Random music quote of the day: David Dundas

“It’s the weekend, and I know that you’re free so pull on your jeans and come on out with me”

- Jeans on, David Dundas

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Here’s to a safe and fun-filled weekend

Happy Friday y’alls!

Double Dipping

Yes. It’s as nasty as it sounds, but can you always identify it?

Like when that chick at the party grabs a chip and dips it in the salsa, bites half the chip off and dips the same damn slobbery chip back in the salsa. Now no-one else can savour the salsa dip; done gone and ruined it for errryone.

Or the hot rod at the bar who goes in for a handful of nuts, eats them all, licks the yummy seasoned salt off his fingers and then goes back in for more. Are you really expected to eat from those nuts? Maybe. But if you take some time to think about what just happened you probably wouldn’t.

Double dipping can happen in the Spa as well, or at someone who offers spa services.

Lets talk about that good ole wax pot. Now I love me some waxing; Gets all the hair removed in one whack, don’t have to deal with it for a good couple weeks.

So you’ve made your appointment to wax the little fuzzies off your upper lip. No-one even knows that you have hair up there but the fact that YOU can see it is good enough reason for you to get them removed. I’n mad at ya’.

You walk into your spa, greet the receptionist, link up with your esthetician, riiippp…, pay for your service, tip your girl/guy who did an excellent job, and then you are off to catch up with your hot lunch date; 15 minutes flat you are out of there. 

Only that in about a week or so, you notice some irritation or bumps on your lip.

Hmmmmmmm….

What you didn’t know was that just before you arrived, the Spa performed another waxing service – a brazilian bikini wax, in the same treatment room you had your lip wax done. Same pot of hot wax, same pallet stick. 

Are you getting that picture?

All the bacteria that was present around that frowsy genital (we don’t really have any idea now do we) now in contact with your upper lip, and backstroking the the wax pot with the peewbs. Fantastic.

Suppose the individual had an STI, or worse? Suppose it was that time of the month?

Spas don’t always discriminate. We are in a recession, money is money. But even if the person was clean as a whistle and in great health, is that really acceptable practice?

Disgusting.

Waxing sticks are disposable. They are wooden, porous and cannot be disinfected.

Good practice dictates that Spas do not double dip in soft-wax services. That means, if a spa chooses to use the same wax pot for different services, it MUST discard the waxing stick after each, single dip. ie it should follow the following procedure:

- Dip the clean wax stick into the wax,
- Wipe it on the area to be waxed
- Throw the used stick in the garbage
- Remove wax and hair from the skin with fabric or paper sheets.
- Repeat steps as often as required to complete entire area.
- Remove any wax residue from skin using suitable product
- Disinfect area with a suitable product, to reduce any bacterial action and soothe irritation or keep potential irritation at bay.

A lot of wax sticks?
Sure. But that’s why the service isn’t free.

Expensive?
Well, it will certainly add some to a Spas operating expense. Alternatively, just one  wax stick can be used per client and the entire pot of wax can be changed after each client.  The wax stick option doesn’t seem so expensive now does it?.

It’s a minimal expense in the grand scheme of health.

You get what you pay for; It’s what differentiates the good spas from the excellent ones.

You can’t protect yourself from EVERY bacteria on the planet, so that’s more reason to keep  your health and nutrition in check. The body is constantly fighting against bacteria, which is probably the reason why more people aren’t seriously affected by popular unhygienic practices such as soft-wax double dipping.

Don’t be a statistic. For all that is sanitary in this world, take a look around and take the necessary precautions regarding your health.

Just eww.

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Supernova

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Related GC post:
HAIs: Infections anyone?

Random music quote of the day: Damn Yankees

” We don’t need to talk about it anymore, yesterday’s just a memory, can we close the door?”

– High Enough, Damn Yankees

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Leave the baggage at the door already.

Happy Thursday y’all!

Supernova

Anti-Aging Tip #1

Avoid aggravating skin

Avoid any habit, product or treatment that acutely irritates skin – sun, heat, smoking and excessive alcohol for example. Anything that continuously reddens skin like harsh cleansers and toners with stripping agents like alcohols should also be avoided.

Also, using soothing agents like grapeseed oil, green tea and oatmeal in skin care products can help control inflammation and prevent the trigger reactions that lead to free radical damage.

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Leave the scrubbing action for your bathroom tiles.

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Supernova

Related post:
Pre mature aging  
HELP! My skin is schizo

Natural vs. Organic

Ooooooh! “Natural” products. “Natural” has been getting a lot of play lately, seeing that the world’s gone green and all. But ‘natural’ isn’t new; it’s not exactly breakthrough science. You are natural. I am natural; well at least we were born that way. The earth is natural, and has been for kazillion of years. Cyanide is natural; doesn’t mean that you want to eat it, or rub it on your skin. 

A natural substance is one that exists in nature, and it was not created by humans in a laboratory. Not that some natural substances, flavours for example, cannot be reproduced in a lab, but ‘natural’ substances can be found, in their original state, in nature. 

There is a myth that natural substances do not contain chemicals. By golly yes they do. All products contain chemicals of some sort; most chemicals used to produce cosmetics and skin care products are derived from plants. 

Natural extracts and substances are groups of chemicals. Some chemicals may irritate skin and can even be fatal yes, like those found in poison ivy, but not all chemicals do. It is estimated that over one-third of all drugs are derived from plants. 

The label ‘Natural’ does not mean that the product isn’t:

- fatal
- carcinogenic  (cancer causing)
- irritating to skin 
- foul smelling
- safe or that it doesn’t contain harmful pesticides. 

A product need only contain 3% natural products to be labelled ‘natural’. The other 97% could be pure synthesized garbage, complicated names that you can’t pronounce, but it is marketed at natural, for good reason. I mean, would you purchase a product that is labelled “UNNATURAL”? Further more, the 3% of the product that is natural need not be an active ingredient, it could be a filler, like mineral oil. Mineral oil is natural, it is derived from the earth. There are no strict rules whatsoever regarding the composition of natural products. 

Though great marketing, ‘natural’ products are not necessarily better or worse than synthetic/ laboratory-synthesized products.

In some cases synthetically made products may be favoured over natural ones, as here there is the advantage of eliminating contaminants found in nature, and stabilizing ingredients with a limited shelf life or those that are photosensitive i.e. are destroyed by sunlight. In this regard, laboratory synthesized manufacturing can offer greater quality control over products that are mass made, travel longer distances or have to withstand extreme temperature changes, hot or cold.

At the same time a lot of expense cuts can be taken and the manufacturer can use a lot of synthetic ‘filler’ products to cut costs. It really depends on the product and the manufacturer. Look at the product label and see what are the first 5 ingredients that the product contains. Do they include Active ingredients? Water? Essential oils? Or are they just all synthetic fillers?

Natural should not be confused with organic. 

Products that are labelled organic have to adhere to strict manufacturing, and are heavily regulated. The use of non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides are greatly restricted, however at times certain non-organic fertilizers are still used. Where animals are used they must be raised without growth hormones and antibiotics and generally have a diet that is healthier than either yours or mine.

Usually, organic foods cannot be genetically modified, i.e. the DNA of the food cannot be changed through selective breeding, or genetic engineering for example, which is largely done in plants to make them more resistant to disease. For example, some tomatoes have been gentically modified through the addition of a certain gene that suppresses the natural gene it contains, which makes them soften shortly after harvesting.

As a result, though free of harmful chemicals, the composition organic products are usually smaller, wrinklier, may not be as brightly colored and usually don’t travel well, unless of course you are picking it from your backyard just in time to eat it. The chemical composition/ effectiveness of the ingredients in organic products may also differ slightly from batch to batch.

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Watch your contents.

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Related GC posts
Ingredient Spotlight: Mineral Oil 
GMOs : Genetically Modified Foods
Health | Best foods