It’s coming to the tail end of summer and starting to head into fall, and you know what that means. It’s time for young adults everywhere to return to campus for a new school year. Your undergraduate years are fun and exciting. Unlike high school, you do more in college than go to class and participate in extracurricular. You meet new people, learn to live independently, explore your college town, and start to create your future.
You have so much ahead of you, and there are memories to be made. So now is the time to make sure you’re looking and feeling your very best. Here are five back-to-school beauty tips that will help you do just that.
1. Establish the Right Hair Care Routine
Having a gorgeous head of hair for a new school year is a must. You want to draw attention for your mane’s healthy shine, not its dullness and frizz. Every hair routine should include a high-quality shampoo and conditioner, a heat protectant, and styling products. Finding and formulating the right hair care routine for you is key to achieving and maintaining beautiful hair.
In addition to your daily practices, you can keep your hair soft and healthy by incorporating a more intensive hair treatment once a week. An infusion hair treatment will give you luscious, shiny locks. These treatments work by infusing vitamins, minerals, proteins, and amino acids into the hair to moisturize and repair damage.
2. Start Using a Good Sunscreen
When heading back to campus, don’t skimp on sunscreen. Just as a college degree is an investment in your future, sun protection is an investment in your future appearance. Sun damage will cause your skin to age prematurely, acquiring wrinkles and sunspots. While that won’t happen for many years, you can help prevent it now.
Look for a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 and make sure the formula protects against both UVA and UVB rays. A tinted product that provides coverage for uneven pigment and blemishes is an added bonus. Who wouldn’t want sunscreen that offers protection and a dewy, flawless finish? It’s the perfect back-to-school beauty companion.
3. Invest in High-Quality Skincare Products and Services
Sunscreen is an important component of your everyday skincare routine, but it’s not the only one you should be concerned about. A good skincare regimen includes a cleanser, moisturizer, and any additional treatments needed to target specific skin concerns. Campus life, full of classroom requirements and social demands, can become downright stressful. This can be tough on your skin if you’re not taking proper care of it. To do so, invest in the right products beforehand, from acne treatments for blemishes to soothing lotions.
At the beginning of the school year, treat your skin to a facial. Not only is it relaxing and beneficial for your skin, but it allows you to establish a relationship with a licensed esthetician/skincare expert. They can customize facials to your skincare needs and even offer recommendations for take-home products that will maintain the glow. After realizing the benefits of regular facials, you’ll want to make them a part of your routine.
4. Eat a Healthy Diet and Exercise
While diet and exercise may not be top of mind when you think of beauty, they should be. What you put into your body and how much you move it are impactful. The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables prevent skin cell damage, while the omega-3s in fatty fish keep skin firm by slowing collagen loss. And the increased blood flow produced by exercise nourishes skin cells and eliminates toxins.
There are also indirect benefits to diet and exercise that most people probably don’t think about. For example, studies show that exercise helps with sleep-related problems. When you’re exercising regularly, you’re more likely to get the proper amount of rest. The skin produces collagen when you sleep, preventing sagging and lines, while increased blood flow lends your complexion a healthy glow. There’s a reason — several reasons, actually — that it’s called “beauty sleep.”
5. Perfect Your Makeup Game
Makeup is the ultimate weapon in your beauty toolkit. Despite your best efforts to eat well, exercise, and get adequate rest, the occasional junk food–fueled all-nighter is a college life inevitability. Makeup lets you disguise whatever skin issues, fatigue, and stress you may have going on. Not that cosmetics are only about camouflage — they also allow you to express yourself and add something extra to your look.
Whether you want a natural, everyday look or a going-out face — maybe both — it’s best to practice before the school year. Invest in a few essential products, like foundation, blush, mascara, and eyeshadow, and start playing around. Once you achieve the perfect cat eye or nude lip, you can use them for the entire school year. Practice makes perfect, and once you have your makeup routine down, you’ll feel more assured every time you do it.
Look Great, Feel Confident
Focusing on self-care and beauty may seem frivolous, but it’s actually important. When you look amazing during the school year, you’ll feel more confident. And when you feel confident, it has a positive effect on other aspects of your life. You’ll answer the professor’s question, ask that interesting classmate to get coffee, and engage in social events rather than hole up in your dorm.
So, make taking care of yourself a priority. When you do, you’ll put yourself on the right track to having a wonderful school year.
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