I thought I'd start a section of the forum where we can talk about looking better and feeling better and how to go about it.

I'll start off with a problem I could be imagining and unnecessarily panicking about (a I have a tendency to do) but the thing is I'm sure more of my hair is coming out than should be. Every time I wash it, a load comes out and even if I just put my fingers through it, there are a few strands left in my hand. :ph43r: :cry I don't want to start losing my hair!!!

BTW, this is my 3,000th post! :D

Whooh!! :cheer2

I shouldn't worry too much LS, some people have more hair falling out that others. But too much heat styling, towel drying and a fast food diet can make it fall out more.

Also..tip..never buy cheap mascaras..they're crap and usually ahve wax in them which makes your eyelashes fall out.

That's terrifying - I've used ceap mascara forever! I have expensive stuff now though... thank you Christmas!

I don't have any tips unfortunately, I don't do very much to myself lol

I mean like the really like cheap cheap stuff, I usually use rimmel because it makes my eyelashes all purteh.

And I could go on forever about make up :D

I have a wee problem were I get those white things on your nails. People say they are a sign your not getting enough calcium, but i drink like enough milk for 3 people.
Any advise

It's occasionally a sign of anaemia..try eating more greens.

It's also a pretty natural thing..like sort of bruises on your nails.

Glad you approve of the thread. B) Thank you for the advice. I think I need to try and change my diet, as it is bad and I eat a lot of convenience foods so perhaps that is causing the hair loss. I really need to be strict with myself about my diet, though, and I'm not v. good at keeping that up for long. My hairdresser also said diet can be a factor leading to hair loss so, yeah, I'd better get my arse in gear and start doing some proper cooking! Thanks. :hug

Interesting point about mascara. I didn't know cheap ones were to be avoided for that reason so thanks for the warning! :runaway

Swiss, I agree with Tilly's advice about your nails. A lot of people get them and whether it is a lack of calcium, I don't know but I don't think it's anything to worry about but you could mention it to your doctor sometime if it doesn't improve and you're unhappy about it.

Great thread idea Claire.

With the hair loss thing, it couldnt be stress related could it? Because it started happening to my mate when she was panicking about workloads. She took a break and it improved.

What Shampoo does anyone use? Im struggling to find one that doesnt make my hair too greasy/is cheap enough/isnt annoying like those ones from Lush with all the bits in that take ages to lather and then clog up the plughole! Somebody please say you know what Im on about!

You should change the type of shampoo you use every few months, apparently your hair knows what you're using and stops responding to the treatment ;)

White bits on nails (I always have loads) is caused by knocks to the cuticle area as the nail is much softer - well that's what I've always been told and apparently eating raw jelly helps make your nails stronger, or my friend is swearing by something called Magic Nails at the moment :unsure:

Ummm as to hair falling out I'm sometimes aware of loads coming out, and other times there's no hair to be rinsed out of the bath at all :) but I haven't gone bald yet :ph43r:

Shampoo..um atm it's Tresemme deep conditioning, mostly cuz it was cheap and on offer. Only thing is it makes my hair a bit lank..and I need to wash it everyday.
I usually use pantene, and use a cleansing shampoo every fortnight.

I feel like listing tips.
* Rubbing vaseline into eyelashes stimulates growth and is supposed to make them thicker and longer..shame I'm allergic to the stuff but it apparently works.
* Right, I've never tried this but if you want your teeth to look whiter you should rub a strawberry over them :blink: I read it in amagazine once.
* A shimmery powder down the bridge of your nose makes it look smaller and straighter (doesn't work on me).
* A shimmery, lighter shade of lippy in the middle of your lips makes them look plumper.
* For blondes rinsing your hair with lemon juice will make your hair brighter. Also recommend cammomile shampoo, I use it when I'm au Natural and it really makes it lighter.
* Never, but NEVER, use Sun In hair lightener. Made my hair go ginger, plus according to my hairdresser (and Godmum) it has metal particles in it which if exposed to too much heat will seriously damage your hair and/or make it catch fire (?)
* Use tinted moisturiser in the summer rather than Foundation because it clogs up your pores (heat + foundation = melty face) and really doesn't look good.
* Use a foundation/moisturiser with spf during winter cuz you can still get sun damage.
* Cold teabags work better than cucumber at reducing eyebags because of the tannin.
* Sounds gross but hemoriod cream is really good for getting rid of eyebags if you need it done pretty sharpish.
* I find that using baby wipes to take off my make up is better because there isn't the amount of chemicals as there are in make up remover wipes. Plus is better for your skin, and better value.
* Use a cleansing shampoo every month, every fortnight if you use lots of hair products, because all the product (even condtioner) builds up and makes your hair all gross.
* Regular exercise is good for your skin.
* Always drink lots of water.
* When you get a cut, clean it with salt water rather than anti-septic. Works just aswell and doesn't damage your skin with chemicals.
* If you're tired, wear less make up. Too much make up coupled with tiredness makes you look hagard and basically rough.
* If you're wearing bright lippy, play down your eye make-up and visa-versa. Looks trashy otherwise.

Oh and less is always more.

:D Pointless but well this is a thread for tips and advice

About the water thing, does anyone have a definitive amount on how much to drink, I have heard some crazy stuff like 4 liters/day, then like 1 liter... very confusing.

My tips - make sure you get a decent foundation and its the same shade as your skin - you may have to mix 2 together to achieve this. I use Mac studio fix foundation and apply it with a good foundation brush as it gives you an airbrushed look and covers any disolouration of the skin better.

I also recommend using a loose powder rather than a pressed one as it still gives good coverage but doesnt make you look overly made up - again i use MAC select sheer loose powder and the MAC powder brush 150.

In the winter - use a blush rather than a bronzer - it is a more natural look and makes you look really freshfaced. Apply using a good blush brush (MAC and chanel do lovely ones) and apply to the cheekbones in an upward sweeping motion.

I find my lips get really dry in the winter - Molton Brown vitamin lipsaver is amazing - it costs £10 but is worth every penny!

Also - you are supposed to drink anout 8 glasses of water a day. Herbal tea counts towards that.

A good tip is to have a mug of boiling water with a slice of lemon in the mornings - it really clears up your skin, gets rid of any blotchiness. In fact, drinking lots of water does that too - you will notice the difference.

A good tip for strong nails - rub a little olive oil into then everyday - it strengthens them up and stops them from breaking.

Although you can die if you overdose on the water drinking. I don't know how much is too much though :unsure:

I think it v. probably is. I have a ridiculous amount of stress in my life, tbh. I don't talk much about my problems to most people but they're always there - usually hidden. :( I will still try with the better diet, if that's supposed to contribute to hair loss but I've always had a similar diet so I don't know why my hair would just start responding to it now. :unsure:

Um, no, I don't, sorry but they sound really awful! Eww!

Sounds possible. Does anyone ever get brown bits in their nails? My doctor told me there are two reasons for getting those. 1. If you have a lot, it could be indicative of a heart condition of some sort. :o 2. The odd ones are caused by knocks to the nail and the brownness is a result of slight bleeding beneath.

Thank you so much for all your tips, Tilly and Bex. :high I'll try some of those.

Tips regarding eye make-up:
~Always wear mascara, even if only a few strokes of the brush to the top lashes, because it can really open your eyes up and make you look much brighter and wide-eyed.
~Never put a lot of mascara on the bottom lashes and always make sure there's more on the top than the bottom.
~If you're not a big fan of heavy eye-liner, wear just a touch along your bottom lid to draw attention to your eyes but so it's not noticeable.
~If you wear eye shadow, start with the heavier colour as near to the eye as poss. and then fade it out gradually right up to the eyebrow so you don't get a strip of colour but a general colour flare.
~Stick to black mascara. All other colour mascaras look wrong, unless you're dolled up weirdly for a party or something. (My opinion only here)

I loving the fact we have a thread for this :)

General question:
A lot of people say that they think that wearing glitter, like a lot, is really tacky.
Do you agree?

Because if you do then that's me totally bummed out.

I think it's if you wear a load of glittery clothes AND glittery makeup in one go then yes, that's definately tacky. Glitterballs are only allowed to be worn well by Vince noir peeps. However, If you wear a subtle amount of glitter around your eyes in the place of eyeshadow, I personaly think it's better than throwing on a whole lot, because when people lok at your eyes they'll be more inclined to look at you because they'll only slightly notice the glitter.

My opinion anyway.

Herbal remedies.

St. John's Wort can be used as a herbal remedy to either reduce the symptoms of Depression or cure it.

lol This thread is a genius idea!! lol My hair comes out very easily..i thought i didnt brush it enough!!


I remomend using a light moisturiser before putting make up on (Simple: Light Moisturiser is my prefered choice) It prevent your skin being dried out and i found i have a reduced amount of spots!

And don't where make up when you dont have to, let the oxygen get to it!

the skin - especially round my fingers - keeps getting cut and looks horrible!! i need advice on how to make my hands look nice - and also tips to stop gnawing my nails otherwise ill need braces again cos my teeth are still moving

NGWF, take it from a reformed nail biter - there are no tricks, no amount of 'stop-and-grow' formulas, that will stop you biting your nails - the only thing that works is willpower. The only way I managed to break a 20 year habit of it was to keep my nails cut really short - don't try to grow them long because they will just break and then it is so easy to start gnawing them again! Even now, I only let them grow when I have a special occasion that I want to paint them for.

I'm very lucky with my hands, okay so they are covered in scars, but other than that they've been good. Most guitarists end up with callous's, and therefore a high hand cream bill, but other than needing to keep my nails short I'm good.

What are everyones opinion on scars?
Personally I like mine, I'm covered in them, but I know a lot of people can stand them.

im a scar girl!!!


james marsterss tiny one over his eyebrow has officially made me completely calm over the entire thing - hes still hot so SCARS are IN!

and i do apologise for bringing my obsession with james into this but hes starred in two of my three favourite sci-fi show so i officially am about to build a shrine to him :D

tattoos? a no or a yes?

I wish to have many.

My mom is gunna hate me when I turn 18.
:D

Tattoos I reckon look nice on other people, I dont have a problem with them or anything. But I wouldnt want one because Im worried Id hate it when I was older. Plus when it became all wrinkly and eww when youre 80 years old they wouldnt appear so attractive...

Piercings? Yes/no? And where?

I like a man with an eyebrow piercing for some reason..

Lol..I fully intend to have plastic surgery when I get old.
I wanna look like a bitchy trampoline at 80 :P

I want to wear a feather boa and lots of diamonds and go to the theatre a lot :lol:

and little hats

:roflmao will you be changing your name to Lady Cassandra O Brien then tinks? and yes id love piercing and tattoos in particular

Nah..I'll be going to my Russian surname and be known as Duchess Kimberley Jade Astrolovoffski B)

I'll be well cool.

I'm gunna have less tattoos than I'd originaly planned but yeah.

NGWF - i bit my nails for 19 years and just one day stopped. I had tried to stop for years with remedies and stuff that you paint on that tastes gross and none of that worked - what worked for me was looking at other peoples bitten nails - it really grossed me out and made me realise i didnt want people looking at my nails and thinking that! For some reason, when i stopped biting them with no remedies, i found it really easy! Just made uo my mind to stop and stopped! Rub olive oil into them each day to strengthen them - mine were soooooo weak when i 1st stopped biting them! I also took calcium tablets to help strengthen them - it really works.

Tattoos - i have one and love it. If you are going to get one, think long and hard about what you want and where you want to get it. Mine is on my right hipbone near my belly button - means i can hide it easily when im older and you only really see it when im in a bikini. I still love it and have had it for 4 years. I want another one too, but cant decide what or where so havent got it done yet.

Piercings - im all for them. You can take them out whenever you want so it ont affect career etc. I like cartilage piercings like tragus (i have mine done and love it) industrial and rook etc. There is a fine line to a few piercings that look good and looking like a chav/circus freak though so be careful! :)

I've got my ears done twice, my cartilage and my tragus done.
I was gunna get my lip done but decided against it, same with eyebrow.
Might get my belly button done.

And I know exactly where I'm having tattoos and what I'm having. Been decided since I was wee :)

Yay, I've created a popular thread!!

Glitter is lovely, lovely but I do agree it should be used in reasonable moderation or, if there is a lot of it, just one or two colours. It is prettiness in the extreme, though.

I am not v. keen on scars, personally, but that's just me and I can see how they're attractive to a lot of people.

I don't like tattoos at all and only like one or two piercings and don't like any at all on men. Sorry. :ph43r: :ph43r: :ph43r:

In a way, it's sad that it has to be like this for so many people but I've found I haven't really known most of what's driven me to stop any bad habits I've had. It's been as if, when I've stopped trying, they've gone!! Maybe I'm just awkward. No, that isn't a maybe; that's a certainly. :P

Hair removal: What are people's preferred ways and recommendations?

Personally I prefer to wax, but because I'm on morphine I can't so I'm stuck with shaving.

Why does being on morphine mean you can't use wax?

thanks for the not biting your nails advice guys :D

It's something to do with the fact that because it thins out your blood it means you bruise like mad (yay..*shakes fist*) and that waxing can cause really bad damage.

I've never tried waxing, I've got really sensitive skin and it looks too painful! Is it really as bad as the ripping sound suggests?!

Not really..okay so th e first time hurts but it's okay after that.

Waxing isnt really that painful at all - sugaring stings though.

I use an epilator and i find thats really good. DONT use it on your armpits though - i tried this once and drew blood! Although i know someone who does it and is fine - maybe you need to build up a resistance to the pain!!

My new Chanel foundation brush arrived in the post yesterday (i got it off ebay for £10 instead of paying £40 in store!) and its amazing - it gives such a flawless finish! I would definitely recommend getting a good foundation brush - they're worth every penny and a dcent one will last for years.

Three words:

Hair. Removal. Cream.

It doesn't hurt. And it lasts for a rather long time. Only downsides are it can smell, and it can be a bit messy. Plus, waxing makes me cry and shaving leaves me stubbly really quickly.