Clearer Skin in Under 7 Days

If you're like me, you've been battling acne for what seems like forever. You've tried countless products that claimed to get rid of any blemishes. They might have worked, at least for a while, but then the pimples and whatnot started coming right back.

I've tried Proactiv since it seemed like everyone in America was using it, and it did work for about two months before my skin grew bad again. I tried nearly every face wash in Sephora and CVS, but nothing really helped. Finally, after many trials-and-errors, I came up with a routine that helped me. My friends started asking about my suddenly blemish-free skin, and after I instructed them on what to do, their skin improved too.

Used by themselves, the steps below will help your skin, but if you use all of them routinely, your skin will change dramatically, and I promise you that you'll love it.

Start and End your Day Right

Use a three-step system that works with your skin when you wake up and before you go to bed. You can purchase on of the ready ones (I've been using skin i.D and I love it) or pick up face toner, lotion, and a cleanser. Gel cleansers are the most gentle for your skin, and foam is said to penetrate more and give you a deeper clean. Depending on your skin type, you may want to skip this step and just splash your face with cool water. Apply the toner with a cotton ball or pad and then some lotion.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

This is one of the best things you can do for your skin. Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Juice is great too, and you can count that towards your intake, but stay away from milk. Dairy products can trigger more acne and won't help you get rid of it. If you don't think you can drink so much water in one day, just make it convenient and keep a water bottle with you at all times. By sipping it throughout the day, you will quickly meet the quota.

Stop Touching your Face

You wouldn't believe how much oil and germs are in those palms. If you catch yourself resting your chin in your hands, rubbing your face, or having your hair in your face throughout the day, these may be one of the factors in your having acne. Refrain from touching your face and your skin should clear up a bit.

Vitamin A

Not widely known, but if you're short on Vitamin A, it can be the cause of blemishes. Start adding more carrots and broccoli to your diet to be sure you're getting your daily amount.

Treat Yourself with a Mask

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of oatmeal
  
• 1 tablespoon of honey
  

Mix the two together in a bowl. The mixture should be a bit pasty. Using your hands, spread it around your face (your hair should be tied back because sticky hair is never fun) and leave on for 15-20 minutes. Rinse off with warm water. Repeat 1-2 times a week.

The honey and oatmeal mask works wonders for your skin. It moisturizes, heals, and leaves it glowing and healthy. Bonus, it's completely easy to make.

No Picking!

No touching, rubbing, popping, whatsoever. This will cause infections under your skin that you will see in the form of more acne. If you have a pimple that's ready to go (ie. it has a yellow top), then simply apply acne spot treatment and it will dry out and go away on its own. If you're about to go out and absolutely must get rid of it, then wrap a tissue around your two index fingers and gently apply pressure on it. If it doesn't pop right away, that means it's not ready - leave it alone. If it does, keep applying pressure until nothing else comes out, then put on the acne spot treatment.

And there you go :) Those tips above will get your beautiful clear skin in under seven days, guaranteed.

12 Simple Ways to Up Your Creativity

What have you done recently that was creative? Plan a party, give a unique gift, write some poetry, or draw? Having creativity lets us do so much, and live outside the box for a while. Here are some ways to get those creative juices flowing.

• Focus on working for yourself and yourself only. If you keep stopping yourself mid-thought and waste time contemplating what so-and-so will think, you won't get anywhere.
  
  

• Ideas come from the most random places, and most usually when you're not looking for them. Go out and about, keeping an open mind, and something will surely come to you.
  
  

• If you're sitting there, struggling fruitlessly to make something creative appear, stop for a minute. Go take a walk, nap, watch TV - take a break. Just make sure you don't procrastinate - get back to it later.
  
  

• Go outside your comfort zone. The bigger the step, the more perspective you'll gain.
  
  

• Keep yourself engaged by doing new things that aren't too familiar to you. Eat at a new restaurant, try a new sport, experiment with art.
  
  

• Always ask yourself questions. The whys, hows, and why nots open up a broad new world.
  
  

• Build a fear muscle. The next time you'd like to try something but are afraid to do it because of some reason (non-medical/safety related, of course), go ahead and do it. The more you do this, the easier it becomes, as your fear muscle gets stronger.
  
  

• Make lists. Make them on anything and everything. For example, shopping lists, to-do lists, and then idea lists. They help open you up and invite more thoughts.
  
  

• If you're feeling stressed, then go destress. Take some time out and indulge in whatever relaxes you. It's not easy to be creative when a thousand mundane little things are running through your head and worrying you.
  
  

• Welcome all ideas. Yes, even the ones you believe are bad. Expanding on these can lead to great ideas.
  
  

• Look to others for inspiration, as long as you don't copy them. Imitation is suicide, but as long as you end up with something uniquely yours, you're doing great.
  
  

• Think outside the box. Too often in life, we are faced with problems that seemingly only have one obvious solution. For example, the dishes aren't done, you have guests coming over, and the dishwasher decided to break down. What do you do? Wash the dishes by hand, of course. But with these problems, we learn to think too straight forwardly, when what we need is to be creative, and think outside the box. Try challenging yourself with word problems and riddles on a regular basis.