Beauty Sleep
I think one of the best beauty tips you can get….is to get a lot of sleep.
Sleep is essential for restoring your body and maintaining your health. Memory, learning, emotions and social behaviors are all influenced by your sleeping patterns. Those who suffer from sleep disorders frequently experience disrupted, non-restorative sleep. While some of these people have sleep problems due to a physical stress or condition, others suffer from sleep disorders due to some mental or emotional factors.
The amount of sleep you need each night depends on your age, general health and quality of sleep. While adults generally need about seven hours of sleep, teens and young children tend to need about ten hours. Regularly sleeping longer (more than an hour) than these normal sleeping patterns is defined as “long sleep.
Long sleepers, those who need much more sleep than others in their age groups, can require anywhere from 10 to more than 12 hours of sleep each night to feel fully rested during the day.
Lack of sleep can lead to us over eating on foods for energy and also turning to caffeinated drinks. It also is very ageing to suffer from lack of sleep as our body repairs itself when we sleep at night. If you are having trouble getting to sleep at night try to cut out caffeinated drinks after lunch time and have a nice relaxing bath or massage in the evening. At Zen we recommend Tea Pigs, our fabulous tasting range of caffeine-free teas. Honey and Rooibos is a great late night drink, its lovely with milk as well.
To create a calming and relaxing environment, I also suggest good quality aromatherapy candles. We have some amazing Neom candles such as ‘Calming’ and ‘Tranquility,’ which are excellent to have burning in the bedroom if you are reading before you go to sleep or when you are relaxing in a bath.
Murad has a wonderful new product called Sleep Reform (£79.50), which is excellent to help repair the skin overnight. The topical melatonin in it helps promote the skin’s sleep cycle, maximizing its ability to repair and regenerate itself.
Advances in skincare technology
Over the last few years we have seen some tremendous advancements in skincare technology, both from the point of view of homecare skin products and equipment used in treatments. The global skin care industry, and in particular the anti-ageing aspect, is huge business. There is a phenomenal amount of money and scientific brainpower dedicated to research and development, and we are learning more each year about how the skin works and how to slow down the signs of ageing. There are even some really powerful techniques to reverse the signs of ageing, Botox being an obvious, simple example. Products and treatments are also becoming increasingly sophisticated at targeting the critical functions of skin health, for example the production and maintenance of collagen and elastin, the building blocks of healthy skin. We can now safely speed up the skin renewal process without undue dryness and irritation. Products are coming onto the market which will mimic DNA functions of healthy skin and which can repair skin damage right down to the level of individual skin cells. Many products successfully harness the healing power of anti-oxidants, which play a very important role in preventing the ageing effects on skin cells caused by free radicals in the body.
One of the most important developments in skincare technology has been the development of high quality AHA based products. AHAs are Alpha Hydroxy Acids, naturally occurring compounds which are wonderful for restoring and correcting skin. AHA’s gently exfoliate your skin in a natural way, sloughing off the outer layer of dead skin cells to reveal smoother, healthy layers below. This process also speeds up the cell renewal cycle, stimulating the production of healthy new skin cells. As well as helping to return damaged or aging skin to a healthy, natural looking condition, they are great for long term skin health and anti ageing. Whilst associated in the past with causing irritation and dryness for some clients, there are products now in the market which are suitable for sensitive skin and which actually improve moisture levels. AHA’s were developed in the States by Joe Lewis, the bio-scientist behind the Priori brand, and first introduced to salons and spas by leading US dermatologist Dr Howard Murad.
Generally speaking we recommend that all clients should adopt a 3-step skin care regime. The first step is to cleanse (and tone); the second step is to correct; the third step is to hydrate and protect your skin for the day.
Personally I like to use a cleanser which I can take into the shower with me and foam up. The Priori Advanced AHA cleanser is gentle and a great anti-ageing cleanser. It’s a treatment in itself. Then you should use a corrector, that is, a product which will work on making gentle changes to your skin throughout the day or night. The correct cleanser should be prescribed based on your own skin condition and skin type, as well as what objectives you are trying to achieve. For example I am currently using the Murad Resurgence Age-Diffusing Serum, which is the most amazing anti-ageing product, but when I come back from holiday I will probably switch to the Coffeeberry Brightening Serum from Priori as I might be more concerned about sun damage and uneven skin tone.
The third step is to hydrate and protect your skin. The moisturiser does what it says on the bottle, but ask for a good one: for example all the Murad moisturisers contain anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant ingredients as well. If your moisturiser does not contain an SPF of at least 30, you absolutely must apply an SPF on top of your moisturiser. This is essential every day of the year, especially if you want to prevent early ageing. Even when it’s not sunny, a good spf will filter out the ageing effects of many polluting influences, especially the highly ageing UVA which surrounds us all the time.
I would recommend getting good advice from a skincare specialist on your own skin care needs. It’s best to do this in a professional salon or skin clinic environment, rather than relying on the product knowledge of sales assistant in a department store. If you can it is also worth getting your skin scanned for digital complexion analysis, in order to get really customised recommendations. This is available at Zen Lifestyle and at some dermatology clinics.
Links:
Buy Murad Products online at Zen-LifestyleDirect.com
Buy Priori Products online at Zen-LifestyleDirect.com
Permanent Hair Removal
Over the past decade or so one of the most revolutionary treatments to hit the beauty industry has to be laser hair removal or ipl hair reduction. When this technology first came into the market it was considered an ‘elite’ treatment, affordable only by a few clients. Nowadays, with further developments of the technology and increased competition, this wonderful, life-enhancing treatment can be accessed by an increasingly large consumer base. For example the upper lip can be treated for as little as £34 per session. The most popular areas are facial hair, underarms, legs and bikini line for women. The back is a popular area for men.
A life changing treatment
I have had IPL myself and I can really say that permanent hair removal has been a wonderful, life-changing experience. Personally, I have not waxed or shaved for years and I can hardly tell you how much more confident and feminine this makes me feel. I think it is the single most effective investment anyone can make in a beauty or cosmetic treatment.
I love recommending this treatment to clients because I know that its works fantastically well. Providing a service that makes clients really delighted with the results is the most satisfying aspect to running a beauty clinic. I find that that clients tend to think about it for a while, but when they have had one area done they don’t hesitate to get other areas done too, and wonder why they put it off for so long. This is one treatment which I never hesitate to recommend to friends and family, as well as clients, because I am so confident they will be thrilled with the results.
Better than waxing
Waxing and shaving can be very irritating to the skin, rashes and ingrown hairs are quite common and the area tends to suffer from dryness after waxing and shaving. Getting waxing appointments in a salon is not always convenient and over the years the cumulative cost of this is substantial compared to a permanent solution. In my opinion the worst thing about waxing is that you are always in-between treatments. Shortly after removing the hair the area starts to get bristly again but it might be another 3 or 4 weeks before its ready for another wax. The effect with shaving is much worse, because with waxing you are at least removing hair by the root. With permanent hair reduction you are always completely smooth.
How does it work?
IPL stands for intense pulsed light. This technology has been clinically proven to be safe and effective for hair removal. It is also very efficient, fairly painless, and involves no downtime. Laser hair removal is a very similar technology using a slightly different output of light. These systems deliver a controlled, filtered flash of light to the hair, pigment in the hair converts the light into heat, which destroys the hair follicle, rendering it unable to produce new hair growth. For most clients 6-9 treatments are sufficient, with results getting better and better after each session. After the first 3 sessions you do notice a huge reduction.
How can you get started?
Wherever you go for this treatment you will need a thorough consultation and a patch test before your course can begin. At Zen Lifestyle we have been offering ipl hair removal for over 8 years and have some of Scotland’s most experienced practitioners. I would like to offer all Scottish Woman readers a discount of 30% on courses of 6 or more treatments until the end of November. Please mention this article. If you think it may be time for you to learn more about this treatment, we’d love to see you for a consultation.
