Summer is just a few months away, and after this brutal winter, it can’t come fast enough. While you’re dreaming of the warm-weather outfits you’ll wear, take some time to get your body ready for all the skin-baring styles to come. Scroll on for expert advice on how to get clear, summer skin — starting now.
1. Even out skin tone. Clearing up acne marks and hyperpigmentation on the face and body is totally doable by summer. “For acne scarring and hyper pigmentation, you can do a series of specific laser treatments that would result in peak effects by summer — it takes three to four months to get these results,” says Newport Beach-based dermatologist Zena Gabriel. If you have dark spots or melasma and don’t want to go the procedure route, you can use an OTC two percent hydroquinone, or get a prescription for four percent. You can expect to see results within four weeks, depending on the concentration. Also SkinMedica Lytera 2.0 Pigment Correcting Serum ($154) or products containing licorice root and Kojic acid can get rid of dark spots. According to Gabriel, redness, as seen in rosacea, can be eliminated with a laser procedure called VBeam. This, as well as the laser treatments to clear up acne scarring and hyperpigmentation, can be done in your dermatologist’s office.
2. Smooth roughness. Gabriel says it depends on the severity and type of texture abnormality (e.g. deep acne scaring vs. large pores), but a few laser procedures can fix these issues in a matter of a few weeks with two to three treatments. For acne scarring, procedures that combine microneedling with laser energy, or even a full laser resurfacing treatment, would do the trick and heal by summertime. Deep acne scar reduction could take longer (possibly two to three months), as it takes time for new healthy collagen to be stimulated.
3. Heal dry winter skin. As the humidity in the air increases, the skin loses less water, so dry, wintry skin will usually recover by summer with the use of emollients. “I like to use acid-containing lotions, like AmLactin Alpha Hydroxy Therapy Rapid Relief Restoring Lotion + Ceramides ($15) or Glytone Exfoliating Body Lotion ($43), to smooth out dry skin and have silky smooth legs by summer,” Gabriel says.
4. Get control of oily skin. If your skin type is oily and only gets worse in the summer, start revamping your product lineup now to help reduce the major oil slicks that come with warmer weather. Dr. Michelle Henry, clinical instructor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, says that focusing on your cleansing regimen and transitioning from heavy winter moisturizers to more breathable spring and summer moisturizers is the best way to start. “Consider switching to a gel moisturizer that will be fast-absorbing without an oily residue — and transition to a foam cleanser to remove oil and debris from oily summer skin,” she says and recommends CeraVe Foaming Cleanser ($14) and Clinique Moisture Surge 72 hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator ($19).
5. Clear up acne from within. As temperatures rise, Henry explains that oil glands become more active and acne may worsen. One way to address this is through your diet. Avoiding foods like dairy, which worsen inflammation, and increasing foods like salmon, which is naturally anti-inflammatory, will help to curb breakouts.
6. Remove hair. Laser hair removal takes about three to five treatments approximately three weeks apart, so March is a good time to start. Try starting with a smaller area like underarms or the bikini area, which takes less time and is less painful, but still make a big impact come swimsuit season.
Follow us on Pinterest for more skincare inspo and info.
Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
(Photo via Brit + Co)
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:
You X Ventures for Unsplash
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.
Kobu Agency for Unsplash
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