One of my favourite customers contacted me to say that she couldn’t see the sale in the Parlour when she was about to place her order today. Oh dear, it seemed I got the timing off by a whole 24 hours!! Not good!

Well, as a way to give my wonderful customers some more time to enjoy the sale I’ve done two things:

This way, not only do you have a little more time to make up for my boo-boo over this weekend, but you’ll also have a little something to carry you through the Bank Holiday weekend.

Enjoy!

Yours naturally

Xina

20% Sale: Friday, 15th August – Sunday, 17th August

All of your current favourites will be discounted and if you’re on the lookout for your new favourite product(s), this is the best time to try a few.

Do not delay! The sale only lasts for three days this weekend, so get your skates on and tell your friends too!

Yours naturally,

Xina

I firmly believe that being pampered is a necessity – not a luxury. It adds balance to a busy lifestyle and keeps you going. It adds to your quality of life and is important enough to be scheduled as an unmissable appointment with yourself.

A long time ago, I promised I’d have a massage and a facial once a month as a way of saying “thank you” to myself for working hard. I don’t go out for a monthly facial any more, I’m more than happy to do them at home for myself and will go out for one on special occasions. I still enjoy regular aromatherapy massages with blends to reflect my mood depending on whether I need to be invigorated or relaxed.

You can do your own facial using your favourite products. A facial needn’t be a complicated process and could be bumped up a notch by listening to some music whilst spending some extra time on your face. This could mean that you might just shape your eyebrows take care of your, er, moustache ;o), have a face pack and or exfoliate, apply a serum, etc. Make it about spending some quality time with yourself.

Pampering should never be a monetary concern though, always remember that you can do it regardless of your budget or income. For years one of my favourite ways to pamper has been a good old soak in the bath whilst listening to music! I often listened to my sister’s tapes whilst soaking in the bath as a youngster.

I started to explore different music genres (yeah, whilst still in the bath, LOL) and would periodically time it so that I could listen to radio plays or the Book at Bedtime on Radio 4.

I enjoy my bath with blended oils and bubble baths (or Epsom salts), candles and lots of filtered water (or chilled white wine!) – whilst listening to relaxing music or a guided meditation. I insist on having this kind of bath at least once a week to give my life balance.

In leaner times, I’ve simply thrown lots of salt into the bath and soaked whilst meditating in silence (had to save on the electricity!!).

After a good soak, spend a little time massaging yourself with your favourite oil blend. In a relationship? Hand over the massage oil and let your partner do your massage for you!

Besides soaking in the bath, a great way to pamper yourself is to go and sit in a green area just to gather your thoughts. This might be your local park, or green. You may have to travel a bit so you could make an outing of it – just take a flask of hot tea/cocoa or a bottle of water so that you can sit there comfortably for a little while. By the way, you’d be amazed at how much comfort and joy you can get from simply sipping your favourite hot drink from a flask whilst outdoors – honestly, I tell no lie!

…and then there’s meditation…ah, meditation! A free vacation to your favourite destination any time you like. It’s worth learning how to do it so take a course or read up on it. Information on meditation and various techniques are freely available on the internet.

Happy pampering!

Hyperpigmentation, liver spots and dark scars are common amongst people of all races and can cause varying degrees of distress for the the individual; from “not bothered at all about it” to “I really, really need help getting rid of this”.

The treatment of these conditions come mainly in the form of creams and soaps that are applied topically to the affected areas. Sounds straightforward enough, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that and this is where the taboo comes in.

These creams/soaps are called, bleaches, lighteners, whiteners or brighteners and are often used for something other than treating marks on the skin. In certain cultures the creams are used because having a lighter skin (ie looking more like a white person) is seen to be more beautiful. The products have caused controversy when they contain dangerous ingredients such as hydroquinone and mercury and yet are still used in order to look whiter.

In Asia and Africa sales of lightening creams and soaps are a multibillion dollar industry and openly recommend use in order to look whiter so that the user can have a “better life” (see below).

Lightening also has class issues too. In hotter countries if you are darker skinned, it’s often assumed that you do manual outdoor work, where as if you are lighter skinned it’s assumed that you have a more “professional” better paid office job.

It is the opinion here at Nature’s Parlour that the creams serve two separate and distinct markets to a greater or lesser degree:

We do not wish to judge those from group 1, however, we are currently in the process of sourcing creams and soaps specifically for people from group 2. Our priority when researching these products will always be: Is it safe? Is it natural/organic? Would we in the Parlour use it (depending on skin type)? Would we recommend it to our friends and family? Some of the packaging of the products we’re currently looking at would attract those from group 1, but we reiterate that we would sell those products based on their suitability for those in group 2.

We will not be considering creams with hydroquinone, mercury, parabens, petrochemicals, or with PEG (polyethylene glycol in its varying forms). For the soaps we will not be considering anything containing SLS (sodium lauryl sulphate) either.

Do you have scars you’d like to get rid of? Would you like to know which creams are safe and natural/organic? Do you know someone who could benefit from a natural/organic treatment for hyperpigmentation but wouldn’t know where to find them or would be too embarrassed to ask? Would you prefer to get rid of your scars rather than wear foundation to hide them? Would you like advice on how to use such creams so that your scars go but your complexion remains the way you’d like it to be? Perhaps you have freckles and would like to know if these products can remove or fade them?

We are aware that this is quite a sensitive topic and would like to remind people who take part in this discussion that we encourage people to remain polite whatever their view is; criticism must remain constructive and impersonal; abusive posts will be removed. Whatever your take is on this, we’d like to hear from you.

Yours naturally,

Xina

Do you want to look after your skin but you’re not really sure where to start? Well, good quality natural or organic products are your first step

After that, you have to think about when to carry out your routine. Twice a day is your best bet; once in the morning and again either just before you retire for bed or when you get home from work – especially if you’re the type who’s way too tired to thing about anything but your pillow at bed time.

Here are your simple routines. There’s one for the morning and a choice of two for the evening depending on whether your prefer to use facial wash or cleanser.

Morning routine:

Evening routine (a)

Evening routine (b)

Additional tips:

What do you think of this routine? Do you have one that you’ve used for years or are you going to take the plunge and start with this simple one? What ever your take on this, we’d love to hear from you.

Yours naturally,

Xina