Be good to yourself

Tue, Jan 17th 2017, 12:49 AM

New year, new you -- well as far as your diet and exercise are concerned. Maybe you made a resolution or two to improve socially and mentally, but the physical should not be left out. You should be taking care of your biggest organ -- your skin -- and you should be hydrating and moisturizing it from top to bottom to ensure it functions at peak performance and looks healthy.
Hydration is important for skin to appear more plump and resilient, meaning you will have a healthier glow and your skin will be less prone to wrinkles as a result.
"Well-hydrated skin means the slow down of the aging process," says Natila Saunders Skin Solutions Day Spa & Salon owner and esthetician. "We get our skin to be hydrated by first drinking lots of water and also using products that are rich in shea butters and hyaluronic acid which naturally exists in the skin to basically hold water into the skin [if the skin has inadequate water supply, it doesn't look as healthy and vibrant], but due to internal and external factors, sometimes that supply is depleted, so you can apply topical hyaluronic acid."
This is where Saunders and her team come in. At Skin Solutions they promise that you will come into your peaceful awakening when you surrender yourself to them to put your body, mind, and soul into perfect harmonious balance.
I'm up for it, or is it I'll lie down for it? Whatever. New year, new me, and I'm focused on ensuring that my largest organ is the best it can be, which is why I recently opted for a from the top of my head to the tip of my toes moisturizing session at Skin Solutions, where I was cleansed, buffed and polished to a high shine finish with their holiday glow facial, heavenly meltdown body polish and massage, and buttered rum manicure and pedicure.
Sounds decadent? It certainly was! And at the end of it all, my skin not only felt soft as a baby's bottom, but looked fantastic as well; and the gentle scents that wafted of my skin was pure deliciousness.
Skin Solutions' relaxing glow facial was a combination of gentle cleansing, enzyme, facial massage, steam vapor, and extractions. Specially designed for dehydrated and tired skin, with this treatment I was immersed in a bath of freshness, which left my face radiant and hydrated thanks to my therapist Kristen Strachan.
While I usually have a facial at least once a month, I opted for a body polish (scrub), as it's been awhile since I'd had one. Kristen handed me off to Ingrid Harding for a 60-minute heavenly body polish and massage. Ingrid first inquired how much pressure I liked, because she would me good and slough away all those dead cells. I opted for medium pressure and Ingrid went to work.
She first dry-brushed my skin to stimulate the body's circulation and lymphatic systems and open the pores to allow all of the goodness of the treatment to sink in. Ingrid then proceeded to bathe my skin in a hot butter with whole milk to soften and moisturize the skin, before she proceeded with the scrub to buff away all my dead skin cells, which I washed away in a warm shower before she completed the final phase of the treatment, a warm chocolate massage oil massage that left me in both a physical and sensory bliss.
By the way, scrubs can either be sugar or salt-based, with the goal of the treatment to slough away dead skin cells to reveal a healthier, glowing complexion. A scrub gives a resilient look after the day-to-day exposure to the elements having built up on the skin giving a dull, ashy appearance. It's exfoliating the skin basically, but instead of exfoliating the face, which is normally what people do when they get a facial, a scrub is a full body exfoliation.
Her job complete, Ingrid did the handoff to Natasha Harding for my monthly manicure/pedicure. Because I was into the whole hydration-top-to-bottom treatments, the buttered rum mani/pedi was a must-have treat.
Both the manicure and pedicure began with a butter brulee whole milk soak, followed by feet and legs and hands that were smoothed and exfoliated with fine grain sweet cream salt scrub which made my feet and hands soft to the touch, and finished with a hot chocolate truffle serum that Natasha assured me was loaded with nourishing vitamins and extracts. A final massage with a minty shea butter left my feet and hands feeling fresh and invigorated.
After a day of hydrating treatments, I literally did not want to leave the spa.
"It's a full service spa and skin care is our primary business, so everything that we've selected -- whether it's for a manicure and pedicure -- it's aimed to beautify your skin. We've carefully selected our products," said Saunders. "We have natural products that we use on the skin, all of which are rich in hydrating products, so most of our products, especially in the body treatments and manis and pedis are all shea butter-based, and shea butter is a moisturizing ingredient which deeply penetrates into the skin to plump up fine lines and wrinkles."
The esthetician said everyone should seek to have hydrated skin as their goal, because hydrated skin functions properly.
"If your skin is dehydrated it's going to have lots of fine lines and wrinkles, and your complexion is going to appear dull," she said.
While proper moisture and hydration is crucial year-round, Saunders said it's even more critical in winter months and as such people should avoid extreme temperatures, including extremely hot water and cold water when showering.
"We like to go to places like New York, even Orlando -- places where temperatures dip dramatically, and usually after a trip, one would notice their skin texture is different, so it's important to go the extra mile and 'butter up' to ensure the skin is still functioning properly. If it's too hot, the skin is going to be dehydrated because you're going to be sweating profusely; and if it's too cold your skin will get dehydrated. So anything that is extreme variation in temperature you have to be careful. You want to moisturize your skin at all times to hydrate your skin."
With the sun the number one aging factor, Saunders said excessive exposure to the sun dehydrates the skin as well, and that you should wear a sunscreen that is rich in moisturizing ingredients. On the flip side the esthetician says you want to be careful, and that you have to know your skin type.
"Knowing your skin type is very important -- it's crucial actually, because if you go out there and want to avoid being dehydrated, and put on products ... for example a person who is acne prone may apply a product that is oil-based and that could trigger acne. So you want to know the skin that you're in. Consult a professional and know the skin you're in."
According to Saunders hydrating treatments should be indulged in at least once a month. And she said people should not look at them as an indulgence, but rather a necessity.
"Everything is a cycle, so every 28 days the skin renews itself, so in some cases with people with oily skin, the cells actually build up on the skin and don't shed evenly, so it's important they do some type of professional treatment to exfoliate or accelerate the cell turnover rate so that the skin doesn't appear dull. And if the skin is dry, usually the cell turnover rate for dry skin is rapid, but then it still looks flaky, so moisture is definitely important.
The belief that people with oily skin don't need to moisturize, Saunders said is not true.
"Oil is different from water, and a lot of people with oily skin tend to make that mistake. They go and dry out all the water from their skin, and the skin is still oily, but deprived of water, so it still looks unhealthy. You can have oily skin, but dehydrated skin, so there's a difference," she said.
Moisturizing is important to hydrate the skin and prevent moisture from escaping the skin. However, in addition to using moisturizers, you should also help your body to keep your skin moisturized by drinking enough water through the day.

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