Some of you know last January I cut 12 inches of my hair off and donated it to Locks of Love. Having spent this past year with my short short hair, I was thinking about ways I could contribute to someone’s life and I decided to once again grow my hair out and donate it once I’ve reached the minimum 10 inches.

My hair, for me, isn’t really an area of concern. I realize for many people how their hair looks makes or breaks their day. Although the growing out process has its moments, I feel good about my decision and look forward to growing this donation mindfully.

If you’re looking for something to do - to give back - consider joining me and growing your hair out this year! It will help someone out (or several people) who have lost their hair through illness and disease and as an added benefit, you will save money since you’ll need fewer haircuts!

I’ll keep you posted on my hair’s progress! Since my hair grows around 1/2 to 1 inch per month, I’m expecting to get the final cut somewhere around June of 2010. Join me and grow a donation for the next year or so. And if you decide to do this with me, LET ME KNOW!!!

For more information on donating your hair, please visit www.locksoflove.org.

Throughout the years I have come across a lot of people who regularly pick at their skin. I have learned that trying to get them to quit is futile. A picker picks! It can sometimes be an obsessive pastime or just a bad habit. Regardless, far be it for me to take away one of your life’s pleasures!

What I do request and truly insist is that you do your lovely picking job correctly.

1) You MUST wrap your fingers in tissue. Take a Kleenex, fold it in half and tear it in half, then wrap your index fingers. If you go at your skin with your bare hands/nails, you are encouraging bacteria to form, more so than if you wrap your fingers. So wrap them up!

2) You MUST see a clearly defined white or yellow pus-filled head on the blemish or else it is NOT extractable and you can really cause some damage if you try anyway.

3) Please please PLEASE treat the place(s) you picked at with something. If you don’t have any pure essential oils at home (like lavender, geranium, juniper) then dotting clay mask on the area would suffice. If you don’t have clay, if you have a toner you could soak a small piece of cotton with it and compress the spots for a few minutes each. Put something on your freshly picked at skin to help encourage the healing process. Don’t leave your (possibly) damaged skin bare to the world without giving it some TLC.

4) My highest recommendation is DON’T PICK. There are numerous things that can (and usually do) go wrong and you really leave yourself open to having little scars on your face…forever.

When you go to pick at your face, pick up your bottle of essential oils or a clay mask and put these healing products on the spots and walk away. Know you have done something great for yourself and your skin!

Do you have blackheads (BHs) in your ears? Whenever I am doing a skin consultation, I always look inside my client’s ears. And I always let them know if I am seeing buildup there. It’s hard for you to know without inviting another person to look in your ears and tell you! Maybe a loving spouse? Or perhaps your aesthetician. You could also take a hand mirror and look in your ears using the wall mirror in your bathroom. However you find out, it’s good information, albeit (if you have blackheads there) unwelcomed info! It’s important to know though because you don’t want a mild case of BH to become more severe.

The best way to prevent or to start treating BHs there is to regularly cleanse the area. The easiest way to do this is to simply wash the insides of your ears when you’re in the shower. It’s quick, it’s easy, and you can flood the area with water as to not leave a soapy residue in your ears.

Keeping the insides of your ears a part of your “skin care” regime is a good idea for long-term health of that area and to prevent problems in the future.