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Hey everyone!

When it comes to caring for the skin, I know some can be really relentless and wouldn’t hesitate spending exorbitant amounts of money on upscale skincare products and other ways to enhance their appearance. But do you know that by piling up products over products on your face, you not only clog up your pores which can lead to greater skin problems, it also robs the skin of its natural ability to recover? Likewise for your hair, frequent visits to the salon to get them chemically treated causes more damage to your once-beautiful locks than you think.

We often get so caught up with our complicated beauty regime that we forget that “less is more”. It is definitely possible to achieve a healthier and more radiant-looking skin with just a fraction of your usual expenses or better yet, at absolutely no cost. You don’t need to spend a fortune on spas packages to relieve stress, or expensive hair treatments to get enviable tresses because – believe it or not – these are achievable at the comfort of your home using everyday products!

I’m sure you’ve seen many beauty hacks floating around the internet so I’ve shortlisted and personally tested out five (also swore by some of my beauty enthusiast friends) that have proven to be rather effective. Do note that these hacks may react differently to your skin so do exercise caution when trying them out.

For reference, I have combination skin and do get breakouts from time to time. To find out what skin type you have, click here.

1. Apply baby lotion on your hair to make it softer and shinier

Forget about getting your hair rebonded which can be really damaging in the long run with the harsh chemicals used in the process. As crazy as it sounds, this method works like a charm. I was taught this technique by a schoolmate (turned beauty pageant contestant and now a popular actress) whose long beautiful thick curls often drew compliments. I tried it for a few months (until my lotion ran out and I got lazy, heh) and my hair did turn out to be silkier and softer, like baby hair.

Directions

1. Apply a small amount of baby lotion on your palm
   
2. Rub it and then dab it on your hair to give it moisture. Do not apply on your scalp.
   

Do apply sparingly because too much would make your hair look super greasy and you wouldn’t want that, right?

2. Fix chapped lips with petroleum jelly

This needs no further explanation because many of you might have already read or heard about this widely-used remedy somewhere. For those who haven’t, petroleum jelly is one of the main ingredients in lip balms. Studies have shown that petroleum jelly soothes skin by locking its moisture and that it won’t clog pores. It has miraculously healed my dry lips a couple of times and prevented me from picking my lips (bad, bad habit) although I only wore it to bed.

Directions

1. Apply a THIN layer on your lips. That’s it!

However, this method is not recommend to those who make out *shifty brows* or have the tendency to lick their lips a lot because apparently, consuming little amounts of petroleum jelly over prolonged periods can cause lung inflammation.

3. Place cold towel on your face to minimise pores

One lesser known beauty tip is putting ice cubes on the face to tighten up the pores. But as you know, ice cubes melt and can become a messy affair when it does. Hence, another way I’ve come up with would be to place freezing cold towel on the face instead! Dubbed the “cold towel treatment”, it’s fuss-free, easy and most importantly, it doesn’t drench your top in the process. Moreover, with such scorching hot weather in Singapore right now, applying something cold onto your face (and other parts of the body) can bring much relief to your skin. I’ve been doing this every morning for the past decade and I seriously attribute my youthful look (a bit buay hiao bai/shameless but I’ve been told many times that I look younger than 25 even though I have terrible sleeping and eating habits LOL) to this practice. Try it!

Directions

1. Wet your facial towel
2. Place it in the freezer overnight (or at least 3 hours for it to be entirely frozen)
3. Remove it from the freezer the next morning and cover your entire face with the cold tower for about 20 seconds (or until it cools to room temperature). You may also put it behind your neck for an added pleasure.

Alternatively, you can also use the Facial Cool Putter EH-SQ10 by Panasonic which works just like putting ice cubes on your face. I have a set, courtesy of Panasonic, and I can tell ya – it instantly cools down your skin and shrink your pores. But unlike the cold towel, it does not require 3 hours to cool. Simply plug in the device to the power outlet and give it just 30 seconds to turn cold (reaching about 10°C when room is 25°C) and then it’s ready for use! This product is especially useful for white-collar workers who are in dire need of something to perk them up after lunch (y’know, food coma) and using the cold towel treatment would be inappropriate (and unglam). You can also use this after shower when the skin is still warm to get better facial tightening and cosmetic effect. How awesome?!

It has a relatively small cold-plated surface which allows you to target specific areas of your face.

4. Place cold metal spoons on your eyes to rid puffy eyelids

If you wake up to really puffy and tired eyes after a late night, you can quickly de-puff them by placing a cold metal spoon on the bottom of each eye. Massaging the area with the spoons while the icy temperature cools constricts the blood vessels and reduces swelling, hence helping to rid under eye dark circles and eye bags. It also tighten up your skin before you apply makeup.

Directions

1. Wet 2 metal spoons (optional, but I do this to make it even colder hehe)
2. Put both metal spoons in the freezer overnight (or at least an hour)
3. Remove spoons from the freezer and place each spoon on the area beneath your eyes

And yes, the Panasonic Facial Cool Putter that I’ve mentioned earlier can also be used on your eye area! It works just like the metal spoons because it has similarly small cold metal surface. Once again, it only takes 30 seconds to cool, not 3600 seconds!

5. Enjoy aromatherapy while steaming your face

This only applies if you already own a face steamer. I use the Facial Ionic Steamer, also courtesy of Panasonic, to help me open up my pores, cleanse them and aid circulation in my face. My face feels clean and refreshed after every steaming session.

Aromatherapy is a holistic therapy that treats the mind, body and spirit using essential oils. Essential oils are packed with numerous health benefits that differ from one type to another. I particularly like lemongrass because it calms me down and relieves my stress and insomnia.

But who would have thought of incorporating aromatherapy into your (boring) face steaming sessions at home? Thanks to Bryan Gan 老师’s innovation, all the lucky ladies at the recent Panasonic beauty workshop he fronted now know that it’s possible to enjoy the steam and our favourite scent at the same time! How?

Directions

1. Dab a little bit of essential oil onto a square puff/cotton puff
   

   Dab dab dab. You can use a dropper too!

2. Stick a sticky tape onto the puff and attach it to the steamer
   

   Stick it up!

3. For maximum pleasure, dim the lights and play your favourite songs in the background. Not sure what to listen to? Pick one of my favourite Spotify playlists below:The Very Best of Enya | Lisa Ono Best 1997-2001 | English Oldies
4. Leave the steamer on for about 6 minutes and inhale the scent ^_^
   

Yay, who needs to go for spa when you can do something similar at home?

Psst.. The steamer can also be used in conjunction with the Facial Cool Putter as a final step of moisturising or to better cleanse your pores (hot to open, cold to close). Just follow these steps:

Wanna lay your hands on the Facial Cool Putter and Facial Ionic Steamer by Panasonic?

Great news!

Panasonic Singapore is extending a very special offer to my Singapore resident readers from now till 5 July 2015! The Facial Cool Putter EH-SQ10 is now going at $109 (RPP S$129) and the Facial Ionic Steamer EH-SA31 at S$174 (RPP S$199). Prices for both include delivery and GST with ONE-YEAR warranty.

How to order?

1. Email to hanwei.chew01@sg.panasonic.com with subject: “Blog readers’ promo – Panasonic Beauty (omy.sg)”
2. In the email, indicate product name, model, and quantity of purchase.
3. Indicate which blog you saw this promo from (fionaseah.com).

This is my final post for the Singapore Blog Awards and I really wanna thank you guys for all your support! 🙂 If you like this post, please cast a vote for me! You can vote once everyday ’til 6 July.

Thanks for reading<3

Panasonic Singapore

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