Bless you!

It’s that time of year again-

“Summertime, and the living is sneezy,

Fish are jumping and the pollen count is high”

to paraphrase the Gershwins. Such a bore, if you happen to be a hay fever sufferer! I was, for many years, although a series of measures have helped to alleviate it to the extent that I haven’t yet sneezed this year. It is now far too late to take preventative action, like eating a daily spoonful of local honey from February onwards. (Tried this, didn’t work for me!) However, if you are suffering now, you need instant relief. My hay-fever survival prescription includes the following:

Eye Solace is the most soothing eye treatment I know! It is best applied on two cool damp cotton wool pads, half an ampoule for each eye, and then having a little lie down, which enables the Euphrasia (Eyebright) extract to calm and heal sore, itchy eyes. Refreshing for tired or sore eyes, its soothing herbal formula also reduces puffiness. As well as euphrasia, it contains chamomile, fennel and black tea extract, all of which help calm and revive. In fact, don't just keep it for the hay fever season, as it is handy all year round, for reducing eye bags and relieving itchy eyes! 

If you have time, a facial steam with the Dr Hauschka Steam Bath added to it, will help clear the nasal passages, calming inflamed tissue with witch hazel and nasturtium as well as helping soothe sore eyes with the steam and the herbal extracts. Of course, it is great for your skin, too, so you are giving your pores a deep cleanse at the same time! Multitasking at its best, ladies!

Using Eye Balm much thicker than usual will help to trap pollen before it enters the delicate eyes, thus avoiding some of the problem. Containing carrot, soothing calnedula and apricot oil as well as the signature herb Anthyllis, not only does this soften fine lines, but also protects the delicate skin around the eyes. Warm it gently, before applying it.

Dr Hauschka Moor Lavender Bath essence can be really helpful for bathing your face, once you come in from outside, as the Lavender soothes skin and airways, and the application of warm water, then cool splashing afterwards, can help one feel calmer and better. Lavender helps calm the mind and soul as well as being physically soothing so it is worth taking a few minutes to use it.

Dietary measures can help to some extent: increase your vitamin C intake, via fresh fruit and vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, leafy greens and even nettles, which are also supposed to be good for reducing the histamine reaction which gives rise to so much misery. Vitamin A foods like carrots, apricots, sweet potatoes, watercress and spinach help to maintain healthy mucus membranes. Obviously, cutting back on alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and dairy products can also help, as many hay-fever sufferers also have a sensitivity to some or all of these. (You can also up your vitamin intake by supplementing with extra vitamin C tablets.) It is always worth experimenting with what you eat to see if your diet ameliorates or exacerbates your symptoms. The internet is awash with articles, so do some research if this interests you.

Look here for an interesting article on gluten and hayfever:
http://tonywrighton.com/wp-content/uploads/20_Hayfever.jpg

Obviously, avoiding pollen is the answer, though this is generally not practical, but simple measures such as changing clothes when you come in from outside, and getting undressed in the bathroom, rather than your bedroom can help reduce your exposure to a lower level. 

All of these products are available from me and really do help allay the misery, but for total relaxation, try booking a Dr Hauschka treatment, which will relax and de-stress you, thus also helping to alleviate your hay fever! 

          

                          www.theorganicbeautician.com

Visit to WALA, HQ of Dr Hauschka Skincare.

Bio-dynamic gardens at WALA

Having heard and read so much about the amazing Bio-dynamically cultivated gardens,  where the WALA factory is situated, in Eckwälden, near Stuttgart, I have long wanted to visit them, and that was made possible this May, when I went with eight other Estheticians and our trainer, Elaine Robinson from Wala UK, to the 2015 Wala Open House for Estheticians and retailers. There were visitors from other countries there, as well, from Denmark, Yugoslavia and some other Eastern European countries, so the lectures were given in English, although I did have some opportunities to practice my schoolgirl Deutsch.

The theory part took place in the Maja Mewes Saal, the hall of the original building. All of the architecture had a particular look, both inside and out, partly because of the anthroposophical style of poured concrete, organic forms and cut off corners, but also the roofs, which were often planted or made of copper. 

The grave of Elisabeth Sigmund

The Maja Mewes Hall is just opposite the small, beautifully tended, graveyard where Elisabeth Sigmund and Dr Rudolf Hauschka are buried, alongside many others who were part of the Anthroposophical medical movement in its earlier years.

Mucilaginous Marshmallow roots.
Don't try this at home!

We were given talks on many aspects of Wala and the Dr Hauschka products, from CSR projects overseas, to the labelling of natural cosmetics and the sourcing of high quality raw materials, because, although over 100 different plants are grown at Wala, not everything would flourish on German soil, even if it is Bio-Dynamic! Plant signatures, with particular emphasis on Anthyllis, a key note ingredient of much of the Dr Hauschka skin care was another fascinating subject, as was the talk given by Elisabeth Sigmund’s biographer. We were also given hands-on experience of processing plants, when we had roots of marshmallow to chop and chew and could experience at first hand just how mucilaginous it is!

Buy your own raw milk at WALA

Although we covered many subjects in two days, as well as visiting the gardens and the Bio-dynamic farm - where they even had a machine dispensing raw BD milk! - there still seemed to be time for Wala to feed us sumptuously throughout; there were two wonderfully delicious and healthy lunches at the Evangelische Kirche down the road, as well as a picturesque evening meal at the peak of the Hohenstaufen mountain, which we later descended, bearing flaming torches through the moonlit woods!

Photo by the beautiful and talented Debra Donnelly,
who never forgot her camera!

The highlight of the trip had to be the gardens, which are still worked by hand, according to the phases of the moon and treated with BD preparations as well as the all-important dung from the cows at the Sonnenhof farm which forms part of the estate; this is crucial in BD farming as it is a closed system and so no imported fertiliser is permitted.  

Tatjana Pregler demo

On the last day we were treated to a viewing of the new Night Serum film, which can also be seen here: http://bit.ly/1AzMGrD   and a practical demonstration from the lovely Tatjana Pregler, Wala’s in-house Esthetician or Naturkosmetikerin, which we all enjoyed. We were given a goodie bag which contained the new Night Serum, as well as a copy of the book about Elisabeth Sigmund, which we had heard so much about earlier in the week, published in memory of what would have been her 100^th year; she died in 2013, still wearing her favourite lipstick  - 07  - to the end.

It was a hectic couple of days, catching up with other Estheticians, meeting some I didn’t know previously, as well as chatting to the lovely Wala employees who joined us and all spoke impeccable English (I must brush up my German!), but I learned so much, and would love to do it again. I’m now hoping that an international Esthetician gathering might be arranged at some point soon!

With my fellow estheticians at the Seminaris hotel WALA trip 2015

Slow Beauty

We live in a culture of speed and hurry; there is often such a feeling of pressure and haste during the day, that we and our skin can find it hard to unwind in the evening, making it difficult to relax and drift off to sleep. This can lead to premature ageing of the skin, which is deprived of the necessary time for recuperation which it needs during the hours in which we slumber. The idea is that, while we rest our busy bodies and brains, our skin has the time to cleanse internally, regenerate, create cells, and generally become active. To do this optimally, it needs to be clean and free to breathe; it is difficult to do this when there is a thick layer of heavy cream or dirt and make-up on the face, which is why thorough cleansing before bed is so vital.

Gently removing any make-up with Dr Hauschka’s Soothing Cleansing Milk is a good start, then compressing with a warm muslin cloth wrung out in Moor Lavender Bath opens the pores and enables deep cleansing to take place with the delicious Almond meal-based Cleansing Cream. By using a very gentle “press and roll” action, the skin is able to be cleansed without rubbing and scratching; generally even very delicate skin can tolerate a gentle cleanse with this amazing product. Any dirt or left over make-up binds with the almond meal and is removed when the cleanser is splashed off. The oil in the product means that the skin is not stripped of its own oil, so that oily skin does not get a rebound production of oil, and dry skin feels comfortable. (This is truly the best cleanser I have ever tried!) A cool compress after rinsing might seem as though it would be too awakening for the evening, but although it is for the skin, it doesn’t really feel it for the soul, just gently refreshing. Follow this with a little of the wonderful new Night Serum, for skin that looks gorgeous even first thing in the morning!

This gentle cleansing routine is not only good for the skin, but also very helpful for us, as a calming process, enhanced by the use of Moor Lavender bath, which helps us to relax; its soporific scent prepares our busy brains for rest. Ideally we should try to make a habit of going to bed at a similar time each evening, and our bodies will become accustomed to this, and naturally start winding down.

Insomnia is a modern day curse, and we can help to avoid it with our slow beauty care, as well as by taking simple measures such as not watching television just before bed, and not having any screens in the bedroom; checking emails on our phones before bed is guaranteed to wake us up and get the brain chuntering away again, which is not what we want to encourage. Why not make some time for your own slow beauty routine? I am happy to give advice and can be contacted via my website: www.theorganicbeautician.com

For further information you can also sign up to my newsletter for regular special offers on Dr Hauschka products: http://bit.ly/1bJHQft

Age shall not wither her...

Kohl - the Eye-liner of
the Ancient Egyptians.

The legendary beauty Cleopatra took an interesting approach to her skin care and beauty routine. From bathing in donkeys' milk to Dead Sea salt and clay masks, lipsticks made of tallow and ochre, and, of course Kohl - the ubiquitous eye-liner of Egypt, she tried most things. She was even said to sleep in a mask made of gold as well as using a clay one regularly, to deep cleanse her skin. Of course, she had little time for age to bother her, as she committed suicide at the age of 39. Other cultures have used stranger things than gold, such as the nightingale dropping and snail slime favoured by the Japanese. But are any as strange as our current ideas of injecting toxins and fillers and cutting the skin to tighten it? It seems that many women – and growing numbers of men – will try almost anything to retain their youthful looks.

I am not sure how healthy this obsession our culture has with youth really is, but it seems that beauty is linked with youth, especially for women. One woman told me that she became invisible once she was 50, but her husband remained distinguished looking and attractive! It seems that our culture, for all the forward strides that have been made in the area of women’s rights, still only recognises the value of women’s looks when they are below a certain age. I’m not so sure that the French think this way; older women there have always been chic, often more so than their gauche juniors. This seems to be something else we have acquired from America, so it becomes easy for advertisers and Beauty sellers to trade on the insecurity of ageing women and offer them the Elixir of Youth in the form of various potions and unguents which promise the earth and take your money, generally with limited results. It seems unlikely that there is a true Elixir of Youth, or there would be no-one having plastic surgery in Hollywood and elsewhere. I also wonder how healthy it is to worrying about our “ageing” faces to the degree that we would put almost anything on them, or in them, though I’m pretty sure that the Nightingale droppings and Snail slime would be safer than some of the products on offer.

GENTLE CLEANSING

Rhythmic Night Conditioner

There is really no need to wither, though!  I think that the best way forward is to relax a little about ageing, and look at the rôle models appearing: I don’t think Dame Helen Mirren suddenly became invisible at 50!  If you haven’t already done so, it is time to develop a really good and gentle skin care routine – ideally the Dr Hauschka cleansing method, as that actually supports your skin rather than stressing it by exfoliating aggressively.* Using a water-based product like Rhythmic Night Conditioner to support the skin at night will allow the skin to regenerate and cleanse itself far more efficiently than using a heavy night cream, as the skin is free to respire and detoxify. This will help to slow ageing of the skin.

CLEAN EATING

Keeping your diet clean and healthy and choosing your vices (as few as possible!) with care, will do more to keep your skin and your body looking good. Ask me for my Radiant skin eating plan, for a week of attention to foods which feed your skin. (Most people lose a little weight as well, which can be a bonus!) Foods which feed your skin tend to be great for the rest of you as well, particularly the brain.

Facial exercises slow signs of ageing

EXPERT CARE

It always pays to get advice from an expert. A Dr Hauschka Esthetician will treat your skin, show you how to get the best results at home and advise you on which products are best for you currently. You shouldn’t still be using the products you started with at 16, yet many women are.  Many of them can also teach you the brilliant Dr Hauschka facial exercises, which keep your skin nicely plumped, soften lines and tone drooping contours. This is a brilliant way of ageing slowly, rather than freezing your face into a taut Botox parody of youth.

FACIAL EXERCISE

The true Elixir of Youth is probably a potent cocktail of good skin care practice, clean eating and exercise, particularly facial exercise. For a truly rejuvenating effect that even husbands notice (!) a focussed regime of Dr Hauschka Facial Firming treatments and Facial exercise sessions is quite unbeatable. Add a course of RNC and you’ll be looking as great as Dame Helen!

Dame Helen - agelessly beautiful

*All these people who tell us to exfoliate, do you think they consider the telomeres+ shortening? It is a distinct possibility that over-stimulation via cell removal leads more rapidly to the “Hayflick limit” where the telomeres have reached their limit and the skin becomes sluggish and less able to regenerate. 

+The spell checker thinks that I should change "telomere" to "omelette"! Intriguing. 

  http://www.theorganicbeautician.com/treatments/facial-firming-treatment

Are you more "Kate Middleton" or "Katie Price"?

The beauty industry at the moment can sometimes seem to be more Katie Price than Kate Middleton, with all the falseness on offer. There are fake tans, fake nails, false eyelashes, hair extensions, cosmetic surgery,fake breasts, and invasive fillers which give one fake lips, amongst many other things. I am not intending to condemn either Katie Price or anyone else who feels the need to go to extremes with their appearance, or just fancies a little nip and tuck, but I often wonder what it says about us as a society that we seem to value the artificial over the authentic? As I said, no criticism of KP is intended in this post, as she seems to have made a great success of doing what she wants to do, but I sometimes find myself hankering after a more delicate, perhaps modest, approach to female beauty, which seems to be so brilliantly personified by the glamorous and ladylike Princess Catherine, who always looks beautiful and poised, with skin which seems to glow with natural health and 
vitality.

Healthy skin is gorgeous skin and luckily, many women are happy to step off the beauty bandwagon and think for themselves: the Dr Hauschka treatment is ideal for them. Relaxing, reparatory and revitalising, it allows one to relax fully into peacefulness, and reawaken feeling rejuvenated. Of course, the radiant complexion that is a side-effect of it is a wonderful bonus! 

This may not be for you if you prefer your face resurfaced with a diamond-tipped drill bit, or you like to have collagen injected into your dermis, but if you would like to enjoy a little pampering and have gorgeous skin, with a positive impact on the planet, the Dr Hauschka treatment should suit you to a T!

#WhyILoveDrHauschka

How long should you keep your makeup?

Mascara has the shortest shelf life of all cosmetics, and should ideally be replaced every three months or so, to minimise any risk of infection to the eyes. Don’t try and revive dried out mascara: recycle the packaging, and treat yourself to a new one. I suggest Dr Hauschka Plum Volume mascara, as it is a little subtler than black but still gives you gorgeous longer, thicker lashes, which is sort of the point, non? It contains lovely conditioning ingredients and I think has improved my eyelashes since I started using it. Always put the top on tightly and don’t pump air into the tube. Write the date on it with Tip-Ex when you open it and bin it three months later. Your eyes are worth it! If you ever have an eye infection, you should bin all your eye make-up and start again.

Kajal/Kohl/Eye pencils can last for a couple of years. You should be able to smell if it is going off, as it might seem rancid. Sharpen regularly to keep them clean and pointy. Keep the lids on please! (And don’t share, though if you really must, make sure you re-sharpen between users.)

Eye shadow powders generally keep for ages. Opinions vary from 2 years, but if they are kept clean, they might be okay for longer. Again keep them clean. A quick wipe with a cosmetic tissue and if you really feel the need, some alcohol would do the trick nicely.

Lipsticks also last about two years. You might find that the smell changes after this and they are rancid. The more natural the ingredients, and the lower the amount of preservatives, the less time they may last. But, this is a GOOD thing, as you don’t really want to be licking your lips and swallowing toxic chemicals, do you? Lip pencils last about two years too, and do keep them sharp or they are fairly useless. DON’T share them with anyone, unless you think you would really would like to get cold sores.

Blushers and bronzers are good for a couple of years. Again, trust your nose! Clean them periodically by wiping off with a tissue, or alcohol, like powder shadow. If you use a clean brush, they stay cleaner too. Wash your brushes! 

Foundations can last 12 to 18 months. Put the date on when you open them, and trust your sense of smell; if the smell changes, bin them. You might also want to check that the colour still suits you seasonally, as most people's skin darkens in the summer and gets lighter in the winter. Try to get one similar to your skin tone, unless you really like the Tango/Essex look?

Finally, your brushes: clean them regularly and gently and leave to air dry - not on a radiator, unless you really want to wreck them. If you can slant them downwards slightly so that water doesn't run into the wooden handle and ferrule, they will last better. Good quality brushes are worth investing in and taking care of. 

Finally, I know there is some gorgeous makeup out there, but consider the planet and your own health. Why not use a natural makeup, one that hasn't been tested on animals? There are lots of Organic, natural and ethical brands available nowadays, so why not try one? I love Dr Hauschka, obviously, but BWC lipsticks are also great. Which ones have you tried?

I stock all the Dr Hauschka Make up which is organic, ethically produced and good for the skin: www.theorganicbeautician.com

Spring cleaning

According to Alfred, Lord Tennyson

"In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." 

Being middle aged and not a man, (though a Mann!), mine turns, rather more prosaically, to spring cleaning. (Then I have a little lie down, with a bad book, until the feeling passes.) When everything starts greening and chirruping, and nature looks as though it has had a face-lift, it is quite natural to want to do something ourselves, hence the trend for detoxing and dieting after Christmas and the New Year festivities have passed. For skin it can be a challenging time, as there is still central heating to contend with, as well as spending time outside and getting chilled, before warming up again. So, it is a good time to nurture and deep cleanse skin too. It is also possible that if dieting/detoxing is going on, the skin might respond by being spottier or more irritated, as toxins leave the system, which is not a desirable look.

Obviously the best thing to do is to book a wonderfully restorative Dr Hauschka treatment, which will put you and your skin back on top form, but this can be helped at home too, by a weekly routine of steaming and applying a clay mask. Generally, once a week is great, but if you are particularly greasy and spotty, twice a week is even better! Using a treatment mask such Dr Hauschka Revitalising or Firming mask afterwards, for 20 minutes, will give your skin a super boost that will be noticeable. Even husbands have been known to comment!

For the body, the wonderful lemon scent in Lemon/Lemongrass body moisturiser, Lemon bath and the aptly named Vitalising body wash, can really help awaken sluggish lymph and lift the spirits! The Lemon bath can be used in your face washing water, as well as in the bath, and can be a useful aid, if you really don't feel like getting up, as the scent is so uplifting.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I do Skype consultations, but am also happy to chat on the phone, or in person. You can find your local Dr Hauschka Esthetician here:  http://www.drhauschkatreatment.co.uk/

Here's to spring and a wonderful quote from Carl Friedrich Gauss:

Life stands before me like an eternal spring with new and brilliant clothes.