Eat your veggies!

Darkly colored, carotene-rich fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes and broccoli, provide the body with half as much vitamin A as previously thought, according to a report on Dietary Refer­ence Intakes from the National Acad­emies’ Institute of Medicine. This means you need to make sure you eat even more of these fruits and vegetables to meet your daily requirements for vitamin A, especially if you do not already eat animal-derived foods, which serve as abundant sources of the nutrients needed for most people’s diets.

Ageless Skin

Herbal medicine focuses on reducing inflammation in the skin, healing the tissue of the skin if necessary and elimi­nating the source of the irritating wastes—called toxins by some, through the liver, kidneys and large intestine. According to traditional natural healing, green vegetables are an important tool in the treatment of inflamed skin. Any green vegetable will work—spinach, celery and cu­cumber—even green beans. If you want to fight aging and address inflammation of the skin, discuss these and other options with your skin care professional: Chinese licorice root, herbs that contain berberine, and herbs such as goldenseal root, Oregon grape root, barberry root and coptis root.

Cosmetic surgery on the rise

If you have considered facial plastic surgery, such as a facelift or nose or eyelid surgery, you are not alone. The total number of facial plastic surgery procedures by all surgical specialties is approaching one million per year. A recent survey by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) reports that facial plastic surgery procedures have increased by nearly 12% since 1997. Overall, the leading elective procedure is blepharoplasty, or eyelid surgery. Following close behind are rhinoplasty, nose surgery, which in­creased by 44% since 1997; facelifts; laser resurfacing; and forehead lifts. Skin cancer reconstruction was the most frequently performed reconstructive procedure for women and men. AAFPRS surgeons report that their patients who are undergoing facial cosmetic surgery are clustered nto three major age groups: 30—39 represents 15.1% of clients; 40—49, 19.8%; and 50—59, 22.4%. Looking younger and enhancing appearance are the primary motivations. Ask your skin care professional for a referral or con­sultation if you are interested in more information about these procedures.

Uses for Hydrosols

Hydrosols, or aromatic plant d t hate s the exciting 21st century branch of aromatherapy, with many applica­tions for cosmetics and body care. Produced with essen­tial oils, hydrosols are steam-distilled from fresh organic plants, but with their moisture intact. The name hydrosol refers to the water resultin~ from the distillation process, and the plant components give the hydrosol its herbal or therapeutic effect. Discuss with
your skin professionals how hydrosols can be used to:
Spritz in the dryer for fresh, clean-smelling clothes.
Refresh the skin.
Help cool a hot flash.
Cool a sun burn.
Freshen the air.
Disinfect the hands.
Spray on a tissue to use as a wet wipe for a dirty face or hands.
Spray clothes before ironing.
Spritz on napkins.
Spray on bed linens to kill bed mites.
Spray on fingernails to help in the healthy growth of nails.
Set makeup.
Add to creams and lotions to help increase their efficacy.
Add to a bath.
Clean and remove germs on the car steering wheel and other appliances.
Balance oil glands in the skin.
Add natural scent to skin care products.
Condition and shine the hair.
Mix for a soothing, relaxing drink: mix one tablespoon in 4—6 oz. of water with ice cubes and optional sweetener.
Tone the skin.

Hair Wellness

In daily life, experi­ence is everything. Whether it is sipping gourmet coffee or shopping for designer
sportswear; even the mundane is no longer acceptable. Were no longer satisfied to sit on the sidelines and ac­cept the norm. We want to live a vital life and squeeze all we can from it. We want and need to “juice up” our lives in a positive and exciting way. Nowhere has this trend been more fully realized than in the evolution of the day spa. Spa services have become an oasis of purity, indulging and uplifting experiences to strengthen the body and enliven the senses. Traditionally, the talk has been about total body wellness. However, you can enhance your spa experi­ence by focusing on hair wellness as well. Some of the ingredients to look for and request to create a hair wellness experience at your spa through products and services include.’aloe. avocado, bamboo, birch leaf extract, birch sap, caffeine, chamomile, citric acid, grapefruit, horse chestnut extract, horsetail extract, jojoba, lime extract, Mandarin orange extract, menthol, nettle extract, rosemary, sandalwood, sage extract, sun­flower oil, tamarind, vitamin E and vitamin H. Discuss the benefits of these ingredients to your hair with your skin or hair care professional, and request ser­vices that address your hair care needs.

 

Sunscreen know-how

To determine how long your skin can be exposed to the sun safely when wearing   sunscreen, do the math: Multi­ply the sunscreen’s SPF number—which applies to the sun’s UVB rays that cause sun burns—by the amount of time it would typically take for you to show signs of burning. For example. 13 minutes x SPF 15 = 225 min­utes or 3 hours and 45 minutes. It is also very important are not blocked by to reapply sunscreen frequently when swimming or perspiring heavily, as water can thin out or wash off your protection. Remem­ber, however, to protect your skin against aging as well by selecting a sunscreen with JAVA broad-spec­u’um protection. The sun’s JAVA rays glass, so this applies to time spent in a vehicle or even at home. You also should protect your skin with broad-spectrum sunscreen when exposed to sun lamps and tanning beds, which emit JAVA rays—Or avoid them altogether. For more information on the importance of daily sun protection. discuss UVA and UVB, and broad-spectrum sunscreen with a skin care professional.