FitSugar

At Home Spa Treatment: Coffee Scrub

FitSugar — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:30:00 -0700

I like the idea of whipping up an at home spa treatment with ingredients found in my kitchen cupboard. Recently, I came across not one, but two coffee scrubs and I thought I should tell you about them.

The first one, from Spa Index is an exfoliation scrub. All you need is:

2 cups of coarsely ground coffee

1/2 cup raw sugar or sea salt

2-3 T massage oil, or olive

Here's what you do:
Mix all ingredients together. Apply in hot shower after your skin is evenly moistened and your pores are open. Using wide, circular motions, rub the coffee mixture onto your skin with strong, even pressure. Rinse off, pat skin dry, and apply a thin layer of your favorite body lotion.

The second coffee rub, from Care2 claims to be a cellulite buster. I have seen many spas offering coffee cellulite treatments, and I don't believe anything like scrubbing your bum with coffee will get rid of the dimples. Cellulite occurs in 50 - 90 % of women regardless of their age or clothing size. But this scrub is an interesting variation on the coffee theme so I am sharing it with you.

Want to see what you need for this one? Then read more

1/4 cup warm used, caffeinated coffee grounds

tablespoon of olive oil

newspaper

1 roll of plastic wrap

Here's what you do:
Mix coffee and olive oil. Place newspaper on your bathroom floor. Apply coffee mixture to the cellulite area with your hands or a loofah. Some will fall onto the floor, hence the newspaper, you just need a thin layer of the scrub on your skin.

Wrap the area with plastic wrap, and keep it covered for several minutes. This might be a good time to give yourself a pedicure.

When your toe nail polish is dry, or you're just plain bored of hanging out dressed in nothing but coffee and plastic wrap, unwrap yourself and brush off the excess coffee mixture. Shower with warm water.

It is suggested that for best results you should repeat this process twice a week.

So maybe coffee is a pick me up for the skin too.

Exfoliating Dry Skin: It's All About the Sugar

FitSugar — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 03:30:00 -0800

Skin is the largest organ in your body, so you want to take care of it. Especially in the winter.

Scrub away dry dead skin while cleansing at the same time using sugar body polish. It's gentler on your skin than salt scrubs.

One of my faves is from Lunaroma. They make a Lavender and Geranium Sugar Body Polish that smells relaxing and fresh. They also have other scents like Cranberry Rose, Chocolate, and Ginger Snap.

After scrubbing in the shower, you can step out and seal in the moisture with silk - Body Silk that is. It's a cross between a lotion and an oil, and leaves your skin lusciously nourished.

They're all made with pure and natural ingredients in small batches by hand. Lunaroma offers all-natural alternatives to the leading chemical based body care products. So once you go natural, you'll never go back.

At Home Spa Treatment: Piña Colada Body Exfoliant

FitSugar — Thu, 31 May 2007 15:45:00 -0700

Sometimes you need a vacation and taking one is simply impossible. This is when you have to pamper yourself. If you can't sip a piña colada on the beach, why not have a piña colada exfoliating bath? Yep, you can make a great all body exfoliant with the same ingredients you use to make the very same tropical cocktail you would like to be sipping on some beach.

According to Lindisima this treatment will both moisturize your skin as well as act as a gentle exfoliant. The coconut milk moistens the skin and the fruit acid of the pineapple exfoliates dry skin.

Here's what you need:

2 cups of pineapple juice
1 cup of coconut milk (fresh or canned)
1 cup of milk (fat free is better and easier to clean)

Here's what you do:

Place all ingredients in a blender to mix or puree. Draw a bath with water at your favorite temperature.

Pour "piña colada" mixture into the bath water and soak for 10 or 15 minutes.

Sip some cold water with lime or lemon. Close your eyes and feel the Caribbean sea breeze.
Shower after the treatment and apply body lotion.

Just a reminder that if you are allergic to any of these ingredients, you should just give this treatment a pass. And since soaking in hot water can increase the effects of alcohol, you shouldn't drink a piña colada while taking your piña colada bath.

Source

Relax Already: Make Your Own Citrus-Mint Sugar Scrub

FitSugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:00:00 -0700

Indulging in a hot shower or bath is one of my favorite ways to reduce stress. Couple it with a sugar scrub, and it's just as good as a full-body massage - well, almost). Why buy a sugar scrub, when it's so easy to make your own?

Here's a recipe that incorporates the summery scent of citrus. To see it read more.

You'll need:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sweet almond oil
1 teaspoon fresh tangerine juice
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon fresh grapefruit juice
3 to 5 drops of peppermint oil

Mix the sugar and almond oil first. Then add the juices. Lastly, mix in the peppermint oil. Store in a sealed container.

If citrus isn't your favorite scent, try this recipe for Brown Sugar Body Scrub. Not only will a sugar scrub relieve tension, but it's also a gentle way to exfoliate dead skins cells from your body.

Gloves in the Shower?

FitSugar — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 09:30:00 -0800

Is your skin screaming out for some love? Why not answer its call with an invigorating exfoliating experience? Exfoliation is the skin's natural process of shedding dead cells. A new layer of cells is formed at the bottom of the epidermis (that's fancy speak for skin), and it pushes the old skin cells to the surface where they eventually dislodge and flake away. By adding exfoliation to your daily routine, you can assist this natural process at the surface to encourage newer, healthier looking skin.

My favorite exfoliation tool is these bath gloves from The Body Shop. They're rough textured loofah gloves with little loops on the ends so you can hang them out to dry. If you don't dry them, they could get moldy which is totally disgusting and stinky.

Just get them wet in the shower, lather them up with your favorite soap or body wash and rub them all over your skin. They're gentle enough to use everyday and you can even use them on your face.

Fit's Tip: If you have sensitive skin, you might want to use the bath lily instead. The material is a little smoother and more gentle.

At Home Spa Treatment: Make Your Own Alpha Hydroxy

FitSugar — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:30:00 -0700

We all know by now that exfoliation is important for healthy skin and many folks use Alpha-hydroxy Acid (AHA) products, which are essentially fruit acids. These acids loosen the "glue" between dead skin cells so the cells fall away, leaving your face very smooth and soft.
Why not skip the middle man and the processing and go straight to the source? If you are looking to exfoliate you might not need to walk any further than your fridge for your next treatment.

Lemon juice, strawberries and grapes are common fruits with acids that can benefit your skin. Just applying a little of these on your skin every other evening can make your skin so much softer. Just dab some of the liquid on your face with your fingertips, let it set for ten minutes or so, then rinse with cool water. Don't forget to moisturize after you pat your face gently dry.

Remember, don't exfoliate in the morning since it makes your skin more sensitive to the sun. And don't forget the sunscreen the next day and everyday for that matter.

Fit's tip: This is a great thing to do with fruit that looks just a little too funky to eat. When the grapes feel a bit soft, I just use 'em on my face.

Ingrown Hairs - Not a Fan

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:00:00 -0800

When you remove unwanted hair from your body by waxing or shaving, you run the risk of ingrown hairs. I've had women tell me to never wax my bikini line ever, because those hairs are thick and curly, so they tend to get trapped inside the hair follicle and grow in crooked more often than say your leg hair.

I'm not going to let a little ingrown hair keep me from waxing. Oh no. Here's a tip I picked up from a waitress when I was out to dinner one night (really). She said she was way into waxing (don't ask me how we got started talking about that), and she waxed everything, including her armpits (ouch).

Her advice: To prevent those irritating little red bumps you get from ingrown hairs, you must exfoliate the area daily.

Now I'm not saying use something harsh like a sugar scrub on your sensitive parts - I much prefer using loofah gloves. They are gentle enough to use every day.

And exfoliating consistently to remove dead skin cells really helps prevent those suckers. So you can wax and shave all you want and get silky smooth skin without those annoying red bumps.

Anatomy of a Tattoo

FitSugar — Wed, 16 May 2007 03:30:00 -0700

I am ever curious about how the human body works, and recently I pondered the permanence of tattoos. Skin is always shedding layers of dead cells (especially if you exfoliate), so how can a tattoo remain year after year?

Let's start at the beginning with how a tattoo is created. Tattoos are made by inserting pigment into the skin with an electrically powered solid needle that punctures the skin between 50 and 3,000 times per minute (makes me think of a sewing machine - yikes!!). The needle penetrates the skin by about a millimeter and deposits a drop of insoluble ink into the skin with each puncture.

When you look at a person's tattoo, you're seeing the ink through the epidermis - the outer layer of skin. The ink resides in the dermis - the second layer of skin, just below the epidermis. Dermis cells are far more stable than the cells of the epidermis, so the tattoo's ink will stay in place, with only minor fading and dispersion (spreading out), for a person's entire life!

Fit's Tips: FYI - tattoo parlors are NOT regulated by the FDA and not ALL states require tattoo parlors to be licensed. If I were you, I'd go to a place that is licensed and inspected by the state. The licensed places will definitely follow all the correct sterilization and sanitation procedures. Since tattoos involve needles and blood, you want to make sure there is little risk for the transmission of diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, and STIs. These regulations may make tattoos safer, but it sure won't make those needles hurt any less!

Want to see some interesting tattoos? Then read more

View 6 Photos ›

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Exfoliative dermatitis

admin — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:48:26 -0700

Illustrations

Skin layers

HEALTH GUIDE REFERENCE FROM A.D.A.M

Definition

Exfoliative dermatitis is widespread scaling of the skin, often with itching (pruritus), skin redness (erythroderma), and hair loss. It may occur in severe cases of many common skin conditions, including eczema, psoriasis, and allergic reactions.

A person with erythroderma or exfoliative dermatitis often needs hospital care or admission to an intensive-care burn unit.

Alternative Names

Erythroderma; Dermatitis exfoliativa

References

Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby, Inc. 2004: 491.

Rakel RE. Textbook of Family Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2005:491.

Review Date: 2/5/2008

Reviewed By: Kevin Berman, MD, PhD, Associate, Atlanta Center for Dermatologic Disease, Atlanta, GA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

A.D.A.M. Copyright

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997-2009 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

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Source Doc: 1_001610

Exfoliation following erythroderma

admin — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:33:16 -0700

Back

HEALTH GUIDE REFERENCE FROM A.D.A.M

This picture shows diffuse redness (erythema) and scaling on the arm.

Review Date: 10/16/2006

Reviewed By: Michael S. Lehrer, M.D., Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M. Copyright

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Source Doc: 2_2419