Ways to Look Beautiful Naturally

It’s no secret that when we look our best, we also feel our best—and vice versa—but how can we feel and look beautiful naturally? A sunny disposition and a joie de vivre can go a long way in achieving this effortless, I-woke-up-this-way beauty—but it takes discipline in some areas, and surrender in others, to achieve the spirit and confidence needed to look beautiful naturally.

The key ingredient is prioritizing you, which means taking care of your health, both physical and emotional. Gone are the days of sacrificing your sleep, your peace, or your happiness for the sake of others. Shifting the focus to your own needs is not selfish—it’s necessary!

Get the Right Amount of Sleep

Don’t underestimate the power of sleep. Sleep deprivation is a gateway drug to caffeine, energy drinks, and poor judgment calls—none of which will make you feel or look your best. There is a reason it’s called “beauty sleep”—it is restorative and necessary for your health and wellness.

Healthy adults generally require between seven to nine hours of sleep per night, but these are very rough guidelines, as sleep isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. Your individual needs can vary quite a bit depending on genetics, age, physical condition, stress level, and sleep quality—among many other factors.

Experts suggest improving your “sleep hygiene”—the habits and practices that are necessary for restful sleep. To make the most of your beauty sleep:

• Limit the time you spend in bed to sleep and sex
• Ditch the devices (phones, TVs, iPads) at least one hour before bedtime
• Limit daytime naps that exceed 30 minutes, as well as stimulants like coffee and soda
• Exercise daily

Because sleep cycles run in 90-minute segments, it can also help restfulness and alertness if you plan a bedtime conducive to these cycles. Calculate your optimal sleep schedule as a jumping off point to look beautiful naturally by maximizing the rest and rejuvenation good sleep provides.

Improve Your Skin

Your skin is the largest organ in your body, and it is one of the most visible parts of you, so its health is critical in feeling and looking your best. There are several natural ways to improve the appearance and texture of skin, one of which is consuming foods that don’t cause an inflammatory response. Dairy, gluten, and sugar can cause acne breakouts, rashes, and other skin irritations in some people, and it’s more common than you think. Try an elimination diet to isolate and eliminate the foods that might be triggering your skin reactions and enjoy a clearer complexion for it.

Locking in moisture is also a crucial component to healthy, radiant skin. Drinking an adequate amount of water is the number one most important step in hydrating skin, as moisturizer doesn’t actually apply additional moisture at all. Skin’s moisture comes from the inside out from the water we drink—but the body’s other organs are first in line to absorb that water, and the skin is the final stop. Moisturizer acts as more of a sealant, locking the existing moisture in. For this reason, the American Academy of Dermatology stresses the importance of applying moisturizer within three minutes of your shower or bath.

Well-nourished, glowing skin is an easy way to look beautiful naturally. Bright, clear skin doesn’t require pore-clogging, cakey foundation—which makes going au naturel an easy, confident choice.

Practice Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness and meditation promote living in the present, and meditation teacher Ami Patel believes this promotes not only inner peace, but beauty as well.

During meditation, chemical changes occur in the body that combat the effects of aging, and some believe that just 20 minutes of meditation can provide effects similar to those of restful sleep. When practiced on a daily basis, meditation can be transformative, eliminating the stress in your mind and body that previously weighed you down, which means fewer wrinkles and a lighter spirit.

Check your smartphone for a crash course in guided meditation—many apps are free and can give you the basics of what it means to meditate and live mindfully. If nothing else, meditation and mindfulness will be a calming, relaxing go-to. Handling stress more productively and avoiding the exhausting paths of worry and anxiety is one sure-fire way to maintain composure, exercise self-care, and look beautiful naturally.

Take a Walk

Start sweating it out! Exercise has many long-term health benefits, and it can certainly help you maintain your weight, tone your muscles, and reduce the appearance of cellulite. Sweating even helps the skin flush dead cells out of the system, which can help correct acne and psoriasis.

Exercise also has a multitude of short-term beauty benefits, and the results are instantaneous. How’s that for instant gratification?

Exercise boosts circulation, which not only improves blood flow but also improves delivery of vital nutrients to the skin. This means healthier skin that glows, heals faster, and has a more youthful appearance—immediately. As a bonus, good circulation also promotes healthy, shiny hair by stimulating hair follicles.

Exercise also combats the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, and simultaneously releases endorphins that help improve mood and mindset. Even a quick walk around the block is enough to immediately clear and relax the mind, and feeling good means looking your best. That improved circulation might bring some color to your cheeks, too—no blush required!

Embrace What Makes You "You"!

It’s a tale as old as time: we want what we can’t have. This means that we fuel the beauty industry each year by seeking total beauty transformation--straight hair if ours is curly, curly hair of ours is straight, longer eyelashes, a trimmer waist, a smaller nose…We have fallen green with envy, and it’s a dead end.

Beauty is a $160 billion-a-year global industry, and it thrives on making us feel lesser than. The only way out of the spiral is to not jump in. This means not falling prey to messaging that suggests that the way you are isn’t okay.

Spend some time cultivating the relationship you have with yourself--it’s the most important relationship you’ll ever have. Accept the things you can’t change, like your height, your build, your scars, and your hair texture. The most beautiful people you know are likely the confident ones that have a zest and a certain je ne sais quoi for life, and it’s never too late to follow in their footsteps. You will look beautiful naturally just by embracing and owning who you are!