A French Touch Salon

The finest in Parisian skin care on the central coast.

Stress Relief

Relax…You’re Worth It!

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

Let’s keep up our trend from earlier, and start today off with another word, one that we all know just a little too well: stress.  Just thinking that word can trigger a little anxiety, can’t it?  Remembering the tight feeling in your stomach and shoulders, not being able to sit still, feeling your mind racing and wondering how much longer you can hang on and keep up with your own thoughts; not a very fun feeling, is it?

zenAs much as we’d all like to imagine that we are Super Woman, it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed, either by too many little things on your to do list, or one big tension point in your life.  I am here to first of all remind you that you are not alone!  Stress is something that anyone and everyone can relate to.  Stress can reek havoc on your mental state, and on the health of your body and skin; acne is not just a teenage phenomenon, and stress can also exaggerate symptoms of rosacea, eczema and psoriasis.  Most of us are very familiar with how our bodies react to stress, so let’s talk about some stress-relief tactics, oui?

Take A Deep Breath

At first this might seem silly, but I can personally testify that taking a minute or two to just stop and breathe properly works absolute wonders.  To breathe ‘properly’ you’ll want to start by dropping your shoulders ( we hold a lot of tension in our shoulders!).  Then, making sure your tummy and not your chest moves when you inhale, take a deep breath over a slow count of five.  Then hold that breath for three, and expel it again over a count of five.  Do this for a minute or two, and you’ll be able to feel your heart rate and thoughts slow down, too.  This is a great in-the-middle-of-something relaxation technique, and I find that it works great when you pair it with a mantra of your preference; as you breathe, think (slowly!) to yourself, “I am confident, I am capable, I can do anything I set my mind to.”

Exercise

Sound familiar?  Not to drag this up again, but getting your heart rate up can decrease your cortisol levels, which is a key stress hormone, as well as release more endorphins into your system, which elevate your mood and help keep that stress in check!  Getting up early might not feel great, but working out some of that negative energy can give you the positive start to your day that you need!

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Attitude is Everything

I know you already know this, mes amis, but a friendly reminder never hurt.  Going into a stressful day with a positive mental attitude can make all the difference in the world.  And I firmly believe (and I hope you do too!) that every single one of us deserves to have the best possible day, everyday!  So put a smile on your face in the morning, even if you may not feel like it; studies have shown that just activating the facial muscles used in a smile releases endorphins, as well!

Come see us at A French Touch!

It’s never to late to celebrate your body and get some hard-earned relaxation time in!  Many of you know how fabulous our facials are, but let me take a moment to describe the body treatments we offer to keep all of your skin feeling refreshed and healthy.

  • Aroma Slim Wrap:  This is our fabulous Sothys-inspired body treatment that I told you about last week!  If you’d like to review, click here to see it again!
  • Iris Litchi Body Escape:  SOTHYS calls this “A refreshing and energizing treatment made with a combination of Litchi fruit and the Iris flower, creating a unique sensorial escape experience for all of the senses.”  Imagine a fruity, flowery, gentle full body exfoliation, to leave your skin feeling youthful and revitalized, followed by a massage with more of SOTHYS’ delicious modelling syrup, to help your skin retain that youthful look and shape.  
  • Sunless Glow Treatment:  This Jan Marini-inspired treatment is a true celebration of summer!  As you know, the safest tan you can get comes in a bottle, so why not make an afternoon of it?  You’ve earned not only some relaxation, but a pretty. sun-kissed glow to carry into Fall!  This body treatment also starts with a total body exfoliation with Jan Marini’s Bioglycolic scrub, to smooth and refresh your skin.  Then, we perform a full body application of Jan Marini’s Self Tanner, enhanced with glycolic acid to hold the color, in a soothing massage, and even get those hard-to-reach places that are difficult to cover on your own, like the upper back and middle of the back, so you leave with an even, natural glow.
  • massagePurifying Back Facial:  Your back also holds a great deal of tension when you’re stressed, so why not show it some love?  This body treatment, also using Jan Marini, starts off with a deep cleansing with Clean Zyme, followed by a gentle resurfacing with Bioglycolic Resurfacing Body Scrub.  Top off your hour in heaven with a massage using  SOTHYS botanical elixirs  that will leave you and your skin feeling soothed, refreshed and generally wonderful.
  • 60 or 90 Minute Massage:  Denise is our massage therapist at A French Touch, and I would strongly encourage you to experience  her 25 years of expertise, if you’re feeling stressed. Massage can loosen the muscles, improve blood flow, lower blood pressure, and give you the hour of peace you need to refresh and face the world again.

While a little stress can keep us alert, too much over an extended period of time is harmful to your skin and your body.  Remember, mes amis, that you deserve to not live under that sort of pressure!  Show yourself some love by taking a little time to relax, to smile, to breathe deeply and remember that you are worth the time.

Bisous,

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Fitness and Your Skin

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

This week, in celebration of our recent partnership with Equilibrium Fitness for Women (more on that in a bit!), let’s talk about another word that many of us (including me!) have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with: exercise.

runningWhen it comes to fitness and exercise, we’ve all heard that it’s the best possible routine to include in our day; even the more subtle health benefits of most forms of exercise are too numerous to list, not to mention it’s ability to make you look and feel younger and healthier.  However, when it comes to actually setting down the newspaper and morning cup of coffee and doing these miraculous exercises….well, let’s just say that sometimes it’s hard to feel motivated!

Yoga, Pilates, Cardio and strength exercises all have obvious positive effects such as increased muscular and cardiovascular strength, increased flexibility, and so on.  But, as an article from Psychology Today was smart to point out, “Exercise is good for every organ in the body. Since the skin is the largest organ it goes without saying that the skin benefits as well.”  

So what are these skin benefits?  For those of us who are now picturing how red and sweaty our skin looks fresh out of a workout session, they are not as obvious as one might hope, but they do exist!  As opposed to being a quick-fix treatment to skin conditions–like a concealer covering up a patch of acne–fitness and exercise are a long-term investment because they work at treating the causes, not the symptoms, of unhealthy skin in several big ways.  Let’s go down the list, oui?

1. Stress Relief

I plan on talking about the effects of stress on your skin in a lot more detail later on this week, but I want you to get a head startyoga on a healthy stress reliever!  Despite that mini-battle that goes on in your head before you abandon your morning paper and coffee for your running shoes, just getting yourself outside or to the gym can do wonders for built-up stress.  According to a very helpful article in the Huffington Post, exercise decreases our stress-hormone (cortisol) levels, increases the production and circulation of endorphins, and forces the different systems within our bodies to work together a lot more closely than they would if we were still on the couch in our PJs; if exercise happens regularly, the body gets very good at communicating with itself, enabling you to handle stress more efficiently and effectively.

2. Get your Blood Pumping

Research is also showing that many signs of visible aging, such as puffiness or loose skin, are affected by circulation within the skin.  This means that when our bodies are mostly sedentary, our skin doesn’t get proper circulation, but when we exercise and get our heart rates up, our circulation improves all around.  Increased blood flow to the skin, which carries many helpful components (including oxygen!) can help tighten problem areas all over the body.

3. Now Sweat!

Sweating is also considered good for the skin by many, and not only because it helps to keep us cool as we exercise.  Sweating is a great way to help your body purge toxins that aren’t good for us or our skin, and can help to reduce inflammation of the skin that causes acne, redness, and an overall ‘blah’ look on skin.

sweat

4. But don’t forget…

Ah, but here are a few VERY important reminders before you head for the gym!

  • If exercising outside, always wear your sun protection!  On ALL exposed parts of your skin!
  • If exercising with equipment, always make sure to clean it before and after you use it (especially at the gym!).  If not cleaned regularly enough, exercise equipment can hold quite a bit of sweat, dirt, and bacteria, even if it’s just you that uses it!
  • Regardless of where you exercise, you need to cleanse your skin (not just your face, but your whole body!) both BEFORE and AFTER you exercise.  Working out with make-up, lotion, or other things on your skin can clog your pores and cause acne, so make sure your skin care routine occurs a good long time before your trip to the gym, or after.  After a workout, your body is covered in sweat and the toxins it carries, as well bacteria from potentially unclean equipment. Ew!
  • Stay thirsty, mes amis!  We lose water very quickly while working out, so it is important to drink a lot of water during and after exercise to keep your skin hydrated.

eqfitNow back to our exciting deal with Equilibrium Fitness!  At your next appointment with us,  you can pick up a free 7 day membership pass for Equilibrium, or let them know that A French Touch Salon referred you on your first visit.  They offer a great variety of classes, personal training, weight management, and diet & nutrition advising to help keep you looking and feeling Body Beautiful!

Fitness and exercise might not put a smile on your face when your alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m. to wake you up for a run, but it has been proven time and time again to not only have positive physiological effects on the body, but also contributes to that self-love idea I’ve been chattering on about!  Working out is one of the best treats you can give yourself (no, sadly, it isn’t chocolate), because in addition to keeping your body and skin healthy, it can boost your confidence and self-esteem, make you look and feel younger, help you manage weight gain or loss, and refresh you by relieving stress.  And nothing compliments healthy, beautiful skin like a healthy, beautiful smile!

Bisous,

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