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Morning oil pulling promises a gentle detox and healthy teeth. On top of that, the method should give us fresh breath, pure skin, and a fitter immune system. Sounds good! We have the facts about the beauty hype.

With oil pulling you can easily do something good for your body.

What is oil pulling?

The hype is actually not that new. In fact, “Oil Pulling” is a tried and tested natural healing method that has been used in India for centuries. In practice, oil is washed in the mouth to remove bacteria and promote oral hygiene. At the beginning of the 90s, the doctor Fedor Karach presented oil pulling as a miracle weapon against a multitude of diseases and also triggered the trend in this country.

In the teaching of Indian Ayurveda, it is assumed that the tongue is connected to various organs such as the heart, kidneys, lungs, and intestines. Following the theory, the flushing method is supposed to activate our salivary enzymes. The stimulated flow of saliva absorbs bacterial toxins and environmental toxins from the blood. These are removed from the body via the tongue. For this reason, “oil pulling” detoxifies and cleanses the whole body, which numerous studies are supposed to prove.

How does oil pulling work?

Oil pulling takes about 20 minutes and should ideally be done on an empty stomach before brushing your teeth. The reason is this: while we sleep our body detoxifies and leaves these toxins in the mouth. The oil can then bind these directly in the mouth and remove them from the body.

It’s best to use cold-pressed organic oils like coconut oil, sesame oil, or sunflower oil. We recommend coconut oil here because it has a pleasant aftertaste. Put a tablespoon of oil in your mouth and wash the oil around. Keep moving and pull it through the spaces between your teeth.

The whole procedure should take 20 minutes at best (5-10 minutes is also ok). In the end, the liquid should have a milky and thinly flowing consistency. Finally, spit the oil into a tissue and dispose of it in the trash. This could cause a blockage in the sink. Now rinse your mouth and brush your teeth.

Whether on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok – social media are full of numerous beauty tips that we like to imitate. However, some of them should definitely not be followed.

These beauty tips are completely forgotten:

Dark lip liner

What was a real trend in the 90s is a real faux pas today: Choose the lip liner a shade darker than the lipstick. A visible lip liner is probably the biggest beauty faux pas of all because it simply looks artificial. Today we prefer to focus on naturalness and not on artificial-looking lips. That’s why this is one of the worst beauty tips ever!

Shave and trace eyebrows

Unfortunately, many women still do it: completely shave off their eyebrows and then paint them on again with a pencil. Even if it sounds like a good plan at first, because the eyebrows are exactly the shape we want them to be, you shouldn’t do that. Because in 2021, naturalness will also be the top priority for beauty tricks – and let’s be honest, it doesn’t look natural! Bushy eyebrows have been incredibly modern since Cara Delevingne conquered the catwalks.

Warm up the eyelash curler

The idea of ​​warming the eyelash curler with a hairdryer is actually not that bad. After all, it works like a kind of straightening iron that is supposed to bring the hair into the right shape. But be careful! Your eyelashes are much more sensitive than the hair on your head. This makes it very easy for them to stick together or even break off if they get too much heat. So you better leave this beauty tip out, because it works even without heat.

Do not apply a cream to oily skin

This is arguably the biggest myth among beauty tips: If you have oily skin, you shouldn’t apply the cream. Actually, that sounds very logical, because the skin is already greasy enough anyway. If you have oily skin, there is a lack of moisture, which is why your oil glands try to compensate for the loss. Therefore: In any case, continue to use moisturizer to normalize your skin and the oil production of the skin again.

Clean too much

Before you apply the make-up, do you want to scrub your whole face well again? Of course, it is good to cleanse your skin thoroughly, but be careful. Because if you brush your face too much, it can happen that you also remove the natural protective layer of your skin. The oils your skin produces are important so that it doesn’t dry out and brave any weather. Therefore, you should be careful that you only use products that are not too intense and do not damage the protective layer. You should also never forget to apply lotion.

Oily hair can be really annoying. Here are 7 natural tips to help you feel better:

Proper washing

Hot water only stimulates the production of sebum – so rinse your shampoo thoroughly with lukewarm water.

The right shampoo

Avoid aggressive anti-fat shampoos – these dry out the scalp and make the hair oil even faster. Better: Nettle shampoo from the pharmacy. Nettle has a calming effect on the scalp and slows down the production of sebum.

Conditioner with mint tea

Put a couple of peppermint tea bags in boiling water, steep, and let cool. After washing your hair, massage the mint tea into your hair, do not rinse.

Conditioner with coltsfoot flowers

Add a handful of coltsfoot flowers (from the pharmacy) to half a liter of boiling water and wait for the water to turn dark and cool. Massage into hair after washing, do not rinse.

Hair treatment with healing clay

You should treat your hair to a hair treatment once or twice a week: Mix around 10 tablespoons of healing earth (health food store or pharmacy) with 200 milliliters of water and apply the paste to the scalp. Rinse well after about ten to twenty minutes.

Diet

The wrong diet also stimulates the production of sebum – and hair greases more quickly. Avoid sugar and alcohol, and make sure you eat alkaline vegetables (such as spinach, broccoli, and fennel). Too much salt also makes the hair greasy – so hands-off chips and co.

Styling products

Avoid blow-drying foam, volume mousse, and the like – because styling products weigh down the hair and make a greasy mane look even lankier.

CBD is a real wonder drug in cosmetics. Because the natural product not only has hardly any side effects, it also fights against acne, hair loss, or stomach problems. A real all-rounder.

That is why we should use CBD much more often and do something good for our bodies.

What is CBD?

The abbreviation “CBD” stands for cannabidiol. It’s a naturally occurring chemical compound found in the resinous flower of the cannabis plant. This product has been used in medicine for years, for example against cancer or rheumatism. For some time now it has also become a true all-rounder in cosmetics.

CBD in skincare

CBD is particularly widely used in skincare. And not without reason: Because the natural active ingredient brings the skin back its resistance and thus helps to defend itself against blemished skin. Especially with acne, the hemp product works wonders and makes the skin soft again like a baby’s bottom. In addition, unlike other acne creams, this product has hardly any side effects and, according to some studies, leads to improvement particularly quickly.

In addition, CBD is a real miracle cure for neurodermatitis. Most products only have a preventive effect and are almost useless once the rash occurs. However, the hemp product wonderfully relieves itching and gives your skin the strength to defend itself against neurodermatitis.

Against inflammation

In America it has already become a real trend: hemp oil in teas or coffee can already be bought almost everywhere there. Because the oil has an anti-inflammatory effect and is particularly healthy. Hemp oil, which contains CBD, is used primarily for stomach problems and inflammation in the throat area to cause faster healing. However, the oil should not be consumed every day, because the body “gets used” to the effects at some point and therefore no longer reacts so well to it over time. Experts recommend drinking hemp oil a maximum of twice a week.

Use for hair loss

CBD shampoos are really good beauty products too. More and more natural cosmetics companies are using hemp oil. Especially with hair loss, CBD helps incredibly well. Because it not only promotes blood circulation in the scalp and thus stimulates growth, but also offers the hair good protection that makes it shine and grow healthily.

You should also use a CBD shampoo for dandruff. Because the antibacterial effect helps your scalp to regenerate and strengthens it.

We love summer – but that doesn’t necessarily have to apply to our hair as well. Because they don’t get along very well with heat, salt, and chlorine. All of this weighs down our hair and we feel it very quickly. Letting them air dry can therefore work wonders.

However, not every hair structure requires the same care and routine. Of course, this also applies to air drying. We will introduce you to the right routine for every hair structure so that your hair remains well-groomed in summer.

That’s why you should air-dry your hair every now and then

In summer we love to sunbathe, jump in the pool or into the sea and enjoy life to the fullest. We like to ignore the fact that the heat in combination with salt or chlorinated water is not exactly helpful for the care of our hair. The result of neglect: straw hair, split ends, and a curling mane like Hagrid from Harry Potter. One way to reduce the weight of your hair is to keep the heat to a minimum. We can’t change the weather (of course we don’t want that either), but our care routine can. Therefore: Put away your hairdryer, curling iron, or straightening iron this summer and follow these tips:

Curly hair

 

In most cases, curly hair has a very special hair structure, which makes it a lot more prone to dryness than, for example, straight hair. Shine is always a difficult thing to do with curly hair in summer. Care does not begin with air drying, but with the hair wash. Always use a conditioner or hair mask when washing your hair to provide plenty of moisture. After washing, knead your hair with a towel or use a cotton T-shirt to dry it. Then it’s best to knead a little hair oil into the ends of the hair and curls so that the curls simply shine with shine. Then just wait for the hair to dry. Our shampoo tip for curly hair: The Moroccanoil Curl Enhancing Shampoo with vegetable proteins and argan oil. It strengthens and nourishes the hair at the same time.

Afro hair

Even with Afro hair, care begins before air drying in the shower. Shampoos without sulfates are the motto, as the additives can dry out the hair very easily. A moisturizing conditioner is recommended for afro hair, just as it is for curly hair. Instead of a terry towel, it is best to use a microfiber cloth to dry off and knead from the tips to the hairline. Let the hair dry slightly and then massage in a sustainable leave-in care product, like this one from Afrolocke especially for curls. It detangles the hair and strengthens particularly fragile hair fibers.

After the necessary shine and the definition of the curls have already been provided, the hair is almost dry. In the end, simply freshen up with a bit of styling cream and you’re done!

Straight hair

The biggest problem with straight hair is to create the desired volume and shine even without airflow. In the best case, a volume shampoo or shine shampoo should help. For example, the new Blonde Revival Shampoo from Aveda is perfect for blonde hair. This refreshes the hair color and ensures the right shine.

Since straight hair often has more moisture anyway, conditioner does not have to be rubbed into wet hair every time you wash your hair. After shampooing, pre-dry your hair with a towel and comb through it briefly. When the hair is dry, put a bit of hair oil on the tips, rub the hair lightly with your hands to create a slightly wilder mane, and you can leave the house style.

Summer finally means wearing airy dresses and skirts again. If it weren’t for the thighs that rub together when you walk and stick together as soon as you sweat. The annoying rubbing of the thighs is called colloquially.

Many of us women know this problem all too well. But there is a solution! We have 7 tips for you on how you can prevent the rubbing and the sore, uncomfortable areas.

Cycling shorts

The cycling shorts are not only an absolute it-piece but are also perfect for underneath long skirts or dresses. They are super comfortable and absolutely invisible underneath. By the way, you avoid that your thighs rub against each other painfully.

Bandelettes

So-called bandelettes are a more airy alternative to cycling shorts that somehow also look pretty sexy. They look like lace stockings and are nothing more than ribbons that you wear on your thighs. In summer, bandelettes are perfect for shorter dresses and skirts, which sometimes show a little fabric. The tip looks extremely stylish.

Baby powder

Baby powder should also prevent you from rubbing a so-called wolf. Just like preventing sore bums in babies, it can also help your thighs. The powder wraps itself around the skin like a kind of protective coating and prevents you from sweating excessively. But be careful: it can leave white stains on clothing and furniture.

Vaseline

Petroleum jelly or other body oils are also good ways to protect your thighs from too much friction. Simply rub it into your thighs. But also be careful with petroleum jelly and oils, they too can leave stains on your clothes.

Scouring spray

There are now even their own sprays or skin pens, such as Bodyglide, which were specially developed to prevent the thighs from rubbing against each other. Both the spray and the skin protection stick can be ordered online.

Deodorants

Deodorant sticks should also be an insider tip. Not only do they prevent sweating, but they also prevent your thighs from sticking together and rubbing each other sore. But please do not apply too much of it. The area is very close to the genital area and can therefore cause irritation or upset your natural pH value.

Coconut oil

The superfood coconut oil is a real all-rounder. It is not only suitable for cooking and beauty applications but can also be used against rubbing thighs. The plus point: Coconut oil is without chemicals and additives and therefore not harmful to your skin. Simply rub it on your thighs and your summer in clothes is guaranteed to be more pleasant.

Spent a little too long at the Zoom meeting yesterday and already the next morning there are dark circles under your eyes that last the whole day? Simply apply some red lipstick around the eyes, foundation over it, and all traces of last night are gone.

We’ll show you how to quickly and easily make your dark circles disappear and make your eyes shine again.

Beauty hack: this is how you can skillfully hide your dark circles

Apply some red lipstick to an eyeshadow brush and spread it under your eyes and on your eyelid. If you have a fair complexion, you should go for pink or peach-colored tones, for darker skin tones you should go for orange-red colors. Then blend the lipstick a little with a sponge or your fingers.

Let the lipstick take effect briefly and then simply apply your concealer or your normal foundation on it and blend it again. Your dark circles should be a thing of the past.

Why does it work

If you take a closer look at the color spectrum, it is actually logical why this trick works so well. Red and orange are the complementary colors of darker tones like green or blue and they cancel each other out. The red lipstick visually absorbs the dark color of the shadows under the eyes, so to speak.

Heat and sweat weigh down our skin. Suddenly the usual care routine leads to dryness, redness, and blemishes. We’ll tell you what you should pay attention to with your skincare in summer if you have dry and sensitive skin.

With this care routine, you can take your skincare to the next level on hot summer days.

That is why dry & sensitive skin needs a lot of care in summer

The skin is our largest organ and that is precisely why it needs a lot of attention. Especially in summer, it is exposed to particular stresses and strains: sun, sweat, frequent temperature changes due to air conditioning or salt and chlorinated water. That is why it needs additional care, often more than the rest of the year. You should therefore definitely adapt your skincare routine to the new influences and respond to the new needs of your skin. Because with rising temperatures, the moisture loss of the skin also increases. When it comes to the care strategy for sensitive skin, one must proceed carefully so that it does not lose even more moisture. For your sensitive skin, you need care products that only contain mild and highly pure ingredients.

These are the steps you should follow when taking care of your skin

Make-up removal and cleaning

After a long day, we first have to remove make-up residues and dirt particles from our skin. With dry and sensitive skin, it is important not to irritate your skin more than necessary. Cleansing oils in particular cleanse particularly gently, as they do not attack the protective acid mantle of sensitive and dry skin.

Toner

To ensure that the skin is also freed from all dirt particles and residues from the sunscreen applied in the morning, you should use a juicy toner afterward. This double cleaning step is also called double-cleansing. In our case, the facial tonic also ensures a refreshing feeling on the skin. Apply gently to the face, neck, and décolleté with a cotton pad.

Peeling

Regular peeling should be part of your weekly skincare routine. Because in this way your complexion will shine evenly again. Caution is advised when peeling because these can irritate the skin very quickly. With sensitive skin in summer, you should therefore only choose an enzyme peeling, as it gently removes dead skin and has a regenerating effect.

Serum:

The advantage of serums is that they are absorbed extremely quickly and can treat a wide variety of skin needs locally. Small dry spots, redness, or blemishes quickly appear, especially in summer. A serum is used for additional local care in addition to your moisturizer. One ingredient is particularly interesting for dry and sensitive skin: hyaluronic acid! The active ingredient helps the skin to retain moisture. In addition, the hyaluron occurs naturally in the body, which means that the substance is very well tolerated.

Night cream

If you want an extra dose of care, you can also use a night cream – after all, our skin regenerates best during sleep and, of course, caring support can do no harm. Important: If the skin is very irritated, make sure that it does not contain any fragrances. Rather rely on calming ingredients such as vegetable oils.

They are sweet, yellow, and originally come from the rainforest of South Asia: mangoes. If you eat the fruit in a controlled manner, you can reduce wrinkles on the face. At least that’s what a pilot study from the USA says.

But be careful: if you consume too much mango, exactly the opposite can happen.

Mango beauty treatment

Even in ancient medicine, mangoes were repeatedly used for healing processes. Because the substances contained in the fruit should have an anti-inflammatory and intestinal calming effect and be effective in stopping bleeding. Another effect that could be very exciting, especially in the beauty sector, is the fact that mangoes are also said to reduce wrinkles.

A study by the University of California at Davis found that women who regularly consume a certain amount of mangoes can significantly reduce age-related facial wrinkles. According to the pilot project of the US university, there was the first series of tests with a total of 28 women who were just going through menopause and who had skin types II and III. The so-called ataulfo mangoes, a variety that comes from Mexico, were used.

High beta-carotene content

The researchers working with Robert Hackman decided on the variety because it was already known from experiments with mice that this particular mango is supposed to suppress the formation of wrinkles. The reason for this is the inhibition of epidermal thickening and the increase in the number of collagen bundles. In addition, this fruit is particularly rich in beta-carotene, which has an antioxidant effect.

In the study, the participants were then divided into two groups. One group consumed 85 grams of mangoes four times a week for a total of 16 weeks. While the other group consumed 250 grams of the ataulfo ​​mango over the same period. Face photographs were taken before and after the test series. “Our system with which we analyzed wrinkles is extremely precise and has enabled us to detect wrinkles that are not visible to the naked eye,” Hackman told the journal “Nutrients”.

Surprising result

The facial image after the 16 weeks was exciting for the researchers. Because in women with deep facial wrinkles who ate 85 grams of mangoes, the wrinkles were reduced. But the result of the 250-gram group was even more surprising. Because here the mango consumption had anything but positive effects. The researchers noticed that the wrinkles had worsened after 16 weeks.

“Why eating more mangoes increases the severity of wrinkles is unclear. Maybe it has something to do with the amount of sugar, “says Vivien Fam from the research team. In order to define the exact effect of mangoes on the human skin, further studies are necessary.

Summer is here! And with it the eternal theme of dents on our skin. Almost 90 percent of all women will deal with cellulite at some point in their lives. And although these things are actually harmless and shouldn’t make women uncomfortable these days, they still cause stress for many of us. We want to spare you this as much as possible and ask an expert what helps and what we can pail right away.

Good news: You don’t need to shop for expensive creams and oils.

Cellulite is actually harmless

No matter whether fat, thin, curvy, or athletic: Almost 90 percent of women will deal with cellulite in the course of their lives. So no reason to feel uncomfortable because of the small dents in your body and let the summer spoil you. After all, there are reasons why the female connective tissue is very elastic and therefore only loosely networked. Because cellulite is actually a clever move by nature so that we can create individual fat chambers to protect ourselves against famine or expand them during pregnancy. Reason enough for more and more women to celebrate their orange peel. Unfortunately, these women are still the exception. And for many, the uneven distribution of their fat cells aka cellulite, despite all the body positivity, is a problem. We asked an expert how things are actually made and how we can get rid of them easily without spending a lot of money.

Orange peel: what is it anyway?

Our expert Dr. Daniela Rieder, a specialist in plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery, calls the dents “inflammatory tissue with poor blood supply”. This is caused by bad external factors that damage our fibers, harden them, and enclose the fat cells. “Because these fat cells are enclosed in such a misshapen shape, this orange peel is created”. The good news: “We can prevent anything that damages our body in the form of inflammatory reactions,” says Dr. Rieder.

These external factors trigger inflammatory reactions

Now it’s time to stay strong girls. Because “according to our experts, these inflammations are caused by external influences such as alcohol, smoking, the sun, poor diet, and no sport”. Great, that means we can cancel our summer plans for a dent-free body. Maybe we don’t find the small crater landscape so bad after all.

Creams don’t do it

Can’t we just put cream? Let’s ask our expert. “No chance” says Dr. Rieder. “All the creams and oils are useless”. More precisely, the ingredients alone are of no use. The only thing that makes sense, the doctor advises, is “that you massage yourself with such an oil to stimulate lipocirculation”. Because once the orange peel is there, “there is also poor blood circulation”. That is why Rieder recommends lending a hand here, especially in the areas where it really hurts.

Massage until it hurts

That means kneading affected areas such as saddlebags properly, says Dr. Rieder. “This hardened, inflammatory, damaged connective tissue also compresses the nerve ends. That’s why it always hurts extremely in the areas where you have cellulite. I actually always advise all my patients to buy such a cellulite brush and just brush in the shower. And then you notice how quickly the tissue in the area where you have inflammation is supplied with blood and also hurts ”. If you do this relatively regularly, Rieder promises, you will notice that it hurts less and less because this massage and this rubbing stimulate blood circulation. The tissue becomes softer again and these packed fat cells can be loosened.

Keep blood sugar levels low

Another factor in how we can keep our crater landscape in check is diet. According to our expert, the main thing here is to keep the blood sugar level low. “Because fat tissue can only be broken down when this is low.” So avoid small snacks in between and replace sugar and carbohydrates with healthy fats such as nuts, avocado, cheese, eggs, and fish.

Stimulate the brown adipose tissue with cold showers

The why-showerers among us now have to be very strong again. Cold baths are also said to be a powerful weapon in the fight against cellulite because they stimulate brown adipose tissue. “The unsightly dents consist of yellow fat cells, the bad fat tissue. And when this fatty tissue is also packed by inflammatory fibers, this orange peel is created, ”says our expert. But there is also good, active fat and that is brown adipose tissue. The cold shower “stimulates our metabolism, which is responsible for the distribution of fat. And because the metabolism is stimulated, heat is generated, and that in turn results in a higher energy turnover ”, says Rieder. Sounds like strong arguments for regularly exposing our bottom to the cold

Fill up the collagen level

Since cellulite is also damaged collagen and connective tissue, Dr. Rieder should of course also stimulate collagen synthesis. Because the more collagen is formed, the firmer and smoother our skin is. In women, the collagen level decreases so the collagen synthesis from the age of 25. We can counteract this by taking “bioactive collagen”. “The collagen breaks down in the body and the breakdown product in the blood signals to it that it should build up collagen. It is available in the form of drinking ampoules or as a powder that you should add to your coffee or water every day, ”says the doctor. Another booster, namely vitamin C, is usually added to these “bioactive collagen products”. “Vitamin C is also a powerful antioxidant that catches all of these bad substances that also lead to inflammatory reactions,” says Rieder.

Make a real effort in sports

Exercise is “much more about exertion, about burning fat and stimulating blood circulation. Anything that promotes blood circulation, for example, weight training, is very good. Those sports where you really exert yourself ”, says the expert. So ladies, the more the fat burning is pushed, the better. So put in some decent sprints while jogging. For the very lazy, we recommend short HIT (High Intensive Training) training units of at least 12 minutes. And what about the advice that jarring like running is bad for cellulite? “So everything that is moving is good,” dismisses Dr. Rieder.