Here goes…another perspective on weight gain and guess where this one comes from? You guessed it. Artificial light. Back in the day when we had to run after our food for the nightly meal cooking over the fire pit, we now are accustomed to eating our meals indoors and by artificial light bulbs. Can you imagine we as humans used to spend 10 hours a day outdoors? That would be until Edison popped out the magical light bulb. The natural light regulated our circadian rhythms and energized our brain cells and bodies.

Today we spend less than 30 minutes a day or a mere 3 hours per week in the daylight, according to Daniel Kripke, M.D. He has said that our circadian rhythms are dependent on light entering our eyes to regulate our body’s natural master clock. According to the quality and quantity of light received, key hormones and neurotransmitters like serotinin and melatonin are release in the brain to set our daily rythms. I can really relate to this due to my son being up at night for hours and I have a light or the computer light on which would affect my weight over the years. Certainly you feel more energized when you are outside and have the fresh air on my face. Today, most people suffer from mal-illumination which means lack of enough daily natural sunlight and too much indoor artificial light, especially at night.

The results of being out of our rythm can be:

• weight gain
• fatigue
• depression,
• headaches
• pain
• hormonal imbalances
• sleep disorders
• pms
• lowered immune responses
• vitaminD/calcium deficients and lack of vitality

Is there any wonder we are having skin and health issues. The average american will gain 8.5 lbs and get type 2 diabetes. Even if excerising, we must avoid artificial fats (no fun) and the other bad stuff but essentially turn off the light at night will help regulate your body rythm. this is a good start to losing weight. The artificial light tricks our bodies into thinking it’s the season to eat all year round adn gain weight. Traitors to our own body.

Something we think is so simple by getting sleep will help the insulin be regulated, the cortisol be regulated just by getting regular sleep. Think about it.

How much sleep are you getting these days?

So controversial this topic! The sun is up, the beach blanket is perfectly laid out without the bumps, you nestle yourself into your “spot” and let the sun do it’s work on your skin. Be careful not to go into the sun unprotected without your sunscreen. We carry a moisturizer with sunscreen to protect the skin from UVA/UVA damage. I was always a super tanner when I was a teenager and now I have freckles and dark spots that are on my shoulders and chest. Not cute. I wish I had been taught more about skin but honestly I didn’t care and it was all about the iodine oil slathered all over and I certainly looked red which stained my skin. It didn’t protect me at all. I also was brought up to use the cocoa butter straight off the block melted in the sun and I slathered that all over my body but had the most amazing brown skin a girl could have. I could have won a trophy on my browness.

The benefits of being outside and in the sun are a better emotional sense of well being. Certainly individuals that suffer from some depression get perked up during the summer months. Vitamin D is essential for our hair, skin and nails but now with the technology we have today, we can certainly enjoy one pill a month containing full strength Vitamin D without the scary effects of sun exposure. Even a littel bit of sun causes cellular damage that can lead to aging and cancer. Recommended daily supplement containing 400 to 1,000 IU are normal but as always check with your doctor on your Vitamin D levels.

Using the tanning bed will increase your risk for melanoma by up by 75% according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer and 90 percent of signs of aging such as wrinkles, brown spots are caused by UV radiation. Unfortunately, the skin will fade and the top layer will peel off but the damage has been done and can go to the deep levels of your skin depending on how badly the burn is. Remember seeing the big pasty white guys on the beach that looked like a lobster? Case in point he should have used more sun screen and built up to that type of intense sun. My favorite is when someone has fallen asleep and forgot to put on sunscreen and they had their hand across their face. While that lasts a few weeks until it fades.

Recommendation use self tanners because that will give you the feeling of a tan and you will likely spend less time in the sun. We have Guinot self tanners at Indulge Salon that are healthy and give an even tan.

Hey everyone! It’s time again for hair removing worship time.  That means setting up a plan with the waxer every four weeks. You heard that right, every 4 weeks. For those of you that need more attention, the hair can be maintained in between with tweezing but I wouldn’t plan for a full out beach trip with your lover if you are in between waxings. You know what I mean. You may want to keep those shorts on just in case.

I have to tell you this story. When I was hitting the beach regularly I only paid attention to myself and the cute guys that were close to our blanket. I went with my girlfriends. Anyway, we took binoculars because we wanted to know what our options were for the weekend. As we were scanning the landscape with bincoluars, we also were alarmed when we saw something peeking out of the sides of the bathing suits, you know where. Alarmed and appalled we would look at each other and do a quick check. You know how it is. You say hey, look over there, do I look like that , am I sticking out. Don’t let this happen to you. From that point on in my young impressionable life, I’ve always stayed clean and freshly groomed in those areas.

In case you didn’t know what a brazilian wax means I’m here to educate. Brazilian wax is when the waxer takes a stronger wax and applies it to 1/4″ to 1/2″ long hair. She will start in the front and do the entire front of the labia and all hair that is visible in your girlfriend parts the whole way back on the cheeks/buttocks and all of the areas in between the buttocks. That my friend is a full Brazilian wax. A tip is to make sure you have showered prior to your visit. Be prepared to talk about any sensitivies with other waxing areas that you may be interested so that she knows what she has to do for this visit.

• be prepared to set up a consistent time and follow up appointment
• discuss areas to be waxed every time
• discuss costs

This is the best way to have a conversation and work out the uncomfortable items such has “do you wax nipples?”. We would say yes we  or we will tweeze those hairs that are jutting out. We are not uncomfortable. The client can be read a magazine or they decide to make conversation. The waxer still needs to have concentration on the areas that she is working on especially at the back end. They want to get in and get out. We wax everything except testicles. It is super sensitive and the skin is so tender and thin in some areas that we will not wax them. Stomach is not a big deal, you just have to decide how far up on the stomach that you want to be waxed and the sides of the V shape. Some like a strip down the middle and some like it colored. We have seen it all. We have ultimate job satisfaction for a wax well done

Some myths I would like to debunk. Shaving does not make the hair coarse and tweezing them doesn’t make them grow back any faster. The hair you were born with is how many follicles you have naturally. So relax. Hormones will make the hair change in texture around 3-40. You could lose hair “there” as you age or after children. Everyone person is different.

After a good hair removal/waxing, know that we use an anti bacterial astringent that will clean up and you will feel fresh. We have used cremes that can numb the private areas that are more prone to sensitivity. Don’t be afraid to ask.

We recommend that if you man wants his back waxed for the weekend, send him in by Wednesday so he has tine to get comfortable. The same for our women friends. At least the week of and plan ahead. You don’t want to have red bumps sticking out of your bathing suit. Unsitely!