5 feel-great beauty tips

1. Revive your feet
Been on your dogs all day? Try this healing foot bath.

• Fill a pan big enough for both feet with hot water.
• Add a few drops of a relaxing essential oil, such as lavender.
• Soak for 10–15 minutes, or until heat dissipates.
• Remove feet and wrap them together in a towel for a soothing, cocoonlike feeling.
• Massage your feet (or enlist a friend to do the rubbing) with a healing oil, such as Dr. Hauschka Birch-Arnica Body Oil. Herbal arnica helps to relieve sprains and muscle pain. If possible, do a reflexology massage to relax your body and provide mental clarity.

2. Recover healthy hair
To balance your hair's pH, clear away shampoo and conditioner buildup, and recover your hair's natural shine, look in your kitchen cabinet for apple cider vinegar. "Everyone notices that after awhile [of using a certain shampoo] your hair doesn't respond in the same way," Uusitalo says. "It's good to cleanse it without stripping it, and balancing the pH helps with the vitality and the strength of your hair. Then you can go back to using your regular shampoo." Whenever your hair no longer responds to your shampoo, pour on apple cider vinegar, work it into the hair and scalp, and rinse it off. You also can rinse hands with apple cider vinegar to balance skin pH and relieve dry skin, Uusitalo says.

3. Get a vibrant visage
Try this face-friendly regimen once every six weeks to moisturize and purify your skin.

• Apply a mask that suits your skin type and contains essential vitamins and minerals. Rinse.
• Roll a cool (can be refrigerated) facial massage roller over your face for a few minutes.
• Rub on an antioxidant facial oil, such as rose hip, and follow with a small amount of healing and anti-inflammatory oil, such as raspberry oil.
• Finish with your favorite day or night cream.

4. Protect your skin with EFAs
Essential fatty acids are "amazing" for the skin, according to Uusitalo. They help keep skin smooth, soft, and radiant. They also help treat problems such as eczema and psoriasis. For daily protection, try Spirit of Beauty's Intensive Healthy Aging Complex, which contains EFA-rich blackberry seed oil, grapeseed oil, rose hip oil, cranberry oil, and more.

5. Read labels carefully
When cruising through the beauty aisles, look for straightforward and easy-to-understand ingredients. "Any product you pick up and are interested in, you should be able to understand the majority of the ingredients." If you have trouble pronouncing an ingredient—let alone understanding it—it could be synthetic and warrant more research.

Source: Kelly Uusitalo, health and beauty aid products buyer for Bastyr University's Center for Natural Health in Seattle.