The simple guide to happy hair

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bacteria, brittleness, brushes, Busy lives, central heating, chop, coconut oil, cold winter months, combs, conditioner, conditioning mask, damage, damp cloth, dandruff, dark brown sugar, deep-cleansing shampoo, drink lots of water, dry naturally, drying, extreme cold, feeling lighter, germs, hair glossy, hairdresser, hairdryers, healthy, heated styling tools, heavy, homes, hydrated, ingredients, locks, longer styles, looking better, lotions and potions, massage, product build up, product residue, regular products, scalp, silicon heavy product, six to eight weeks, skin, snow, split ends, springtime ready, straighteners, super-stylish bottle, tongs, trim, warm water, week, work

Springtime is typically when we spruce up our homes and gardens, but it’s a great time to tackle our locks, too.

The wind and snow of the cold winter months, can cause drying, split ends and dandruff as well as product build up and a lack of bounce and shine.

We have put together a simple, but effective, plan to get your hair glossy, healthy and springtime ready.

Go for a chop
Before you do anything else, book in with your hairdresser and have a decent cut. Busy lives, and longer styles, can mean we leave having a cut for months, but this won’t do you any favours. A trim every six to eight weeks will not only leave your hair looking better and feeling lighter, but it strengthens it so you are less likely to have to deal with split ends and breaking due to brittleness.

Ditch the build up
Product build-up can leave hair looking lank and dull – the opposite of what we want if we are spending hard-earned cash on lotions and potions. Many people don’t know this, but silicon heavy products can, over time, cause build up on the hair shaft which can make it look and feel heavy. To bring your hair back to life, go for a deep-cleansing shampoo and conditioner, something different to your regular products, and wash two or three times a week and let it dry naturally whenever you can.

Put a mask on it
Once a week we suggest that you put a conditioning mask on your hair and let the ingredients get to work. There are some great options on the market, or you can keep things simple and massage coconut oil straight from the pot into your hair and you will feel a difference in no time at all.

Go for the scalp
Winter isn’t just hard on our hair, your scalp is constantly exposed to extreme cold outside then the warmth of central heating inside which can make skin dry and cause flaking. To combat the impact of the winter, mix two tablespoons of dark brown sugar, two tablespoons of fine oats and a tablespoon of olive oil together and massage into your scalp before washing away with warm water and shampoo.

Turn the heat off
We know you love them, but heated styling tools cause all manner of damage to your hair, so why not just turn them off for a week or two and let your hair dry naturally. Put hairdryers, straighteners and tongs away but before you do, give them a clean with a damp cloth to take away product residue as well as bacteria and germs, and this goes for your brushes and combs too.

Go H2O
We say this a lot but drink lots of water. As well as being great for your skin, it helps your hair, too. Buy yourself a super-stylish bottle and take it with you wherever you go to ensure you and your hair are totally hydrated all the time.

We hope these tips get your hair look great all summer long.

Team Pure-Beauty

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Laundry hacks you’ll love

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bacon, bedding, bicarbonate of soda, bright whites, bring to the boil, chalk, change your bed, cheaper, chemical stain removers, chores, clean, colour, colour coded baskets, colours, cupboard, dry outside, drying, effort, extra spin, fabric conditioner, faster, feeling, flash, fluffy towels, glowing results, grass, heat, jeans, laundry, lavender, lemons, lipstick, looking, low temperature wash, money, musty smells, nasty smells, new, pristine condition, quick wash setting, ready to use, refresh, savvy shortcuts, shape, slice, soak, soft, soft and absorbent, spin, Stain free, sunlight, tennis balls, time, tin foil, Towel fresh, trick, tricky, utility bills, white vinegar, whites

We are always looking for ways to do chores better, faster, smarter and cheaper and when it comes to laundry, every little trick helps.

We have some savvy shortcuts to share that we hope will keep nasty smells away and save you time, money and effort.

Colour coded baskets
Yes, we know this sounds a bit OTT but it works. Buy three laundry baskets and colour-code them as whites, colours and darks. On wash-day, simply empty one basket into the machine and press go leaving you free of stinky sorting.

Stain free
Go easy on chemical stain removers, and trying rubbing a little chalk into stains before you put your clothes in the wash and everything from lipstick, grass and bacon will be gone.

Bright whites
To get your whites bright once again, slice several lemons, put them into a pot of water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat off, add your clothes and let them soak for an hour before washing as usual. To get glowing results, let them dry outside in the sunlight.

Make it quick
If your laundry is pretty much stain free, go for a quick wash setting which will clean and refresh but won’t take forever or add to your utility bills.

Inside out jeans
Washing and drying is tough on denim and washing can see colour and shape being lost. To keep your jeans looking and feeling new, turn them inside out before they go into the machine and leave them like this as they dry.

Towel fresh
We all love soft, fluffy towels but keeping them in pristine condition can be tricky. Forget
fabric conditioner and instead add a cup of white vinegar to your wash load and as well as bringing towels back to life and keeping them soft and absorbent, the vinegar will also help keep musty smells away.

Go for a spin
If you want to aid the drying time of your washing, go for an extra spin during the washing cycle. Adding just ten minutes to a wash will actually cut down drying time later.

Keep your machine clean
From time to time it is worth cleaning your washing machine if you want to keep it in good working order. To do this, simply add half a cup of bicarbonate of soda to the machine drawer with half a cup of white vinegar and put it on a quick, low temperature wash.

Tumble faster
If you want to speed up drying time, and bring down costs, add a couple of clean tennis balls, dry towel or scrunched up balls of foil in with your clothes and the job will be done in flash.

Bed bundles
Once your bedding has been laundered, rather than simply stuffing back in the cupboard, why not make life easy and pack it into ready to use bundles? Put a clean folded fitted sheet, duvet cover and pillowcase in a pile, then carefully place this into one of the pillowcases and next time you change your bed, everything will be there ready and waiting for you. Add a little lavender and it will smell good too.

Got a tip that works for you? Get in touch, we would love to know what it is.

Team Pure Beauty

Look After Your Lips

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collagen, contour, cream, decleor, Decleor Post-Wax Cream – Sensitive Areas, delicate, dermalogica, Dermalogica Lip Renewal Complex, drying, Elemis, Elemis Lip Revive, Elemis Pro-Definition Eye and Lip Contour Cream, Elemis White Flowers Eye and Lip Make-Up Remover, fine lines, lips, lipstick, long-lasting, make-up, mouth, plump, sensitive, skin

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Your lips are one of those areas which take a lot of punishment, be it with long-wear lipsticks which dry them out, too much sun, cold weather, central heating, dehydration, there seems to be a million ways that they can end up damaged! Fortunately, the geniuses at Elemis, Dermalogica and Decleor have many products which will help you to keep your lips in perfect condition, despite any external factors. Here are our favourites:

Elemis Lip Revive

Petroleum-based lip preparations may feel like they’re lubricating your lips but they are actually well-known for drying your lips out over the long term. This nourishing lip reviver from Elemis contains no petroleum and is based on a natural combination of white beeswax and peppermint oil which will soothe dry, chapped lips and make your pout appear plumper.

Decleor Post-Wax Cream – Sensitive Areas

Lots of women don’t talk about the fact that they wax their upper lip or other areas of the face, but you’d be surprised just how many of us do it on a regular basis. The skin under your ‘tache is pretty delicate though and can end up red and damaged with too much waxing, so this cream from Decleor has been designed specifically to soothe sensitive areas like your top lip after waxing. It also prevents ingrown hairs and slows regrowth, making it less necessary to wax so often.

Elemis Pro-Definition Eye and Lip Contour Cream

Thinner skin around the lips means that this is one area which is particularly susceptible to wrinkles and the dreaded “cat’s bum” mouth (not our favourite expression, but a descriptive one nonetheless!), an affliction particularly seen on smokers. This cream from Elemis is gentle yet powerful and is designed for the delicate eye and lip areas which need a boost. It contains active plant stem cells from edelweiss, as well as mafane flower and alaria esculenta which combine to make the areas appear firmer, plumper and redensified.

Dermalogica Lip Renewal Complex

As we age, our body loses the ability to produce collagen and retain moisture, which can leave it looking prematurely aged and wrinkled. This Lip Renewal complex from Dermalogica has a sophisticated formula which minimises contour lines and smoothes rough, uneven lips. Its superior conditioning lasts hours beyond application and is ideal for wearing alone or as a smoothing primer before lipstick application.

Elemis White Flowers Eye and Lip Make-Up Remover

With long-lasting, matte lipsticks more popular than ever before, having a product which removes all traces of make-up whilst conditioning the lips is really important. Elemis White Flowers Eye and Lip Make-Up Remover cleanses the eye and lip area of all make-up, including waterproof mascara. Formulated with White Peony extract to hydrate and cooling White Tea to soothe and refresh.

Products to Make a Hospital Stay More Bearable

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alcohol gel, beauty, cry, Decleor 24 Hour Hydrating Cream Light, Decleor Flash Radiance Mask, Dermalogica Conditioning Body Wash, Dermalogica Multivitamin Hand and Nail Treatment, Dermalogica Sheer Tint SPF20, drying, dryness, face, hands, healing, heat, hospital, hospital bag, mask, moisture, nails, pamper, products, recovery, recuperate, skin, sleep

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Whether it’s a routine operation or an unexpected visit, not many of us can say we actually enjoy being in hospital. Although we’re huge fans of the NHS, the food is usually fairly grim, wards are either too hot or too cold and being around all of those other ill people can feel a bit oppressive! Never fear though, Pure Beauty have some fabulous suggestions of products that you can pack in your hospital bag which will make life a little more bearable.

Decleor 24 Hour Hydrating Cream Light

Hospital wards are notoriously too warm and sitting around in the heat all day can make you feel totally dried out. Using a good moisturiser can make all the difference and this light hydrating cream from Decleor is suitable for all skin types, allowing you to put back all of the lost hydration and avoid that tight, itchy dry skin feeling.

Dermalogica Multivitamin Hand and Nail Treatment

Keeping your hands clean when in hospital is really important because you don’t want to be picking up any additional germs, so you’ll probably be washing your hands and using drying alcohol gels more than usual. Keep some of this Dermalogica hand treatment on your bedside table and use it to stop your hands from becoming dry and cracking.

Dermalogica Conditioning Body Wash

If you’re in hospital for any length of time, keeping yourself sane is half of the battle towards healing, which means being able to keep up with normal rituals like having a nice bath or shower and wearing clean PJs! Stick some of this luxurious, relaxing body wash in your bag to help you forget that you’re using a hospital bathroom and not your own.

Dermalogica Sheer Tint SPF20

For many of us, being unable to wear make up whilst in hospital can really add to feelings of being under the weather – this can be even worse if you’re in having a baby and people want to take pictures of you with a bare face after giving birth! This tint from Dermalogica gives a wash of colour and a splash of moisture, making you look and feel more healthy and less washed out.

Decleor Flash Radiance Mask

Being in hospital isn’t always bad – being confined to a bed sometimes means that you have no choice but to catch up on some sleep, read, binge-watch Netflix, and it can be the perfect opportunity for a bit of pampering too! Why not turn your hospital stay into something positive by treating your face with a mask, such as this one from Decleor which adds immediate radiance to the skin – you’ll come out of hospital looking better than before you went in!