Over Done Sunless Self Tanner: Home Remedies & Tips for Removing

Self tanners are one of the finest inventions because they let would-be sun bunnies go golden brown without ever having to expose yourself to the actual sun. With the ozone layer depleted, the risk of skin cancer from sun exposure has greatly increased, but we all like the glow that says, "Yes, while you've been slaving away in your cubicle, I've been lazily tanning at the beach". Sunless tanner is the way to be a golden girl without forsaking your job, your kids, your graduate education or your winter in the Chicago suburbs.

Fake ‘n’ Bake in a Bottle
Getting the right suntan in a bottle takes a little work, and it's better to pay for the more upscale self tanner if it's going to get you a smooth, even coat in a realistic color. This is no time to be cheap! But even the best sunless tanners can leave you a fake bake orange if you don't apply them correctly, with stealth, patience and continuity. Most self tanning lotions or foams say to reapply every two or three days, because the effect wears off fast.

Removing Splotches and Orange Color Caused By Self Tanners
And that fading effect is what's going to save you if you're wondering how to remove an overdose of self tanner. If you're lucky, it's just your hands or hands and feet that have turned orange, maybe because you forgot to wear gloves when applying the lotion or because your feet got a few more coats than your legs. You can easily fix the sunless tanning orange by waiting a few days—as the outer layer of skin sheds off, the color will come with it. We're all losing skin cells by the thousands each day, so if you can wait, you need do nothing else to get rid of your fake tan. But if the color is an issue because of an important event, tips on removing sunless tanner tend to recommend the use of baking soda. Put a nice blob of baking soda on a washcloth and gently rub it on damp skin. The baking soda exfoliates the skin, speeding up the loss of tanner, and it can be used on your body without the potential chemical complications that would come along with peroxide or bleach. Don't rub yourself raw, even if you're desperate to get the stuff off: give it a little rub, rinse off and wait a couple of hours before trying again.

Home Remedy to Fix Over Applying Sunless Tanner
Baking soda is a home remedy for so many ailments that it's surprising they don't sell it in five gallon containers. If you've used too much sunless tanner all over your body, you can dump several cups of baking soda into your bathtub and crawl in with it. Add water and soak. Basically, you're softening the skin, making it easier for the outer layer to slough and using the whitening properties of baking soda to help provide a little gentle bleaching action. Take your loofah and gently scrub feet, ankles, elbows and other places where the tanning liquid may have collected and created splotches.

For orange or too-brown fingernails and hands or toenails and feet, you can apply a facial cream bleach for around ten minutes, but don't try to use this stuff on other parts of your body: your skin will probably react to it in unpleasant ways.

To cover up sunless tanner on your face while it's wearing off, try layering mineral makeup over it, applying to your neck as well. Use a tinted moisturizer in green or blue to try to counteract seriously orange skin, and add your makeup on top of that. Exfoliate gently at night with an oatmeal scrub and remind yourself that in a few days it will be like nothing happened at all.

Clean Your Jewelry: DIY at Home or Take to a Professional Jeweler for a Steam Cleaning?

Clean your jewelry at home every three months and take your treasured pieces to a professional jeweler's once a year for an in-store cleaning and visual inspection. Many jewelry stores will clean your jewelry for free while you wait on the premises, probably because it's a great way to let people browse for new jewels while their old ones are being bathed.

DIY Home Jewelry Cleaning Products
No everyone has enough jewelry to warrant buying an ionic or ultrasonic jewelry cleaning machine: in fact, some jewelers say that these at-home versions of professional cleaners can cause gemstones to crack or become discolored. Money saving tips for jewelry cleaning include the fact that you can clean your jewelry safely and effectively without buying machines or expensive cleaners, and that it's better to clean as gently as possible with common household products. Don't ever steam clean your jewelry: hard stones don't need it, and soft ones will be damaged by it.

Caring for different types of gemstones and precious metals
In general the harder the stone, the less likely that it will be injured by attempts at cleaning. Metals are also forgiving: for silver jewelry, use an ordinary silver polish you can buy at the grocery store and follow the instructions. Wipe polish onto the piece, rub it, wipe it off and buff the silver to a shine. If you have silver jewelry with stones, they are most likely semi-precious or soft gems like turquoise, opal, pearl, lapis or coral. These softer stones can be injured by abrasion, heat or chemicals. In fact, they can absorb perfumes, so it's better to apply your perfume first and then put on your jewelry to prevent it from being stained by perfume oils. To clean these soft stones, just wipe them with a soft piece of leather called a chamois or chamois cloth. You can find them in automotive sections of the hardware store: car lover like to buff their chrome with them. Make sure and get a chamois that hasn't been treated with anything else: sometimes they are impregnated with metal polish that can ruin your semi-precious gems.

Before cleaning jewelry set with gems or semi-precious stones, make sure the stones are still solidly set. Over time, prong and bezel settings can loosen, and stones can fall out. Shake or tap your jewelry near your ear and listen for a rattle, which would tell you it's loose. If it rattles in its setting, don't clean it: you risk losing the stone. Put the piece in a ziplock bag and take it directly to your jeweler to have it reset and cleaned.

Home remedy for bring back the sparkle
Harder stones like diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires can be cleaned with a weak solution of ammonia (1 part) and water (10 parts). In fact, many of the commercial jewelry cleaners you see in stores are just ammonia and water with a little scent and coloring added. Plain household ammonia, diluted with water works equally well and only costs a few cents. Dip a soft toothbrush in the solution and scrub the stone with the liquid, making sure to get underneath the stone wherever possible, since that's where the majority of dirt, soap residue and skin oils can accumulate. Rinse it off and dry it with the tip of a soft cloth.

Cleaning tarnished jewelry items
Gold, white gold and sterling or tarnished solid silver jewelry can be cleaned with old-fashioned toothpaste. Don't use gels, and avoid the tartar-control and anti-plaque pastes: look for something like the old versions of Crest, Pepsodent or Colgate; simple, white pastes with no added silica that could scratch your jewelry. Load up an old toothbrush with toothpaste, and rub it on the jewelry, making sure to get in all the crevices. Rinse it with tap water and dry with a soft cloth.

When cleaning rings, make sure to do the underside of the ring as well as the part that shows. Necklaces and earrings need gentle treatment, as they may be made of delicate wire or chains that could easily be broken by rough handling.

Pearls and opals require special storage. These stones need moisture, so they need to be placed in containers where air can freely move. If pearls or opals are deprived of a natural amount of humidity, they dry out, lose their iridescence and eventually crack.

Ask the Jeweler for Recommendation and Tips
If you're nervous about DIY home remedies or homemade recipes, you can buy jewelry cleaning kits containing supplies of chamois cloth, a cleaner, a brush and sets of instructions for the care of your jewelry. Make sure to buy your kit from a reputable company, and be wary if it contains harsh chemicals or rough abrasives. Remember, professional jewelers recommend highly diluted ammonia, basic toothpaste and soft cleaning cloths: you don't need anything more.

Three Fundamental Skin Care Techniques No Woman Should Skip

(1) Cleanse skin no more than twice daily with a mild cleaner that doesn't over dry you skin. Be sure to use a cleanser meant for your skin type
(2) Gently exfoliate your skin on a daily basis to remove dead skin cells and expose newer, healthier glowing skin underneath.
(3) Apply a moisturizer. A moisturizer with sunscreen of at least SPF 15 should be applied during the day.

For more helpful advice and products for healthier skin check out the Skin Store. This skin resource not only offers helpful skin advice, but breaks down products by function, skin type, skin condition and active ingredients making it easier to find the perfect fix for your skin.

Removing Unwanted Hair on the Jaw Line, Chin, & Upper Lip

What causes facial hair in women? The same hormones that cause it in men. Let's face it: we're a hairy breed. And in the all too human world of beauty, we value smooth, hairless skin. Our hormones create hair, even in the female of the species, and as women we spend a lot of time fighting Nature to please Fashion. Removing facial hair is an issue for women all over the world: even in ancient times, women used hot honey and tree saps to remove unwanted hair from the jaw line, upper lip, eyebrows and chin.

Waxing Unwanted Facial Hair
Today, waxing is still a popular hair removal option: it's relatively inexpensive, more thorough than plucking individual hairs with tweezers and can be done any time. Hot wax kits consist of a "wax" made of sugar or honey, (this is called "sugaring"), beeswax or resin. The easiest way to do waxing at home is to buy a microwavable wax, apply with a wooden spatula, then spread with a strip of cotton muslin and pull off the wax along with the offending hair. But, if you don't have the patience to melt the wax slowly at the recommended power setting, stir it thoroughly, test a tiny bit on the tip of your finger and ascertain whether it's too hot, you shouldn't do that kind of waxing because you run the risk of getting badly burned. Microwaves work hot and fast, and the wax must be carefully watched, timed, stirred, and tested before applying. It takes patience.

Bleaching Upper Lip Hair to Reduce its Appearance
Another popular at-home hair removal method is bleach. You can buy cream bleaching creams that are mixed with an activator and then applied to the facial hair. You cannot use cream bleaches on eyebrows or anywhere near your eyes—if they get in your eyes, you can go blind. Some people may experience facial redness or sensitivity from bleaching, so it's a good idea to do a 24 hour test patch first. But if the bleach doesn't bother your skin, and if you use it weekly, you'll not only be rendering facial hair more invisible, after awhile it will become fragile and start to break off, lessening its appearance even more.

Shaving is not a best practice for removing facial hair
Some people wonder how to remove facial hair by shaving, and this is a good place to say that shaving is a bad idea. It will leave stubble, and the only thing worse than facial hair is facial stubble. Forget shaving anything on your face.

Electrolysis is permanent removal, but become an old technique
Electrolysis has long been considered a good way to remove hair permanently, but it's pretty much a bygone era at this point. Electrolysis is permanent, but it can cause pinpoint scarring; it's expensive and it hurts like blue blazes. Treatments cause redness and swelling or breakouts, and you risk infection. Scrap electrolysis: if you want permanent hair removal and can afford it, the thing to do is laser hair removal. Unlike electrolysis, there are no needles involved; pain is practically non-existent, any redness disappears in an hour or so, and it really works. Laser hair removal is the best remover on the planet: thousands of Brazilian bikini lines can't be wrong!

Threading is similar to plucking, but currently trendy
Threading is a newly rediscovered method of hair removal that can't hold a candle to laser hair removal, but it has its uses because it's cheaper. It's basically hair plucking, only it's done with a thread that's rolled across the skin, catching the hair and pulling it out. It's trendy and you'll pay more for it than by going to a beautician for a tweezing session because it takes special training. Frankly, most of us don't see the point.

Gotta Have a Great Pair of Tweezers for the Daily Upkeep
For cheap, fast daily hair removal at home, you've got to have a pair of decent slant tip tweezers. They aren't as easy to find as they should be! They must be properly balanced: the cheapo $2 no-name tweezers you get at the supermarket are never balanced enough to get the job done. Buy tweezers from a reputable company like Revlon, and then guard them with your life.

Dark Under Eye Circles Treatment & How to Hide or Lighten Them with Makeup

Most women over thirty will at some point wonder how to get rid of under eye circles. There are three ways to attack the problem of dark under-eye circles: prevention, topical application and cosmetic restoration. Holistic prevention, while being the easiest solution for some people is also the least effective for most.

What Causes Under-Eye Circles & Darkness
Dark circles under the eyes tends to be a genetic issue and practically unavoidable if dark under eye areas run in your family. But for people whose genetic background doesn't predispose them to dark circles, the easiest solution may be to get some sleep and drink a lot more water. One of the first signs of fatigue or dehydration is dark circles that appear under the eyes. The under-eye skin is thin, with a membrane that runs between a fatty layer and the outer layer of skin we see. When your body needs water, it shows up around the eyes first. Drinking liquor causes dehydration, as does over consumption of sugar and caffeine. Stress also causes under eye puffiness. Diet can impact your face too, especially if you have food allergies, and sulfites in wine can wreak havoc on the delicate skin around your eyes. So, once again, the answer nobody wants to hear: you might be able to banish undereye circles from within by taking care of your health.

Natural Home Remedies for Dark Under Eye Circles
But home remedies can only do so much. If your dark under eye circles don't budge even after a long nap and eight glasses of water a day, it's time to go the cosmetic or make up route. There are lots of options here, some more useful than others. Moisturizers are helpful mainly in that if you have lines around your eyes, the shine from the moisturizer will help lessen them and create a lighter look. Look for moisturizers with natural ingredients such as avocado oil, sesame, Vitamin K and Vitamin E. Moisturizer also works well as a base for under eye makeup like concealer because it smoothes the skin and makes it easier to apply a tinted cosmetic. There are no make-up secrets here: moisturizer will help other makeup keep from caking.

Best Beauty Product to Hide Dark Eye Circles
The best beauty product for under eye circles is concealer, and most makeup artists agree that it's important to use one with a slight golden color, as yellow tones counteract dark ones. Chamomile has long been known as a natural remedy for skin, and some concealers contain this ingredient which can help cure as it covers. Concealer is great for dealing with dark circles as long as you get the right shade and apply it correctly. Some women make the mistake of choosing a concealer that's too light: then you wind up with reverse-raccoon eyes, where the whiteness under your eyes looks strange and somewhat alien. The ideal concealer is usually a shade lighter than your foundation. To some extent, the area under the eyes is somewhat shadier than the rest of your face because the eye sockets naturally are somewhat receded into the face. If your concealer is too light, your eyes will disappear in the glare.

Non Surgical and Surgical Treatments to Correct Puffy Under Eyes
If you're tired of trying to erase your circles with eye cream, you may be looking for a treatment or even a cure. Looking tired all the time can affect your morale as well as the way people treat you. There are non-surgical options to eliminate puffy or dark undereye areas: injections performed by cosmetic surgeons can fill the hollows, and need repeating every three or four months. A really good ocularfacial surgeon can tighten the skin of the eyelids, reducing the puffiness and eliminating the dark circles for years to come. Called blepharoplasty, eyelid surgery can get rid of dark circles, puffy upper or lower eyelids and hollow, tired looking eyes. If you go this route, make sure to find a specialist who has done thousands of eyelids, ask to see before and after pictures and check with the local medical board to check the surgeon's history with other patients.

Don't Get Ripped Off

The temptation of finding a great deal on a designer Prada, Coach or Vuitton handbag usually leads the novice shopper to eBay. And although there are many great deals on eBay, you are probably not bidding on an authentic designer handbag. If you are in the market for a decent knock-off designer accessory, eBay is an option. If you want to spend a little more on the real thing there are several trusted retailers online that only sell authentic designer accessories.

French Manicure Instructions Guide to the Right Design and Polish for a Natural Look Without Going to the Nail Salon

The French manicure is often considered the most elegant thing you can do with your fingernails, since it combines perfect polish with a natural look that looks smooth and classy. If you're going for a job interview or just want perfect hands to show off a new ring, the French manicure is ideal. The French manicure can easily be done at home, with some patience and the right tools.

Tips for Beginning any Salon Quality Manicure at Home
Any manicure starts with scrubbing your hands, filing your nails and caring for your cuticles. Use a diamond file instead of the cheaper metal ones: it's about a dollar more expensive, but it files much quicker and smoother. For a classic French manicure, your nails shouldn't be dragon-lady long, but should have a smooth, oval shape that's slightly elongated to make the most of the white nail tips. You're going to need:

Instruction Guide to a French Manicure
A base coat in a subtle, neutral color like pale peach, nearly-not-there pink, or beige. The contrast comes with the white nail tips, which point up the hint of color in the base coat.

1. White polish for the tips.
2. Nail tip guide strips
3. A clear top coat.

After filing your nails and tending to your cuticles by softening them and pushing them back away from the half-moons, paint your entire nail with the base coat color and let it dry. If you have chronic problems with getting the nails on your second hand painted cleanly, you may want to start by putting a little petroleum jelly on the skin of your fingers around the nail. The petroleum jelly keeps the polish from sticking to your skin if you should slip up while painting, making for easy clean-up and a neater look overall.

Using French Manicure Stencil or Template Products
Once the base coat of polish is completely dry—never try to rush this step—put the nail tip guides on your fingernails. Apply the strip guide to the area where your actual finger ends. The white tip of your nail shouldn't comprise more than 20% of the overall fingernail when you're done. Make sure to place the guide strips on each finger so that the tips of your nails are the same length for each.

Once the guides are in place, you can brush white polish onto your fingernails. This is a time for especial care, so that you stay with the guides and get no white polish on the lower part of the nail. Don't remove the guides until the white polish is completely dry, or you'll ruin the tips.

Once the white tips are dry, remove the guides. If they leave any sticky residue behind, use rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball to take it off. Don't forget and use nail polish remover or you'll ruin your whole manicure!

Professional Salon Finish to Any Mani or Pedi
Finish your French manicure by painting the entire nail with the clear top coat of polish. This does two things: it helps your manicure stay fresh longer by protecting it, and it gives a shiny and unified gloss to each nail.

You can buy a manicure in a kit, great for the new DIY nail maven, because they come with designs, color options, style ideas, instructions and all the products you need for a manicure or pedicure. You can try the new manicure polish pen, buy fun stencils and templates or go for a natural look with a brand like Sephora, Opi or Sally Hansen. For professional looking fingers and toes, you don't need a history of salon work: you can get everything you need online or from your local drugstore. And for a quick version of the French look, you can buy a nail whitening pencil. Slide it under the edge of your nail to white the tip, et viola—instant (not as elegant, but very nice) manicure!