The Big Seven: An overview

In my last post, I talked about the Big Seven: Skin, hair, nails, smile, brows, posture, and fitness. Why are these important? There are two reasons. The first is, these things are semi-permanent. Therefore, once you get them set up, you don't have to do a lot to them on a day-to-day basis. For example, once you have a good haircut and a color you like, you will not have to spend time each day with a blow drier or curling iron. The other reason is, the Big Seven dictate your look. They are your foundation. If you don't have these down pat, then no amount of makeup, hair products, clothes, crash dieting, or even plastic surgery is going to make you look good.

I'll get into all this is more depth later, but here are the basics of what the Big Seven is all about:

Skin: If you have good skin, you have it made! Cosmetics companies make bazillions of dollars by selling us stuff that is supposed to improve our skin. Here is what they do not want you to know: Your skin is the biggest organ on your body. As such, it reflects how healthy you are. By taking care of your health through sleep, diet, and exercise, you can greatly improve the look and texture of your skin. You will still need some products to help care for your skin, but maybe not as many as you think.

Hair: Healthy hair is as important as healthy skin. Since your hair is also part of your body, it also reflects your over all health. You will need to do two things to your hair: 1) get a good, low-maintenance cut and 2) keep your hair properly conditioned. Changing your color or texture (with a perm or chemical relaxer) are optional. Other than that, if you take care of your health, you hair will pretty much take care of itself. Remember, you can't throw money at a problem like dry, brittle hair and expect the result to be the same as if your hair grows healthy from the root.

Nails: Unlike hair and skin, you really can buy a quick fix for your nails. If, like mine, your nails are beyond horrible, then take heart. You can throw a small amount of money at them and get a good result, so long as you know what to ask for at the salon. I suggest that you start by improving your diet first, and if this does not get you the results you want, head out to the salon.

Smile: First of all, do it more often! Find reasons to smile, and to laugh. Uptight humorless people are rarely sexy. You want your teeth to be white and pretty, regardless of whether they are crooked or straight. There are ways to make a big impact here without breaking your piggy bank or making your dentist rich(er). You want to have nice fresh breath. And you want your lips to be soft and smooth, not chapped and dry.

Brows: Your eyebrows make a huge difference in how your face looks. This is the second-fastest and second-cheapest thing you can do for yourself. At $5-$10 plus a tip, there is no less expensive salon treatment. It takes only about 10 minutes. If you have money for only one thing, start with your brows. You can always keep your hair in a pony tail until you get a good cut, but your brows are right there in the middle of your face! You just can't hide them.

Posture: This is my very favorite of the Big Seven, because it is both instant and free! Go into your bathroom or bedroom, right now. Get naked or at least down to your bra and panties. Look carefully at yourself in the mirror. Now, draw yourself up as tall as you can. Lift your chest. Roll your shoulders back and down. Lift your chin so that you are looking down your nose a little bit at your reflection. Suck your tummy in--not so hard you can't breathe, just to a comfortable degree. Did you see those 10 pounds disappear? No? Relax your spine and let yourself collapse forward again. Do this a few times until you can see and feel the difference in your posture.

If your mom was always telling you to stand up straight, she was right. Good posture makes you look taller and thinner, it makes you seem more confident, and it makes your clothes hang better. In short, good posture is sexy.

Fitness: If you want to look hot, you need to be in shape. Not to say you should look like a fitness model or a body builder (I tried that look once and it is way too time-consuming to maintain) but you should be toned and fit. Your muscles should have some tension to them, not just hang from your skeleton. Your abs and back should support good posture. You want to move like you are confident in your skin. More important, you want to have fun doing things. It's hard to get out and enjoy life when you get wheezy just going up a flight of stairs.

So there's you Big Seven overview. In the future, I'll be telling you more about how to achieve each of your big seven goals. Until then, remember to stand up straight!