Spoil Your Feet

On a daily basis, your feet work harder than any other part of your body, especially when you run around whole day to finish something. Your poor feet get all the battering. Give them a well-deserved treat with this pedicure tip.

Things You'll Need:

• Foot cream
• Foot mask
• Foot polish
• Nail Polish - Maybelline/L'oreal/Rimmel
• Foot soaks

Step 1

Fill a basin with warm water and soak your feet for about 15 minutes to soften your skin. Then, massage your feet gently with baby oil to keep moisture. 

Step 2

Scuff away any hard skin on your feet, from the heels and under your foot using a foot pumice. Glide it in one direction until your feet feel smooth.

Step 3

File your nails in a large straight link. Choose one direction and stick with it, otherwise you will damage your nail structure, and even break it.

Step 4

If you want the fancier French pedicure style, apply nail polish with a subtle color on your nails, then pain your nail tips white. You can also go bold using flashy colors.

Tips

If you have dry skin problems, then moisturize your skin before going to bed, and wear some socks. This will give you baby soft skin by morning. 

Never cut your toenails in a curve, always in straight line. Last thing you want is ingrowing toenails, it can be really painful, which in some major cases, may require surgical operation.

Use loofah regularly to avoid cracked heels. This will help your feet get rid of dead skin. For best results, use the loofah after the soak in warm water.

Put on base first to avoid staining on your nails if you’re planning to wear dark-colored  tones. 

Soak your nails in lemon juice to get rid of yellowish stains and get healthier nails.

Giving your feet a treat, at least once a week, will repay you a hundred fold. Taking care of your feet regularly won’t just give it a beautiful blush, but soothing your foot is a great stress-buster. 

My Fav - Hot Stone Therapy

Hot stone therapy is a form of specialty massage that involves the use of smooth heated stones. These special stones are used as either extension of the hands or placing them in key areas of the body for a period of time and/or while the therapist massage other parts of the body. The heat from the stone can help relax and warm up tight muscles so therapists can work on them quickly and deeply.

How It Works

The idea behind hot stone massage / therapy is the use of heat from the stones to relax the muscles, allowing therapists to massage through the deeper layers of the muscle. The hot stone promotes ease of muscles, better blood circulation by expanding blood vessels, and melts away tension from body. The stones also have natural sedative effect that instantly relieves chronic pain, promoting better relaxation and reducing stress.

Hot stone massage therapy melts away tension, eases muscle stiffness and increases circulation and metabolism. Each session promotes deeper muscle relaxation through the placement of smooth, water-heated stones at key points on the body.

How Its Done

Heated stones are usually placed on chakra point, along the spine. These points are your body’s energy center. Treatments on these parts of the body are believed to vitalize the whole body, as it promotes better flow of energy through the body. 

With this, hot stone therapy is considered as a gentle type of therapy compared with deep tissue massage and Swedish massage. But it doesn’t mean it’s less effective, as therapists use hot stone instead of bare hands to massage, which allows them to reach up to ten times deeper than the usual fingers and palms. 

Stones are heated through a hot water ranging from 120-130° Fahrenheit. Some treatments utilize either heated basalt stones (or basinit stones) and cold marble stones, as the combination of hot and cold are believed to promote relaxation and healing of the whole body and detoxification.

Benefits of Hot Stone Therapy

Opens Up The Body’s Energy Pathways

As said earlier, hot stones are placed along the chakra points, which hare energy pathways of the body, and medical science backs this claim up.

Eases Muscle Tension

Therapist heats up the stones and applies it to the tensed muscles and then use traditional massage. The heated stone relaxes the muscle, making it easier for the therapist to apply massage to the painful area. However, in some cases, people may still experience pain in the massaged area. If this is the case, always tell your therapist about it, and if the stone feels like burning your skin.

Alleviates Pain

Driving long distance or sitting in front of the compute all day can cause stress and stiffen muscles in the lower back. For this, massage therapist can use the other alternative called “cold stone therapy.” This therapy reduces inflammation and pain in the affected area and promotes healing of the injured part of the body. 

I had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful town of Metung and had a hot stone massage from Gail at McMillans of Metung in there relaxation centre.

Easy Tips for Beautiful Nails

Easy Tips for Beautiful Nails

Nails are very important part of our hands, not just for beauty aesthetics. Nails obviously, go through a lot of things, which causes them to have lots of wear and tear. But this doesn’t mean you should just leave your nails and let it the wear and tear show. Give your nails the radiant glow it needs for beauty and health. 

Never bite your nails

Biting your nails is one of the most unhygienic things you can do with your hands, not to mention it will make your nails look really bad. We use our hands everyday for various purposes, and with this, our nails are able to trap germs from picking up things.

Manage the length

There’s really no point in having very long nails, they can snap off easily, and it can be real painful. Once you snap your nails, it may take some time to grow it back to its normal shape.

File down

Use a file to smoothen your nails. Leaving your nails with sharp edges after you cut can cause it to be jagged.

Soak fingers in warm water for a moment

Soaking your fingers in warm water will improve your nail, leaving it softly nice and clean. Dab and dry your nails thoroughly after soaking. 

Apply Clear Coating

A clear coat is actually a nail polish that provides extra shin for the nails and still make them look beautiful and natural. 

Use Nail Polish

Nails play essential roles in fashion, and fun and stylish nails that match your outfit can easily grab someone’s attention. Nail polish provides both beautiful colors and protection to your nails. You can visit your nearest salon for a professional manicure and pedicure service. Or if you’re confident with your skills, you can purchase a nail polish and do it the manicure yourself. 

Parting Tips

For people who can’t stop themselves from biting their nails, there’s what we call fake nails. If removed properly, fake nails can promote nice grow. It may soften the nails, but it is very helpful in preventing people from biting their real nails.

Check out these gorgeous nails, I love them!

My 4 Basic Skin Care Tips For A Younger and Healthy Looking Face

Beauty regimen doesn’t have to be expensive. Though expensive treatments from dermatological clinics really help, they are not the only options available. The basic rule of skin care can be summed up in 4 steps – cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize, and protect. Here’s how to use this steps in details:

Cleansing

The rule of thumb here is to find a cleanser that suits and respond to your skin well, and stick to it. You can get it from a drugstore or a beauty shop. No need to spend $50 on a fancy facial wash though, and avoid bar soaps, as they’re usually made up of strong ingredients that tends to dry the skin. Your best bet is to choose a creamy facial wash or cleanser with, especially if you have a dry skin. For oily skin on the other hand, try clear cleansers.

However, make sure you don’t cleanse your face too much, or you’ll risk seeing signs of over-cleansing such as dryness. 

Exfoliate

This step is one of the most ignored step, but certainly an integral part of the whole skin care regimen. Experts say, an obvious reason most men’s skin look younger than many women is because men exfoliate each time they shave. 

Using facial scrub once a week can make huge difference. To make it more effective, use a washcloth in applying the facial scrub and massage it to your skin gently in circular motion. 

One common question that people usually ask is about using toner. I once read a beauty tip that says “toners are only for copy machines.” Health experts say a good cleanser should be enough in removing dirt, make up and oil from the face. But then, some experts out there say it still depends on the individual’s skin. If it works wonders for you, then use it. 

Moisturize

Most skin experts recommend the importance of skin moisturizers. People with dry skin should use a basic moisturizer. But how much do we really need to moisturize? The answer for this question lies on your skin. When your skin is feeling tight, then it greatly needs moisture. However, be careful not to over-moisturize your skin, as it can clog your pores. 

I found this great you tube video that you might what to have a look at.

Protect

Applying sunscreen each time you expose your skin to the skin is your best defense against wrinkles. Yes you read it right; the leading cause of wrinkles is sun damage, so you need to protect your skin from its harsh rays. Sunscreens with at least 30 SPF can provide your skin the protection it needs. The good trick for this is to get two moisturizers, one for night and one for day, of course your day moisturizer should have UV protection. Never use moisturizers with sunscreen when going to bed, ingredients in sun screens are not means for night use, and can aggravate the skin. 

Deep Tissue Massage

This massage focuses on realigning the muscles and connective tissues right on its deeper layers. It is used to treat painful areas and chronically tensed muscles by loosening contracted muscles, such as low back tightness, sore shoulders, and stiff necks. 

It is characterized by slow but deep strokes to directly apply pressure to affected muscles. Some strokes are similar to classic massage therapy, but in considerably slower movements to concentrate on areas that are in pain and tension. Some highly affected muscles may feel painful, but it is significantly helpful to loosen up the muscles and release tension all throughout the body.

How Does It Work

Injuries or chronic muscle tension is characterized by adhesions. These are rigid and painful tissues in the muscles, ligaments and tendons. These adhesions block blood circulation and results into pain, inflammation, and limited movement. 

Deep tissue massage targets these adhesions by physically breaking them down, relieving pain and promoting normal movement in the process. Massage therapists imply deep pressure directly to the affected areas to treat the adhesions. 

The deep strokes may hurt at certain points throughout the massage, and many people experience discomfort and pain. This is why it is very important to tell therapist when the massage becomes uncomfortably painful.

In some cases, you may feel pain and stiffness even after the massage, but it usually subsides after a day or two. Also, it is advisable to apply ice to the massaged area after the treatment.

Benefits of Deep Tissue Massage

Even doctors recommend this type of massage to their patients because of its considerable benefits. 

Improves Blood Pressure

This type of massage alleviates stress and tension, which obviously have direct beneficial effect on blood pressure. A study in University of Maryland Medical Center shows that, deep-tissue massage can also help the body produce better levels of serotonin, a hormone that promotes good mood and happiness. 

Breaks Up Scar Tissue

Scars usually cause ongoing stiffness and pain, and deep tissue massage can address this problem when done over time. Deep tissue massage help break scar tissues and even erase them in from the body in the long run. It is through its improvement of lymphatic circulation which promotes drainage to improve the muscle’s flexibility and range of motion. This is the reason why many doctors recommend this massage as part of their patient’s recover program after surgery. 

Reduces Chronic Pain

The University Of Maryland Medical Center also reports that this form of massage is an affordable and effective option for relieving chronic body pain compared to the traditional medical remedies. Also, because deep tissue massage improves blood flow, it alleviates the inflammation which causes pain. This massage can also be used in treating muscle tensions as it works by loosening the right clusters of tissues. 

Restores Injured Muscles

Injured muscles can really benefit in deep tissue massage as it enables the movement of toxins out from the muscles and help stretch those tight and twisted muscle mass in affected areas and give way for faster and better healing. Also, because it relaxes the muscles, it greatly reduces pain cause by the injury. This is why therapist use this massage to rehabilitate athletes’ injuries.

One of the best deep tissue massage I have had has been from Monica at Total Essence Massage on the Gold Coast.

Aromatherapy Massage

Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that revolves around the use natural oils extracted from volatile plants, from stems, barks, leaves, roots, etc. which is known as essential oils. When inhaled, the aroma of these oils alters a person’s mind, mood, and health, and cognitive functions which improve both psychological and physical well-being.

Today, this form of therapy is used for various applications, such as mood enhancement, pain relief, and to better cognitive functions. One form of application that is believed to provide noticeable effects is the aromatherapy massage. 

Aromatherapy massage is not very different from other types of massage, except that the massage oils or lotion includes essential oils.

How Does It Work

One theory that explain how aromatherapy massage work is that, our body absorbs the essential oils directly through our skin and gets into our bloodstream and send it through different parts of our body, which causes the effect on particular parts, organs and functions of our body.

The aromatherapy massage combines the healing power of traditional massage and natural therapeutic properties of essential oils. As we all know, massage improves our body’s function and promote better healing process by manipulating the outer and deeper layers of muscles and connective tissues which promotes relaxation and improved well-being. Along with the help of the therapeutic properties of essential oils, aromatherapy targets physical, psychological, and emotional experience for a wider range of health conditions. 

Today, aromatherapy is widely used for relaxation, mental clarity, stress management, and alleviating headaches as it targets our circulatory, nervous, lymphatic, muscular, and even immune system.

When the essential oils is inhaled, the nostrils, which are attached in the brain through limbic system, it can influence the nervous system and hormones. And with that same process, the oil promotes better breathing, digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, stress level, memory, and immune system functions. 

Different Essential Oils for Different Results

Specific blends and formulations of essential oils provide particular effects to the body. Some oils are made to calm while others are energizing. Some alleviates aches and pain while some eases apprehension and nervousness. Here are some of the common health issues and the known essential oils used to alleviate them:

Aches and Pains – clove, cypress, sweet birch, and rosemary, are known to promote tissue recovery after a physical exertion. Combined with other aromatics, these oils alleviate pain in muscles and joints.

Anxiety Release – chamomile, geranium, lavender, and vetiver are used to ease apprehension, nervousness and irritability and promote pure tranquility of the mind.

Energizing – rosemary, and mint oils have an energizing effect that enlivens both the body and mind, improve blood circulation and cool the body. It is also used to stimulate brain functions, which can be very helpful for tasks that require sustained attention.

Inflammation Reduction – lavender green is used to calm the mind and promote better sleep. Grape fruit and lavender are mixed with the oil for reducing pains and inflammation and work as a natural and mild antidepressant which also promotes calming of the mind. Other formulations of lavender green essential oils help better the respiratory system through natural detoxification.

Recently I visited Broome and stayed the Pearle on Cable Beach. They have a Day Spa at the resort and I indulged in one of the amazing massage there, you can check it out for yourself here http://www.thepearle.com.au/facilities/the-pearle-day-spa