FitSugar

What's the Deal with Body Wraps?

FitSugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Wrap it up, and watch the pounds melt off. If only it were that easy.

With claims that body wraps push fat cells together and allow your body to change into a slimmer shape, many folks are turning towards such treatments in search of losing a few unwanted pounds instead of hitting the gym. Experts, such as Dr. Erica Brownfield, associate professor of medicine at Emory, warn us to use caution when opting for a pricey body wrap. Want to know why? Then read more.

CNN reports that:

"[Body wrap providers] claims say they are squeezing the fat cells closer together," Brownfield says," but I think it's very important for people to realize that they're not losing fat cells. Those fat cells, once you decompress them and take those wraps off, they're going to go back to their usual shape and size."

Brownfield is also concerned that, in some cases, these wraps could be a health hazard. "Actually, depending on which wrap you use they can be harmful, they can dehydrate the body," she says, which can be dangerous for some people. She also cautions people to make sure they know what type of minerals and solutions are being used in the procedure. Allergic reactions are one concern, but also any type of open wound, contagious disease or rash might make a body wrap a bad idea.

And finally, if you have any medical concerns, talk to a doctor before deciding if wrapping up is your best bet for shaping up.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: there is no magic bullet. If body wraps were it, I'd have been first in line. Have you ever tried body wraps for weight loss? Did you think it worked?

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At Home Spa Treatment: Moisturize Dry Hair

FitSugar — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:45:00 -0700

We all know olive oil is a healthy fat that is essential to our health, but it's not just for salads and warm bread. You can use it to nourish your dry and fuzzy hair. I've tried leave-in conditioners and deep conditioning treatments, but they don't seem to work. Here's something I do about twice a month, but you can do it once a week if your hair is really thirsty.

Here's what you'll need:

1/4 cup olive oil (you may need more or less depending on how long and thick your hair is)
plastic grocery bag

Here's what to do:

Rinse your hair with warm water.
Pour about 1 tbsp into the palm of your hands, rub them together to warm up the oil, then using your fingertips, gently massage it into your scalp and hair.
Continue doing this until your hair is covered evenly with the oil, making sure the ends of your hair are treated too.
Now place the plastic bag over your hair, tying the ends in a knot or securing it closed with a hair clip or clothespin.
Keep the oil on your hair for at least 30 minutes. Then rinse, shampoo and condition as usual.

That's it. Your hair will look and feel shiny, soft, and smooth. It's especially good if you have thick and curly hair, but it's also great to do in the summer when the sun and saltwater can really dry out your hair. Try it and let me know what you think.

Fit's Tips: If your hair is NOT dry, do not try this treatment - your hair will end up looking really flat and greasy.

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At Home Spa Treatment: Papaya Mask

FitSugar — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 02:30:00 -0700

One great way to relax on the weekends is to pamper yourself with an at home spa treatment. Since alpha hydroxy is all the rage in skin care these days, why not use your own fruit to tap into the exfoliating powers of fruit acids? As my aesthetician says, "If you wouldn't want to eat it, don't put it on your face" since you can absorb chemicals through your skin.

Here is a natural facial mask featuring the tropical fruit power house: the papaya. The fruit enzymes found in papayas are know to aid and accelerate healing in skin disorders such as acne. In addition, the fruit enzymes gently exfoliate the skin. That is what I call a win/win situation.

What you need:

1 cup fresh pineapple
Half-a-cup fresh papaya
1 tablespoon honey

To see what you do, just read more

What you do:

Purée the fruit in a blender or food processor.
Add honey and blend until the mixture makes a smooth paste.
Apply mask to clean skin on your face and neck. Gently steaming your pores open before applying the mask will increase the benefits of it.
Leave mask on for 15 to 20 minutes. Recline and relax.
Rinse face and neck with warm water

If you are looking for more possible self spa ideas, check out their at home spa treatments and of course Bella has some great DIY Spa Treatments too!

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Home Spa Treatment: Aloe and Olive Oil Shampoo

FitSugar — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:00:00 -0800

One of the ways I like to chill out on the weekends is to give myself a little home spa treatment. I like to find the ingredients for my masque or bubble bath in the cupboards of my kitchen. My aesthetician has said if you wouldn’t want to eat it you shouldn’t put it on your face, or your hair for that matter. Plus, when you make you own beauty treatments you know that there are no funky ingredients or environmentally-unsound chemicals in them.

I found this recipe using the spa treatment finder over at iVillage. I think it is a great mild shampoo and I can pronounce the names of all the ingredients.

What you need:
1/2 oz. dried flowers: chamomile for blondes, hibiscus for redheads, and rosemary for brunettes
1/2 cup liquid castile soap
1 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. aloe vera juice

What you do:

Steep dried flowers in 1 cup boiling water (I used my Pyrex measuring cup). Cover and steep until cool.
Place castile soap, olive oil, and aloe vera juice into a bottle or jar.
Strain your herbal infusion and add 1/3 cup remaining liquid to olive oil mixture. Shake well.
Shampoo your hair with your new homemade shampoo and rinse thoroughly.

Why I like it: Natural castile soap is a plant based soap. Herbs and aloe vera make this a gentle cleansing shampoo with a fragrant, mild lather.

You should also check out Bella’s DIY home spa treatments too!

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You Call This Relaxing? Spa Treatments

FitSugar — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 07:30:00 -0800

Detox this. Relax that. Massage it out, or maybe just burn it. Yep, get rid of those toxins with fire! Some spa treatments seem more like torture. Check out these spa treatments and let me know what you think!

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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.

At Home Spa Treatment: Pumpkin Mask

FitSugar — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 02:30:00 -0700

Looking for a way to chill out this weekend? Why not treat yourself to an at home spa treatment using the most celebrated squash of the season, the pumpkin? A little facial may be just the thing to keep you from feeling like this jack-o-lantern!

Not only do pumpkins make tasty pies, their flesh contains many vitamins and minerals that are beneficial for your skin. It is high in vitamin A, which promotes skin healing, and vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. The flesh is also high in the mineral zinc, which supports collagen the support structure of the skin.

Here is a simple recipe for a pumpkin pie mask that I found on Annie's Care 2.

What you need:
2 teaspoons cooked or canned pumpkin, pureed
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon milk or soy milk

What you do:

Combine all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Apply mask to clean, face avoiding the eye area.
Rest and relax for 10-15 minutes.
Rinse with warm water and apply the appropriate moisturizer for your skin type.

Check out Annie's Care 2 for additional variations for different skin types. If you feel like giving yourself a facial, but just don't feel like making your own, my gal Bella has some pumpkin products for you to try.

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At Home Spa Treatment: Basil Tonic for Acne

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:15:00 -0700

At my last two facials, both estheticians said they believed in using natural ingredients. Since the skin is an absorbent tissue they say - if you wouldn't want to eat the product, you shouldn't put it on your face.

So I found this Basil Acne Tonic recently, and since I love basil I thought it would be worth checking out.

Here's what you need:

2 to 3 teaspoons dried basil leaves
(or 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil)
1 C boiling water

Here's what you do:
Steep basil leaves in water for 10 to 20 minutes. Cool, then apply to face with a cotton ball. Or pour tonic into a spray bottle and spritz your face, chest and back. Keep tonic refrigerated. It should last up to 90 days, so be sure to write the date on your container.

Fit's Tip: If it seems sacrilege to you to use fresh basil in this manner, just make the tonic next time you buy fresh basil and it starts to turn a bit. You know when the basil is at that "don't want to throw it out, but you don't necessarily want to eat" stage.

If you are looking for more home made remedies to fight acne, check out Fab's post: D.I.Y. Yourself Spa Treatment: At Home Blemish Blaster. It sounds great and edible.

At Home Spa Treatment: Milk Bath

FitSugar — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:30:00 -0800

It is said the Cleopatra bathed in milk to keep her skin soft and supple. Although it seems weird to soak in milk it is actually great for the skin. The lactic acid in milk contains alpha hydroxy acids, which work mainly as an exfoliate, encouraging dead skin cells to slough off making room for new skin. Milk can cleanse the skin down to its deepest layers.

Although, Cleopatra reportedly used sour milk, you can use regular milk or buttermilk instead. Just add 2 to 4 cups of fresh milk or buttermilk to your bathwater as the tub is filling. You could even use powdered milk if that seems more bath-like to you. Soak for a good 20 minutes. Shower to rinse and use a sugar scrub or shower gloves to help remove the old skin. Keep the shower water on the cooler side, since the hotter the water the harsher it is on your skin.

Fit's Tip: If you are lactose intolerant or straight up allergic to milk, this is not a home spa treatment for you.

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.

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