New Year’s resolutions?
Well almost, but let’s keep it simple
FULL of joie de vivre? Do you have overwhelming feelings of goodwill to all? Is there a spring in your step and do you have the determination to stick to resolutions for the New Year?
What’s that?
Full of what?
I can’t decide whether I’m full of the above or feeling like there’s been a bit of an anticlimax after the Christmas holidays, but I’m going to make the effort. To be honest, I gave up making New Year’s resolutions many years ago, but that’s a terrible example to set. Besides, breaking them would only wreak havoc with my delicate equilibrium, what with all those feelings of guilt and failure.
Anyhow, here are a couple of things that I propose we do in January to set us on the right path towards health and beauty for 2005.
For those who have any money left after Christmas, now is the time for a fruit acid, glycolic acid (low strength rather than the medical type), or similar “peel” and smoothing course of facial treatments (these treatments need to be done now as strong sun should be avoided for a couple of weeks after deep peeling). This type of treatment benefits complexions that have old acne scars, thicker stronger skins, deep wrinkles or skins which have old sun damage, uneven rough texture, or lots of dead skin. This therapy is also good as a wrinkle prevention treatment. People with thin, sensitive, very fair or fine skin would, in my opinion, be better suited to other forms of facials, as some forms of glycolic acid may be a little too strong for them.
Most complexions would need between one and four treatments as a course, depending on which brand and strength of products your beauty therapist uses. Please make sure you use a fully qualified therapist or one you know and trust to ensure proper results.
So, that’s the face all scrubbed and smooth, now how to look beautiful, serene and bursting with positive energy. I’m not referring to an exciting and new breakthrough in the health industry, but good old exercise. I firmly believe that regular exercise is very beneficial to health and beauty, so I am definitely going to make the effort to drag my butt to some yoga or aerobics type classes this month. If you cannot have lots of beauty treatments regularly, due to limits on your time or finances, exercising moderately but regularly will pay you many beauty dividends. Stress and tiredness will leave its legacy on our faces and bodies eventually. Necks and shoulders tend to get stiffer, sometimes leading to tension headaches in those who do not exercise. Stress hormones, released when things don’t go as we wish or someone upsets or humiliates us, are also very damaging because they do not get burnt up by ‘fight or flight’ instincts and so literally “burn up” instead, which very often leads to bad moods, poor sleep, anxiety, depression, headaches, arthritis, ulcers, high blood pressure (to mention but a few), and blocked creative energy.
Exercise works wonders at reducing and burning up these excess stress hormones, as well as improving sleep, body strength, muscle tone (always welcome!) mental outlook, energy levels and even skin and hair condition; physical and psychological tensions will generally be much reduced. So what are you waiting for? Dump the kids, leave the shopping and cooking and go work up a sweat at the nearest exercising establishment. Or maybe to prevent stress hormone production later on, drop the kids at school, sort out your housework and then go jump up and down at a class before you pick them up for lunch. If leaving the house is difficult, buy a couple of keep fit videos and do it at home. Of course if you have a medical condition or problems with your back or joints you need to find out which exercises to go easy with and most good instructors or videos should explain these to you.
Find an exercise or sport which you enjoy and suits your level of physical strength and age. Have a Happy scrubby, stretchy, bouncy start to your year.
l In order to expand the scope of the beauty page we are looking for highly qualified, experienced beauty therapists with CIDESCO and/or BABTAC diplomas located anywhere in Cyprus. Also looking for dermatologists, food intolerance specialists and alternative therapists who hold internationally recognized qualifications and belong to the relevant associations or bodies governing standards of practice and ethics. Send your details to [email protected]
