Tag: BEAUTY DIY

One Thing You Never Thought Of Doing With Oil

Published on by Lee2 Comments

It sounds extra AF, but swishing oil around your mouth might just be the best thing for your health and skin, seriously! The idea comes from ancient Ayurvedic medicine and involves taking a tablespoon of oil and swishing it around your mouth like mouthwash, for twenty minutes. Believe it or not, this detoxifying method actually has a ton of health benefits that improve oral health, and it can even improve acne, whiten your teeth, help with headaches, and detox your entire body.

How To Do Oil Pulling:

On an empty stomach – first thing in the morning is the best time – swish a tablespoon of oil around your mouth for twenty minutes (at least ten minutes if you’re in a hurry). Our preference is coconut oil, because obvs we have a ton lying around and it’s also antibacterial, but you can also use sesame, olive or sunflower oil. Initially, it might feel a little gross, but persist, and like us, you might even end up enjoying the experience! It should always be done on an empty stomach, so wait at least four hours after eating, and an hour after drinking.

Whatever you do, don’t swallow the oil; otherwise, you’ll basically allow all the toxins that have been drawn out to go into your stomach. Once you’ve swished for 15-20 minutes, spit it out in your bin. You can do almost anything (except speak) while you do this, but keep an eye on the time, as if you do it much longer than 20 minutes, it’s possible that the toxins could be reabsorbed into your body. Rinse your mouth with warm water or salt water, and brush your teeth.

How Oil Pulling Works:

how oil pulling works

It’s quite gross to think about, but your mouth is filled with bacteria, fungi, toxins, and plaque. Oil pulling literally cleanses your mouth by drawing out all the toxins from your gums and teeth, before they’re able to spread to the rest of your body.

Why Oil Pulling is Awesome:

Who’d have thought that you can forego a ton of expensive beauty products simply by following this daily ritual? Oil pulling is an amazing way to improve your health and detox your body, skin, and gums. Though there’s yet to be significant research into oil pulling, promising results have been found, and many doctors recommend it – apparently, Gwyneth Paltrow and Shailene Woodley are fans. Here’re just some of the amazing benefits:

Skin-clearing: Catching out nasty toxins before they reach the rest of your body has a huge impact on your skin. The same way washing your skin gets rid of surface bacteria, oil pulling gets rid of bacteria that causes skin problems before they have a chance to take hold. Reports have shown that oil pulling for a month has helped improve acne and eczema.

Teeth whitening and fresh breath: Oil pulling can remove surface stains from your teeth, and because the fats in oil can dissolve plaque, it prevents plaque build-up and reduces the risk of tooth cavities for an extra white smile. The removal of bacteria from your mouth also results in fresher breath throughout the day.

Detoxes your body: The mouth is our gateway to the majority of substances in our body, by removing bacteria from the mouth before it has a chance to reach the rest of your body it majorly impacts on your health.

Increases energy: Our immune system works 24/7 to eliminate toxic waste from the body. By getting rid of these nasty toxins at the source before your body has to, it saves precious energy to be spent on other activities.

Reduces headaches and hangovers: We’ll be honest, anything that promises to cure a hangover is worth trying; the process of oil pulling will remove alcohol toxins still lurking in your body from the night before, helping you and your body feel much better. Headaches and migraines can be a reaction to your body being under toxic stress; so extract the toxins, reduce the stress!

Why Coconut Oil is Our FAVE:

We’ve found that coconut oil, (try to use 100% raw organic cold-pressed coconut oil) is the best oil to use. Not only is it easy to find and inexpensive, but it’s also by far the best tasting of the bunch. Coconut oil also contains lauric acid that has antimicrobial and anti-fungal properties, while Vitamin E is rich in antioxidants and it’s antibacterial. If you’re going to have oil in your mouth for twenty minutes, it should at least taste okay!

Oil pulling can easily become part of your morning routine: swish while you shower and tone, or while you get dressed and scroll your Insta feed. If you’re at home, take advantage of the period after lunch before dinner and swish on an empty stomach while you watch TV.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?

HOW TO DIY THE PERFECT AT-HOME PEDICURE IN 10 EASY STEPS

Published on by Lee1 Comment

As tempting as it is to dish out money for a salon pedicure (with the soaking, foot scrubbing, massage — the works) it’s not always doable, especially when you already splurged on makeup in the beginning of the week and are left to question your self-control. So if you currently find yourself in a similar position and are in desperate need of a pedi, we’re here to prove that it’s possible to achieve salon-quality results pedicure in the comfort of your own home — for a lot less money.

STEP 1: Let Your Nail Polish Remover Do Its Thing

Completely remove any nail polish that’s still on your toenails using nail polish remover and a cotton pad. If you don’t have any leftover polish, you should still run nail polish remover over your nail to remove any excess oil.

Primp Tip: If you’re left with any weird stains or a yellow tinge (you’ll usually see this after removing darker colors, like red or black), rub cuticle oil over the surface of your nails to lighten any residue.

STEP 2: Soak Your Feet Like You’re at the Spa

Okay, before you start soaking, your first job—and this is important—is to go around your house and gather every candle you can find. Oh, and get yourself a glass of wine while you’re at it. The trick to making an at-home pedicure feel like a spa experience instead of, you know, rubbing your own feet in your too-small-for-comfort apartment is setting the ~mood~ at your makeshift pedicure station.

Once the ambiance is right, you’re ready to soak your feet—which softens tough skin and cuticles (and is downright relaxing). Lennon suggests using a basin (aka a really big bowl) if you have one, but your bathtub is also a sound option. Fill ’er up with warm water and add a liberal scoop of skin-soothing bath salts (Lennon recommends Côte Re-Treat Himalayan Pink Salt Soak, but you can also try my favorite Kneipp Mineral Bath Salts or just use a cup of kosher salt). Let your feet soak for a few minutes before moving to the next step. This is a great opportunity to multitask and try out that new face mask.

STEP 3: Get Rid of Dead Skin

After drying off your feet, use a foot file to remove any dead skin from callused (hard) areas. Parts to pay attention to are the balls of your feet, the sides of your feet and your heels. Scrape these areas until they feel smooth, but don’t overdo it. Try a pumice stone or foot file to gently smooth the skin. Then, switch your feet and repeat.

STEP 4: File and Shape Your Nails

Use a nail trimmer to achieve the length and shape you want (we recommend trimming nails straight across). Follow by filing the corners of your nails and buffing to make them smooth. According to Hadley, a big mistake people make at this point in the process is cutting their cuticles. “Trimming or cutting cuticles during a manicure or pedicure is purely cosmetic and sometimes it doesn’t benefit the nail in any way,” she explains. “The cuticle is a barrier to protect your surrounding skin and protect against infection.”

STEP 5: Apply Cuticle Oil

Apply cuticle oil to the base of your nail. Cuticle oil doesn’t just keep your feet soft and moisturized, but it also keeps your polish from chipping.

STEP 6: Moisturize

Take both feet out of the tub and dry them off with a towel. With a foot cream or body lotion, begin massaging your toes, feet, and calves until, well, you wanna stop. Moisturize your feet with an unscented lotion. “Scented lotions with synthetic fragrances can cause your nail polish to crack.”

STEP 7: Prep Your Toes

Use toe separators (you can buy a 12-pack for cheap online) to make painting your toes easier and avoid making a mess.

If you don’t have toe separators, Lennon suggests tearing off a piece of paper towel, rolling or twisting it into a rope, and weaving it through your toes to prevent the polish from smudging.

STEP 8: Apply Your Base Coat

Then, apply a thin layer of base coat on each nail. Follow with two thin coats of your color of choice, letting the paint dry for a few minutes between each coat.

STEP 9: Finally, Do the Damn Thing

Paint on your base coat and wait at least two minutes to ensure it’s dry. Don’t forget your base coat because it gives your nail polish something to sink into besides your actual nails.

STEP 10: Finish With a Quick-Drying Top Coat

Finish with a top coat so your nails maintain high shine and luster. Because nail polish takes about 12 hours to harden.

Primp Tip: Recommends sticking your finished toenails into cold water for a few minutes to make your nail polish harden faster and help it solidify.

Tell me: Do you do your own nails?


The Ultimate Hack for Super Soft Lips

Published on by Lee2 Comments

Summer is finally here, and I’m super excited! It shouldn’t have to cost thousands of dollars to achieve that beautiful supple, glowy and hydrated look… But fortunately, there are SO many ways you can cheat it!

One of the first places dehydration shows is on your lips, and not only is chapped and cracking lips uncomfortable, but it’s also not very attractive… and there’s no reason you shouldn’t look your best. Here’s what I like to do to keep my lips soft and hydrated:

DIY Honey Mask:

One of my favorite ways to keep my lips soft and supple during summer is a honey mask. It’s super easy, just slather your lips in honey every night before you go to bed, and just leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes before removing it. Honestly, this works wonders!

Lanolin Products:

During the day, a good lip balm is an essential. I’ve always found products with Lanolin in to have THE most amazing moisturizing properties, and it’s actually because it’s a completely natural ingredient that comes from sheep’s fleeces. My favorite pure lanolin lip balms to date have to be Lanolips (which literally lasts allll day) and Dr. Lipp. Carmex is also amazing and contains lanolin, beeswax, shea butter, Menthol, and Aloe, which all work together to really soothe your lips.

DIY Balm

Take your lanolin lip balm (or another lip balm) and whip it up in a mini container with a couple of drops of rose oil. This is totally optional, but rose oil has the most amazing hydrating effects.

Be sure to drink as much water as you can in the evenings so your body can catch up on the hydration it needs.

Let me know in the comments, which DIY is your favorite! Check out the review I did on Lanolips…

Tone It Up: DIY Avocado Hair and Face Mask

Published on by Lee5 Comments

Love reading articles from, Tone It Up! We’ll be sharing Tone It Up’s best fitness and healthy living tips. In today’s, Serena and Katrina will be showing you how to add shine to your hair and a glow to your skin with two of their favorite DIY mask recipes:

Hi everyone, it’s Katrina and Serena here from Tone It Up! Today we’re excited to be telling you about two DIY masks you can make for your hair and face. They are both so easy to make and for when you are in the mood for a relaxing evening at home. Plus, they will freshen up your pretty locks and clear your beautiful skin! The key ingredients in both of these masks are avocado and apple cider vinegar, both of which will make your hair shiny and soft and add a glow to your skin.

Here’s how to make them (be sure to pin the image below to remember it for later!)…

To recap, here’s how to make these masks:

Avocado Hair Mask

You will need:

  • 1 banana
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Blend all the ingredients together and massage into your hair from roots to ends, covering thoroughly.
  2. Let sit for 30 minutes.
  3. Shampoo well, then rinse with apple cider vinegar.


Avocado Face Mask

You will need:

  • ½ ripe avocado
  • 1 tbsp of honey
  • 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

  1. Blend the ingredients together or mash in a bowl.
  2. Apply to your face and leave on for 15 minutes. Focus on your breathing and relax while letting it set.
  3. Rinse off with cool water and a damp cloth.

We love the avocado in these masks because it helps to moisturize and rejuvenate your hair and skin. The healthy fats act as an all-natural and super hydrating moisturizer. And let’s not forget about the apple cider vinegar (one of our favorite elixirs). You might remember us talking about the benefits of apple cider vinegar here on BeautyLeeBar.com couple weeks ago. Not only is it good for your body, it’s great for your hair. It closes the cuticles, allowing your locks to lay flat for shinier hair that’s easy to style. It also acts as an astringent that clears your skin as well.

Now that you’ve read a bit about two of our favorite masks, we want to know…

Will you give our DIY avocado hair and face masks a try?

Let us know how they work for you in the comments below! And don’t forget to pin the image above so you will have it for later 🙂

XO Team BLB

P.S. If you liked this post, be sure to check out last week guest blog about apple cider vinegar by clicking here.