beauty tips Archives - Everyday Beauty 101

Best Deodorant for Women

I’m always on the lookout for the best deodorant for women. I feel like my body chemistry has changed so many times over the years, and I continually have to change my deodorant to keep up with my changing body. So my best deodorant has changed over the years.

What a “Best Deodorant for Women” means to me: Invisible solids are greatly preferred, although I’ve used some sprays before; unscented is also preferred, although I’m always tempted by cute names like Very Berry Summerberry and Peach Burst; and long-lasting – as in 12 hours or more preferred.

I tried the scented deodorants noted above, and they smelled great in the store, but when I got home and applied them, I couldn‘t not smell the deodorant. I don’t like to be able to smell deodorant on myself, so as much as I loved them, they were out for me as the best deodorant for women – at least for me!

Next I tried the Secret Outlast Completely Clean as I really like the Secret Outlast, as it really does seem to outlast other deodorants on the market. I used to use Degree often, which is why I tried the Peach Burst Degree, but it just didn’t seem to work as well as it used to – I’m thinking the changes in my body or something?! Maybe I’ll have to try the Shower Clean again as I believe that was my favorite.

Anyways, then I moved on to the unscented deodorants to give my sense of smell a break. I wanted to smell fresh and clean and not like a deodorant stick. I went with Sure first – anyone else remember those Sure! Sure! Unsure! commercials? I think I remembered them as being sure you smelled good and not sure you’re dry! I did stay dry, but I wasn’t 100% confident in the odor department!

So I went back to my Secret Outlast, and went with the Unscented, and have been using that since. So the best deodorant for women according to me is the Secret Outlast Unscented solid.

Feminine Care

How to Stop Teeth Sensitivity

Beauty Advisor

Teeth sensitivity doesn’t have to be the name of the game in getting whiter teeth. My teeth get very sensitive after I use whitening strips, but I love white teeth, and have no intentions of stopping the whitening, so I had to figure out how to stop teeth sensitivity.

First, I changed my whitening process so it’d be less frequent, and equally effectively. Then I bought a great sensitive toothpaste, the Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief. It works better than any of the other sensitive toothpastes I’ve tried, and doesn’t leave that baking soda after-effect feeling in your mouth.

In addition to the toothpaste change, however, is the addition of ACT fluoride rinse, which seems to add another layer of protection from the sensitivity.

I still do get teeth sensitivity after whitening, but with the addition of the ACT and sensitive toothpaste, I was able to stop the teeth sensitivity, or at least lessen it dramatically.

I do try to take good care of my teeth with regular flossing with my favorite OralB Glide floss, and brushing twice a day with an electric toothbrush to help make sure I’m cleaning my teeth well – especially those back teeth!

Hope it works for you too! (Keep in mind if you have sensitive teeth and you’re not whitening, or even if you are, you should see your dentist who will know more about your teeth than me!)

Looking for the whitest teeth in town? Check out my post on the Best Teeth Whitening Strips.

Cleansing

Best Teeth Whitening Strips

Beauty Advisor

I love white teeth. I would love to have tan skin and white teeth all year, and although I know I can’t sport the tan healthily all year, I can have the best, whitest teeth possible by using the best teeth whitening strips on the market.

Laugh if you must, but my dentist even marvels at how white my teeth are! Here’s a photo of my teeth next to a white piece of paper so you can see just how white I am able to keep them with the help of whitening strips! My teeth aren’t perfect but they sure are white!

The trick isn’t to go so crazy with whitening strips that your teeth are super sensitive all the time (how to stop teeth sensitivity), but rather to whiten them, and keep them white with a great everyday toothpaste like the Crest Whitening with Scope toothpaste (yes, that’s what I use).

I use the best Crest Whitening strips on the market each time I buy them. Currently I think this is the Intensive Professional Effects Crest White Strips. They are not cheap but I only have to buy them about once a year, so it’s not so bad cost-wise. I don’t use them everyday for a period of time because I’m a wimp and hate tooth sensitivity. I only use them about every other month or every third month. But I only use them one time. Yes, one time. Not morning and night, just once. I’ve found a great sensitive toothpaste, but I would prefer to not have sensitive teeth at all! If you’ve never used them before, you may want to use them more than I do in the beginning to get your teeth as white as you can (follow package instructions), and then switch over to my plan.

Cleansing

Best Dry Shampoo No Scalp Irritation

Beauty Advisor

I love to skip the hassle of washing (and especially drying) my hair everyday, but in order to do so, I needed to find the best dry shampoo out there, and one that would cause no scalp irritation. Keep in mind that the best dry shampoo may not be a shampoo at all!

I have sensitive skin, and apparently I also have a sensitive scalp. I’ve tried a number of dry shampoos, including the Alterna Caviar Dry Shampoo recommended by a hair stylist. I hated the smell of the Alterna, so no matter how well it worked, I couldn’t get past the smell to seriously consider it.

Next, I moved on to the popular Batiste dry shampoo. The liked the cherry scented one, and was starting to feel like it really was the best dry shampoo on the market. In fact, if you don’t have sensitive skin, this is a very highly rated popular dry shampoo that works really well, and you might just feel that it is the best dry shampoo for you. But it did irritate my scalp, so I had to keep looking. (For clarification, the irritation it caused was a slight burning right on the top back part of my head – the “crown” area I believe it’s caused – and it went right away when I discontinued using it. No medical visit and it wasn’t a big deal overall for me, in fact it took me awhile to realize it was caused by the dry shampoo!)

Next I tried the also popular PSSSST! Dry Shampoo as it’s marketed as the “Original” dry shampoo, and supposedly has been around for more than a decade!

It sprays well and doesn’t seem to coat your hair as heavily as some other dry shampoos, so we were off to a great start. The smell is pretty fresh, and it seemed to do the trick the first time I used it.

However, after the first time I used it, I didn’t feel like I was getting the same results, I reread the simple directions, and still wasn’t that satisfied. I had no scalp irritation, so that was nice, but it still didn’t seem like the best dry shampoo for me.

So I continued my quest for the best dry shampoo, with no scalp irritation of course. I guess I was really looking for the best dry shampoo for sensitive scalps? Anyways, I had heard that dry shampoos were really just made up of powder.

I read the ingredients on the dry shampoos and realized that they all had corn starch as the first ingredient. Wasn’t that the same thing you used on kids when they’re in diapers??! I dug out an old bottle of it, and sure enough, you can buy Johnson’s Baby Powder that is Pure Cornstarch. I suppose you could get simply cornstarch as well, but I tried the Johnson’s and was really happy with it! No irritation, it worked well, and my hair smelled like baby powder – not too bad! It is important if you use this to smooth it out on your hands so you don’t have any clumps and to make sure your hair isn’t wet. I usually use it before I take a shower, then throw on a cute shower cap, and jump in the shower. Then, when I get out, I do a quick 1 minute blow dry to fluff my hair back up, and it’s good to go with a little touch ups here and here – very quick and easy. My friend swears by using it before bed and then your hair never gets greasy – I keep forgetting to try it! UPDATE! I tried it, and this is by far the best way to use a “dry shampoo” – I will never buy another option again! Sprinkle it on your hands liberally, pat them together, and then pat your hair in all the areas that usually look greasy after a day or two (or if you’re really lucky, three!) of not washing, and then sleep on your pillow as usual, and in the am it’s all absorbed and you have no need to wash your hair! Best dry shampoo ever!!

So after finding out that the powder was really the best dry shampoo for me, I ventured beyond the baby powder to try to find one that smelled a little more grown up than baby powder. The Shower to Shower line has a lot of powders that smell fresh and clean, and so I tried the Morning Fresh one and was quite happy.

So now I switch between the Johnson’s and Shower to Shower depending on my mood. No scalp irritation for me, and powder with pure cornstarch is definitely the best dry shampoo option for me.