Make your smile sparkle

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all day protection, bacteria, bad breath, bleeding gums, breath freshening, bristles, brush our teeth twice, brushing, celebrity dentists, coffee, concerns, cure, daily brushing, dance, decay, dental health, dentist, diet, dress, eating and drinking, excellent dental health, expensive treatments, extra minty, fights sensitivity, floss, fluoride, frayed, happy, hygienist, location, Meghan Markle, milk, painful, paste, pearly whites, plaque, prevention, prevents gum disease, protects enamel, Red wine, rinsing, Royal wedding, smoking, smoothie, stunning smile, sugar, sunshine, tartar, tea, tired, tongue brushing, tooth decay, tooth unfriendly sugar, toothbrush, toothpaste, total whitening, upright position, water

The dress, the crowds, the sunshine and the location were all amazing at the recent Royal wedding, but it was Meghan Markle’s stunning smile that shone for us.

While we don’t all have access to celebrity dentists and expensive treatments, with a little time, care and know how, you can keep your teeth looking great.

Yes, we all know that we need to brush our teeth twice a day and floss (not the dance) at least once a day, but there are various other things you can do to ensure excellent dental health.

Choose your paste well
From extra minty and total whitening, to breath freshening and all day protection, there is more choice than ever when it comes to toothpaste. Opt for a good quality toothpaste with fluoride that helps protect against bacteria, plaque, tartar and decay. If you want one that prevents gum disease, deals with sensitivity, protects enamel or keeps teeth white, have a chat with your dentist to see what they suggest.

Look after your toothbrush
If you want to keep your teeth clean, you need to keep your toothbrush in good condition. This means rinsing it well after brushing and keeping it in a pot in an upright position when you aren’t using it to prevent bacteria growing. It is also good practise to get a new brush every three months, and if the bristles are looking tired and frayed, it is definitely time for a change.

Brush your tongue
Yes, we know it sounds a bit gross, but tongue brushing not only keeps your teeth healthy, it can also help stop bad breath because it removes bacteria from your mouth when you brush.

Go to the dentist
Sounds obvious, but going for a check-up every six months and having regular cleans with the hygienist, are vital for good dental health. This also gives you the chance to ask any questions you have or voice concerns that have been bothering you, like bleeding gums. They can help you with a daily brushing and flossing plan suits your needs. No one really like going to the dentist, but prevention is a lot less painful than cure.

Cut down on sugar
Limiting the amount of sugar in your diet is key to preventing tooth decay. Remember sugar is hidden in many products so do be mindful of what you are eating and drinking because while a smoothie might sound healthy, it could contain a lot of tooth unfriendly sugar. Water and milk are teeth healthy and while you can drink tea, coffee and red wine, they can stain your pearly whites and leave them less than pretty.

Don’t smoke
Smoking can stain your teeth yellow, cause really bad breath and can lead to gum disease as well as other serious health problems and diseases. The best thing you can do for your teeth, and general health is to stop!

If you have any questions, speak to your dentist and they will be only too happy to help ensure your teeth are happy and healthy.

Team Pure-Beauty

Five Things Which Could Be Making Your Hair Greasy

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beauty blenders, body brushes, brush, brushing, build-up, clarifying, comb, conditioner, Dermalogica Daily Conditioning Rinse, dry shampoo, ends, grease, greasy, hair, hormones, knots, knotty, lank, midsection, mild shampoo, moisturiser, oil, oil production, over-brushing, over-washing, products, residue, roots, scalp, sebum, shampoo, wash, washing

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When you’re a teen, you have this vision that adulthood will be a time of clear skin and perfect hair, so it can be a major disappointment to get way into your adult years and still be dealing with issues like adult acne or lank locks. Some people say that hormones contribute to greasy hair but there are also a few other things that you could be doing which is exacerbating the problem. Read on to see where you might be going wrong:

Too Much Washing

Just like if you have an oily face, the problem can be that you’re trying to keep it too clean and your body is pushing back by over producing the oils that you’re stripping away. If you’re a daily hair washer because you’re trying to combat grease, try cutting back to 2-3 times a week. The first week might be a “wearing a hat or staying indoors” kinda week while your stressed-out scalp adjusts, but it will eventually reset itself and work with your new, less intense, hair washing regime.

The Wrong Conditioner

Again, just like with your facial moisturiser, some people need something lighter and some need something more intense. If you have greasy hair, you really don’t need a super-heavy conditioner, and taking the product all the way up to your roots is another big no-no. Use Dermalogica Daily Conditioning Rinse just on the ends and midsection of your hair to keep it soft and manageable without adding to your grease problem.

Wash Your Brushes!

Okay, we know we’re really stretching this “your scalp is just like your face” analogy, but in the same way that you wouldn’t use dirty body brushes, make-up brushes and beauty blenders, you shouldn’t be using a dirty brush on your hair. Not only do they collect grease and bacteria, they could also be harbouring build-up of old products, so dragging that whole mess through your hair day after day is doing you no favours! Use a comb or your fingers to pull any old hair out of the bristles and then wash it thoroughly with a mild shampoo to get it back to best.

Brush it Less

While we’re on the subject of brushing, you probably need to do it less if your hair is greasy. Greasy hair happens as a result of your scalp producing too much sebum and brushing too much can actually stimulate this oil production. Try to brush your hair once a day ONLY, and if you really need to brush it more than that try to just brush the ends to keep it knot-free.

Use a Clarifying Shampoo

When you’re prone to greasy hair, it’s tempting to use a lot of different products, like dry shampoo, which improve the appearance of greasy hair even for the short term. However, these products tend to build up on your hair and the overall result makes lank hair look even more lank. Try to use a clarifying shampoo which will properly rid your hair and scalp of any residue from products to make sure that your hair and scalp have a proper chance to breathe and reset themselves.

How to Give Yourself a Home Pedicure

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aromatic, brush, brushing, decleor, dermalogica, dry, Elemis, Elemis Body Detox Skin Brush, Elemis Devils Mint Body Scrub, Elemis Treat Your Feet Foot Cream, exfoliation, feet, foot, hard skin, hydrating, infection, maintenance, nails, nudes, oils, pedicure, rough, skin, smooth, toes, trim

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When the sun is shining and your tootsies are constantly on show in a series of sandals, it makes sense to splurge and have your pedicures done in a salon. However, when the weather cools and our feet are stuffed into boots for months on end, spending money on keeping our feet looking nice seems like a false economy. However, if you leave your feet to their own devices all winter, they’re going to emerge in spring looking more like they belong to the Gruffalo, so we’ve put together some home pedicure tips which should keep you going over the colder months.

Soak Them

Before you do anything to your feet, you’ll want to get them super soft and clean, so soaking in a bath with some Elemis Aching Muscle Super Soak will soften any hard skin, making it easy to scrub it away. Make sure the bath isn’t too hot and spend plenty of time soaking to get the best results.

Scrub Them

Getting rid of hard skin is really important, otherwise it can build up and look (and feel) really unpleasant. Many people go straight for harsh files and blades to get rid of skin, but often it’s enough to persevere with a gentler product like Elemis Devils Mint Body Scrub. Use this after soaking your feet on a regular basis and the skin won’t have a chance to build up to unpleasant levels.

Brush Them

The tops of your feet are just as important as the bottoms and people often focus the care and exfoliation on the latter because that’s where the hard skin builds up, forgetting the rest of the foot. This area doesn’t need a harsh exfoliation, but brushing it with the Elemis Body Detox Skin Brush every time you bathe or shower will keep the tops of your toes looking great.

Trim Them

Everyone has a personal preference for toenail length, but keeping them short is the most hygienic and low-maintenance way to get through the winter. Use proper clippers which are intended for feet and make sure you cut them straight, not cutting off the corners as this can lead in ingrown toenails and open you up to possible infections.

Paint Them

Painting your toenails is SO much easier than painting your own fingernails because there’s no need to swap hands! Opt for either a nude which suits your skin tone or a dark colour and they’re the neatest option for short nails. Nudes will need less maintenance, too!

Moisturise Them

It’s absolutely VITAL to moisturise your feet if you want them to remain soft and free from hard skin. Elemis Treat Your Feet Foot Cream is an intensely moisturising formulation melts beautifully into the skin, smoothing and hydrating rough dry areas. It’s designed specifically for feet and is infused with a blend of aromatic oils to help soothe and comfort tired, overworked feet.

Five Hair Myths BUSTED

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brushing, clean, conditioner, cut, dermalogica, Dermalogica Shine Therapy Shampoo, Dermalogica Silk Finish Conditioner, follicles, hair, hydrate, protection, shampoo

Hair is one of those things about which everyone has an opinion, anecdote or nugget of advice, but as scientific knowledge advances, often these ‘old wives tales’ turn out to be nothing but baseless claims passed down through the grapevine. We take a look at five of these rumours which are, in fact, totally inaccurate to show you just how many untruths there are out there.

Cutting Hair Makes it Thicker

This myth is possibly the one which gets trotted out the most but it’s more or less impossible to affect the actual thickness of your hair because it’s dictated by the size of your hair follicles. If your hair is broken and wispy, cutting off the broken ends will make it look thicker, but it’s basically an optical illusion.

Dry Shampoo is Good for Your Hair

Dry shampoo is actually a really old fashioned product which has made a resurgence in recent years, but using it regularly is far from a good idea. In fact, there’s evidence to show that overuse of dry shampoo can actually damage the hair and scalp and even leave you with bald patches – AVOID!

You Can’t Wash Your Hair Every Day

This is one of those pieces of advice which is totally subjective. Sure, some people may feel that washing every day dries out their hair and scalp, but other people produce a LOT more sebum and would look like they’d stuck their head in a vat of oil if they didn’t wash every day. Our advice is to wash your hair as often as you feel necessary with Dermalogica Shine Therapy Shampoo, followed by Dermalogica Silk Finish Conditioner.

Brushing Hair Makes it Stronger

Do you remember being made to do 100 strokes of the hairbrush before bed when you were little? Yeah, you were pretty much wasting your time. Brushing regularly will help to distribute the natural oils from your scalp through the rest of your hair, which can help to protect and hydrate your hair, but brushing too often (or with the wrong brush) can actually weaken and damage hair in the long run.

You NEED To Cut Your Hair Every Six Weeks

Again, this is very subjective and probably something which has been made up by a hairdresser hoping to increase their business! Cut your hair every six to eight weeks if you feel you NEED to, but doing so is certainly not essential, nor will it help to actually improve the quality of your hair, only the current appearance of it.

Top tips for cleaner teeth

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brushing, dentist, flossing, health, smile, teeth

Are you one of the seven million people who didn’t brush their teeth this morning? Oral hygiene is something we should be taking seriously as not taking proper care of your mouth can not only lead to tooth decay, but also to gum disease, which is linked to health problems in other parts of your body too.

Diet, tobacco and poor oral hygiene are some of the risk factors contributing to dental problems. We’ve put together the five most important tips for making your teeth cleaner and healthier, all of which are simple but can make a big difference. Following these tips will help to reduce the likelihood of oral health problems and give you a smile that you’ll feel confident with.

Brushing twice a day, everyday, for two to three minutes is vital. What seems like an easy rule can often be hard to follow. Sometimes at night we may be too tired, or in the morning we’re rushing off to work. However, this simple step makes the most difference to your oral health. Brushing twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste decreases the risk of tooth decay and gum disease, just be careful not to brush too hard as this can also damage teeth.

Flossing
As you eat throughout the day, food gets trapped between your teeth. When you brush in the evening, some of this will be removed. However, in order to really get rid of the pieces of food in between your teeth which means flossing throughout the day is crucial.

Smoking
If you’re a smoker, the effect on your teeth is probably already apparent. The long-term damage to both teeth and gums should be a concern for any smoker as not only does it lead to tooth staining and decay, but also gum disease and mouth cancer.

Sugary Food and Drink
One of the main causes of tooth decay is the food and drink we consume. Sweets and fizzy drinks are common culprits, but we eat lots of other things which you may not realise have high levels of sugar. Smoothies, bread, salad dressings and alcohol all contain sugar. Always check the label for sugar content and try to stick to having sugary treats at mealtimes, rather than snacking on them throughout the day. Stick to water in between meals and try and brush or rinse your mouth out if you do have a sugary drink.

Visit Your Dentist
Even if you are careful about looking after your teeth, it’s so important to go to the dentist. A dentist can spot signs of tooth decay, gum disease or even mouth cancer, and can help you before the pain or damage become worse. Don’t wait until something goes wrong to visit your dentist, they are there to help you and make you have a healthier mouth which you feel happy with.

Jenny Kabir is the Clinical Director at Fresh Dental Smile Clinic. Fresh Dental Smile Clinic is a leading Dental Clinic in York. Free consultations are available and dental treatment ranges from simple fillings to outstanding beautiful smile makeovers, dental implants, teeth straightening and orthodontics. For further informaton visit www.freshsmiles.co.uk.