantene was a high end salon product in the 80's. But since then we have done tons of research about what should and shouldn't be in your hair care, and Pantene has done very few formula changes to support those findings.

There are a lot of surfactants (which is what creates lather) that strips your hair of all of it's natural oils and conditioners, and some that aren't as harsh. Pantene does contain the harsher one as does most drugstore brands because it is less expensive. There are several things like this that weren't known in the 80's but are now, and high end shampoos have reworked their formulas to only contain the best of the best ingredients, while Pantene has not. With that being said, of all of the shampoos and conditioners at Walmart, I do believe Pantene is the best.

If you are trying to find out what shampoos and conditioners you should use for your hair follow this link to the post called "Finding the Perfect Shampoo!"

***Thanks to Allie Edwards for asking this question ***