Posts Tagged ‘foot care’

BEHIND BEAUTY: April Showers: Maximize Your Shower Routine!

April Showers Bring May Flowers. Some mornings, stumbling into the shower is less about feeling radiant and glowing, and more about trying to make sure I don’t smell funny before scrambling to catch the bus… Yet, with a good chunk of my morning dedicated to the skin on my face, why am I neglecting the rest of my body. Well, a couple of weeks ago, I vowed to really start focusing on improving and streamlining my shower routine. With a few quick tricks, I was able to optimize my shower time, and even cut it down from 20 minutes to 15! Here are the top 10 ways I managed to Maximize my shower:

1. Wash from Head to Toe.  Start with your hair and work your way to your toes. As you wash, the water carries dirt, excess oil down your body. By moving from top to toe, you keep the water flowing, ensuring your whole body receives optimal cleaning.

2. Choose your shampoo based on your hair needs- not the colour of the bottle. Oily hair needs a regulating shampoo, curly a sustaining & nourishing, coloured extra hydration and support.

3. Most hair only needs to be washed every other day, but the rest of us can’t always wait so long! Try a Principessa Doccia Me Satin Shower Cap shower cap to keep your tresses dry on non-wash days. Want to go a little longer? Add a touch of Joico Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo to refresh your locks.

4. Choose a shower gel or body wash that complements your skin type. This way, you can skip an intense scrub if you’re on the run. When using a body or shower gel, always use a pouf or loufa like this Principessa Shower Pouf. These happy balls of soft netting gently exfoliate as you scrub and help your gel lather into foamy joy. Our Favourite Shower essentials: Eminence Soy Blueberry Body Wash, Burt’s Bees Body Wash, Lacoste Love of Pink Shower Gel and Thalgo Thalgomen Wake-up Shower Gel. Soaps, Shower Gels, and Body Washes are a great way to help balance the pH of your skin. Make sure you choose one that complements your skin type and needs.

5. If you find yourself running out of time and skipping your exfoliation routine, try swapping out your body wash for one that has an exfoliating element. We love Yonka Phyto Gel Exfoliant: Exfoliating Foaming Shower Gel and Aqua Laure Shower Gel with Exfoliating Pearls. Prefer bar soap to gel? The same rule applies. Opt for an exfoliating soap, such as Aqua Laure Shower Brittany Algae Soap (125 g) or Phytomer Seaweed Soap.   

6. Time yourself. Between the warmth of the water and luscious scents, it’s easy to get lost in thought. Try setting a timer or creating a “Shower Playlist”.  Plan a 15 or 20 minute playlist with songs of predictable lengths. That way, when Nancy Sinatra Starts wailing how her ”boots are made for Walking” you know you only have 2 and a half minutes till you have to hop out.

7. Learn to Love Lukewarm Showers. As much fun as the hot, hot water can be- it’s highly damaging to the skin. You can dry out your skin, cause irritation, and accelerate the signs of aging.

8. Struggle to keep your feet smooth? Gently run a pumice stone over your your heels while showering.

9. Always save your shave until the end of your shower. By this point, the warmth from the water will have opened the follicle  allowing for a closer shave with less irritation. Run out of Shaving cream? Try using a dab of conditioner.

10. Moisturize as soon as you finish your shower. Excess oil has been removed, your pores are open and receptive. Immediately after a shower is the absolute best time to apply moisturizers and other creams is immediately after you shower. Choose a body lotion that will work with your skin.   Our top Body Lotions? Eminence Coconut Firming Body Lotion, Cellex-C Body Smoothing Lotion, Burt’s Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion and Sothys Thalassothys Hydra-Nourishing Body Lotion

As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

Friday Fun Day! Moving Day!

On Tuesday our Marketing Team and Accounting moved into our Exciting New Building! Today, we were joined by our lovely Customer Care & Warehouse Team! We’ve missed you guys! It’s exciting to have the Spa Boutique band back together!

Check out these Before / After photos of our new Customer Care Center:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As moving is always super stressful, our team tackled some of the most common Moving Day issues:

Tired Skin: It’s really important to cleanse off all of the grime from moving with a quality cleaner, like Eminence Stone Crop Gel Wash and to follow up with a nutrient heavy moisturizer. The vitamins in the Eminence Apricot Whip Moisturizer will help restore your skin to its natural glow.

Exhausted Eyes: A quick treatment with Vivescence FreshLift Highly Active Eye Contour Concentrate is an amazing pick me up for tired, move weary eyes.

Tired Feet: Try Gehwol Fusskraft Blue to relieve icky sweaty feet.  The SpaRitual Sole Mate Hydrating Foot Balm  is AMAZING when combined with a foot massage!

Sore Muscles: First, make sure you haven’t seriously sprained or pulled your muscles. After the adrenaline of Moving Day wears off, seemingly minor injuries can present themselves as much more serious. However, for the minor aches, a targeted treatment with Biofreeze Pain Relieving Tube can provide substantial relief. Followed by a bath with our Spa Boutique Signature Line: Lavender Epsom Salt Bath, you’re ensured complete relaxation.

Nail repair: To restore weakened nails, our most popular item is Trind Nail Repair. Soon you’ll be able to pop on some fantastic Nail art like these wicked weekend styles!

As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

Foot Care 411: Tips for taking care of your feet

Has your foot race taken a toll on your feet? With the warm weather here, many of us are training to complete another running marathon. I’m not a runner myself, but I’ve spoken to many runners who share similar problems after they’ve crossed the finish line.

Here are some tips from our professionally trained Esthetician, Shawna, to fix up those tired, aching feet after running a marathon.

• Use a professional foot file such as Danyco Foot File to remove built-up callus as well as smooth out dry, rough skin

• Use a callus softener before filing. I recommend Spa Ritual Let It Go Callus Remover

• If you have any fluid-filled blisters you may create a small hole to allow the fluid to drain

• Allow blisters to fully heal before using the foot file over affected area

• Don’t over-file – this can cause pain and sensitivity leading to the callus returning more quickly due to the trauma of the skin

• Use an exfoliator like Gehwol Mother of Pearl Scrub to further smooth and soften skin

• Hydrate up to 2 times daily using a moisturizer made specifically for the feet. The skin on the foot is different than the skin on your body; therefore it requires a different type of moisturizer. I prefer the feel of Allpresan Foot Foams- for all different foot conditions. Foam is easily absorbed and does not leave greasy film

• Don’t run around bare-foot on concrete or at the pool as this can lead to fungal infections which are very difficult to treat!

So go ahead and run that race; the ladies at Spa Boutique have got you covered!

 

We would love to hear your thoughts on the topic of this blog! Feel free to leave your comments or questions below.  As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!

Contest Reponse: WOW!

Look at you guys go!

I’m so impressed with the great response so far and it’s only been 24 hours.

It looks like a majority of you are curious about the foot foam, which is awesome!

Here’s a quick overview in case you have any questions.

If you’ve never used a foot foam before, you’re in for a treat. Usually the biggest compaint about foot creams is the greasiness. With a foot you eliminate that issue completely. Smaller molecular size helps it soak in immediately, and they’re stuffed full of hydrating ingredients.

The down side is that you lose the “experience” of a foot cream. Foams have little to no scent or slip. So it’s the results of a great cream, but more utilitarian. Great for men, or anyone who is just looking for no-fuss results.

You only need the size of a walnut per heel, start the aplication where it’s driest and move out from there. Use daily in combination with light and gentle filing. Prepare to be amazed.

If you ever have any questions about products or usage, no matter what, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll do our best to help.

Thank you so much for all the support. I’m so grateful for the interaction. We’ll definitely do more giveaways!

3 Steps to Getting Rid of Dry and Cracked Heels

On our Facebook page I’ve been getting a lot of requests about how to treat and help deal with dry feet.

How do you get rid of dry and cracked heels? Most of the time we try things like Vaseline and socks when we go to bed, or use peppermint scented lotions we buy from the drugstore. If you’ve been doing either of those for over a month and aren’t seeing results, it’s time for a new technique.

This is  so simple but you have to be consistent. The products don’t work if you don’t use them and give them time to work:

1)Soak your feet.This can be after you shower or bath, or even just give them a little soak while you’re watching TV.

2)File. Using a Foot Paddle, file the rough, dry,  callused area down a little bit. It’s best to do this a little at a time, consistently. Do a little everyday, you don’t want to make the feet sensitive. Callus is different from dry skin. Focus on the thicker areas with the rougher side. Dry skin is thin, so use the fine side very sparingly. This should never hurt.

3)Use a foot foam. This is a new concept for most people, but I really cannot say enough about this technology. They are formulated with smaller molecule to soak in faster. Urea deeply hydrates and moisturizers. The greatest thing is that it’s not greasy. At all. It soaks right in and you’re fine to walk around on that hard wood floor.You only need a very small amount. About the size of a walnut. Start the application where you are driest/roughest and massage into the rest of the foot. This should be applied morning and night and literally takes 2 minutes. No excuses.

Footlogix has a formula for whatever the problem is: dry,cracked,athletes foot, fungus etc. With the right amount used, you should get almost 1000 applications.

With deep cracks you have to be very careful – Filing won’t heal them. You have to moisturize to encourage healing.

So there you go my lovely Facebook fans! Ask and you shall receive. I would love to hear others tips and tricks for getting baby soft feet. Share!

As always, just for being a follower of our blog, enter coupon code BLOG10 for 10% off your next purchase! Also, remember to follow us @spaboutique on Twitter, like our Facebook  page, and check out our boards on Pinterest! You could be the lucky winner of one of our many contests!