Sunday, October 9, 2011

The Latest and Greatest

Not too long ago, I went and got a medical certification for my esthetics license.  It hasn't quite advanced my career, but it definitely gave me a new perspective on medical cosmetic procedures and it gives me the ability to educate my clients on different procedures and enhance any work they may have done.

Of course, it isn't only medical procedures that are complex and difficult to explain.  There are a host of esthetic procedures that you may encounter in a spa that can seem a little scary or need additional explanation.  This handy guide will hopefully answer some of your questions, but it should not be a substitution for your esthetician's education.  By this, I mean, if your esthetician can't describe it, can't give you the benefits of it, and doesn't know the contraindications of it... go elsewhere.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

An Essential Oil to Watch: Lemongrass

This month, in American Spa they had a spotlight on the essential oil Lemongrass.  You’ve probably been exposed to it already.  That delicate citrus scent in your calming tea is most likely coming from lemongrass.

Lemongrass has been around for a long time.  It has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine.  Ayurvedic medicine uses it to relieve cough and nasal congestion.  Even now, new uses are being found.  It has become more widely used in spas for site-specific pain relief and in 2006 research out of Ben Guiron University in Israel found it was killing cancer cells.






I think it’s safe to say that that Lemongrass is really going places.