Sometimes your regular skin care routine just doesn't cut it for combating the dry, dull and rough skin that crops up in winter, and it needs a little extra TLC to get soft and healthy-looking again. Which is why we asked 20 women to shake up their beauty regimens and rethink the way they use Vaseline® Jelly, a true wonder product that deeply moisturizes to heal dry skin. Turns out, there are quite a few ways to use Vaseline® Jelly. Like, oh, about a zillion. From a rich overnight treatment that locks in moisture to a hydrating exfoliating scrub, Vaseline® Jelly was put to the test in every way that you can imagine -- and our reviewers even discovered a few totally DIY beauty treatments. But does Vaseline® Jelly work better than their regular skin care products? See what our reviewers have to say.
Like braces and heartbreak, acne is something most of us endured as teens. Eventually, you outgrow those epic awkward years, but in a cruel twist of fate, acne can rear its red, inflamed head well into adulthood -- especially in winter. Cold winter weather means there is less moisture in the air, which leads to drier skin. To compensate for lost moisture, the skin overproduces sebum, which combines with dead skin cells to block hair follicles. Then, boom: You break out.
Fewer things can take your skin from dull and dry to radiant and glowing faster than microdermabrasion. The heavy-duty exfoliation process can reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in addition to unclogging pores and evening out skin tone. But popping into the spa for treatments can drain your wallet and suck up your free time.
Everyone has their pet peeves in the realm of skin care. Wrinkles, blackheads, enlarged pores, acne, dark circles -- the list is practically endless. Although certain conditions can be influenced by your skin type, age or lifestyle, the likelihood of some problems can hinge on your skin tone. Case in point: African American women are more likely to suffer from keloid scars, ingrown hairs, hyperpigmentation and eczema -- four skin conditions that are not only more prevalent in dark skin, but sometimes hard to detect and to treat.
Hyperpigmentation, dark spots, manchas -- there are many names for those unfortunate, darkened patches that pop up on your face and body. Latin women are particularly prone to dark spots, which is why it has become the No. 1 skin care issue among Latinas. Not only is this skin issue difficult to treat in darker skin tones, there are also many ways that women unintentionally make their spots even worse. (Uh, super-manchas?) That's why it's crucial to understand why you get dark spots -- how they form, why they stick around, and how you can start to knock 'em out.
We could tell you all of the gory side effects of spending too much time in the sun. We could list all of the harm sun damage causes (wrinkles, freckles, tumors, skin cancer). We could scare you with statistics about melanoma and skin cancer (two million people are diagnosed every year). We could tell you the number of people who die every year because of this horrible, mostly preventable disease (as many as 8,800 in 2012). And how's this for terrifying: every year, there are more new cases of skin cancer diagnosed than breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer ... combined.
Think you're the DIY beauty queen because your Pinterest page is stacked with pins for lemon and honey masks, apple cider vinegar toner and exfoliating coffee bean foot scrub? Before you get started on your papier mâché crown, give one of these DIY beauty gadgets a spin. When used correctly, our readers say these beauty devices saved them tons of time and money -- we're talking thousands of dollars. That's enough to bankroll your own DIY skin care line made from your personal lemon orchard and beehive, ladies. Here's the lowdown on spending a little (these high tech beauty gadgets aren't cheap) to save a lot.
In a perfect world, winter would turn us into totally adorable, fairy-like beings. Pink cheeks, flawless skin and long, dark eyelashes dusted with snowflakes should make up for winter storms and sky-high heating bills. In reality, a long winter takes its toll in other, less desirable ways, leaving us raw, red and sniffle-y.
February may be a short month, but there's a lot going on: Fashion Week, the Olympics and Valentines Day -- just to name a few. For this month's roundup of the best new beauty products, I'm ignoring all of those things and focusing on the products you'll want to buy for yourself. No street style inspiration. No roses. No gold medals. There's enough of that floating around already, don't you think?
How much time do you spend thinking about the way you wash your face? It's the most basic, essential step in your skin care routine, but I'm guessing you spend far more time obsessing over hiding pimples and wrinkles or sopping up the oil slick around your T-zone. Hate to break it to you, but the way you wash your face may be the source of those problems.
Would you rather be four feet tall or eight feet tall? Deaf or blind? Poor and beautiful or rich and ugly? If you've ever played the game "Would You Rather," you've probably contemplated similar hypothetical dilemmas.
If you have breakouts, covering your face in black soot probably seems like a really terrible idea. But if that black soot happens to be active charcoal, it may be just the acne cure you've been looking for.
We're all well-versed in time-related clichés: The right place at the right time, better late than never, time heals all wounds, timing is everything ... as tired as these platitudes are, when it comes to your beauty and health routines, timing really is everything. Did you know that the time of day you rub salicylic acid on your face could be the difference between "meh" and a miracle? And when you decide to go in for your wax can be the difference between a trauma or ... well, waxing is always kinda traumatic, but less so?
My showers usually fall on either end of a spectrum: they're either super short (like hop in, do one turn under the running water and hop out) or ridiculously drawn out blocks of contemplation -- drawn out to the point that I start getting lightheaded and I risk ending up unconscious, passed out on the shower floor. Turns out, both of these are doing a number on my hair and beauty routine.
When the weather turns from sunny and mild to cold and blustery, our skin often turns too -- from supple and hydrated to cracked, flaky and ashy. We know that adding moisture-infused products to our skin will help hydrate it. We also know (and have heard a thousand times) that in the winter we usually need to switch from lighter moisturizers to more intensely hydrating ones, right? Right.
Ever since I was a little girl, I've been fascinated by the glamour that seems to come from simply being French. I always went straight for my mom's Chanel lipstick when playing dress up -- sorry, mom. And I never got tired of watching "Sabrina" where one trip to Paris (and a jaw dropping collection of Givenchy gowns) transforms Audrey Hepburn from the less-than-glamorous chauffeur's daughter into a knockout.
Let's be honest: after a typical, jam-packed busy day, how many times have you run a wet washcloth over your face before bedtime and thought, "Too. Tired. To wash." ? Or maybe you spend a good 15 minutes washing, scrubbing and cleansing the last stubborn bits of makeup off ... only to wake up with raccoon eyes anyway.
