Whether you are a black queen, of the Asian persuasion, a Latina babe, or a white princess, we all have skin that needs to be taken care of. No matter if you rock the full-face contour, or prefer the natural look, you will be happy to know your skin can always glow. When you are a young adult living in 2016, things like taking care of your hair, skin, and nails might be far down on the priorities list. Also, we young people who like to be active a lot (lol not me though) and you might find that a simple thing like shaving your legs takes up too much time. As a girl passed her mid-twenties herself, I know that being this young gives me naturally nice looking skin, however, if you want to take care of yourself so that your future self doesn't have to pay so much for cosmetic surgery and save some time so you can party more (or in my case sleep) then you need these tips:

Face:

Washing your face can actually be over done. I only wash my face at night, this way I can wake up to a fresh face ready for makeup the next day. Follow these steps for a fresh and clean face:

• When you wash your face you want to start with very hot water. I’m not asking you to scold your hands, but as hot as you can without hurting yourself. Rinse your face with the hot water, this will open all your pores, which is what you want.
• When your face is wet, apply cleanser. The type of cleanser you use really does depend on your skin but trust me, you don’t have to use the most expensive ones. I personally use Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control Power Cream wash (I also use the toner that goes with it because I used to have serious acne problems so I need the extra salicylic acid). This is a nice and creamy face wash, and I truly feel so clean after.
• Wash off the cleanser with the same hot water (if you are used to it by now and can go hotter-- feel free just don’t burn your face please). It’s important for the water to still be hot because you want to make sure that you are rinsing off all the makeup, grease, and general pollution from the day.
• When your face is free from the cleanser, turn the hot water off and the cold water on. Same principal, as cold as you possibly can. Splash your face with the cold water and I swear you will feel your pores closing.
• Once you are all dry and have applied toner if you’re into that, it’s time for the moisturizer. I use a night cream because they tend to be much richer and actually do way more for your skin. They can be heavy and you might have to get used to that. I use Night Of Olay (it’s pink and lovely but I think it might be out of date or something), but any night cream will do.
• Go to sleep and touch your face a lot because it is going to feel as soft as a cloud right about now.
• The last thing you have to remember before you apply that makeup (whether it’s full contour or only mascara because you don’t know how to apply makeup like me) you have to moisturize with sunscreen. I don’t care if it’s pure sunscreen or a face cream with sunscreen in it, just use it.

Hair:

I love my hair! Seriously, I would have insurance on this hair if I could, it’s that important to me. When it comes to taking care of my hair I take that very serious, and since I also happen to love coloring my beautiful hair I need some extra attention. If you follow my tips, and use that great wisdom I know you already have, you will have some gorgeous hair my friend:

• Find a great shampoo and conditioner. This depends on how much you are willing to spend. I love Shu Uemura especially but this is way too expensive for me, I also really do like Redken, but again can be pricy. My all time favorite brand, that I use very faithfully are the E’tae hair products. The three products you should have, Carmel treatment, the shampoo, and the conditioner, will cost you $20 a pop, but it’s truly worth it. One of the great things about these products is that they promote natural hair, and I think that’s awesome. I can’t even begin to tell you how jealous I am of African American women because, in my opinion, they know how to do hair! You can read more and buy the products here: https://etae-natural-products.myshopify.com
  
• If you wash your hair multiple times a week, or almost everyday, you should really start trying to wash it less. I know this might be hard for those of you with really soft, fine hair, but once you get over the greasy stage you will thank me. Start by skipping one day and then keep going until you only wash your hair twice a week. I wash mine once a week but I have a really dry type of hair.
  
• When you wash your hair you want to use the shampoo twice. I know it's pretty basic but it’s actually really good for your hair. So lather, rinse and repeat that shampoo. You want to really massage your scalp while you have the shampoo in there. Think about the greatest scalp massage you have ever gotten from a hairdresser and do that. This activates your hair to make it grow more, and you remove all the grease and dirt from your scalp.
  
• The conditioner is pretty basic, focus on the tips. The one important thing to remember is that your hair only gets natural conditioner from your scalp, and if you have long hair you probably already know that most of your hair is far away from your scalp. I apply conditioner starting at the tips and working my way up to an inch or so away from my scalp, and then I finish off by having a little bit touch my scalp. I like to rub the conditioner in a little bit before I let it sit while I wash my lady parts or sing show tunes.
  
• Rinse that hair like the goddess you are (with a lot of water.) When you step out of the shower you want to either let the hair air dry, use a t-shirt, or a hair towel because they are nicer to the hair. If you have curly hair or use some treatment after the shower, go right ahead with that.
  
• If you are now trying to wash your hair less you might want to invest in dry shampoo for those extra greasy days. Also if you are starting to use the Carmel treatment (which you should) keep I mind that it does take some time, but if you only wash your hair once a week it’s so worth it.

Hair removal:

Ladies, let’s talk. I know, trust me I know, how much we love a clean-shaven leg, but also how much we hate having to do it. I swear in a perfect world I would have been born without hair anywhere besides my head and eyebrows, but we do not live in one. After many years of shaving my legs, I started looking into other methods. I was so sick of doing it only to have those harsh and painful stubbles grow back out. I was already familiar with waxing, because of those lady parts again, but since that alone cost me so much I knew that wasn’t an option for the legs, so I started epilating. Yes, you know the one, that torture device that has Jessica Alba in the commercial looking like the true goddess she is (but seemingly in no pain, obviously from the fact that those shiny legs were already hair free). Anyway, let me convince you why to use it:

• It’s cheaper. I know that might be hard to believe because they are pricey, but in the long run it will be cheaper. I have had mine for at least six years and it still works. Think about all those razor heads you have to buy. This way you only need those razors for your underarms (which you would save money on if you started home waxing them but that’s up to you).
  
• You will save so much time. Listen, when I say this I mean it. When you get into using the epilator the hair that grows out will be so soft, you won’t even notice them until you look like a werewolf (trust me I would know). You only have to do it about once a month (maybe more if you have very dark hair like the bottom part of my calf for some odd reason) and then you can live a whole month without thinking about it so you can spend your time like you really want, stalking people on social media.
  
• With all this saved money and extra time, you may now be able to afford waxing the lady parts (and once again feel like a baby seal).
  
• Yes, it will hurt, but not as much as you think. Don’t get me wrong; I have tried this thing once under my arms (and once a little too close to those lady parts than I wanted) so I know what pain feels like. If you like yourself at all, don’t ever try that yourself. But when it comes to your legs it’s really not that bad. It hurts the first time you run the epilator over your legs, but then it doesn’t feel that bad and by the end you feel nothing (from numbness *said in dark scary voice* no no just kidding).

Body:

Ladies, we will only look this good once (unless you're rich or have the gift of naturally colored skin) so let’s work to keep looking this good. I’m not talking exercise here (honestly, there are enough of those tips these days). I’m talking about how to keep that skin looking fab all the way into those hard years of menopause.

• Scrub that skin! Buy yourself a pair of scrubbing gloves, and use those all over yourself with whatever soap you want. Why not buy soap with scrubbing in it already you ask? Well, they are freaking expensive that’s why. The scrubbing gloves can turn any soap into a “peeling” scrub. Fun fact, the reason why men tend to look younger than women when they grow older: men get natural face scrubbing when they shave, so for all those men who shaves a lot, this might brighten your shave tomorrow.
  
• Moisturize. This word is starting to sound weird to me and I don’t like it anymore after reading this, but it’s so important. The best, and I mean best time to apply body lotion is before you are completely dry after the shower. You should still be standing in the middle of a majestic steam cloud in other words. This is when your skin will absorb the most and not just layer the outside of your skin. I actually use baby oil because you dry yourself while you use it, no towel at all, and it’s cheaper because the baby oil lasts for a long time. Think about it, don’t you want skin as smooth as a babies bottom? I know I do!
  
• Sunscreen. Yes, I said it again and even gave it it’s own point here because that’s how important it is. I know you love to try and look like you were lucky enough to be born with dark skin, but you weren’t and your skin can’t take it. I also don’t care if you tell me you never get sunburned and that you are the tannest white person you know because we all know you will look like leather by the time your forty. So apply that sunscreen and apply it well. I honestly don’t know why some people seem to think skin cancer is a joke, and for those of you who feel I am being rude right now, I don’t care because you might not get cancer so I saved your life.

Now go about your day, as the true queen you are!