Get comfy, put your feet in the bath, and relax for about 15 minutes. Read a book, or just close your eyes and enjoy your senses.
Archive for January, 2006
If you have polish on, remove it. If you are wearing polish on your nails, this can be a trick. Nail Techs are taught to put your chosen polish remover pads between your knuckles and scrub the polish off that way, but I prefer to put on some rubber gloves and do it. Also, you can dampen 10 pads and lay one on each toe for a minute, then go back and remove the polish much easier.
If your feet are really dirty, stand in your bathtub and wash them off a little first, just so your pedicure bath can stay luxurious and not get nasty too quickly.
In either a large enough bowl for your feet, or an electric pedicure unit, put some nicely scented liquid soap, maybe a drop of two of essential oil, and even some flower petals, if you happen to have some around. Light a candle or two. Fill the tub up with nice warm water, as warm as you can stand it. I have a pedicure tub that cost around $35, and has a heater in it that will maintain the heat of the water. That is a VERY nice feature to have. Gather all of your pedicure supplies, and don’t forget several towels, as your feet will be going in and out of the water several times.
Pedicure bath available at The Sharper Image: Portable “No Spill” Massaging Foot Spa with Jet-Action Bubbles, Vibration & Heat (CA843).
[Ed. note - we are moving right on to the Spa Pedicure this week due to the news from Dallas that I reported yesterday about people being infected by Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria from pedicure baths. I hope you will forgive me if I stress cleanliness so much here, but this bacteria is very, very dangerous and life threatening. Please take the time and make the effort to do your own pedicures, or ensure that the work area is very clean if you must go to a salon.]
Ok, on to the intro:
The Basic Spa Pedicure is very similar to the Spa Manicure, except, naturally, it is performed on the feet. Something special to
remember about manicuring your toes is that you do not need a topcoat on toes. Just your basic basecoat, and two coats of color is all you need, as your toes do not go through the abuse that your nails do. The added thickness of the topcoat on your toes can even encourage them to chip under the pressure of wearing shoes all day. So just skip the topcoat, but be sure and allow your toes plenty of time to dry completely before you put shoes/socks/stockings on, preferably overnight!
So, lets get started!
Wrap your hands up in a towel to retain the heat for as long as possible, sit back and relax for 15-30 minutes (or as long as you feel like sitting there—the longer the better). When you are ready, just remove the plastic, the paraffin will probably slip right off with it, and throw the whole thing away. Do NOT reuse the paraffin that was on your hands, no matter how tempting it may be—it will be dirty, full of skin cells, bacteria and microbes that LOVE to breed in warmth, and your paraffin pot will be full of nasty bacteria the next time you want to use it.
Now if you want to finish your Spa Manicure, go back up to Step 6 of the Spa Manicure. If you are finished with your hand treatment, you may wash your hands to remove any residual oils and get on with your day!
22
Jan
Scary Salon Pedicures
I ran across this article over the weekend:
From Dallas, WFAA.com:
Hall is among several women who confirmed to News 8 that after they got pedicures in whirlpool foot spas at Beverly Hills Nails, skin infections broke out on their legs.
Dallas County Health and Human Services confirmed there is a complaint against the salon.
Beverly Hills Nails manager Victoria Tran said state regulators came in and took water samples for tests that are not yet back. “But we’re not 100 percent sure that it’s from unsanitary of the whirlpool, or if it’s caused by something that they have done or happened before,” Tran said.
An aggressive bacteria can grow quickly in water if a whirlpool foot spa is not cleaned frequently.
The bug enters the skin through shaving cuts or abrasions. The infection leads to painful lesions that can last for months and leave scars.
Doctors call the drug resistant staph bacteria MRSA—methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus.
As a nail tech, I can tell you that I am 99.99% sure it IS due to the pedicure units. You can read more about my thoughts at eBeautyDaily if you are interested. This is one huge reason that I have written all of these techniques down for you to learn. MRSA is not a bacteria to fool around with - take it from one who knows. My husband nearly died from MRSA a year ago, after a shave. Go read that article and look at the picture of what MRSA can do to you. It is too disgusting to show here. And that is if you are lucky.
I’ll finish up the paraffin section tomorrow, then we will get straight in to how to do your own pedicures. Good stuff!
Dip Method
If your paraffin appliance is big enough, AND IT DOESN’T GET TOO HOT, you can dip your hands in the paraffin. One hand at a time, dip slowly into the paraffin, making SURE it is not too hot. Once your hand is in, down to just past your wrist, pull it out and hold it above the paraffin appliance and let it drip for about 20 seconds, or until it is completely finished dripping, and the paraffin loses its shine. Hold your hand and fingers very still while you are doing this so that the paraffin does not crack.
Repeat this process 3-5 times, until you have a nice thick coating of paraffin on your hand (approximately ¼ inch). If you do not let it dry long enough between coats, it will melt back off of your hand with each dip, and you won’t be able to get a thick coat. If you have trouble getting your coating thick enough, wait longer between dips. Place your paraffin coated hand on the center of one of the sheets of plastic wrap, and with your other hand fold the sheet over to the top of your hand, enclosing the paraffin in the plastic wrap.
Paint-On Method
Now, if your appliance is very small, you will use your paint brush to paint the paraffin onto your hand. This works just as well, although it can be a little messy and it does take a bit more time. This also works if the appliance you are using heats the paraffin a little too much to be comfortable dipping your hand into it. Hold your hand over your warmed paraffin, and dip your brush into the paraffin and paint it onto your hand. Don’t miss any spots. Let the paraffin firm up a bit between coats, and apply several coats, until it is nice and thick on your hand. Now put that hand on the plastic wrap, and with your free hand wrap the plastic around it, to enclose the paraffin.
Whichever method you have chosen to apply your paraffin, one hand is completed. To get paraffin on your other hand, you are going to do the same thing, but you are going to have to either use the hand that already has paraffin on it to hold the brush, or get a helping hand to assist, or if you are not pressed for all, you can do one hand at a time. I have done it many, many times with my paraffined hand, and it works just fine, although your paraffin will crack up a little bit. Work quickly, because once the paraffin cools, it will crack much more and potentially fall off of your working hand.
If you have just done your Spa Manicure, or your facial for the hands, your hands are covered in a nice lotion or moisturizer. If not, then do this right now. Use lots of lotion, rub it in, and add more if it soaks in. Massage your hands until they will not absorb any more, add some more–then you are ready for the paraffin. Your hands will be nice and goopy at this point!
My paraffin instructions are geared towards the DIYer, but there are now lots of options for you to buy a paraffin unit for home use. The one pictured above is the HoMedics ParaSpa Mini Paraffin Bath, with Adjustable Temperature Control PAR100, available at Drugstore.com. You can also easily purchase the HoMedics ParaSpa Paraffin Wax Refills
as well.
Paraffin Treatment, Spa Treatments, Supplies, Tools and ImplementsPut a nice large towel or some newspaper down to cover your workspace. Paraffin doesn’t damage things too much, but it is a pain to scrape off the inevitable droplets. Using whatever appliance you have chosen to warm your paraffin, turn it on, and make sure it is on the lowest setting. Add your block of paraffin if it is not already in there. If you are using a very small crock pot or potpourri warmer, one or two blocks of paraffin should do, but keep in mind, the less paraffin that is in there, the warmer it is going to get. I find it much better to keep the warmer nearly full, adding more when I am finished with my treatment. I have a dedicated crock pot for my paraffin, so it stays in there all of the time, but you can always slip it out after it has hardened (let the paraffin totally harden, then turn it back on for a minute or two, then slip out the block of paraffin), wash your crock pot, and use it for its regular use. Add some oil to your paraffin, but not too much. A ratio of no more
than 1:10 (oil to paraffin) is good. Also add a few drops of your preferred essential oil-again my preference is lavender, but use whatever you like, making sure it is safe to use on your skin. Allow at least a half hour for your paraffin to melt, you will have to determine this by experience. I turn mine on at the beginning of my Spa Manicure, and it is about ready when I am ready to use it. Pull out 2 sheets of plastic wrap, about 2 feet long apiece, and set them to the side.
Once again, a paraffin treatment ideally should be done at Step 5 of the Spa Manicure, but it can be done as a stand alone treatment anytime. Better to do it alone than to not do it at all. Also this can be done at the end of the Facial for the Hands, instead of using the heating pad or mitts, to allow your moisturizers to completely penetrate. Your hands will be left a little oilier after the paraffin than they will be after using the mitts, so keep that in mind when planning your activities after your Spa Manicuring.
If you wish to continue on with your manicure at this point, go on back to Step 6 of the Spa Manicure for instructions. If you are just giving yourself a treatment, then you are finished, let the moisturizers soak in all the way (don’t wash them off) before you get into anything with your hands.
As if you don’t feel like you have enough cream on your hands already, it is time to add some more! A moisturizer is important to combat dryness, which contributes to the “crepe-y” look of older skin. Once again, I use two, the first of which is a Vitamin C cream, and the second is just a good intensive moisturizer. The vitamin C acts as a carrier, bringing the moisturizer into your cells deeper and more effectively. Massage into your hands deeply, and use plenty of product. A good idea here is to get out your heating pad or your heated mitts (or even your paraffin!) and wrap your hands in plastic wrap and put them in the heat. This will open your pores and allow them to really soak up the moisturizer deeply. Let this treatment work for about 15-20 minutes.
Another side note: I have relatively sensitive skin, and being in Texas with all of the heat, I am prone to getting clogged pores. As a result of this, I have a drawer full of good quality, unused moisturizers. Your hands are a fantastic place to use these items that you cannot use on your face for whatever reason.
At this point, you are going to smooth a firming cream or serum on your hands, wrists and fingers. I personally use 2 different products on my face (and hands when I do this treatment), the first is a rejuvenating serum, which is purported to cause your cells to become active and reproduce quicker, and with more elasticity, which will hopefully lead to less sagginess and wrinkling. The second is a wrinkle reducing serum, which is applied just after the rejuvenating serum. I also have a serum that is supposed to be a cancer preventative that I sometimes add on top of these two. Use what you have, but be sure you have something to use.
11
Jan
Wrinkle Creams
Side note: My best girlfriend is a couple of years older than me, and when I was 18, she had already discovered “wrinkle cream,” and introduced me to it. I have used it ever since, and I truly believe that is why I am considerably less wrinkled than other people I know who are my age and have never taken great care of their skin. I don’t care how old you are, it is never too early or too late to start taking care of your skin. You WILL see a difference!
Apply any (or all – one treatment at a time, please – if you are feeling like your skin needs some serious work!) of the facial treament products listed- just like you would do on your face. A thin coat of mask, peel, or dermabrasion cream is all you need, and you need only do this on the top side of your hand, as this is where your skin has been damaged (see the word AGED at the end of damaged?) by the sun. Wait the prescribed time (usually 10-15 minutes), then remove the
mask and/or peel. Use the electric brush that comes with the dermabrasion kit to scrub the dermabrasion cream if you have chosen this treatment. Rinse off mask/peel/cream, and move on to the next step of your Facial for the Hands.
Just like on your face, toner is used to minimize (tighten) your pores, bring your skin’s pH back to normal and prepare it for moisturizing treatments. Either pour a little into your palm and spread it lightly all over your hands and forearms OR you can keep some in a small spray bottle and lightly spray. Regardless of the method you use, just a very small amount of toner needs to be used.
As if your hands aren’t feeling clean enough already, you are now going to scrub them, and your forearms, vigorously with whatever exfoliant product you use on your face and/or body. Take your time, and spend extra time on your problem areas (callouses, elbows, tops of hands).
01
Jan
Nail Polishing Myths
I don’t want to get too incestuous here, but I just wrote a little ditty with a few rants about nail polishing myths I seem to hear over and over again. Check them out at eBeautyDaily: Nail Polish Myths!
