Scents for all

For those who follow me, you know I like to anticipate things. Wrinkles are a big issue for me. And as the saying goes, prevention rather than cure.

So I decided to look for ways to remove those wrinkles, mostly my forehead wrinkles. Among the multiple solutions, botox is one the most populat treatments.

Most people are familiar with Botox for wrinkles. It’s the go-to solution for the biggest names in show business and is popular with the non-celebrity crowd; as long as they can afford it. Botox is considered to be pretty safe and has been used for over 20 years now, but a new challenger entered the game in 2009.

This challenger is called Dysport. Dysport has been in the European scene for a long time, but only recently entered the American market. Now there’s a lot of debate over Botox and Dysport for forehead wrinkles. Here is the result of my research. Hope that can help you too.

What is Botox and Dysport for Wrinkles?

Botox is an injection that relaxes those muscles in your forehead that are causing wrinkles to happen. Dysport is not much different from Botox. They are both kinds of botulinum type A, but the difference is that Dysport uses smaller molecules, which means that it is measured differently to Botox.

The Differences

In reality there aren’t that many differences between Botox and Dysport. There are a few though.

• For a start, Botox tends to be more efficient. Dysport might not last as long as Botox does, so you would need to have more injections over the same period of time. Whether this is true or not is still being debated, with further study underway to know for sure if this really is the case.
• Another difference is that, even though Dysport might not last as long, it does get to work faster than Botox. It can take up to a week for Botox to start working properly, whereas Dysport gets to work within 2 and 5 days.
• The final main difference between the two treatments is that Dysport can diffuse more, which basically means that it spreads more. This can be an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time. It’s good for certain areas of the face, but not for others.

Cost

The cost difference between Botox and Dysport is a little interesting. It is true that Dysport is cheaper than Botox. Dysport is around a third of the cost of Botox. What is interesting is that Dysport is also about a third as potent as Botox. This means that a full treatment with the same results would work out at around the same. Realistically, if cost is an issue , you need to consider the overall cost of the product. Dysport is cheaper, but you will need more of it. So it’s not much cheaper in the end.

Which is Better – Dysport or Botox?

When it comes to comparing Botox and Dysport you can consider it a comparison between apples and apples. Gala apples and Granny Smith apples are both delicious and nutritious in their own ways, but at the end of the day; they’re just apples. The same could be said of Botox and Dysport. They have their own advantages and disadvantages, but they aren’t much different at the end of the day. In fact, what matters more than the product is the one applying it; no matter whether you choose Botox or Dysport, you must only ever have the procedure performed by a qualified and trusted professional. That is probably the most important piece of advice you should keep in mind. Here again I thank sophie for her blog post about forehead wrinkles which helped me write this article. Forehead wrinkles can be removed with several treatments, but you need to be patient and consistent.

If you want me to write about other topics, feel free to give me a shout 🙂

Bleached blond hair never really goes out of style, and it’s something most women try at least once.

Some people also bleach their hair before they dye it.

I really love it, it gives my hair a sexy color, i even like to try new shades or colors ( only for holidays 🙂

There are in fact a number of ways you can go about bleaching your hair at home that can be done using simple beauty supplies.

I thought it would be useful to write a quick tutorial…

Gather Supplies

You will need a bleaching kit. Pick up 2 if you have thick hair or long hair. You also need 30 sectioning clips or four large clips. These are clips that will separate and hold your hair.

Also grab a tint brush, some plastic wrap, an old towel, plastic/latex gloves and a tail comb. The bleach you need depends on your hair so read the box properly to find the right one for you.

Prepare with a Strand Test

Bleaching your hair can damage it if you leave the bleach in for too long. That’s why you need to prepare with a strand test. Take a small bit of your hair from a place people won’t notice (such as the back of your head) and tie it together. Take this lock of hair and place it in the bleach mix before applying it to your hair.

Check the hair every five minutes so you know how long the hair on your head should take to bleach, and how long is definitely too long to keep it in. Remember that the longer hair is exposed to bleach the more damage it does.

If your hair is damaged by bleach, you should have a look at our friends from myawesombeauty.com, ok I had the idea of doing that article because they wrote a super nice article about how to repair bleached hair here. That wil help you avoid those dry, orange or yellow hair, split ends with breakage ang get back stronger and softer hair.

Time to Bleach

It’s pretty difficult to bleach your own hair so always prepare properly. You will need help if your hair isn’t short. You should start with your hair as dry as possible. Having greasy hair actually makes the bleaching process easier. Bleaching makes your hair itch and if it’s greasy the effect is less intense.

If you can’t find a friend then you definitely need two mirrors so you can see how the back of your head looks. You also need to use non-metallic bowls for everything. Nothing you use should be metal.

Use your tint brush to part your hair in to four sections and use the clips to keep your hair this way. Now mix up your bleach in the bowl by using your tint brush. Remember that bleach damages cloth so use only your worst towels and don’t get it on your clothes.

Start with one of the back parts of your hair and apply the bleach to a small piece of the hair, leaving about 1cm of hair at the roots not bleached. Brush your hair from the top to the bottom, which is how hair grows. Flip the hair to expose the bottom part that doesn’t have bleach and work through that too. Move as quickly as you can so that the first section isn’t fully lightened before you start work on the last.

Do this with the rest of this section and then move on to the other parts of your hair. By the time you’ve done all four the first section should have lightened.

Bleach it again when it becomes a golden blond and this time do bleach the roots. Keep going until all your hair is a pale blond and use shampoo and conditioner to get the bleach out. If your hair isn’t an even pale blond at this point you need to mix up some more bleach and touch up the darker parts. Then just shampoo out any extra bleach.

remember not to expose your hair to bleach for a limited time or it could be used as a method to remove hair 🙂 Bleaching isn’t nearly as scary as some people make it out to be, as long as you follow the instructions and test your hair before bleaching it. If you really are intimidated by the idea of bleaching your hair then just get a stylist to do it though.

I was reading a few of my favorite beauty blogs and I found out about a real gem that I had never heard of : witch hazel.

If you aren’t sure what Witch Hazel is as I was, it’s a kind of shrub found in northern America. It’s a completely natural product that is great for your skin. It’s known as Winterbloom or Spotted Alder in some places too. Well I didn’t know that plant was so useful for our skin until I read about the many uses of witch hazel for skin.

Here’s a look at just some of the wonderful things Witch Hazel can do for your skin:

Acne Treatment

Acne is a terrible thing to try and treat. There are so many different choices when it comes to things that can get rid of it. A lot of them make claims they can’t prove or contain chemicals that probably do more harm than good. Witch Hazel is an effective way to treat acne in a perfectly safe and natural manner and can be found on any list of natural acne treatments.

Reduce Puffiness Around Your Eyes

With Hazel is also great for reducing the puffiness around your eyes. If your eyes get too puffy from a lack of sleep or from crying all you need to do is put some Witch Hazel on cotton buds and place them on top of your eyes. One of the things that Witch Hazel is famous for is shrinking blood vessels, which brings your eyes back to their regular size.

Healing Bruises

If you’re the type of person that bruises easily then you need some Witch Hazel in your life. It’s really good at speeding up the healing process of bruises. Just apply some Witch Hazel to a soft cloth and apply it to the bruise a few times a day until the bruise goes away. It’ll still take a few days, but a lot less time than if left to heal naturally.

Rejuvenating Skin

Another thing Witch Hazel is great for is bringing your skin back to life in the summer time. Heat makes your skin oily and you can fix that by applying, once again, a cloth soaked in With Hazel to your skin. It cleans out your pores, removes dirt, and even leaves you smelling pretty good too.

Sunburn

A number of studies have proven how effective Witch Hazel is at treating sun related problems like sunburn. It reduces the redness and burning on the skin after it’s exposed to the rays of the sun. Of course you should always wear adequate sun protection but Witch Hazel will be there to take care of you when something goes wrong. Take a look a the awesome article of one of our favorite beauty blogs about the multiple uses of witch hazel on skin here. They have lots of DIY recipes, among which you will find one mixture to try for sunburns. Thanks sophie for the nice work 🙂

Moisturizing

Witch Hazel also makes a fantastic moisturizer. You might not think it does because it removes the oil from skin, but it also seals in moisture. It’s especially good if you suffer from dry skin in the winter time. Just apply some Witch Hazel after taking a bath or a shower and it’ll really help keep your skin moisturized all season long.

These are only a few of the things that Witch Hazel can do for your skin. There are many more benefits. The best part is that it’s completely natural. No harmful chemicals or anything else goes into Witch Hazel. All-natural is always better.

Everyone has a beauty routine made up of their favorite products. First you put on one thing, then another, and you keep on going until you’re done. Some products belong in that routine like moisturizers. A product that I really like is the Vitamin C serum.

What is Vitamin C Serum?

Vitamin C Serum is, as the name implies, a skin care product that utilizes vitamin c. Vitamin c is helpful because it allows your skin to produce more collagen naturally. It’s always better to go natural when you can. Why plaster collagen on your face when you can just encourage your skin to produce its own? When you get started it’s recommended to apply a small amount at first and build your way up to a higher concentration over time.

Benefits of Vitamin C Serum

Vitamin C Serum does a fair bit more than just encourage the production of collagen. Though of course collagen is one of the main benefits. Collagen keeps our cells together and is the main treatment for curing and preventing wrinkles.

Vitamin C also acts an anti-oxidant. Oxidised skin is unhealthy skin. Vitamin C serums are packed full of anti-oxidants that not just get rid of oxidants but help repair the damage they’ve already done. It gets rid of the free radicals on your skin and reverses other damage too. It can fade acne scars and improve the look and feel of your skin overall.

Finally it also helps to protect your skin from the sun. Vitamin C strengthens the dermis layer and keeps away some of the damage caused by the skin and aids in preventing skin cancer. Though you should never replace sunscreen with Vitamin C serums. They only add extra protection and should never be used as a replacement to products with sun protection in mind.

What to choose

I only pick vitamin c serums with at least vit C 5%, I was a real fan of skinceuticals vit C serum but as you know those products are pretty expensive and I wanted to find cheaper alternatives.

After doing some research, I came accross a great beauty blog called myawesomebeauty.com that has become my go to place when looking for beauty reviews. They wrote really nice guides such as this guide that lists the best vitamin C serums here. Go check it, you will learn lots of things. I have even followed their recommendation and tested the serumtologie serum : I love it !!!

The Application Process

Like every good beauty product Vitamin C serums work best when applied properly. The application process is pretty easy though. Start by dampening your face a little and applying the serum on to your face and neck. After the serum dries out a little you need to apply a moisturizer.

It’s important the serum goes on first because the serum is absorbed by the skin. Moisturizers prevent this absorption process. Applying moisturizer afterwards isn’t entirely necessary but is a must if you have more sensitive skin.

How to store your Vitamin C serum.

If you have any serum left over it’s best to put it in the refrigerator. Putting it in the refrigerator prevents the serum from becoming oxidised and useless. There’s no point in an oxidised anti-oxidiser. So make your serum last longer and get more bang for your buck by storing it properly.

So there you have it; the benefits of Vitamin C serum and why you need to make it a regular part of your beauty regime. It does a lot for your skin and won’t add too much time to your routine.

If you like the sound of the benefits then be sure to pick up some for yourself.