Let’s talk beauty resolutions. This year, we’re taking the idea of ringing in the new year with a clean slate quite literally by adding one much-needed product to our skin care routines: an exfoliant. The face scrubs are an essential but often-missed part of a thorough skin care regimen, taking daily cleansing and moisturizing to works-even-better-for-you levels by getting rid of dry, dull skin and revealing a renewed and refreshed complexion underneath. And that goes for any skin type, as long as you’re careful (no shame in consulting your dermatologist or an aesthetician before you start!). We’ve rounded up eight of our favorite exfoliants for every skin issue below. Scroll through for inspo on how to scrub your way to better skin in 2016.
Face Scrub for Sensitive Skin
1. HANA Organics Lavender Grains ($36): Sensitive-skinned gals should avoid abrasive and chemical-based scrubs in favor of a more mild substance. These lavender grains are a great option, coming in a water-activated dry formula that will scrub away dead skin cells without the risk of irritation.
2. Josh Rosebrook Active Enzyme Exfoliator ($60): If your skin is neither oily nor dry, you can get away with using just about any exfoliant. That said, if you’re in need of a complexion makeover, this natural treatment, containing fruit enzymes and ground walnut shells, sloughs off dead skin cells like a boss.
Face Scrub for “Normal” Skin (Neither Dry Nor Oily)
3. MyChelle Fruit Enzyme Scrub ($18): Oilier skin types benefit from a clarifying scrub, making this natural formula a good bet. This scrub uses gentle jojoba beads to dissolve the gunk in your pores and eliminate dead skin cells, so you’ll be left with a refreshed and renewed mug.
Face Scrub for Oily Skin
4. REN Micro Polish Cleanser ($30): Those with blemish-prone skin will benefit from using a chemical exfoliator versus an abrasive scrub. Pick up something like this AHA-filled formula, which will get at clogged pores and bacteria far below the surface.
Face Scrub for Acne-Prone Skin
Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser
must for dry complexions, as it will get rid of your dry, flakey skin. This particular product is actually a cleanser and exfoliant in one, so it’ll remove dead skin cells while simultaneously hydrating, so you’ll look (and feel) brand spankin’ new.
Face Scrub for Dry Skin
6. Dr. Brandt Skincare Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant ($78): Aging skin will benefit from an AHA (aka alpha hydroxy acid) formula. The chemical exfoliant penetrates skin to a deeper level, helping eliminate dryness and signs of aging, like fine lines and discoloration. This particular option is made specifically for aging skin.
Face Scrub for Aging Skin
7. NUDE Skincare Detox Brightening Fizzy Powder ($42): Get uneven skin glowing with gentle yet effective exfoliation. The powder takes on a fun and fizzy consistency when activated by water, easily removing dead skin to leave your complexion bright and more evenly toned.
Face Scrub for Uneven Skin
8. Caudalie Gentle Buffing Cream ($35): In some cases, it’s best to avoid exfoliating irritated skin at all, as it can further aggravate the sensitivity. For those in need of a refresher, it’s important to focus on using only the most gentle and hydrating of products. This rich cream is a super gentle exfoliator, eliminating impurities and dead skin cells while creating a soothed and radiant complexion.
Face Scrub for Red, Irritated Skin
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures