Life Enhancing Tips Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Peace of Mind Wellness • Skin & Body Care

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.

What’s A Chemical Peel & Do I Need One?

January 11, 2014 by Wendei Leave a Comment

The term chemical peel is really a misnomer because not all “peels” cause your skin to peel. A better term would be “chemical exfoliation.” There are two methods of exfoliating (sloughing off dead skin cells), physical and chemical. Examples of physical exfoliation would be scrubs, gommages and microdermabrasion. Examples of chemical exfoliation would be enzymes and acid peels.

There are many different types of acids used for exfoliating the skin and they all have different properties and uses but what they all have in common is that they remove dead skin cells giving the skin a brighter more youthful look.

Salicylic acid and mandelic acid are fabulous for clearing up and controlling acne while glycolic and lactic are wonderful for softening and reducing fine lines and wrinkles.

Most acids fall under the category of AHA’s or Alpha Hydroxy Acids, sometimes referred to as fruit acids. The truth is that most acid peels aren’t derived from fruit anymore but that’s another story.

In later posts I’ll break down individual acids so you’ll have a good understanding of how they work and why your esthetician may choose one over another to get you the results you want for your particular skin.

Some acids work from the inside out and rarely cause any actual peeling. Glycolic, mandelic and lactic acids are good examples. When describing the actions of these peels I like to use the analogy of a house being remodeled. You drive by this house and from the outside it doesn’t look like anything is happening. The façade hasn’t been touched, the windows are still in place, landscaping is beautiful, etc. But inside there’s A LOT going on! The kitchen has been gutted, crown molding has been hung and all new bathroom fixtures have been installed. When using these types of acids, you shouldn’t have any downtime, possibly a little bit of flaking, but you WILL notice a brighter glow and after several of these peels, your brown spots will fade and fine lines will diminish.

Other acids such as TCA and resorcinol are applied in layers, left on the skin and will provide much more dramatic results. Your skin will flake and/or peel anywhere from 2 to 14 days depending on the acids, strength and number of layers.

Not everyone needs a peel like this but for those of you who want faster results and don’t mind shedding like a snake, then I highly recommend them.

I’m a big proponent of peels as I’ve used them on my own skin for many years and still get that WOW look when I tell people my age. Thanks to my once or twice a year “strong” peels and more frequent “light” maintenance peels, I can still generally pass for 15 years younger than I am.

I consider chemical peels an art and before anyone gets any sort of peel, ask your esthetician about their experience working with them and find out exactly what acids they will be using and what you can expect. A good esthetician will require that your skin be “prepped” before any sort of peel to make sure that you don’t burn or end up with bigger problems than you came in with.

And for crying out loud, do NOT purchase professional peels on the internet. They are not to be played around with as you can really screw up your skin. Leave the professional peels to the professionals.

Done by the right esthetician, chemical peels are a fantastic and safe way to look younger and have clear, blemish free skin.