10 Great Hair Care Tips

If you watch the tabloids, you know that even the stars have bad hair days. It just seems that when the professional stylists are out of the picture, it is inherently human to have a less than glamorous mane. But you can do your part to stay ahead of the battle by following these great tips for hair care.

 

1. Use a professional conditioner that is formulated for your specific hair type. While you can skimp a little on the shampoo, a good, professional conditioner is a must have. Look for products in salons that are customized for your hair type. For instance: If you have colour or a perm, choose a conditioner that is for chemically processed hair. And stay away from those all-in-one shampoo and conditioner combos.

 

2. Choose a cut tailored to your face and body shape. The number one mistake that people make when choosing a new hairstyle is to pick a style based on popularity rather than how it will enhance their features. Always choose a new cut based on how it will enhance or detract from your facial features and build. If you have broad shoulders, choose a full-bodied cut over a close cropped head hugging doo. 

 

3. Don’t forget your UV protectants. Just as your skin gets damaged by wind and sun, so does your hair. To combat this, look for finishing products such as mousses, gels and sprays that block UV rays.

 

4. Keep your appointments. Did you know that your hair will split faster than it will grow? You need to get a trim every 6 to 8 weeks, even if it’s just a micro trim. A good hairdresser makes them good because they know what to leave on the head, not take off.

 

5. Leave chemicals to the professionals. There is a reason why beauticians need to go to school to learn how to handle chemicals and hair processes. You can do irreparable damage with these products even if the package says that it’s way easy. And even if you don’t make your hair fall out, you could end up looking like a clown and paying a stylist big bucks to fix your mess. (Note: Most stylists charge double the rate for corrective colour than they do for normal colour processes)

 

6. Get colour for interest and body. Every cut needs a little bit of colour to make it truly breath-taking. No matter whether your taste is subtle or dramatic, you can add interest and volume to your tresses with a colour process. Highlights, lowlights, all over colour, grey coverage, you name it, it’s all good for your look.

 

7. Do weekly conditioning treatments. Even if your hair is extremely healthy, it is constantly on the attack from wind, sun, cold and heat. During the summer months, your hair is battered even more when it absorbs chlorine and other chemicals from your pool. 

 

8. Get an ionic ceramic flat iron. Instead of frying your hair with a conventional metal plated flat iron. Straighten your tresses, add shine and infuse moisture with one of the a negative ionic flat irons. We personally use T3 irons for all our work. 

 

9. Choose your styling products wisely. Avoid products that leave build-up on your hair. If you see white gunk, that means that your product is not water-soluble and may be coating your hair shaft. Build-up causes limpness, breakage and inability to curl not to mention the white flakes.

 

10. Did you know that if you use a towel after your shower to dry your hair you are causing split ends and adding static electricity to your hair. Don’t rub the towel back and forth over your hair, scrunch the towel around your hair like you would scrunch crackers in your soup.

 

While all of these tips won’t make you look like you’ve hired a personal hairdresser, they will help you look the very best that you can each and every day. When it comes to hair care, remember that you wear your hair every day. Now isn’t it worth the time, effort and money that it takes to keep it looking spectacular?

8 Steps for a Woman Dancing with Cancer

In this short article, Susun Weed looks at 8 steps a woman can take after a diagnosis of cancer.

 

Submit. Give up. Make room for the miracle.

 

Inform yourself. Listen to your intuition. Examine all the options, but only use what feels right to you.

 

Accept support. Surround yourself with loving friends, healing music, special colors, prayer and affirmation. Create a ceremony of healing/wholing and invite your supporters.

 

Anoint your breast(s) with healing herbal oils such as calendula, dandelion, or poke. Visualize healing energies suffusing your tissues. 

 

Maximize the healthy qualities of your diet:

• Use organic olive oil and butter to the exclusion of other fats.
• Increase your use of beans, especially lentils, and fermented foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, miso, tamari, homemade wines and beers. 

 

Include immune building and anticancer herbs in your diet:

• Daily use of a nourishing infusion, especially red clover flower or burdock root or violet leaf infusions. 
• Daily use of fresh herb vinegars, especially yellow dock, burdock, and dandelion root vinegars.
• Frequent use of a long-cooked soup containing seaweed (such as kombu or wakame), astragalus root, and medicinal mushrooms (reishi, shiitake, puffballs, etc).

 

Increase you exercise level. Take a yoga or tai chi class weekly. Walk daily. Get a weekly massage. Pamper yourself with activity. 

 

Use drugs (chemotherapy, tamoxifen, anaesthesia, pain killers) as required but:

 

• consider a short trial of a powerful herb such as poke root before resorting to drugs; and
• always combine drug use with complementary herbs. For instance, protect the liver with milk thistle seed tincture.

 

Use radiation and surgery as needed but:

• always combine with complementary herbs; and
• be willing to set limits that you feel comfortable with - they can't take your lymph glands if you say "No."

 

For more information, see Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way by Susun Weed. Visit www.ashtreepublishing.com.

 

Susun Weed

PO Box 64

Woodstock, NY 12498

Fax: 1-845-246-8081

8 Popular Perfume Choices For Women

If you like to smell good, and who doesn’t, then finding the right perfume is at the top of your list. The shopping process may include sampling tester bottles at the store or simply by the old trial-and-error method. In an attempt to make your perfume shopping a little easier, this article takes a look at eight of the top perfume choices for women.

 

Cotton Candy by Body Fantasies. Do you remember the days of visiting the local fair and the smell of the delicious cotton candy? There is a fragrance that can help to revisit those special memories because, you guessed it, Cotton Candy by Body Fantasies is a perfume that smells exactly like cotton candy. In one word, it’s just plain yummy

 

Cashmere Mist by Donna Karen. This perfume, commonly found at Macy’s, is one that offers a sweet scent that is the ultimate in femininity. It almost lends to a soft floral smell and will captivate everyone in the room.

 

Eternity by Calvin Klein. This is a bold fragrance that leaves people thinking of you for, just as the name implies, an eternity.

 

CK One by Calvin Klein. This perfume has been available for quite some time and leaves the wearer with a clean scent that is unmistakable to those who recognize it. It’s smell is so memorable that those who experience it will notice it instantly on someone else.

 

Red Door by Elizabeth Arden. This perfume offers a very pleasing scent and a very sweet one at the same time. Like other designer perfumes, it is bold and will definitely get you noticed.

 

Navy by Cover Girl. A perfume that has been available for many years, Navy is visually recognizable by the round blue bottle and gold lettering. It’s smell is soft, but so very memorable at the same time.

 

Polo Sport by Ralph Lauren. This perfume, created by a popular clothing designer, is fruity in its smell and stays with the wearer for hours. It is a quality fragrance for the athletic type or for the home body as its universal scent is for every woman.

 

Green Tea by Elizabeth Arden. This perfume is fairly new on the market and has been made available in recent years. Still yet, it has steadily gained in popularity and offers the wearer a very sweet scent that softens just enough to be enjoyed.

 

When selecting perfume, it’s a good idea to purchase a small bottle so that you can take it with you wherever you go. Some of the smallest perfume bottles will fit in the tiniest of purses, which makes them ideal for a quick sprits on the go.

7 Guidelines To Choosing A Great Patio Umbrella

When your outdoor space lacks trees and shade, the simplest and most affordable solution is buying patio umbrellas. Unfortunately, purchasing an umbrella for your patio isn’t that easy if you don’t know the specific details that would best suit your backyard. Here are a few things that you should keep in mind when choosing the umbrella for your situation and lifestyle.

 

1. Position

 

In choosing your desired umbrella for your backyard, you should consider where it would be placed to ensure that its purpose of shading could be served.

 

The location of the patio umbrella is important. There are two categories of the location of the umbrella: through table and free standing. Free standing umbrellas are used in large outdoor areas. It could shade different kinds of patio furniture of any size and shape depending on your preference. A through-table umbrella is basically placed in the centre of the patio table and is commonly used as focal point of the outdoor area.

2. Umbrella Stands

 

This is the support of your patio umbrella. The stand or base would depend on how you intend to use it. In choosing the standard base of outdoor umbrellas, you should consider a heavy-duty support that could survive any weather. Free standing umbrellas require heavier bases than through-table umbrellas.

 

3. Size

 

The size of umbrellas would be determined by measuring its diameter. In choosing the exact size of patio umbrella, make sure to measure the table, chairs, or space to be shaded. The basic rule in calculating the diameter is that the umbrella should always be at least 4 to 5 feet larger than the intended area to be covered.

 

4. Umbrella Frames

 

There are two kinds of frames available to choose from - metal and wood umbrella frames. Selecting the frame would depend on how you intend to use the umbrella and which would match the theme of you patio. Metal umbrellas use push-button tilts or a crank lift. This lets the umbrella to be angled in any direction. Most metal umbrellas could be purchased with coloured furnishes like black, champagne, or white. A wooden umbrella is usually opened manually by using a pulley method and could not be rotated. Hardwood and teak is the most common wooden umbrellas in stores.

 

5. Tilt Methods

 

There are three methods in tilting the umbrella - collar tilt, crank tilt and push-button. The collar tilt method is the most common and user-friendly. The umbrella tilts when you rotate the collar located on the frame.

 

6. Materials

 

The main purpose of your patio umbrella is to block the dangerous rays of the sun. This purpose would succeed depending on the materials of your canopy. The most common materials used are PVC, canvas and shade cloth. A PVC canopy could block 100% UV light and could survive bad weather. Canvas canopies are durable fabric that blocks out the sun effectively. It is not water resistant when purchased but it could be treated for your canopy to be waterproof. Shade cloth blocks 90-95% UV rays. It could resist small amounts of rain, but is not entirely waterproof.

 

7. Kinds

 

- Centre pole

 

The centre pole is the most common type of patio umbrella. It is supported by a central pole. The ribs of the umbrella spread out from its pole. It is advisable to place a centre pole umbrella into a solid and heavy base.

 

- Crank and Tilt

 

The crank and tilt design is much similar to the centre pole, but it is known to have a crank device between the pole and canopy which allows you to rotate the angle of the shade umbrella. This kind of umbrella is best for large outdoor areas because it enable you to block out the sun in any direction.

 

- Cantilever

 

The Cantilever umbrella hangs to the side of its frame. Its curved arm supports only one end. This kind of shade umbrella is suitable for large areas with dining sets underneath the umbrella or swimming pools beside the patio furniture because it could be rotated 360 degrees. Its shade could be positioned wherever it is needed.

 

- Pavilion

 

A pavilion is a square-shaded structure that is supported at its every corner. This kind of umbrella is used for a large outdoor space that could shade the entire family. Most pavilions are used in beaches or parks as temporary dining and entertaining area.

5 Physical Symptoms Of Menopause

While thinking about the symptoms of menopause, it is important for you to know and understand that these symptoms differ from women to women. Certain factors like difference in diet and nutrition, general health and health care, etc all affect the way women experience menopause.

 

The general physical symptoms of most women approaching or experiencing menopause include:

 

Longer Menstrual Periods

 

For a woman who usually has short menstrual periods of, say, 4 days, this can increase to more days. When this occurs, it could be one of the symptoms that she is approaching her menopause. When you notice that this is happening to you and you are approaching your late 40s, there is nothing to worry about. Simply know that this is a symptom of menopause.

 

Heavier Menstrual Flows

 

Some women also notice that their menstrual flows are now heavier than usual. If this happens to you and you are sure that nothing else is wrong with you physically, then know that you could be approaching your menopause, especially if the age is right. If the age is not right, then you are not approaching menopause.

 

Spotting

 

Spotting is the situation whereby little drops of blood comes out during the time when you are supposed to be menstruating. When this occurs, it could be a sign of menopause. First, check whether you could be pregnant or not. If not, and if it continues, then it could be a sign of menopause.

 

Menstrual Periods Irregularity

 

There is also the tendency that you will experience general menstrual periods irregularity when you are approaching menopause. When this happens and you know nothing is wrong with you health wise, then it is a symptom of menopause.

 

Lack of Interest in Sex

 

Lack of interest in sex for most women in menopause occurs partly because there is now less fun when having sex. This is because as menopause happens, the oestrogen levels decline, thereby making the vaginal walls less elastic and thinner. This eventually leads to pain or discomfort during sex. To solve this problem, there is the need for sufficient vaginal lubrication for women who are experiencing menopause and still want to enjoy sex with their partners.

 

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5 Minutes To Silky Smooth Skin

Every woman wants smooth, soft skin, but not every woman knows how to get it easily. Silky smooth skin has a luxurious feel to it, and is extremely sensual and sexy. No wonder we all want it so bad! We want it because of how it makes us feel, and our partners want it because of how it feels to them.

 

Most Spas provide some sort of skin softening service where they can drench your skin in some form of moisture rich emollients. I recently got to learn one of the coolest skin softening treatments, where your skin is wrapped in chocolate! Can you imagine! What woman wouldn’t want to be wrapped head to toe in chocolate?

 

If you didn’t know, chocolate is a fat, and not to break the mood, but how the treatment is prepared, is they heat the fat and oil produced from chocolate, and mix it into another skin lotion base. Thus you have both the chocolate and the lotion working together.

 

Now I know we all can’t rush out and get the amount of chocolate you need to do this at home. That would be way too expensive and impractical. Plus you couldn’t rub it all over yourself and get every inch like they do at the spa. So what can you do to have the same silky soft skin without the expense? Here is all you need.

 

All you need to do is do what you do every day, just add one small ingredient to it. First, take a warm to hot shower, the hotter the better. Why? The heat from the shower not only relaxes your body, and soothes your muscles, but opens the pores of your skin all over your body.

 

Now shower as you normally would, but at the end, take a wash cloth and soak it with baby oil. With the baby oil drenched wash cloth, step out of the water enough to rub the wash cloth all over your body without being hit by the water spray. Once you have rubbed the baby oil all over your body, let the shower water drench your body for an extra minute, then get out of the shower.

 

If time permits, don’t towel try, but air dry instead. What you will find is the moisture from the baby oil is literally sucked up by your skin like a sponge, leaving you with softer, smoother skin! Give it a try after a long hard day, and I’m sure it will become one of your favourite bath time rituals.

4 Stages of Eclampsia

Someone out there had it out for pregnant girls. As if it isn't hard enough on them already, there is a disorder known as Pre-Eclampsia. Below, we will take a look at what this disorder is characterized by, how it affects you, and how to tell if you have it.

 

Pre-Eclampsia is a pregnancy disorder involving convulsions. It generally occurs after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and usually with the first child. And as I said before... someone had it out for pregnant girls, because if no signs or symptoms of pre-eclampsia occur, there is still possibilities of eclampsia, which can happen before, during, or after the labour process.

 

There is only one true way to tell if you are carrying the eclampsia disorder; Eclamptic convulsions. Eclamptic convulsions have a four stages of gruelling pain:

 

Stage 1 - Unless the woman is aware and watching for this stage, it is generally missed. In stage one the woman will simply roll her eyes, and simultaneously, her hand a face muscles will slightly twitch.

 

Stage 2 - Shortly after stage one, the teeth will clench, the arms and legs will go rigid, she can bite her tongue, and the face and hand muscles that where twitching will now be clenching. In this stage, the woman will also experience loss of breath for approximately 30 seconds.

 

Stage 3 - This is where it gets really bad. The muscles will begin to jerk violently, while frothy and slightly bloody saliva will appear. 2 minutes of this until it stops, and then there is a coma, or occasionally heart failure.

 

Stage 4 -  If not dead, the woman will fall into a deep unconscious state. This can persist for hours, or pass quickly.

 

Clearly this is not anything to be letting pass by. if any of these symptoms occur, visit your doctor immediately. You could lose 2 lives if you are not properly treated or monitored.

Cancer Prevention: Eat Your Cabbage?

Can eating your broccoli and cabbage help protect you against lung cancer? According to a study published in the October 29, 2005 issue of the British medical journal, Lancet, the answer is yes. 

 

This isn’t the first time that it’s been suggested that cruciferous vegetables may have a preventive effect against lung cancer, but it is the largest scale study to date. There have been a number of smaller observational studies that reported a possible link between the vegetables and lung cancer prevention, but they were considered to be too small to be definitive. This study, conducted by a group of researchers at the Genetic Epidemiology Group at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, compared 2,141 people diagnosed with lung cancer with a group of healthy people in the Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. They chose countries where the consumption of vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts has been traditionally high.

 

“We found protective effects with at least weekly consumption of cruciferous vegetables,” the research letter in the Lancet stated. 

 

Researchers believe that the beneficial effects of cruciferous vegetables are due to the high content of isothiocyanates, phytonutrients that seem to have a strong anti-cancer effect. They are a more bioavailable form of glucosinolates, which also have been shown to have anti-cancer effects. The research conducted at Lyons takes the knowledge a step further.

 

Studies have shown that isothiocyanates neutralize cancerous cells by inhibiting cell proliferation. The cycle of a normal cell in the body proceeds from cell division, through specialization, and eventually, when the cell has either become damaged or has finished doing its job, to apoptosis - or cell death. The problem with cancer cells is that they don’t go through apoptosis. For some reason, their mutations make them resistant to the message that it’s time to die. Isothiocyanates appear to be a catalyst that triggers apoptosis. In laboratory experiments, they’ve induced apoptosis in a number of cell lines. They also seem to slow proliferation of a number of types of cancer cells, including lung cancer lines.

 

The researchers at Lyons found that there is also a correlation between genetics and the preventive effect of cruciferous vegetables. There are two genes that produce an enzyme that remove isothiocyanates from the body. The Lyons study correlated the results from a diet questionnaire with blood tests to determine whether those studied had inactive or active forms of those genes. They found that in people who had an inactive form of one of the two genes had a 37% lower risk of developing lung cancer. Those with an inactive form of the other had a 33% lower risk of developing lung cancer. In those with both genes inactive, there was a 72% reduction in lung cancer risk. In those who had two active gene types, there was no difference in risk at all.

 

Said Paul Brennan, lead author of the research letter, “, this indicates that there is a specific protective effect against lung cancer from cruciferous vegetables.”

 

Random trials to absolutely confirm the findings would be expensive and time consuming, Brennan notes. In the meantime, though, including cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli or turnips in your diet at least once a week may help reduce your risk of developing lung cancer.

Cancer Patient Beats the Odds, Hopes to Inspire Others

James Nebus, 71, never expected to walk his daughter down the aisle or see the birth of his first grandson. 

 

While the holiday time is supposed to joyful, that was not the case for the Nebus family. In December of 2000, they received the grim news that Nebus had a brain tumour and only had months to live. But with highly aggressive treatment, a fighting spirit and a supportive family, he is now a cancer survivor who is hoping to inspire other patients with his story.

 

Diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive form of brain tumours, Nebus took his prognosis head on and researched available treatment options. That was when he found Dr. Phillip G. St. Louis, a Florida Hospital neurosurgeon, and Dr. Nicholas Avgeropoulos, a Florida Hospital Cancer Institute neuro-oncologist, who teamed up to help give Nebus his fighting chance.

 

Shortly after the initial diagnosis, Nebus underwent brain surgery to remove the tumour and implant Gliadel Wafers. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration, these chemotherapeutic wafers are inserted directly into the cavity where the tumour was removed. 

 

Over several days, the wafers release chemotherapy and attack cancer cells. Gliadel Wafers are the only FDA-approved treatment to provide highly concentrated chemotherapy directly to the brain, while avoiding systemic side effects usually associated with chemotherapy. These biodegradable wafers are clinically proven to prolong survival without jeopardizing quality of life, as is often the case with such aggressive therapies. 

 

It has been more than five years since Nebus had this initial operation. Since his diagnosis, Avgeropoulos has carefully watched over Nebus, administering additional therapies, to provide combined benefits of the treatments.

 

"Implanting the Gliadel Wafers only added a few minutes onto the initial surgery, yet the effects have contributed to James living more than five years after surgery" said Avgeropoulos. "We are thrilled by the progress of this remarkable man."

 

Soon after the brain surgery, Nebus returned to his normal life. He played cards, travelled and spent time with his family. And although he retired, his family has maintained the family business, Rock Creek RV Resorts in Naples, Fla.

 

Each year, the family organizes a fundraiser at the RV resort to raise money for the Florida Hospital Cancer Institute and inspire other local GBM patients with Nebus' story of survival. They want to tell other families to never lose hope, no matter what the diagnosis.

 

Nebus' tumour has returned twice since that initial operation. Both times, St. Louis removed the tumour and implanted additional Gliadel Wafers. Nebus' family cannot be certain how much time he has left, but they are incredibly thankful for the past five and a half years and the priceless memories they have shared as a family. - NU