Publisher’s note: My Edmonds News presents the latest “Edmonds Beauty” column, written by a recent Meadowdale High School grad.

By Aygin Ghorbani

We’re all ready to welcome the New Year; however, does that mean we’re finally going to make new resolutions and stick to them? Here as some of my personal guidelines:

We should stop neglecting our bodies
I know it’s classic to say that we want to lose weight, but truthfully, how many of us actually stick to it? That’s right, probably none, or only a small handful of us. What about getting our bodies toned and in shape? We should do small things every day for 10 minutes, nothing intense. Maybe something we love to do- such as walking, not only to help us keep our figures, but to clear our minds too.

As for our diets? Overhauling our entire meal plan can be frightening, but taking baby steps is much more controllable. Progressively work super foods into your diet, and it won’t be such a shock to your routine.

We can eat healthy and keep our bodies in shape, but what else? Our bodies need their external care too, especially in the cold winter. Ask about my skin care routine for my face, and you’ll get a handful of steps: cleansing, exfoliating, toning and moisturizing. But when it comes to my body, I speed right through my shower routine with body wash and water, sometimes forgetting how important exfoliating or moisturizing body washes can be. Then I hop out and get dressed, skipping the lotion that sits on my counter.

Why are those steps so important? Beauty expert Julyne Derrick, says, “In winter, low temperatures, low humidity and strong, harsh winds deplete skin of its natural lipid layer, which keeps the skin from drying out. The dry air from furnaces and other heating sources also suck the moisture out of skin. To keep skin soft and supple, your goal is not to add moisture to skin, but to keep moisture in.” So next time we’re in a rush, we should think twice about what we’re doing to our skin.

We need to stop being a hair slacker!
When I look at photos of models in magazines, they all have gorgeous, sexy hair. I wonder how lucky they are, and wish I had their stylist. Truth be told, if you use the right products, it doesn’t take that long to get the hair that you want. I know this myself but somehow end up having a bun on top of my head. I say, challenge yourself. My goal is to dedicate some extra attention and time to my hair. After blow-drying, I’ll work a one-and-a-half-inch curling iron through my hair. Stylist Ian Broderick mentions, “To achieve a glamorous look, you need a good-quality round bristle brush, a powerful drier, a root booster product (Big Sexy Hair Root Pump Plus works really well) and a strong hairspray. “ Now I know fellas don’t care about that; however, there is still something you guys can do — get a trim or a line up every month or four to six weeks. You guys have to take care of yourselves too!

Try new things and break bad habits
In case you didn’t know, going to sleep with your makeup on is horrible for you. It causes blackheads, blemishes and even wrinkles. After a long evening out, you come home and fall into bed—without washing your face. The next morning, you wake up with dull, dry skin and the beginnings of a blemish. Break this habit by using make-up remover wipes from any drug or beauty store, such as my personal favorite from Sephora — Ole Henriksen “Truth To Go Wipes” filled with Vitamin C to help brighten, moisturize and age-defy the skin properties.

Speaking of which, who said we should only wear sunscreen when it’s sunny out. Yeah, right. We live in the Pacific Northwest, we’ll be lucky even so see the sun in the summer, let alone any other day. So why is it important to wear it? Candice Gardner from the International Dermal Institute says: “UVA is responsible for most of the aging process of the skin, as it causes damage to the integral proteins that give skin its strength, elasticity and plumpness. Regardless of time of day or season, UVA is present and can penetrate cloud cover.” Gardner continues to state that to protect skin, “sunscreen should be worn every day. Sunscreen is the best anti-aging product you can invest in, and is just as important during winter as summer, as the sun’s UV rays are still powerful.”

Sunscreen is contained in primer, moisturizer, tinted cream or any other beauty product with an SPF amount. Try Beauty Balm (BB), which is a makeup, moisturizer and a whole lot more. The tinted face-saver contains UVA/UVB sunscreen and other great ingredients. Speaking of which, our lips need taken care of too! A nice lip balm will do. All of Nivea’s lip care products now contain SPF, and they’re reasonably priced!

When you stop an old beauty habit, you should try some new good ones too! For instance, sometimes putting on mascara and lip balm is all you have time for. And when you do decide to wear more makeup, it’s easy to fall into your usual brown-eye-shadow-and-pink-gloss combo. This is when kits come in handy—choose ones with diverse color ranges or ones you really love, like Urban Decays “Naked” eye shadow palate. Every girl needs this, and if you don’t already have it, now is the time to own one! For the lips try Too Faced “Natural Kiss Neutral Lip Color Collection.” Having more options at your fingertips will inspire you to mix and match.

The new year will bring in a lot of new beauty and fashion trends. Like Edith Lovejoy, an English poet, once said, ““We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” So take new chances, work on yourself, and don’t be afraid to try something new in your life! Happy belated holidays, and happy New Year everybody!

Aygin Ghorbani is a 2012 graduate of Meadowdale High School, where she wrote a beauty column for the high school newspaper. Aygin is attending Edmonds Community College and plans to transfer to the University of Washington.