hellobeautifulcreatures

One of my favorite things to do after a particularly stressful day is to take abath with Epsom salts. It helps to relieve tension and stress on any given day. And on a day where I need a little extra pampering, a bath with epsom salts, a magazine, a glass of wine and some aromatherapy candles always do the trick! As much as I love Epsom salts in baths, I never realized that there were actually other ways to use them. So I was excited to find some other excellent ideas from One Good Thing by Jillee. Have you ever used Epsom salts in any of these ways? Reduce Swelling and Itching from Bites: Soak a cotton washcloth in a mixture of 1 cup cold water and 2 tbsp Epsom salt . Apply cloth to insect bites for relief. Make Your Own Fabric Softener : Use 10 drops of essential oil mixed with 1 cup of Epsom salt to make an effective fabric softener . Just use about 1/4 per load of laundry at the beginning of each wash cycle. Exfoliate Your Skin: Mix together some Epsom salt with olive oil to cre...

Taking a shower seems pretty straightforward, no? You turn on the water, step into the stall, wash your body, rinse off the soap and then towel-dry. But it turns out, we're all probably making careless showering mistakes that are harmful to our skin. After struggling with serious bouts of dry and scaly skin this winter, we asked Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd, the co-founder of Specific Beauty skincare , and Dr. Heidi Waldorf, the director of laser and cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, to break down the five most common showering mistakes . 1. You're taking long, hot showers. Sure, a steamy shower is one way to warm up on cold mornings or unwind after a stressful workday, but it just isn't good for your skin. Period. According to Dr. Woolery-Lloyd, long, hot showers strip the skin of its natural oils and can make common problems like eczema worse. "They can also increase generalized itching even in people who do not have eczema,"...