Holistic Vanity

Holistic Vanity has moved!

2009-12-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

We wanted to upgrade this blog so we are now at www.holisticvanity.ca - but if you wait a minute or two, this page will automatically redirect for you. See you there in three..two..

Holistic Holidays!

2009-12-25T09:39:00.000-08:00

I usually post every Friday - but as it is xmas, I have decided to take some of my own advice and relax.

Happy Holidays!

Kris

I've Been Watered Down and Fully Grown!

2009-12-18T10:18:00.000-08:00

Its finally over!
For those of you who know I've been doing a 30 day water-intake challenge, you know that getting down at least 2 litres a day has been quite the endeavor (lots of moaning and lots of bragging). For the rest of you...well you may be able to tell from this week's blog title that I was a bigger fan of chick rock band Veruca Salt in '97 than I let on.

But giant water gulps and gnarly guitar riffs aside, this is a natural beauty blog. Let's get down to business as report on my results. How does my skin feel? How does my body look?

Well, I am happy to announce (as I predicted) that I look and feel much better. Now, it isn't just that my skin is more hydrated - which was what expected, but a variety of new beauty changes.

Firstly, I have less water-retention. Anyone who knows me knows that I am very conscious of my puffiness. It sort of runs in the family. My mother tracks her puffiness like Ben track the Liverpool scores. I even remember distinctly when she first learnt about rap mogul Puff Daddy aka. Puffy, she exclaimed "Puffy?! Who wants to be Puffy? I try my hardest to avoid being called puffy?!". I still laugh.

But while may people think water-retention is from too much internal water, it often is caused by dehydration. Our bodies hoard and store water when there is a lack of it in our systems creating emergency hydration reserves. So, very early into my water challenge, I found that I woke up in the morning significantly less swolleness in my face - which really brightened my day.

The second positive change I experienced was that I could sleep better. During times of stress (which is often), I usually wake up in the middle of the night for a few hours. This is due to excess heat caused by mental aggravation and excess Pitta in the liver. But because I was drinking a lot of cooling liquids infused with alkalizing chlorophyll, my body felt less internally inflamed allowing me to get a better night's rest. This of course helps everything - your acid level decreases, your bowels work better and you absorb nutrients easier. Your skin reaps the rewards of this overall balance by becoming more vibrant and glowing.

So, with this motivation, I have continued to consume an increased amount of water each day even after the challenge has been completed (Sunday). Nothing promotes change like results. Just the other day, I told a cheese-loving client who struggles with chronic whiteheads and congestion: "Try avoiding dairy for two weeks. When you see your skin improve, it will be like Havarti what?"

I find when we experiment with new challenges it is best to set goals with a set end in sight. A light at the end of the tunnel makes these lifestyle changes seem less daunting, and if we look and feel better, we will fall into a new habit .

Combating a Cold: How Kristen Got her Groove Back

2009-12-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

I am officially sick. For the last few days I could feel it creeping up on me, sneakily waiting for just the right moment to strike me with a runny nose, sore throat and sinus ache - but today was the day it made its move to pounce, and pounce it did.

Now, I like everyone else hate being ill. But with Canada's bitter winters, its hard to avoid a cold or flu as the saying "its going around" is almost like a seasonal credo. And its not just the fact you feel awful and are frustratingly unproductive - but its really difficult to maintain poise and exude your usual glamour when you are coughing up excess mucous. A good friend of mine once said "Being sick really cramps your style." And right now my style has been rumpled and crumpled more than my bed linens I am wallowing in right now.

So, in true Pitta form, I believe in strategizing a combat plan - and below is an outline to how I intend to get well with natural, Ayurvedic remedies... How Kristen's gonna get her groove back.

Ginger, Ginger, Ginger: The first thing my mother insists on when she hears I have a cold or flu is a pot of ginger tea. Ginger is excellent as it is both warming and antibacterial. It helps disinfects the throat as you drink it and boosts your immunity. And getting as much of this down as possible is important. This coincides well as I am still on the 30 day water drinking challenge, so I have no excuses and a quota to answer to. But besides drinking ginger tea, I am also going to take a ginger bath. Using organic ginger powder in the bath is an excellent way to support weak immune systems and Dr Lad of the Ayurvedic Institutes recommends this to those who are prone to illness. When doing this, be generous - tonite I will probably be putting in a good 2-3 cups in my bath.

Healing Herbs: If you are quick on the draw (unlike me), you can bypass getting sick at all by taking high amounts of echinacea and golden seal when you feel a cold coming on. But alas, I was not religious about this and fell prey to my own lack of discipline. Now, I will be taking an unorthodox amount of Immune Support from Banyan Botanicals. These caps are simply a blend of different peppers with echinacea. Hot pepper, like ginger is heating and therefore germ-fighting. I have also taken oregano oil in the past - and to those of you who also have taken this, you know that the burning sensation you feel upon taking it indicates that it too is heating. The ever-popular, Don Cherry endorsed Cold FX (How Canadian can you get eh?) is simply ginseng another hot herb.

Another important thing to think about it taking herbs and supplements which move the bowels. Keeping the bowels clean and free of toxins helps the body not accumulates congestion in general. It is also easy to become constipated when sick because you often also become very dehydrated. This is why I also like Immune Support, because its main function is to increase the body's immune function, but its secondary purpose is as a mild laxative.

Sweat it out: Lastly, I think its important to keep the body active and sweat it out. The ginger bath will help this, but more effectively, a hot yoga class will finish the job. Hot yoga is excellent as intensive cardio can be taxing when you are under the weather, but the sheer heat will purge kapha mucous and congestion brought on by colds and flus. After the class, it is imperative that you bundle up despite feeling warm all over as losing your qi and heat after exercise will make you even more ill. Of course, I am very conscious to put my mat in my own secluded corner to stay away from other participants, and if the class it too full to do this, I would forgo participating out of respect for others.

10 Foods for Increasing Skin-hydration

2009-12-04T07:47:00.001-08:00

So, as I move through my 30 day 2 litres of water per day challenge, a question I am asked often is "Don't you have to pee all the time"? Well, the answer is: "Yup". But this is due to my body's low kidney energy and compromised system. But I have been finding it actually getting better as I drink more water. Also, I want to emphasize that we cannot drink a litre in a sitting - but sip throughout the day so our bodies can gradually absorb this moisture. I am quite happy with the results of this challange, and those taking it with me have even commented on how their skin feels more hydrated already.

But for those of you who choose to very slowly increase their water-intake to ease themselves into this hydrating habit, I advocate starting with increasing the water content in your diet. Because it is not just about how much water we drink, but how much hydration we absorb. how much we hold onto and how much we get from our foods as well.

Now, my family has been eating water rich foods for as long as I can remember. And being expensive is no excuse not to eat healthy (you would be surprised how often I hear this - and fast food is actually pricier than a trip to the fruit and veggie market). As newly landed immigrants, my grandparents had to find cheap ways to eat fresh foods. I remember my grandmother steaming ice berg lettuce (a lil spice and sesame oil drizzled on this actually makes for a delicous dish). And if you see my grandfather who is well into his 80s springing around, you will see the benefits of water-rich foods. Well, he also does have a flip phone with dangley heart-shaped cellphone charms on it - so I think being young at heart has something to do with it. Nonethless, below are my top ten foods for increasing skin hydration.

1. Celery - I could eat celery all day. Its refreshing and has that little bit of bitter that really cools my heat. Dehydration not only comes from a lack of water, but an excess of heat in our bodies. The heat burns up the water according to Eastern Medicine. Celery, because of its high water -content, also has been said to encourage weight loss as it takes more calories to digest and process than it contains.

2. Watermelon - Watermelon ain't called "water" melon for no reason. This melon is packed with moisture. But those with high kapha need to limit their watermelon consumption (though its hard!) as its high sugar increases Kapha.

3. Flax seed oil -We cannot just think of fruits and veggies which increase our hydration, but oils are also important. Like with our skin creas, oils help protect as a barrier against water loss and also lubricate our digestive track to help us elminiate and detoxify hardened toxins. Cold-pressed flax oil is especially good for our skin. I used to travel with caps of flax seed oil as it helped me prevent eczema break outs triggered from airplane flights. They were a lifesaver.

4. Beansprouts - Another cheap, cheap veggie. Beansprouts are not as rich in nutrients as other vegetables, but their water-content can't be disputed.

5. Bell Peppers -I love using red, yellow and orange bell peppers in my cooking as they give dishes a beautiful rainbow of colour. According to many holistic nutritionists, you should be eating at least three different coloured fruits and vegetables a day to get a variety of vitamins and nutrients.

6. Strawberries -Strawberries are not only excellent for hydration because they are full of moisture, but also their seeds are fantastic for encouraging the movement of our bowels. Keeping a clean G.I tract is important for absorbing moisture and nourishment.

7. Cucumbers -I have posted that I put slices of cucumber in my water to make water tastier. But you can also eat them with a squirt of lime and sprinkle of cayenne. Remember, we want to increase foods which have cellular hydration and decrease foods like wheat and red meat which are dehydrating. If you are going to eat a lot of starch, I recommend eating rice. Rice is more moist as it is grown in water as well as cooked in water - making it naturally more hydrating.

8. Pea Sprouts -These sweet sprouts cook in less than 3 minutes or can be served raw and give dishes a great crispness. They are high in vitamin A and C and also have an abundance of folic acid (which is especially important for women).

9. Cilantro -Cilantro is pacifying for Pitta (internal fire) and I started to drink crushed cilantro leaves in water as it is a natural blood cleanser and helps the body purge heavy metals. Of course, I also use it in my cooking. It is the key ingredient in making a mean guacamole.

10. Rooibos Tea -Last blog I raved about Rooibos as it is an anti-inflammatory for our digestive systems and has a natural sweetness to it. I was given a bag of green rooibos blended with other sweet herbs to make a carmel-tasting tea for my birthday which was a new take on my old fav. Nothing is more loveley than a cup of hand blended herbal tea! But I am also suggesting Rooibos because it is a great alternative to caffeine-laden beverages. Tahlia, an esthetician at our Pure + Simple Yorkville location and nutritionist, told me last week that she suggests that her clients who are addicted to caffeine to at least opt for some tea in the morning instead of coffee. "At least they should start their day hydrated and not begin it by dehydrating their body".

My cousin next to my grandpa (in his 80s) looking youthful (and pretty hip) after years of a healthy, hydrating diet and regular Qi Gong.

Veggies in a Bottle: Putting some flavour into this challenge

2009-11-27T13:07:00.001-08:00

I'm halfway through, and I keep on with my water-drinking challenge. But like a diet without spice, this drinking challenge without teas or infusions is painfully boring. Remember, I'm dating an Englishman - I know what spiceless food is like (oh, jab!).

Anyhoo, I vowed that my challenge includes no caffeine and no sweet drinks, so in my need to find some tantalizing flavours to keep me motivated, I found some delicious water-alternatives...

Balancing Chlorophyll: If for no other reason, drinking chlorophyll water is a conversation starter -especially in my futurismo Voss container. Add a bit of this green matter found in plants to your water, and its like getting your veggies in a bottle. I personally opt for chlorophyll in liquid form rather than powder (more easily absorbable - and less Vata) which also has mint essential oil added to it for a (bit of extra zing). Drinking this all day makes keeps you refreshed and it alkalizes your body.

Semi-sweet Rooibos: This African red bush makes a lovely tea with a slight sweetness to it. Not POM juice sweet (love those reusable bottle/cups), but I'll take what I can get. Rooibos is a great anti-inflammatory for your digestive system and its reduction of heat seems and soothe your entire body. Pure + Simple makes a Rooibos blend with dried berries, lavender and chamomile petals - which clients also have told me is excellent for calming the skin topically (using compresses). I also am a fan of Rooibos in Chai instead of the traditional black tea base - you can get this from the Yogi Tea brand. This is great for those of you, who like me, who are sensitive to caffeine. "Sensitive" is actually an understatement, "makes me coo coo bananas" is probably more fitting.

Cool as a Cucumber-Lemon infusion: If you aren't in the mood for tea - another option is to throw some fruit or vegetables into your water. Slice some oranges, limes, apples, or chop up some cilantro and simply add it to your water. The water becomes laced with the lovely light favour of whatever you put into it which isn't overpowering and really wholesome tasting. A spa staple: water with lemon and cucumber slices. This not only looks really pretty, but reminds me of fluffy white robes and cozy slippers. Lemon and cucumber provide the perfect combination as lemon is also a liver detoxifier and cucumber is pitta pacifying.

Powerful Peppermint tea: I heart peppermint tea. On the go, when you really crave that sweet in the mid-afternoon, peppermint tea is the only tea which has potent enough flavour to appease this. But a word of warning to those of you drinking hot fluids while running around- last week I went to the Starbucks for a "Refresh tea" (Peppermint tea) and ended up with a nasty burn. Now, I'm very cautious about my tea drinking and order a Venti with half cold water, half hot. Well, they didn't have their A-team on that day because they didn't make the modification and I realized this as I poured it down my entire front side. Of course, as usual, you're always a klutz in the most awkward places, and I was on the Dundas streetcar sopping wet. To the surprise of my fellow streetcar riders, I began squealing like a pig and stripping off my scalding hot clothes - down to my undershirt.... I was really upset with both the Starbucks staff and myself, freezing cold from my wet clothes, and had to cab it chez moi to change making me really late for the HIV Legal Network fundraiser that evening. And still, with a bit of a sniffle and full of self-pity for my sore skin, in the taxi home I made a point of drinking what remained of crumpled cardboard cup for fear of not making my daily quota. If that isn't a show of devotion to this challenge, I don't know what is.

Drinking more water: its all in the packaging

2009-11-19T17:27:00.000-08:00

So, its been a week since the initiation of this challenge, and let me tell you -- it ain't easy. Its been done, but man has it been a chore.

But I must say, the magic is in your water bottle. It really is a pesky little task to keep track of how much you drink throughout the day, so with the help of a good bottle you can avoid those days where you end up getting wrapped up in work and forgetting about hydrating yourself. A good bottle forces you to monitor your intake as the remaining water quote stares you right in the face. Its also much more simple, and armed with a 1.2 litre water container, I know I simply need to drink two bottlefuls to know I have reached my daily target.

Personally, I opted for a Klean Kanteen myself, as it is stainless steel, and unlike the popular Siggoi bottle, it does not have a patented lining on an aluminum body. The Siggoi manufacturer keeps this patented lining's content top-secret and there has been talk that it is made up of plastic containing bisphenol-a. And while these trendy designer bottles come in many groovy patterns, I opt away from being exposed to endocrine distrupters.

I heart my Klean Kanteen mostly because it is so light in weight. As I drink up, it only gets lighter, and I no longer feel like I am carrying around a 5 pound weight (another incentive to drink that H2O). Mine was $25.95 CAN, and I ended up purchasing two allowing me to alternate them so I can ensure I always have a sterilized bottle. (I'm a bit of a germaphobe and clean anything which holds aqueous solutions for long periods of time with a swish of water and iodine or run it through the dishwasher's heat. This is what happens when you work with natural skincare for years and see how easily plant waters mold.)

But for those of you who don't want to spend more than fifty bucks on water containers, you can simply buy a bottle of Voss water. This Norwegan water company puts their water in a a glass bottle which is super space-efficent, as it slips perfectly in any bag due to its perfectly cylindrical shape. Its only $5.95 (I read online that you can find it even cheaper) and holds up to 800 ml - but is much heavier than the Klean Kanteen because of its glass make up. But the sleek design may be worth it, move over Evian and Perrier, the bottles from the future are here. I feel like I should be putting a scroll in them and sending them down a pipe.
But when the weather is cold (like it was this week in Toronto) some of us prefer to consume warm liquids. I myself am a big wimp when it comes to the cold; and drinking cool water in this weather repels me from drinking water even more.

According to Ayurveda we really should never be drinking cold water as it is bad for our digestion (agni). Room temperature is as cold as our drinks should get, and hot water is best as it is anti-kapha and melts internal toxins. But I cannot find a good litre large thermos. The Eco Flask is too small, and the best I could find was a Starbucks refillable which was just under 500ml.

Ah well, because I work in many different locations and always on-the-go, I don't have the luxury of an office kitchen, so it works out that I get something that Starbucks will service me through. I tried filling my Klean Kanteen with warm water at the beginning of the day, and the heat with the steel almost burned my hands. Duh. While I may be more hydrated, I will say that it has not made me any more alert.

Drinking more water: A 30 day challenge (groan)

2009-11-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

I hate drinking water. There. I said it.
But as someone who is both health-conscious and vain, I know that it is essential to my well-being. Water makes up 70% of our body's composition and this translates into the healthiness of our tissues.

From my experience as an esthetician, I know that dehydrated skin is the cause of almost all skin ailments. Without proper hydration, our skin weakens its barrier function and ability to repair, triggering eczema break outs, blemishes and wrinkles. Wrinkles are simply "skin wounds from being stretched and creased which have not had the ability to heal", according to former head chemist of Estee Lauder. And the inhibition of skin-regeneration due to dryness causes premature signs of aging. This also comes in the form of dreaded sun-damage as dried out skin is less resilient and cannot heal and fade pigmentation or scars as easily.

Glug-glug-glug should be our new beauty mantra - and, as I wrote in my beauty book "Beauty 2.0", soon to be re-launched from Mc Arthur and Company as "Beauty: Pure + Simple", we should be drinking between 1.5 and 3 litres per day. I will be the first to admit that often I am not following my own advice and have the forehead lines forming to show it. I have gotten lazy, and now that I have cleared up my terrible acne, I do not have such a visible monitor of when I am, and am not taking care of myself. This makes it so easy to slip into bad habits.

Well no more! I'm going to swallow my own words (pun totally intended) and make drinking 2 litres of water (or more) per day second nature. They say that if you repeat a behaviour 27 times it becomes custom. So I will do this for 30 days to ensure full efficacy. By the end of this, I should be a regularly guzzling down water with glee, full of hydration and donning more dewy, more glowing skin!

This little project will hopefully inspire others and offer helpful tips to making water both more palatable and convenient. I will not be including juice or sweet additives, but will be testing out tasty new teas, supplements full of vitality, and possibly a squeeze of lemon to take in more water.

On my mark...Get set...Sip!

How "Same old, same old" can save your skin

2009-11-06T05:53:00.000-08:00

In the last week or so, I have decided that I need to muster up some discipline and establish a routine. As a single mother, my mom would constantly tell me about the importance of routine throughout my childhood to more efficiently get ready in the morning....I was a bit of a dawdler.

But, like the theme of our modern-day sentiments, my motto has always been: if the results are good, who cares about the method? If I'm at my commitments on time, get my work done and keep myself fed, what's the problem, right? Well, the problem is that our bodies need regularity.

Waking, eating and sleeping at consistent times helps us establish habits - and like little planners, our bodies can expect when to be stimulated, nourished and rested. This helps our digestion immensely, helping our skin and bodies immensely as well. Poor digestion has been tied to rosacea, eczema and cellulite. I, myself, have had my share of digestive issues and its no coincidence that I eat on the run wherever and whenever it has fit into my inconsistent schedule. This is why Vatas (those with an abundance of air in their constitution) tend to have poor digestion and bloating. Vata governs inconsistency - whether it is in the mind or body - and when this happens, our systems do not know when digestive fire should be enkindled, and this also creates erratic hunger patterns.

But routine does not only help with digestion, but also with our metabolism. If we do not eat regularly, our bodies do not know when they will be fed again, and often enter "starvation mode" in which they hang onto nutrients in fear of not receiving more. It is proven fact that those of us who eat consistently, avoiding swings of being too ravenous and overly stuffed, also regulate our blood sugar and metabolic function. Many clients who seem like they cannot lose weight despite reasonable portion sizes and reasonable food choices find that their lack of eating at the same times each day is a major factor. Excess Kapha (the earth element in our constitution) is related to this, and Kaphas who have a habit of over-indulging themselves also lack discipline and structure. Establishing a strict regimen of waking, eating and sleeping is one of the best ways to reduce excess Kapha.

And our waking/ sleeping patterns are of the utmost importance. Waking early each day clears out Kapha lethargy. According to Ayurveda, we should be using the sunrise to help wake and stimulate us - and we should not be eating after sun-down (as our bodies naturally slow down). I have blogged about circadian rhythm before, and this coincides with this concept.

Sleeping at the same time each day also helps us become better rested. Fluctuating sleep patterns confuse our bodies and often cause insomnia (another sign of excess Vata). And we all know that a good night's sleep not only prevents the feeling of fatigue, but also under eye circles, skin dehydration (lack of sleep taxes our kidneys which regulate water) and water-retention (due to dehydration).

So, while it isn't as glamorous as a luxurious skin renewing facial or provides the instant gratification of a nourishing body massage, establishing a strict lifestyle routine may provide the most powerful total health and beauty make-over.

Tricks to Avoid Getting Caught with a Spot

2009-10-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

For the first time in years I have broken out with two very red, very visible pimples...smack in the middle of my forehead.

Back when I had acne, this would be a daily occurrence - and people around me would give me tips on how to treat them. I know, I know they were trying to help, but often it was simply bad skin advice (and embarrasing!). I have heard so many bad blemish tips that I am surprised my face is not full of scars - like when my aunt told me to swim in chlorinated water to dry them out, or my former drama teacher's bauty wisdom: to take a bit of my mother's perfume and dab it on each spot. Not only would the high percentage of alcohol blast them of my face, but I would smell like the first floor of a department store.

Well, for those of us who get the occasional zit, here is what you should really do, from an esthetician who went through a decade of terrible break outs:

Germinating Break outs

Like with all things, pimples do not simply appear, but evolve. Sometimes you even have the pleasure of seeing a pimple mature -starting as something small, a little red bump with no visible white pus, slowly gets bigger and bigger, becoming more and more gross. This is commonly when people try to pick their faces, leaving them looking scabbed, and the blemish returning in the next day or so. The best thing to do is to moisturize them - and that is what I did.

Because they had not formed a head, I just slathered on a heavy cream with oil over top of the cream, for a layering of anti-pimple antidote. In two days my blemishes were gone - I avoided them getting to full-sized pimples, but more importantly, I avoided scarring. Now, if you are too late and the pimple is on its way to full blemishdom, this will still help it come out faster, and the faster it comes out, the faster you can get rid of it.

Mount Fuji on Your Face

When you have to deal a blistering pimple, (probably right before public speaking with your ex boyfriend in the audience), there are a couple of things you can do.

If you must get rid of the spot the day of - you need to pick it. So get down and dirty and steam your face for 5 minutes (after cleansing of course), tissue your fingers, and extract it. The pimple should feel flatter and you should have removed all of the pus. Quickly disinfect with an alcohol-free antiseptic like Organic Witch Hazel (using alcohol can lead to scarring), dab the spot with Green Clay and let it sit until the clay is dry to touch. This will not only close up the picked pimple, but also calm the irritated skin and draw out any impurities you didn't take out. After you remove the spot treatment, apply a soothing moisturizer and apply make up.

But this is only in beauty emergencies, if you have a couple of days, I suggest the gentler, less risky solution: dry it out. There is more than one way to do this, but the objective is to dry out the spot, but nor your skin. I recommend applying a Clay Mask just on the blemish and leaving it overnight. After two nights the pimple should be gone or at least significantly reduced. Don't use a very diluted clay or a kaolin clay - they will not be potent enough.

Another route is to use Himalayan Salt. A friend of mine told me that she mixes a pinch of salt with water and dabs it on before bed. Whatever you use, I suggest it be natural and only on the blemish itself - you don't want to dehydrate your healthy skin.

The Cystic Pimple: An underground killer

Sometimes you get those deep, underground boil-like blemishes that do not come to a head at all. We call this Cystic Acne, or Blind Pimples. In these cases, bacteria has gone into the dermis layer of your skin and this deep seated, infected fluid is what causes the painfulness of Cystic Pimples. If you have many Cysts, and break out with them often - you may need to disinfect internally. This is why anti-biotics are so effective for this type of break out - but I have prescribed Neem capsules with excellent results. Neem is a blood cleanser, anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial and also anti-inflammatory.

Topically, you must stimulate the area. Because this stagnant fluid is Kapha-like in its quality, it can stay on the skin for months at a time in some situations. Applying arnica cream of water heals the area and promotes circulation which will break up the cyst and encourage it to drain. I have personally extracted my own cystic pimples by puncturing it with a sterile needle and removing the fluid, but I would not recommend anyone doing this without a professional. The arnica route is much gentler, and again, evades the risk of scarring.

Below: Dalila at Pure + Simple Oakville, extracting her client professionally with steam.

Strategies to Preventing Skin Scarring (and the anxieties which come with them)

2009-10-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have burnt myself three times this week, causing three beauty tantrums - they all began with my wailing about inevitable scarring! And they all ended with Ben comforting me (and probably rolling his eyes discretely) while I devised a scar-preventing game plan. Despite the fact I have resolved to be less OCD about my skin, scars are something I cannot help but obsess over. Its a good thing I know a thing or two about treating scars.

So, this week, I thought to help those who scar easily (and as sort of a pledge to myself to stop being so clumsy) I would devote this post to solutions for preventing and healing scars.

Scarring is caused by skin trauma. Whether its the aftermath of a large blemish or the melanin response to a sun burn, a scar is caused by inflammation. Skin which is darker will scar more easily, as will skin which is dehydrated. But when preventing the onset of a permanent skin mark, the source of the inflammation will be key in dictating what route of treatment to take.

Acne scars: If the scar is from acne, the best thing to do is nourish your skin. Vitamin E and Organic Rosehip Oil have done wonders for many of my clients - but if your skin is still breaking out, I would alternate the Organic Rosehip Oil with Jojoba oil to prevent over-stimulating your skin and causing another break out. Encouraging collagen production with skincare loaded with Vitamin C is also excellent, or just go straight to the source and use a Collagen Serum.

Now, if the scars have been there for some time, you must determine if they are "young" or "old". Young are red or brown marks which can still be cleared up by Organic Rosehip Oil, Vitamin E, Vitamin C or Collagen. Old scars are whitish silver in colour, or come in the form of pitted marks. These scars must be deeply exfoliated follwed by the previously mentioned nourishing topicals. Pitted marks the hardest to reverse, and extensive Seasalt Microdermabrasion or Laser Treatments are the only effective options.

Burns: When you burn your skin, preventing pigmentation is very different from how we treat potential acne scars. Avoid oil and keep the skin cool. Oil increases heat in the skin (think of how we use cooking oil to increase the heat of a pan) - and the more inflammation, the deeper the burn. Use water-based ingredients like Aloe Vera gel until the skin loses its redness. Apply cooling gels multiple times per day to keep the skin moist as dehydrated skin does not repair properly. If the skin is hot to touch apply cold compresses. In my case, it took an entire week's rotation of Aloe Vera gel, Collagen gel and Pure + Simple's Soothing Mimosa Emulsion (excellent for burns as nit contains the restorative Japanese Honeysuckle).

When you start to peel, just keep moisturizing and do not exfoliate. I always say, Peeling is healing - and any itchiness you may feel from this peeling is a small inconvenience to endure to prevent a permanent mark. When the redness has gone, your skin will either be completely back to normal or left with a brown mark. If this happens, begin using Organic Rosehip Oil everyday.

Burn scars which have been there for a long time often disappear after 1-3 years as the skin turns over. But often cases of multiple sunburns translate into pesky pigmented lesions which are resistant to fading. In these situations, IPL is a highly effective option.

Nicks and scrapes: For the pigmentation-prone, even little nicks and scrapes can result in a scar. In these cases, ensure the area has been cleaned, then use Organic Lavender Essential Oil straight onto the affected area. This oil with disinfect and promote faster healing. A scab will firm, and be sure not to remove it.... not matter how tempting. I'm talking to the same people who pick their pores when they know they shouldn't(!) When the scab falls off, the skin should not show any remnants of the trauma. Lavender oil is the only essential oil you should use straight onto the skin without dilution and avoid the eye area.

I personally used it for a tear on my face a few years back. After putting dozens of products on it without progress, I stumbled into using Organic Lavender Essential Oil in my frenzy. I found that this simple oil both healed and disinfected my skin, promoting scabbing almost immediately.

An Ode to Oils!

2009-10-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

An Ode to Oils - For those of you who know a bit about me, you know that I used to have terrible acne. I did 70% peels, took anti-biotics and applied drying prescription creams without much success. What I did find that worked, was nourishing my skin - This led to my love of oils.

Now, I know that many of us view oil as "too heavy" and "clogging" -- I did too! I wouldn't even put sunblock on because I was afraid it would make me break out -- but in fact, oils are restorative for our skin as well as cleansing. Some oils are even used in Ayurveda to kill parasites internally and externally. It is also important to understand that each oil is unique: some oils stimulate, some oils calm, some oils rebuild tissue and some oils are anti-microbials. So, as the cold winter descends (and oh, has it started) - I thought I would write about the beautifying and therapeutic properties of oiling your body for detoxification, rejuvenation and to combat this dry, dry weather.

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1. Oil as a facial moisturizer: I use oil as my last step of moisturization day and night. Actually, if I don't, I start to break out. What I have tried to do at Pure + Simple for many years is to educate people that oils actually help regulate our own skin's oil-production. When our skin is dehydrated, it produces more oil to compensate for this lack of protection. So the more we dry out our skin, the more oil we produce. This is why applying an oil on our skin will cut down our sebum production - and an oil like hazelnut is particularly beneficial to do this with. But for something more general - Jojoba oil is the same consistency as our own skin's sebum and it balances our our complexions nicely.

2. Oiling our extremities: In Ayurveda, oiling our extremities is so important that this Oleation is actually part of a recommended morning ritual. Oiling our hands and feet with a warming oil such as sesame oil, helps bring circulation to our outer body - and this is especially good in winter time. Foot massages nightly with Sesame oil also have been said to draw heat away from our eye area, improving eye sight. This is particularly good for those of us who touch a lot of people (massage therapists, nurses etc.) as we pick up the heat and inflammation of others easily.

The scalp is the gateway to our minds and oils have a therapeutic effect on our mental state. For most neurological issues, Ayurveda prescribes oiling our heads with sesame oil as it is Vata decreasing. But for heated, Pitta thoughts, coconut oil is best. This cooling oil is also great for hair loss and preventing hair loss, as it combats the excess heat which travels through our scalps (According to Eastern Medicine, heat rises) causing dried out, brittle hair follicles. Coconut oil is conveniently one of the lightest oils available, making it the easiest to rinse out.

3. Oiling our tummies: Stomach oiling is excellent for lubricating our G.I tract and helping to loosen old, unmoving waste in our intestines. This helps with constipation - but for extreme cases, Ayurveda prescribes an uber oleation: an oil enema. During tummy massage, always massage in a clock-wise motion as this is the direction our bowels move in.

4. Oiling up your eyes, ears and nose: My mother and I love oil so much we often engage in the Ayurvedic traditions of oiling...well...everything. People think we're being zany when we tell them that we oil our eyes. yes, we oil our eyes! You can do this with an eye cup (which is similar to the eye wash station in science class) or your can do a Netra Basti. This is the act of building a wall around your eye with dough and filling it with oil. This rejuvenates the eye area's skin as well as detoxifies the eyes, improving vision. Because the oil loosens toxins behind the eye, sometimes you can see eye crud surface in the oil. Melted ghee is best for this treatment.

Putting oil in our ears is another unconventional practice we do. It can be as simple as a few drops a week in your ear with olive oil (which helps prevent wax build up), or what I do, and fill your ear with sesame oil and leave it for a few minutes. This helps maintain our hearing as it protects from excess Vata(space) from being acquired in our ears. Remember, the process of hearing is simply our dendrites (ear hairs) to pick up sound waves. If there is excess space and damaged dendrites, we cannot process sound.

And the best for our upcoming winter: nasal oiling. Putting drops up our noses moisturizes our nasal passages helping us breathe better and dislodging nasal congestion. My mother uses plain sesame oil, while I prefer getting a "Nasya" oil which is a preblended concoction which is specifically for your nasal pathways.

5. Gargling with oil: When examining our bodies, Eastern medicine doctors look at our tongues. This is because you can see the state of all our organs here. Gargling everyday for 10-15 minutes with sesame oil not only strengthens our teeth and gums, but detoxifies our bodies by drawing out toxins in the mouth. The first time I did this, I could only use a tablespoon of oil - the thought of more than this made me want to gag. But after about a week I was swishing mouthfuls of oil without a problem. Remember, if you do this, do not swallow the oil, it is full of unwanted toxins and sometimes parasites. For those of us who are doing it only for gum and teeth strengthening and healing, holding oil in our mouths for 1 minute is sufficient.

Stress Series Part 4: A Little Yoga For Your Dosha

2009-10-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I have written a two part article for Beauty and Beyond Magazine all about stress, and while doing some research on stress reduction, I soon realized that Yoga is to stress management what low fat! was to dieting in the 80s. It was everywhere - like a catch phrase.

But is it any wonder? Yoga and meditation are the conscious art forms of being still and clearing your mind of clutter. I, myself, have said in previous blog posts that Yoga save my life - what I really should have said was that Yoga saved me from losing all my hair. I'm a bit on the high-strung side.

But while I think Yoga is an excellent way to relieve tension and calm overactive minds, I don't know if many people know that you must tailor your practice to your constitution. Like everything in Ayurveda, it all comes down to balancing your Doshas. We have to be specific, and do the poses which will be therapeutic to what we as unique individuals need.

Are we experiencing Vata Excess? With too much air and movement in our bodies? Do we feel scattered and anxious? Perhaps some excess air in our digestive tract causing bloating or dehydrated roughness in our skin.

Are we experiencing Pitta Excess? With too much fire and heat inflaming our bodies causing thoughts of self-pressure and demanding ambitions? Maybe we have acid stomach or pimples from all the stress or aggravation of rosacea.

Or are we experiencing Kapha Excess? With too much earthy dampness making us lethargic and demotivated? Coupling water-retention and puffiness?

Whichever your Doshic dysfunction, when trying to pacify your mind and body, doing the proper poses is much more therapeutic than taking a generalist class.

Vata Yoga: Vata types or those with excess Vata must slow down their yogic practice. Transitions between poses must be gradual with calm concentration. Vata is easily ungrounded, so balancing poses are therapeutic. Tree pose and downward dog are good examples of Vata decreasing poses. But simpler poses like Mountain (which is simply standing upright and feeling your feet implant into the floor) and Savasana are also excellent. Savasana which is laying in an open rest position, is particularly good as it has the whole body on the floor feeling its own weight and grounding itself. When doing your sequence and balancing, setting your gaze downward is important, and many find that looking down helps with balance anyway. This is why downward dog is a great pose because it in a downward facing position.

Pitta Yoga: Pitta types or those with excess Pitta need to do poses with twisting involved. You can do many modifications of different poses to incorporate a twist or do something as simple as a seated twist. This breaks up the heat in the abdomen where the main site of Pitta is (in our jatharagni - digestive fire). Pittas also need to soften their hands during poses - and not have them made into strong spears. So if doing warrior poses, remember to make your wrists supple.

Kapha Yoga: Kaphas and those with Kapha excess need to open their chests. Because Kapha governs the lungs, there can be a protection of the lungs and a natural roll in of the shoulders and hunching over. To counter-act that accumulative tendency, poses such as Fish pose, Sleeping Hero pose and Wheel pose are ideal. Kapha also needs to be shaken out of the body by speeding up transitions in the yoga sequence. This can be done by doing one pose on the inhale and moving into the next on the exhale to keep your pace. Springing during Ashtanga classes are also good for stimulating blood flow for Kapha.

Changing your yogic style depending on how you feel is a great way to bring awareness into your practice. Also, becoming more body-aware and monitoring when you feel imbalanced is refined when you also treat your body with this type of physical therapy as you can actually feel the changes before and after asanas.

Stress Series Part 3: Stress Councillor to the Rescue

2009-10-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

If you had asked me if I was living a Pure + Simple lifestyle a few years ago, I would have had to sheepishly admit that I was not. Of course, even by then I was already armed with Ayurvedic knowledge and TCM theory, but sometimes you push your better judgement aside despite knowing better.

When I returned back from Australia and we opened our second Pure + Simple location, I was overwhelmed with stress and began neglecting my health. I skipped meals and got little sleep. Of course this translated into under eye bags and a loss of muscle tone. I have never really dealt with stress very well - as a Pitta-Vata constitution, my Pitta self has goals it intends to execute and deadlines in which it wants to do this, and my Vata self worry about this...a lot.

But the world works in the most wonderful ways because Stress Councillor, Natalie Shay, landed right into the palm of my hand. Literally... I met her while giving her a facial, and its a good thing I have some sense because by time she was toned and moisturized I had already booked my first session with her.

Now, you may think having a councillor just for stress is excessive - Ben with his naturally grounded British way did - but to me (and my naturally neurotic North American way), emotional well being is a pillar of good health and we must put as much care and energy into stress-management as we do our diets, self-care and exercise programs.

So what exactly does a stress councillor do? Would having to put extra time aside be even more stress-producing? The Beauty of Shay's program was its simplicity. There were measurable metrics to monitor my success with and we started with a booklet of questions filled with thought-provoking inquiries of many sides of me - from the regularity of my body, to my feelings on my career's progress. What we found was that we I was in burn-out or close to burn-out in most categories. But what she also explained to me was that I would easily feel unable to cope with situations of distress if I wasn't nourishing my body properly or sleeping enough.

She set gradual goals like "take an hour for lunch at least three times a week", and "eat breakfast everyday, even if its something small". But she didn't just dictate these common credos but also gave me quick but nutrient-rich recipes to do this as well as body-relaxing breathing exercises. Just with these slight changes, I began to see my mind and my blood sugar balance out and felt much better.

To some, this sounds like common-sense, but to those of you who are like me who can get so swallowed up by your own anxieties that you begin to think that everything is urgent, and your body is less of a priority than your goals - its really helpful to know that enlisting a stress councillor is an option, and that it can be a worthy investment. Because as that small voice which tells you to "take it easy, and be gentle on yourself" gets more and more faint, and the adrenaline from stress-related dramas becomes more and more invigorating- you become less and less capable.

And the whole program was easy to do as her time-pressed clientele, she does her consultations via phone. I actually had one of my sessions blackberry while in transit from one spa to another (it wasn't the most grounded conversation, and I don't think she was impressed).

But what I really appreciated about this process was that you had someone reminding and encouraging you to take care of yourself. And Shay does a very good job of this - not from an uber-zen high ground, but a relatable voice of a woman who is also a young, ambitious professional. When I was feeling like work was overwhelming and that leaving at six o'clock was unrealistic, she would say "I know how you feel. But, what is it that is important that you cannot leave until tomorrow? Will you even be as effective as you would be with some rest?"

The process is also one which has an end-date (which I also liked). After six sessions, the goal is to have you be able to be independent and able to deal with stress with these newly learnt tools. In my last consult, we retested me on the same metrics we began with, and I improved in every segment (this as not a surprise as my skin looked less sallow and my body felt stronger).

I think that my success not only because this had forced me to commit to concentrating on reducing stress, but also to really reinforce the mind-body connection. What we do physically influences how we view the world and ourselves so deeply. So many of my clients see this first-hand from stress break outs, dehydration fine lines and dark circles. While good skincare is important, I know that the root of the issue is how they feel emotionally, and the therapeutic value of a facial helps much more than the thorough extractions of hydrating masks. For really high-strung clients, I refer them to Shay.

And while I don't believe that someone else can supplement these changes in our behaviour, and that we are in control of our own attitudes and tensions... sometimes a little guidance from a pro really helps.

Stress Series Part 2: Getting Our Beauty Sleep

2009-09-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Lately it seems to me that sleep is such a valuable commodity, I wish I could bottle and sell it. So many of my clients are having problems with sleeping properly during this season of so much change. This Vata weather must have induced a restlessness in us not only conjuring up sleeplessness but also some anxious, Vata thoughts.

"I just lay awake at night thinking about all the things I have to do. I get really stressed out them- then I start thinking about how my lack of sleep is making me break out, and I get really stressed out about that!" one of my clients told me on the massage table.

"I work until 2am at night sometimes - you'd think I'm exhausted, but I actually am wired just thinking: What am I doing with my life?" another said to me.

And this lack of sleep doesn't only make us feel less energetic, less healthy and less focused - but it also makes us break out, our skin dehydrated and signs of aging accelerate.

This was a topic which came up during a seminar on Anti-aging I attended while in New York last week attending the annual HBA trade show. (The actual talk was about Sirtuins and Stem Cells in skincare led by a panel of cosmetic research scientists representing Estee Lauder and a handful of stand alone research companies).

I found this very interesting because one researcher discussed the concept of Circadian Rhythm on our skin which is a known factor in Ayurveda and other alternative schools of thought, but now was being explained in scientific terms (Did I mention this was from people who were talking about stem cells in skincare?). He and his team had been particularly interested in their study of "clock genes" which are found within our cells and allow synchronization of cellular activity with the Circadian Cycle. (For those of you who are not familiar with Circadian Rhythm, it is the 24 hour cycle which outlines how our bodies behave through the day and their physiological changes.) In relation to the skin, they observed how we repaired at night as these clock genes induce protective antioxidants.

Each cell has its own clock which was governed by a part of the brain called the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus, which understands "night" in relation to light, food and activity in our bodies, and is found in the Hypothalamus ("The Master Clock"). Also note that the Hypothalamus is a communicator between the Nervous System and the Hormonal system.

They observed that when clock genes were synchronized with the Circadian Clock, it enhanced the skin's resistance to UV damage and enabled our cells to restore themselves. But that clock genes could not synchronize after Sun burn as UV damage caused DNA damage (!). So, there goes the hopes for sunbathing sans sunscreen after a good night's rest.

To me this was all so interesting - firstly because I'm as a Vainitista, it really reinforced the necessity of getting to bed instead of watching old episodes of Mad Men on the Internet - but Secondly, because science proved Ayurvedic dictations again - as the effect of Time of Day has been known for thousands of years and the importance of sleep for repair a given. Ayurveda's ideology coincides with the idea of Circadian Rhythm as each Dosha expresses itself at different times of the day and this influences our bodies greatly.

Kapha is strongest at 6am-10am and 6pm-10pm
Pitta is strongest at 10am-2pm and 10pm-2am
Vata is strongest at 2am- 6am and 2pm-6pm

This is the basis Ayurvedic recommendations on lifestyle. For example:

- Waking up during Kapha time in the morning flushes out our lethargy in the morning (accounts for why we feel like tired, heavy Kaphas when we over-sleep).
- Eating our biggest meal during Pitta time in the afternoon (lunch) will help us digest our food as our digestive fire is at its height with Pitta energy. We should also not eat heavily after sun down (approx. 6pm) as Kapha again is at its peak and will not move food through our systems well.
- Sleeping before early during Kapha evening time (before 10pm) helps us sleep well and avoids being awake and active during Vata time (2am) in which our Vata energy will not allow our minds to be at peace.

Ayurveda also states that this clock can expose our imbalances. If you have troubles falling asleep - you have excess Vata in your body, but if you fall asleep and wake up, it is an excess Pitta (heat) issue.

So while we may think staying up can help us get ahead giving us more time to work, to plan and to troubleshoot, a lack of sleep damages our energetic balance and depletes our tissues. And while its easier said than done, disciplining ourselves to turn off our mental activity will help us preserve our health. So put on your PJs a little earlier tonight, if not for proper Doshic behaviour, for more beautiful skin.

See you on Friday

2009-09-21T07:52:00.000-07:00

As I have just returned from New York City (with bundles of beauty science news!), I will be posting on Friday.

Stress Series Part 1: Don't Push Me Cuz I'm Close to the Edge, Trying Hard Not to Lose My Head

2009-09-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

So Grand Master Flash is speaking from the view of living in the projects, and I'm speaking from the view of being a young career gal in downtown Toronto - but its safe to say that we're both stressed.

Stress oh, stress. Its one of those afflictions which are so easy to aid because its within in our own control to limit, but so hard because its up to our control to limit. And I admit, I'm the worse when it comes to stress management - I sometimes feel I have made a sport of worrying. No, I definitely am not a person who easily goes with the flow.

"Kristen gets many things done, but she insists on making herself so uncomfortable doing it," my mother announced at a family dinner last week. This was a response to being told that my easy going cousin lets life fall into place and somehow always ends up successful.

But I find it so difficult to put my thoughts in a drawer and leave them there for another time. There are so many pressures today that I think many of us feel like we are in a space of going somewhere instead of being somewhere (this is something I have only recently began to overcome). And in this Vata weather I think its amplified. So many of my clients this week have come into the spa breaking out and telling me about their anxieties as they juggle work, relationships, children and change. And of course, on top of this, as many of them are uber ambitious and self-aware, they also take extra courses, volunteer, network and worry about worrying so much. But often this time-poverty also is married with forgetting to care for themselves; skipping meals, forgoing sleep and losing their hair.

And while I have known for many years now that I need to make a point of calming down - recently it really impressed itself upon me while reading the book "Your Life is in Your Hands" by Dr. Krishan Chopra (Father of Deepak) outlined a study conducted on rats to study the effect of stress on our tissues. One group of lab rats were used as a control group, and one group was put under stress by being put into a tank of water for a few minutes everyday to stimulate the stress of drowning. What they found was that these stressed out rats would experience dramatic physical changes within three weeks or less. their hearts, livers, lungs and other organs would harden and become dark and fibrous. If the experiment persists, these rats also will die of "old age" as opposed to the normal, control group of rats who live for two to three years! The effects of stress on our bodies is extremely damaging to their function and health.

In vain terms: this depletion of our tissues will affects our skin and bodies, aging our skin faster than an IPL pulse! And I take this very seriously because God knows I just had an eye bag competition with one of our clients at our Midnight Madness sale yesterday. ("I have bad eye bags!" "What?! No, no, I have bad eye bags!")

So as much work as we put into exercise, eating well, getting monthly facials, performing our skincare regimes and making-up our faces, we need to put into committing to resting our minds. I know, not an easy task.

To quote the wise Mr. Flash: Its like a jungle sometimes and I wonder how I keep from going under.

My next few posts are devoted to discussing how to "keep from going under"...and look great doing it. Feel free to post comments on stress-relieving practices you find useful or you would like me to explore.

Ending up with egg on my face

2009-09-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

I have not been sleeping well lately. I think its the Vata time of year. Vata is the air element which governs movement in around our bodies, propelling change and activity. Summer moving into fall is a time of change and transition - a join in time if you will - and during this time we will have a tendency to feel stimulated, restless and possibly overwhelmed.

Well, my skin has exhibited this accurately as it looks tired. And today - as its my day off and I'm feeling in need of some rejuvenation, what better way pamper myself than to do a home-made mask?

As a Beauty Aficionado (Self-proclaimed), I feel its my duty to experiment in the kitchen with fresh, easy-to-do treatments. And despite Ben getting confused to why I have a litre of Apple cider vinegar at the side of the tub (hair rinse) and even more perplexed with the sesame oil next to my toothbrush (oil gargling), its unveiled some very interesting discoveries.

So, feeling a bit like an unmade bed of a person, I pump up Eurythmics and look around to see what I have in my fridge.

Avocados? Too messy for today.
Bananas? Didn't really see results last time
Eggs? Perfect!

Its decided - I will do an Egg White Mask. Egg whites are full of protein and contain Lysozyme, which has been said to account for digesting bacterial cell walls, marry this with the claims its fantastic for absorbing oil (what I did it for in the past) - and its the perfect little skin pack.

And its as easy as 1-2-3

1. Crack egg into bowl separating out the yolk. And at first crack you feel good that its fresh, preservative-free and creates no unbiodegrable waste.
2. Apply onto skin. You will find one egg more than enough - to do your face, neck and decolletage.
3. Wait. Sweet Dreams are made of this - doo -doo -doo.

Now, you can't do much while you have this mask on - and while I usually like to multi-task, leaving masks on while I work, clean and cook - this mask is so tightening that it feels like you are on a rollercoaster ride, wind suctioning at your skin. You move your facial muscles, impeding the ability to speak, taste or wince at all with it on.

The egg whites will dry clear and look like you have saran on your skin. You will know it is done when there is no trace of wetness on the surface(15 mins approx.). I advise to wash it off in the shower so you can be thorough as it takes a few rinses to remove. After the treatment my skin felt so much smoother and my pores tighter. The tiredness to my complexion was relieved as the mask seemed more hydrated as well.

Now, I have read reviews in which people claim it erased their wrinkles and diminished their pores - and I definitely won't say its that effective. It is a mask which only treats the superficial layers of our skin. But for pennies per application and the no-fuss freshness, I certainly don't mind ending up with egg on my face.

I Wear My Eye Zone At Night... So I can, So I can...

2009-08-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me, knows I am abnormally preoccupied with my under eye bags. I consider myself a fairly reasonable person - I try to have a grounded perspective on life, set realistic goals and accept the beauty of human imperfection. But somehow, the wires in my mind disconnect when it comes to my eye bags. So when I saw "diminishes eye bags and dark circles" in the description for the Eye Zone Eye Massager, it was like my fingers were on autopilot clicking "Buy! Buy! Buy!"

Now, before you laugh at loud at the image of what the Eye Zone looks like - the premise of it is only half silly. While the website states that it stimulates the acupuncture points around the eyes and helps remove toxins which build up in the delicate eye area, the pure circulation increase on its own promises drainage and anti-aging.

Maybe its because this week I have performed a number of Lymphomaniac Facials on press, but the importance of circulation has been on floating around in my head - and I wanted to highlight this importance in a posting. Many people think of massage as important to relax their minds and relieve tension in their muscles, but the simple increase in circulation promotes the reoxygenation of our tissues and transportation away of waste via our blood. This, to me, is the biggest benefit of any physical manipulation.

Circulation keeps our skin bright and youthful looking - and we should note how dry and devitalized the skin on our extremities (hands, feet and scalp) become when our circulation is low (this is evident most obviously in winter in we are especially taxed). It also increases our collagen production. If you examine any anti-aging treatment, whether it is Microdermabrasion, Chemical Peels, Light therapy or Laser, it involves the increase of circulation and blood flow.

So, when Ben scoffs at my new Eye Zone, I inform him he won't be laughing when I maintain my youthful looks and he doesn't - then I do a model's strut with the white plastic goggles strapped around my head and put it on the double time vibration setting.

Yes, Movement is an important concept in Eastern Medicine as the flow of Qi and Prana is thoroughly discussed. It is when we have stagnation within our bodies do we accumulate blockages - which can be seen in the form of cysts, dullness, heaviness and fluid turbidity. Acupuncture's role itself is to puncture energy centres to release stagnation.

Unfortunately, the Eye Zone doesn't solve all my problems. Like I thought, the Eye Zone does make a difference and takes away superficial swollenness moving the excess water and lessening the retention of fluid around my eyes. I am happy to see my morning puffiness if gone - and I keep thinking about the time my mother asked my people call Puff Daddy "Puffy". Who wants to be called Puffy? I do everything I can so I'm not to be called Puffy?!! But it doesn't take away the perma-puff along the lower portion of my eye socket. Sigh - Back to the drawing board - revisiting my kidney function and adrenal examination.

My only other complaint about my new vibrating glasses is that it leaves pink marks on my face so I can't use them if I'm in rush to get to work as I need to wait for the indents to fade.

Ah well, I guess I will just have to use my Eye Zone at night while listening to Corey Hart. Don't put the blame on the gal in shades.

Eating a Lazy Girl's Lunch

2009-08-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

One of the few vices I have in life is that I eat out... a lot.

Its not that I particularly love restaurant food, its that I love the convenience. Like many young professionals, Ben and I often work late (when I am not actually physically at work, my time is swallowed up by the constant flow of emails that my narcissistic streak allows). We often go for runs or take a yoga class after work to try to stay fit, take night classes and spend time doing extras (like blogging). Usually 7:30pm will roll around when we start to think about preparing dinner (which project actual eating time at 8:00 or 8:30pm). But by that time, along with the fact I don't think eating late is good for digestion, the idea of pulling out the double steamer and wooden cutting board couldn't appeal less.

My dilemma is that I know how important eating well is to maintain a healthy body and healthy skin, but eating out is laden with tasty but unhealthy ingredients hidden in sauces and marinades.

So, upon my return home from our epic Paris-Dublin-Worcester-London trip, I did a smart thing and hired a meal service. For those of you who don't know what a meal service is, it is a company which prepares your meals and delivers them to your door. The ultimate in convenience - you don't even need to wait to be served or spend time deciding on what takes your fancy. I thought this was an especially fabulous idea to aid us while we waded knee-deep in work. Ben did not.

After a bit of online research, I found Toronto-based "Green Zebra" - a vegan, macrobiotic and raw foodism-inspired meal service which even pre-soaked their legumes (!). This also did not particularly excite my Ben. Neither did their declaration that they were "100% vegan, 90-100% organic and local when possible." He was looking at the priciness of it all (what do you expect with organics?). But after much prodding (we won't call it nagging) I got my way and filled out the convenient online order form, choosing the 9 meal option for $155- which I tallied up to be 4.5 meals each (or 3 meals each and lots of snacking for me).

To my delight, any initial order is 25% off and it appeared they threw in a jar of soup. As soon as we got our cooler of goodies, I read aloud the menu "oooh"ing and "mmmm"ing at Ben as if to say "See? See!".

Our menu included: Smoked Tofu with Barbecue Sauce, Roasted Yams and Cauliflower with Maple-Dijon Dressing, Basmati Rice with Spicy Kim Chi and Arame, Broccoli Squash and Quinoa Salad in a Cashew Sesame Sauce, Black Beans with Onions, Peppers and Cinnamon-Cilantro Dressing, Grated Beet, Carrot and Apple Salad, and Roasted Corn and Tomato salad, Adzuki Beans with Golden Vinaigrette. The Soup was Potato Leek with Fresh Herb and the weekly dessert was a quartet of Banana-Maple Pecan Cornbread Muffins. Yum! Just as good as homecooking (?). This list came with a complete ingredients list which I appreciated.

Well, let me tell you it was much more than 4.5 meals each. I was eating the stuff for breakfast and lunches (and I'm ashamed to admit, but would not bother warming it up eating it cold as salads)-- it saved me from my bad habit of delaying eating to fit in more work, then becoming an uber-wench when I realize that I am starving but also incredibly picky.

And to my surprise, Ben was enjoying it too. He was probably also enjoying not having to deal with the mood swings that come with me being hungry (he calls it the spirit of "Angry Girl").

Now this isn't something I want to do routinely. Firstly, I was raised in a family that doesn't believe in eating left overs...ever - but in all honesty, the food I was eating out-and-about may not be all that fresh either (an employee of an unnamed high-end, organic grocer whispered to me that their prepared foods are usually about a week old...gross). Secondly, despite finding the meals truly tasty, I felt they were simple enough that I could've made them myself.

"...But you didn't," Ben said to my surprise. "...I don't want to waste what little free time we have cooking. Let's order again next week."

www.greenzebrakitchen.com

Kidney-Care: An essential in Anti-aging

2009-08-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

I am very protective of my kidneys.

Now, you may think its obvious that we should all be protective over every part of our precious bodies, but unfortunately, I often am not. In the past, I have washed my colon out with colon irrigation, wrung out my liver and gallbladder of stones with vile tasting detox programs, and I have pushed my poor little lungs so hard that I would cough up mucous. But when it comes to my kidneys, I have been wise enough to be gentle - because I know it is the organ which will cause me to show signs of aging if I do not. Yes, the kidneys regulate water metabolism in our bodies - and dysfunctional kidneys will disrupt the dispersion of water causing dehydrated skin, fine lines, under eye bags and circles as well as edema.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the kidneys are such important organs as they govern every essence and fluid in our bodies. This not only relates to the water-levels in our skin and other organs, but also influences our reproductive systems and its fluids. My TCM doctor has often commented on the increase of infertility and menstrual irregularities and how they are related to the stress we often put on our kidneys in the modern age.

But it is very difficult not to stress our kidneys out because the kidneys are taxed by stress itself. My mother calls our family "a family full of kidney people" because we over-think and make a hobby of being high-strung. Unfortunately this has also translated into bouts of nausea which follow the feeling of unquenchable dehydration. Our digestive systems also become very sensitive when our kidneys are especially depleted.

But it isn't just emotional stress which will deplete our kidney energy, but physical stress as well. The following are kidney-abusers:

Interrupted sleep
Excess protein consumption (especially animal protein)
Being an avid traveller (especially engaging in habitual dehydrating air travel)
Over-exercising (cardio: especially running)
Excess water-consumption
Deficient water-consumption
Inconsistent eating habits
Taking too many supplements in pill form
Low body temperature and exposure to cold
Excess sodium consumption

So what are we to do? While I feel like I am already so regimented with my habits, my eye bags beg a differ. Below are recommendations for kidney support:

Keep warm: Our kidneys need warmth. While I never thought I wore skimpy clothes, my grandfather doesn't understand how I protect my kidneys running around in yoga pants and a T shirt. To truly keep up our immunity and collect our energy, we are to bundle up and layer up- especially in the kidney area (which is on our backside right under our rib cage. Actually, Ayurvedic Doctors will often knock that area to see if there is pain to scout out a weak kidney.)... So burn all of your crop tops from 1993... Its probably a good idea to do for more reasons than for your kidneys.

Another way to keep warm is by oiling our bodies with sesame oil. Oil infused with warming herbs and spices are even better.

Maintain perfect hydration: We must try to not drink too much or too little. 10 glasses of water is said to be ideal, but of course this is dependant on your body's size. If you already eat a low-sodium diet, it can actually be beneficial to add a pinch of salt as it will help water stay and be retained in the body.

Limit supplements: I used to think that more was better. But while my days of taking supplements by the handful are over, I will still take some cherry-picked vitamins and minerals in liquid form. This is much easier for us to process and absorb.

Sleep deeply: Sleep quality is so important to nurture our kidneys. Interrupted sleep, or the inability to get REM sleep will not allow our organs to regenerate properly. This is one of the leading factors of kidney dysfunction.

Avoid animal protein: Too much dense protein will overwork our kidneys. A vegetarian diet is much more beneficial for those of us with kidney issues.

Eating ample kidney cleansing foods: Eating as many hydrating fruits and veggies will cleanse both the kidneys and the blood. But spinach, dandelion, ginger (warming - and also good for Vata pacifying), asparagus, blueberries, cranberries, string beans and parsley are especially good for detoxifying the kidneys. When I first discovered I was getting permanent bags under my eyes I began to juice raw parsley. While its sounds unappetizing, it was actually a refreshing addition to fresh squeeze apple or carrot juices.

Why go to Vegas when you can visit the British Museum?

2009-08-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

Someone once told me that you could see the world by going to Vegas. There's an Eiffel Tower, Venetian Gondolas and more buffets than a person could ever eat through. But I can suggest one better - the British Museum in London. If you really want to see the world from the beginning of time, here is the place to do it. Disco, Ben's brother in law suggested it saying it was a massive display of "all the stuff we nicked while building the British Empire". And when he mentioned it was free - I thought, hey, I can get in some culture without further spending my RRSPs in this un-Godly expensive place.

And, like most things I experience, I quickly found that looking through history can relate to beauty and wellness. I know, I usually like to write postings about pampering treatments and new gadgets (I bought two face massagers in the UK!) - but I thought a bit of history would be fun - as well as looking back really started to tell me about us today and how we treat ourselves.

The first thing I noticed was that human beings are completely impractical when it comes to beauty. Get a load of these finger nail covers from China!

I wondered if they would display our ridiculous vanity and have exhibits with spray tan shower stalls in the future.

But moreover than impractical, I began to see how uncomfortable women through the ages have made themselves. Heavy gold anklets which made me wonder if women in the past had better muscle tone than we do today. This question continued to go unanswered while in the jade exhibit where I discovered Jade hair covers (you would cover your hair bun with a dome of jade and stick a jade needle through it to stay in place. And somehow still hold your head up..?).

But this sort of rigorous beauty exercise still goes on today as woman traipse around in five inch heels and maintain a hip-hugging wardrobe in sub-zero temperatures.

Yes, beauty has been prized since the beginning of time - with luxuriousness like hand carved make-up bowls from Egypt. They were used to put eyeshadow in (Kohl). But before we scoff at this remember, we come from a culture of caviar creams and moisturizers containing real gold flakes.

But the most interesting was a contemporary display called "Cradle to Grave" in the Living and Death exhibition room. Here, the installation displayed a mesh blanket stuffed with the prescription pills prescribed to one elderly couple over their entire lifetime. This amounted to over 14,000 different medicines, 40,000 individual pills, and the cloth piece must have been about 60 metres long as it was doubled up. It was a comment on how we solve our health problems and the public health system today. And despite how funny and uncomfortable I may think adornment and beauty were in the past, today we take much more abusive measures to treat our bodies.

J'adore Paris! Finding the aesthetics of joie de vivre

2009-08-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

As a reformed carboholic, Paris is the perfect place to relapse.

With its buttery french bread and jewel-like pastries (which they proudly display in the window like the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's), its hard not to have a carb fete. But as I guiltily filled my gob with tarts and baguettes, I had to wonder how Paris sustained its quotient of such beautiful people. The streets were full of model-esque beings - so much so that as I shopped in Marais, I was almost sheepish asking the gorgeous sales boy to fetch me a larger size.

And it wasn't just the copious amounts of bread they serve (they gave Ben a side basket of warm bread with his sandwich) but also that they seem to smoke and drink wine and coffee abundantly without much afterthought. This to me, as a Yoga twisting, clean-eating, smoke-avoiding (my mother's nose to cigarettes is like a bloodhound) Torontonian, just did not seem fair.

Was it genetics? Was it the air? Something in the Seine?

No, no and no. While perhaps it is just as it is to be fabulous in France - I did notice a few things which I think would be excellent to integrate into North American culture. Firstly, I observed the laid back nature of the city (laissez-faire, non?). While like any other major city there is an obvious bustle in the streets, there isn't the franticness I feel in Manhattan or Toronto. I was surprised to see that almost all businesses outside of the tourist hubs were closed on Sunday (some Sunday and Monday - and one bakery had a sign that they were closed Tuesdays and Thursdays). And when work did resume, the workforce itself seemed mighty casual. In restaurants and cafes it was common for our servers to be smoking and texting on their phones between orders. This may not seem significant, but stress is a major culprit in unbalancing our bodies. Stress dehydrates our skin through overactive kidneys as well as increase internal inflammation. My mother just did a yoga and digestion workshop which outlined how stress effects how we absorb nutrients. According to her, we ideally should do some pranic breathing before meals as it is impossible to properly digest our food if our abdominal muscles are full of tension (and mine certainly are). So, all these year of digestive supplements, food sensitivity examination and agni increasing herbs, I could have avoided with a bit of calm and breathe? (Or in the Parisian case, a cigarette?)

Secondly, I observed the necessity to stay active in Paris. Well, actually, I simply noticed myself huffing and puffing my way through the city. With absolutely no escalators in the metro and many tiny, winding, uphill streets, it is no wonder that people seem more fit. Circulation is essential to keep yourself youthful, and I found that while it may be a nightmare for anyone in a wheelchair, it was definitely invigorating for those of us trying to stay agile and our qi (chi) flowing. They even had this fantastic system in which you can rent bicycles all over the city. Not unlike the machines we use to pay for parking in Toronto, in Paris you can hire a bike by swiping your credit card for less than one Euro per hour. Not only does in promote us to be more physically mobile but also is great for reducing car usage. At home, while I think many of us make an immense effort to spend chunks of time at the gym or in our respective pilates studios, the Parisians simply have activity as a part of their life.

So Ben and I have decided - one day we are moving to Paris for good. Not only did we feel wonderful, surrounded by such culture and beauty, but think that any place in which you can stuff your face with pastries and still maintain poise is a place for us. And we have the pictures to prove it.

Another Sunday Post

2009-07-31T06:59:00.000-07:00

I just got into Dublin from Paris... I will be posting on Sunday when I get to Ben's parents' place in England. Sorry for the delay but with all this running around I need some beauty rest!

10 Beauty Essentials While Travelling Abroad

2009-07-24T16:13:00.001-07:00

I leave for my two weeks in Europe tomorrow and as always I have two dilemmas:
a. I am a skincare junkie who likes to prepare for every beauty emergency
b. I'm moving around a lot and only want to take my carry-on. (I need a make-up bag made from the same stuff those clown cars are made of.)

But while two weeks away in different climates is a challenge, its nothing compared to when I went away to India for a month (I was so prepared I had three types of natural disinfectants and even surgical masks for the more polluted cities I was in.... have I mentioned I'm a germaphobe?).

So, for any of you who also needs versatility coupled with simplicity, below is a list of beauty must-haves for travel...and all while fitting in a small transparent make-up case and following the parameters of what you can bring in-flight. Note: You can bring bottles 100ml and smaller, 10 pieces max. The sum of all contents in this sealed and clear bag can only add up to 1 litre.

10 Beauty Essentials Abroad

1. A multi-purpose cleanser: Depending on where you are going and its climate, you will need to choose between a gel and a milk. For drier environments, a light cleansing milk will keep your skin hydrated and can often also act as an eye make-up remover - more humid environments call for a gel. When I went to Mexico, I packed our Organic Spearmint face and body wash and used it for my face, body and even hair. This little gem saved me packing three items.

2. A hydrating serum: If you don't think a serum is important, you're wrong. Since serums have a water-like consistency, they are perfect for keeping your skin moist. This is especially restorative after the drying flight. I always pack a soothing serum as it is gentle enough to double as an eye gel.

3. Oil: My family loves oil. Just ask my mother - she not only oils her face, body and scalp, she puts oil up her nose and drops it in her ears. She even sometimes she puts it in her eyes as she swear its has improved her eye sight. Oil lubricates your tissues and keeps your skin and body clean. I usually bring a face oil and use it for all over as its packaged in the right sized container. Oil is also essential because you can make your moisturizer heavier with by putting a pump or two of oil into it and save you from having to guess what the weather fluctuations will be like.

4. A cooling lotion: This is what you will use to moisturize. But its very important to take a cooling, calming product with you as it will help soothe your skin after burns or during an eczema flare ups that may occur (often this happens after long flights). If the weather is too dry, simply add your oil to it to give it more body.

5. A clay mask: The last thing you need to deal with when visiting Japan is a pimple the size of Mount Fujiyama. So, to aid this, pack a small sample-sized pot of clay mask. It will save you in ways you never dreamed of. I have used my clay mask on bug bites to suck out the itchy toxins as well as on rashes. Its definitely a life-saver.

6. A gelled paper mask: After any long flight I immediately apply our Pure + Simple Skin restoration mask. It comes as a paper which has been soaked in collagen, elastin and many other rejuvenating goodies. And while its a once-use only, its easy to pack as its as slim as an envelope. I have also used other masks like this from Germany, but instead of paper it can come in the form of a gel pad. While these are also very healing for your skin, they are wicked expensive.

7. Sun block: This goes without saying. I don't leave the house without sun block -- I actually carry a small bottle of it in my purse just in case. Coming from a girl obsessed with her pigmentation, I know how important it is to protect. But a natural sunblock again has its surprising benefits. A former employee of ours actually used it while hiking through the mountains on his skin rash on his groin. The rash was coming from his clothes chaffing at his skin met with the dampness of the environment (there were floods). The healing properties of zinc in a natural block not only acts as a protective layer, but also as an anti-inflammatory.

8. A tongue scraper: I scrape my tongue with a tongue scraper every morning. But if you are afraid of hassle at security, you can also get a plastic one or one which is made from something which looks like card board. Tongue diagnosis is a large part of assessment according to Eastern medicine (I'm actually reading a book right now on tongue diagnosis). A yellowish coating can indicate excess acid while a white coating can indicate toxicity and possible internal fungus. So, scraping off any crud which is on your tongue in the morning is a form of detoxification, and is a grooming practice I am religious about.

9. Tweezers: Nothing keeps you looking more grooms than well-kept eye brows. Packing tweezers will help you look and feel polished even if you are living out of your suitcase. When I was backpacking around Australia they were an emotional life-saver while staying in tree house hostels in the jungle.

10. An anti-bacterial hydrosol: Anyone who knows me knows I hate dirt, germs, bugs and bad smells. I know this seems pretty standard, but they can actually ruin my day. So I will always pack a bottle of Witch Hazel, Peppermint or Sage hydrosol. I spray my hands, body, and any part of a hotel room that I deem germy looking (Think shower heads etc). If you can't fit in a hydrosol bottle in your beauty travel pack, opt for a small dropper of oil of oregano. I have even taken this internally when travelling in places that make me fear parasites etc. A bactericide not only helps me keeps me feeling clean and safe but they also has posses a wonderful purifying smell which clear my head. If you are not travelling to a place where you are worried about hygiene, I still pack one of these hydrosols in case I want to disinfect surprise blemishes or cuts and scrapes.

A Short Affair with the Shopping Channel

2009-07-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

I confess I am a reformed consumerista. In my early twenties, earning adult wages but still living like a teenager at home, I would spend whole pay cheques frivolously on marked down cocktail dresses (I would never wear because God knows I never went to cocktail parties), turquoise leather jackets, full-length wool coats, and I think I have a pair of thigh high white suede boots kicking around somewhere. And now fully independent, I like to think I have become more practical with age. But I suppose even the best of us relapse, or at least that is how I would explain my recent purchase of an electric facial brush for $225 US? I blame the Shopping Channel because their seductive wiles made me unable to resist the Clarisonic - a little gadget which uses a rotating brush to buff away dead skin thoroughly but gently. Apparently its so gentle you can even use it over pimples (!). You can even have it personalized - that's right, an engraved hand-held exfoliator is exactly what any self-preserving person needs. Did I mention it was water-proof?

Now there was logic to this mini-splurge; I have been in the market for a face massager for a while, as I really want to increase the circulation in my skin and also want to rid myself of my morning puffiness with some lymph stimulation - so the Clarisonic seemed perfect for my needs as you get the benefits of its vibrations paired with an exfoliation.

Needless to say, I couldn't wait to receive my "sonic skin cleansing system" (referring to it as a "system" sounds so much more effective) in the mail and tore open the package right away. I will say this: the instructions need work as it came with three heads but with no labelling or guide to which head was for what - and it said that the back lights showed you its battery power level, but mine was blinking different lights with each blinks so I had no idea what that meant. I also canned the skincare as it was laden with chemicals.

Nonetheless upon my first spin (around my face), the bristles felt good against my skin like it was buffing away a cuticle of dry, dead cells. I continued by using the larger brush head (which I assumed was the body brush) on my left leg leaving the right as a control to test.

The next day I was impressed that my skin still felt extremely soft as I presumed that newly shed skin cells would have appeared by now. My face also felt more hydrated as my skincare penetrated more deeply. And upon inspection of my legs - my ugly right leg was scaly and dry while my left was smoother and also brighter in tone. This excited me! And I wanted to start round two but as an esthetician I am wary of over-exfoliating, so I promised myself I would only use it two to three times per week and only on wet skin (exfoliation is always best on moist skin which is why we at Pure + Simple have started to do all Sea Salt Microdermabrasion treatments afte we have steamed).

But while my skin feels great, the real test will be to see if I am still using the Clarisonic in a month. Will it be a regular part of my beauty regime or will it join my discarded Lite book (electric book of lights which combat seasonal affected disorder) and Mastermoves (basically a Lazy Susan you swivel on to work your abs)?

And looking at these pieces of abandoned equipment, I have to ask myself if I really am older, wiser and more practical or have simply shifted in tastes.

Beauty Secret #9: Love

2009-07-10T03:50:00.000-07:00

So, I am back from my Ayurvedic Seminar in New Mexico - but while the course was teaching my about marmani (the Ayurvedic version of acupressure), I learnt about something that is even more meaningful: love.

Love? Now I know what you are thinking: Put away the prayer beads and fisherman pants and start talking to me about real beauty tips, but what I realized is that being beautiful and open-hearted are one in the same... even in a very direct way.

Dr. Lad (the teacher of my course and renowned Ayurvedic doctor), sprinkled the week with side notes about the link between the way we think and our body's health. According to him, not only did negative thoughts or repressed emotions create toxins, but also displayed themselves in the physical form. This could express itself as wrinkles (Vata worry lines or liver related frown lines), blemishes (excess heat and Pitta emotions), pigmented spots (internal inflammation aggravated by inflammatory thoughts) and muscular pain (sometimes caused by unresolved grief). "Our issues are in our tissues" he would say.

Ayurveda even has emotions which are linked to specific organs and which were included in the seminar's hand-out package: the Kidneys relate to fear and anxiety (also enhanced by lack of sleep), the Stomach relates to nervousness, the Liver relates to anger and frustration, the Heart relates to Worry and the Sex organs relate to embarrassment - and the antithesis to these emotion-caused organ dysfunctions is love.

Dr. Lad went on to explain that true balance was attained through striving for enlightenment, and that this was only achieved through love - which meant we had to let go of ego and judgement. Now this for me is especially difficult as I have made a sport of self-judgement (I think I have spent half an hour trying to decide whether I am forming a double chin or not), but he said it was not only for ourselves but for the health of those around us, and as health practitioners, it was imperative that we treat and diagnose our patients/ clients from a place of compassion and love (starting with ourselves). And while this may sound to you like a lot of new age jargon, I believe him as I felt healthier than I have in years just being in such an environment of positivity.

The class itself was filled with Western Doctors, Massage Therapists, Yoga Teachers, Acupuncturists and other Ayurvedic Practitioners, and as the week wore on I noticed how nurturing this group was. And being from a large city in which we mostly keep to ourselves (and eye contact straight ahead, I was surprised by how much perfect strangers were smiling and waving at me. One classmate even stopped me as I passed her and said peacefully "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you yet, I have just seen your beautiful face in class." I was completely taken aback (did I mention I wore no make-up and fisherman pants the whole week?). And she herself was also beautiful with kind eyes and a beaming complexion.

I reminded me of how beautifying our intentions can be - and while I knew this already, I needed to be reminded that while we can have things and attributes we want to change about ourselves, we cannot get so attached to them that they become more important than our sense of self-acceptance. Needless to say I am working on bringing these serene mountain-side thoughts into the busyness of life back in Toronto.

And I do believe in the power of mindset and karma - because when I landed at home, Ben was waiting for me at the airport in a full tuxedo and with a bouquet of flowers (these kind of grandiose gestures are totally out of character)...and I couldn't have felt prettier.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...and landing with beautiful skin

2009-07-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

I am flying home today- and while I actually enjoy my time armed with only an ipod and a few good books- I hate what it does to my skin.

Air travel is incredibly drying, and between the increase in Vata (through excess movement) and the re-circulated air, I usually end up with dehydrated skin, some mild swelling and a few break outs. In my acne hay-day, I would say that the moment I stepped off that plane I knew a few blemishes would have popped up.

For those of your who haven't heard the Pure + Simple credo: dehydration is the cause of almost every skin-imbalance - so treat this and you'll be on your way to flawless skin.

But this time I am going to be prepared. Here are my tips for globetrotters to stay gorgeous:

1. Oil yourself from head to toe. The most important thing to do is oil your body down. Since Vata is increased Sesame oil is best as it promotes circulation, is warming and is rich in texture. And when I say oil yourself from head to toe, I mean it - every inch of it. From the scalp to the soles of the feet. I even apply a rich cream mask over top of the oil on my face (one that looks like a moisturizer so you cannot see it. While I may look like a grease ball, I won't look like a pizza face.
2. Take a ginger bath. A ginger bath before and after the flight is ideal. Not only will it nourish your body and support your immune system, but it will increase your circulation (and remember that flying impedes circulation making us puff out and swell). You do this with 1 part ginger powder and 1 part baking soda - I usually use a cup of each. Taking ginger capsules also helps to prevent jet lag as it pacifies Vata.
3. Wear pressure socks. I bought a pair of these at a trade show in Vancouver and they hugged me all the way home. Pressure socks are great for flights as they will prevent edema (swolleness). I try to wear them even around the city as they will help prevent varicose and spider veins. They come in a variety of colours and materials...even some sexy stockings.
4. Take oils internally. After flying to Australia and breaking out massively with eczema all over my face from the extreme dehydration, I started taking flax seed oil capsules when I travel. They helped me a lot when I was backpacking and flying all over the map, preventing dryness and also regulation my bowels. But you don't have to be limited to flax seed oil, you can take fish oils or evening primrose etc. depending on the contingencies of your own body. Here again, I am pretty liberal taking more before a flight than I would on a daily basis.
5. Stay away from drying foods. When travelling, stay away from Vata aggravating foods. These foods will only dry out your intestines which will not only dry out your skin, but possibly constipate you and make you feel bloated. So, anything dry is off-limits: crackers, dried fruit, bread, dense meat (avoid meat in general if you can), anything that depletes water in our bodies instead of hydrating it. I find this difficult because I used to like to travel with granola bars or dry-fruit bars as they are portable and convenient, but now I only pack fruits and veggies as they are full of cellular water. Cooked foods are better for pacifying Vata, but good luck sneaking a pot of stew past security. I suggest a nice warm bowl of oatmeal the morning you leave, and a nice hearty soup when you land.

Cyster soul, Cyster Soul: Hormone Series Part three

2009-06-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

There have been many a day in which a regular client will lean close into me and whisper "..some of my skin issues my be due to the fact I have something called polycystic ovaries." And usually two things pop into my head - first: why didn't you tell me earlier? it would give me better insight to your skin and body, and second: Sista, join the club.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, to those of you who don't know, is when cysts occur on the ovaries because a females egg does not break through the ovarian tissue to travel to the fallopian tubes. The imbalance of hormones which occur with PCOS also inhibits egg growth.

These cysts are said to produce a small amount of male hormones causing some very unpretty side effects. This includes hair where you don't want it (excess body hair), a lack of hair where you want it (thinning on the scalp) and difficulty losing weight. When my gyno explained this to me he basically made it sounds like I was going to turn into a man. But I never did. While I did not show these traditional signs, I did experience the amenorrhea (loss of periods), insulin resistance (i am also helped by the diabetic grandmas i have on both sides), and of course my struggle with acne. You can't tell, but I am shaking my fist right now and typing with only one hand. And yes, most of my clients who have let me in on their club membership have done so because their skin has broken out badly. But don't be discouraged because we have helped a lot of these clients find relief, and like anything you need to know what is out of balance to help rebalance.

Now, little is known about the cause of PCOS or even which hormones must be examined. I think it is because there are probably a multitude of reasons. Upon my visit to Albuquerque to see Dr Lad speak (where I actually am now), he went on one of his delicious tangents and touched on the issue of PCOS. He said that doshically there are many causes, while cysts and accumulation are a Kapha symptom of excess, this can actually be caused by both vitiation of Pitta and Vata. sometimes it begins with Vata pushing Pitta pushing Kapha. That is to say, that an excess of Vata prompts an excess of another and another dosha. I think this is why PCOS (and other hormone and fertility issues) has been so much more common in the modern age. Women are stressed. We imbalance our Vata or pushing ourselves aggravating our Pitta and cause our Kapha to become dysfunctional. I also notice that in many cases of acne in a PCOS client, that their skin is terribly inflamed and dehydrated.

In these cases it is very important to prescribe a cooling, soothing regime - not a disinfecting, drying regimen. Remember, acne itself is inflammation. it is also important to keep the skin hydrated because you must try to prevent scarring, and scarring occurs mostly in weak, dried out skin types. If you must use an anti-bacterial because blemishes are looking like they have a lot of pus and infection, we must opt for a Lavender or Witch hazel hydrosol with is alcohol-free and also an anti-inflammatory. But if the pimples are most cystic acne pustules (break outs which do not come to a head but are a large, painful, fluid filled cyst - usually in the chin and jaw line) then it can really only be pacified internally. You can apply arnica to it to increase circulation and disperse the accumulation of fluid, but only if it is a cyst and you cannot see a white head on it. the other option is to sterilize a pin and prick it then extract it. I personally do not advise this unless you have professional assistance, or are willing to risk scarring.

Like everything in this world, my practice has been very circular. I teach my clients about their skin and bodies and they also teach me. So, many clients have actually given me advice on how I can managed my PCOS with treatments and lifestyle. While once client raved about her acupuncturist, another informed me about the wonders of Castor oil packs (Castor oil packs are when you apply Castor oil and heat to your lower abdomen to break up and eliminate cysts. Castor oil in Ayurveda is a laxative and Kapha reducing oil).

I also have heard about the necessity of what seems to me as a Kapha reducing diet and exercise regime. This includes, low glucose/ sugar, low carbs and lots of cardio work outs. I have tried all of these suggestions and found them beneficial. But I find stress reduction the most effective.

And while, its difficult to know how much progress choosing a more natural approach, I haven't still haven't turned into a man (fingers crossed).

A-ha moments with Hypothyroidism: Hormone series part two

2009-06-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

I have often been convinced that I had hypothyroidism. But Ben just says that I simply have hypochondria.

Because I have poly cystic ovaries and diabetes on both side, it gives me a predisposition to an under active thyroid (these are all Kapha excess disorders). But while my mother has been put on meds for hypothyroid (which she lost interest in taking after a few months), she herself has not gotten any actual proof she has it in her blood work. It is commonly known that the blood testing used to diagnose hypothyroidism does not identify most borderline cases.

But besides the thyroid being central to our hormonal health and overall health, it has a huge influence on how we look. Last week as I was doing a facial on a client, she told me that after many years of extra weight and dry (almost cracking) skin, she discovered she had hypothyroidism. I found this very interesting. She went on to add that she just found out one of her daughters did also and that she had began to develop a double chin due to it. Turkey neck (as it is so eloquently called) is a sign of Kapha excess too, and God knows I have spent many an hour pinching at what I see as a forming double chin (again, Ben calls me delusional when I do this).

So what are the other signs of having an under stimulated thyroid? Water-retention, weight gain, dry skin and lethargy. One problem is that, unlike hyperthyroidism which involves symptoms like acne, weight loss and bulging eyes, hypothyroidism's symptoms sound like how I felt for most of first-year university. Hell, sounds like how I felt for most of the winter. The other is how inaccurate testing can be. But what is a girl to do when this could be the key reason she has under eye bags (water retention) and the inability to lose weight?

Online many sites have recommended an at-home way to diagnose using a regular thermometer and testing yourself through the day. See link for details. http://allonhealth.com/hypothyroidism-test.htm

My Ayurvedic doctor, Dr Sharma, recommended asking my GP for a series of tests including a thyroid scan. From here, he said he could tell which kinds of thyroid hormones are being under-produced and could give dietary and herbal guidance based on this.

And when you discover this, there are many options. I recommend natural thyroid extract (these are animal-derived so you must be comfortable with consuming animal products). But of course, I always try to go as natural and as simple as I can with any treatment to avoid side-effects. I was horrifed to discover that another client of mine had a hypothyroid condition after surgically removing her thyroid because this was the recommended solution to her previous status as have hyperthyroid. Now she was taking medication to balance her out. As my diabetic and probably hypothyroid grandmother would say: "Ai-ya!"

Of course, starting with an experienced Ayurvedic or Naturopathic doctor who can assess your individual body and how to re-balance it is best (email me if you need referrals). But the most important thing to do is confirm whether you have hypothyroidism because it can save you a lot of grief trying to find solutions for your skin and body.

Blog posting coming Monday

2009-06-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

I know I usually blog on Fridays, but time has not permitted that this week. I will have my next post up by Monday! I previously promised Sunday, but I double promise Monday.

Estrogenic Beauty - Part One of the Hormone Series

2009-06-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know if there is something in the water, but so many of my clients, colleagues and team having been asking a lot of about hormones lately - Actually, there may be hormones in our water. But I will save you the tirade on the marine species in the St. Lawrence River having both egg and testes like I did at the FGI panel. That was embarrassing. What was I thinking going on a self-righteous tangent about what we absorb passes through our urine and affects our Eco system to a crowd of the most fashionable people in the city while the charming rep to my right spoke about cute cosmetics which smell like pastries? I may as well have been wearing hemp.

Anyway, I was all set on doing a posting today about dry brushing, but instead I have decided to abandon that plan and start my new series on hormones and the skin. I think its important to talk about hormones because while most of us understand how important they are and how much they influence every action within our bodies, yet we know little about their nature or how to balance them. So today I will be starting with a hormone that is very dear to me: estrogen. I, myself, have high estrogen which makes my menses very irregular (did I really just post that on the Internet?).

Estrogen also has a lot of sex appeal because it is what makes women women and what decreases dramatically when we go through menopause so it can also be connected to youthfulness. This drop in estrogen has be said to accelerate signs of aging in our skin and has spurred much fuss about how we can artificially sustain it.

But while this is a very popular view amongst beautologists, I think its very interesting to note that it is estrogen which breaks down collagen in our skin. Confused? Well, while estrogen does break down collagen, it also enhances the hyaluronic acid in our skin (hyaluronic acid helps our skin hold water and promotes a smooth texture). But as we all know, collagen is probably the most important player in keeping our skin pump, moist and healthy.

This is why estrogen also contributes to cellulite as it breaks down the strength of our cellular walls, making way for lumpy, bumpy fat. You will see many cellulite-reducing body products will focus on increasing collagen so our fat cells can retain a firmer structure. Furthermore, estrogen dominance will also result in water-retention also contributing to cellulite. This can also answer why some women have cellulite despite being slim and fit (comme moi) as well as why many women taking the birth control pill are predisposed to it.

So what do we do?
Eating for estrogen dominance: Well, we can start with avoiding estrogenic foods such as soy and hops (what beer is made out of - and also why men who drink too much of it grow man breasts). And we should consume only organic meats which are devoid of disruptive hormones if we choose to eat animal protein. We should also start to eat more estrogen decreasing foods like citrus fruits, broccoli, cauliflower cabbages, avocados and nuts. It has also been said to be important to examine your digestion because if digestion is impaired, hormone filtration will also be. This is interesting as Pitta governs digestion, and I find many estrogen-dominant clients also have Pitta imbalances.

Balancing Self-care: Topically, we should avoid chemicals which mimic estrogen in our skincare. Numerous chemical sun screening agents (why we are such sticklers about natural, mineral sunblocks despite their powdery texture and white-ish hue) as well as chemical preservatives imbalance our hormone levels as we absorb them into our bloodstream.

Another topical treatment I have done is use prescribed progesterone cream to limit estrogen production. Again, this demonstrates how deeply what we put on our bodies affects us. But while it did regulate my cycle, I still think of hormone creams as a band-aid solution (but a very useful band-aid).

Clear the mind as well as excess estrogen: This may be the most important factor (and hardest for me). Relax. High estrogen tends to occur in high-stress people (Pitta) and also contributes to more stress as it usually is coupled with low progesterone which helps regulate anxiety and stress levels... If you need a good RMT, email me. Remember, its not self-indulgence, its for your hormonal health.

Snack recipes from the pickiest eater in the city

2009-06-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Calling me a picky eater is an understatement. I pity the waitstaff of any restaurant that my mother and I eat at because we have a list of things that we will and will not eat... and they differ.

I don't eat dairy products as they make me puffy and my tummy hurt, I won't eat refined sugar as it causes inflammation (and wrinkles!), I cut out gluten years back (before falling off the wagon when I moved in with Ben - now we're both not eating flours - smile), and red meat is a no-no for my Pitta constitution (I used to be a vegan but decided I really liked walking down stairs without my legs shaking, but was too disorganized to monitor my protein). But along with specific foods I won't eat, I also have characteristics of foods I won't eat. Like Drying foods (pop corn, rice cakes, too many seeds etc) -- they not only dry out my skin but also are Vata increasing so often make my bloated. Or food that isn't fresh: I don't like food that has been sitting out, uses too many preservatives or is defrosted. According to Ayurveda, food which has been frozen causes dampness and toxicity in our bodies and some Ayurvedic doctors say they may be the cause of many modern diseases.

The problem lies in the fact that I, like many professionals living in the concrete jungle, am incredibly time-poor and usually running from one end of the city to the other with very few options along the way to satisfy my palette. But because I loooove eating, I will not be sacrificing tastiness. I once read a veggie cookbook which suggested snacking on cucumbers which have been drizzled with lime juice (Yum?). So, because of being uber stubbourn, I will simply wait until I can get something I can eat (plus often have enough work to distract me), which can lead to my famous hunger moods.

So, if you are anything like me, below are a few snacks for survival. These options are quick to make, use three ingredients or less, are sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free, and won't make you dehydrated (I can't take another dried out protein bar).

Simple Shake

Ripe Banana(s)
Carob Soymilk or Chocolate Rice Milk (I used Edensoy's Carob Soymilk because it doesn't have evaporated cane juice added. And the Rice Dreams Chocolate Flavour was the only other product I could find without sugar -- all Chocolate Soymilks were laden with it)
Cinnamon

I make things real simple and scrap measurements. Pour approximately 3/4 of the cup you are drinking out of with the "milk". Add one banana unless its ginormous, then use half. Add as much cinnamon as your taste prefers. Blend. According to Ayurveda, the cinnamon will lighten the heaviness of the banana to make it less Kapha. You can also throw in a couple of soaked dates (soaking dried fruit and nuts will help you digest them) to this shake for extra sweetness. Dates are excellent for helping you fall asleep, so it makes for nice evening treat.

Old-skool Celery Boats

Celery Stalks
Almond butter
Raisins (ideally soaked)

Remember this treat from Preschool? Mmm. A starch-free, protein-filled snack from the good ol' days when we had time for snack time. Fill as many stalks with Almond butter and then top it off with the raisins. I think we used to call them Ants on a Log and used peanut butter instead of almond. Those were simpler times, before the awareness of peanut allergies and the fact that preserved peanuts are usually candida causing as they have a moldy quality. The celery is also great for anyone with sensitive skin or break outs as it is an excellent blood cleanser.

Stewed Apples

Apples - (Stick with the red variety so they are not tart like Granny Smiths)
Whatever baking spice or spices you have at home: Nutmeg/ Cinnamon/ Cloves

Peel and slice as many apples you want. Sprinkle them with spices. Bake in a dish you can cover at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. This is a nice warming breakfast.

Spicy Almonds

Blanched Almonds
Garam Masala Powder (curry)
Ghee or Olive Oil

Place the almonds on a baking sheet which has been greased with ghee or olive oil. Put them in the oven at 400 degrees (preheated). After 10 minutes, turn them over and very lightly sprinkle the curry powder over them. Leave them for another 5 minutes and take them out. Almonds should be good and browned, if they are not leave them in for another few minutes (or longer if you like them really dark and roasted). You can salt them if you like. I have tried making these with soaked almonds, but though I like to soak most dried foods because it makes them easier to digest and less drying, it makes them a weird texture in this recipe. If you are more of a purist than I, I encourage you to soak them - they simply will not be very crunchy. These almonds are tastiest when right out of the oven, but I usually eat them as an on-the-go snack as they are very portable and easy to eat in transport.

Lash Extensions: My Newest Addiction

2009-05-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me know that I am a classic low maintenance, natural girl. I only use natural skincare and cosmetics, I can't stand the feeling of polish on my fingernails, and I never flat iron, colour, or even blow dry my hair. So when I decided to get lash extensions, it felt a little out of character, but as a person with little brows and lashes I have always wanted long, luscious lashes.

It sealed the deal when I saw photos from the ACCE awards in which I looked washed out despite having a lot of make-up on. My friend Lisa looked fabulous in every shot - with great definition around her eyes but not looking too made-up. So when she pssst in my ear and gave me the number of the place she gets her lashes done, and I took it.

Now I dabbled in getting them done a while ago, but because they always ended up clumpy, hard and took out my natural lashes when the synthetic ones would fall out. I also was never wowed by their result because I was told that I couldn't get many put on because my natural lashes were so pathetic and sparse that they could not support many fakes glued to them. But when I saw Rebecca at Kathy Nail and Body Salon, not only was she so much gentler and thorough (taking double the amount of time of the other salons I have gone to), she used a new lash adhesive called Extreme Lash and made my lashes so full that I couldn't help but feel a bit like Tammy Faye Baker (in a good way?). "When I am done, you won't even be able to see your natural lashes," Rebecca said to me.

And she was right. $165 and an hour and a half later, my lashes looked amazing. They actually fit into my no-fuss lifestyle because with my new lashes, I wouldn't need to use as much eye make-up.

While at first I was a little self-conscious (I feared they were too much and that no one had the guts to tell me I looked like a drag queen) - all my girlfriends wanted Rebecca's number, so I figured - the bigger the better. My friend Emma even asked me what I had done differently "...you look more - I don't know...polished?" And I smiled because that is exactly what I was going for.

But to keep batting my lovely lashes, I needed to follow a few simple rules:

1. No oils or oil-based products around my eyes

2. Do not stay in a sauna for more than 10 minutes

3. Pat, don't rub your eyes

4. Come for a touch up in 3-4 weeks ($65 approx)

Unfortunately, I am married to my cleansing milk and face oils (but I tried to avoid the eye area). I also didn't stop going to Hot Yoga three times a week, and I found it hard not to rub my eyes when they were itchy.

So if you, like I, are not made for this kind of maintenance, keep this little tip only for that extra something on special occasions. Wink.

Below - in my lash extensions with no mascara on.

My Boyfriend Snacks and I'm gonna be in Trouble

2009-05-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Its hard to stay on a good diet plan when you are in love - every night becomes date night. And it becomes even harder when you move in together. What was once an evening treat has just become a sweet fourth meal.

When I first moved in with Ben, I was on a strict diet of no meat or dairy and low sugar, low starch. But now, I'm a chip dipping, gelato devouring, ice tea drinking little piglet.

I have heard the same from countless girlfriends of mine. Unless you are lucky enough to hit it off with a crunchy granola type, its so easy to slip into bad habits. Its kind of like the freshmen fifteen. The common-law ten? Doesn't have the same ring to it. And while Ben will deny this to the death, when we first met, he was pretty much a meat and potatoes guy (we have even argued over if potatoes are vegetables).

So recently, I decided that enough was enough. I was going to kick it off with a cleanse and get back to the real me. So for those of you in the same situation, I found the following steps have helped immensely:

1. Put your foot down - my therapist says in every healthy relationship the woman (or feminine energy) dictates its direction. He says in all of his years of practice, he has observed that the most functional relationships have occurred in the ones in which the female is clear and reasonable about her requests while the male complies. You know why I like this therapist eh? So I made it known: All shared meals had to follow my diet's guidelines or at least have options that would.

2. Give them a drawer. Or in my case, a three-shelf cupboard - Now, I couldn't strip Ben of all his treats just because I have, so I gave him a snack space to call his own. Somewhere he could stash his Oatmeal Cookies and Miss Vickies, and I don't go into...ever.

3. Keep tabs on yourself - My uber-healthy co-worker gave me this tip of keeping a food journal. Many Naturopaths have made me do this as well to track my eating habits. It is an excellent tool which can provide many insights like: I overeat when I eat too late, or Gee, I really don't drink much water. It is also best for your body to eat at the same times everyday to regulate digestion, so this also helps you keep track of if you have eaten at the right times.

4. Buddy up - It is so much more motivating when you have a friend who is doing the same thing you are, and feels less bad when you cheat together... When Kat and I did our cleanse together, it was not only great to swap recipes, but also more fun. We made an activity of lamenting about our cravings together as well as discovered purple quinoa together.

5. Send them to your Naturopath/ Eastern Medicine Doctor - I paid for a consultation with Dr Sharma and it was the best $90 I spent this year. I have been telling Ben to lay off the bread for years (not for his weight - those who know him know he's a strip of paint, but for his dehydration), but when it came from Dr Sharma, something new resonated with him. He has completely cut out drying breads and opted for Oatmeal in the morning instead of toast as well as hydrating, nutritious soups instead of sandwiches. Its also way easier for me to cut out bread because we no longer have delicious ciabatta buns around the kitchen.

Cupping battle: Me vs. Gwyneth Paltrow

2009-05-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

Gwyneth Paltrow and I are in competition to see who is more alternative.

A few years ago when I decided to become an Ayurvedic-inspired vegan, she went Macrobiotic. My neighbour Kat and I got really into the Hot Yoga studio up the street, she and her best friend Madonna became spokespeople to the yoga trend and were shot by the paparazzi on their way to downward dog together. I started stewing apples as a healthy breakfast option, she named her first born after one (she wins the last round). But when I saw the photo of Gwenyth's back after cupping on the Internet, I thought to myself "those small cups? I can beat that - no problem."

Now since becoming an Ayurvedic Practitioner, I have become a little obsessive about my blood. Sounds odd, but, since the blood nourishes and transports waste away from all of our tissues and circulates our entire body, the its quality is extremely important. While, heat in the blood will cause skin sensitivity, impurities in it can contribute to acne.

So, many a time, I have gotten a treatment touted by Traditional Chinese Medicine called "cupping" in which glass cups are made into suction cups as fire is applied to the air within them, and these suctions are placed on our fleshy parts - most popularly the back. This draws up impure blood, promotes the circulation of fresh blood, clears heat and stagnation as well as opens our channels. Its also good for pain relief as it draws toxins and turbid fluid away from the muscle area.

Ayurveda also has a treatment similar to this, but instead they use leeches for suction. But I opt for cupping because I cannot find a practitioner in the city who uses leeches, as well as I would have to do many grounding mantras to get over the idea of those slimy slitherers being placed all over my body. Shiver.

So, determined to top a turbo celeb, I went to the Xiaolan Health Centre to get another round of cupping. And while I paid double what I usually do for acupuncture and cupping, stepping into this clinic is like stepping into Shangrila. And my body thanked me too -- as my CMD, Amanda, applied the cups, they didn't hurt but felt good in a squeezing, stimulating way. Now I won't lie and say it is a relaxing treatment, but it definitely is satisfying (like how a deep massage can be uncomfortable but relieving). I also asked Amanda if this could be good for cellulite as cellulite is simply toxic fat that has impeded circulation and therefore water-retention, and she cheerfully replied absolutely! I note that I should try a series on my thighs.

Cupping also gives you insight to your internal body. Where the suction marks are darker indicates which organs need the most help. For me, it showed that my lungs and kidneys were weakest as those cup markings were a deep red on the back where my kidneys and lungs are. Now, the only downside to this service is that you should only do this when you are not planning to wear any backless dresses or you will look like you have rows of perfectly circle-shaped hickeys down your back. We could call them Hickeys for health - sounds like a charity I could support. But as they usually only last 3-5 days, its not a major inconvenience.

Check out my pic below. Take that Gwyneth, I think I won round four.

Steamy Nights for the Cleanest Pores

2009-05-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

When I had acne my mother used to joke that some of my pimples were so big they seemed to cry "pick me! pick me!" (she would raise her hand in the air and fluttered it frantically while doing this). But while her blemish comedy was not only embarrassing, it caused confusion.

You see, in my pre-esthetician days I was torn about whether to pick or not to pick my spotted skin, and when I did, I often bruised it. I would become so attached to digging it out my face that my technique lacked the gentle care it does now. This is a dilemma that many of my clients have - and I can see their struggle as they come in with scars and scabs.

Now if we have clogged pores or pimples, they need to removed - but how do we remove them if we have neither the time or the budget to come in for a full-length professional facial? Well, I will let you in on a little secret: warm steam (You'll thank me for scraping the line: "...a little secret that is more than just hot air: warm steam"...I have a tacky streak hence my love for costume jewellery).

Yes, steaming your skin is an excellent way to unclog your pores without picking at it. And even for those of us who don't have blemishes (I love being able to be put into this camp now!), it helps infuse moisture, mobilize circulation and blood flow, sweat out skin toxins and prevent a build up of blackheads. Even the colour and tone of our skin improves from this simple at-home treatment.

How to do this properly:

Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil
Take it off the hot plate
Hover your face at least six inches away from it with a towel over your head to entrap the steam
Relax here for 5-10 minutes

You can add loose herbs, tea bags (herbal tea) or essential oils to the water for a more therapeutic effect. Sage and rosemary are good for disinfecting the skin, chamomile and rose are best for a soothing effect, and lavender is an easy-to-source skin balancer. I find that these are good to include because our skin absorbs much more deeply as our pores are open.

Initially, I recommend doing this every night for one week to see results of a smoother, less angry complexion. After this, you can decrease down to twice per week until your skin re-balances - or for those with rosacea or broken capillaries, only start with twice per week and hover even further away from the hot pot (8 inches away or so).

Now, after steaming it is very important to follow up with a nourishing moisturizer or hydrating mask to prevent dehydration. If you would like to make it a full evening of skin pampering, exfoliate before the steam, and mask afterward for a mini-facial experience.

Unlike me, you will avoid ugly scars and learn that you don't need to teach your skin tough love, a little TLC will have your complexion clear, clean and positively glowing.

How Hot Yoga Saved My Life

2009-05-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make: I hate doing yoga.

Now it hasn't always been this way, but in the past two years, I find practicing yoga frustratingly slow. Its not as bad while I'm away and I'm nice and relaxed (in India I did yoga daily and when I was in Byron Bay, Australia I even participated in medication circles) but in the city, I end up thinking about tasks I've neglected at work and this week's meal planning while in lotus position. And I usually walk out of class annoyed.

But I feel like a hypocrite because I recommend a good Hatha class to my clients for stress management, but ignore the fact that I, myself, am so ungrounded that I can't hold enough focus to so do myself. But when my Ayurvedic doctor told me that my muscle quality was low and that the only exercise he recommends is yoga -- I had to re-evaluate how I felt in downward dog.

You see, according to Ayurveda, most of us do not have the constitutions for intense cardio or heavy weight lifting. Those of us with high Vata (air) get easily depleted, while those of us with high Pitta (fire) promote internal inflammation with too much stimulation. And slower paced work outs like weights without ample cardio are actually said to push toxins into our muscles and disrupt our muscle metabolism. I recently saw a lecture in which the Ayurvedic doctor speaking plainly said that weights-only fitness regimes were just stupid (atypical lingo for an Ayurvedic doctor, so it had me thinking).

So when a new hot yoga studio opened up less than two blocks away from me, I decided it was an omen.

Now, I had been feeling so cold this winter and there was much heaviness and swelling in my body - what we refer to in Eastern medicine as "dampness" -- so the idea of heat actually appealed to me as I figured that it would help enkindle my body to decrease this imbalance.

I enrolled in an unlimited introductory week for only $20 at I AM YOGA and spent that first week in high planks and chaturangas (which seem to me to just be push ups) in a 40 degree room with lovely hydrating humidifiers.

After my first class I was hooked - my body immediately felt lighter and as if I had better circulation - almost like a tingling sensation. My edema had gone down and I felt deflated but activated. And it was grounding to feel this way without having to exert myself to the point of panting. I really liked how you felt like your body was still engaged even when you are in child's pose as your blood is pumping and your pores are sweating. I also loved that you are much more flexible as your muscles are moist and warm. And with this comes a sense of accomplishment as you can get into the positions and release much deeper than usual. As a Pitta I am highly competitive and detest most things I do not excel at.

I will mention that after that first class I broke out in a rash all over my body. But oddly enough since that initial reaction, I have had no problems since. Perhaps is was simply purging (?) because now I even apply a heating concoction of sesame oil and mustard seed oil to the back of my thighs and tummy (as this oil is good for cellulite and the heat will help push it deeper into my tissues) without any inflammation.

And not only does my body feel better, but my new warming work out also has helped emotionally. As Linda the founder of the studio said "Yoga helps bring you back to the present. We spend so much time in the past or the future that we often find it difficult to just be". (That's me! I wanted to exclaim) "...But how can you think of anything but being in your body when your body is being challenged and your thighs are killing you? Yoga is meant to strengthen that connection between body and mind". She also said that the more we practice being in a peaceful place, the easier it will be to call upon it during stressful situations and therefore we would be less reactive. I really appreciate her very spiritual yet straight forward approach.

And I have actually found it very helpful in how I deal with stress. Any of our staff can vouch that I am very particular and that can make me very high-strung.

But last week we ran out of sample containers, and unlike my usual agitation, I simply saw it as it was - an oversight that we need to prevent from happening in the future. They were ordered before the problem was even presented to me, and we would simply have to deal with this for the next week. There wasn't a lot that my moaning and stomping would do about it. I know you may think this is common sense, but eventhough I know better, it is easy for me to become very attached to these mishaps.

I think that now I can start to re-incorporate regular yoga again, and doshically will have to as heat in the summer climate will not be conducive for my body type (I will probably alternate with Kula Yoga in the Annex for this as they do both hot and not hot yoga).

But with a newly grounded perspective and a re-introduction to stretching out my body, hot yoga has not only helped my regain clarity of thought, but probably kept the worry wrinkles on my forehead at bay. A true life saver.

Shatavari Ghee for Better Busts

2009-04-24T06:14:00.000-07:00

When bra shopping the other week, the sales girl informed me that I was what you call "wide and shallow". Needless to say, I wasn't really in the mood for lingerie shopping after that.

As a woman of Chinese descent I have always secretly wanted a bit more bust as we're not really known for our voluptuousness - hairlessness: yes (it has its downside though as I pluck the wrong eyebrow hair and I get a bald spot) - aging well: yes (though I don't believe this one). But because I am not into the idea of surgery and completely turned off by ads for Firm and Gro, I figured it would be an act of God to change the size of my assets (or lack of).

But that day, feeling especially small, I remembered back to a lecture I sat in on by Dr. Vasant Lad in which on one of his many off shoots he mentioned the wonders of Shatavari Ghee for breast enlargement. For those of you who don't know, ghee is butter that has been boiled and clarified, and Ayurveda uses it as a nourishing food as well as a vehicle for herbs and medicines. Ghee is great because its an oily substance that is not heating, but an anti-inflammatory.

Shatavari on the other hand, is an herb used to increase Kapha qualities (Earth and Water) and has been prescribed especially for the reproductive system (governed by Kapha) to increase fertility, libido, cleanse semen and breast milk and restore the tissue of the sex organs. Shatavari Ghee is ghee which has simmered Shatavari into it. So I decided to try it out.

Because I find medicated ghees hard to find, I went onto Dr. Lad's site Ayurveda.com and ordered some online. For $14.00 USD - what's there to lose?

I will tell you that its not glamourous -- it doesn't come in a pretty container and it smells of butter. But every night I applied this salve to my bust, and while the scent made me feel like I was at the movies, there was no other inconvenience.

Its been a week and I can honestly say I have found a means for natural bust enhancement -I promise this is not Spam (and there no penis enlargement or phone sex follow ups). I feel more fullness and my bras more snug.

Now, Yvonne at the office is pressing me for actual measurements, as she is a much more meticulous person than I (which is why she does all the Ad copy), but I can only go by feel because unfortunately I didn't measure myself first. Ben did mention to me he noticed a difference, and I take that as an indication of success because he doesn't usually comment on my changes even when I urge him to tell me if he can see my eye bags in different lighting. So I'm happy.

Dr. Lad had said the best results will come after doing this for one month so we will see how it goes after using it longer and like most natural therapies, we have to be realistic. He estimated that it would increase the bust line by an inch or two around, so its not going to mimic implants. But hey, I'm not looking for a miracle, I'd be content with being wide and medium.

The Wild Rose Cleanse Continues. But where have all the flours gone?

2009-04-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

Its true, I threw in the dish rag and stopped soaking lentils on day ten of twelve of the cleanse due to illness, but this decision came from the realization I needed to listen to my own body (something I was trying to ignore. And it is hard to ignore this when you feel like vomiting everyday). Now I may be a Pitta, but even my stubbornness has its limits. I didn't want to admit it, but this cleanse just wasn't for me.

But I did discover a few things that you may want to consider if you are thinking about this cleanse, or any other cleanse for that matter. The following are the factors which I think made me react the way I did.

1. Dehydration: These herbs were very dehydrating. Dehydration taxes the kidneys, and this can cause nausea as the kidneys dump toxins into the G.I tract. Kat and I also both found that this dehydration actually impeded our elimination (!). I find this odd because according to Ayurveda, cleansing should begin with moistening and oiling the internal organs in a process referred to as "ripening the body for detoxification". This lubrication (through massage, sweating and ingesting butters) helps loosen build-up and toxins.

2. Bile Stimulation: The Biliherb pills made me feel the worst. And while others found it fine on their tummies, I think it is my high heat (Pitta) which caused this reaction. Pitta governs secretions and bile as well as digestion and assimilation, so this may have been overly-stimulation for my body type.

3. Eating Enough: I felt the sickest when I took my supplements with breakfast. And because bile breaks down fat and I was eating fruit for breakfast (no fat) this may have prompted how I felt. I still feel it is only part of the reason I felt sick -- but I definitely suggest anyone taking a bile stimulant take them with a hearty meal.

But it was not just an upset stomach that yielded discovery. It also shed light on my addictions.

Now I thought this no flour, no sugar, no dairy, no fermented and processed food diet would have me daydreaming about lemon gelato and ciabatta buns, but to my surprise I was quite content with my Sunday brunch sans eggs florantine. This restrictive diet actually ousted a much more powerful dependency than one to sugar or carbs... my addiction to eating out.

And I love to eat out. It dates back to the early days of Pure + Simple when my mother and I would eat out at least five days a week (Does this mean I can blame my upbringing?). But while I have tried to cut back now that Ben and I have moved in together, I have to admit we often shrug off making dinner after a long day at work, unenamoured with my plans for steamed veggies and tofu. The idea of peeling carrots and zucchinis is enough to make me lose my appetite on nights like this.

Perhaps its peer pressure. More often than not we get an enticing text to meet up with friends for food or drinks giving us a perfect reason to abandon the boredom of our kitchen. And while some people are social smokers, I'm a social eater. I hardly ever get together with our multi-tasking friends without eating or sipping something. I mean, what isn't more fun over Vietnamese cold rolls?

So during the Wild Rose my social life definitely took a beating as avoiding fermented and processed foods are difficult while dining out because you never know what they put in your sauces and side dishes. My mother dated a chef once who put spoonfuls of sugar in his meat sauces (We won't say which resto he owns). And even the healthiest restaurants which tout organic produce and local ingredients will never measure up to a good home cooked meal because you make it fresh (even high-end restaurants will pre-blanch their vegetables to prep for a night of high volume) and know exactly what is in it. It was definitely a good thing to help me re-examine my habits. But I won't lie and say I wasn't craving conversation and curry at Rangoli.

So if you are thinking of doing a detox, unlike myself - do not have preconceptions before doing it. Kat and I were pretty disappointed to find we, unlike many others did not feel significantly different. But as the Buddhists say: one should not be attached to the outcome. I will confirm though, you definitely find out more about yourself, your body and the changes you can make for the better long term.

Spring Cleaning with the Wild Rose Cleanse

2009-04-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

I recently went my friends' wedding in Montreal, and while it was a terribly romantic service, I couldn't help but be distracted by how fantastic the bride looked. She's always been very attractive, but since the last time I saw her, her skin was more glowing, she had lost weight, and her eyes were sparkling and bright. So, when she told me it was due to the Wild Rose Cleanse, I made a mental note to start my own as soon as I got back to Toronto. How quickly I go from admiration to gimme, gimme (I better open the heart chakra and do more fish pose).

Now when I had acne, detoxing was a sort of past time of mine - the more extreme, the bigger the sense of accomplishment I would feel. I have done liver cleanses that required me to drink Epsom salt water followed by a concoction of olive oil spiked with grapefruit juice; I have done a series of colonics paired with daily drops of milk thistle, dandelion and burdock (too much info?); and I have done the classic Master Cleanse, a fast in which your main source of sustenance is water, laced with lemon juice, amber maple syrup and cayenne pepper. So this twelve day program of a cleansing diet and a few supplements didn't scare me. It even came in a kit!

First thing I did was recruit a partner to keep me motivated, compare notes with and share the burden of food preparation. Luckily for me, I had committed Kat my neighbour, who not only was located conveniently, but more prepared than I, having bought supplies, researched online discussion boards and made notes on Wild Rose blogs by the time I had skimmed the basic do's and don'ts.

And the these do's and dont's were very straight-forward: no dairy, no sugar (including tropical fruit), no flour of any kind (not even kamut or spelt), no fermented foods (or drinks), no inorganic meat (with lenience toward poultry and fish), and no processed foods. This sounds difficult, but it left us tons to eat (plenty of rice and other grains, most fruits and veggies and all the fish we wanted). The kit provided, contained three bottles of pills: a laxative, a general cleansing complex, a bile stimulant and a dropper of some sort of cleansing tincture. This was going to be great -- I was even giving myself a break midway as I wouldn't be able to uphold the diet on Saturday as we were accepting an ACCE award (Annual Chinese Canadian Entrepreneur) that night, and banquet food is always bad for you.

So pushing my cart through the aisles at Whole Foods, I had a plan, a cartful of outrageously expensive produce, and the feeling that I was on the road to optimum health!

But the first day I took the prescribed dosage of all four different types of herbs, I immediately felt nauseous. Kat blackberry messengered me that she was dizzy at work. We concluded that this meant it must be working. And you know what they say: cleanliness is Godliness, and I felt a little more holy with every mouthful of millet.

But in the following two days, my motivation started to wane as each time I took the herbs I felt as if I was going to throw up. And despite, Kat's delicious latke-like chickpea squash patties drizzled with lemon tahini sauce, and my tasty grilled sole topped with roast almonds, I began to dread meal times as they included a nasty illness which lasted a good hour or two.

This puzzled me as no one else I knew had had my reaction. They cited cravings, dizziness, fatigue and stomach cramps, but no nausea. Kat suggested that I use a process of elimination to find out if one component was aggravating me. I found that the bile stimulant was what made me feel particularly sick. But while I started to feel less sick, I was definitely no a blushing bride.

"Maybe this generalist cleanse is not good for you. You need to do things which are tailored to your body and needs, " my mother said while eating a Turkey pot pie in front of me. "...or maybe you're just really toxic."

During my weekly visit to Dr Sharma, he said nothing when I mentioned my cleanse -which usually meant disapproval (How Asian) - but did remind me that I had heat in my digestive tract.

I couldn't decide if it was because it didn't suit me or if it was the rough I needed to endure to achieve the prize of radiance. And I wanted that radiance, so I carried on feeling like I wanted to ralph up my quinoa salad everyday - twice a day - and dreamed about Saturday.

The night before the awards ceremony I skipped taking my herbs to be on the safe side. And in the morning I skipped them again. To my relief, I felt fantastic! Perhaps the effects came after the cleanse was over? Perhaps this small pause in the cleanse will spur the breakthrough I need, I thought over my breakfast of rice and mung beans. I was hopeful.

My body felt light and refreshed. And while a small part of me felt like a kid who snuck sweets in before dinner, I revelled gleefully in my mind's clarity.

Needless to say, that night, I felt victorious for more reasons than our award.

Look forward to next post where we conclude the success/failure of this cleanse and why.

Holistic Vanity Part One

2009-04-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

"There's a part of me wants to do so much good for the world, and then there's that other part that just wants to buy sh!t," my friend Emma recently said to me. Emma, who is doing her masters, in social work is probably the most well-groomed, attractive social worker I ever met, and when she said this, I laughed because I feel exactly the same way.

One side of me wants to strive for higher consciousness, learn to be still, and give back to the community, while the other side of me is delighted by my new cream-coloured pumps and is quite happy to stuff my face with corn puffs while watching Project Runway. Perhaps this sums up the sentiment in our modern age. Maybe its the struggle of our generation? But whatever it is, I think so many of us see this dichotomy between having substance and being superficial, and are confused about the choices we are to make.

And looking for a balance between these two worlds also presents itself in my work. While we work so hard to promote (and believe) that beauty is not about impersonating celebrities but attained only through health and self-empowerment, there is a part of me that could obsess about myself in my bedroom full-length mirror forever... and, oh, I do.

I must confess I take a full inventory of my complexion every morning, taking stock of my black heads, broken capillaries and any dry patches. I monitor the progress of both my eye bags and jowls (which my girlfriends insist are a delusion - but you know how generous girlfriends can be) and run my finger over areas I am sure will one day have expression lines. I usually end with the daily examination of my pigmentation spot on my left cheek bone, which is the bane of my existence. When everything accounted for, I make note of my various plans of action based on the morning's assessment (maybe I should start using neck firming serum). Now while you may think I'm a complete narcissist, at least I'm honest.

But despite my vanity, my plans of action never include compromising my health. At the risk of sounding condescending (and as a former vegan, I am not unfamiliar with sounding this way), my belief system just doesn't include chemical medications, fillers or injections of any kind, or unnecessary surgeries. I also do not believe that any of our beauty ailments can truly be treated without examining the state of our mind, body and spirit.

As an Ayurvedic Practitioner, I attribute my pigmentation to high internal heat, my eye bags to kidney dysfunction and my onset of jowls to excess dampness. And I take a more holistic approach, misting my skin with organic rose hydrosol, decreasing my salt intake, and going to I am Yoga at least three times a week (my treasured neighbourhood hot yoga studio). I found that this approach worked also with curing my terrible and persistent acne, and if you can overcome the kind of acne I had with these health-focused principles, its something to spread around. I think in the Ayurvedic community, its the closest thing I am going to get to street cred.

But even though my skin is thankfully blemish-free, my journey to clearer skin also made way for my addition to alternative health treatments. I now employ a team of practitioners to keep me looking and feeling my best - bankrolling two acupuncturists, a colon therapist, an RMT, stress councillor as well as a psychoanalyst, an Ayurvedic doctor, and on occasion, a muscle tester. Its because of my habits that someone suggested I start a blog outlining what I found worked and didn't work to help others who are looking for the same marriage of health and gorgeousness.

This is my way of synchronizing our modern expectations with more positive values and hope that readers will find familiarity, humour and useful beauty information in my posts.