Month: November 2012

Combating dry skin

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As the days are getting colder and duller we find ourselves inside more with the heating on and you will probably find that your skin maybe come more sensitive due to the change in temperatures.

I have found some lovely products which will help protect your skin and keep you hydrated over the next couple of months.

Here are some of my favourite winter rescue remedies…

Barefoot botanicals 

I really love the Barefoot product range as it helps soothe sensitive skins as well as keeping it hydrated.  It does all this without  you feeling as though you have a thick cream on your skin – as its doesnt sit on the surface. They have a range of organic products which are suited for sensitive skins, but a must have this winter is their SOS cream.

You can use this on your face and body and is great for eczema and psoriasis sufferers

Barefoot-botanicals-Skincare

Ren Mayday Mayday Rescue balm

This balm contains Lactic Acid which helps improve the condition of peeling and chapped skin while Prebiotic Oligosaccharides and Antileukine from Ochroleuca Seaweed Extract protect the skin against inflammation. Chamomile and Pink Violet help to calm redness and soothe minor irritation.

It is great for dry, very dry, irritated, chapped or peeling skin and is especially suitable for dry areas, such as hands, elbows, lips, knees and any area where extra TLC is needed.

£21  Ren mayday mayday rescue balm

Gently exfoliate

For those who suffer from dry flakey skin, remember that the flaking skin is dead skin so no matter how much moisturizer you use on it – it’s not going to help – you have to  remove the dead skin before moisturising.

I am always telling people to invest in a good exfoliator. There are many exfoliators on the market but you need to be careful to choose a good one. Many contain quite coarse granules and it may look and feel as though it is doing a good job  but what you will not see is that the coarse granules  will actually be scratching your skin  and making it more sensitive.

I am a ‘HUGE’ fan of the Trilogy exfoliator I may have mentioned it a few times now but it really is  the best one I have come across in years.  As well as being moisturising you can really feel the granules but without it irritating the skin.

I have recently started using the Arbonne exfoliator. I would recommend it for those with very sensitive skins. You can only slightly feel the granules and you can leave this on like a mask. It has a lovely fresh smell and the results are great – leaving your skin clean and glowing.

To purchase this product you need to contact a consultant

Monique 07984351859

*  A great tip is to use the exfoliator on your lips –  this will help soften and smooth the lips and help with any flakeyness!

Oil it up

Oils are fantastic for dry skin – you should be using them all year round or if you have kept one stored in your beauty box –  this is the time to bring it out! They penetrate a lot deeper into the skin than creams and really moisturize the skin.

Which one to choose?

I have recently been taking Optimum blend oil from Holland and Barratt. This is one of their organic oils which I love. Ok I know this is a supplement – but trust me it also works as a fantastic face oil.  I came across this as I had  run out of face oil and that day I had been talking to another therapist about piercing Vitamin E capules and applying the oil to the skin. As I was taking the Optimum blend oil as a supplement – I thought I would see what it was like as a face oil- and I was very pleasantly surprised with the results the following day. It had helped reduce a rash I had on one  cheek and my skin looked fantastic.

The oil contains Omega 3 and 6 – as Omega helps with inflammation it is also great for ezcema and you can use it anywhere on the body. A client of mine found it worked great on her hair line. The only drawback its that it smells a bit like cooking oil  (thankfully not fish oil ) but an easy way to get around this is to buy organic essential oils such as rose, lavender or camomile and mix the two – although use no more that 10 drops of essential oil.

 A few other brands

Here are a few other brands which I would recommend as a winter wonder.

Lips

The majority of people find that their lips become dryer in winter.  I personally don’t use lip balm that often as I found I kept needing to apply more and more – I then discovered  that it was all to do with certain ingredients they have put inside.

I have tried many organic balms but quite a few are scented with essential oils which I really didn’t like the taste of. However my favourite so far is – Balm Balm with Rose & geranium.

£4.50 balm-balm-lipcare

A few of my favourite winter products

I wrote a blog last year highlightinga few of my favourite winter products and they are still my top 10 products

A Few of my favourite winter products

Let me know how you get on with these products?

Have you used any of these before  and how did you find them?

Product of Week

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I have decided that each week I am going to share with you one of my favorite products that I am currently using.

This week my favourite pick is…

Silver Shield

With so many colds and flu’s around I have started to protect myself from those nasty germs that I face on a day to day basis. My life consists of using public transport (tube, trains) almost every day and being in constant contact with people.

I started using Silver Shield by Natures Sunshine last year and noticed that I hardly became ill at all, especially when everyone around me seemed to be suffering from colds. So I highly recommend it, especially if you work with a lot of people, or around children.

I have spoken to the company and found out that this is safe to use on babies and children. They always pick up so many nasty colds and I always find that when you catch a cold from them it always seem ten times worse. It is great that you can use this product as a prevention from illness – as over the counter cold remedies are full of chemicals and contain lot of sugar and flavourings.

Silver shield is a natural antibiotic and has many other uses. It is an excellent disinfectant and can be used to clean surfaces. A tip from a client is that they take this on holiday firstly to prevent catching illness off the place. They also take it before eating to prevent an upset stomach.

If you have a food allergy such as wheat and dairy – take silver Shield before eating and you wont get as bad side effects.

It doesn’t really have a taste so it’s a bit like taking water. Natures Sunshine recommends a teaspoon a day but if you are ill or going to be surrounded by ill people you can take more. If you are protecting yourself against food they recommend you pour some on your food or take it before you eat to kill off any bacteria

This product is definitely something you should have in your cupboard.

Naturessunshine Silver Shield (Click here to buy or find our more)

Let me know your feedback on this product and if you have any questions – don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Make sure you take a look at my blog every week to see what product I recommend.

Updates

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Firstly I wanted to say a big thank you for everyone’s help and support & loyalty especially to all her regular clients.

MoniqueHBeauty  is very happy to have Celebrated its 5 birthday this month

My way of saying thank you is that I have designed a special offer from today: When you book your Signature or Deluxe facial you will receive a complementary back massage.

offer ends 15/12/2012

I have made a few changes and updated my blog page.

Have a look at what I have done

*I designed a new treatment menu still keeping th signature facial but adding new and exciting facial treatments Stronger peels, massage and body treatments, Mother to be treatments wedding packages and course are now available.

Treatment Menu

*You can now buy gift vouchers online through paypal. If you prefer to buy your friend of family member a treatment rather than the price I can design a different voucher for you which I can email or post.

Buy-gift-vouchers

* I have set up a Shop online page where you can buy fantastic Organic Skincare, bodycare, Makeup, Mens, hair, Baby care, supplements & nutrition

Shop-online

 

Would you like to see anymore features on my blog?

Would love to hear any feedback

Keep sharing the page

Monique

 

Neck Jaw and Chin toning techniques

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As we get older, the muscles on our face, jaw, neck and chin sag. Unfortunately this a common complaint for all ageing women and men.

I am going to show you some techniques which will keep your skin looking beautiful and toned. You can use the techniques at any age and at any time, but I recommend you start from the age of 21.

I have written this as it is a common concern of ageing – it can also be useful if you have lost weight and want to get rid of that double chin without spending a lot of money on creams or surgery.

Certain products we apply to our face, can only penetrate to the superficial layers of the skin. They will keep your skin hydrated but you will find that it will not have an amazing effect on the muscle tone, as it doesn’t target the lower layers of the skin and deep into the muscle. To tone the muscles we need to do a bit of work ourselves through facial exercises. It is however, still a good idea to keep applying cream and use a good spf to protect against pigmentation which is caused from sun damage. I would recommend Environ AVST range as it contains vitamin A, C & E which are high antioxidents and Rad for the spf protection.

We all realize that as we get older our body muscles begin to sag, and so we go to the gym to tighten and strengthen them. It is exactly the same for skin and so we need to take a similar approach to strengthen and tone the muscles in our face and neck.

The most common thing I hear from clients is that they ‘dont have time’ ( I’m even guilty of saying it myself!) but if ageing is something that you are concerned about – make it essential that you fit these techniques in your life, just like we always remember to brush our teeth at night.

You can always do them while watching TV, or waiting for the kettle to boil, or even in the shower. A client told me that as you get older your ankles weaken, so she stands on one foot at a time while she brushes her teeth.

Here are some simple techniques to help strengthen the muscles on the neck, chin and jaw.

Here are a few simple techniques you can follow…

1. The big smile

  • Stand up tall, lift and stretch your neck up
  • Put your bottom lip over your top lip
  • Give yourself a big smile
  • Place your hands either side of your jaw
  • Massage up to your temples and hold for 5/10 seconds
  • Relax
  • Do this 5/10 times every day
  • Very simple!

The side chin lift

The side chin lift is a yoga facial exercise that engages the muscles of your neck and face.

  • Relax your shoulders and stand or sit with your back straight.
  • Clench the teeth gently and widen the mouth, as if in a loose smile.
  • Lift the neck tall and turn your head to the left.
  • Tilt your chin diagonally up toward the ceiling while pressing your tongue to the top of your mouth and hold for five to eight counts.

Bring your head back to the front and repeat the entire sequence on the right side. Do five to eight repetitions on each side.

3. Chew yourself beautiful

  • Sit up right and tilt your head up as if your looking at the ceiling
  • Keep your lips closed and start doing a chewing motion
  • You should feel your muscles work in your neck and throat

4. Stick your tongue out to those wrinkles

  • Sit up straight and look up to the ceiling
  • keeping lips relaxed
  • open your mouth and stick you tongue out
  • try and touch the tip of your tongue with your chin
  • Leave it in that position for 10 seconds
  • Return to normal

5, Jaw droppingly beautiful skin

  • Sit up straight and face forward
  • Keep your lips together
  • separate your jaw by dropping your jaw
  • Push jaw forwards
  • Hold for 10/15 seconds

Please let me know how you get on with these exercises – do you have any tips to share?