Celebrating without a Wrinkle

Christmas is a joyous time when we celebrate the best in us as we become more focused on the needs of others.

And for mid life baby boomers this festive time can momentarily depress us with the sudden appearance of sagging skin at our cheeks or additional lines around our eyes and mouth- known or not known to us to be suggesting the negative occurrences in our bodies.

We put our personal needs aside to indulge our love ones. We exhaust ourselves shopping for just the right gifts and preparing to host and attending celebrations.

Then there are the late nights with too much food and drink - hopefully just - while partying.

Add in the cold dry weather and the decreasing sunshine to further challenge our bodies’ endurance.

So what can you do to minimize the affects of holiday celebrations on your looks and your health.

Here are 5 easy suggestions that will give you big results for your efforts.

Get enough sleep by napping before a late night. This “beauty sleep” will give you the energy to keep your metabolism optimal
Keep your skin moist to ensure capillary health and good circulation. A quick and simple way to do this is to wear a serum under a rich moisturizer.
Keep warm so circulation is optimal so cells are nourished. Easily done by wearing a hat and gloves anytime you are outdoors. A hat helps with hair health too.
Exfoliate and moisturize your body to keep it youthful. It also improves circulation and you will find you feel warmer than usual this time of the year. And if you make it a habit your skin will be irresistibly soft by Valentine’s Day.
Drink warm liquids. Calming herbal teas, nourishing soups and comforting hot chocolates can help keep you warm and moist inside out.

“What Should I do when I get home late and don’t have enough resolve to cleanse off make up?” is a common question from client. Cleansing facial skin nightly of make up, dirt and pollution debris is important. But if you can only manage to drop into bed, then I would highly advise applying a rich mask, heavy moisturizer or facial oil over your unwashed skin before sleeping.

This will help you reduce the negative effects of self indulgence as moist skin is healthy skin and is therefore more resistant to old make up and pollution debris. This simple act will keep skin cells moist so that your morning after skin will be more normal and less dehydrated, dull or sensitive.

Beauty + the Global Warming Beast

How Global Warming affects Your Health and Appearance and How Small Daily Acts can create a Beautiful World

Are you are paralyzed to the point of neutrality by the news on Global Warming? Are our government leaders and our world leaders frustrating you as they declare 10% reduction of CO2’s by 2050 as you learn that the Arctic is becoming downright balmy and the melting glaciers are causing island nations to become history like Atlantis?

Do you feel like the only person who understands that Nature is not being heard at the negotiations in Copenhagen, yet Her timeline and Her ratios are the only ones that really matter? Well you are not alone!

Global warming is not just being felt in the weather. This year many of our clients have noticed unusual problems with their skin. Acne and skin sensitivity has become a problem for those with a lifetime of clear even complexions. It has also become a problem for those who take good care of their health and skin.

The unexpected and unseasonable changes in our weather are affecting our skin and health. On the macro level we need to push our leaders to be wise and to be visionary in balancing our priorities of economy and environment. On the micro level we can contribute positively to the preservation of our planet with small everyday act of conservation and consideration.

It’s Win-Win as the things we can do will also make us more beautiful both physically, mentally and emotionally.

We can mitigate the effects of the weather on our health and the appearance of our skin with the help of Ayurveda. Becoming more aware of the day to day characteristics of the weather, we can balance its affects on our physical and mental health with diet, activity and herbal supplements. With a basic understanding of skin health, we can rebalance our skin daily with 3 simple vital skincare products. You neutralize the effects of the fluctuations in humidity and the temperature with the appropriate serum, face oil and a good moisturizer. Sunscreen in a foundation will make you a sure victor.

Your call for lower CO2 emission will result in better air quality, which will reward you with the lessening of the effects of pollution in prematurely aging our skin. Thereby saving us the mental anguish of “anti-aging” or doing something irrational like injecting our faces with toxins we wisely try to avoid in our foods and our cosmetics.

Repairing our ozone reduces the harsh affects of the sun’s rays on our skin. Skin cancer is not the only negative effect of over exposure to sun. Premature skin aging is a more eminent result and even the young suffer the aftermath of a sunburn with blotchy or overly sensitive skin.

Walking or cycling, even taking public transit can lessen the sedentary aspect of our lives along with lowering our personal CO2 emissions. You can save money spent at the gym and create more meaning and interest in your exercise.

Eating locally can greatly reduce your carbon foot print but it will make eating to balance your day to day health easier. George Ohsawa, the founder of the Macrobiotic diet, advocated the importance eating of naturally and locally grown foods to promote personal health and even happiness. For more on this and on George Ohsawa go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrobiotic_diet .

Finally – stop cluttering your life with the spoils of so called successful bargain hunting trip and contribute to good Fengshui. Fengshui is the art of placement or decorating your home to improve your prosperity and health in life. For more on Fengshui go to http://www.malcanarrol.com/.

Clutter is one of the biggest sins of Fengshui and a real pain if you clean your own home.

Simple rules for to incorporate low carbon footprint habits in your life are;
Feel connected to your environment
Use natural products
Buy Locally produced and grown products
Choose Re-Use before Re-Cycle
Be a Minimalist and be proud of your frugality

Sleeping for Beauty

Sleeping for Beauty

Most of us “alternative healthees” accept the importance of healthy diet, exercise and natural skincare as precursors to good health and personal beauty.

For my seasoned clients, holistic skincare also includes rest and relaxation.

On entering the age of wisdom or Vata (spirit), did you expect to be free of the need to look "good"?

Actually taking care of our looks can be beneficial to our overall health.

Personally without the growing signs of aging on my face, I would probably inadvertently overwork my body to poor health. i.e. I am writing this at midnight; fueled by an organic green coffee happily consumed too late in the afternoon.

I follow healthy diet, exercise and grooming regimes but my lifestyle is negatively impacted by my workaholic tendencies. So my understanding of "Face Mapping" from Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine helps me to listen to my dehydration wrinkles, my overly sensitive skin and my puffy eyes, so that I begrudgingly schedule in rest and relaxation.

While my diet and skincare helps me cover up short term abuses – my haggard face screams at me, when I over do it; so my long term health is not irreparably affected.

When my feet are swollen, it’s "just" edema but when my eyes are puffy, I listen and curtail my nights at the computer so that my Kidney energy can regenerate. While I need to address the immediate needs of my eyes' dry delicate skin with a good eye cream;-- only adequate sleep will revive my kidney function and relieve my edema (get rid of my puffy eyes) before it becomes a diagnosable disease.

When I was diagnosed with digestive problems, I merely avoided the foods I was allergic to. I experienced some relief but nothing close to good digestion. But when I learned that the stubborn red, puffy cheeks and adult acne could be caused by a weakened spleen and low kidney energy; I finally found dramatic improvement to my poor digestion and my skin’s appearance.


One more example. I have had dry hands and feet since I was young. It was so unimportant to me that I did not even regularly apply cream to moisten them. But the dry skin on my face finally had me pursuing relief. Again it was my poor tired kidneys. So I finally listened to my dehydrated skin, ---relaxed and rested my mind body spirit more often.

But workaholics and high stressed people can experience poor sleep. And for those of us going through peri-menopause, decreasing Estrogen can intensify poor sleep and dehydrated skin.

So how can we end the cycle and increase our ability to get a good night’s sleep?

Lets start with what we suspect could be affecting our sleep.

If you have a tendency to overdo it with work; your over worked adrenals can disturb a good night’s sleep. The adrenals can also be the problem if you consume too much coffee or white sugar. So using coffee or sugary snacks to force your body to work longer will make your adrenals weaker in the long run.

If you are awakened by being too warm or in a sweat and you are in your forties of fifties; then suspect peri-menopausal symptoms. There are studies that indicate that in many cultures that eat a vegetarian based diet experience fewer or no peri-menopausal symptoms. I found that a vegetarian diet reduced my hot flashes and my resumption of meat comes with corresponding degrees of hot flashes. My TCM advised me that my hot flashes affected my kidney energy, so more incentive to change my diet.

Other problems that could disrupt our sleep are stress related. Chronic dehydrated skin; waking to urinate or waking with a thirst ; --can indicate low kidney function. The kidneys determine the body's hydration levels. Overwork and aging can weaken Kidney function. I recommend getting the help of a naturopathic doctor or TCM to boost Kidney function. But in the mean time make sure you consume enough healthy clean fluids like water fresh juices, soups and herbal teas to keep the kidneys in good working order.

Those of us who abuse our bodies with over work and then in our fatigue give into cravings for refined and fatty foods that challenge our liver can also experience disrupted sleep. Again I recommend getting the help of a naturopathic doctor or TCM to help us detox our livers and other elimination organs. But in the meantime eat a liver friendly diet of low fat and no refined foods.

While you explore how you can improve your sleep, you can give you body some rest and relaxation with exercises like yoga, tai chi and a meditative walk.

So – you see-- “Nothing moisturizes our skin like a great night's sleep”.

Bruising can lead to Better Health

During a training session, a staff member had brought up a client's concern about bruising more than usual.

She wondered if it warranted a visit to her Doctor, Naturopathic Doctor or Traditional Chinese Doctor.

She asked us the question even though we were clearly estheticians and not doctors because of our holistic approach to beauty. Our response while specific to the client can help you understand the inter-connectivity of your body's systems and how your body communicates with you.

Bruising is caused by the damaging of the capillary walls - i.e. impact. The ease or frequency of bruising will give a clue to the condition of the capillary walls. The condition of our capillary walls will affect our blood and lymph circulation which in turn will affect our overall health. Our immunity and vitality are affected by our blood and its circulation. A lymphatic system in good working order ensures we are disease free.

The condition of the blood and lymphatic system also affects the rate we age and is easily seen in the skin. Bruising is a sign of trouble that can be accompanied by any of -- red sensitive skin, acne, dry dehydrated skin; telling us that two of the most important systems of our body is in trouble.

The client was in her 50’s, the Vata time of her life, and was slim with dry skin, a dominant Vita nature. It is currently autumn; which is Vata time of the year. Therefore her capillary walls are probably more easily bruised due to the dominant condition of Vata in her life. Since one of the main characteristics of Vata is dryness, it is safe to guess she is bruising more now due to her age, the season and the inability for her dry skin to protect her capillary walls. Therefore she is bruising due to her blood vessels being more dry and brittle than usual.

It is common to dismiss her concern as part of aging, but it is more helpful to her if she understands that the bruising is occurring because her capillary walls are growing more delicate. And like dry brittle skin, we can slow down the process with a change in our daily habits.

How can she improve the condition of her capillary walls? First she needs to maintain moist skin so it can better protect the blood vessels from external damage from the weather, sun and impact. This is where I repeat myself about the importance of moist skin-- so to prevent me from boring every one – please go to http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-am-too-young-to-be-aging.html to explore ways to keep your skin dewy and moist. Doing this will not only reduce bruising and improve circulation but you will look way more youthful.

A holistic program to maintain better circulation would include regular exercise, healthy diet and daily dosha balancing. You can learn about your doshas at http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/04/ayurvedic-doshas.html and how to balance them at http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/05/enjoying-weather.html

Or get it all in one book “Beauty 2.0” at Pure + simple http://www.pureandsimple.ca/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=1605&category_id=257&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=27#Excerpt

or at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-2-0-Holistic-Natural-Modern/dp/0981262406/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258332847&sr=1-1

Now if you are bruising more frequently but you do not believe it is due to weaker capillary walls, then I recommend looking at the changes in your daily activity that causes the frequency and the impact of what is causing the bruises ;)

A bit of Cancer with that younger looking skin?

How much risk are we willing to accept for the pursuit of an misguided perception of or a narrow definition of beauty?

What are you willing to risk to get rid of that annoying wrinkle between your brows?

• Are you willing to inject something called bovine toxin into the coveted area of your third eye to try and get rid of it?
• If the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) warned you that it can cause muscle weakness, blurred vision , droopy eye lids and more, would the short term result be worth the long term risks?

Would you still do it if statistics showed that only about 40% of people who try botox continue to use it? Are you so driven about the short term gain that you would not even care? The low rate of repeat injections is due to first time recipients are not screened properly as botox is successful only in removing the wrinkle caused by repetitive motion or due to negative side effects experienced.

Are you objective when choosing methods to remove that darker spot on your cheek?

• Does the inexpensive route of bleaching creams feel both budget friendly and convenient.
• Did you know that when you choose this method of skin lightening that you have inadvertently chosen to risk getting skin cancer.
• Did you know that the spot only disappears for as long as you continue to use the cream?
• And would you trade hyperpigmentation for hypopigmentation? Vitilago can be triggered by the continual stress of lightening agents on skin cells.
  
  

Many of us are unhappy with the blotchy or wrinkly skin that seems to creep up on us as we age. Hyperpigmentation is caused by chronic skin inflammation caused by sun exposure, irritation and hormonal fluctuations. Due to over sun exposure in our childhood and harsh skin treatments in our teens; some of us are seeing hyperpigmentation as early as in our twenties.

Wrinkled skin comes with the dehydration and poorer circulation of aging. Poor skincare and lifestyle along with careless sun exposure are the main causes. Poor lifestyle choices can be neutralized with nutrition and skincare.

There are many choices to reduce hyperpigmentation and they will also reduce other signs of aging. They range from Intense Pulse Light, Microdermabrasion, Acid Peels to the inexpensive lightening cream. These options offer different degrees of relief from hyperpigmentation depending on the brand of equipment used and the skin characteristics of the client.

The humble lightening moisturizer looks like the one with the least risk, but this is not the case. The most common active ingredient in lightening creams is hydroquinone. The use of hydroquinone is banned or restricted in many countries but allowed in Canada and in the USA. Hydroquinone is the most effect skin lightening agents for non- hormonal hyperpigmentation. But used in effective doses, it has also been known to be a cytotoxic agent that is mutagenic and cancer causing. But the foolishness of its use is more apparent as users risk hypopigmentation (vitilago) and Onchronosis,hyperpigmentation accompanied with skin lesions.

While hydoquinone substitutes like Kojic Acid have not been proven to be health risks, there is controversy. So as the ingredients on the label changes, commonsense still cautions that using anything daily that can change the colour of our skin (by disrupting basic cellular processes like melanin production) will probably not be a good solution longterm.

So better solutions for lightening skin would be skin peeling and light therapy which work more on the physical removal of the guilty mutated skin cell. All methods mentioned will also reduce those wrinkles. Choosing the right method for you requires consideration of your skin-tone and ethnic background.

The most cost effective in the short run is chemical peeling. You can do skin exfoliation daily at home with an alphahydroxy peel (best for light hyperpigmentation). go to http://www.pureandsimple.ca/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=552&Itemid=27 to find some excellent natural skin peels like Pure + simple Lactic Acid in a base of kelp. Or visit a professional clinic or spa which can use higher percentages for darker, deeper hyperpigmentation.

For medium skin tones like Asians, the use of microdermabrasion causes less risk increased hyperpigmentation or of possibility hypopigmentation with the added benefit of skin rejuvenation. I recommend sea salt over aluminum crystals as the medium used in your microdermabrasion treatment. It is definitely safe and the sea salt helps skin hydration.

Intense Pulse Light is successful for the darker more stubborn pigmented areas for all skin tones and you get wrinkle removal as a side benefit. I discovered that there is a noticeable difference in safety, number of treatments and in the final results with the different brands of machines when we did our research to purchase our Intense Pulse Light Machines.

I prefer preventative measures which include using sun screens and non -irritating skincare so anti-aging the smart way starts in our younger years.

Be wise about sun exposure by balancing the benefits of vitamin D with the risk of skin aging and skin cancer. The magic formula is dependent on skin tone. Light skin tones need more Vitamin D and are more quickly damaged by sun exposure. Taking Vitamin D as a supplement is also recommended for everyone in Canada to ensure healthy bones and skin. See http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/07/anti-aging-stage-3-4-sagging-skin.html for more info on vitamin D for skin anti-aging.

So when looking to improve your appearance understand the emotional element before you do your research. No amount of make over will replace real self esteem. And if our self confidence relies too much on our appearance, we may make irrational and risky decisions that have long term impact on our future well-being.

Aging with Sagacity with Simone + Nuala

So now that you are holistic about your physical aging, who can guide us through emotional aging. How do we leave behind the being the model adult we spent all our lives striving to achieve. And embark onto another learning journey to our later years with sagacity and avoid the foolishness of “not acting our age”?

Ayurveda calls our years after forty, the Vata stage of our life. In popular culture, we call this period our twilight years. Whatever is our Dosha; Vata, Pitta, Kapha; we all become more Vata as we enter this time of our life. That means as we age, we become more in touch with our creativity and spirituality and we also get the dry skin, the creaky bones and forgetfulness.

In my twenties, I had the fortune have fallen in love with the works of Simone DeBeauvoir so that I came into contact witrh a positive and realistic preview of my coming middle age years. One of those books was DeBeauvoir's third volume (later years) of her autobiography which was poetically titled, “When Things of the Spirit come First”. I have benefited from her example of holistic beauty emulating from her acquired wisdom and strength of character.

But in our Youth Loving culture, there are few positive, realistic models of middle age for us to learn from. So again, I am fortunate. I discovered Nuala O’Faolain (

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuala_O'Faolain ) while listening to CBC Radio driving from one Pure + simple location to another. I ordered my first Nuala O’Faolain book, "My Dream of You" at http://www.amazon.ca/My-Dream-You-Nuala-Ofaolain/dp/1573229083/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256084225&sr=1-3 .

The book inspired me to live and love my middle age mind, spirit, face and body for its strengths and its follies. It also showed me that I do not need to learn to go into my later years quietly. I went on line and ordered her other books but it was a sad consolation to learn that she had passed away last year.

Nuala; her writing enables you to feel familiar enough to be on a first name basis; became a published author after her mid fifties. So go for your dreams, late bloomers.

She writes with the honest, raw emotions of transiting from adult woman to wise woman. Her clear language transcends culture. Her ability to observe her emotions in complicated relationships of step families will stir up your own emotions. Her candidness of her dysfunctions may help you to come out from behind yours. Denial or repression are impediments to your personal journey to wisdom and wholeness.

Having difficulty with this new reality of your “later years”? Read Nuala. Celebrate romance at sixty. Identify with the complexity of stepfamilies with its conflicting feelings of love and jealousy for the offspring of new lovers/spouses. And be okay with not acting mature or wise all the time. Enjoy the freedom of real choice from the fruits of your life experience.

L'Chaim .... To Life!

Anti Aging -- Holistically Please

A client of mine apologized for not seeing me for a while. She sheepishly admitted to receiving Botox Injections and fractionated Therapy to look younger. I was curious why she displayed guilt in our conversation.

Was it the feeling of disloyalty? I did not feel she was disloyal. She wanted Botox and need an able supplier of it.

Was it the idea of cheating Mother Nature. Or was it the safety or ethics of the methods she used.

While the issues of ethics is personal, the utilitarian argument for or against certain Anti-Aging treatments can be reduced to the value of the benefits and the cost of the side effects** to the recipient.

As a holistic skincare advocate, Anti-Aging done piece meal tends to give lopsided results and cheat us of the benefits of the deep understanding of ourselves and the aging process. According to social philosopher, Francis Fukuyama, “…aging is the result of the gradual accumulation of damage to a wide range of different biological systems.”

Aging or Anti-Aging is most satisfying when based on self awareness and holistic health. Successful aging through Holistic health and self awareness includes knowledge of your body’s physiology, your expectations and your psychological and emotional make up and needs.

Simply paralyzing your muscle to prevent the wrinkling ameliorates the need to understand how your skin and muscles work and the subtle effects of your internal organs, your mind and emotions on your face. Not to mention the risk of introducing poisons into your body's systems reguarly.

So what is the best way to begin your journey to 'wisdom-ignited' facial rejuvenation? I would recommend Ayurveda. Ayurveda will have you looking at your physical, mental and emotional self and helps you to see your strengths, which you tend to ignore, along with the weaknesses, you so easily obsess over.

I use Ayurveda to keep me in constant connection to what I put in my mouth and what is occurring in my external environment. No I am not neurotically documenting what I eat and the temperature outside. To counteract my dominant Vata Nature ----(see blog entry http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/04/ayurvedic-doshas.html for the 3 Doshas and their characteristics ) ----in this very Vata time of the year ----(see http://our-metamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/05/enjoying-weather.html for the different influences of the seasons ) ----

In fall, I eat hearty nourishing foods like squash, stews and meat. I keep my appearance at its youthful best, by ensuring my skin (all of it not just my face) is moist. Keeping my skin moist and exfoliating it, maintains my good overall circulation. And good circulation is probably the best agent of holistic youthfulness.

Your journey to attain more attractive skin holistically can be as easy as visiting any Pure + simple location. Pure + simple offers only facial services so all of our Estheticians are skincare specialists. You are very welcomed to meet with me, if you are patient and can book an appointment on a Sunday. Got to http://www.pureandsimple.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=53 for contact information of your nearest location.

If you want to learn more first, one of the best books that brings together our overall health and our appearance is Beauty 2.0 by Kristen Ma, Ayurvedic Practitioner and my daughter. It will go through the options of Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Skin Science to help you attain the skin you desire naturally while challenging you to increased self awareness.

You can purchase a copy of the book at Pure + simple http://www.pureandsimple.ca/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&flypage=&category_id=585&product_id=1605&Itemid=27 or at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-2-0-Holistic-Natural-Modern/dp/0981262406/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255386027&sr=8-3

Anti-Aging is not something you put on your face or have a doctor eradicate or tuck. Anti-aging is part of your life practice and is a challenge that awakens self-discovery. Anti-Aging is not a goal; it is exercise; it is diet; it is your state of mind; it is your feeling of belonging.

Self awareness makes looking better, profounding beautiful. Make holism your goal and you will inadvertently find the Fountain of Youth.

**The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ruled that all botulinum toxin products, including Allergen Botox and Botox Cosmetic, Myobloc (SolsticeNeurosciences) and Dysport (Ipsen Biopharm), must incorporate new safety labeling changes, including a boxed warning on packaging. The ruling follows reports that botulinum toxin can spread from the area of injection, causing loss of speech, muscle weakness, loss of bladder control, troubled breathing and swallowing, blurred vision and drooping eye lids. (from ICN July 2009)

**The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA