Thursday, January 15, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Home Wellness Treatment: Divine Cocoa-Espresso Body Scrub
Rich organic oils soften while the chocolate's high antioxidant content nourishes tired, rough skin. Espresso temporarily lessens the look and feel of cellulite. And the scent? Pure heaven.
Ingredients:
Feel free to play around with ratios. If you like a scubbier scrub, decrease your liquids and add more espresso. If you prefer something less invigorating, add less espresso and more oil. Additional macadamia nut oil is excellent for aging skin in need of rejuvenating. Less scrub and additional half and half is great for sensitive skin, or substitute with heavy cream.
1/2 cup coconut butter
1/8 cup half and half
1/8 cup coarsely-ground espresso
2 tablespoons macadamia nut oil
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (alcohol-free)
10 drops sweet orange oil
Obtain all organic ingredients whenever possible. Coconut butter will be solid at room temperature, so begin by melting this, still in the bottle or jar, in a container of hot water. When softened, mix all ingredients and use right away. Cap leftovers tightly and refrigerate, using the remainder within four days.
This treatment is for the body only; do not use on the face. Use before showering, and in lieu of your body brush if you use one. A weekly scrub is excellent during winter months, and this scrub is particularly suitable before shaving or applying self-tanner.
Ingredients:
Feel free to play around with ratios. If you like a scubbier scrub, decrease your liquids and add more espresso. If you prefer something less invigorating, add less espresso and more oil. Additional macadamia nut oil is excellent for aging skin in need of rejuvenating. Less scrub and additional half and half is great for sensitive skin, or substitute with heavy cream.
1/2 cup coconut butter
1/8 cup half and half
1/8 cup coarsely-ground espresso
2 tablespoons macadamia nut oil
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (alcohol-free)
10 drops sweet orange oil
Obtain all organic ingredients whenever possible. Coconut butter will be solid at room temperature, so begin by melting this, still in the bottle or jar, in a container of hot water. When softened, mix all ingredients and use right away. Cap leftovers tightly and refrigerate, using the remainder within four days.
This treatment is for the body only; do not use on the face. Use before showering, and in lieu of your body brush if you use one. A weekly scrub is excellent during winter months, and this scrub is particularly suitable before shaving or applying self-tanner.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Better than the flu
From yesterday's Chronicle: A new study shows that happiness is contagious.
"One person's happiness can affect another's for up to a year, the researchers found, and while unhappiness can also spread from person to person, the "infectiousness" of that emotion appears to be far weaker."
Read the full article here.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Current Discounts and Promotions
New Clients Get $20 Off. This discount is good for those who are new to Apotheca and for those of you we haven't seen for over six months. You may apply this discount to any session of 60 minutes or longer, with David, Eri, Kim, Miles or Tess. To register as a client and book a session, visit our online scheduler and enter discount code NEW.
. . .
Student and Unemployed Discounts are back. All week, every week, any time, for full-time students and currently unemployed folks. For sessions of 60 minutes and longer only. Enter discount code STUDENT when you book your appointment and your discount will be applied at the time of your appointment.
Alas, discounts cannot be combined.
. . .
Book a bikini or Brazilian waxing service any time in December or January and get a free gift from Sweet Spot Labs. To book your appointment, visit our online scheduler and enter discount code SWEETSPOT. One per customer.
. . .
Give something, get something: Buy a gift package (for yourself or someone else) and receive a gift certificate for one of my favorite organizations, kiva.org. The gift will be in your name to give to a friend or keep for yourself. After you arrange your package just drop me a line (at kirstenqb@gmail.com) to let me know who you'd like your Kiva gift sent to and I will arrange it straight away. This promotion is good through December and makes an awesome holiday gift.
Home Wellness Treatment: Dry Brushing with Coconut Oleation
Dry brushing is one of our most popular treatments at the office studio. No froufy spa treatment (though we are human and we like those too), daily dry brushing is a wonderful practice for improving both skin softness and internal health. By gently brushing the skin, the lymphatic system is stimulated to eliminate waste matter. Dry brushing removes dead skin cells and improves the appearance and existence of cellulite. Because of its detoxifying effect on the body, it also strengthens the immune system. And it wakes you up in the morning!
All good reasons to start a daily dry brushing practice. Here's how to do it:
Get yourself a natural bristle brush or a loofah mitt or loofah "sponge." Stand dry and naked on the bathroom floor. Start with the soles of your feet and move upward in circular strokes toward your heart. Go gently. The lymphatic system is just under the skin so there is no need for great pressure. plus, you want this to feel good, don't you? When you get to your belly, brush in nice circular strokes in a counter-clockwise direction. Counter-clockwise because that's the direction your digestive organs go, and we want to work with them, not against them. Keep brushing the back, the chest, the fronts and backs of your arms. When you get to your neck, move gently downward, again toward the heart.
No need to dry brush your face (too scratchy!) or your head (though a short fingertip massage would be nice to wake up the scalp).
Dry brushing in combination with a lovely oil treatment is a simple and luxurious way to keep your skin feeling and looking beautiful as it staves off the dread winter flakes.
When you've finished dry brushing, apply a thin layer of coconut oil from the soles of your feet to the top of your chest. Avoid coconut oil on the face and neck, as it can be comedogenic for some people. Those of you with very oily or acneic skin will want to avoid the oil on your chest and back as well. But for most people, coconut oil (especially a raw, unprocessed, organic brand) is beautiful for the skin, conveying softening, nourishing and antibacterial properties. Let the oil stay on your body for a few minutes, then head to a nice, warm shower to rinse off. (Not hot, as hot water dehydrates the skin and compromises firmness by weakening collagen. )
Shower as usual but be careful not to slip!
15 minutes from start to finish, and with this daily routine you will notice smoother and softer skin within two weeks. Plus, you'll start your morning smelling a little like Hawaii. And who wouldn't want that?
All good reasons to start a daily dry brushing practice. Here's how to do it:
Get yourself a natural bristle brush or a loofah mitt or loofah "sponge." Stand dry and naked on the bathroom floor. Start with the soles of your feet and move upward in circular strokes toward your heart. Go gently. The lymphatic system is just under the skin so there is no need for great pressure. plus, you want this to feel good, don't you? When you get to your belly, brush in nice circular strokes in a counter-clockwise direction. Counter-clockwise because that's the direction your digestive organs go, and we want to work with them, not against them. Keep brushing the back, the chest, the fronts and backs of your arms. When you get to your neck, move gently downward, again toward the heart.
No need to dry brush your face (too scratchy!) or your head (though a short fingertip massage would be nice to wake up the scalp).
Dry brushing in combination with a lovely oil treatment is a simple and luxurious way to keep your skin feeling and looking beautiful as it staves off the dread winter flakes.
When you've finished dry brushing, apply a thin layer of coconut oil from the soles of your feet to the top of your chest. Avoid coconut oil on the face and neck, as it can be comedogenic for some people. Those of you with very oily or acneic skin will want to avoid the oil on your chest and back as well. But for most people, coconut oil (especially a raw, unprocessed, organic brand) is beautiful for the skin, conveying softening, nourishing and antibacterial properties. Let the oil stay on your body for a few minutes, then head to a nice, warm shower to rinse off. (Not hot, as hot water dehydrates the skin and compromises firmness by weakening collagen. )
Shower as usual but be careful not to slip!
15 minutes from start to finish, and with this daily routine you will notice smoother and softer skin within two weeks. Plus, you'll start your morning smelling a little like Hawaii. And who wouldn't want that?
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Join our Kiva Lending Team!
I want to invite you to join our lending team, Apothecasf, on Kiva, a non-profit website that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. You choose who to lend to - whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq - and as they repay the loan, you get your money back.If you join our lending team, we can work together to alleviate poverty. Once you're a part of the team, you can choose to have a future loan on Kiva "count" towards our team's impact. The loan is still yours, and repayments still come to you - but you can also choose to have the loan show up in our team's collective portfolio, so our team's overall impact will grow!
See you on Kiva!
Kirsten
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