Shop Girl

ShopSmart magazine finds out the real deal on old beauty beliefs. In its July issue, editors give the lowdown on "bad" beauty advice. Your thoughts?:

THE MYTH: You can shrink your pores.
THE TRUTH: Using a cleanser with glycolic acid causes mild swelling of the skin, which makes pores look smaller, but only temporarily. You can also make your pores look smaller by unclogging them regularly with skin products that contain salicylic acid or a retinoid.

THE MYTH: Eating chocolate will give you acne.
THE TRUTH: Chocoholics rejoice: the sweet treat has been exonerated as a cause of acne. But downing lots of starchy, sugary foods may worsen acne. Cutting back on dairy products, on the other hand, may help.

THE MYTH: Eating Jell-O will make your nails stronger.
THE TRUTH: Gelatin neither helps nor hurts your nails. If you have thin or breakable nails that are prone to splitting, taking biotin supplements may help strengthen them, but it can take three to six months to see a difference.

THE MYTH: Shaving will make your hair grow back thicker.
THE TRUTH: Absolutely not. The hair on your legs, underarms, and other spots may feel thicker when that prickly stubble first appears. However, that's only because when you shave, you've cut that hair off at the thicker part of the hair shaft. But as the hair grows out, it will become tapered at the tip again, resulting in the same overall thickness.

THE MYTH: Too little sleep causes dark under-eye circles.
THE TRUTH: Sleep alone doesn't cause dark circles. Dark under-eye circles tend to run in families and often stem from a combination of dilated blood vessels, pigmentation, sun damage, fluid accumulation, and age-related thinning of skin. Using an alpha hydroxy acid or vitamin C cream for pigmentation changes, or a laser treatment to improve dilated blood vessels, may help.

THE MYTH: Applying Preparation H can deflate under-eye puffiness.
THE TRUTH: Some people swear by this strategy, but there isn't any scientific evidence that it actually works. If you're prone to puffiness, sleep with your head on a pillow and apply a cold compress for 5 to 10 minutes in the morning to constrict the blood vessels.

THE MYTH: Applying cocoa butter will prevent stretch marks.
THE TRUTH: While there's very little you can do to prevent stretch marks, whether they develop depends on genetic factors and the molecular structure of the proteins in your skin. Stretch marks are a type of scar tissue that occurs when the dermis is stretched beyond its natural elasticity. If you catch stretch marks early when they're in their fresh, red phase, applying a topical prescription retinoid cream can boost collagen production and make the marks less noticeable.

Posted by Joy Sewing at 12:41 PM in Beauty | Comments (2)
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Click here to see more images of Gerard Butler.

Gerard Butler was first noticed in the film 300, but did you know he was a lawyer before turning to acting?

He admits to not being that great of an attorney and decided to try his hand at acting in 2003. And in a short 7 years became a well-known actor.

But does he still keep the audience as interested today as he did in 300? Or was it just the special effects and abs we were mezmerized by.

By what TMZ has shown, he certainly has no shortage of women. So is he hot or not?

Posted by Lana Khawaja at 07:00 AM in Hot or not | Comments (0)
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