Just got a facial this weekend

Okay kiddies..I just got a facial this weekend. It was an hour and a half. So here's the scoop..European Style Facial.... So I got a lot of dermalogica goo slathed on my face, steamed for half an hour with a neat device, and then a Vitamin A/E/ something or the other Dermalogica makes for the rest. It did burn a little so I am assuming it has an AHA ingredient. (alpha hydroxy acid)...but it left my face so smooth my girlfriend who accompanied me was loving it. Now I would like to recreate the same experience at home. At $62+tip..it's expensive. So looking to my favorite hookup - Sallie Beauty Supply store. Next post will include the ingredients. I already give a killer pedicure to girlfriend with nail painting.

At Home spa tricks for healthy skin

Skin that glows De-puff your sleep-deprived eyes with cotton balls soaked in water and left in the freezer until icy cold. For an even more effective treatment, steep the cotton balls in green tea before you pop them in the freezer, as they do at the New Orleans Ritz-Carlton Spa. Caffeine in tea helps reduce water retention in the eyelids. I sometimes do that with sliced cucumber and use that on the eyes as well. You can blend cucumber into a paste and then add steeped green tea. Put this liquid in ice cube tray with tooth picks for later use. It's okay if this is a bit thick. Take it out, let it melt and use cotton balls in the cold concotion on your tired eye lids. Extremely good for the eyes. Also great for any bruising. Enjoy a sweet and easy body scrub: Bring a cup of sugar with you into the shower, wet your skin, then turn off the water and apply the sugar all over, gently massaging it into your skin. Turn the water back on and rinse. The sugar dissolves easily and won't leave grit on the shower or bath floor, says Kenneth Ryan, spa director at the Willow Stream Spa at Fairmont Turnberry Isle in Aventura, Florida. I love this solution, but baking soda is also nice and is finer. I usually combine with cetaphil moisturizer/face wash with baking soda then have a nice rub down. Try dry body brushing to smooth rough spots, increase your circulation, and make you feel good inside and out, says Ann Brown, director of Spa Shiki at the Lodge of Four Seasons in Lake Ozark, Missouri. All you need is a body brush. Starting at your feet and working up, gently brush your body in a stroking motion toward your heart. Follow with a bath or shower and a rich moisturizer. If you don't have a body brush, I would recommend just a hand towel (lower quality walmart type is rough or dish towel rough. High quality ones may be too soft and comfy to be effective). It has the right roughness that it exfoliates without scratching the skin. Idea is to improve circulation not exfliate too much. Make an easy, effective face mask by blending an egg white with the juice of half a lemon. Leave it on for 15 minutes before rinsing. This instantly brightens and tightens your skin and large pores (huge Desi girl issue), says Sasha Lefort, spa manager at the Ritz-Carlton Spa in New Orleans. You can follow this with a nice yogurt facial as in another spa treatment I described in a post. http://beautytobe.blogspot.com/2006/10/yogurt-aha-treatment-you-never-knew-you.html

At-Home Spa Tricks with Towels

Ease neck aches with moist heat, says Steve Ellis, the lead massage therapist at the Four Seasons Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. Soak a hand towel in water and wring it out, then warm the towel in the microwave for 60 seconds. To protect skin from direct heat, place a dry towel on your neck, then roll up the heated towel and lay it on top. Gently rotate your head back and to the sides as the heat works its way into your neck. You can also drape a warm, moist towel across a sore back to soothe it. Another option is to pick up some good books on Indian head massage and accupressure. This works great for a headache and with warm olive oil/coconut oil - really any vegetable based oil to massage the head, hair, and washup. Conditions the skin great. I have used Neutrogena's body oil as it's very light and nice. Dab on some peppermint oil for a great natural pick-me-up, says Sasha Lefort of New Orleans' Ritz-Carlton Spa, where the towels are subtly scented with peppermint and guests are offered peppermint oil to inhale after a massage if they feel congested. (You can find essential oils at health-food stores or beauty sites like http://TheBodyShop.com.) Dot on your temples to relieve post-carpool headache, or place a few drops in the corners of your shower and turn on the hot water to help clear your head — and your sinuses. I have use vicks vapor rub for this..only difference I have put it directly on my neck, upper chest and taken a shower..the vapor go up and feel real good for head/chest colds. It's cheaper and easier...and it's like steam inhalation. VERY EFFECTIVE for allergies and colds. I also like to scent olive oil with a few drops of rose essential oil run it in the shower.

Step by Step - How to thread the eyebrows, upperlip, etc.

Threading removes the tiniest and finest hair right from the root. Salons nowadays have caught on to this age old method from the Middle East and India. Only problem - they are charging an arm and a leg for the service in the United States. As anyone who reads anything I write knows, I advocate DIY philosophy to this.

Take around 2 feet (24 inches) of thread length. Make sure you use a good quality, strong thread. There is no special thread for threading, you can use any thread as long as it is strong and does nort snap easily.

Take both ends and knot them up. You need to have a circle of thread. Although beauticians normally use thread straight from the reel keeping one end in their mouth and holding the other end, you don't need to get so technical, especially because you will not be able to thread your own upperlip in this manner.

Now hold the thread with both hands, and wind it around ten times. The wound bit now lies in the center of the circle. Now, place the thread around the fingers of both hands. Push the wound portion towards one hand by widening the fingers of one hand and simultaneously closing the fingers of the other hand.

Similarly, by opening the fingers of the closed hand and closing the fingers of the other hand, push the wound portion in the other direction.

Keep practicing pushing the wound portion back and forth. Once you are able to push back and forth easily, you can move on to the next step - practicing on an actual body part _______________________________________

It is best to practice threading on your leg. Most people have a lot of hair on their legs and their legs are easily reachable. They don't have to strain too much to reach or look in the mirror.

Sitting on your bed or on a chair, prop up one leg and identify the portion from which you want to remove hair. Place the thread on this portion. Let the wound part be one end of the hair, and the thread from the other side should be on both sides of the hair you want to remove. Now, move the wound portion to the other side, making sure that it catches the hair while moving. It will then lift the hair from the root as it moves back and forth. You will need practice before you can manage.

And if you know how to thread your upperlip yourself, you can run thread through it for a couple of minutes every other day so your upperlip is always completely free from hair. No more waiting for the hair to grow back before your next threading or waxing session at the parlour.

Yogurt - the AHA treatment you never knew you had!

I whisk 2 Tbsp of yogurt with honey or even without. Let it come to room temperature. I leave on like a mask for five minutes while I exfoliate my feet. I keep a handy dandy stool in the shower whenever I plan these treatments. That's the way to have your own spa even in an apartment with no messy cleanup! If you put yogurt on your face and neck, it is perfect AHA treatment for sensitive skin even. You don't have to waste money and counter space on the AHA creams every company markets at you. Yogurt has natural alpha-hydroxy acid in it - Lactic Acid. You can also use milk if you don't have honey, but yogurt has more concentrated amount on it. Smoother skin at last. Leave a thin film on for 20 minutes to get maximum benefit. For AHA Spa treatment - You just saved at least $20 in materials cost.