What Causes Cellulite?

Simply put, Cellulite is nothing more than normal fat beneath the skin. The fat appears bumpy because it pushes against connective tissue, causing the skin above it to pucker. It is most noticeable on arms, buttocks and thighs. Although cellulite can affect both sexes, it is more common in females because they are more likely to have particular types of fats and connective tissues.

What causes cellulite?

The causes of cellulite are not well understood, but there are several theories that have been put forth as explanations. Among these are:

• Hormonal factors - hormones likely play an important role in cellulite development. It is believed that estrogen, insulin, noradrenaline, thyroid hormones, and prolactin are part of the cellulite production process.
• Genetics - certain genes are required for cellulite development. Genes may predispose an individual to particular characteristics associated with cellulite, such as gender, race, slow metabolism, distribution of fat just underneath the skin, and circulatory insufficiency.
• Diet - people who eat too much fat, carbohydrates, or salt and too little fiber are likely to have greater amounts of cellulite.


• Lifestyle factors - cellulite may be more prevalent in smokers, those who do not exercise, and those who sit or stand in one position for long periods of time (working on a desk).


• Clothing - underwear with tight elastic across the buttocks (limiting blood flow) may contribute to the formation of cellulite.

Cellulite Treatments

There are many products and treatments that promise to get rid of cellulite on thighs and buttocks. But there is little evidence that shows that many of them work well or for long. Here is what you should know about some of the options:

Cellulite creams. These creams are said to dissolve fat and smooth the skin. But many cellulite creams contain aminophylline, a prescription drug approved for treating asthma. There is no scientific evidence that these creams are effective against cellulite, and for some people, they can be harmful. Their apparent effect on cellulite may be due to narrowing bloodvessels and forcing water from the skin, which could be dangerous for people with circulatory problems. Aminophylline can also cause an allergic reaction in some people.

Liposuction. This is a surgical procedure to remove fat deposits from the body. Liposuction, though, removes deep fat, not cellulite, which is just beneath the skin. The American Academy of Dermatology warns that liposuction may actually worsen the appearance of cellulite by creating more depressions in the skin.

Mesotherapy. Mesotherapy is a therapy originally developed in Europe to relieve pain of inflammatory skin conditions. It involves injecting substances such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and enzymes into the tissue just beneath the skin. Mesotherapy may break down fat and bring a slight improvement in the appearance of cellulite. But it also carries risks, which include swelling, infection, and irregular contours.

Massage and spa treatments. Massage and other spa treatments may have a temporary effect on the dimpling appearance of skin. But they do not remove cellulite. Any effect is short-lived and probably due to the removal of excess fluid.

How can cellulite be prevented?

Eating healthy, low fat foods such as fruits, vegetables, and fiber can help one to avoid cellulite. Similarly exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and reducing stress are recommended to prevent cellulite. In addition wearing thongs, boyshorts, or looser fitting undergarments can prevent cellulite that might form due to tight elastic.

xoxo

Silky Skin Strawberry Mask...

Hello my lovelies, its been a while and I miss y'all. lol! A lot is happening in my life right now, its been really hectic. 

 Wow!! I hope y'all been taking care of your lovely skins. There's always something new on the blog, even for those who have visited over a thousand times! So keep checking the blog for new ideas, tips and advice on how to enhance your skin's appearance.

Today's post will be short and the skin recipe will be so easy to make. Additionally, this recipe is guaranteed to give your skin a silky glowing appearance for days to come.

If you want a quick glow for that date, party or wedding, then this strawberry body mask is a must try. So here goes:

Ingredients:

• 4-5 ripe medium size organic strawberries
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon Olive oil.

Wash the strawberries and remove tops. Mash all the ingredients together. Apply immediately to your face, avoiding the eye area and leave on for 15-20 minutes.

Rinse off with warm water, apply toner, then follow with a rich moisturiser.

Benefits of Strawberry: 

Strawberry is so great for your skin as it is actually a wrinkle preventer! true fact!! Strawberry keeps the skin looking younger. Strawberry also boosts your body's immunity and promotes eye health too, so while you are at it, munch some too!

NOTE: For sensitive skin, please do a patch test first!

Will try to blog more regularly, pls bear with me and keep checking for new posts, also feel free to leave comments or ask questions... Till the next post, 

xoxo

Power Food: 5 Uses of Cucumber That Will Amaze You...

Cucumbers are great for different reasons. Apart for keeping us fuller for longer, this post will look at cucumber as it affects the skin. 

Did you know that Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day? Just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

So here goes:

1. The high water content, antioxidants, and the presence of certain minerals like magnesium, potassium, and silica make cucumbers an essential part of skin care. Facial masks containing cucumber juice can be used for skin tightening. Ascorbic acid and caffeic acid present in cucumbers can bring down the water retention rate which in turn diminishes the puffiness and swelling under the eyes. 

1. Sunburn Treatment - No aloe? No worries! Rub a slice of cucumber on sunburns or irritated skin. Cucumber provides relief for skin with sunburn and other blemishes.

2. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

3. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemical in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

4. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the photochemical will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

Here's an extra and amazing tip:  Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

 Hope this helps, xoxo

5 Health Benefits of Yoghurt:The Power Food!

There are so many great types of yoghurt in the market today. This post will help you understand why you should head straight to the yoghurt aisle and forget about purchasing ice cream.

Yoghurt is referred to as a power food because of its health benefits, plus yoghurts can be used in achieving glowing skin too. Yoghurt comes from milk, so it contains essential vitamins such as B-2, B-12, VitD, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

Firstly, your body requires a healthy amount of "good" bacteria in the digestive tract and many yoghurts are made using active good bacteria. Yoghurt also contains "probiotics", which refers to a living organism that can result in a health benefit when eaten in adequate amounts.This helps digestion and immune functions.

So when shopping for healthy yoghurts, you should look out for the ones that specifically indicate the presence of "live and active cultures" on the label. These ones contain probiotics.

Benefit 1. Yoghurt Reduces The Risk Of High Blood Pressure.
A recent spanish research, which followed more than 5,000 people in 2 years found there was reduction in the risk of developing HBP among people eating 2-3 servings a day of low fat yoghurt compared to those eating non.

Benefit 2. Yoghurt with "active culture" helps certain conditions such as constipation, diarrhea, colon cancer, and ulcer.

Benefit 3. Yoghurt is great for your skin. Including yoghurt to your home facials will reveal a smoother, brighter, glowing skin. Try Yoghurt + Brown sugar + Honey for a great exfoliation (can be used on both face and body) 

Benefit 4. Yoghurt with active cultures discourage Vaginal Infections: This is fact! Candida or yeast vaginal infections are a common problem for women.Yoghurt consumed during yeast infection can help prevent more growth of the infection. However, do take medications too. 

Benefit 5.Yoghurt helps you feel fuller for longer.A great tip is to cut fresh fruits into your yoghurt and enjoy. This ultimately can help you in your weight reduction process. Try strawberries, blue berries, pineapples, apples or peaches or any other fruit you love.Eating yoghurt will definitely make you feel less hungry as you feel fuller and eat less.

The importance of yoghurt cannot be overemphasised. Its definitely better to eat yoghurt than ice creams. Try to avoid yoghurts that already have fruits in them, those are just full of sugar. Instead buy plain low fat or even full fat yoghurt and dice in any fruits and enjoy.

xoxo

Home Spa Tips...

The only way to achieve glowing skin is by showing it Tender Loving Care! There's no other trick to it. You just have to find the time to pamper your skin.

This post will help you with turning your space/home into a place where you too can experience the spa feel. Its only reality that sometimes people can't even find the time or extra cash to visit a professional spa. But this is the time, to stop and decide that you will give yourself time to love your skin. Because you deserve it! What"s the point of working so hard, if you can't find time to love yourself?

This post will also show you how to create that spa atmosphere in your home. Going to the spa can be expensive, so why not create your home spa using home made ingredients and recipes that are natural and can produce flawless, beautiful skin. 

A home spa is very soothing and revitalising for the skin, the mind and body. It is fortunately very easy to do a little DIY beauty @ home. Firstly set aside a day for "me-time". (maybe saturday evening or sunday afternoon). Spend your time treating your face through cleansing, exfoliating, masking and massaging. Give your body the same attention through scrubbing followed by a lathering of rich body lotion.

Tip1: Create a home spa atmosphere by switching off all lights and putting on scented candles. the more the candles, the better! (Pls remember to blow it out when you are done!)

Tip 2: To create your own steamer, fill a large bowl with hot water, hold your head about 15 inches above the water. Create a tent by draping a towel over your head, shoulders and the bowl. To stimulate your sense of smell, you can add few drops of essential oils such as lavender, vanilla or any fragrance you love.. Follow this step by cleansing and toning your face, making sure to use the right products for your skin type.

Tip3: Make a lovely and simple brown sugar scrub using Honey + Brown sugar. This can be used to exfoliate your body, then step into a warm shower and rinse off, followed by applying a generous amount of body lotion/ body butter.

Tip 4: You can make an organic and nutritious facial mask using blended Yoghurt + Banana + Honey. 

Apply mixture using your foundation brush, leave on for 5-10 minutes, remember to lay quietly on your bed, covering your eyes with cucumber slices, while breathing in and out! try not to focus on any other thing but yourself. (U can listen to soft music too, try calm asian inspired instrumentals). After rinsing off, use a good face moisturiser.

Tip5: Sleep Off! The advantage of a home spa over a professional one is that you can sleep off on your bed  after all's done, while you may have to get into your car and drive home after a day @ the spa! If you can, get some much needed sleep...

Things Needed For Your Home Spa:

Fresh Towels

Scented Candles

Essential Oils

 Calm Soothing Music

Quiet Atmosphere

Fruits/Ingredients of choice based on home made recipes being used.

Share your home spa experiences with us by leaving a comment. Feel free to give some more tips or ask questions...

xoxo

COCONUT OIL FACIAL CLEANSE...

Hi guys. how has it been for u peeps? hectic or laid back? Mine has been a bit of both! I have been working on a client's home and its been both exciting and tiring. But u know what, keep going, just keep doing whatever you are passionate about, as I always say, consistency pays off in the long run!

So back to what this post is all about. Y'all know how much I love me some coconut oil. Ever since it was used to massage me a long while ago, I fell totally in love with the fragrance, the feel and its powerful effect on my skin. I have been researching on other ways to use this magic oil and I came across a lovely recipe. This recipe involves using coconut oil as a cleanser for the face! The surprise is its also suitable for oily skin!!

Oil cleansing is a method of cleansing using essential oils on the face. If you google oil cleansing, you will find out that this method isn't new at all. Using oil to clean off oil from the face sounds ridiculous right? However, you will be so amazed with the results as I have noticed. Did you know that oil cleansing will help remove all the toxins below your skin's surface? Amazing right?! Coconut oil is anti-microbial and contains anti toxin properties that will cleanse your pores rather than clog them.

When trying the oil cleanse system, you may experience more break outs for the first few days. But thats fine as this simply means that the oil is bringing out toxins in order to clear the inner blemishes.

Oil cleansing is also great for acne prone skin and skin with blemishes. Coconut oil is calm and soothing and also opens the pores, releases built up toxins and prevents new blemishes from breaking out. I was totally amazed myself.
Check my face out (and I have used no make up in this pic, so I am totally fresh faced and this is on day 5 of my coconut oil cleanse).

Coconut Oil Cleanse Recipe: 1/2 cup extra virgin organic coconut oil + 1 teaspoon of olive oil. 

Whisk oils together till well blended in and store in an air tight container. 

Also get a little towel specifically for your face.

Oil Cleansing Process: Apply coconut oil on your face and neck using a cotton pad, then soak face towel in warm water and hold the steam from the towel over your face to steam in the oils. Finally, rinse off!

So simple! Remember to use organic coconut and olive oil. To order your organic coconut oil, pls call 08169000005. It costs N5,000 (for those in Nigeria only)

My Verdict: The oil cleanse is something I will continue to try from time to time. It could be tried when you want to pamper your skin or when you want your skin to rest from all the cleansers, and toners. However, its not something that would replace my usual regime of Cleanse-Tone-Moisturise.

I am always glad to use myself as an experiment before I bring in recipes, lol! But it does work!!

Till the next post, Keep calm and lets glow together.

xoxo 

 

Today's Recipe: Shea Butter (Oree) And Brown Sugar...

If you have ever used sugar-based scrubs, then you already know how amazing it feels. Your skin looks younger, fresher and lovely.

So, todays post will be short and simple, plus you can easily whip up this recipe in the comfort of your homes.

So the ingredients for this simple scrub are  : Shea Butter + Brown Sugar
(You can also add a little bit of essential oils such as lavender, pure coconut oil, olive oil or even a drop of your massage oil).

The shea butter moisturises, while the brown sugar exfoliates!. 

I always choose brown sugar over white ones because they are grainier and more organic. White sugars are processed, however, this doesn't mean that white sugar is not ideal for making scrubs. I would advice to opt for white sugar as a second choice though. 

My Own Shea Butter Sugar Scrub!

Method: Slowly heat up your shea butter a bit to liquify it, then pure in your sugar into the melted shea butter, mix thoroughly and pour mixture into an air tight container. 


Shea butter lasts for a life time, so this mixture is not only cheap and easy to make but also long lasting.

The Shea Butter moisturises

The brown sugar exfoliates

Tips: The shea butter sugar scrub can also be used for your manicure and pedicure.

To order home made shea butter sugar scrub from skin candeez, call 08169000005 (Nigeria only).

xoxo