Natural Beauty Resolutions

The New Year is upon us, and everywhere you look shops and department stores are peddling vitamins, exercise equipment, gadgets and gizmos designed to help make self improvement quick and easy.  If only it were so simple.  The truth is that self improvement is a life long journey.  It's made of countless small decisions and everyday choices.  You can't purchase it in a box, and you can't realize its benefits overnight.

However, as long as the road of self improvement can be, it's a walk worth taking.  Taking care of your body and soul is a worthwhile ambition, and a commitment that can positively affect your life on a daily basis.  Taking good care of your body means treating it with love and respect, which can lead to increased self esteem, and an increased feeling of well being and contentment.  It's not just about shedding pounds or looking prettier.  It's about leading a happier life, one healthy choice at a time.  If you are a long time reader, you know that here at The Natural Beauty Workshop, we believe that good health is the best beauty treatment of all. 

The New Year is a great time to resolve to making healthy changes, or to reaffirm your existing commitment.  Here are some suggestions for healthy resolutions to make for 2012.

• Eat Whole Food: Try sticking to a diet of whole foods, including fresh vegetables, whole grains, and unprocessed ingredients.  Filling up on nutritious food can help keep your body running efficiently, increase natural immunity, and can even result in added energy.
• Clean Out Your Cupboards: Give up your least healthy food.  Some usual suspects are soda, alcohol, fast food, and processed snacks.
• Daily Exercise:  Whether this means walking your dog around the block an extra time every day or joining a gym, getting a little (or a lot) more exercise can improve your health, reduce stress, and build confidence.
• Give Up Chemical Beauty Products:  This is a challenge I am very familiar with, and not always an easy one.  Just remember, what you put on your body can be just as important and what you put in your body.
• Implement a New Beauty Routine:  Treating yourself to facials, taking the time to style your hair, or paint your toes can increase more than just your vanity.  Pampering yourself can help improve self confidence and self esteem, which are essential to success and happiness.
• Stress Reduction: Taking the time to quiet your mind on a regular basis can improve your mental and physical health dramatically.  Whether you choose to reduce stress through meditation, yoga, or long quiet walks, clearing your mind is essential to whole body health.  Learn about stress reduction techniques here.

Back in 2007, when this blog first started, I made a New Year's resolution to switch all of my commercially made cosmetics to either natural or handmade products.  Within two years I achieved my goal.  My natural beauty stash was a great reward, but the education and experience I received along the way was an even better one.  I've learned that the best resolutions are the ones that you make not just for a year, but for a lifetime.

This year, I'm resolving to take more time for personal beauty.  I have a tendency to indulge in a casual look most days.  Though there is nothing wrong with jeans, tee shirts, and tousled hair, I've learned that I feel much better about myself when I take a little time to pick out a special outfit, apply a touch of eyeliner, and a dab of lip gloss.  My resolution doesn't end there.  I intend to keep myself pretty and pampered all year long.  That means more pedicures, more facials, more scrubbing, tubbing, and moisturizing.  Doing all of this at home makes it affordable, and customizing my treatments by blending them myself makes them more effective. 

What are your resolutions for 2012?  Whatever they may be, we'd love to hear about them, and to take that opportunity to wish you success!  Share your resolutions with us in the comments below.