I DO hope you are well and have been looking after yourselves.
This week I am writing about Night Time Beauty Routine, that is what you must do before you go to bed at night.
First of all, I know that by the time it’s night time you are probably exhausted and tired and all you want to do is drop on your bed and sleep.
Night-time is when your body and its cells repair themselves. While you sleep your body is busy, releasing reparative enzymes and building new hair and skin cells.
Wash your face before you go to bed, don’t ever sleep with your make up on, if you live makeup on, it gets into your skin and causes break outs, stretches your pores, and actually makes your skin look older.
Establish a nighttime routine, that is after you remove your makeup, wash your face and moisturise.
Always have that something you do to let your skin repair, rejuvenate and refurbish itself at night.
Sometimes though, just let your skin breathe at night, let it be makeup and product-less at night, you have been walking around in makeup all day; let that skin rest.
Apply a leave in conditioner in your hair before bed so you can wake up with soft, healthy shiny hair, because the product will have enough time to penetrate your hair shafts, try coconut oil.
At least three times a week apply Vaseline, lotion, Shea butter, glycerine or oil on your feet and put them in socks as this helps protect dry and cracked heels and keeps your feet smooth.
Just don’t do this every night as warm moist environments are the perfect breeding ground for nasty fungal infections.
The same rule applies to your hands. Apply hand cream or just lotion on your hands at night to keep them absolutely soft.
Do a light exercise in the evening, this will get your heart rate pumping and will also help you get a good night’s sleep. Do some stretches, breath in deeply.
Brush your teeth every night and do a little home remedy of adding baking soda to your toothpaste as this is perfect teeth whitening treatment.
Leave the mixture in your teeth for about for five-six minutes and make sure to rinse thoroughly afterwards.
Normally you would have to wait about 50 minutes before eating or drinking anything afterwards. Just make sure you are only doing this once a week: Any more, and the acid in baking soda can wear down your tooth enamel.
Also apply some lip balm, or Vaseline to your lips before bed to keep them soft, supple, and moisturised.
Take a long relaxing bath or shower (not very hot water though) to relax your muscles and just give your skin that beautiful pampered feeling.
For women with natural hair, ensure you sleep on a satin or silk pillowcase and not cotton one as this dries out your hair.
Set up your hair in mukule, corn rows, or little bun (vikutis) to ensure that your hair does not look shrunken and weird in the morning.
Invest in a good eye cream to apply on your eyelids because the older we grow our eyelids get thinner, so work on them today.
Wear light, shifty clothing before bed if you cannot sleep naked that is. This is because it allows your skin to breath.
Do not wear tight clothing as this restricts your blood flow, especially that you are immobile for eight hours.
Don’t drink caffeine before bed, cut down the coffee, the black teas the carbonated drinks.
Take water instead as it will help your body do its repair work whilst you sleep, it will aid digestion and it also aids weight loss when you drink water before bed.
Also evaluate the mattress you sleep on if you always wake up every morning with aches and sprains.
Dr Bert Jacobson of the Better Sleep Council says that any mattress that’s seven years old should be replaced.
You must also invest in a great pillow that supports your neck but also is not too high from the bed.
To avoid developing deep facial lines from pillow pressure, sleep flat on your back, but keep your head elevated with at least one pillow so fluids don’t settle in and cause puffy morning eyes.
So there you go, have a great night sleep and let’s chat next week.
Meanwhile, don’t forget to vote for me for Best Supporting Actress at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards by texting 4d to +278314200415.
See you next week.