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Another important aspect of putting your best beauty foot forward is the process of bathing, taking care of your body, and maintaining the health of your hair. Much like maintaining the health of your skin and taking steps toward age prevention, the same attitude should be applied to your body’s skin and your hair. Where your skin is concerned, the rule is simple: moisturize, exfoliate, moisturize and exfoliate!
I have quite long hair, as you can see from my picture on the left, and I’ve tried a lot of different things to protect it from being over-processed. Hair will become drier, more brittle, and thinner as you get older. People constantly put heat on it every day, color it every four to six weeks, sew in and rip out extensions, etc., while they are young and the hair is healthy and they think they’re not doing any damage but they will see it as they age. It’s important to choose the right products for your hair type, not just grab whatever is on sale at the supermarket.
Here are my favorite bath, body and hair products.
Avon Naturals Cherry Blossom 5-Piece Bath & Body Collection, $11.99
Refreshing Shower Gel: Moisturize your skin while cleansing your entire body. Less drying than soap, and infused with natural extracts, it’s a soothing way to cleanse and hydrate skin. Moisturizing Hand & Body Lotion: Provides 24-hour moisturization for soft, smooth skin. Refreshing Body Spray: Leaves skin cool, refreshed and lightly scented. Daily Refreshing Shampoo: For all hair types. Daily Refreshing Conditioner: For all hair types.
I buy this set for everything except the shampoo and conditioner (it’s cheaper to buy the set than individual pieces). I like the feminine but not too overpowering scent of this product line and how the fragrance ingredients don’t make me itch like others do.
philosophy Lilac Blossom™ Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath, $16.00
An all-in-one shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath with the refreshingly uplifting scent of lilac blossoms. This multitasking gel provides a rich, foaming lather to cleanse and condition, leaving skin and hair feeling hydrated and soft. The sweet floral scent of lilac blossoms captivates the senses and makes a lasting impression.
I found this on one of my many excursions to Sephora. I went to Miami without any soap and found this line of all-in-one shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath products from philosophy. There were some crazy varieties like fudge and red velvet cake but the lilac scent and other floral scents smell fresh and light. Lilac is a very Victorian scent and doesn’t overpower people around you. I used it as a shower gel and a shampoo and I was very pleased. My skin felt clean and my hair felt clean. Highly recommended.
Avon Foot Works 5-Piece Fabulous Foot Care Collection, $9.99
Restorative Milky Foot Soak with Epsom Salt – Soak away the aches after a long, hard day. Frothy formula provides feet with immediate relief from stiffness and discomfort, for a soothing at-home treatment. Unique formula enriched with milk protein and Epsom salt to provide instant relief to tired feet. Pumice Cream – Exfoliating formula helps keep hardened skin and calluses at bay, softening skin for super smooth, touchable feet. Contains pumice and walnut shell powder to help remove rough, dry skin. Intensive Callus Cream – This effective treatment is infused with natural aloe, rice bran oil & peppermint, delivering noticeably soft, smooth and touchable results. In just 2 weeks, see dramatic improvement! Bonus Size Therapeutic Cracked Heel Relief Cream – Helps to soften calluses, leaving feet feeling smooth and moisturized. Heals dry and cracked skin, fights infection. 24-hour moisturization. Provides first aid relief with soothing lidocaine. All Day Deodorant Foot Cream – Long-lasting deodorizing formula with natural peppermint absorbs wetness and controls odors. Helps keep feet feeling dry and smelling fresh all day.
Stop everything. Buy this foot set right now. It’s vital to the health of your feet!
Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Lotion, $11.99
Discover Aveeno Active Naturals. Simply put, Active Naturals are ingredients derived from nature and uniquely formulated to reveal skin’s natural health and beauty. Essential Active Naturals: Skin-soothing natural colloidal oatmeal. The naturally nourishing, non-greasy lotion absorbs quickly and contains no added fragrance. The unique oatmeal formula locks in moisture to help prevent and protect dry skin, leaving your skin soft, smooth and naturally healthy-looking. The Aveeno brand has been dermatologist recommended for over 60 years. – Clinically proven to relieve dry skin. – Moisturizes for 24 hours. – Fragrance free. – With natural colloidal oatmeal.
This is the best lotion ever made. I have nerve damage in some parts of my body that causes my skin to look like a reptile if I’m not diligent about taking care of it on a daily basis. This lotion will rid your body of dry skin and make everything feel nice and soft. Sometimes the best finds are the things you buy in drugstores!
Matrix Shade Memory Vivid Red Shampoo & Conditioner, $15.29 ea.
Matrix Shade Memory Vivid Red Shampoo is specifically formulated to reduce fading of your salon red. Helps strengthen & mend damage. Protein counteracts environmental damage and revitalizes your hair with Micro shine.
I just started using this shampoo about a month ago. I got it from a woman who does hair for a living and recommended it to keep my hair from fading and bleeding. When you have color treated red hair, the pigment does not hold as well as blondes or brunettes and you have to do what you can to seal it in before it bleeds everywhere. This shampoo and conditioner does not leave behind an oily film in the water when you wash it out and I haven’t felt any residue in my hair either. I have gotten a lot of compliments about how good my hair smells after using these products too. Also, if you are a bottle red head, stop washing your hair in hot water. That makes it fade and bleed faster. Start washing your hair in cool water and use shampoos and conditioners made for redheads, or at the very least, color treated hair in general. Unfortunately they are slowly discontinuing this shampoo, so I’m going to switch to the next one.
TIGI Bed Head Colour Combat, Colour Goddess Shampoo & Conditioner, $35.75
Color LockDown Technology prevents premature fading every colour goddess suffers. Shampoo smoothes & shines while helping to protect against UV damage. Conditioner will boost shine & softness, while locking in essential moisture. Beautiful hair is your dream come true! Deep those rich dark chocolate & sweet cherry hues looking delicious! Therapy for racy red heads or bodacious brunettes.
I haven’t used this one yet but this is what has been recommended to me after the Matrix shampoos are discontinued. I’ve heard good things about Bed Head products from other people too and they make products for women who are bottle blondes and bottle brunettes as well. Again, if your hair is colored red like mine, stop washing it in hot water because you’re letting it bleed and fade faster. Use cool water and shampoo for color treated hair.
Aussie Cleanse and Mend Shampoo & Conditioner, $3.00
Infused with Aloe, Guava and Desert Lime, Cleanse and Mend Shampoo conditions to nourish your hair, rinse away dirt and buildup, then soften and smooth frazzled tips.
My mother and I swear by Aussie products. Every two weeks, I use this shampoo to wash away any buildup of dirt, oil and residue from anything that the other shampoo doesn’t catch. It is advisable to switch shampoos once in a while to freshen up your hair. I like Aussie because it has a different formula for every type of hair and, in my case, it actually does what it advertises. The best part is it’s inexpensive and you can buy huge jugs of it if you’re that in love with it. I listed Aussie here because it’s a good alternative for those who don’t need to use color treated shampoos and conditioners like I do.
It’s a 10 Miracle Leave in Product, $9.00
Does 10 Things Instantly – Repairs dry, damaged hair, adds shine, detangles, controls frizz, seals & protects hair color, prevents split ends, stops hair breakage, creates silkiness, enhances natural body, flat iron spray & thermal protector.
No matter what type of hair you have, you should be using some kind of nourishing leave-in conditioner every time after you wash it. This is the one I have been using lately. Wash and condition your hair as per your normal routine, and then towel dry your hair. Spray this leave-in conditioner all over your hair three or four times over, make sure you cover all of it, and blow dry it like you usually would. You will immediately notice that it helps control your tangles and eliminates poofiness and frizziness. With my super long hair, I need it for frizz control and detangling the most. I love it.
Bumble and Bumble Tonic Lotion, $7.00 – $19.00
A nutrient-rich detangler and styling primer. This product is formulated with a rich mix of vitamins, herbs, and tea tree oil that tames tangles, refreshes your head, feeds your hair, and soothes your scalp. This product was inspired by old school barbers’ elixirs and created with our male clients in mind.
This is an alternative to the spray in the above listing. Even though it says it’s made with male clients in mind, I used it and I found it to be an excellent detangler and defrizzer. I don’t use it much anymore because it’s kind of expensive since I have to use a lot on my long hair. It is a good preparation product for styling with heat tools and it helps the comb pass through the hair easier.
Miss Dior Cherie, $60.00 – $90.00
Discover the scent that inspires love and romance. Miss Dior Cherie, with its captivating charm and elegance, is full of joie de vivre! A sensual blend of Italian mandarin, Egyptian jasmine, and patchouli truly captures the dazzling Dior spirit in a modern, fruity-floral fragrance.
No lady is complete without some sort of fragrance. This one is my absolute favorite at the moment, which was a hand-me-down from a more earthy friend who prefers less feminine scents. Body chemistry makes perfume smell different on every person, so what works for me might not smell the same to you. I like this one because it’s soft and ladylike without being too overpowering, although you can make it overpowering by wearing too much. I also have this one as a body wash.
Dior J’adore, $22.00 – $98.00
Radiant, sensual, sophisticated, J’adore is a fragrance that celebrates the renaissance of extreme femininity and the power of spontaneous emotion with a brilliant bouquet of orchids, the velvet touch of Damascus plum, and the mellowness of amaranth wood.
This is another one of my favorite perfumes. Can you tell I have a thing for Dior? This one is a little more floral on me than the previous perfume. I save this one for special occasions because I don’t have as much of it and it’s a little more expensive. You might not like it if you’re not interested in super feminine scents, so I suggest you try it on before you buy it.
Marc Jacobs Daisy, $20.00 – $75.00
Enter the world of Daisy: fresh and feminine, with a playful innocence. At the heart of Daisy is a floral with vintage edge: violet. Sophisticated, with a touch of whimsy, violet captures the eclectic, vintage flavor of Marc Jacobs’ feminine, edgy designs. Always elegant, always enchanting – but not too serious – Daisy is a sparkling floral bouquet, spirited and fresh, wrapped in comfort and warmth.
This perfume is a new favorite that I discovered at … wait for it … Sephora! And I don’t just like it because my dog is also named Daisy either! This one is probably more of a universal favorite than the Dior fragrances. It’s a little fresher and lighter. Dior can be a little heavy if you don’t wear it right but this is nice and light no matter how you wear it. I think of this one as a summertime fragrance.
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