Image: Aromatherapy Concepts

On the outside, they are covered with a washable, soft polar fleece. They are outfitted with removable lavender and cinnamon scent packs. During the month of October, IMM Group will donate 5% of the retail sales of these items to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

The Aromatherapy Comforts Spa Accessories are very affordable. Priced between $4.99 and $14.99, they come in light pink, dark pink or black fleece with a pink ribbon insignia. You can find these products at your local TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods stores.

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Aromatherapy Comforts Spa Accessories

Image: Bella Lucce

The Peruvian Chocolate Sugar Scrub is fabulous. It’s a terrific way to slough away dead skin cells to rejuvenate your body. After just one application, you’ll see (and feel) radiant, silky soft skin. It’s absolute luscious! Priced at just $19 for a 7 oz jar, it’s a great buy.

Also included in the Bella Lucce chocolate spa collection are:

• Peruvian Chocolate Silk Bath Bubbles ($23.50)
• Peruvian Chocolate Bliss Crème ($16.00)
• Peruvian Chocolate Body Wash ($17.00)
• Peruvian Chocolate Moisturizing Syrup ($15.00)
• Peruvian Chocolate Renewing Masque ($23.50)

You can find all these wonderful products and many more at bellalucce.com.

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Bella Lucce Peruvian Chocolate Sugar Scrub

mySpaShop celebrates International Massage Week with great deals on massage products to encourage individuals to take the extra time to care for their health through massage.

Image: sxc.hu

mySpaShop is offering 30% off of the Just Good for You Wild Rose & Jasper Body Oil. This soothing, scented body oil will be available on discount for the whole month of July.

Spoil your sweetie with the Essence of Vali sleep massage. The Essence of Vali products are fortified with plant botanicals and no synthetics or preservatives. The blend of lavender, marjoram, cedarwood and ylang/ylang promotes relaxation and sleep naturally.

Visit mySpaShop.com to purchase Just Good for You, Essence of Vali and other fabulous spa and beauty products.

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International Massage Week

Several of the tooth whitening treatments think that the use of a light source is thought to improve the oxidizing effect of the hydrogen peroxide, but the study published in the journal disagrees and suggests that a light source makes no difference to the end result and could be dangerous for the bleacher and the bleachee.

Researchers form the Nordic Institution of Dental Materials investigated 7 different bleaching systems that were commercially available on the Scandinavian and US markets in 2005. Using human molars donated after extraction, the team bleached one half of the tooth following the manufacturers’ recommendation and the other was left as a control.

Half of the bleached teeth received both the bleaching gel and the radiation and the other half just the bleaching gel. The end result was that the light didn’t make teeth any whiter.

People can be exposed to up to an hour of radiation to the teeth and mouth, but very little is known about the effects of UV radiation on the inside of the mouth. Also, depending on the placement of the lamps and the kind of protection worn by clients and practitioners, unsafe levels of radiation can be exposed to the eye.

The end result? Go get your teeth bleached, for sure.  Just say no to the light.

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Teeth Bleaching: The Dark Side

The two siloxanes are used as emollients to soften the skin and are found in many of the personal care products on the market in North America. They’re also used in paints and coatings, antiperspirants, sealants, lubricants, plastics, silicone polymers, food additives and medical devices. Whew. And we’ve been able to put this onto our bodies? Ick.

Two other substances used in cosmetics were found to be of concern  – isoprene and epichlorohydrin – both of which are considered to be human carcinogens. Yeah, that’d be cancer. Great.

These will all added to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist to prevent their future use in cosmetics. For isoprene, Health Canada is suggesting  that manufacturers use best-available technology to control releases.

Although peoples’ exposure to the substances of concern to human health is very low, the government is proposing regulations for all except isoprene to prevent them from being used in the future without undergoing a new series of assessments.

"Today’s move by Canada is not only important for the health of its citizens, it helps underscore the need for real reforms within the EPA’s failed programs to regulate toxins in the U.S.," said Jane Houlihan, vice president for research with the Environmental Working Group based in Washington, DC.

"Congress and President Obama need to overhaul broken toxics laws," she said, "and establish a policy that forces the chemical companies to first prove their products are safe before being used." [source]

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Oh Canada! Canada First to Ban Chemicals in Personal Care Products

The New York Times ran an article in December suggesting that more high-end stylists are working after-hours to provide friends and certain clients with budget services.

Welcome to the stealth world of the underground hair party, an exclusive girls’ night that combines the pursuit of beauty with the irresistible appeal of an insider bargain. Often, private haircutting parties are born when a salon client approaches her stylist with the whispered promise of a festive atmosphere, a guaranteed number of guests and cash under the table in return for reduced rates. [source]

Now, of course, the salons are doing more than frowning on this practice because not only do they have policies against offering services outside of work hours, but the salon themselves are losing out on the income as well.

The trend has come about because while people are looking to save money on their beauty treatments, they also still need to look good. The stylist in the article was charging $60 a head, which is a fraction of the salon he works in, and the interviewee sad she wouldn’t be able to afford to go to his salon.

So, how do you join this seemingly exclusive group of black market hair services?  You’re most likely to find a moonlighting stylist by being invited to join an existing party. When that party gets too large, one group will often break off into another group and seek new clients for their under the table wunderkind.

The alternative, which is propositioning someone at a salon, take talent and tact. You should already have a relationship with the stylist and should broach the topic casually and discreetly, say those who have had done it successfully. Hounding and nickel-and-diming are deal-breakers.

This is becoming quite the trend – the stylist interviewed in the NYT Article had 7 more groups to get to after he was finished at the first one.

[image source, Wikimedia Commons]

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Shear Genius

In part due to the economy, the beauty industry is going to go through a “survival of the fittest” overhaul. There has been a rash of new beauty companies, all proclaiming their product will make me thinking, younger, and more beautiful, but this year, only the strongest will survive. Brands that can prove their worth will earn a spot in our bathrooms.

A few of the things that Cosmetics Design mentioned as top trends for 2009 include sustainability and another round of super fruits.

Sustainable beauty has been gaining more and more visibility as many make the concept central to their lives. It’s not enough to just claim to be green however. People are starting to look for ethical authenticity, from more fair trade ingredients, eco-friendly packaging, charity focused initiatives and sustainable production. It’s time for the beauty industry to step up and prove that it’s not just skin deep. Look for companies adding more value to their product lines by including more programs which support economic, environmental and social sustainability.

There’s been an increased movement towards including the so-called superfruits in bath and beauty products, and 2009 will add a few more of those into our skin care products. Last year, it was all about acai fruit, goji berries and pomegranate.  This year, biloba (most commonly known for the Ginko Biloba supplements which help with memory) and probiotics will pop up. The industry appears to be hoping that the ingredients will convince consumers that they will enhance their looks like they do for their health.

Personally, I’m not completely sure about the idea that probiotics that work in my gut will then also work on my skin, but I guess we’ll wait and see!

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2009 Beauty Trends

Future Natural’s goal is to provide people of all ages, gender and race with luxurious & effective alternatives to conventional beauty products. The site has stocked all of the best, natural and organic beauty brands in the world – from cult classics all the way through to boutuque products. Everything they carry has a common thread – they all use natural or organic ingredients, fair trade sources or  even environmentally responsible packaging.

The site has several categories of products, including a section for gifts, products for men, and travel products. They’ve even got an apothecary section.

Future Natural includes a complete glossary, provides a full disclosure of ingredients and offers visitors the stories behind the brands so shoppers can learn more about the products they’re putting on their bodies.

I got lost in looking around the site – there are so many products available, I wasn’t even sure where to begin!  At this point, the only think I can see that the site is missing is a blog or other interactive kind of sections.

The next time you’re looking for an organic skin care, travel products, fragrances, baby products… you know – basically anything you’d need to care for your body, take a look at Future Natural. You’re pretty much guaranteed to find what you’re looking for.

Tags: Organic Skin Care, Green skin care, eco-skin care, Future Natural, skin care, men, women, babies, travel, apothecary

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Looking for Organic Beauty Products?

eyeSlices are disposable eye-treatment pads which are kind of like high-tech cucumber slices. They come in this little green sort of contact lens type case, which keeps them clean and ready for their next use. eyeSlices are supposed to be good for up to 5 10 minute treatments, but I don’t know if I could last that long with these “on”.

They’ve been clinically proven to decrease redness by more than 320%, and are effective for countering:

• Puffiness (from sinus and stress) 
• Tired eyes (from late nights and computer work) 
• Dark circles (from diet and sleepless nights) 
• Redness (from allergies and fatigue) 
• Irritation (from dust and pollen) 
• Signs of aging

I was in the mood for some pampering the other day, and decided to try out the eyeSlices. You’re supposed to mold the to your eyes and just relax, but I found that they kind of popped back up and started to slide a bit. Maybe I didn’t put them in the right place, or I just have weird shaped eyes or something. I can definitely see how, if I had more patience, eyeSlices could be very relaxing.

I’ll try these again for sure,  especially since they’re supposed to be reusable up to 10 times. In the meantime, are these worth it? I’d say so – they’re $19.99 for the first pack, and then $14.99 for refills, so eyeSlices are a quick and inexpensive  way to pamper yourself. You can buy them online here, or find an international distributor here.

(images provided by i-Slices Innovations International)

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Review: eyeSlices

…with any beauty.com purchase.

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