4 Secrets to Healthy Looking Skin (Shhh - tell only your best friend)

1.  Which way do you sleep - on your stomach or on your back.  The best way is to sleep on your back, preferably with your head elevated.  This reduces the puffiness most of us see in the mirror each morning.  You might want to invest in a form-fitting pillow that will help keep your head upright.
2.  Please don't smoke.  The heat and smoke of the cigarette itself will constrict your blood vessels and cause wrinkles.  Overuse of the muscles used to draw in the smoke can cause just as many wrinkles and smoking as you surely know is a risk factor for lung cancer.
3.  Don't use alsohol-containing products on your face.  Products containing alcohol tend to dry out the skin, even oily skin.
4.  Don't wash your face more than twice a day, unless you exercise.  In that case, be sure to wash away any sweat that could be drying to your face as it evaporates.  Please consider a non-soap skin cleanser.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

What do you see when you look in the mirror?  What do you hear yourself saying to the "you" that's looking at you?  Is it a struggle to stand boldly before the throne of grace and declare that you are beautiful, powerful, confident and deserve the very best that you create for yourself.  Are those positive thoughts dancing all around you, crawling up that crooked spine and making it straight, taking those shoulders that were leaning forward and pushing them back creating stronger images of the shadow and casting doubting thomas to the abyss. 

Do you hear these words: worthy, happy, amazing, loving ringing in your ears.  Are you flushing out the toxins of " I can't, I need, I should" and replacing them with " I can do all things, I have everything I need, My life is worth living".  If you aren't seeing this in yourself and these thoughts are not eminating from your heart and soul which controls your thought process, then you are not feeding yourself the proper self nutrition to change your behavior, to empower yourself, to achieve your dreams.  your future is shaped by your imagination so imagine where your journey can take you.  Inspire your world and live the life you love.  LET GO, BREAK OUT, WARRIOR, OH BEAUTIFUL WARRIOR - Amen.

Let me "touch" you

As an esthetician, part of my treatment includes the performance of massage primarily on the face, neck and shoulder area.  Today, evidence based studies have proven that massage provides therapeutic benefits.  Massage which is a form of touch therapy is known to "unlock" clients stress response patterns.  This often resuts in the revelation various emotions, mostly verbal.  Lots of aaahhhhs and ooohhhss, that feels so good, or that's a really hard knot - I get that all the time. There is much power and healing in touch therapy and some of the symptoms that touch may alleviate are:
1.  Stress, tension and difficulty sleeping
2.  Psychological distress such as anxiety, panic and low mood/depression
3.  Physical symptoms such as pain, nausea and breathlessness
4.  Adjustment to a different/changing body
5.  Sleep disturbance
6.  Side effects of chemotherapy on health and skin
7.  Anything elsee that affects quality of life such as fatigue, feelings of despair.

Needless to say, there is more to touch than meets the eye.  As you experience your facial, you will also experience the detoxification and relief of toxins that block healthy stimulation.  "Let me touch you", your face and body will be revived.

Best Kept Secrets for Amazing Skin

1.  The beauty of nature - Nature supplies all the ingredients your body needs to be beautiful and natural ingredients closely mirror the body's own chemistry, so they are gently and effective.
2.  Top 3 tips - Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate.  I know you won't forget that one now.  Hydrate your body with water, hydrate your skin with a hydrating moisturizer and hydrate your nails with cuticle oil.
3.  Best anti-aging secret - Wear Sunscreen daily.  Sunscreen offers protection from UVA ( aging rays) and UVB ( burning rays), then go outside and enjoy yourself.
4.  Are you sensitive or dehydrated - Sometimes sensitive skin clients are really just dehydrated.  Once your skin is properly hydrated, many sensitivity issues disappear.  Again, external and internal hydration are necessary for glowing skin.

Just enough to grab your attention, more to come.

Cheers to a good drink

70% of our body is water ( that explains the weight gain........not).  Through daily activities and normal body functions, this water evaporates, it is depleted and nees to be replenished inorder to maintain good health and balance.  Studies show that 75% of Americans are dehydrated and we think that drinking coffee, soft drinks and let's not forget alcohol, we are getting some form of water.  That's a myth and what's really happening is those beverages actually rob us us precious hydration and introduce unhealthy ingredients and excess calories into our bodies.

Our body relies on water to bring nutrients to cells, flush out toxins and keep our tissues hydrated.  If we increase our intake of this essential drink, we can expect to see a real improvement in our overall health and well-being.

Benefits:
Ease back and joint pain, prevent urinary tract infections, maintain healthy digestive system, reducte the development of migraines, boost physical and mental endurance, reduce allergies, decrease risk of kidney stones, lower blood pressure

Here is a Water-Regimen:
1.  Enjoy a glass of water when you first wake up
2.  Have a glass or two before each meal and snack
3.  If you start to feel tired or sluggish, have a drink of water instead of coffee or tea

Amazing Water recipe ( using fresh fruits full of antioxidants and possess anti-cancer properties)
Layer your beverage pitcher with thinly sliced limes and fresh or frozen raspberries.  Add crushed ice ( about 4 cups) and alkaline water.  This is a deliciously infused water that will entertain your taste buds and encourage you to drink to your good health.

Until next time

Healthy Tip #4: Antioxidants - What are they and what do they do for your skin

We've all heard about the dangers of free radicals, but who really understands what they do?  These unstable oxygen molecules produced by UV light, pollution and stress steal electrons from healthy cells and wreak havoc on skin by corroding collagen and causing wrinkles.  Collage keeps your skin smooth and plump.TO THE RESCUE:  ANTIOXIDANTS like green tea, vitamin C and E, and coenzyme Q10, which help neutralize free radicals and are like kryptonite to free radicals.  Antioxidants are like a multivitamin for your skin.  Reach for a Vitamin C and E spiked serum which penetrates the skin better than a thicker moisturizer. Using a serum that contains Vitamin C and E especially if you are exposed to UV light ( sun ) as this will reduce the number of sunburned skin cells.  This powerful combination of antioxidants ( Vitamin C and E) fights off free radicals and prevents the formation of lines especially around the eyes and forehead.  Tip:  always apply to clean, dry skin.
Recommendations:  Eminence, Jurlique or Murad

Healthy Tip #3 - How to care for Oily Skin

Oily Skin has an overabundance of sebum and it may or may not have blemishes.  Using the appropriate skin care products and regular treatment with an esthetician monthly will help to normalize the production of sebum and clear blemishes.

Cleanse Oily Skin - No more than twice a day.  If done more than that, this will irritate the sebaceous glands and only produce more oil.
Toner - Use a combination of lemon juice and water
Mask - Add peppermint tea to a purifying mask.  This will detox skin and improve circulation.  Leave your mask on for 10 minutes.  It should produce a toning/tightening effect and absorb and remove excess surface oils.
Ultimately, see your esthetician and maintain consistent followup for optimum skin results.

Healthy Tip - Homemade Anti-Aging Mask - Dry Skin

Bananas are one of the mose nourishing fruits available because they contain large quantities of magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, iodine and vitamins A, B, E and F.

Here is an amazing recipe for a mask that you can do at home twice a week to nourish dry, mature skin:

Ingredients: 
1 small banana
2 tablespoons fresh heavy cream
1 tablespoon organic honey
1 tablespoon oat flour
bottled or spring water
rose floral water

Steps:
1. Mash the banana, using the back of a fork, and then add cream, honey and flour.  Stir to mix well.  You may need to add a little more cream or flour to obtain the consistency of thick cream of yogurt.
2.  Apply mask to a clean face, including the area around th eyes and the neck, and leave on for 30 minutes.  Rinse off with bottled or spring water and cotton pads, and dab on a little rose floral water, allowing to dry naturally

Results:  Nourishes and hydrates, tones and rebalances the ph of the skin.

Shelf life of this preparation:  6 hours in the refrigerator.  Preparation time:  5 minutes  Treatment: 30 min.

"Did you know"

During the winter months, your skin loses up to 25% of it's moisture.  Hydration, facial massage and anti-oxidant serums are extremely beneficial in replacing nutrients and stimulating new skin cells.

OMG

What's the best thing to use to remove stretch marks.