Verónica ApacheHours laying under the sun, drinking sangría, and swimming non-stop sound like the day at the beach we all want to have. An afternoon, a day, or a week like this can give you the best summer memories, but can also have a series of repercussions on your hair, lips, and even your teeth. Beauty companies have developed all sorts of smoothing, hydrating, and whitening products that due to their chemical compounds can affect both your health and your wallet. Here are some tips and tricks straight out of your kitchen to relieve any summer damages.
Hair
Salt, chlorine, and constant exposure to UV rays can damage your hair. Dry scalp, split ends, and frizziness are the most common effects of a summer vacation on your hair. This is its way of telling you the urgent need for a revitalizing mask.
Avocado, egg yolk, coconut oil, honey, mayonnaise, and plain yogurt are the most commonly used ingredients for DIY hair masks. The mere idea of putting any of this products on your hair may seem gross, but their repairing and hydrating qualities are worth a couple of disgusting hours. You could either put them all together or choose the two you have in your fridge. Make enough of a mixture to cover from roots to tips and apply it on unwashed hair. Leave the mask in for an hour or two and then wash it as you would normally do. Here are some mix recommendations aimed to treat specific problems:
- For damaged hair: egg yolk, coconut oil, and honey.
- For frizzy hair: plain yogurt, honey and mayonnaise.
- For amazing curls: avocado, mayonnaise, coconut oil.
Girl by the Beach | Gianna Karla Toletino
Lips
The summer breeze refreshes you in a hot beach day but can do a lot of harm to your lips. Many disregard the importance of exfoliation to keep soft and kissable lips, and with the augmenting heat wave a regular lip balm may not be enough.
For smoother and hydrated lips, mix one tablespoon of extra virgen olive oil and one of brown sugar. Wash your hands and rub the mix against your lips in a small circular motions. This will remove the dry skin and deeply exfoliate, which is why important to do it only once a week. It is a weirdly delicious paste but try not to eat it. Then with a cotton pad and warm water remove the mix and put on your regular lip balm to moisturize.
Red Lips | Camila Zanon via Flickr
Teeth
The delicious long island iced teas may also help cooling off, but these and most dark beverages can rip off the whiteness of your teeth. Teeth whitening can be very expensive and scary for people with sensitive teeth. Thankfully mother nature has given us a delicious organic peroxide.
At night, cut a strawberry into two and rub it against your teeth. Let it sit for an hour and then brush them as you would normally do. Remember the sugar in the strawberry may lead to cavities if you let it sit in for too long. However, celebrities like Angelina Jolie use this technique after brushing their teeth the night before the a red carpet event, so that this natural bleach works throughout their sleep.
Angelina Jolie | Philipp Von Ostau