The Amazing Stone Crop - for Men!

Hey all you men out there! I was asked to choose one product that I believe to be one of the best product for our male clientele. It was a simple choice for me, I naturally chose the Stone Crop Body Lotion. Any of the Stone Crop products from the Eminence Organic line are great for men. I chose the body lotion because it can be used on the face or body, has a light-weight texture, and is great for all skin types. It also has a fresh smell that all the boys seem to love. It’s like freshly mowed lawn goodness. Dry hands, body, face - you name it, it can be used. It’s amazing for nourishing and feeding environmentally devitalized skin, great for after sun, or just any old night to re-hydrate after a laborious day.

What ingredients make it so amazing you ask? Well let me tell you.

Stone Crops

Not only does stone crop help reduce pigmentation and lighten the complexion which is great for after sun, it also assists in regeneration, firming stressed skin, toning the epidermis, and moisturizing, which will help reduce the signs of aging and calm sensitive skin.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera contains two hormones: Auxin and Gibberellins. These two hormones provide wound healing and anti-inflammatory properties that reduce skin inflammation. Gibberellins in Aloe Vera acts as a growth hormone, stimulating the growth of new cells. Together they allow the skin to heal quickly and naturally with minimal scarring.  This makes these products great for after a day outside in the sun and elements, or if your skin gets injured. It is also a great light-weight moisturizer on its own, lightens pigmentation, and great for post healing. Aloe leaves contain a plethora of antioxidants including  beta carotene, vitamin C and E to help improve the skin's natural firmness and keep the skin hydrated. It also provides a light, fresh green smell.

Lavender

Lavender is a magical ingredient with many advantages and uses. It is great for acne because it won’t clog your pores, it's a natural antibacterial and antiseptic without over drying or irritating like some other essential oils. It is also very healing for pigmentation and scarring.

Green tea

Green Tea is full of antioxidants that are great for anti-aging and regenerating the skin. EGCG is one of them, and has been found in research to reactivate dying skin cells. This ingredient, with its free-radical scavenger abilities, will be sure to bring new life to your tired man skin.

Coconut Water

Coconut water contains an anti-microbial powerhouse called Lauric acid that helps protect against skin infections, and helps fight and protect against acne. It also contains proteins called cytokines that are responsible for encouraging cell growth and cell activation which is amazing for anti-aging and rejuvenation.  It is a natural cleanser and toner with high amounts of  vitamin K and iron to cleanse and nourish the skin.

Pick up a Stone Crop Body Lotion for your Man today or any of the multi-purpose Stone Crop products! June is Man month, so enjoy! Here's to all you great males out there.

Don't forget our June special - Men can enjoy our Spa services 20% off. Call the spa to book yourself or your man today!

Clean your ears

Do your ears feel blocked? Do you find your hearing isn't quite what it should be? Does it feel like you have water in your ears, or sore infected blackheads?  Do you experience ear aches or pain? Have you been cleaning your ears regularly after the shower? If not, then you may be one of my clients in need of a good ear cleaning!

Ears are self-sufficient and naturally clean themselves. Over time as we chew and yawn, our bodies will move ear wax out of our ears, but sometimes this process isn’t perfect, and wax builds up and hardens in the canal and can cause a hard wax impaction to form. 

Every day during my facials I take a minute to look into my client's ears and tend to them. After that, I ask them to clean their ears regularly after each shower. If they fall behind for a few weeks, I ask them to let me take a look in the ear canal before they put a Q-tip into it. We do this to make sure there aren't any significant buildups that can be pushed down further into the ear canal and cause an issue.

To prevent blackheads from forming in the outer ear area, take a clean Q-tip or 2 and clean after every shower. We get buildups from the natural oils and wax we produce as well as our makeup, shampoo and conditioner residues. Take another clean Q-tip and very gently swirl around the shallow opening of the canal. If the Q-tip comes out dirty, use another new one and repeat until clean. Ensuring ear maintenance is done at least weekly will prevent build-up and blackheads from forming. Do not cross contaminate by using a used Q-tip for swirling around the opening of the ear canal.

Consider it like blowing your nose, flossing your teeth, wiping your bum and genitals after you excrete toxins. Sometimes the body needs a little bit of help maintaining cleanliness. This is why we shower and soap and clean our body’s regularly - to help the body stay clean and fresh, and therefore healthy. If we didn’t shower, wash our face and brush our teeth, then we would have a build up of dirt, and bacteria would grow from old, decaying skin cells and sebum oils. That's all just part of the process!

If you suspect you have an impaction, come and see one of our Estheticians at the spa to take a look in your ear or head to the doctor for an ear flushing. This simple procedure is done by gently spraying warm water carefully into the ear to soften and flush the hardened wax plug.

It is not my intention to remove ALL ear wax from the canal as it does help with preventing dust, dirt, and bacteria from entering the ear and therefore the body. It is my intention to keep the ears clean from residues, blackheads and old built up wax to prevent ear infections and impacted ear wax blockages.

The Essentials

Has your grandmother ever said to you,  "If you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin"? Solid advice Grandma!

A lot of skin care products out there are so full of chemicals and toxic ingredients.  These are not the best products to be buying and using on our bodies for so many reasons.  I always encourage my clients to find products made from better and more pure ingredients and sources.  One major list of ingredients I love seeing in products are essential oils.  Not all essential oils are made equally in purity, so please be mindful of the brands you buy and use for your personal needs. As well, not all essential oils are ingestible, so do your research and ask the right questions. 

History On Essential Oils

Essential oils, or aromatherapy oils, have been used by many cultures around the world for centuries. Their uses varied between cultures from religious purposes to healing the sick and wounded. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when essential oils gained notoriety as effective healing medicines, but eventually the knowledge of essential oils spread around the globe.

The earliest evidence of human knowledge of the healing properties of plants was found in Lascaux, located in the Dordogne region in France. There, cave paintings suggest the use of medicinal plants in everyday life that have been carbon dated as far back as 18,000 B.C.E. In Egypt Evidence and recorded history have both shown that the Egyptians used aromatic oils as early as 4500 B.C.E. Ancient Egyptians became renowned for their knowledge of embalming, cosmetology and beauty products, ointments and aromatic oils. Aromatic gums such as cedar and myrrh were used in the embalming process and traces of these have been found on mummies today.

Just picked a few of my own personal favorites Essential Oils;

Lavender is one of the most popular and widely used essential oils today. In addition to its relaxing sleep-inducing characteristics, lavender also has natural antiseptic properties and assists in stimulating circulation to support your body’s natural healing functions.  We use it here at the spa to help fight acne and heal post breakouts.  It is more gentle on the skin than myrrh.

What to say about rose! It has amazing antiseptic characteristics but doesn't irritate the skin at all. Great for everything from rashes, irritation, acne, and anti aging. It has a high potency of Vitamin C which gives it an amazing ability to regenerate, rehydrate and soothe the skin.  I can't speak highly enough about this amazing ingredient!

Chamomile is another very popular and widely used herb that you can use internally to help tone the digestive system, liver, and kidneys. Many people drink it as a calming digestive tea before bed.  Chamomile is also a wonderful external addition to your skin care regime, especially if your skin is sensitive and/or irritated, dry and chapped, or if you have open lesions. Apply cool chamomile tea bags or a soaked cloth on affected areas of your skin to help soothe it. Many irritated skin soothing balms have chamomile in them to help heal burns, skin ulcers, eczema and lesions. 

Myrrh,- I personally cannot say enough about the power of myrrh! We use it here at the spa a lot in the fight against acne.  Many of my most severe acne clients have to go home with their faces covered with pure myrrh.  It works like a charm! Myrrh is known in the Bible as 1 of the 3 gifts the Wise Men gave to Jesus when he was born. For good reason!  It is antibacterial, anti-parasitic, healing, soothing, calming, and helps fight Cancer.  We also recommend it for canker sores inside the mouth and cold sores on or around the lips.

We have entrusted a local herbalist and aroma therapist, Blaine Andrusek, with his well sourced pure essential oil line that is also carrying in some well respected local natural Calgary stores.  Selling his oils in our retail in the last couple of months as one of our new lines has brought great excitement to all our practitioners.  Our Estheticians, Massage Therapist and Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine have all been able to upgrade their treatments using these beautiful, addictive oils, essential for life!

Spring Time, Glow Time

The perfect new lightening + brightening anti-aging skin care protocol from The Natural Art Of Skin Care.

Do you want a more luminescent glow, tighter pores, and a younger looking complexion just in time for Spring?

In this article, we've provided you with a free instructional-how-to for our newest in-house anti-aging protocol. Enjoy!

1.Begin by preparing your skin with your favourite classic Eminence Cleanser, or try the NEW Eminence Mangosteen Daily Resurfacing Cleanser.

2. At home, use the Arctic Berry Illuminating Peel kit as a way to exfoliate and gently peel the skin. This 3-step peel system is derived from six different natural acids including a papaya enzyme (Papain).  It is also full of antioxidants to fight the signs of aging. FYI - currently one of my favourite peels out there! 
OR
In-spa, try the NEW Mangosteen Lactic Acid 10% Professional Peel which contains gentle AHA's (Alpha Hydroxy Acids) for a brighter, more smooth complexion. Lactic acid is one of the gentlest ways we can dissolve dead skin cells and improve skin's tone and texture. This peel add-on provides immediate glowing results with no irritation or down time.  Made for all skin types, including sensitive. One of its strongest benefits, making it great for especially dry skin clients, is it's "Peel & Seal" feature - known to not only peel your skin, but to hydrate it during the process, unlike other peeling products out there.

Make sure you're choosing a peel that is right for you - a great peel will remove dead skin cells, work on sun damage and/or scarring, and reduce pore size.  This is exactly what everyone needs for a fresher complexion in preparation for the warmer weather approaching. If you don't know which peel is right for you, come in to the Spa and ask one of our knowledgeable staff members.  Because, well.... that's why we're here!

Next

As you can see, your skin is looking brighter already with a good cleanse and peel. An at-home peel can be done at least 1-2 times per week (in-spa peel every 4-6 weeks), depending on your individual skin type and condition. Please consult one of our professionals if you have any questions or concerns.

3. Serums are an added step to boost any routine and are usually applied at night. Serums have one of the smallest molecular structures in skin care and therefore are able to penetrate deep into our skin. I like to "cocktail" a few serums together in order to power punch a facial or my own nightly routine to incorporate as much nutrients as I can.

The serum choice for today's treatment begins with 3 drops of the AMAZING Citrus & Kale Potent C+E Serum - a multi-vitamin for the skin. Packed full of Vitamin C for its free radical scavenger ability, well known for its ability to brighten pigmentation, and most importantly for me, food for collagen production. This serum also has Vitamin E from avocados for its antioxidant-rich, anti-inflammatory healing powers. This is only a few of the benefits this "magic in a bottle" has to offer. I can't say enough about this serum, I love it!

Mix with the Eminence Marine Flower Peptide Serum that derives its peptides from sustainable sea algae's, how Cool! With the Smart Collagen Complex™ made up of minerals, amino acids and botanicals, this serum is great for stimulating our bodies own Collagen production to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. 

Another great anti-aging serum to add to the cocktail is the Bamboo Firming Fluid from Eminence. The perfect addition to stimulate, grow and boost Collagen.  For my more hardcore skin firming clients, I substitute in the Vital A (Retinol) serum from our cosmeceutical line, DERMed. The Vital A acid is a more potent form of Vitamin A. If you're looking to add this serum to your routine, you must be careful and start a low dose, once per week. This is a true acid that can cause irritation when used incorrectly. Please consult a professional for proper use.

4. To finish this pore minimizing, youthful, thirst quenching treatment, I recommend the Eminence Coconut Age Corrective Night Cream or the Monoi Age Corrective Night Cream. When carrying out your day time regime, we highly recommend a moisturizer with Sun protection. Some of our favourites around the spa are the Tinted Moisturizer, Tropical Vanilla SPF Cream (Face or body), or the Eminence Sun Defense (powdered) Mineral Sticks.

We also highly recommend incorporating an eye cream into your daily regime as this is a great way to prevent volume loss and thinning of the skin around the eyes, puffiness, pigmentation, and fine lines and wrinkles. In light of this article, we recommend the Marine Flower Peptide Eye Cream, as this is a great all-around eye cream to improve some of the concerns mentioned above. 

For any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at the spa.

*All Mangosteen Products are available for purchase in the spa as of March 7th.  All other products mentioned in this article are currently available to purchase from our retail shelves today.

No More Yo-Yo Dieting

If you have been struggling with the constant up and down cycles of weight loss, you are not alone.  You diet for a few weeks, calorie restrict and portion your meals to whatever book you’re reading says or celebrity that’s on the latest magazine cover does, just to gain it back or more within a short period of time.  Well, I’m here to let you know that that cycle can stop now. 

One of the most critical steps that are overlooked when embarking on a new diet or health regime is detoxification.  It is so crucial to facilitate the removal of excess waste products within your cells (more specifically, your fat cells) to improve your overall health, let alone your health goals. 

Fat (or adipose) cells are metabolically active, meaning they can produce hormones and influence other cells through biological processes.  They are certainly not the sedentary, couch potato fat storage houses that most people think they are.  We need fat in our body for protection, conduction (nerve cells), making hormones, and storing energy in times of need.

Adipose tissue is accumulated most commonly in North America when we eat calorie dense, nutrient deficient foods, are inactive and/or live a generally unhealthy lifestyle altogether.  While it can be great for helping us through times of starvation or famine by storing the excesses we consume, in today's first world society, we’ve overused this storage function.Fat accumulates under your skin (subcutaneous fat) and more detrimentally around your internal organs (visceral fat).  When the fat cells enlarge or multiply due to dietary excesses, physical inactivity or other unhealthy lifestyles, two physically mutual things may happen.  We become larger in size/weight and put extra pressure on joints (increase in subcutaneous fat) and/or we squeeze and squish our internal organs (increase in visceral fat).  Both can be detrimental to our health if accumulated in the wrong proportions.

Adipose tissue is extremely good at its job – to hold on to whatever we don’t use right away… including toxins.  Now, there are two types of toxins, water soluble and fat soluble.

Water soluble toxins are easily filtered and removed from our systems via the kidneys.  Fat soluble toxins are much harder to remove as they must first be converted by the liver and then filtered and removed.  Some examples of fat-soluble toxins include those found in food/beverages such as; pesticides, preservatives, food additives, heavy metals, pollutants, plastics and other environmental chemicals to name a few.

So, a short recap, fat cells not only store excess energy, they also store toxins, are metabolically active and can influence other cells through production of hormones and cell signalling.  So how can this negatively impact your diet and health goals?  Let’s use an example.

Let’s imagine a beautiful home, a.k.a., your body.  How well are you taking care of your internal home?  What does your storage room, basement, closets or pantry look like?  Are they full of items you haven’t used in a long time, or ever for that matter?  Have you spring/fall cleaned, or purged any items that do not bring you joy or serve a purpose or are you holding on like our fat cells do? 

Toxins are like the bad influences of the body, causing havoc, constantly needing attention, craves addictive substances and only likes hanging out with like-minded individuals.
Let’s say you have a friend of yours that you invite over to stay with you for a while.  Now you may know that person is not the greatest to be around, but you’re not too worried – it’s just one friend and you don’t see them often.  So, you guys have a great time and maybe have a couple junk food nights and laugh and indulge.  Over the next little while you don’t feel so great, you’re tired and maybe a bit irritated at work and say – okay, they can’t stay anymore, it’s time to get back to normal.  Then you come home to find your friend invited over a few more friends… just for a little while, but then soon enough all your rooms are occupied by vagrants; hungry, demanding and negatively impacting your life. 

So how are you going to get rid of these people and get back your energy, vitality, clarity of mind and freedom?  Let’s starve them out (diet).  You reduce the food in the house, okay… now you’ve triggered the demanding cravings and are becoming more irritable.  Soon enough the others adapt to the situation and quiet down, but there’s still tension in the house (notice how you may become a bit more reactive or depressed when dieting around other’s who aren’t?).  Your fat cells are full of people who want instant gratification and quick fixes for their cravings, while you are trying to get back to a balanced lifestyle. One day you reach your level where you’re feeling in control and then decide to go off on a binge over a weekend and treat yourself to all the things you’ve avoided.  Soon enough the vagrants flock and devour all the food and demand more to feed their needs too.

You’ve reduced the food coming in, but you haven’t reduced the number of toxins in your internal house that are hungry, so you eat more and soon enough you’ve gained back the weight, if not more and are feeling defeated. 

This is a cycle of yo-yo dieting.  Every time the situation gets worse and our internal house becomes more damaged by the impact of what we are doing and what we are allowing to happen to our bodies.  It’s time to take back control of our own house and remove the very things that negatively impact our lives. 

Choosing quality foods and products (good influences of the body) that are nutrient rich is like having a repair and cleaning crew for your home, always working to create a more efficient living space.  Making sure that temperatures are right, plumbing is working correctly, the structure is strong and air flow is just right.  If a few toxins come into the home, it’s equipped to dealing with whatever mess is left behind and clean it up.  The problem arises when more waste products come into our bodies than we are equipped to handle. 

Detoxification not only removes excess waste products stored in our fat cells, it reduces cravings for sugars (which waste products thrive on), improves mood, increases energy levels and elevates sleep quality.  Much like how living in a home with 30 less people in it would feel as well!

Have you been struggling with yo-yo dieting, binge and crash eating habits, mood instability or overall sluggish energy?  It may be time to start a detoxification program. 

Written by Janna Hattingh, B.Kin, CHN