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Beauty Tips 101

With all the people that we see coming in and out of the stores, I was surprised to find that there are some common questions and patterns with our customers’ concerns. Here are a few tips you may or may not know.

#1 – Don’t Use Old Beauty Products

12 MonthsBeauty products are not food or drugs, and are regulated differently. Instead of having expiration dates on packaging, most beauty products have a life span. This is the time after opening a product that it is guaranteed to perform as indicated. Once a product gets too old, it is less likely to do what you bought it to do. The color and/or scent may also change. While it is unlikely that it will hurt you, it is no longer effective. The symbol to look for is a jar with the lid open. The number next to the “M” is how many months it is a viable product after the package is opened. So, stretching your dollar by stretching the life of a product is not a good idea.

#2 – Don’t Brush Your Hair While Wet

Wet hair is heavy. Because it’s heavy, the hair strands are already stretched, and weakened. Use a wide-toothed comb on wet hair, brush it when it is dry. If you don’t want to use a comb, use a vented brush with a little “give” in the teeth. Be gentle, and work from the bottom up. If you have a lot of hair, consider combing in the shower while rinsing out the conditioner, or brush your hair before you get in to wash it. You will experience less breakage and hair loss.

#3 – Clean Your Make-Up Brushes

Cleaning your make-up brushes has two benefits. The first is sanitation, especially if somebody else may be using your make-up, too. It prevents bacteria from being reapplied to your clean face, and the spread of infections like pink eye. It also makes your make-up go on better. If you aren’t using your brushes on a lot of people, you can clean them at home using alcohol. You can spray the alcohol directly on the brush, then swirl the brush around on a paper towel to clean. The alcohol may cause damage to the brush over time, so we usually suggest that you spray the alcohol on the paper towel, then swirl. There are also actual brush cleaners that you can buy. Most of our make-up lines have a brush cleaner. Either way, you should clean your brushes every week or two, depending on how much you use them.

#4 – Don’t Use Curling Irons On Wet Hair

Hot style your hair when it is dry. You are less likely to “fry” or “cook” your hair. There are different types of irons – metal, ceramic, etc. – and some are in general safer than others. However, they are all more damaging when the hair is wet. In addition to causing damage, hot styling wet hair can cause the hair to become more limp. You can find styling tools out there that say they are for use on wet hair, but it is still not recommended. There are styling products that can help insulate the hair from the heat and cause less damage, as well as to help hold curl or help straighten. This is a much safe alternative.

#5 – Rubber Bands Damage Hair

This one, I thought I already knew from childhood when somebody would put one in my hair. It’s kind of a self-taught lesson! However, I didn’t know that just pulling the cloth-wrapped bands off my hair was damaging, too. I also didn’t know that pulling a ponytail in half to tighten it causes damage. Anything scraping across the hair cuticle can weaken and harm it. In addition to protecting the outside of the hair, having a ponytail that is really tight can cause breakage at the scalp. So, again, be gentle.

There are just some of our basic beauty tips. You may have already known some of these, but I hope you learned something, too.

Audrey

Have a beauty related question? We’d love to hear it, and so would our readers. Email your questions to 

Ask Audrey

Have a beauty-related question? We'd love to hear it, and so would our readers. Email your questions to 


We’d love to help.

If you don't have a stylist or esthetician you work with, give us a call and we'll set up an appointment to help you with your skin-care or hair-care products. We have several make-up artists that are happy to help you find new colors and techniques that make you feel beautiful. Letting us know when you are coming in will ensure we can give you all our attention. This is a free service, and there is no obligation to buy our products.

Audrey

This newsletter is a compilation of many voices and is not necessarily a single person. We have done our best to represent the subject matter as thoroughly as possible, but we make no guarantees. Please use this newsletter as only one of several sources, as it contains both facts and opinions.