 Recently on a trip to Bali, Indonesia I couldn't help notice all of the spas offering fish pedicures. Fish pedicures were a rage a few years back. The concept involves dipping your feet in a tank full of tiny fish while the fish nibble and consume the dirt and dead skin. This attracts a lot of customers and many people get a fish pedicure done in the same tank with the same fish. Isn’t this practice very unhygienic? How do you know whether the person getting the pedicure before you maintains proper hygiene or isn’t suffering from athlete’s foot, skin infections or something worse? How They Work A fish pedicure is, like a traditional pedicure, intended to make your feet look and feel smoother. However, a fish pedicure utilizes the unusual practice of placing the client’s feet into a tank filled with about 200 small fish. These fish are typically the tiny, toothless Garra rufa fish, which are native to the Middle East. Once dunking your feet into the fish tank or pool, the fish feast on the dead skin of your feet to make them extra smooth. A practice similar to fish pedicures first emerged in Asia in 2006, reports The Huffington Post. At that time, the toothless Garra rufa fish were used to treat skin diseases. Other research, however, points to the practice being in used in Middle East for hundreds of years. Regardless of where and when it originated, the practice has gained popularity in recent years and is now found in several different countries throughout the world. In Bali fish pedicures can be found on every corner. Recently I also saw them on the beach at Mexico's Barcelo resort. When I had mine, it took me a good ten minutes before I was able to glance down at my feet without wanting to whisk them out. When I looked down all I saw was a swarm of little fish covering everything below my ankles, while the really cheeky fish dove between my toes, under my nails and flicker up my instep. After 20 minutes in the water, the novelty (and indeed my skin) had started to wear off. Afterwards my skin felt vaguely softer but not very different. If chunks were actually taken out of my toes, the munchers had completely covered their tracks and there were no nibble marks. Benefits Of Fish Pedicures In general, the benefits of a fish pedicure are limited. The service basically allows the dead skin to be removed from a person’s feet, making the feet look and appear smoother. However, this is generally the same benefits offered by a regular pedicure with n emery board. Some people claim the fish pedicure is more effective at removing dead skin cells and can even help treat psoriasis, but this has not been proven in a controlled setting... not to mention I wouldn't want my feet to go into a tank after someone with psoriasis.part in this beauty craze at all.
 The NIH reports that certain parts of the population are especially vulnerable to infection from the water or from the fish themselves, including those with diabetes, liver disease or an immune disorder.
Why have some states banned fish pedicures? Each state has the authority to ban fish pedicures. Currently, over 10 states have banned the use of fish pedicures. Most of the bans are based on at least one of the following reasons:
According to standard practice in salons and spas, any tools used to complete a pedicure must be sanitized in between each client. For a normal pedicure, this includes tools like nail files, foot baths, cuticle clippers and toenail clippers. However, health experts opposed to the practice of fish pedicures assert that there’s no way to sterilize the fish used for pedicures. In fact, to sterilize them would essentially kill them. Meanwhile, the water can be dumped out and the tanks cleaned in between clients (which not all salons and spas do), but that wouldn’t stop a potential infection from a fish itself. Bottom Line Due to the lack of scientific evidence to support the claimed benefits of fish pedicures and the possibility of infection, it’s much safer to get a traditional pedicure. However, it’s important to ensure that whatever services you get, choose a salon or spa meeting sterilization standards since even a regular pedicure could potentially lead to infections in an unsterilized setting. Dr Hilary Kirkbride, consultant epidemiologist at the HPA, said: ‘Provided that good standards of hygiene are followed by salons, members of the public are unlikely to get an infection from a fish spa pedicure, however the risk will be higher for certain people.’ Dr Kilbride said salons should first check their clients have no underlying health conditions that could put them at risk, and thoroughly examine their feet to make sure there are no cuts, grazes or infectious skin conditions.
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These beauty tips might sound strange and unusual but sometimes the most unexpected things make the biggest difference in our beauty routine.  Beauty tip N°1: Whiten your teeth with the help of a strawberry! Just take a strawberry and rub it into your teeth or mash it into a paste, dip your toothbrush into it and brush your teeth. If you do it a couple of times you will notice a significant whitening of your teeth, all from the acid content in the strawberry. Make sure to rinse your mouth thoroughly after wards to reduce acidity in your mouth. Don’t use every day as can be damaging. Beauty tip N°2: Make an easy exfoliating scrub while on holiday. While you are chilling under the sun on the beach why not scrub your body with sand mixed with water? It’s perfectly natural and healthy way to exfoliate - the more fine the grains of sand, the smoother your skin will feel.  Beauty tip N°3: If you have a vacation in a sunny country, you can easily create natural hair highlights using lemon juice. Just mix it with water in proportions 1:1 and apply it on thin sections of your hair and go out in the sun. The acid in the lemon juice will react with the sun’s rays and lighten your hair. And it will look extremely natural! Beauty tip N°4: To get rid of puffiness around your eyes use a simple teaspoon. Put it in the fridge for 5 minutes and when it’s cold enough, use it as a treatment for reducing the swelling. Slices of cucumber or potato can also be useful in solving the same problem. Put either a potato or cucumber slice on your eyes, keep it on for 10 minutes and it should help greatly reduce the puffiness. Beauty tip N°5: Uses cinnamon oil for a plumped-up pout. Try it but with caution. "Adding a few drops of cinnamon oil to a lip gloss will give some added oomph," says Patrice Evangeline, a New York City based makeup artist. But the trick won't make your lips puff up to Angeline Jolie proportions, and makeup artists warn to spot check the oil against a patch of skin first to make sure you don't have any adverse effect. Beauty tip N°6: Now almost everybody knows about the existence of a dry shampoo, which is a very convenient and quick alternative of usual washing of the hair. But if you don’t have a dry shampoo, you can use a baby powder (talc) instead. For better result apply it with a big makeup brush on the roots of your hair and then, take away the excess by brushing your hair with a usual hairbrush. You hair will be refreshed and will look as if you’ve just washed them. Beauty tip N°7: Cut the lemon in two parts and dip your fingers inside, so that all your nails enter. Keep it for 10 minutes, this will strengthen your nails and prevent their fragility. Beauty tip N°8: Your makeup remover is finished and you don’t have time to go to shop and buy the new one? That’s alright, remove your makeup using olive oil which is not only very gentle, but also hydrating and filled with vitamins.
Beauty tip N°10: Uses a spoon instead of an eyelash curler for a wide-eyed lashy look."For best results, run the spoon under hot water or give it a quick blast of the blow dryer," suggests Evangeline. "With the bowl-part facing upward, use your thumb to hold your lashes against the curve and turn upward."
I hope you found these beauty tips interesting and helpful. If you know any other strange but useful beauty secrets please share them in the comments section below. Stay happy and beautiful! Cara Melo XO Sources: Beauty and Tips Magazine Women's Health Magazine OLWomen.com  There are those days when you look at yourself in the morning and all you see are puffy, baggy eyes. Not only do they make you look tired but also unhealthy. Puffy eyes are usually a result of fluid accumulation under the eyes and therefore if you cry or drink alcohol excessively your eyes appear swollen. Most of us try to cover up their puffy eyes behind sunglasses or by using concealer. However, you can also leave your puffy eyes at home with some of these tried and tested home remedies. We have all heard of putting something cool like cucumber slices or cold teabags on your eyes but for a mess-free alternative try putting 2 metal tablespoons in the freezer or fridge and use them daily by placing the backs against your eyes. As silly as it sounds, placing frozen or cold spoons on your eyes quickly soothes swollen eyes. It is one of my most used beauty secrets. The cold temperature helps tighten the skin around the eyes, constricts blood vessels and reduces the puffiness.  How to use cold spoons to reduce puffy eyes:
Refrigerate four to six metal spoons for 10 to 15 minutes. After they are chilled, place the rounded portion on the eyes until the spoons turn warm. Replace the spoons with more cold ones until the puffiness has reduced. Alternatives: If you don’t want to use a cold spoon, you can simply use ice cubes but make sure to wrap the ice cubes in cloth before placing them on your eyes. Ice cubes are too cold to apply directly to the sensitive eye area. I just like spoons because they are easy, dry and don't make a drippy mess. 4 more tips to help alleviate puffy eyes
Your eyes require sufficient rest from all the stress they endure during the hours you are awake. If you suffer from puffy eyes a lot, maybe your eyes are not getting proper rest. You should sleep for 7-8 hours every night. Also, you must check your sleeping position. Sleep with your head raised; propping your head up keeps fluids from accumulating under your eyes thus reducing puffiness. It is also important to stay hydrated and drink plenty of fluids but ensure that you don’t drink too much water or fluids before you go to bed. Drinking too much alcohol also causes puffy eyes so control your consumption and try to drink healthy drinks such as fresh fruit juices. If you use your computer extensively for work, rest your eyes frequently.  As all beauty buffs will agree, there’s nothing like the feeling of finding—and then trying on a perfect new lipstick. That is, until you move on to testing your second, third and fourth colors and that euphoric feeling of “can’t stop looking at myself in the mirror” dissipates into “why does my entire mouth area look like a universal shade of chapped pink?”
Much like testing perfume, testing lipstick has its limits—but a new add-on to Sephora’s Virtual Artist app makes trying on more than 3,000 lipsticks and glosses a total breeze. The app uses the forward-facing camera on your phone to identify the exact contours of your lips (and it's pretty accurate!) and allows you to scroll through and apply lipstick instantly and flawlessly simply by tapping on the color swatch you want to try. The available lip products are categorized by color families (from Brick to Nude) and can also be filtered by their A–Z list of brands from Anastasia Beverly Hills to Yves Saint Laurent. And of course, since this is Sephora, you can add your chosen product to your shopping cart with just one tap. Need to compare shades? The app lets you see up to four looks on yourself side by side, even though with that kind of selection, it's pretty hard to narrow down. Try it out for yourself by downloading the Sephora Virtual Artist app from the iTunes store. Follow the link below to take the guesswork out of choosing the right shades. I found this site very fun and addicting, not to mention money-saving because you won't need to throw out your new, incorrect shades of lipstick anymore! Yay for Sephora: http://www.sephoravirtualartist.com/ca-en/
 Those kitchen ingredients are not only healthy for body but also useful for women’s beauty products. You may be familiar with some of them: Coconut oil, salt and sugar, olive oil, eggs, milk, honey, and rice
Those kitchen ingredients are not only healthy for body but also useful for women’s beauty products. You may familiar with some of them: Coconut oil, salt and sugar, olive oil, eggs, milk, honey, and rice. Coconut oil is used as moisturizer and stretch mark cream. This is good for pregnant woman who has stretch mark in her belly. In addition “Coconut oil on the skin may also form a barrier that protects potentially harmful organisms from entering the body and causing infection.” said Livestrong. As Livestrong also pointed out that coconut oil could repair dry skin and reduce the symptoms of eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. Eat healthy and balanced diet to stock enough vitamins such as vitamin A and vitamin C to your skin. Salt and sugar may have harsh texture for you face skin, however you can apply it as body scrub you’re your hand, feet and other body skin. Salt is trusted as skin antiseptic and skin detox. Meanwhile, sugar can firm skin and tone the skin. Olive oil contains many good vitamins for skin. According to one of online magazine Livestrong explains that olive oil contains vitamin A and E, so does antioxidant. Therefore, this is good used as moisturizer and eye makeup remover. As livestrong says” Put one or two drops of extra virgin olive oil on a cotton face pad and use it to remove your eye makeup at the end of the day. Gently remove your eye makeup without stretching and pulling the delicate skin around your eyes.” Eggs are yummy kitchen ingredients; those are eaten as breakfast, lunch or dinner menu. However, the fact is eggs can be good ingredients for facial mask. Just separate the yolk behind and use the egg white after mix it with honey and lemon. Apply it for 10 minutes, then rinse it by using cold water. This treatment is useful to reduce blackheads and tighten skin. Milk has well-known as the best ingredients for skin softener. By reason of milk that contains vitamin A and protein. As Tremblay (2013) stated that protein provides strength and skin elasticity. In the one hand, vitamin A helps skin development and healthy skin. Honey is a good cleaner for women skin. According to Livestrong says “A daily honey cleaner or mask can treat or prevent acne breakouts by ridding your skin of harmful bacteria.” In addition, honey also good in reducing wrinkles on your face. The last is rice, don’t you know rice is good as skin whitening. Just mash it and apply it as face mask for ten minutes. Beside that, you can use the rice water to wash your face every morning.  It is the perfect thing if you want to slow down the aging process to a snail’s pace? Slime harvested from the creatures is the key ingredient in new range of anti-aging products. The makers claim they can make users appear six years younger in just four weeks. Following the success of a Snail Gel face and body cream, manufacturers are now releasing a wider range of products backed by a £600,000 marketing campaign. The campaign will be fronted by the singer turned model – Louise Redknapp – while it is also understood to be used by A list celebrities such as Katie Holmes and Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts. The products contain a cocktail of proteins, antioxidants and hyaluronic acid which removes dead cells, reduces inflammation and helps skin retain moisture. The benefits for human skin were discovered by Chilean snail farmers who noticed their skin healed quickly without scarring when they handled the creatures which were being exported to France. Dr Oganic marketing director, Martin Lightowlers, said: ‘It sounds like something you wouldn’t want to put on your face, but you would be surprised. It is obtained from snail farms that are created to support them, look after them and help build the population. Essentially, they are there to help the snails mate.' They are given a natural plant hormone, this helps them to secrete hormones to mate. When they travel across glass plates to get to their partner the snail secretion is collected. That is then turned into a powder which is used in cosmetic ingredients. The reason the snail secretes this gel is so that it can regenerate itself or its shell, once it has been harmed. When it is used on the face it is helping to regenerate the skin cells.’ Dr Organic said that an additional anti-aging ingredient called proteolea has been added across the portfolio and enabled the brand to claim that users would look ‘six years younger in four weeks’. Kate Waddell, director of consumer brands at design agency Dragon Rouge said the range is a good fit with the trend towards more extreme beauty and skin regimes... but she told The Grocer magazine that consumers would need some ‘serious reassurance’ and positive reviews from real women if they are to be won over. She said: ‘The key question with a snail slime-based product is when does the 'eeeww' factor tip the balance to 'wow' factor?’
 Thank you for tuning in to read what I have to say! I promise to enlighten and entertain you.
I have been in the medical aesthetics and diet businesses for almost 25 years and I sure have seen some crazy stuff. I have also seen many people pay a lot of money just to get minimal results and then on the flip side, people getting a lot of results with paying minimal money. That's what I am here to tell you about - the amazing ingredients that actually get you visible results that last. My passion is helping people look and feel their best so I plan on discussing everything from botox vs. dysport. vs xeomin, dieting vs. cleansing and intermittent fasting, the best ingredients to look for in skincare, fun gadgets to enhance your beauty, and in between I will give reviews on weird or wacky products and treatments. Enjoy my muses and if you have something you would like me to write about don't hesitate to drop me a line! I always love getting suggestions. |
Cara Melo
24 years of skincare, medical aesthetics, and diet experience. Archives
May 2017
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