Archive for January, 2011
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Eucalyptus is a flowering tree, native to Australia. This tree amazes us not only in appearance, but also by the many uses we receive from its oils. The rainbow eucalyptus is found in Southeast Asia, and is the only source of natural eucalyptus in the northern hemisphere.
Eucalyptus has a strong medicinal smell that is admired by some and dreaded by others. It is a fast growing source of wood, and its oils are often used as a cleaning agent or a natural insecticide. The oil is often steam that is distilled from the leaves of certain species.
Eucalyptus oil has many healing properties to it, which make it a very popular item for the household. It is used in many over-the-counter drugs. It is great for rashes and skin irritations, so it is often used in rubs, inhalers and creams. It is also an antiseptic, and can often be found in mouthwashes and used to treat wounds. Eucalyptus oil is often used to treat respiratory problems. The oil is anti-inflammatory and analgesic in nature, and is recommended for muscle and joint pain such as arthritis and fibrosis.
Eucalyptus oil, or eucalyptol, clearly has many uses. People who use it love the immediate cooling and refreshing effect that it provides. On top of all of the medicinal purposes, eucalyptus oil is also supposed to help with exhaustion, mentally and physically. Eucalyptus is also great for aromatherapy, if you do like the smell. If you need those sinuses cleared, just put some in the bathroom while you take a hot and steamy shower and wake up with a refreshing and invigorating smell. For many people, this oil is essential.
Tags: eucalyptus
Posted in Aromatherapy, Arthritis Treatments and Causes, Beauty Care & Treatments, Beauty/Health Myths, Budget Friendly Beauty Treatments, Cold Prevention, Essential Oils, Healthy Lifestyle, Home Treatments, Massage, Natural Health, Natural Treatments & Products, Sensitive skin, Skin Damage, Spa, Stress-Reducing Treatments | No Comments »
Monday, January 24th, 2011
No one likes to get old. It’s already bad enough knowing that age is taking you over day by day, but when your experience and wisdom begins to show on your face, it already feels like your life is over. That first wrinkle is something every person, man or woman, dreads. Is there anything you can actually do?
Yes there is! There are plenty of home remedies that will help you remove those dreaded age spots. These tips and tricks are all natural and will vary depending on the amount of age spots, the shade of the spots and your skin tone. The lighter your skin is, the more harmless most remedies will be. However, if your skin is darker, then fading age spots may leave a skin discoloration. So just make sure to do your research before jumping head first into anything.
The first thing you need to do is think about prevention. Stay out of the sun during the middle of the day whenever its bright rays are at their strongest. If you have to endure the sun, then cover up and rub yourself up with some sunblock.
You are what you eat! Always keep in mind that your diet can be directly related to how your skin appears. Healthy is always better. Incorporate fruits and vegetables into your meals as much as possible and always keep in mind that fresh is healthier than processed and preserved. Avoid the sugars and caffeine to give your skin a boost, and just feel better in general.
Direct Vitamin E oil and castor oil are great for discoloration of the skin. You can buy some capsules, and just break open the capsules and apply directly to your skin. Aloe vera is great for treating burns, freckles and scars. That being said, it is also good for age spots. Just rub on some aloe vera gel onto your blemishes twice a day.
Other natural ingredients that have been known to remove age spots are lemon juice, onion juice, and apple cidar vinegar. Even though it’s not good for your body, buttermilk is great for your skin. The lactaid acid in it is known to exfoliate the skin damaged by the sun.
Before you pull out your pocket book for over the counter creams, check your cabinets and pantries to see if there is a more eco-friendly way to help your skin. If you’re rubbing it on your face, it’s always better that it comes from a plant or tree first. Stay out of the sun and don’t forget your sun protection.
Tags: age spots, aloe vera, Anti-Aging Treatments & Products, Natural Remedies, vitamin e
Posted in Anti-Aging Treatments & Products, Antioxidants, Beauty Care & Treatments, Beauty Treatments, Beauty/Health Myths, Budget Friendly Beauty Treatments, Green Living, Home Treatments, Scarring, Sensitive skin, Vitamin e | No Comments »
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
De-stress yourself without breaking the bank. Send the kids off to slumber party. Send the hubby on a Guys Night Out. Unplug your phone and turn off your porch light, make this night all about you. You may not get the hunky massage therapist, but these DIY Spa tips and tricks will be sure to relax you and save you money.
First things first, get what you need.
There’s no point in starting when you have to run out to the store. Look up on all-natural, feel good recipes for you to pamper yourself. There are many ideas out on the web, and you can handpick what you are putting on your face and rubbing on your skin. Find out what kind of treatments you want, like manicures, facials, scrubs or body wraps.
Start healthy.
Start off your day right and eat healthy foods. Start off your day with some oatmeal or granola with some fresh fruits. If you make sure you feel good in the morning, then it will carry with you for the rest of your day. Stretch your body when you wake wake up in the morning and loosen up for the rest of your day.
Set the mood.
Find out what kind of tunes will set the ambiance and help you relax. Nothing too upbeat or depressing. You will want something slow, at a low volume. Turn it on and just let the rhythm carry you away.
Lighting.
You’d be surprised at how much the right kind of lighting will take away all of your stress. Turn off the lights, light up some candles, and watch the flames dance. Make sure to pick some good fragrances to add aromatherapy to your at home treatment. The right kind of lighting paired with the perfect music is just what you need to start off your spa experience.
The home experience.
Here’s the good part. Make sure you’re taken care of from head to toe. Pick out the perfect salts for your bath. Use a conditioning treatment for your hair (coconut oil does wonders), and an invigorating mask for your face. From there you can either soak in your bath or shed some inches with a warm body wrap. If your skin is particularly dry (let’s face it, these cold winters are not helping) then a fresh cut orange half is great as a loofah scrub. Use them on your hands, feet, elbows and knees. Lemons will also work, and will also help lighten darker areas. End your spa treatment with a great manicure/pedicure, and feel beautiful from head to toe.
Once you help yourself feel good, you can carry that feeling everywhere you go. A DIY spa treatment will lift a weight off your shoulder and make you feel years younger. Just remember to let everything go, pace yourself, and free yourself from the world and anything that may distract you from you. Everyone needs a little me time.
Posted in Antioxidants, Aromatherapy, Beauty Care & Treatments, Beauty Treatments, Beauty/Health Myths, Body Scrubs, Budget Friendly Beauty Treatments, Essential Oils, Facials, Green Living, Hair Treatments, Healthy Living, Home Treatments, Lemon treatments, Natural Health, Natural Treatments & Products, Salt, Scandle Candle, Sensitive skin, Skin & Body Care/Treatments, Stress-Reducing Treatments, Winter Care | No Comments »
Monday, January 17th, 2011
There’s a lot of them out there. The ones that use chocolate as an excuse for absolutely everything. Cravings, sweet tooth, stress…there’s always a reason for chocolate. Well, spas have caught on. This sweet decadent is not only for your tasting pleasure anymore, but commonly used in treatments to nourish your skin and take a little edge off of your high stress day.
This is not a joke. You may have grown up thinking chocolate causes blemishes, but scientists have actually discovered that chocolate contains plenty of anti-oxidants! For the full experience, make sure you choose recipes (for you at-home spa people) or treatments that use chocolate, cocoa, or cocoa butter as the main ingredient. Dark chocolate is better for your skin (and your health) than milk chocolate. The reason chocolate is good for spa treatments is because it contains cocoa butter, which can act as a natural moisturizer for your skin, making it softer. Chocolate has also been known to contain caffeine, which also very good for circulation. There are many recipes floating around online. Don’t forget to have a bar of chocolate close by in case your at home treatment gives you a strong hankering for this cocoa treat.
If you want to go out and find a chocolate treatment, there’s plenty out there. Spas offer everything from facials and scrubs to baths and soaks that eature chocolate or cocoa butter as a main ingredient. So the next time you are stressing and feel that chocolate is the answer, try out a massage before giving into your sweet tooth.
Tags: Antioxi, At Home Spa, chocolate, Chocolate Spa, Cocoa butter, moisturizer
Posted in Acne Causes & Treatments, Anti-Aging Treatments & Products, Antioxidants, Beauty Care & Treatments, Beauty/Health Myths, Budget Friendly Beauty Treatments, Healthy Living, Home Treatments, Sensitive skin | No Comments »
Friday, January 14th, 2011
Spas aren’t just for women anymore. It’s a guy thing now. Men get stressed, overwhelmed and worn out as well. They need “me” time as much as women do, and sometimes a man cave just doesn’t cut it. Men deserved to get pampered, too.
Well, Men, you can do just that. The International Spa Association says that over one-third of spa-goers are men. It makes sense now why spas all over the United States are opening male-specialized treatments, and many places are offering male-only spas, or a “man spa” if you will. Men no longer need to worry about strolling into a spa full of women or feeling less masculine for getting a mani/pedi.
Big cities like Chicago, Cincinnati and New York offer a selection of man spas, while other places offer treatments tailored to men. These places offer things such as a hand or foot repair, not to be confused with manicures and pedicures. Many of these places offers things that a barbershop would have like a haircut or a straight-edge razor shave with a refreshing hot towel. You don’t need to worry about any aches or woes since most of these places offer massages, and even go as far as sport massages and a golf massage! If you’re tired of razor burn, then they have facials with anti-oxidants to open up your pores and leave your skin feeling smooth and without the tenderness. If you need a little extra help relaxing, then look for aromatherapy options that feature the essential oils you need to set a relaxing mood.
Men no longer have an excuse to be stressed out with so much opportunity to treat themselves. When spas offer MVP rooms with widescreen TVs, newspapers and business magazines, who is to say that can’t spare a little time for that? Guys, take this opportunity to pamper yourselves. You might as well buy your lady a day at the spa as well. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner after all.
Tags: aromatherapy, facials, Man spa, manicures, pedicures, relax, Spa, valentine's day
Posted in Antioxidants, Aromatherapy, Beauty Care & Treatments, Essential Oils, Hair Treatments, Healthy Lifestyle, Massage, Stress-Reducing Treatments | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
Whether you can tell it’s a natural color or not, plenty of people (men, women, and children) dye their hair. Some people do it every two weeks, some once a month, and some people do it just once and instantly regret it. There’s actually a good chance that you dye your hair, but do you actually know what you put into your hair?
It seems like such a common thing to do that people don’t even think about it. If you do it too much, it damages your hair, everyone knows that, but have you read the fine print that recommends you to do a patch test first? Or do you just ignore it and jump into the good stuff? Artificial hair dye has been known to cause severe allergic reactions, respiratory disorders and has even been linked to cancer.
It’s a scary thought, so you want to avoid it if you can. If you absolutely must dye your hair, do it as a little as possible. Try to avoid chemicals like hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, resorcinol or p-Phenylenediamine.
You can also opt for more natural dyes. You don’t get as dramatic of a color, nor can you control the shade as easily, however you also aren’t pouring cancer-causing chemicals onto your scalp. You heard about it on Glee, Sam uses lemon juice to get those golden locks of his. It may be a myth to get rid of freckles, but lemon juice can be rubbed into your hair to regulate blood flow to help your hair grow, help with dandruff or lighten your hair.
You can also try tea. It tastes great hot or cold, and does wonders for your hair. Just brew a pot overnight (black tea for those with darker hair and wish for a nice finish) and rinse it through your hair. It may take a while, but can lighten your hair. Just make sure you hold the sugar and honey for this pot of tea.
The natural method of hair dye is a bit more tedious and unpredictable, but it is better to dye your hair rather die your hair. Just remember that it does take time and embrace the result!
Tags: hair dye, Hair Treatments, Natural Treatments & Products
Posted in Beauty Care & Treatments, Beauty Treatments, Beauty/Health Myths, Budget Friendly Beauty Treatments, Green Living, Hair Treatments, Healthy Lifestyle, Home Treatments, Natural Health, Natural Treatments & Products, Natural/Fruit infused treatments, Tea Treatments, cosmetics | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011
We hope everyone has had an amazing start to the new year! We all know that new times can be very refreshing, but we also know that it can be very frustrating and stressful. So to make sure everyone starts their year off on the right foot, we are going to share with you the trends in the spa market that are going to be a hit in 2011, identified by SpaFinder.
Specialized treatments for the wise and experienced. Spas are becoming more and more aware of the older demographic. Physiotherapists and chiropractors can now be found at many spas. Treatments such as joint rejuvenation and relief will be on the rise with this growing demographic, as well as relaxing thermal bath soaks.
Watch out for the Asian invasion. Many techniques have been brought over from Asia to enhance the spa experience including Thai massage, bamboo fusion massage, and acupuncture. These techniques are getting to be so popular, that the spa market in Asia is expanding as well, especially with the growth of hotels. If you do happen to be in Asia and are having a nice spa day, make sure you keep your eyes open for one of our Scandle Body Candles! Keep a watch on the Asian spa market, and just watch how fast it grows.
Salt’s not just a seasoning anymore, and it hasn’t been for a long time now. Halotherapy is a healing therapy technique that traditionally involves soaking in a salt cave. It sounds strange, but research shows that salt soaks and even inhaling the environments of salt caves has medicinal benefits. Dead Sea salt itself has been known to strengthen bones, rejuvenate the skin and relief the pains of arthritis. Salt therapy is becoming very popular in spas, and is often used in their bath and soak treatments or along with massages.
Along with these trends, you can also expect to see more branding (emerging franchises such as Massage Envy), speedy spas (for those who only have a just a few minutes to relax), and the science behind spas (for those of that want to add a bit of practicality to the experience).
Whatever the reason you choose to go, make sure that you do go to the spa. Everyone needs to relax, even if it will be for a speedy trip or a nice relaxing thermal soak. The year has just started, so take your time, relax and don’t rush threw it. Happy New Year!
Tags: 2011, Dead Sea Salt Soak & Scrub, New Year, Spa, Spa Trends, Trends
Posted in Anti-Aging Treatments & Products, Arthritis Treatments and Causes, Beauty Care & Treatments, Body Scrubs, Dead Sea Salt, Healthy Living, Massage, Natural Health, Natural Treatments & Products, News, Salt, Scandle Candle, Spa, Stress-Reducing Treatments, Trends | No Comments »
