Absolutely Gorgeous Beautique

Your Skin and the Silent Saboteur Stalking it

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 11:53:00 +0000

We have known for quite a while that the sun is Enemy No1 for skin cancer and skin ageing.

However, there is another silent saboteur stalking our skin every day. What is less know is that air/ozone pollution is also a huge danger to our skin and can also cause pre-maturing ageing and all kind of other health problems.

Take care, it is coming!

We all know about ozone. That is the layer that occurs naturally in the earth’s upper atmosphere and protects us from the sun’s harmful UV radiation.

There is another ozone layer: tropospheric ozone/ground level ozone/smog. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropospheric_ozone. It is formed by the interaction of sunlight with hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, which are usually emitted by motor vehicles, coal fired power stations, factories and veld fires.

Recently it was published that Mpumalanga is the most polluted area in the world, so it is not just something that happens elsewhere, it is here and we need to take note of it.

Greenpeace says an analysis of satellite data shows Mpumalanga as the “worst” nitrogen dioxide air pollution hot spot across six continents.

Ground level ozone causes damage to the skin via a process called oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the production of free radicals and the ability of the body to counteract or detoxify their harmful effects through neutralisation by antioxidants. In other words, ground ozone can cause depletion of natural antioxidants in the skin such as Vitamin A, C and E., therefore damaging the proteins and lipids in the stratum corneum (outermost layer of the epidermis).

The role of antioxidants is to protect the skin against free radical damage caused by environmental aggressors. Ozone pollution causes inflammation which causes of line lines and wrinkles, excessive oiliness, rough texture and increased sensitivity.

Sunscreen will not protect your skin against ozone pollution. So it stands to reason that we should start looking at ingredients that can help with this problem.

I now routinely recommend using a topical antioxidant such as Vitamin A, C and E.

Vitamin A capsules for and instant skin boost

Vitamin A (retinol)

It has a proven successful record in treating the following:

Fine expression lines

Wrinkles

Acne break outs

Free radical damaged caused by recent UV and Ground Ozone is minimised

Recommended At Home Product:

Vitaderm Skin-Perfection Capsules

Vitaderm Skin Perfection Capsules

Vitaderm Multi Vitamin Treatment Cream

Vitaderm Vitality Booster Mask

Vitamin C for cell protection and collagen formation

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

When natural, biologically-active vitamin C enters skin cells, it results in the following significant well-documented effects:

Formation of sun-spots are reduced and prevented

Free radical damaged caused by recent UV and Ground Ozone is minimized

It causes an Anti-ageing effect by stimulating collagen formation

Skin smoothness is enhanced

Recommended At Home Products:

Vitaderm Radian C Serum

Vitaderm Multi Vitamin Treatment Cream

Vitaderm Vitality Booster Mask

Almonds are a good source of Vitamin E

Vitamin E (tocopheryl)

Protects against effect of free radicals.

Long term use can even reduce sunburns from exposure to UVB radiation.

Reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Reduce the appearance of stretch marks

vitamin e can help prevent the appearance of age spots

Helps maintain the skin’s oil balance during the cleansing process

Reduces transepidermal water loss from skin and strengthens the skin’s barrier function

Recommended At Home Products:

Vitaderm Hydrating Treatment Cream

Vitaderm Brightening Treament Cream

Vitaderm MultiVitamin Treatment Cream.

Vitaderm Firming Treatment Cream

Vitaderm Anti-Oxidant Cream

Vitaderm Aromatic Complex
Vitaderm Lipid Complex

Please contact Gerda at 082 398 9817 for enquiries

Your beautiful gel and acrylic manicure: Beauty or Beast?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 06:27:00 +0000

Beauty or Beast?

Nail extension and overlays have been with us for more than 40 years and although the industry has grown and safer products are being used, there are still ingredients in use that are not-so-beautiful....

Before talking about these enhancements, one should have a look at the function of the normal nail. No, I am not going to give you a nail anatomy class, just the basics.

Basic nail anatomy

The nail (nail plate) that we can see on the outside is formed form layers of keratin (not living tissue). The nail plates lay on the nail bed (the living part) and protect the finger tips form damage and wear-and tear during our daily use of our hands.

The eponychium is the living tissue at the base of your nail that creates a protective seal with the nail plate and the nail bed. This seal helps to keep bacteria out and the nail matrix (where the new cells are formed) healthy. One should never, ever cut the eponychium. Not ever your manicurist/nail technician should do this. Please stop them immediately should the want to do that. It is outside of their field of training to cut living tissue! If we damage any area of the nail plate that is attached to the nail bed, it can lead to inflammation and infections

The nail plate hardens when it comes into contact with oxygen (please note; nails do not breath!) So, it then stands to reason, that if you cover the nail plates with any artificial product, you stop the oxygen from reaching them and they will soften, weaken and break/tear/split.

During the nail enhancement treatment, the nails will be buffed to create a rough surface for the nail enhancements to adhere properly. If the nails are buffed too much the nail bed will become damaged and the nail plate may form ridges or dents and nail plates may lift (a happy place for bacteria to live in) or the nails may be permanently disfigured.

If nail extensions are glued on, the glue penetrates some of layer of the nail plate and further helps to soften and weaken the nail.

Natural nails-beautiful and healthy

Here is a list of the ingredients most commonly used in nail enhancements:

Ethyl and Methyl Methacrylate in Monomer Liquid and Polymer powder as well as gel and gel polish

MMA in its liquid form has been banned for use in the nail industry due to the severity of allergic reaction and damage to the natural nail plate. It adheres so tightly to the nail plate that it can literally rip the nail plate from the nail bed due to heavy pressure from a blow or trauma to the nail. MMA is so hard that it cannot be safely removed from the nail plate by soaking in any form of remover - it must be filed from the nail plate with a heavy abrasive.

It has been associated with:
• Irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory tract.
• Repeated exposure resulted in drowsiness, dizzy spells, and trembling of the hands.
• Prolonged usage may contribute to nail damage and deformities in nail growth.
• Permanent loss of the nail plate
• Loss of sensation in the fingertips
• Potential miscarriages,
• Kidney lesions,
• Liver problems
• Permanent respiratory issues—including cancer.

Although both Europe and America has banned its use, it is still legal to use in most other countries.

Primers
Primers are used before any nail enhancements are applied the the nail to help the gel or acrylic to adhere better. It normally contains a fast-drying solvent like acetone or ethyl acetate. Ethyl acetate can cause irritation to the eyes, skin, nose, throat and can cause narcosis and dermatitis.

Resin modifiers
Resin modifiers are added to the acrylic liquid and powder to control the properties of the resin. The most common is ethylene glycol dimethacrylate: According to Spectrum Chemical Company it is
hazardous in case of skin or eye contact and inhalation (https://www.spectrumchemical.com/MSDS/E0190.PDF)

Everyone wants beautiful nails!

Acetone
Although acetone has been safely used for many years, long term exposure of the skin, eyes, and respiratory system to acetone may produce mild symptoms, such as dizziness, headaches, and disorientation and irritation of the eyes and skin

Be scared, be very scared........
In a survey conducted by the British Association of Dermatologists they research concluded that out of 742 people, 19% of those had "experienced adverse effects from acrylic nails applied in salons, and 16% from gel polish nails applied in salon”. The reactions included "nail damage and allergic dermatitis — itching and swelling on hands, eyelids, cheeks, and neck." Although very rare, the study pinpointed breathing problems as an issue, too.

The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology's following articles makes for interesting reading:

"Cosmetically Induced Disorders of the Nail with Update on Contemporary Nail Manicures" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4898583/

"The rising trend in allergic contact dermatitis to acrylic nail products" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25752641/

Sorry to put a damper on your beautiful nails, but are you willing to take the risk?

Please also read: Beautiful nails, the natural way....at https://agbeautysalon.blogspot.com/2015/10/beautiful-nails-natural-way.html

Nutrition and Skin Health-supplements for all skin problems

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 11:07:00 +0000

Good nutrition is vital for skin health

Nutrition is such a fundamental part of our health and well-being. Without proper nutrition our bodies cannot function properly and we will get ill.

I cannot stress it enough; we need to eat well to be well. With that I mean fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds in their raw states where possible. Drink plenty of water and limit alcohol and fizzy drinks. Eat much less meat, sugar, saturated fats and dairy.

Nutrition is very important at every stage of our skin development. For healthy skin we need collagen which our bodies make from Vitamin C. To maintain healthy collagen and elastin we need anti-oxidants which our bodies get from Vitamin A, C and E and others. We need fatty acids to keep our skin’s sebum in good health which we get from nuts and seeds. I can go on and on….

As we all know by now, we don’t always get enough vitamins and minerals from our diet and therefore it is a good idea to supplement as well with at least:

A good multivitamin and mineral from a natural source
1000mg Vitamin C
Cal/Mag in the correct ratio 1:2 ie 400g magnesium to 800g calcium
Omega 3 and 6
PLUS any other vitamins as discussed under each skin type/condition/problem

Eat healthy

Ageing skin

According to Dr Nicolas Perricone “ageing is just an inflammatory process”

So, we need to slow down inflammation in our bodies. With this mind, we need to look at nutrients that are anti-inflammatory and that will give our bodies the best change to fight oxidative stress.

The ideal anti-ageing diet will therefore be rich in Omega 3, 6 and 9 and anti-oxidants.

For optimal skin care we need to supplement with the following:

Vitamin C buffered with Calcium -1000mg
Omega 3 –loading dose followed by maintenance load*
Good multivitamin of natural origin
Vitamin A-2000 to 2500 iu

Remember to take your supplements

Dry Skin

Contributing factors for dry skin (lacking in oil) include a lack of essential fatty acids, Vitamin A as well as water. Diets should be high in essential fatty acids from seeds and their oils, but low in saturated fat. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables that contain large amount of water. Limit alcohol and coffee intake.

For optimal skin care we need to supplement with the following:

Essential fatty acids such as flax (omega3) and evening primrose oil or borage oil (omega6)
Vitamin A 5000iu
Vitamin E 200 to 400 iu
Vitamin B6
Zinc
Vitamin C buffered with Calcium -500mg

Fresh food is best!

Oily Skin

In treating oily skin we should respect the oil/water balance of the skin in order to reduce the oiliness, but keep the skin healthy and comfortable. By removing too much oil topically, the skin will try and re-adjust the lipid levels and produce more oil. It is much more effective to also help from within.

For optimal skin care we need to supplement with the following:

Lecithin capsules- 400mg
Vitamin C buffered with Calcium -1000mg

Acne skin

Acne-prone skin should ideally be treated both topically and systemic. Vitamin A plays a major role in treating acne. Vitamin A has been used for many years and is a tried and tested regime. It, however, important to note the following:

Vitamin A is an oil-soluble vitamin and is stored in the liver. Therefore it is possible to take too much and poison your body (hypervitaminosis).

All Vitamin A therapies are prohibited for the following individuals:

Anyone who has been on Roaccutane or similar treatments within the last 3 months
Anyone who is trying to fall pregnant within a few months’ time.

Fruits are needed for good health and well-being

For optimal skin care we need to supplement with the following:

Vitamin A therapy
Lecithin capsules

After the Vitamin A therapy to control breakouts:

Vitamin B3
Zinc

Please contact me for an appointment so that I can discuss the therapy with you and monitor your progress

What’s in a massage?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 13:50:00 +0000

Love yourself, get a massage.

Wikipedia defines “massage” as follows; “Massage is to work and act on the body with pressure. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearm, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain”

There are many massage techniques and practitioners are always looking at ways to improve the basics and make it more effective.

When most people think of massages, they will think of “Swedish Massage”. Swedish Massage takes its name from a 19th-century Swedish physiologist, Per Henrik Ling, whose system of medical gymnastics included massage. Johan Georg Mezger (1838-1909) later re-organised it into the modern system that we know today as the “Swedish massage” system. Swedish massage is defined by five techniques, which have French names: effleurage (stroking), petrissage (kneading), tapotement (rhythmic choppings), and friction (rubbing).

Aromatic oils and creams enhance the massage treatment

Deep Tissue Massage differs from Swedish Massage in the sense that Deep Tissue Massage is used to break down scar tissue and muscle knots that affect the normal function of the tissue and muscles. It usually focuses on a specific problem and are not a general relaxing massage as Swedish.

Lomi lomi is the word used today to mean "massage therapist" or "Hawaiian massage." In the Hawaiian language, the word used traditionally, called lomi, means "to knead, to rub, or soothe; to work in and out, as the paws of a contented cat.” (Wikipedia)

This definition only touch on the true meaning of what a Hawaiian lomi lomi massage is. Traditionally it is much more than just a massage technique and although the western massage therapists are trained in this unique form of massage, we will probably never reach the heights in our treatments that the traditional Polynesians have in theirs.

"A Lomi Lomi usually commences with a stillness between the practitioner and client, often with the practitioners hands gently resting on the clients back," says Tracey Lakainapali. "In this stillness the practitioner will quietly say a blessing or prayer asking for whatever healing is needed to take place during the massage. Alternatively or as well, the client may be asked to set their intention for any healing they would like to receive. The masseuse then works very intuitively with the client. In this respect there is no set format or sequence for the massage and no two massages will ever be identical"

Thai Massage moves away from the stroking, relaxing and kneading techniques of the other massages and uses stretching, pulling, and rocking techniques to relieve tension and enhance flexibility and range of motion. It is sometimes painful and uncomfortable, but the massage therapist should then adjust her technique and movements to ease up on the pressure.

No matter which massage technique you prefer, massage has a wide range of benefits and can help with the following:
• Relieve tension headaches
• Reduce types of back pain
• Relieve joint stiffness and pain
• Increase flexibility and range of motion
• Stimulate circulation and lymphatic drainage
• Boost energy
• Calm the nervous system
• Relax and calm down muscle tension and spasms
• Release blocked energy

Come and experience our massage therapy. We do not cut corners.

Contact Gerda at gerda@agbeautysalon.co.za or Cell 0823989817

Belated New Year’s Resolutions? No, this is a New You Resolution!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 14:23:00 +0000

I do not really believe in New Year’s resolutions. I tried it so many times when I was younger and it never lasted longer than about mid-February. It was only when I revisited the whole concept during last December that I realized what I did wrong all those years. I was too ambitious and wanted to either change the world, or myself, in one huge blow!

Slowly can also get you there…

I have written down some of my personal thoughts about this here, but this is a more beauty and health-specific list that I hope you will strive to get right too:

Always, always wear sun block:
I am talking huge numbers: SPF 50, at least. Yes, I know that most beauticians will gasp and clutch their hearts in shock! The norm is that the higher the number, the higher quantities of chemicals it contains. Rest easy, those jumping hearts! Read more here about taking care in the sun. I have the Perfect Sun Block SPF 50+ for you:

Essel DNA Epinew SPF 50+ Spray-on Face and Body Sun Screen

Essel DNA-Epinew Sunscreen Protection Spray SPF50+ : R 380/150ml SPF 50+ Spray-on face and body sunscreen with added Vitamin A,C and E. UVA and UVB protection with Anti-Oxidants, Water resistant.

Clean your skin every night.
Please do not skip this, no matter how tired and sleepy you are. It only takes about 5 minutes, but you will see the benefits of this quickly. Store everything you need in a pretty container in your bathroom, so that it is easy to get hold of when you clean your skin at night. Follow the steps here to get a beautiful clean and well-cared-for skin before you go to bed.

Vitaderm Pre-Cleanse R255/150ml

Vitaderm Pre-Cleanse

Vitaderm Pre-Cleanse is a completely water-soluble oil-gel suitable for all skin types. It can be used as a make-up remover prior to normal cleansing or it can take the place of one’s cleanser. For oily and acne skin, it is best to use a gel cleanser afterwards to cleanse the skin. Vitaderm Pre-Cleanse is popular with men as a shaving product.

Every woman needs an eye cream
Every women 25 years of age and older must use an eye cream every morning and night. The younger ladies can look at a cream that hydrates and moisturize to keep the skin around your eyes supple and comfortable. You can start looking at an anti-ageing cream in your thirties or younger, if you have very dry skin.

The popular Vitaderm Eye Lift Gel with roll-on ball. R395/20ml

Vitaderm Eye Lift Gel

This eye gel helps boost hydration and brightens the delicate area around the eyes. The Eyeseryl® protein peptide content assists in reducing dark circles and puffiness, whereas the AcquaCell®

extract softens the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The Pullulan starch content helps firm the skin, whist the hyaluronic acid content further boosts hydration. Witch hazel and aloe vera extract helps to soothe and decongests the area

Do not over-exfoliate
Yes, one should exfoliates regularly, but please no more than once a week for oily skins and once every 2-3 weeks for all other skin types ( more gasping and clutching!)

The more you exfoliate and stress your skin, the more oil it will excrete-it is a simple as that! The more oil you see on your skin, the more you exfoliate, the more oil you will see- a vicious circle…

I have experienced this first hand in my teens, as I always struggled with oily and acne skin. Stop that scrubbing and I promise you your skin will start to behave and settle. Your exfoliator is NOT the product to use to get you oiliness and acne under control.

Be gentle with your skin.

Drink that water.
Water consumption is so important, please drink at least 1.5.to 2 liters every day. We need water to: Regulate our body temperature
Cushioning and lubricating our joints
Protect tissues and organs
Moisturise our nose, eyes, mouth
Carry oxygen and nutrients to cells
Aid in digestion
Protect central nervous system, brain and spinal cord
Help to dissolve nutrients, minerals and to make them accessible to the body
Clear out waste via perspiration, urination and bowel movements
Reduce the burden on liver and kidneys by eliminating waste

Drink-up! Your body needs it.

Get enough sleep

In years gone past, our many-times-over-great-grannies got at least 10 hours sleep per night. They got up with the dawn and went to sleep when the first stars showed. That is how we should treat our bodies today as well. Get at least 7-8 hours sleep. Your body needs to heal and to rest. Too little sleep leads to depression, anxiety, hyperactivity and other mood disorders.

Sleep, what a wonderful thing!

Have a wonderful time taking care of yourselves!

Christmas Gifts for your loved ones

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 08:51:00 +0000

Yes it is time to do this again! Not knowing what to get for the special people in your life?

Here is some ideas that may help with this mammoth task that does not get easier as the years pass.

Absolutely Gorgeous Beatique Gift Vouchers

All of these products are available in our on-line shop at:
http://www.agbeautysalon.co.za/

Please click on the images, the link will take you through to the on-line shop

Vitaderm Energising Body Wash and Mesh Sponge
Buy yours now R110.
This invigorating shower gel contains extracts of lemon, sandalwood mint and lemongrass. The fresh aroma of this fragrant gel was will put the spring back into your step!

Vitaderm Energising Body Wash and Mesh Sponge

TheraVine™ Men Facial Care Combo. Only R 536, you save R292!
For the man in your life, buy the Men Active Daily Face Wash and Active Daily Spritz and receive an Energising Exfoliating

TheraVine™ Men Facial Care Combo

TheraVine™ Nail Care Kit R314
Purchase all three of the TheraVine™ Nail Care Products and receive 25% off, you save R105!

The 7 in 1 Miracle Elixir is a complete conditioning program highly enriched in actives for stronger, smoother, shinier and healthier nails. What truly makes this a multi-purpose miracle nail treatment system and a prodigy in its field is that it is packed with a highly conditioning keratin-like peptide that provides targeted repair to the most damaged areas in your nail and in doing so adds to the natural keratin found in your nails, reinforcing them to prevent breakage.

A nourishing, cuticle treatment oil, used to maintain the suppleness of the cuticles as well as to minimize cracking and peeling of dry and brittle cuticles. Provides a well-groomed contour to the nails.

A fast acting cuticle remover that gently loosens and melts away overgrown cuticles. For best results, follow with TheraVine™’s Cuticle Treatment Oil.

TheraVine™ 3-in1 Nail Care Kit

TheraVine™ Pro-Youth Starter Kit. R384, you save R172!
For The Younger Ones. Help you children to start a skin care routine that will take care of all that unwanted breakouts and to help them keep it that way. Purchase a Gentle Foaming Wash and Balancing Mist and receive the Exfolaiting Skin Glow FREE!

TheraVine™ Pro-Youth Facial Care Range

Vitaderm Introductory Kits for only R400, you save R80!
There is an Introductory Kit for every Skin Type available. Use it for yourself as a Travel Kit or buy it for someone else as a perfect gift!

Vitaderm Introductory Kits

Why we need to exercise for the rest of our lives.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 09:55:00 +0000

Fitness is defined as good health or physical condition, especially as the result of exercise and proper nutrition. Before the industrial revolution, it was also be describes as our ability to carry out daily tasks and routine physical activities without undue fatigue.

Meditate at least 10 minutes per day!

However, with changes to our modern lifestyle and automation, fitness is now considered a measure of the body’s ability to function at optimum levels for work and leisure; to be healthy and to be able to recuperate after illness. There is a general consensus that everyone will benefit from activity as it promotes good mental and physical health.

According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, adults should exercise at least 150 minutes (2 hours/30min) a week of moderate intensity of 75 minutes (1hour/15min) of vigorous intensity.
The WHO says that a healthy lifestyle is extreme important to improve cardio,respiratory and muscular fitness, bone health and to reduce the risk of disease and depression

What is a healthy lifestyle?
There are different components to a healthy lifestyle. You need to look at the following;

• Regular exercise
If you exercise on a regular basis, not only will your body strengthen and be more resilient to illness, it will also help to decrease your stress levels.

• Balanced diet
This is such an important part of being healthy that I cannot emphasise this enough! Get rid of your bad eating habits and see your body and mind will flourish.

Change your eating habits for long terms benefits

• Manage your external stressors
It is so important to learn how to manage your daily stress. Conditions such as obesity, insomnia and various diseases can be directly linked to our ability to manage stress. Try meditation to help with you stress overload, it really helps!

• At least 7-8 hours of sleep
• This is vitally important! Your body cannot recover and heal itself if you do not get enough rest. Less than 6½ hours of sleep, will affect your hormones and will lead to more health issues.

Sleep is a good thing!

To increase and/or maintain your physical fitness you should look at a combination of strength, cardio exercises and flexibility exercises.

Strength training is a type of physical exercise specializing in the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. It includes gym circuit training, gymnastics, resistance training and martial arts.

Cardio or cardiovascular exercises are any exercise which involves working your large muscle groups and raising your heart rate for an extended period of time example running, swimming and cycling. The purposes of this exercises is to improve your heart’s and lungs’ capacity, to make it stronger so that it can work more efficiently.

You do not have to join a gym to get your body moving.

Flexibility training includes stretching exercises for the purpose of increasing one's range of motion. Look at yoga, foam rolling and any other stretching exercises.

Try to exercise at least 3 times a week and slowly build up your time as you grow stronger. Strength training includes gym circuit training, gymnastics, resistance training and martial arts. Cardio, and look to yoga and stretching exercise for flexibility.

What are the risks of not maintaining our physical fitness?

• Future weight problems
The top 3 killer-diseases in our modern society are heart disease, strokes and chronic lung diseases. However, for the first time in history, in 2015, more people died from obesity related diseases then those that died from starvation related diseases. Between 1980 – 2000 obesity rates in the USA Doubled This is very concerning and highlight the problem with our obsession with fast foods and unhealthy food.

Yoga is ideal to maintain posture and relieve stress.

• Postural and back problems
Lack of exercise can contribute to our society’s growing number of people who complain about lower back pain and. It is important to be aware of your posture during the long hours in front of your computer. Get up and stretch your body often during your working day and stand and walk tall!

• Reduced mobility and flexibility as we grow older
Our joints lose their flexibility and an exercise routine which includes all the different exercise groups will help to keep you mobile until well into your golden years.

• Health problems
It has been shown over and over, that a strong and mobile body will be much healthier and will be able to fight of diseases.

• Lifestyle diseases
Lifestyle diseases are a ‘modern man” problem as this is directly linked to our lifestyles; too little exercise, bad diet, drug and alcohol consumption, smoking and our social habits of sitting in front of the Television or computer. It is also known as Non-Communicable Diseases. A non-communicable disease is a medical condition or disease that is not caused by infectious agents. Diseases that impact on our lifestyle are heart disease, stroke, obesity and type II diabetes

Life is too short not to make the most of it!

With the advances in nutrition and medical treatments, modern man will far out-live all his ancestors. So, if you do not want to spend your later years sickly and maybe in a wheel chair,you should strive to keep your body in perfect condition to enjoy your life full-on.

Product review: TheraVine™ Face Muscle Relaxant Ampoules

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 06:18:00 +0000

AGB Salon reviews are written by a trained beautician with first-hand experience with the product as well as interactive feed-back from clients for more than 13 years.

http://www.agbeautysalon.co.za/beauty-products/theravine/theravine-face-relaxant-ampoules-forsale.html

Presentation: 60 ampoules

Product description:
This age-defying, satiny smooth serum contained in an ampoule targets the formation of lines and wrinkles caused by skin folding due to the contraction of facial muscles as well as natural ageing. It contains a clinically proven active, Argireline®, which has shown to reduce the skin depth of wrinkles by up to 50% within 30 days. It is a milder and safer atlernative to Botox.

How to use: Cut the tip of the ampoule and squeeze the contents into your hand. Gently massage into the forehead and expression lines around the eye and mouth.

Active ingredients

Argireline®-Acetyl Hexapeptide-3: It reduces the depth of wrinkles caused by the contraction of the muscles of the facial expression up to 50% in 30 days

General comment/s: These ampoules have a “ready-to-use” dosage contain within, so it is easy to use without any waste.

Evaluation Keys:

Product effectiveness = Does it do what it says

Value for money = Good value compared to similar products

Advanced Ingredients = Modern technologically advanced ingredients

Skin Effect = How does it feel

Absorption = Does it absorb into the skin

AGB Salon Review

Product effectiveness: 95%

Value for money: 90%

Advanced Ingredients: 95%

Skin Effect: 90%

Absorption: 95

Overall rating: 93%

Best used with: TheraVine™ Anti-Wrinkle Day Cream and TheraVine™ Anti-Wrinkle Night Cream

Please contact gerda at; gerda@agbeautysalon.co.za or 082 398 9817 for more information

The role of Vitamin A in skin care formulations

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 07:41:00 +0000

The role of Vitamin A in skin care formulations

Retinol capsules

Cosmetic chemistry is a very wide field and it takes many years of study to become an expert in the field. However, with modern technology and the internet, these formulations are readily available to everyone.

I am not suggesting that all of us should make our own cosmetics! It is just much easier nowadays to get hold of the information that is out there, for us to make informed decisions about which products to buy.

Laboratory equipment

In this series of articles, I will try to explain how the most innovative and the dependable work-horses of the beauty industry work, and what the benefits are to our skin. I am not going to give Cosmetic Chemistry lessons and bore you all to death, but will be as clear and concise as possible.

Vitamins as active ingredients in cosmetic chemistry:

Vitamins are nutrients that are essential to all life. They are fundamental building blocks for our bodies and perform many functions. These articles will deal with vitamins as active ingredients in cosmetic formulations and not as nutritional actives.

These days vitamins in cosmetics are nothing new, but up until the mid 1990’s very few vitamins were used in cosmetics. It was very difficult to stabilize and to maintain the active action of the vitamins in cosmetic formulations. With the progress made with new formulation techniques and discoveries as to exactly how vitamins function in our bodies, it is now much easier to use these ingredients effectively and safely.

Vitamin A in its many forms…

Beta-carotene or pro Vitamin A

As an anti-oxidant, beta-carotene is very stable and will almost always be combined with other anti-oxidants, such as Vitamin C.

Beta-carotene has inherent photo-protective properties, which makes it ideal to use in sun protection creams. Its ability to reduce redness during sun exposure, makes it a key ingredient in products to prevent and treat photo ageing as well as after-sun –exposure treatment.

Retinyl Palmitate

This Vitamin A ester account for around 80% of the total vitamin A found in the skin. The skin cells convert retinyl palmitate into retinoic acid which then sustains the DNA and cellular structures in our skin. Because of the skin’s ability to use this form of Vitamin A, this is the ingredient that is mostly used in topical application formulas.

Retinyl Acetate

This is a much gentler form of vitamin A. Like retinyl palmitate, retinyl acetate is often used in cosmetic products because of its superior thermal stability over retinol.

Retinyl Palmitate and Retinyl Asetate are the two forms of Vitamin A that are most used in cosmetics and they provide the same benefits and results as the more “aggressive” versions of Vitamin A, such as tretinoin (retinoic acid).

Studies have shown that these two esters absorbs better into the cells and therefore produce better results.

Retinol-the alcohol form

Retinol is on the most usable forms of Vitamin A, but has a short shelf life. It absorbs quickly into the skin from surface applications but changes into retinyl palmitate to enter the cells.

Pure retinol is extremely sensitive to oxidation and is prepared and transported at low temperatures and oxygen free atmosphere (the containers are filled with nitrogen).

Vitamin A creams can be used by men and women.

Why do we need Vitamin A in our skin care?

Isotretinoin, know as the trade names Accutane or Roaccutane, is used orally as a treatment for severe acne.
Retinol is used as a topical treatment for acne, pigmentation, wrinkles and fine lines and prevention of ageing in the skin.

Vitamin A creams can be used by men and women.

Use a SPF daily and try to avoid the sun!

A word of caution:
Products containing Vitamin A should only be used at night and washed off in the morning. One should always wear a sunscreen if you use Vit A.

Which products in the salon contain Vitamin A

Vitaderm Skin Perfection Capsules-Retinol
This high performance product contains an extremely effective form of Retinol. The fact that it is encapsulated in a liposomal formulation, increases penetration and decreases the sensitivity that is normally associated with this active form of vitamin A.

Within a week of starting to use Vitaderm Skin Perfection Capsules,your skin will develop a renewed suppleness, regardless of age or skin type. Within 2-3 weeks of use, wrinkle depth will appear to be reduced, while there is a noticeable increase in skin radiance and elasticity.

Use only at night. It is essential to use a sunscreen daily since Retinol can cause photo-sensitivity

Vitaderm Skin Perfection Capsules

Vitaderm Vitamin Night Cream-Retinyl Palmitate
This vitamin-enriched cream contains both vitamin A and vitamin E.
Apply after cleansing and toning at night only. Use only at night. It is essential to use a sunscreen daily since Vitamin A can cause photo-sensitivity

Vitaderm Vitamin Night Cream

Please feel free to contact me at 082 398 9817 or gerda@agbeautysalon.co.za for more information.

Which Facial for my Skin Type?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 08:59:00 +0000

This is a question many of my clients always struggle with. I offer quite a lot of facials from 5 different product houses, so yes, it can be a bit confusing.

I tried to streamline the process and hopefully it will be easier to choose a treatment in future.

How to choose a facial:

What is my concern about my skin?
Is it oiliness, dryness, breakouts or is it in need of a deep cleanse?

What is my skin type?

Normal skin: This is the ideal skin type and you should thank you stars, your mother, father and their forbearers for gifting you with these genes. It is fine and even textured, firm, supple and has a good balance of moisture and oil secretions. The skin looks clear, without any impurities or blemishes and slightly warm to the touch. Pale skins will be pink in colour, and darker skins will have a mauve hue.

Dry skin: This skin type is caused by too little oil secreted by the skin. It has a very fine texture with no visible pores and may have a thin, almost transparent look. It will often feel tight and slightly hot and is prone to early, very fine lines and expression wrinkles. It is often sensitive to cold and wind, air conditioning and needs lots and lost of moisture/ oil combination creams.

Oily Skin: This skin type is caused by too much oil secreted by the skin. The skin texture may look shiny and uneven, having large pores with black heads (comedones) or even pastules (inflamed spots). It is difficult too keep clean but also very important not to over clean and dry out the skin. The good news is that oily skin tends to age slower because the sebum (oil) naturally prevents water loss.

Combination skin: This type of skin has both oily and dry patches. The oily part usually forms a “T” zone across the forehead and down the nose and chin. There may be enlarged pores over the oily part but the rest of the face and neck will be dry or normal.

Mature skin: This, to me is not a skin type but a skin condition as we were not born with mature skin but this (as we all surely know) develops slowly over time as we grow older. I will
describe the ageing process in another blog post.

Sensitive/ allergic skin: There is still a bit of debate going an about the difference between these two. However, I have always been able to contribute this problem to the use of incorrect products and it always disappears when the client uses the correct home-care products! It is usually dry with fine pores and may have red patches over the cheeks and nose. It may react to heat, cold, pressure, irritation or nervous conditions. It often responds to an allergic stimulus.

What is my budget?
There is always a facial for every budget. It may not always be the best facial available but it will address all your concerns and leave your skin comfortable and soft.

Which product range should I choose from?
If you are already using one of the product house's home care products, say Vitaderm, it is best to stay with that range and use one of the facials that they offer.

If you are not using any of the product houses that I stock and cannot decide on this, please discuss it with me and I will find the best one available for your budget and concerns.

Please follow the links provided to help you choose a facial just for you:
Description of facials on offer

Please feel free to contact me at 082 398 9817 or gerda@agbeautysalon.co.za for more information.

Related article; http://agbeautysalon.blogspot.co.za/2016/09/different-skin-types-different.html

Everyday skin care routines for all ages

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Sep 2017 07:00:00 +0000

I received a number of requests to explain the everyday routines one should follow to help one on a path to easier skin care, with optimal results.

Care for your skin, you'll be glad you did.

There are such a huge variety of skin care products available, that it is very easy to get confused and discouraged to start a skin care routine. This as a simple step-by-step routine that anyone can follow, no matter what your age, skin type or concern.

Assuming that you already have established what you skin type and skin concerns are, you need to ask your beautician to recommend the following products, suitable for you:

Basics: Cleanser, toner, day cream, night cream, sun screen and eye cream.

This is the basics that you will need. Yes, everyone needs and eye cream and a sun screen, no matter what your age. Please note that your day and night cream can be the same, it does not need to be two different creams, as long as it does not contain a sunscreen or products that you should not be wearing during the day, ex Vitamin A.

Optional extras: Make-up remover, exfoliator, face mask, serums and oils.

If you are just starting a home-care routine, you may not want, or be financially in a position, to buy everything that is in the salon for your skin type immediately- these are nice to have, but it will not be a disaster if you cannot buy it as well.

If you can afford it, regular visits, once every 4-6 weeks, to your beautician, will be awesome for your skin, and use the best products that you can afford.

Basic routines that everyone can follow:

Morning routine:

Cleaner, toner eye cream, day cream, sunscreen.

Evening routine:

Cleaner, toner, eye cream, night cream.

Once a week: Clean , exfoliate, mask, tone, eye cream, day or night cream-depending on what time you do this.

Teens to Thirties

This is the stage of your life where you want to keep your skin hydrated and protected. Whether you have normal, oily/acne or a combination skin, you can keep your routine simple.

Daily Skin Care Routine For Teens to 28/30 Years of age

Thirties to Forties years of age

This is the time to start with an anti-aging routine. Yes, anti-aging! It is not too soon as we all are exposed on a daily basis to environmental aggressors that create havoc with our skins.

Most good skin ranges will have products that are formulated to be used as an early prevention against ageing. You do not need to use all the anti-ageing products, but it is a good idea to change your eye cream and night cream to an anti-aging range. You can now also look at a hydrating serum or oil to add to you products, as it is then very easy to customize your routine a bit more. Add the serum and oil in the morning and/or night, depending on how dry your skin are in either of those times.

How to incorporate your serum or oil into your routine:

Morning routine:

Cleaner, toner, eye cream, serum or oil, day cream, sunscreen.

Evening routine:

Cleaner, toner, eye cream, serum or oil, night cream.

Once a week: Clean , exfoliate, mask, tone, eye cream, serum or oil, day or night cream-depending on what time you do this.

Daily Skin Care Routine For Thirties to Forties

Forties and upwards

At this stage on our life, our skin texture and oil/water ratio changes and all of a sudden your normal skin products are not just doing the job anymore.

It is now time to ask your beautician to re-evaluate your skin concerns and your product range. You will most likely have to start using a richer day and night cream and please change all of your skin products over to the anti-ageing range.

You will have to start looking at products with ingredients such as Vitamin A (retinols), collagen synthesis stimulating ingredients, Hyaluronic acid, Vitamin E, etc that have powerful anti-ageing and anti-wrinkle properties.

You can also incorporate an exfoliator that contains Alpha Hydroxy Acids in your weekly routine. It will stimulate cell-turnover, which can slow down as we age.

Please contact Gerda at; gerda@agbeautysalon.co.za or 082 398 9817 for more inforation or to book an apppointment for a free-of-charge skin consultation

Absolutely Gorgeous Beautique Product Review: Vitaderm Pre-Cleanse

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 09:12:00 +0000

AGB Salon reviews are written by a trained beautician with first-hand experience with the product as well as interactive feed-back from clients for more than 13 years.

Presentation: 150ml bottle with pump

Product description:
Pre-cleanse is a completely water-soluble oil-gel suitable for all skin types. It can be used as a make-up remover prior to normal cleansing or it can take the place of one’s cleanser. For oily and acne skin, it is best to use a gel cleanser afterwards to cleanse the skin.

Pre-cleanse is popular with men as a shaving product.

How to use:
To remove waterproof eye make-up; apply a small amount sparingly to a slightly damp cotton wool pad and wipe eye lids gently from the outside to the inside, repeat with clean, damp cotton wool. Caution-do not let the product get into the eyes.

Clean your skin gently

As a cleanser; apply one pump to the face , do not add water. Use gentle circular movements all over the skin, then dampen the fingertips with tepid water, emulsify the Pre-Cleanse and massage it into the skin. As soon as the water is added, the oil-gel will turn milky. Continue to add water until the skin is clean. Rinse off with tepid water and pat dry. Follow with appropriate toner or use the normal cleanser as a secondary cleanse
.
General comment/s: Keep this away from steam and do not use it in the shower! It will turn milky before you had a change to work it in.

Evaluation Keys:
Product effectiveness = Does it do what it says
Value for money = Good value compared to similar products
Advanced Ingredients = Modern technologically advanced ingredients
Skin Effect   = How does it feel

AGB Salon Review
Product effectiveness: 95%
Value for money:    80%
Advanced Ingredients: 88%
Skin Effect:   90%
Overall rating:   86.25%

Active ingredients:
Lecithin-emulsifier
Vitamin E (Tocopheryl acetate)-Prevents oxidative rancidity

Best used with: Vitaderm Gentle Eye Make-up Remover

Please contact gerda at; gerda@agbeautysalon.co.za or 082 398 9817 for more information

Which cleanser for my skin type?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 11:18:00 +0000

Choosing your cleanser with care is very important, as this will lay the foundation of how well your skin will respond to the rest of you beauty routine. Please note that a cleanser should do exactly that and no more!

Clean your skin everyday

A too oily/greasy cleanser can leave you skin with clogged pores and leave a film of product behind that will stay on the skin, which will then prevent the skin from absorbing the rest of the products. A cleanser that dries out the skin too much will result in the skin feeling dry, tight and uncomfortable. It may also cause flaking skin that may be difficult to correct without using a multitude of products.

If you do a little homework before you buy a cleanser, you may find it is actually very easy to get it right. First, establish what your skin type is. Please read our Facial Skin Types article to help with this. Your current skin conditions will also play a role in which cleanser will work best for you.

Well cared for skin

There are three types of cleansers available that will fit into one of the following categories:

Water soluble cleansers:
-described as Cleansing Milk, Creamy Milk, Mousse Cleanser, Lotion Cleanser or Liquid Cleanser.
This is a cleanser that you can remove with a couple of splashes of water. It should wash you make-up off leaving the skin comfortable and fresh looking and should not contain any irritants, i.e. abrasives and harsh chemicals. These cleansers are the best option if you have a normal to combination skin and if you prefer water on your skin, but do not wish to use a soapy cleanser.

Lavender flowers

Ingredients to look for in this type of cleanser:
Lavender Essential Oil-soothing and calming
Sweet Orange Essential Oil-balancing

Salon products that I can recommend:
Vitaderm : Mild Gel Cleanser
TheraVine ™: Cream Cleanser
Vitaderm: Pre-Cleanse- an excellent product that can be use prior to normal cleansing, or it can take the place thereof.

Wipe-Off Cleansers:
-described as Cold Cream, Cleansing Cream or Cleansing Milk.
These have a thicker consistency than the milk and can be removed by wiping it off. This is a very good choice for dry and dehydrated skins but make sure to use either damp cotton wool or a very soft wash cloth to remove it. Feel free to wash it away with water, this type of cleanser will not leave your skin feeling dry at all.

Grape seed oil

Ingredients to look for in this type of cleanser:
Avocado Extract-excellent for softening or soothing the skin.
Grape Seed Extract-anti-oxidant, anti-aging

Salon products that I can recommend:
Vitaderm: Gentle Cream Cleanser, Nourishing Cream Cleanser
Vitaderm: Pre-Cleanse- an excellent product that can be use prior to normal cleansing, or it can take the place thereof.

Soaps:
This comes in a variety of forms and strengths. It can be a bar of soap, a mousse, a gel or a liquid soap that either foams or not. This can be very useful for acne and oily skins however, please be very careful when you use these types of cleansers as they often contain sodium lauryl sulphate which can be very harsh on your skin. Look out for cleanser that contain natural “soapy” ingredients like for example soapwort, which can be found in Vitaderm Mild Gel Cleanser.

Soapwort

Ingredients to look for in this type of cleanser:
Soap Wort Extract-Natural foam booster
Decyl Glucoside-Gentle and safe foaming cleanser

Salon products that I can recommend:
Vitaderm: Purifying Gel Cleanser
TheraVine: Gentle Foaming Cleanser
Vitaderm: Pre-Cleanse- an excellent product that can be use prior to normal cleansing, or it can take the place thereof.

Chamomile Oil

Make-up Remover:
This is a product formulated specifically for the eye area and can either be a liquid or a thicker, milky lotion. If you use water proof mascara make sure that the one you choose can cope with this very difficult-to-remove make-up product. Be very, very gentle when cleansing the eye area as it is very easy to stretch the skin. If you cannot be gentle please rather use a water-soluble cleanser that can wash it away!

Ingredients to look for in this type of cleanser:
Calendula and Chamomile Essential Oil

Salon products that I can recommend:
Vitaderm: Gentle Eye Make-up Remover
TheraVine™ Ultimate Eye Make-Up Remover
Vitaderm: Pre-Cleanse- an excellent product that can be use prior to normal cleansing, or it can take the place thereof.

Soaps in all colours

Double/Triple Duty Products
Do not use a cleanser on a daily basis that contains grainy particles, Alpha Hydroxy Acids, Beta Hydroxy Acids or any anti-bacterial ingredients.

There are absolutely nothing wrong with these ingredients and in the proper product they will do wonders for your skin. However, using it on a daily basis will be a waste of a good ingredient as you will just wash it off and they will not do your skin any good that way! Using a granular cleanser daily will strip away far too much natural oils and will over-exfoliate your skin.

Please read our articles “The importance of cleansing your skin” and “Toners, etc.” to further help you to correctly treat your skin.

If you need any further information on how to choose your home care products, please contact us at 082 398 9817 for an appointment or if you want to know more about the products that we stock in the salon, please visit our website @Agbeautysalon

Why more than one Lipogon treatment?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 12:52:00 +0000

Lipogon/Nu-Contour (lipolysis) Frequenty Asked Questions:

1. Can I use Lipogon just once and see results or should I come back for a second treatment?

Simply put; a minimum of 3 treatments are needed for optimum results with our Lipolysis injections. One treatment will yield results but not as prominently as a second or a third would be.

Lipogon Slimming Results before-and-after

2. What is happening in the body after injections?

Phosphatidylcholine (PPC) is a compound that naturally occurs in your body as a membrane layer, i.e it covers the fat cells found in your body's fat reserves. When you inject PPC into those fat reserves your body uses the liquid and adds it to the membrane, this then causes your body to want more water outside the fat cell because the chemicals on the outside are more concentrated than these on the inside; so it pushes the content of the fat cells out of the PPC membrane (around the fat cell) through diffusion, into your interstitial fluid on the outside of the cell (this causes the perforation in the cell membrane) . This liquid is now in equal proportions in the cell. Now your body needs to move, so your body uses the energy of that cell for fuel, and the content of your fat reserve gets drained into your lymphatic system (finite amounts into your circulatory systems, intestinal systems as well as your muscle nervous system {these systems mainly use the energy from food you eat, the extras get stored in the fat cells and get used when you're starving, so it mainly drains into the lymphatic system when movement occurs}) hereafter it gets secreted out of the body. This is also why its so important to get some exercise so you can stimulate your lymphatic system, this fluid will then drain out of the body quicker and more effectively.

At Macno, they have added their special blend of cellulite cocktail to speed up this process of draining out of the reserves; the cocktail contains organic silica which causes slight inflammation (the itching feeling one gets after an injection) which speeds up the drainage through the correct channels and increases that areas' collagen production (tightens the skin while it's at it). Now the PPC and the cellulite cocktail move together to the lymphatic system and get secreted out of the body; that fat cell is now drained and has been secreted out, this process takes approximately 2 weeks to be completed. This is why the first month is the hardest, the body doesn't recognize the substance immediately, so it has to create all these pathways from scratch, but once they're created, they're there.

Lipogon Slender Form Smoothie

The second month of treatment is a recognition phase: The second month is crucial because the fat reserve that was injected in the first month now has the pathways created to drain effectively. In the second month, your body recognizes the substance, leads it to the cell membrane and drains it out through the lymphatic system. Because the pathways were created in the first month, the second month your lymphatic systems drains the excess fluid out in a week or less, depending on how blocked the lymphatic system is at that point. The tincture drops increase the flow of the lymphatic system and help speed up this process. The recognition phase is the most important phase because your body has now gained the pathways and speedily flushes the system of that excess fat deposit, and here is where you have your first glimpse of what's to come by using Lipogon.

The third month of treatment is a maintenance phase: To ensure that the body doesn't close it's pathways and store the fat back into those reserves, a third month is essential. With the third month of treatments your body uses these pathways to cement the road taken by our PPC and cocktail to maximize effectiveness, i.e whenever the body comes into contact with these compounds again ,in that specific area, it will recognize it and send it through the lymphatic system and out of the body again. After this phase is completed, a decision can be made if you're happy with the results or if you would like to carry on with a fourth or fifth treatment, where each additional treatment yields better results.

Note: if a different area is targeted (for example the stomach was injected with the first treatments, and now the thighs want to be looked at) then the process starts at the introduction phase again. The filtration and secretion of the fluid in the lymphatic system will be much quicker, since the body has come into contact with Lipogon before, but the introduction phase will repeat in the newly looked at area.

Lipogon TrimFX-Increased Fat Burning

3. WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS (if any)?
Since it is a non-invasive procedure, patients can return to work immediately after the treatment, although there following recommendations:

Avoid hot showers and baths should best be avoided for eight hours after treatment.
Refrain from excessive exercising and massages for the first week after treatment.
It is a relatively painless procedure although patients may experience discomfort from the initial injection pricks.
Light swelling, redness and a burning sensation may be experienced at the targeted areas for one to four days.
Light bruises will disappear within a week.
In rare cases, some hardening may occur (deep haematomas, bruises), but these disappear by themselves after 2-6 weeks.

Altogether, the therapy can be regarded as low in side-effects. If a person has a low pain threshold it is recommended that the patient takes a light pain killer after the treatment.

For more information please read more here or phone Gerda on 0823989817

Thanks to Macno Cosmetic Solutions for the information supplied above.

Healing Rose Glow Facial Treatment R260/45min. Come and spoil yourself and rejuvenate body and soul! You’ll be so glad you did!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 12:04:00 +0000

Experience the healing powers of Rose Quartz and Rosewood Essential Oil…..

Healing Rose Glow Facial

In conjunction with the restoring and wonderful aroma of the rose scented oil, the treatment also includes a crystal massage specially designed for this facial. Suitable for all skin types and conditions.

Rose Quartz is used to balance the emotions, bring peace and calm, release stress and easing feelings of anxiety. All these emotions carry the energies for forgiveness, tolerance, compassion and enabling us to see the good in both ourselves and others.

Rosewood essential oil rejuvenates the skin and keeps it looking youthful and glowing. It is wonderful for the treatment of acne and it stimulates the skin cells to regenerate. Rosewood will also help to restore the skin’s elasticity, thus promoting a smooth and wrinkle free skin.

The overall soothing pink colour also reflects our femininity, softness and youthfulness.

Optional extra: Buy your own Quartz Facial Skin Treatment Kit for only R25
#beautyblog
#absolutelygorgeous

Reference: Spirit, All Natural. "Tag: Science of crystal healing."

Ozone therapy in skin care- Vitaderm Lipid Complex with Activated Oxygen

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 06:23:00 +0000

Ozone is one of the most exciting ingredients to appear on the health and skin care horizon in decades.

Selection of oils

What is zone?
In the presence of ultra-violet light, oxygen (O2) is converted to activated oxygen (O3), which is commonly known as ozone. Medical grade ozone is produced by passing pure oxygen trough ultra-violet light.

Properties of Ozone.
Ozone has incredible anti-bacterial and healing properties. There is aa dramatic increase in the use of ozone world-wide. In Europe it is used to sterilize hospital theaters and air-conditioning and in other industries it is used to sterilize food preparation areas.

Recently a technique has been developed whereby ozone may be applied topically. This process allows for Ozone to be infused into naturally derived, organically grown plant oils, at high concentrations under a controlled environment until it slowly begins to solidify. Doing this effectively captures and preserves the ozone, increasing its lifespan. There is no need to use chemicals, preservatives, or stabilizers. The oil becomes a gel or cream, making it easy to apply to the skin for a variety of conditions with no known side effects.

Good news; Ozonated oils don’t lead to the problem of micro-biological resistance — as do antibiotics. So it is safer to use these oils than antibiotics for acne and skin infections!

Ozone oils moisturise the skin and improve the appearance of blemishes, age spots, fine lines, and wrinkles

According to research, these oils have amazing effects:

• Stimulation of growth for skin cells
• Acts as a free radical scavenger on harmful toxins
• Cellulite Reduction
• Wrinkles reduction
• Soothes and heals burns, wounds, cuts, ulcers, insect bites and stings
• Cleans and sterilizes the epidermis
• Reduces swelling and redness
• Calms the nerves and reduces the amount of pain in skin conditions
• May increase cellular function and cellular memory
• Reduces scarring
• Sore muscles (helps to remove lactic acid from pores)
• Dermatitis
• Diaper Rash

Vitaderm Lipid Complex with Activated Oxygen. 50ml R 376.

Vitaderm Lipid Comples with Ozone

On special promotion until end of June 2017, only R 320 !

This treatment product is a natural blend of plant based oils that has been infused with ozone. The addition of sandal wood and chamomile extracts makes this a light textured complex suitable for all skin types, including oily/acne prone complexions. It actively oxygenates the skin, improving colour and tone of the skin.

Please contact me if you have any queries at gerda@agbeautysalon.co.za or Cell 0823989817

#absolutelygorgeous
#beautifulskin

Exfoliations and Gentle Peeling Products for home use

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 08:30:00 +0000

Absolutely Gorgeous Women

As a child I read about Cleopatra’s milk baths and Marie Antoinette’s red wine baths. I found it extremely peculiar, but it was only during my time at Beauty College that I realised they were not mad after all! They were probably the pioneers for fruit acids treatments.

We get lactic acid from milk and tartaric acid from red wine, so their baths had a wonderful exfoliation effect and I’m sure they were as smooth as butter afterwards.

Before I get carried away about their ingenuity, let me get back to basics.

Basics on skin cells
Our skin has five different layers and each layer has a specific purpose and lifetime. New skin cells are created in the lower or first skin layer and thereafter all the cells move upwards through the different layers while changing shape and eventually die and fall off. This whole process is called desquamation.

The cell-life from birth to death usually takes 28-32 days. As we grow older, this process slows down and it can then take up to about 45 days. As the dead skin cells take longer and longer to shed, the skin starts to look dull and lifeless. This is then when a good exfoliating product is a lifesaver.

Loofah to use on body

What is exfoliation?
Exfoliation is the removal of dead skin cells on the outermost surface of the skin, without causing trauma.

Until about 15 years ago the most popular exfoliating products on the market were granular-based. These granules were usually obtained from apricot pips or walnut shells, which were finely ground and then added to a cream or gel base.

The formulators for the beauty products then started to use different kinds of plastic micro-beads as well as finer granules obtained from various plant-based materials.

However, these micro-beads were found to be extremely harmful to marine life, and will be banned in the UK and US during 2017 as per this article
(https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/02/uk-government-to-ban-microbeads-from-cosmetics-by-end-of-2017)

Due to newer technology, the latest offering from the beauty industry is fruit enzymes in gel and cream bases. These products are much gentler on the skin and my preferred products, with the exception of Wesson Therapeutics’ Micro Exfoliant, see comments below). The ingredients that are used in these formulations are for example, pineapple enzymes or bromelain, papaya enzymes or papain and tomato enzymes. These enzymes only need gentle friction or heat to activate it so it is a good idea to use it while relaxing in the bath tub.

The granular formulations tend to be a bit harsh on the skin, especially in the hands of clients with oily/acne skin, as they tend to overdo the process a bit

What does it do?
A good exfoliator gently removes dead skin cells to reveal a smoother and more refined complexion. It should stimulate cellular activity while enhancing firmness, radiance and younger looking skin.

One should never exfoliate more than once a week in the case of oily/acne skins, and once every two weeks for all other skin types. This is probably not the advice that you have read, or heard all your life, but trust me, this is the way to go. If you exfoliate too much, you irritate the skin and overstimulate the oil glands in your skin and it then just produce more oil. You exfoliate again and the vicious cycle begins…….

Any exfoliating product should be removed with lots and lots of water.

Exfoliation for sensitive skins
Clients with sensitive/reactive skins usually are very wary of exfoliators. However, there are some product ranges specially formulated for sensitive skin like Wesson Therapeutics. I am in love with the Micro Exfoliant as it contains cactus saccharides (sugars). These granules are gentle on the skin and dissolve with the application of water and then wash away.

A Bit More Punch………..Fruit Acids please

Fruit Acid mask being applied

If your skin is still looking dull and lifeless, even if you are following a good skin care routine, it is time to look at the role that different fruit acids can play in getting that glowing, youthful looking skin.

Fruit acids are classified in two different categories; Alpha Hydroxy Acids and Beta Hydroxy Acids.

Alpha Hydroxy acids (AHA’s) that are normally used in cosmetics and cosmeceutical products are glycolic acid (derived from sugarcane or grapes), lactic acid (derived from milk), malic acid (derived from apples or beries), citric acid(derived from citrus fruit or from fermented sugar solutions), as well as a myriad combinations with other ingredients.

There is only one Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA), namely salicylic acid and its related substances, esters and salts, salicylate, sodium salicylate.

All these fruit acids may be used alone or in combinations in beauty products, depending on what the formulation will be used for.

In fruit acid exfoliators these ingredients will act as follows:
• Decrease the cohesion between surface skin cells-dissolve the”glue” that hold the cells together.
• Increase superficial skin exfoliation
• Increase cell turnover (the skin cells will move quicker between the layers)
• Stimulate collagen production-exceptionally good for anti-ageing results.

A word of caution
Fruit acid exfoliators give better and quicker results as those mentioned earlier, but come with a couple of cautionary notes:
Please follow your beautician’s instructions on how to incorporate this into your daily skin care routine.
Please do not overuse as it can cause skin sensitivity.
Please do not use it if you skin is sun burnt or show any other sings of damage.
Please use a SPF 30+ everyday, no matter what the weather looks like.
Please stop using it if you experience any adverse effects

In spite of the caution, these are highly effective ingredients that will deliver on its promise.

Be gentle with your skin

The following exfoliators and home care fruit acids treatments are available from the Beautique:

Vitaderm Skin Polishing Cream R 285/60ml

Active ingredients-Extracts of peppermint, lavender and sandalwood, apricot seed powder.
This product is suitable for all skin types except ultra-sensitive. It stimulates circulation and revitalise the complexion.

Vitaderm Skin Polishing Cream

Vitaderm Enzymatic Gel Exfoliator R295/60ml
Active ingredients-Papaya and pineapple enzymes, citrus fruit extract.
This product is suitable for all skin types except ultra-sensitive. It revitalise a dull complexion by gently and effectively remove dead skin cells, enhancing the skin’s radiance.

Vitaderm Enzymatic Gel Exfoliator

Vitaderm AHA Active Gel 465/50ml
Active ingredients- lactic acid, glycolic acid, citric acid.
This AHA Active gel is rich in fruit acids which work actively to smooth the skin’s surface and flush excess pigment. It restores radiance to all skin types and assists in reducing fine lines and wrinkles. In the case of oily/acne-prone skin types, the gel encourages fewer breakouts by replenishing the acid mantle of the epidermis. By restoring the natural acidity, the skin is able to protect and heal itself more effectively.

Vitaderm AHA Ative Gel

Wesson Therapeutics Micro Exfoliant R 180/50ml
This product contains an ultra-fine grade of cactus sugar ( trehalose) to gently polish away dry epidermal cells. It is fragrance free and hypo allegenic.

Wesson Therapeutics Micro Exfoliant

Skin Doctors Gamma Hydroxy R890/50ml

Active ingredients-
A powerful one-step resurfacing cream that can be used every day. The continual renewing action of powerful poly0hydroxy acids, works 24 hours a day like a time-released peel, continually shedding the epidermal layer. Skin Doctors Gamma Hydroxy can be used to achieve instantly glowing skin with long term results on the appearance of wrinkles, freckles, age-spots and even acne scarring.

Skin Doctors Gamma Hydroxy

TheraVine™ Grapeseed Exfoliator R286/50ml
Active ingredients-Crushed Grape Seeds, Walnut shell beads, Neroli, Sweet orange
A gentle cream containing crushed Pinotage grape seeds, which sloughs off dead skin cells and makes skin look younger.

TheraVine™ Grapeseed Exfoliator

TheraVine™ Pinotage Exfoliating Enzyme R307/50ml
Active ingredients-Grape seed extract, pineapple and papaya extract, Sweet Orange.A highly effective deep cleansing serum based gel which effectively exfoliates the skin.

TheraVine™ Pinotage Exfoliating Enzyme

Please feel free to look at our website at AGBeautysalon for more information on these and other products.

Prices correct at time of publication, but may change without any notification.

Why do I need a toner in my beauty routine?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 11:07:00 +0000

The beauty industry use different names for the same product; toners, clarifiers, fresheners, refiners, tonics and astringents. No matter what it is called, it is a must-have in your daily beauty routine. All these names refer to the product that you use after you have cleansed your skin.

Toner

A well formulated toner is extremely beneficial for your skin and will improve your skin condition with regular use.

There are so many beneficial products that can be added into a toner, that it will be easier to list those that should NOT be there:
• SD alcohols, especially denatured alcohols, as it dries the skin out and cause white patches on the skin
• Volatile plant extracts- it can cause allergic reactions
• Ammonia-is a CORROSIVE CHEMICAL and can irritate and burn the skin and eyes, leading to permanent damage.
• Camphor- Large amounts of camphor, even applied only to the skin or inhaled, can be toxic. Do not consume camphor or use it on cuts or broken skin. It may produce allergic reactions in some people, advises Drugs.com.
• Petrochemical like mineral oil, since they tend to cause superficial hydration with long term use and occlude the pores
• Chemical colours and fragrances. Some perfumes contains synthetic estrogen that interferes with your normal hormones.
• Harsh preservatives like diazolidinyl urea and imidazolidinyl urea. Both are antimicrobial preservatives and act as formaldehyde releasers.
• Skin drying sulphates- Sulphates are a salt of sulphuric acid they create a lather and help strip away oil.

A good toner should:

Help to remove the last traces of make-up:
Just in case you missed some during the cleansing, the toning step will remove the last traces of make –up.

Help to refine pores:
Ingredients like mastic resin extract and witch hazel help to reduce pore size!

Witch Hazel Flowers

Help to reduce inflammation and irritation:
In the case of compromised skin it should soothe and heal. Ingredients such as cotton seed extract, Green tea extract, Chamomile and Aloe vera are ideal for this.

Chamomile flowers

WESSON Therapeutics has an excellent product range specially formulated for sensitive/compromised/reactive skin!

Restore the pH balance of the skin.
Our skin pH is about 5.5. This is the optimum level as it means that the skin is neither too dry or oily and can better absorb any treatment products that are used afterwards.

Helps with hydration:
Some toners contain ingredients such as avocado, palmarosa and rose geranium extract which helps to restore hydration to the skin as this product is not washed off after application.

Rose Geranium

Control the oil/water balance:
It is very important, even for oily skin, to have the correct oil/water balance in the skin.
Many toners for oily and combination skin will do just that with ingredients such as Ylang-ylang and Juniper berry extract.

Many clients are very sceptical about the use of toners, but I would rather skip the morning cleanser and only tone if I am in a hurry. I use bottles and bottles of the stuff in comparison to my cleanser usage.

Once you have found the correct one for your soothe any irritations, increase the efficiency of the moisturisers, and improve your skin condition, you will probably never go without it again.

As with the cleansers you should use toners that are skin-type specific and preferable one that compliments your cleanser. In other words, if you use a cleanser from a range of products for dry skin types, the toner that is in this range will 9 out of 10 times be the one that is right for you.

However, do not hesitate to use a sensitive range toner with a dry skin or a combination range toner with a normal skin.

I found that if you use a cleanser for your skin type and a toner for your skin condition, you will be happy with the result.

Salon products that I can recommend:

Normal Skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: Balancing Toner

Vitaderm Conditioning Toner

Dry skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: HydraVine Toner

Oily /Acne Skin:
Vitaderm: Antiseptic Toner, Regulating Toner
Theravine: Balancing Toner

TheraVine™ Balancing Toner

Combination skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: Balancing Toner or HydraVine Toner

Sensitive/ allergic skin:
Wesson Calming Facial Mist

Wesson Therapeutics for Sensitive Skn

Mature skin:
Vitaderm: Conditioning Toner
TheraVine: Balancing Toner or HydraVine Toner
Phytomer: Ogenage Toning Cleansing Emulsion
Essel: DNA Epinew Rejuvenating Spritzer

Phytomer Ogenage Toning Cleansing Emulsion

Please read our articles “The importance of cleansing your skin” and “What is in a good cleanser?” to further help you to correctly cleanse your skin.

If you need any further information on how to choose your home care products, please contact us at 082 398 9817 for an appointment or if you want to know more about the products that we stock in the salon, please visit our website @ http://www.agbeautysalon.co.za/

The importance of cleansing your skin

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 03:59:00 +0000

When cleansing you skin, you are removing any make-up, impurities, dead skin cells, sweat, and sebum that have accumulated during the day. Our skin is also a very easy-to-reach dumping ground for dust and other environmental pollutants.

Remove your make-up

If you forget to remove your make-up before going to sleep, it will be more difficult in the morning to remove that stubborn mascara and stay-on-forever lip colour.

At night, the skin also secretes sebum and sweat and if you are in the habit of sharing your bed with your furry friends, you will probably have some pet hair and other scary stuff on your skin as well. Water alone will not successfully remove this.

Your daily cleansing and make-up removal routine need to start with good products which are suitable for your skin type and lifestyle.

Your skin should always feel clean, soft, and balanced (not too dry or too oily) after any cleansing routine.

The routine usually follows 3 basic steps: cleanse, tone and moisturise.

Please read our article “What is in a good cleanser?” for guidelines about choosing the correct cleanser for your skin.

How to get the best results from your cleansing routine.

Start with your eyes. Always use damp cotton wool, as some of them feels like abrasive pads on the skin when dry. Soak the cotton wool in the make-up remover and place over the eyelids. Wait 5 to 10 seconds for the make-up to softens, then gently stroke the eye lashes from base to tip to remove the mascara. Then, using clean cotton wool in need, stroke from the inside to the outside corner of the eye until all make-up has been removed.

Move on to the rest of your face. First wet your face slightly with tepid water. Place some of the cleanser in your hands and gently apply to your whole face and always include the front and back of your neck, as well as you décolleté area. . Work from the center of you face and with your fingertips perform small circular movements. Remove with water, damp cotton wool or a face cloth. Tone and moisturise.

No matter what products you use, or how you go about cleansing your skin, always be gentle, do not over cleanse, do not rub and scrub and you should reap the benefits by having a clear complexion and soft, glowing skin!

Some of my favourite cleansers:

Vitaderm Pre-Cleanse 150ml R 255

This popular Pre-Cleanse is essential for a deep pore-cleansing effect without leaving a taut feeling on the skin.

This water-soluble, oil-based gel is incredibly effective in dissolving all oil-soluble impurities on the skin. With the addition of water, this formulation turns into a milky cleanser and rinses away impurities.

It is suitable for all skin types and may be used prior to normal cleansing.

For oily skin types, it is recommended to use one of Vitaderm’s Gel Cleansers afterwards. For dry skin types, the Pre Cleanse may be used instead of the normal cleanser. This formulation is preservative free.

Vitaderm Gentle Eye Make-up Remover 50ml R 85

A mild formulation which gently removes eye make-up.

It contains no aromatic extracts and is therefore highly recommended for sensitive eyes and is ideal for contact lens wearers.

It contains Vitamin B5, which keeps hair healthy! It will not damage your false eye lashes either!

This product is ideal for the removal of water resistant and smudge proof make-up. It is not recommended to remove water-proof make-up.

If you need any further information on how to choose your home care products, please contact us at 082 398 9817 or agb111@mweb.co.za for an appointment.

If you want to know more about the products that we stock in the salon, please visit our website @ http://www.agbeautysalon.co.za/

Different Skin Types, Different Treatments

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 05:04:00 +0000

At Beauty College, I was taught that skin types can be classified as normal, dry, oily, combination, mature and sensitive. Skin types are seen as intrinsic factors that we are born with and these cannot change during our life time. Skin conditions are classified as dehydrated, acne, allergic, seborrhoeic and oedematous. Skin conditions are seen as temporary problems that we experience at any given time due to factors such as environment, diet, stress, hormonal imbalances, etc.

We were also taught that when you analyse a client’s skin you need to hold up a mirror, point out and tell her absolutely everything that was wrong with her skin. Imagine me sitting there and showing her every spot, pimple, wrinkle, freckle, dry patch, red patch, oily patch and every other patch you can think of. I never do this in my salon, as I am quite sure that this would end up in disaster.

Various beauty products

In various training manuals and beauty books, that I bought and read since then to try and make sense of this varied and complex subject, the classification of skin types differ depending on the author’s believes, training and experience. According to Florence Barrett-Hill in her book “Advanced Skin Analysis” only three basic skin types exist: Permanent Diffused Redness, Lipid Dry and Lipid Oily.

What I now rely on, in conjunction with my very long and detailed questionnaire, when analysing a client’s skin, is to ask her how she experiences her skin and what her concerns and expectations are. Listening to her and taking it all into consideration, is as important as all my skin analysing techniques and training.

Here are short descriptions of the different skin types as used in most salons and these are terms that the clients are most used to and familiar with:

Normal skin: This is the ideal skin type and you should thank you stars, your mother, father and their forbearers for gifting you with these genes. It is fine and even textured, firm, supple and has a good balance of moisture and oil secretions. The skin looks clear, without any impurities or blemishes and slightly warm to the touch. Pale skins will be pink in colour, and darker skins will have a mauve hue.

Vitaderm has an Introduction Kit for every skin type

Dry skin: This skin type is caused by too little oil secreted by the skin. It has a very fine texture with no visible pores and may have a thin, almost transparent look. It will often feel tight and slightly hot and is prone to early, very fine lines and expression wrinkles. It is often sensitive to cold and wind, air conditioning and needs lots and lost of moisture/ oil combination creams.

Oily Skin: This skin type is caused by too much oil secreted by the skin. The skin texture may look shiny and uneven, having large pores with black heads (comedones) or even pastules (inflamed spots). It is difficult too keep clean but also very important not to over clean and dry out the skin. The good news is that oily skin tends to age slower because the sebum (oil) naturally prevents water loss.

Essel Range of Products.

Please contact the salon for prices

Combination skin: This type of skin has both oily and dry patches. The oily part usually forms a “T” zone across the forehead and down the nose and chin. There may be enlarged pores over the oily part but the rest of the face and neck will be dry or normal.

Phytomer CityLife for environmental stressed skin.

Mature skin: This, to me is not a skin type but a skin condition as we were not born with mature skin but this (as we all surely know) develops slowly over time as we grow older. I will
describe the ageing process in another blog post.

TheraVine™ Products

Sensitive/ allergic skin: There is still a bit of debate going an about the difference between these two. However, I have always been able to contribute this problem to the use of incorrect products and it always disappears when the client uses the correct home-care products! It is usually dry with fine pores and may have red patches over the cheeks and nose. It may react to heat, cold, pressure, irritation or nervous conditions. It often responds to an allergic stimulus.

The quick route to do-it-yourself analysis:

In his book “Facelift at your fingertips”, Pierre Jean Cousin, analysed skin as follows:

Clean your skin with warm water and cotton wool balls.
Dry lightly with a towel and wait 30 minutes.
Cover you face with one layer of paper tissue, press lightly and leave for about one minute.
Remove and examine it.

Results:
Oily stains over most of the tissue: your skin type is oily
Oily patches at side of nose, around mouth and forehead: Your skin type is combination
Faint oily traces over most of the tissue: your skin type is normalNo oily traces: your skin type is dry

Although this is far simpler than we were taught, and my lecturers will surely miss a few heartbeats by me mentioning this, it is a good start for those who need to know their skin type and can’t be bothered with lengthy and sometimes costly salon skin analysis.

Please keep in mind that when you have a skin problem like acne, very sensitive, allergic or pigmented skin, rather consult a good beautician to guide you about the care and the correct take-home products that will treat the problem and keep your skin in excellent condition.

Whatever you skin type and condition, please treat your skin gently and remember: no tanning allowed!

For a consultation contact me at gerda@ agbeautysalon.co.za, or for more information visit our website at http://www.agbeautysalon.co.za/ .

Thanks to the following authors for their hard work in writing the books that helped me to be a better skin analyst:
Florence Barrett-Hill, Advanced Skin Analysis, Virtual Beauty Corporation Ltd, 2004
Pierre Jean Cousin, Facelift at your fingertips, Quadrille Publishing Limited, 1999
Ann Hagman, Aesthetics for the Therapist, Stanley Thornes ( Publishers) Ltd 1991
William Arnould-Taylor, Physical Therapy, Stanley Thornes ( Publishers) Ltd 1997

Get your Bikini Body Now with NuContour Diamond Pro!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 11:08:00 +0000

NuContour Diamond Pro-Contour your dreams.

This treatment can be used in conjunction with Lipogon Lipolysis Mesotherapy.
Suitable for men and women.

This is a mesotherapy lipolysis product that enables the breakdown of fat and helps with skin firming. It is an innovative, gentle non-surgical method to target specific regions of the body, improving the effect of diet and exercise.

The science behind NuContour Diamond Pro

A mixture of Phosphatidylcholine (PPC), a component of Soy Lecithin and Deoxycholate (DC), in powerful combination with L-Carnitine and Orthosilicic Acid for the most effective treatment of the problem areas of your body.

The NuContour Diamond Pro difference comes into play due to the fact that L-Carnitine may increase the fat burning capacity of the body and Orthosilicic Acid stimulates the production of collagen and elastin, leading to firmer and smoother skin, the repair of scar tissue and the improvement of the appearance of stretch marks.

It is necessary to emphasise that this procedure is not an alternative to a healthy diet or exercise, but helps to target areas not easily aﬀected by regular exercise and dieting.

Who is eligible for Nu-Contour Diamond Pro Treatments?

Anyone with excess skin after pregnancy of weight loss.

Anyone who wants to improve the appearance of stretch marks.

Who should not use it?

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding

Anyone who is allergic to soy

Anyone who has medical histories of;

Stroke, cancer, blood clotting, heart disease.

How long does the treatment take?

The initial consultation takes about 30 minutes, followed by the administration of the mesotherapy treatment.

How often should one have it administered?

4-6 sessions in the salon every 3-4 weeks.

For maintenance we recommend one session every 4-6 months.

Which areas can be treated?

What is the cost per injection?

It is R120 per injection.

What makes NuContour Diamond Pro different to ordinary Lipolysis?

The exceptional mixture of ingredients could contribute to the reduction of fatty deposits and may also improve skin firmness. With our optional NuContour Diamond Pro Homecare Kit, perfect results should be achieved with a once weekly treatment at home on its own, or faster results may be obtained in combination with a once monthly salon treatment.

Ingredients:

Note: We, at NuContour, believe that these ingredients may have the following beneficial abilities. We are not making any medical claim.

NuContour Diamond Pro is made up of:

Phosphatidylcholine (PPC)- It may have the following beneficial abilities:

To thin the membranes of the fat cells in the treated zone, dissolving the fats and toxins.

Making the membrane permeable

Leading to the outpouring if the dissolved contents into the interstitial fluid surrounding the fat cells.

Deoxycholate (DC) saline:

Keeps the PPC in a soluble state

L-Carnitene- It may have the following beneficial abilities:

Increased fat metabolism

Increased fat burning

Pure Orthosilicic Acid: It may have the following beneficial abilities:

With its anti-oxidant effects it fights premature ageing

Stimulates the formation and up-keep of elastin and collagen fibres.

Firms and strengthens the skin.

Enables the breakdown and removal of fat without disturbing cell metabolism.

It stimulates and improves micro-circulation.

In-salon administration- NO NEEDLES

Non-Invasive Mesotherapy with the Inojex 30

Virtually painless

No scar tissue or nodules which can be experienced with needles

Without risk of injury or infections from needle injuries

Fast, easy and safe

Eliminates cross-contamination

People who are committed to a healthy lifestyle of regular exercise and a balanced diet should experience long term improvement.

After Care

No strenuous exercise for 72 hours after the treatment.

Avoid extremely hot showers and baths for 12 hours after the treatment.

No sun bed session for 72 hours after the treatment.

Drink 2-3 litres of water daily

Take Lipogon Tincture twice per day

Use Lipogon Liniment an all major lymph nodes daily

Use Nu-Contour Diamond Metaboost once a week at home

Take NuContour Diamond Metatone twice per day

NuContour Diamond MetaBoost Retail Kit

At home care

Take control of your body contouring needs in the privacy of your own home.

Includes;

Bag with 1mm Dermo Roller and 10ml NuContour Diamond Metaboost

Not a certified medical product.

Additional Retail Products to enhance the effects of the Nu-Contour OR Lipogon Mesotherapy Treatments.

NuContour Diamond Metatone

May enhance metabolism.

Diamond Metatone Capsules

NuContour believes that these ingredients may have the following beneficial abilities. We are not making any medical claims.

Due to modern day stresses the natural weight loss hormone of the body (cortisol) is increased and results in the storage of excess fat.

The following ingredients mat help to reactivate the metabolic system to ensure fast slimming results.

Ingredients: Guarana, Citrus Aurantium, Yerba Mate, Alpha Lipoic Acid, L-Tyrosine, Vit B1(thiamine HCL), Vit B6 (pyridoxine) Green tea, Willowbark White Bark, cayenne Pepper, Ginger Root, Chronium Picolinate, Vanaduim ACC, Dandelion Root.

Recommended dosage: Take 1 capsule twice daily after meals.

For best results use together with NuContour Diamond Pro or NuContour Diamond Metaboost treatments.

Please read about all the other treatments and products that are in the Lipogon Range or contact me at gerda@agbeautysalon.co.za or on 082 398 9817 for more information.

Stretch Marks- one of the most frustrating skin care issues-Essel HumanKind CelluStretch Serum

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 10:21:00 +0000

What is stretch marks?

Enjoy the beach

Stretch marks (striae) are a form of scarring (indented streaks) that often appear on the abdomen, breasts, hips, buttocks and thighs.

Stretch marks occur when skin is abnormally stretched and expanded for a period of time. Commonly it happens during pregnancy, weight loss or weight gain, or during periods or rapid growth in teenagers.

How is it formed?

Stretch marks are formed from the inside out rather than scarring that forms on the outside after an external skin injury.

Recent findings have shown that the initial stage in stretch mark formation is primarily an inflammatory process and at that stage it is still invisible on the surface of the skin. The inflammation then triggers the mast cells to degranulate, which damages the elastin and collagen fibres in the skin. This results in the thinning of the outer skin, which then leads to atrophy of the skin. It then appears as indented streaks or lines in the skin than can be pink, red, black, blue or purple streaks.

The following factors can accelerate the problem:
· The excessive use of topical or systemic glucocorticoid drugs (steroids),
· Cushing's disease (overproduction of glucocorticoids by the adrenal gland),
· Marfan's syndrome
· Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
·
It is estimated that 90% of women who are or have been pregnant, 70% of adolescent females and 40% of adolescent males, have stretch marks!

Stretch marks rarely are a sign of a significant medical problem and are generally painless.

How does one treat it?

Since damaged collagen fibres are at the root of this problem, it stands to reason that any treatment option should include a way of stimulating new collagen fibre growth. One of the easiest and cost effective treatments is Collagen Induction Therapy.

Collagen Induction Therapy has the incredible power to naturally stimulate elastin and collagen production in the top layers of the skin and is an almost side-effect free concept for skin (facial and non-facial) rejuvenation. It can be used by men or women of all ages and is used to improve stretch marks, the signs of aging, acne scars, surgical scars, pigmentation, lines and wrinkles. Used in conjunction with an excellent Anti-Stretch Mark Cream it will lessen the visibility and size of the scars.

Essel HumanKind Cellu-Stretch Serum R560 for 200ml

This anti-stretch mark serum has been formulated to suit all skin types, and is SAFE during pregnancy! It not only helps to reduce the appearance of stretch marks, but may also prevents them from appearing on the skin.

HumanKind CelluStretch serum helps reduce stretch marks and prevents them from appearing on the skin.
200ml

Description
CelluStretch combines an exclusive ingredient Dermastril™ which consist from:
• A green bean extract (Phaseolus lunatus) inhibits cutaneous degradation and repairs a damaged extracellular matrix, antagonizes the enzymes trypsin and chymotrypsin.
• Rutin –bioflavonoid, that is found in certain fruits and vegetables, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, antagonize elastase and stabilize mast cells.
• Bio-peptides in the serum stimulate the neosynthesis of the extracellular matrix.
• An enzymatic exfoliant based on a protease obtained by fermentation helps to promote skin renewal.
• Vitamin A (Retinyl Palmitate) speeds skin renewal and repair the tissue.
• Allantoin has soothing, anti-inflammatory effect.
• Ethoxydiglycol is a trans-epidermal penetration enhancer of actives to ensure their high efficacy.

Essel Anti-Stretch Mark CIT Treatment

The treatment consists of 1 CIT Treatment plus application of Essel Cellu-Stretch Serum

1 Treatment R550

3-Month Essel Anti-Stretch Mark CIT Treatment R 2 210

You pay for 3 x CIT treatments plus a 1x 200ml Essel Human Kind CelluStretch Serum for home use. You get 1 x AHA Intensive Exfoliations on the affected areas to the value of R300 FREE.

6-Month Essel Anti-Stretch Mark CIT Treatment R 3 860

You pay for 6 x CIT treatments plus a 1x 200ml Essel Human Kind CelluStretch Serum for home use. You get 2 x AHA Intensive Exfoliations on the affected areas to the value of R600 FREE.

Sensitive skin-the good news!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 May 2016 10:59:00 +0000

If you describe your skin as sensitive, whatever the reasons may be, do not despair! We have a product range that will assist you in getting rid of the redness, the patchy spots, the itching and burning.

What is sensitive skin, exactly? Although there is no dermatological definition for sensitive skin, the term is used to describe the skin condition of people who easily break out in rashes and get blotchy, itchy, or stinging sensations.

Our skin is a wonderful organ that protects our bodies from the outside elements, but in order to do so, it needs to be kept healthy, moisturised and oiled. However in our daily lives our skin is exposed to various conditions and products that affect the healthy barrier that makes our skins happy.

Once our skin’s natural protective barrier is damaged and compromised, it warns us by breaking out in rashes, itching, redness, swelling and pain. Finding out exactly what is causing the “skin freak-out” can be very difficult and a large number of conditions, beauty and/or cleaning products can be the culprit.

A compromised skin condition usually refers to damage of the outer epidermis due mechanical (physical) injury to the skin.

A client with a truly sensitive skin is someone who genetically has been predisposed to sensitivity. By this we refer to an easily stimulated, irritated, thin and translucent skin.

A sensitised or reactive skin is not necessarily a sensitive skin. Sensitised skin usually has its origin in an overexposure to a chemical product, for example a chemical peel, etc.

What causes these skin conditions?

Medication and medical treatments-sensitised
Chemotherapy-sensitised
Cancer radiation-compromised
Cholesterol medication-leads to reduced oil production-sensitised
Diseases like diabetes-sensitised/compromised
Over-exposure to chemicals-sensitised
Nutritional deficiency-sensitised/compromised
Stress-sensitised

If the skin is then already compromised, the choice of skin care products becomes problematic and it is difficult to find a skin care range that will not aggravate the problem

The good news…
Wesson Therapeutics (the manufacturers of Vitaderm) has launched a range specifically formulated for sensitive, reactive and compromised skin.

The Wesson Therapeutics Range of products is ideal for treating all these conditions:
• It has an instant soothing effect
• The formulations have been screened for all known irritants including colourants and fragrances
• It contains specific botanicals to soothe-the main active ingredient is Cotton Seed Extract which promotes skin healing
• Ideal for Roacutane users.

The Retail Range consists of the following products:

Product ml Retail Price
Emollient Gel Wash 100 119
Calming Facial Mist 100 123
Repair Serum 30 280
Recovery Cream 50 270
Squalane Complex 30 260
Micro Exfoliant 50 180
Hydrating Gel Mask 50 240
Sunscreen SPF30 50 103
Multi-purpose Cream 100 115
Multi-purpose Cream 100 115
Ozone Balm 15 135
Soap Bar 150gm 43

Wesson Sensitive Facial Treatment 60 minutes R 400
This treatment offers the ultimate care for sensitive, re-active and sensitised skin conditions. Containing Cotton Seed Extract, this treatment will promote skin healing and also has an anti-inflammatory effect. It will calm and sooth dehydrated and very dry skin. It is an ideal treatment for Roacutane users as it will not sensitise the skin .

Prices correct as at 1 May 2016

Please contact me at agb111@mweb.co.za

or 082 398 9817 for more information.
Please also visit our website at: http://agbeautysalon.co.za

Hyper-pigmentation, a 3-step treatment success

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 06:20:00 +0000

Autumn is the perfect time of year to give serious attention to hyper-pigmentation as the sun’s power is on the wane and the UV radiation weakens. The sunlight hours are also getting shorter and this all helps to make the treatment of all pigmentation problems so much easier.

All skin types are effected by hyper-pigmentation

Pigmentation is a pesky problem that normally has its origin in overexposure to the sun, hormonal imbalances or some medical conditions. I am not going to go into all the medical reasons for pigmentation, but will concentrate on sun exposure and hormonal issues.

This is the short version of how our cells react to sun exposure:
Skin colour is determined by the amount, distribution and type of melanin. Melanin is the dark pigment that one’s skin produces, in the melanocytes, that shows up as a “tan.” The “tan” that so many of us desire, is a result of a chain reaction that occurs to protect our skin from the harmful UV damage by forming a protective layer over the chromosomes in the cell and therefor protects the cells’ DNA.

The longer version is a bit more, well longer, and involves explaining all the chemical processes, enzymes, proteins, amino acids, hormones and much more that are involved in the chain reactions that form pigmentation.

I always refer to a tan as a CRY-OUT for help from our skins to “please stop the damage and get out of the sun!”

How do we tackle this complex problem?
Before starting an anti-pigmentation treatment course, one has to accept that it will take time, patience, determination and above all an understanding that one’s skin does not react overnight to any treatment protocol, no matter which product range one uses.

The best way to treat hyper-pigmentation is a 3-Step approach that:
1. Treats and corrects most of the causes of pigmentation- removes and minimises visible pigmentation
2. Restores the damage to the skin-hydration and strethening the skin
3. Protect the skin from future damage-anti-oxidant care and UV Protection

“A time has come where a scientifically advanced, cosmeceutical skin care brand such as TheraVine™ produces innovative skin care products formulated to address skin concerns related to pigmentation while promoting luminous, even skin tone and effective controlling hyperpigmentation caused by the natural ageing process, sun damage, excessive UV exposure and hormonal imbalances”-Lisa Smith, creator and CEO of L.S.Enterprises.

The TheraVine™ MelanoVine™ range addresses hyperpigmentation by making use of 2 cutting edge melanosome inhibiting peptides, a combination of 5 active ingredients comprised of Advanced Hydrating Systems and Anti-Oxidant Phyto-Chemistry as well as the nano-encapsulation technology of a revolutionary bilayer liposome leaving the complexion brighter, younger and more uniform.

The TheraVine™ MelanoVine™ range consists of the following products:

MELANOVINE™ BRIGHTENING MILK CLEANSER 250ml R 331.00
MELANOVINE™ BRIGHTENING CONDITIONER 250ml R 311.00
MELANOVINE™ SOLUTION+ CONCENTRATE 30ml R 595.00
MELANOVINE™ BRIGHTENING C+ DAY PROTECTION 50ml R 564.00
MELANOVINE™ RECOVERY+ NIGHT TREATMENT 50ml R 585.00
MELANOVINE™ BRIGHTENING C+ DAILY MATTIFIER 50ml R 574.00

MelanoVine™ Brightening C+ Daily Mattifier Treatment Cream

MELANOVINE PRO-BRILLIANCE BRIGHTENING FACIAL 30 min
Normally R500 Now only R350 until end of May 2016

Combining advanced technology with the latest skin brightening research advances delivered a unique facial treatment using specialised skin care techniques to provide effective and visible brightening results.

Ideal for a dull, devitalised skin with discolouration concerns, this treatment is specifically aimed at diminishing uneven skin tone while also minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Targeting hyperpigmentation at various levels with scientifically advanced actives and natural lightening plant extracts, this treatment will aid in a rehydrated complexion, leaving your skin
looking luminous and feeling radiant.
Prices correct as at 19.4.2016

For more information or to book a consultation, please call Gerda on 0823989817 or contact us agb111@mweb.co.za

The Ultimate Skin Rejuvenating Treatment with Vitaderm

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 05:37:00 +0000

The new Collagen Induction Pen is taking the skin care industry by storm. This revolutionary anti-aging device makes use of fine, disposable micro-needles to penetrate the skin’ surface, stimulating the elastin and collagen production in the top layers of the skin. It is a simple, minimally invasive, virtually side-effect free concept for skin (facial and non-facial) rejuvenation. The result is firmer, younger looking skin.

Special Offer for March and April 2016:

Normal cost of a Collagen Induction Therapy Treatment R650 -R1500

Special Offer Price R350 ONLY!

CIT (Collagen Induction Therapy) can be used by men and women and may be used to improve the following:

• Fine lines
• Large pores
• Acne scars,
• Surgical scars
• Pigmentation
• Wrinkles
• Stretch marks
• To even out skin texture
• To even out skin colour
• To firm loose body and facial skin.

How does it work?
The micro pen uses very fine needles to pin-prick the skin’s surface sufficiently enough to stimulate collagen and elastin production. Resulting micro-channels also aid in absorbing therapeutic serums for greater penetration and increasing overall efficacy.

Clinical studies from Europe, U.S. and South Korea have proven that serum absorption is increased by as much as 1,000 times when applied after CIT. Clinical studies have also shown that treatment with CIT is more consistent in increasing the thickness of the skin than IPL and other resurfacing treatments.

Key Points
• There are no known negative side-effects
• Extremely high absorption of skin care products
• It can be used on thin skin
• It can be used on face, neck and body
• Realignment of old collagen bundles
• Complete preservation of the epidermis during the procedure
• No permanent damage to the skin, little or no pain during procedure
• No or pin-point bleeding bleeding, infection, discoloration or other complications on the treated area
• This type of needling can be done on people who have had laser resurfacing
• Can be used on areas of the skin where laser resurfacing cannot reach
• Only 12-24 hours healing period, no down-time needed.

You can expect the following to happen:
• Fine lines and wrinkles are softened
• Skin is thickened, tightened and elasticity restored
• Acne scarring and minor scarring is reduced
• Pigmentation marks are lightened
• Stretch marks are improved
• The disappearance of dilated blood vessels is encouraged

FAQ’s
Q: How is the treatment administered?
A: The CIT treatment usually last 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the area being treated. The skin is cleansed and a topical numbing agent is applied. After 20 minutes the numbing cream is removed and a gliding gel is applied. A new, sterile needle is used in the pen to treat the area. Thereafter an anti-inflammatory gel is applied followed by the correct aftercare. The client will receive homecare instructions as well.

Q: Will there be a difference after one CIT treatment?
A: Yes. The first treatment will show some improvement, however each client’s skin will react differently. Treatment effects are cumulative and a softening of fine lines and wrinkles will usually be seen within 2-3 weeks of each treatment.New collagen fibers can take up to 90 days to mature, so optimal results from any one treatment might only be seen after 2-3 months.

Q: When should one start micro needling to prevent ageing?
A: The best time to start is at 30 years for prevention of ageing, as the skin still has a great ability to rejuvenate. If the skin shows loss of elasticity earlier, the sooner one starts the better.

Q: Can all skin types be treated?
A: Yes. Micro needling can be safely performed on all skin colours and types. There is no risk of post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation, since the epidermis remains intact.

Q: What conditions/ problems cannot be treated?
A: CIT cannot be done on any of the following conditions:
• Active inflammatory condition including active acne, cold sores etc.
• Chronic skin disorders
• Blood clotting disorders
• Moles or warts
• Sever Solar Keratosis
• Poor healing conditions such as diabetics

Please contact us at:
Cell: 0823989817
Website: agbeautysalon.co.za
Email: agb111@mweb.co.za