kara kj miller
What are you saving it all for..? Think about it!
WANT TO GET RID OF DARK UNDERARMS?!
WANT TO GET RID OF DARK UNDERARMS?!
Want to ‘throw yuh hands in the air and shake it like you just don’t care’ when the music hits…? Here are some solutions!
First thing’s first though… most women have armpits that are darker than the rest of their bodies. It’s not the end of the world and there’s no shame in it. Actresses in magazines, TV ads and movies seem to have perfect underarms but they also have airbrushing!
EXFOLIATE
When dead skin accumulates, your underarms can appear discolored.
Clean your armpits every day and exfoliate at least once a week (some people exfoliate everyday BUT if you do that, be gentle… over-exfoliation can also cause skin irritation and discoloration).
You can exfoliate using a pumice stone (gently), an exfoliator pad or you can create a DIY sugar scrub (add half a cup of sugar to 2 tablespoons of olive oil). After you have cleaned your underarms and they are still wet, rub the sugar scrub under your armpits for 1 – 2 minutes and then wash off. Do this three times a week.
CHANGE HAIR REMOVAL METHOD
If you shave or use depilatory cream (hair removal creams e.g. Nair), those thick hair roots just under your skin will give the effect of darker underarms… Though these hair removal methods are convenient, they don’t get rid of the hair at the root… And the acids in hair removing creams change the pH of your skin and can also cause skin discoloration.
And remember, electrolysis as a method of hair removal can also cause hyperpigmentation (especially for those with gorgeous, darker skins). So be careful.
Waxing is the best way to remove underarm hair (it removes those thick hair roots) BUT it’s said to be painful and messy!
So I’ve heard… Truth be told, I have yet to wax my underarms – I’m pretty, darned low maintenance!
CHANGE DEODORANT
Use a natural deodorant instead of one filled with alcohol or chemicals e.g. parabens, aluminium, strong fragrances etc. (it has been suggested that these contribute to underarm discoloration). If you must use an alcohol or chemical filled deodorant clean it off thoroughly before you go to sleep at night.
DON’T WEAR TIGHT MAN-MADE CLOTHES
The friction can irritate your skin and cause discoloration.
EXTRA WEIGHT
If you’re carrying extra weight, the rubbing of skin around the underarms can lead to discoloration.
DON’T TRY TO BLEACH YOUR UNDERARMS or anywhere else!
Bleaching creams often cause hyper pigmentation and they are dangerous to your health (some complications include cancer, toxicity that damages the kidney and the liver, causes thinning skin and more). You’re beautiful and so is your skin and nothing is worth permanently damaging that.
CERTAIN MEDICAL ISSUES CONTRIBUTE TO SKIN DISCOLORATION
– Diabetes
– Certain oral contraceptives (the Pill)
– A disease called acanthosis nigricans
If you feel your problem requires the help of a medical professional, go to your family doctor or a dermatologist.
I’m here rooting for you!
love,
The Lifestylista
xox
People talking about you behind your back..?
CELEBRITY SECRET: HOW TO MEASURE TO GET YOUR PERFECT JEANS FIT
Are you sick and tired of the depressing ARGH (!) moments when you go shopping for jeans? You try each new pair of jeans on but each one is less flattering than the last? And if you do leave with a pair of jeans, it’s just a compromise – it doesn’t leave you feeling like a sexy, fabulous, goddess…
It doesn’t have to be this way!
The real problem here is that we don’t know how to correctly measure what size of jeans we should wear…
Here’s how to fix that – these are the measuring tricks that celebs, their stylists and their tailors know… And now you do too:
DECIDE WHICH RISE YOU PREFER – you can do this by trying on loads of different styles of jeans or by measuring the rise a pair of jeans that fit you really well
The ‘rise’ is the distance from the top of your waistband at the front to the bottom of your crotch seam.
– A high rise will be at or above your natural waist (a rise of 12 inches or more)
– A mid rise will be about an inch or two below your waist
– A low rise can be as low as you dare (average 8 inches but as low as 4!)
MEASURE YOUR WAIST
– Stand up straight and don’t hold in your tummy
– Take a cloth or bendy plastic measuring tape
– Since you’ve already decided what ‘rise’ you’re going for (high rise, mid rise or low rise) – you know where on your body you’re going to measure the waist. Today I’m going to measure myself for a pair of low rise jeans. It’s better if you can get someone else to help you but, if that’s not possible, try to do this in front of a mirror so you can see what you are doing.
– Don’t measure over clothing. Always measure directly onto your skin to get your correct measurements.
– Don’t hold the measuring tape too tightly to get a smaller waist, if you do, the measurement won’t be accurate.
– If you are measuring your own waist e.g. for low rise jeans, you will need to measure about 5 inches below the top of your belly button (depending on the size of the low rise you’re going for). If you are doing this yourself, it can be useful to make a mark on your body using some eye liner pencil so you know exactly how low to measure for your waist for that specific size of low rise).
– When you measure your low rise waist, the number that hits the starting point of the tape will be your waist measurement for that style of jeans!
MEASURE YOUR INSEAM
Measure your leg from the top inseam point (just under your crotch) to the bottom inseam point (depends on whether you’ll be wearing heels or flats – you want the hem to skim the top of the shoes you will be wearing).
Now you’ve decided what rise you’re going for and you’ve measured your waist and inseam, you can go to the store and you can weed out potential jeans with just these measurements and a tape measure!
So, in the store, TAKE A POTENTIAL PAIR OF JEANS AND LAY IT ON A FLAT SURFACE – before wasting your time in the changing rooms, you’re looking for a pair of jeans that match the measurements you want:
– Measure RISE – from top of waist band to crotch seam. (If you’re looking for a low rise and this measurement is 8 inches or less, you’ve got a low rise)
– Measure WAIST – from one side of the waistband to the other and double the figure. So 15 inches would mean a 30 inch waist
– Measure INSEAM: crotch seam to end of hem.
Different jeans brands put radically different size labels on jeans that are actually the same size in reality… So it’s extremely confusing, misleading and frustrating! This measuring method you’ve just learned, will match you up with great jeans without spending hours in the changing room. If you correctly measure yourself beforehand, you can quickly and easily weed out duds and only try on the gems… the jeans that will fit you perfectly. So in the changing room all you’ve got left to do is smile cheekily at yourself in the mirror because of how gorgeous you’re looking!
Yay! I’m here rooting for you.
If you have any comments or questions, do leave a comment in the box below.
love,
The Lifestylista
xox
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What happens if you live your life trying to avoid criticism…
