Take;

 1 peach, peel, de-stone  and slice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp honey

Heat peach and honey over a low flame till peach is soft, then mix in olive oil and mash into a plup.

Spread over area of skin that has become dry and leave for 20 minutes.

If using as a face mask leave for 30 minutes.

If using for hands put on gloves to keep warmtn in.

Hi yes winter is here even though there wasn`t much of a summer don`t throw away your left over sun screen use it after you`ve put on your moisteriser it will protect your skin from the uva rays that you get through the winter. Looking after your skin in the winter months is more inportant than any other time in the year, as the wind, rain and cold do a lot of damage and if you care for it now by the summer time when you start to uncover your body your skin will be in tip top condition. Why not try some of my skin recipes on this blog you will find the are great for the skin and heres a quick fix mask which is great for any part of the body. Take the flesh of an avocado, dessert spoon of olive oil and a dessert spoon of pure honey, mix throughly and apply, leave on for 20 minutes and wash of.

Also if you are anyway near Kilmallock, county limerick, Ireland on the 6th of Novrmber why not pop into Mary at Counrty Blossoms Florist, and see her extensive range of Yankee candles with 10% off. Also she is an amazing florist and makes the most beautiful arrangements for any occation solook her up.

Thats it for now Joybell xxx

Hi, just a quick note for you today on detoxing, it’s like spring cleaning for the body.

Detoxing

Why detox, the build up of toxins in the body from our diet, environment and way of life can leave us feeling lifeless, bloated and unable to get a good nights sleep so clearing the body of these toxins can make all the difference to our well being.

Here are a few tips

Leave out nicotine, caffeine and alcohol

Drink plenty of water

Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables

Drink one cup of dandelion and burdock tea a day for the kidneys and one cup of milk thistle tea for the liver

Lemons, cabbage and fennel are great for cleansing the liver and kidneys and for cellulite

Try this for one day and no more than four days, slight headaches are normal for a day or two when detoxing

Why not try body brushing while you detox its great for blood circulation and cellulite. Start at the feet and with small upward strokes work towards the heart, this should be done in the morning before you shower. Then why not try one of my body mask in my beauty tip section to leave your skin feeling ready for the new season.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I get fed up with the picture perfect models they use in adverts for skin products in magazines and TV, the main problem being they are mostly young girls advertising anti-ageing creams or older models with good bone structure which is always a great advantage in the game of looking younger. Some of my customers are often sold on these creams by the models that are used and I am not talking unintelligent women here. I discovered this through talking in-depth with them and once I started to point out what pacific sort of model or celeb was used and the team they had to make them look good they started to see through the advert. So as self respecting women lets not get lost in the unreal world of magazines and TV remember they have professional people on hand to make them look the way they do, because believe me they look just as bad as we do in the morning. 

Lets start on improving what we’ve got as unless you’ve got the cash to go under the knife that’s all you can do. So where do we start,

1 Skin type; Normal usually for the very young. Combination usually a oily T zone and dry patches on cheeks. Oily usually shows as acne in the young but can appear in any age group with hormones being one of the causes. Dry skin usually found in mature skin cause through dehydration.

2  Cleansing; No matter what you use you should do your main cleanse at night not only to remove make up but the produce of your daily environment then a night cream for moisture, then in the morning a light cleansing and a moisturizer with at least a SPF15 for protection.             

3 Exfoliation; This should be performed twice a week it removes dead skin cells and helps with the blood circulation through the skin layers, make sure you use a fine scrub for the face and a more coarse one for the body.

4 Face mask; you should do this once a week if not for your skin then for your sanity, an hour taken out of your week for relaxation will improve your outward glow and a face mask at the same time will make you positively bloom and you’ll have great looking skin. Blog post 19/02/08

5 Moisturize; inwards as well as outwards, try and drink some water through the day, this will help re-hydration and plump the skin.

6 Diet; Its true you are what you eat, with the correct vitamin and mineral intake you can improve the skin a great deal. Blog post 23/02/08

7 Sleep; This is when the body repairs and rejuvenates its self so 6-8 hours a night is recommended.

8 Chemicals ; Read the ingredients that are in your creams, shampoo and bath products. These can build up over time are start to cause skin problems. Blog post 22/02/08

How to treat the skin from within.

You can put what ever you like on your skin and yes it will make some difference but if you’ve got a poor diet then it’s a waist of time. A healthy diet isn’t expensive or hard it’s just shopping different. Changing the items you put into your shopping trolley can not only save you in your purse but also a fortune in cosmetic goods so just give it a try. Diet plays an important role in healthy skin; it should be rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Your diet should consist of liberal quantities of seeds, nuts, vegetables ( try and steam or roast them but not boil) and fruit and special protective foods such as milk, yogurts, honey, yeast and vegetable oils. A supplement that I am a real fan of is Sona`s multiplus  but this should never replace a healthy diet.

Vitamins

Vitamin A and E, think dark green and deep orange fruit and vegetables such as apricots, carrots, peppers. Sweet potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, spinach etc.

B vitamins.

 B1 aids skin health by helping to keep circulation normal.

B2 or riboflavin deficiency can lead to brown spots, liver spots and oily skin.

B6 deficiency can result in dermatitis or eczema.

Brewers yeast either in powder form sprinkled over food or tablet form is a good source of B vitamins or you can get B complex vitamin tablets.

Vitamin C is great to help the body in the production of collagen.

Omega 3 can be sourced from oily fish or if you are not keen on fish you can get it from flax seed which you can sprinkle over your cereal or and to soups, stews and gravy.

Zinc, reduces the production of sebum (oil) in the skin so can help with acne.

 Aloe Vera plant. You might have guessed i am a hugh fan of this plant and  use it not only in the salon but for its healing properties as well, such as cuts,bruises and burns so here are a few things about the plant and how it works. As a succulent the gel in the Aloe Vera plant helps maintain a natural moisture balance. Your skin is covered in a natural waterproof film but aloe gel can penetrate the skin and take its healing and moisturizing effects deep into the skins layers.

 Try this little experiment, take 2 prunes cover one in mineral oil (baby oil) and the other in olive oil, sweet almond oil or Aloe Vera gel, you will see that the prune covered in mineral oil stays wrinkly and the other plumps up, the same happens to your skin

Chemicals to watch out for in your skin care products.

Here are some that you should watch out for in the ingredients in your skin creams, bath foams, bath powders, shampoos etc.

Sodium laurel sulfate (SLS); can cause contact eczema.

Mineral oil; a liquid mixture of hydrocarbon derived from petroleum, blocks pores and causes blackheads.

Petrolatum; another derivative of petroleum found petroleum jelly and paraffin jelly suffocates the pores.

Borax (sodium borax); despite many medical warnings this is still widely use in such things as baby powder, eye cream and skin fresheners as a preservative

Alcohol-isopropyl, SD alcohol 40, ethyl alcohol; This dissolves and strips the skins natural oil, PH balance and protection and speeds up the wrinkling process.

Parabens; a preservative chemical can cause allergic reaction and contact dermatitis.

Synthetic fragrance; a blanket term to hide quite dangerous chemical which can be quite toxic.

Propylene glycol; a petroleum by-product used to de-ice airplanes.

Methyl, Propyl, Butyl ,Ethyl parabens; a cheap perservative