• We’ve heard about lip gloss that helps you lose weight, but now there’s a lip gloss to protect against date rape. The tube of minty sheen contains drug-detecting test strips that users can dip into a suspicious drink. [Gizmodo]

• A simple hangnail can cause pesky problems for long-distance runners, so some are doing away with the problem entirely by surgically removing their toenails for good. [NY Times]

• We’ve got all the tips on taking care of and cutting your tresses. Forget dramatic styles and impressive products, and get the real mind-blowing facts with these five things you didn’t know about human hair. [AskMen.com]

• It’s cold and flu season, which means runny noses, spiked fevers, and sore throats. If cough drops just aren’t cutting it, try these eight sore-throat soothers, from natural remedies to classic drugstore finds. [Real Simple]

• With more people than ever predicted to live to 100, a team of British researchers is working on a new system of transplants and joint replacements that could stop the aging process at 50. [BBC]

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Consider this food for thought: Great skin is as much about what you put in your body as what you put on it. But what if the same food you put in your body for healthy hair and skin could do the same good on your outside too? Celebrity makeup artist Shalini Vadhera says if you want to get gorgeous, hit the fridge. Inspired by her global travels, the founder of Global Goddess Beauty shares her top 4 all-natural beauty secrets from women around the globe.

Go bananas for healthy hair
If your hair is starting to show signs of damage from heat styling or color treatments, try this Hawaiian secret for super-shiny tresses: Use a fork to mash one banana in a bowl, then slather the mixture from root to tip. Leave the treatment on for 15 minutes, then wash with shampoo. Bananas help improve the health and natural elasticity of your hair thanks to their high levels of potassium.

Smooth skin with this sweetener
Take a cue from fresh-faced Polish women, who apply honey on their faces as an intensive moisturizer. Just a thin layer does the trick. The sweet golden goo’s firming and moisture-retaining properties make it a popular anti-aging ingredient, too. An added bonus? It helps protect the skin from the damage of UV rays.

Warm a small pot of honey in a double boiler over low heat. After testing a small dab on the inside of your elbow for a safe temperature, apply the honey generously over your entire face. Leave the mask on for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with warm, then cool water.

Go with garlic for stronger nails
Add chopped garlic to a bottle of clear nail polish. Let it sit for 7 to 10 days, then paint the mixture onto your nails. It’s a little secret Dominican women use to strengthen their nails—and it makes them feel stronger than acrylic tips!

Dry, dull skin is the pits
Skip expensive body scrubs or spa treatments in favor of a natural, budget-friendly body treatment. Next time you snack on Greek olives or whip up a tapenade, hold on to the pits—they are a great natural remedy for dry skin. Grind them up in a food processor and use them as a body scrub to remove dry, dead skin cells.

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A few well-placed highlights can subtract years from your looks, but they take time and money if you get them done at a salon. Luckily, you don’t have to be a pro to highlight at home. Here’s our do-it-yourself guide to home hair highlights.

“Drugstore kits have improved a lot in the last decade,” says Jet Rhys, a salon owner in San Diego. “They’re quicker and easier to use than ever.” Here, Rhys shows you how to give your hair subtle, sun-kissed streaks without the big salon bill—or the sun’s damaging rays.

Choose the right kit

If your hair is light to dark blonde, look for a highlighting kit that adds pale, beige-blonde highlights, such as Clairol Nice ’n Easy HairPainting Blonde Highlights ($10.99; drugstores). Light-brown strands? Go for one that imparts dark blonde or caramel streaks like L’Oréal Paris Hi-Light Styliste in Creamy Caramel ($10.99; drugstores). If your hair is medium brown, a kit that gives light- or golden-brown highlights like Revlon Frost & Glow Chestnut Highlighting Kit ($8.99; drugstores) is best. If your hair is any darker (or red, permed, or chemically straightened), head to the salon.

Do a strand test

Follow the kit’s directions to mix up a small amount of the dye, apply it to a section of hair behind your ear, wait 10 minutes, then rinse, blow-dry, and check the results. “It should be about one shade lighter than your color,” Rhys says. If it’s too light, try again with a slightly darker kit. Not light enough? Apply more dye to the section, wait another 5 minutes, and check. Continue this process, checking every 5 minutes, until you reach your ideal shade.

Julia Rothman

Prep Before You Begin

Gather the following supplies: aluminum foil, a clean toothbrush, a plastic hair clip, and your highlighting kit. Mix up the rest of the highlighting dye according to the instructions, then clip up the hair on your crown (A).

Next page: Highlight face-framing sections

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Ditching superhot showers, sleeping face-up, and other tiny tweaks that will transform your complexion.

Think you know what causes your skin to age? You may be surprised. “Wrinkles, under-eye bags, and redness aren’t always caused by sun damage or genetics,” says Mary P. Lupo, MD, a dermatologist in New Orleans.

“I can look at a patient’s face and tell you a lot about her lifestyle—even the products she uses—based on the skin issues she has.” Save yourself a trip to the dermatologist, and read on to find out how you can get a healthier, younger-looking complexion just by tweaking your routine.

1. Bad Habit: Exfoliating with grainy, all-natural scrubs. Natural ingredients are usually healthier than their chemical counterparts.

But when it comes to those grainy facial scrubs, you may want to think twice. “Crushed shells, nuts, or seeds often have jagged edges that can cause microtears in the skin,” Dr. Lupo says.

A better move: Switch to a gentle scrub with beads that are perfectly smooth and round. “They’re less likely to cause irritation,” says David Bank, MD, a dermatologist in Mt. Kisco, New York. If you still have sensitivity, a paste of baking soda and warm water makes an effective exfoliator, Dr. Lupo advises.

Next page: Taking long, hot showers

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Like most women, I’m really trying to stretch out my appointments with my hairdresser. And even though my bank account may be a little bit healthier, my hair isn’t looking so hot. Parched, desert-like, destroyed. These are the words that come to mind when I take a look at my ends. None of my usual deep conditioners were cutting it. And with a couple of weeks left before my next cut, it was time to take drastic measures.

Sure, I’d heard that olive oil can help quench seriously dry strands, but I never thought it was for me. My naturally-fine hair couldn’t be that dry, or so I thought. Besides, I didn’t want to wind up smelling like a salad.

Olive oil is full of vitamin E, which is essential for hair health. And since I only needed a little, it’s considerably less expensive than some of my favorite products.

So, last weekend I bit the bullet. I wet my hair, then slicked on a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. I avoided my scalp because the damage is limited to the bottom third of my hair. (If yours is seriously stripped, go ahead and dab some on your roots.) Then I twisted my tired tresses into a bun and let the oil soak in for about 40 minutes before shampooing. I was prepared to be wowed and … I wasn’t. Sure, my hair looked a little better, but I was expecting a moisturizing miracle.

Luckily, I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. I waited until my hair was nearly dry, then massaged more olive oil into my frizzed ends right before bed. I let it soak in overnight and—hallelujah!—woke up to baby-soft strands and zero residue on my pillowcase the next morning.

I looked like a grease ball all night (be prepared to shampoo first thing the next morning), but I’m ready to permanently forgo all deep conditioners in favor of this heart-healthy hair-saver. Plus, if you use it sparsely, it makes a great body moisturizer—though it certainly doesn’t smell as good as anything you’d find a pharmacy shelf.

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Q: I can’t blow-dry my hair straight on rainy days. What’s the trick?

A: April showers can put a major damper on your hard-earned blowout. Even if it’s not raining, moisture in the form of humidity can make strands swell, resulting in frizz and overall unruliness. Well-hydrated hair is less likely to suck up moisture from the air. So, to block out moisture and keep hair sleek, you need to smooth and fill in your hair’s cuticle—and this process starts in the shower.

Use a lightweight shampoo and conditioner with silicone, emollients, and proteins. Apply a light- to medium-hold gel to towel-dried hair to tame it, and add the weight necessary to keep waves and curls from creeping back in throughout the day. Then snap on your nozzle, and begin blow-drying. Work in 2-inch sections, wrapping each around a round brush, to ensure that no hairs are left damp or fuzzy. If certain strands look rumpled after drying, smooth them over with a flatiron set at a low temperature; those with ceramic plates are least likely to snag or rough up hair. As a final safeguard against the weather, apply a small amount of shine lotion or hair spray to seal out the elements before you step outdoors.

 
Ted Gibson, celebrity hairstylist and president of Ted Gibson Beauty.

 
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I’m embarrassed to say it, but these days washing my hair has taken a back seat to watching American Idol. I’ve discovered a fabulous new product, though—one that actually saves me time while extending the life of my shampoo. I simply spray rice-and-cornstarch-enriched René Furterer Naturia Dry Shampoo ($24.00 for 3.2 ounces, $12.00 for 1.6 ounces; Sephora.com) onto my hair in the morning (keeping a distance of about a foot), leave it on for a couple of minutes while I do my makeup, then comb it through my hair.

The directions advise against inhaling—and after swallowing a few mouthfuls of fumes, I understand why. The scent isn’t so bad, but the clay and silica powders (which absorb the oils that build up on your hair overnight) can cause a slight gagging effect. My best advice? Spray it on outdoors, if possible. Fumes aside, I love how this spray extends my blowout while giving my two-day-old (OK, sometimes three) hair a much needed lift.

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A little line here, a sag or bag there—your body may be giving away your age, or even making you look older than you really are. (See some examples here.) But here we’ve got the best ways to tackle these trouble spots, with at-home fixes or with the latest medical technology.

Pump up dull, thinning hair
At home: Beginning from the scalp, gently pull a small hank of hair all the way to the tips of the hair. If more than six hairs come out, you have a thinning problem.

Dexter Phillip, owner of New York City’s DEX salon and stylist for celebrities such as Tyra Banks and Victoria Beckham, recommends Esuchen Hair Care products to add body and shine. Try No. 5 Treatment Shampoo and No. 23 Acidifying Conditioner (both $18), plus No. 9 BoBo Capture Foam ($20). Another option: Rogaine, which is available over the counter, may regrow thinning hair.

At the doc’s: Ask for blood tests to rule out lupus, thyroid disease, or anemia. Hair loss is often a sign that something else is wrong, so take it seriously.

Fill sparse brows and lashes
At home: Jeannie Mai, makeup expert for TLC’s 10 Years Younger, suggests this trick for covering thin spots: Use a small-angled brush (try M.A.C #266; $19) to fill in with soft strokes of pressed eye shadow (like M.A.C Eye Shadow; $14.50) in a shade that matches your hair color. False lashes are another option. “I put them on when I’m having a tired day, and it makes a huge difference,” says Amanda Sanders of New York Image Consultants. Her favorites: Shu Uemera False Eyelashes S217 ($16).

At the doc’s: Ask your doctor about bimatoprost, an Rx currently used to treat glaucoma. Pending Food and Drug Administration approval, it may be prescribed to stimulate eyelash growth.

Next: Erase wrinkles

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The right cut, color, and products can make your hair lusher than ever. Secrets ahead. View the slideshow.

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Just 36 hours after getting a pedicure at an upscale nail salon near her home in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, Jamie Joffe, 38, had a fever of 101 degrees and a very scary-looking toe—“It was about five times its usual size, and there was greenish goo oozing out from under the nail,” she recalls. Joffe went to the emergency room, where they diagnosed her with a staph infection, probably from scissors or a cuticle pusher contaminated with the bacteria. “The doctor made an incision and drained all this stuff out of it,” she says. “If I hadn’t gotten the infection treated quickly, it could have spread to the rest of my body.”

After taking antibiotics for 10 days, Joffe was fine, but the experience left her with more than a scarred toe. “I still get pedicures, but I now bring my own tools and watch what they’re doing very carefully,” she says. “I had no idea you could get so sick from a pedicure.”

Most of us aren’t aware of the potentially ugly side of manicures, pedicures, Botox injections, haircuts, or waxing. “We assume that if a salon is operating it must be safe, but that’s not true,” says Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, MD, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine, who has studied salon infections and salon safety. “There’s lots to worry about, including poorly trained technicians and dirty or illegal instruments.”

Each state has its own rules for salon safety, but even those with the strictest standards, like California and Texas, can’t scrutinize the businesses as carefully as they’d like. “Each of our 18 inspectors is responsible for 3,500 to 4,000 shops, which means most salons get inspected only about once every six years—unless we get a complaint,” says James Jacobs, a supervising inspector with the California Bureau of Barbering and Cosmetology. “About 75% of the salons we inspect have violations. Sometimes they’re minor, like a nail file being re-used when it should have been tossed. But lots of times they’re real health hazards, like filthy foot spas.”

That’s bad news because, like hospitals, salons can harbor dangerous infection-causing bacteria and viruses, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and hepatitis B. That means it really is buyer beware, and the onus is on you to protect yourself. Here’s how to make sure all your beauty treatments are totally safe.

Next page: At the nail salon

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