5 Completely Natural Ways To Brighten Your Mood And Looks

For many of us, a long season of drab and dull weather is showing up on our skin, posture and overall demeanor.

Here are five completely natural ways to perk up your spirits and your looks!

1. Try Nature’s Gentle Skin Peel
Try a natural skin peel—fresh from your refrigerator! Cosmetic dermatologists usually prescribe harsh agents such as Retin-A, high-concentration glycolic acid and other damaging chemical peels that can strip your skin’s protective layer.

Instead, use fruits and veggies that contain natural acids like eggplant, tomatoes or pineapples, which will gently remove old dead skin cells that leave your skin looking dull.

Thinly slice the ingredients and place them on your face, covering your face thoroughly. And don’t forget the soothing cucumbers over the eyes, to treat puffiness.

Leave on for 20 minutes, remove the pieces and rinse with warm water. Follow with a natural moisturizer.

Over time this natural skin peel will give you smoother skin, but don’t do more than twice a week.

2. Whiten Teeth Naturally
Your pearly whites may not be so white these days. After all, coffee, tea and soda can all stain your teeth.

One natural way to brighten your smile is to brush your teeth with a pinch of baking powder, salt and vinegar to make them brighter.

Another natural whitener is made by mixing two parts baking soda with one part diluted food grade hydrogen peroxide and two drops of sage or mint oil.

You won’t want to swallow this, just gently brush and rinse. Keep this up daily for seven to14 days (at most) and you should start to see a whiter gleam.

If your gums feel sensitive, stop using the natural whitener and try rubbing a little food grade grape seed oil on them.

3. Smile Stress Away
Now that you have brighter teeth, show off you smile. This is the easiest way to look more beautiful! Every morning, wake up and put a big smile on your face, even if you aren’t feeling particularly cheerful. Believe it or not, just moving your muscles into a smile will increase endorphins and decrease the stress hormone cortisol that the adrenal gland releases in times of stress.

Related - 4 Scientifically Proven Reasons To Laugh Regularly.

4. Soak, Infuse, Beautify
Relax those worry lines by soaking for 20 minutes in a revitalizing herbal bath. Help draw out toxins by infusing your bath with cinnamon, Epsom salts, eucalyptus, fennel, peppermint and wintergreen.

Here’s how: put a teaspoon of each in a tea ball or a drawstring bag made of light fabric and place in the warm bathwater for one to two minutes before you get in.

This is a great way to decompress after any stressful day, helping you recharge to embrace the next celebration with energy and joy.

5. Pick Up Your Posture
This is another tip that can make an instant difference in your looks and energy level. Stand tall with great posture, pressing your feet into the floor, and rolling your shoulders back and down a few times.

Slumping shoulders compress your chest cavity, causing shallow breaths, decreased oxygen to the brain and fatigue—and it doesn’t look or feel confident.

You might have a friend take a picture to show you how your current posture looks and make some adjustments from there. Tai chi, qigong and yoga can also be very helpful for opening up your posture.

From Doctor Oz

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