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Toss It? or Keep It?
By: Jennifer Holder
If you are a product junkie like me then you probably have lotions, creams, tubes of lipstick etc that have been sitting in the same spot untouched for several months or even years. You know the items that you just had to have but then forgot about after the thrill of buying it wore off. This article is intended to be used as a guide for product junkies everywhere to know when a product should be thrown away or kept around for a little while longer. Everything has a shelf life including our make-up and all other potions and lotions. But there are things you can do to lengthen the life of your products. 1. Keep your products out of the bathroom this includes any prescriptions or over the counter medications too. Humidity can affect the life of all products. 2. Keep away from extreme temperatures including direct sunlight which could change the color and fragrance. 3. Do not share any products unless they come in a pump bottle or new applicator for each use. Bacteria can build up and shorten the life of your product. Or worse cause you to get an infection. Lotions and Creams Separation after sitting for a while means the product should be tossed. Smell is also an important factor. If the products smell changes in any way that is a good indication that it has expired. Toss it!Foundations, moisturizers etc all have a shelf life of about a year after opening as long as they are stored properly. If you notice any change in consistency or fragrance it’s a pretty safe bet that it is no longer good. If you still have that cover up from when you went to prom do yourself a favor and Toss it! Fragrances If stored properly away from heat and cold your favorite scent can last 3 to 5 years. It is a good idea to store fragrances in a cool dark area such as a jewelry box or drawer. Powders All types of powders including blush and eye shadow have a pretty long shelf life as long as you use a new or cleaned applicator with each use. Have you ever seen someone’s powder compact with a dark film on top? That is an accumulation of oils from the skin that have been trapped in the puff and then absorbed into the powder. Yuck! Avoid this by either washing your applicator regularly or buying a bag of applicators at a dollar store and use a fresh one each time you apply your powder. Powder brushes for loose powder should be cleaned at least once a week to keep your powder fresh. Pencils Pencils have a pretty long shelf life because every time you sharpen eyeliner or lip pencil you are exposing new product. It is a good idea to sharpen your pencils at least once a week to remove any contaminants. Do not let your pencils get wet and then dry out again. This may cause mold to form. Lipsticks and glosses Bacteria does not thrive on wax based products so these types of products tend to last quit a long time about 1 to 2 years. If you notice “beading” on the surface of your lipstick this indicates that it has been exposed to heat or is aging. Check the color and consistency and if it appears to have changed: Toss it! Lip glosses with wand applicators should never be shared because bacteria can get trapped inside the container. To be on the safe side replace these types of glosses every six months. Mascara and Liquid Eyeliner The MAX shelf life for these kinds of products is 3 months!! Do yourself a favor and label your mascara’s and liquid eyeliners with the date that it was opened on the package somewhere. Your eye area is one of the most sensitive parts on your body. You do not want to take any chances of getting some sort of infection. It is also a bad idea to share these types of products too. When you use mascara or liner do not pump the wand, this cause air and bacteria to get trapped inside. Instead wipe the sides of the tube to pick up color. Products like the ones mentioned in this article can make you look and feel you’re best but it is important to know that it is not a good idea to keep these types of things for an extended period of time. I would suggest you do a “spring” clean of your make-up bag every three months or so. Then go shopping for new products! You deserve it! Jennifer Holder is an Independent AVON Representative and a Stay at home mom with two children. She can be contacted by email at avonjen@yahoo.com or by visiting her website at http://www.youravon.com/jenniferholder where you can also find more great tips and advice on health and beauty. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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How to Benefit from the Mind-Body Connection
(excerpt)
You are about to gain insight into the
mind-body connection. The number of
people who truly understand these principles on our
planet are relatively few.
There is an undeniable connection between our minds and
bodies, you can learn
to use this fact to your benefit.
Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of "Love, Medicine and
Miracles" was once a
distraught cancer surgeon until he
began to understand the greater principles
of the mind-
body connection. He felt dragged down by the artificial
barriers
that existed between patient and doctor, and the
helplessness he often felt as
a result of his inability
to effectively serve those patients. Eventually, those
barriers
were disintegrated by Dr. Siegel's recognition
and growing understanding of the
mind-body connection and
how it could serve his patients and himself.
Dr. Siegel, or Bernie as he began to have his patients
refer to him, had some
startling realizations as a cancer surgeon. He found that
there were actually
quite a few people in the world that successfully beat
the statistics on cancer
survival. He began to recognize that a patient's ability
to defeat something as
serious as cancer had to do with the patient's mind and
attitude about their
disease.
If you would like to see the rest of
this article, please go here:
http://www.tobeinformed.com/repository/mind-body.html
copyright 2004 - David Snape
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