• Gently pinch your eyebrows between index finger and thumb. Start from the inside and work outwards.
• Massage the back of the neck for a couple of minutes. Take the skin and pinch or knead it like you would bread dough.
• Lie down for ten minutes with the feet raised higher than the head. Lay a cold compress on your eyes - use a special eye mask, cold tea bags or cucumber slices. Although any tea bag would do, particularly useful is Chamomile tea.

Scrub a Dub Dub

| Back to top |

• Use a body scrub to remove dry and flaky skin, especially on the arms and legs. Frictional scrubs can be used to remove dead cells which also accumulate on these areas.
• Try using rough sea salt or coarse sugar as an inexpensive alternative to body scrubs, but always be sure to use a moisturiser afterwards.
• Alternatively, use a bath mitt with a small amount of warm vegetable or massage oil on it, and then add coarse sea salt. Rub the skin thoroughly to encourage an improved blood flow and circulation, remove dead skin cells and help prevent spots.

Blissful Bathing

| Back to top |

• A fragrant bath can be a luxury at any time, particularly at the end of a busy day, soothing the body and mind. However, avoid very hot baths as this can actually dry out the skin and dehydrate the body.

Nice Nails

| Back to top |

• If you have brittle nails that chip easily, then the problem will be that they have become too dry. This can often be due to spending too much time in water - so do the washing up with gloves on or better still - get someone else to do it!
• Avoid strong detergents, cleaners and disinfectants, nail varnish remover, and chlorine.
• Give up on all those expensive treatments ! Bathe your nails in cider vinegar or vegetable oil, or even massage vegetable oil directly into the nails themselves to keep them moisturised and looking nail-tastic!

Harmonious Hands

| Back to top |

The all important word in hand-care is protection.

• Protect your hands at all times, preventing them from becoming rough and wrinkled before exposing them to the harshness of the elements and daily life by using an effective barrier cream and by always wearing gloves whilst gardening, washing-up etc.
• Always use hand cream after washing your hands and perhaps give them a weekly treat by soaking them in a bowl of warm vegetable oil (olive or sunflower oil would be perfectly suitable, but peach kernel or sweet almond oil would be better!)
• Apply moisturising oil or cream before going to bed, and also wear cotton gloves - your hands should be much smoother by the time morning comes.

Elegant Elbows

| Back to top |

• Elbows are often the most neglected part of the body, possibly simply because you don't see them very often! If they're not taken care of, then they will easily become wrinkled, dry and rough and may even become ingrained with dirt.
• Scrub elbows daily and moisturise them afterwards using a body lotion, cream or vegetable oil.
• Skin which has become discoloured can easily be bleached using lemon juice, or by rubbing halves of squeezed out lemons onto them.
• Empty avocado halves can also be used to exfoliate and soften all in one.

Luscious Legs

| Back to top |

• Deep massage can help firm the thighs and reduce cellulite and can be done either with a special oil or by using body lotion. Move the hands upwards in long firm strokes; then knead and pummel using both hands all over the (dare we say) flabby areas. Finally smoothe the skin in an upward movement.
• Diet can help you have fantastic not flabtastic thighs. Follow a sensible diet - reduced fat, low sugar, limited tea and coffee, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, drinking lots of water - at least 2 litres a day (drink iced water if you want to lose weight as the body expends energy heating the water up to body temperature) and of course take regular exercise. Walking and cycling are particularly good for the thigh area.

Beautiful Breath

| Back to top |

• Mints and breath fresheners will only cover up a problem. Most bad breath or halitosis comes from the mouth or stomach.
• Garlic breath? Simply chew parsley.
• Obvious point - you need to take care of your mouth. Visit the dentist regularly, brush the teeth twice a day and floss often. Less obvious is the need to brush your tongue - yes, this can be the cause of trapped plaque and food which will cause bad breath. There are tongue scrapers available in chemists' shops, but why not just use your toothbrush?
• Chewing parsley or wintergreen will freshen your breath naturally and instantly. They also work internally and so will sweeten the breath into the next day.
• Drinking water during a meal will reduce odours caused by food and drink.
• Finally, producing extra saliva will help reduce bad breath caused by a dry mouth, so try eating an orange or chewing sugar free gum to encourage saliva production.

Wonderful Water

| Back to top |

• Drinking more water is probably the best thing you can ever do to improve your well being. Your body uses 8 glasses of water in a day in its various processes and needs that to be replaced in order to function properly. Coffee, tea and other drinks just aren't as good as water, and indeed the caffeine in coffee and tea just increases urine production rather than helping with bodily functions. If you don't drink enough the body will take water from the skin and even from internal organs. Over a period of time, this will have a damaging effect on far more than your skin.
• One doctor, Dr F Batmanghelidj, has claimed that increasing water intake can cure many conditions including high blood pressure, stress, depression, asthma and even diabetes and high cholesterol.
• Tea and coffee increase urine production and will dehydrate the body. Drink herbal teas instead.
• You just cannot drink too much unadulterated, distilled, bottled or filtered water. Ideally you should drink 2 litres, but start at 1 litre and increase gradually. But avoid the flavoured waters as these contain far too much sugars than is good for you.
• All you have to do now is look forward to clearer skin and a greatly improved well being!