To dry brush your skin or not.....

If you'd told me about dry brushing my skin all those years ago, I would have
said "you're crazy!" But you know what, it really does work. Apparently it's been around for centuries but its becoming more and more common today as part of women's beauty regimen. I just love it and have noticed a marked difference with my skin and overall feeling of well being!


To start off you need a good long handled natural bristle or plant fiber brush - pharmacies, health food shops or department stores stock them. It's a good idea to do it every day before you get into the shower or bath. It doesn't take too long and the payoff is just great.

The benefits are many:

Exfoliates and removes dead flaky skin cells and opens up the pores

It helps to detoxify the body, moving toxins to the liver and removed via the skin and waste products

It stimulates the blood circulation, hormones and glands that produce oil in the body

It's good for the immune, digestive, nervous and lymphatic systems in the body

It's a free daily massage that leaves the body with a tingling, glowing sensation

It tones the muscles and tightens the skin to fight the aging process

It stimulates the inner organs

It gives that "feel good" mind space - akin to a good workout or vigorous walk followed by a hot shower!

It's great for moving cellulite and minimizing its unsightly effects BUT brushing needs to be done for a good many months in order to see any long term results

Do not brush if:

You have sensitive or broken skin or infection(s)

You have heart problems, high blood pressure or diabetes

Start brushing from the feet up and always towards the heart till the whole body is covered. If you brush your face, do it gently and use a small really soft
brush. Be careful about breaking any capillaries on tender sensitive skin areas of the body. After brushing, have a shower, alternating between a hot burst of water and then brisk cold to further stimulate the skin. Use natural plant oils to massage afterwards or a good moisturizer.

Keep the brush clean by washing it weekly with mild soap and warm water then hang in well ventilated area to dry naturally.

Believe me it's a great way to benefit the body, very cost effective and easy to do as part of your daily bathroom routine. I highly recommend you give it a try.

It's Okay to Get Older.....

What is it about human beings that we so fear old age? - so much so that we spend a vast amount of money, time and energy on fighting the inevitable. We live in a youth obsessed society: the beauty industry is worth billions of dollars. We lesser mortals that live ordinary lives follow celebrities who have "made" it because they were blessed with drop dead gorgeous looks and are able to harness their good fortune by being paid mega bucks to act or model on the world stage.

Studies show that good looking people get on better in life: they're favored above others, get more perks, attract the wealthy, the jobs, the pick of the guys and gals. We're constantly bombarded with images and messages of stick thin models who look like they haven't had a decent meal in years and we try to emulate them so we can get on and look good too. We've been sucked into thinking that we need botox, face lifts and constantly work hard on our external looks. There's nothing wrong with wanting to look good - and using cosmetics and beauty products helps us to do that. I just don't want to be an unhealthy old lady!

I didn't give too much thought to getting older until I was in my 40s. Now in my "third age" I've been learning the tricks of the trade to keep healthy, fit and youthful looking. Exercise, healthier eating, plenty of sleep and holiday breaks, facials, cleansers, masks, toners and moisturizers and home made organic recipes are some of the things I focus on.

So why do we age? Stress, life/work balance, genetics, lack of exercise, eating more processed food don't do a lot of good for our bodies. We've got out of the habit of eating more raw and home made foods; we're more likely to eat out or on the run. Our bodies need an 80% alkaline and 20% acid balance for optimum health. Eating cooked foods makes our bodies more acidic. Hence as we get older our cells break down, we get joint problems, heart and cancer problems etc. Herbal supplements are a good way to kick start what we lack in our diet.

My ideal is to stay healthy for as long as I live so that I don't become a burden on my family and friends. Working, keeping busy, being socially active helps to keep us young; life long learning is good for our brains and staves off old age diseases and so on. When I have more time I would like to write some songs and more poetry, take up the ukulele again,learn another musical instrument and learn a couple of languages. They say that jigsaw puzzles, crosswords and sudoku are all good for mental alertness but they don't do anything for me.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's okay to get older; we just need to keep busy, not get isolated from the community, learn new things and keep growing. I'm much wiser now and sometimes I can get away with things I couldn't in the past. For example I don't have to impress people if I don't want to, I can get away with looking frumpy at times or forgetting things. People probably think "poor old dear" but who cares? What do you think? What is it about aging that frightens you?

Experiencing Hair Loss

One of the things I've had to deal with as I got older was thinning hair due to hormonal changes, a thyroid problem, stress and genetics. Now, I don't know about you but I think it stinks when we women start losing our hair. There's nothing more embarrassing than having people look or comment about your balding head. Most men are still dealing with this problem but they can get away with it! Women aren't meant to lose their hair. I think the stresses of modern life is catching up with us ladies.

Bad enough that we need to up the ante on our health, wellbeing, looks and self-confidence as we get older. Consider that nowadays it's not just women who hate the thought of decrepit bodies and aging minds but men are also jumping on the bandwagon for age defying solutions. It's necessary today in the business world to look sharp, well groomed and youthful!

The hand held hair growth laser featured is useful for people with minimal hair loss who want to use it at home rather than going to a clinic. It's also great for traveling. Ideally a person with thinning hair should take measures to curb the loss as soon as the problem starts. If you leave it too long there may be no going back - unless the hair follicles get blood supply and are stimulated, they will simply shrivel up and die and the loss becomes permanent. The laser light increases the energy available for the cells on the scalp hence they are able to use nutrients more efficiently and get rid of waste products better. Hair laser therapy works for about 90% of people who are quick to take advantage of this technology. Both men and women can utilize this product thus increasing their sense of self confidence.

Apart from hair care, our theme for this month is on nails and skin care. Nails need to be clean and not brittle. Our skins are the largest organs in our bodies and it's the one that shows the ravages of time more readily. Taking herbal supplements to replace missing nutrients from our bodies is a good idea because beauty, health and wellbeing begins from the inside out. Some key ingredients to consider with supplements for the hair, nails and skin are: kelp, biotin, burdock root, horsetail herb and aloe vera. Not only do they help with minor skin problems but also assist with stimulation of hair growth and good nails. Of course the care of our skins is two-fold: internal and external.

Check out our website for more information: www.bonniesbeautyshop.com