Beautiful From Head to Toe

By Shelly Ballestero
Licensed Esthetician

CBN.com – Wouldn’t it be nice if we “busy women” could look and feel great effortlessly, where you only have to work out a few minutes a day, have beautiful, glowing skin without using a ton of expensive products, and lose weight without feeling miserable even through the holidays?

Well, look no further, my friends. I am about to reveal the real women’s guide to a no-fail “Beautiful from Head to Toe” plan.

But first, you are beautiful! You were created for a purpose and you are needed and highly valued by your Heavenly Father.

Fitness First

The few minutes a day to better health starts here; it’s the workout that really works -- T-Tapp. T-Tapp is an all-in-one workout that provides strength, body sculpting, and cardiac conditioning. Its sequence of non-impact aerobic movements increases muscle strength and flexibility, improves bone density without weights, helps the body balance blood sugar, and improves mental clarity. T-Tapp is a progressive workout designed to optimize neurokinetic (mind-to-muscle connection) and lymphatic functions, which means that it works at a cellular level to help your body help itself by eliminating toxicity through the lymphatic system.

For Teresa Tapp, the ‘fitness guru’ who spent more than 18 years in the modeling industry as a new face developer, part of her job was to help models get fit fast. She was able to utilize her T-Tapp workout for the models to use even when they were traveling because it can be done in as little as four square feet of space. The other really cool thing is that less is more; only one set of eight reps is needed for each exercise, and you don’t have to do it every day to achieve results. You can read more about T-Tapp in Teresa’s book Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes or by visiting www.t-tapp.com. You won’t be disappointed!

In combination with the T-Tapp plan, wear some body forming shoes! Believe it or not, you can skip the gym with these babies -- slip them on and increase strength, lengthen muscles, improve balance, and increase core strength. Visit www.bodyformingshoes.com.

DIY (Do It Yourself) Tip #1: Skin Tightening

Body brush before you shower. It stimulates the lymphatic system and helps to get rid of cellulite. Kick it up a notch with taking a supplement such as Alfalfa. I do this myself and swear by it. Please see my detox article for detailed instruction.

Affordable Skin Care

Some lines offer a bunch of promises they can’t fulfill. Here are a few lines that will give you younger and healthier skin without all the funky fillers.

100% Pure -- www.100percentpure.com
Aubrey Organics -- www.aubrey-organics.com
Coconut Clean -- www.coconutclean.com
Dr. Hauschka -- www.drhauschka.com
John Masters Organics www.johnmasters.com
MiEssence -- www.elyorganics.com
Mychelle -- www.mychelleusa.com
Pangea Organics -- www.pangeaorganics.com
Spa Technologies -- www.spatechnologies.com

DIY Tip #2: Face Mask to Tighten and Revitalize
Chickpea flour is an effective skin-softening exfoliant; it stimulates circulation and rebuilds tissue. Bananas, known as a source of potassium and vitamin A, help reduce redness and puffiness. Eggs tighten pores and leave your skin renewed.

4 tablespoons chickpea flour
1 ripe banana
1 egg, beaten

Blend first two ingredients in a bowl, and then add beaten egg. Apply mixture to face and neck. Leave on for 15 minutes. Then rinse well with warm water. Pat dry.

Flowing Hair

How to achieve a quick style: Spray roots on the top of your head with volumizing spray. Part into sections and blow dry. Just when you think your hair is totally dry, dry some more and end with a blast of cool air. Finish with shine serum and let the bottom half of hair air-dry.

DIY Tip #3: Hair Gel.

Mix 2 tbsp. of flax seeds and 1 cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat for 15 minutes, and then strain. Add a few drops of your choice of essential oil. Then pour mixture into a storage container. Keep uncovered until mixture thickens. Seal tightly.

My friend Celia, a salon owner, told me, “When you shower and don’t want to get your hair wet, wrap a bandana around your head and put a shower cap on. The heat of the shower will activate the natural oils in your hair and no frizz.”

Less Than Five Minute Holiday Rush Makeup

1. For mineral powder foundation, use a kabuki brush to apply all over face. For liquid, use a sponge to apply over face.
2. Using a camouflage brush, spot conceal where needed, including on nasal folds for redness.
3. Apply blush on apples of your cheeks.
4. Line your lashes with pencil or slanted brush.
5. Curl eyelashes. Then apply mascara.
6. Line lips with short dashes, and fill in lip color or gloss.

Well, ladies, I think you are good to go.

Remember . . . Good skin is inside out. Whatever you put in your body directly affects how your skin will look on the outside. Eat right, sleep, drink, and be merry (with green tea or water, of course)!

Oh, and don’t forget the best makeup of all . . . Joy!

Excerpted from Shelly's upcoming new book, Beauty by God: Inside-Out Secrets for Every Woman. Copyright © 2009 by Shelly Ballestero. Book release date: January 2, 2009, Regal. Pre-order your copy today.

Shelly Ballestero is a licensed esthetician, make-up artist, beauty editor of Lifestyle Magazine, and author. Shelly has studied under Emmy Award winner Eve Pearl, head make-up artist for ABC's The View. In addition, Shelly is one of the make-up experts for Jane Iredale cosmetics and participates in the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa conference. Shelly and her husband, Angelo, a worship pastor, live in Windermere, Florida, with their two children. (Photo of Shelly courtesy of Katie Meehan, www.phfocus.com.)