Life Enhancing Tips Archives - Page 3 of 6 - Peace of Mind Wellness • Skin & Body Care

The Importance of Self Care and How I Learned the Hard Way

March 19, 2014 by Wendei Leave a Comment

I know what you’re thinking… “Self care? I’m working 60 hours a week, I have to take my kids to all their activities, I have to get my taxes done, take my mom to her doctor’s appointment, I don’t even have time to eat, let alone take CARE of myself!”

But here’s the deal… just like the old adage about putting on your oxygen mask first on an airplane, the same applies to every day life. If you don’t take care of yourself first, I promise you there will come a day where you won’t be able to get out of bed, let alone take care of anyone else in your world.

How do I know this? Because it’s happened to me more than once. Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you think that when I don’t have clients, I’m laying on my comfy massage bed with my face under the steamer taking a nice little nap. I wish! The truth is I’m doing inventory, booking appointments, ordering products, doing my taxes, making doctor’s appointments for my kids and a myriad of other things that would make your head spin. The ONLY way I’m able to survive my very over scheduled life is to TAKE CARE OF ME!

These days, taking care of me looks like this. Pilates twice a week with the fabulous Jamie Rutt. Yoga twice a week with the amazing Julie Buckner or at her studio InYoga. Eating healthy (for me this meant giving up gluten and sugar), getting enough sleep, and committing to a spa visit (not my own) once a month. It also means committing to my home skin care program: Washing my face twice a day and apply my layers of serums so that I can keep looking younger than the 50 years my body has been on this earth.

I’ve heard from people that they consider getting massages and facials a luxury. “My birthday is in June so I’ll treat myself then.” These are the same people who are getting in car accidents, getting sick all the time, suffering from back and joint pain, and not being able to sleep at night.

I’ve gone through periods in my life where I didn’t take care of myself, and boy, did I suffer. The most recent time was this past six months. I literally took care of everyone in my life except me. As a result, my fibromyalgia symptoms came back, I couldn’t fall asleep at night and worse, I got chronic daily migraine headaches. I even got in a little car accident because my brain was going a million miles a minute and caused $3600 worth of damage to my very patient husband’s car. But the headaches were what finally got my attention.

I knew what it was. I preach self care to my clients every day that I’m in the spa. But I wasn’t taking care of ME. I’m proud to say that after getting back to my own commitment to self care, I’m now headache free, sleeping well, not hitting cars and am so much more productive at work. I’m also a better and more loving wife and mom.

I challenge you to start putting yourself first. One of my favorite quotes is by the Jewish scholar Rabbi Hillel who wrote, “If I am not for myself then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?”

So call us or book an appointment online today to take care of yourself.

Because if not now, when?

With peace & gratitude,

Wendei

Do You Really Need to Wash Your Face?

February 18, 2014 by Wendei Leave a Comment

I get this question a lot. Or, more often this: “I just wash my face with water… do I really need a cleanser?”

My new analogy is this: If you were at a fabulous restaurant and ate a delicious meal and then discovered that the dishes were never washed with soap, they were only rinsed off with water, what would you think? Would ever go back to that restaurant again? Would you even be able to hold down the terrific meal you just ate off that gross plate?

We live in a city filled with smog. Even on a clear day we’re exposed to car exhausts, dust from construction, people that may still have a cold or virus kissing us, etc. We touch our face more than we’d like to admit… more than we think we do. After touching food, papers, countertops, other people’s bodies, the dog that just rolled around in dirt, etc. You get the point.

Sorry to gross you out, but the truth is that most people aren’t washing their face properly, so here are some simple tips:

1) Use a cleanser designed for your face. Not Ivory soap, not Dove body wash or face oil–which seems to be the new hot thing. Oil doesn’t break down oil. Use a facial cleanser that’s pH balanced for your skin, meaning it’s a little more acidic than your skin so that it can break up oils and slough off dead skin cells.

2) Work the cleanser in for at least a minute or two. I know it sounds frivolous, but we don’t brush our teeth in 20 seconds. Just like most of us have learned the two minute rule for our teeth, the same applies to our face.

3) Use a wash cloth to remove the cleanser. Just splashing water on your face isn’t going to remove all the cleanser and you’ll be left with residue from your soap along with dead skin cells and dirt that didn’t come off with the water.

4) Use a toner. I used to think this wasn’t an important step, but I’ve changed my mind. Especially after realizing that most people just don’t know how to wash their face properly. There are toners for all different skin types. The best way to use a toner is to apply it with a folded up four by four square of gauze and don’t be afraid to use a little pressure. Keep applying until the gauze is clean.

5) Make sure you repeat the above steps morning AND night.

Come by the studio and we’ll be happy to help you choose the perfect cleanser and toner for your skin issues.

Happy cleansing!!!

Cate’s Cosmos: Have a Powerhouse Valentine’s Day

February 11, 2014 by Wendei Leave a Comment

Mercury will be retrograde starting February 6th and stay that way until February 28th. Those born under the sign of Aquarius might feel the most affected as Mercury is retrograde in Aquarius. Remember that this retrograde usually deals with delays of all kinds especially with contracts or electrical trickeries. It is best to wait to buy your electronics at times when Mercury is direct. Mercury (messenger god) in Aquarius represents our looking outside ourselves in an effort to affect the world in a positive way. We are now in the Age of Aquarius when the greatest good for the greatest number really has meaning. We may be called upon to be of service and that can feel extremely soul satisfying. We may be called upon to act globally and hopefully as the great man said, “see the world live as one.” IMAGINE!

Our seemingly constant companion of late The Grand Cardinal Cross will be dominant again on Wednesday February 12th. Those born under the Cardinal Signs of Aries, Capricorn, Cancer and Libra may feel the energy this exerts more than other signs. When we look deep inside and tell ourselves the truth these T Squares as they are also called may represent growth without the pain. It may be a time for soul searching. With Jupiter in the mix it may also represent a time of tremendously positive growth. Pluto (also in the mix) demands transformation – let it be elegant.

Friday sees our Full Moon in Leo. As we are in Aquarius the full moon will be in its opposite sign, Leo. Leo likes to shine so this may be an especially auspicious full moon for anything or anyone whose time has come to be front and center in the spotlight. It is Valentine’s Day so it is energetically a powerhouse time for everyone to see our best side. Let it be fun (red sequins might be a nice touch)!

From somewhere wishing upon a Star with a box of dark chocolate truffles,

-Cate

Want to know more about what’s in store for you? Book a reading with Cate today for greater insight into your personal and professional well-being.

Cate’s Cosmos: Welcome to the Year of the Horse

February 4, 2014 by Wendei Leave a Comment

Friday January 31st marked the 4711 Chinese New Year. We are leaving behind 2 years of the Chinese element of Water – Dragon (2012), Snake (2013) and entering the all consuming Year of the Wood Horse. Every 60 years the cycle is repeated therefore the last year of the Wood Horse was 1954. It started on February 3rd and ended on January 23rd 1955. If you were born in that period you are specifically a Wood Horse. 2026 will be the Fire Horse. Even though we are in a Wood Horse Year the natural element of the Horse is fire. It is about letting go in order to leap forward. What no longer fits was washed away in the past 2 years of subconcious exploration and what remains that we cling to so desperately may be burned away permanently if it does not serve us well. Left to their own devices a horse in the wild travels 140 miles per day. We mean hang on, giddy yup, tally ho. The caveat emptor remains don’t trample others along the way. Ancient China was known to eliminate women born in the Year of the Horse (most especially the Fire Horse) because of the extreme drive and masculine power they exhibited. The Horse men were encouraged (forced) to join the military. The Horse is Yang (masculine). Modern times we hopefully know better.

The Wood Horse color is Green. Look for harvest in all areas of your life. Wood fuels fire. Fire is the passion to recognize hopes and dreams. It represents new beginnings, heart’s desires manifested, dreams fulfilled. We are leaving the watery dream state of the past 2 years. Those were in preparation for what is coming. Get ready for the merry go round ride of a lifetime. Think in terms of unbridled enthusiasm, energy and clearing obstacles in our path. Unless we live to be 120 we only enter our element 2x in a lifetime (year we are born and our 6oth birth year) so a special KUNG HEI FAT CHOY (HAPPY NEW YEAR) FOR THOSE OF YOU BORN IN 1954 and THE VERY BEGINNING OF 1955.

From somewhere wishing upon a Star (while sitting with Secretariat and Man O War),

Cate

Want to know more about what’s in store for you? Book a reading with Cate today for greater insight into your personal and professional well-being.

Are Professional Products Really That Different From Over The Counter?

January 21, 2014 by Wendei Leave a Comment

I can’t tell you how many times in the past nineteen years that I’ve been an esthetician that I’ve gotten this question: “Is there something cheaper that I can buy at Walgreens or Whole Foods that will work as well as your products?” And the answer is always an emphatic “NO!”

This doesn’t mean that you need to spend $50 on a cleanser…that’s just crazy. And I have yet to find a moisturizer that costs hundreds of dollars (can you say “La Mer?”) that is worth the money.

BUT, the truth is that there really is a difference between OTC (over the counter) products and professional products that you purchase from an esthetician. The biggest difference is in the active ingredients. These ingredients are the main reason you should be purchasing the product. Actually not so much the ingredients but what results these ingredients will give you.

Certain ingredients don’t even begin to have an effect in the skin unless they are at a certain percentage or concentration. Other ingredients don’t do anything for the skin unless they are used in a delivery system that can actually penetrate the stratum corneum (the upper layers of your skin). And certain ingredients like Vitamin C come in many different forms but only some forms are recognized by the skin, and THEN they need to be used at the proper pH or stabilized so they don’t oxidize and actually make your skin worse.

There are several reasons that OTC products can never give you the true results you desire. First, OTC products are sold in huge retail chains so the manufacturers are selling to millions of customers. These retailers assume that clients know what type of skin they have and what types of products they should be using. They are able to keep the costs down because 1) they are using a very low percentage of the active ingredients and 2) Most of the inactive ingredients are things you can’t even pronounce and probably don’t really want to put on your face.

These large manufacturers mean well, but they don’t want to put enough of an active ingredient in a product to cause too much of a difference in the skin. Why? Because if they put too much then someone can have a really bad reaction and they can get sued. Ingredients like glycolic acid and retinol and benzoyl peroxide MUST be prescribed by an esthetician so that you know how often to use them, what time of day, and when not to use. For example, retinol and acids should ONLY be used at night and if you’re not using something with SPF every day, there’s a real chance you can burn. Professional strength retinol products should generally be started every other night so the skin can build up a tolerance and then usage can be increased to every night. There is no one in Rite-Aid to analyze your skin, tell you how to get the results you want and how to use the products. This is how they keep costs down.

What if you are purchasing “all natural” products from Whole Foods? Well most of you already know how I feel about “all natural.” They may feel good and smell good, but they ain’t gonna keep you from looking older and they certainly aren’t going to clear up your acne.

Estheticians are also available by phone or sometimes email or text to answer your questions if you forget what order to put your products on and to advise you if you have a bad reaction. They can also monitor your skin’s progress and make adjustments depending on how your products are working. You don’t get THAT from Rite-Aid!

Professional products are very concentrated so a little goes a long way. Ultimately they end up being a better value for your money as they last longer than OTC products, but most important, they give you the results you want.

Any questions? Please feel free to comment or ask questions either on this blog or on our Facebook page.