Naturally Does It

I use the Neal's Yard product range in my facial products as I believe that natural ingredients offer the most effective nourishment and protection for your skin.  Neal's Yard combine herbal science and university led research to bring you highly effective natural health & beauty products.

Below is a checklist of ingredients you should be looking out for in your beauty products alongside ingredients you would be best to avoid due to their potentially harmful side effects both long & short term.

NATURAL BEAUTY CHECKLIST

Soften

Look for- cold pressed plant oils & butters

Avoid- mineral oil, liquid paraffin, petroleum, silicones

Hydrate

Look for- glycerin, sorbitol

Avoid- propylene glycol

Smooth

Look for- hyaluronic acid, aloe vera

Avoid- retinol

Cleanse

Look for- essential oils

Avoid- triclosan

Scent

Look for- pure essential oils

Avoid- synthetic fragrance 'parfum'

Antioxidants

Look for- tocopherol

Avoid- BHA, BHT

Preservatives

Look for- sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, benzoic acid, sodium benzoate, dehydroacetic acid

Avoid- parabens, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea,

 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1, 3-diol

Using Neal's Yard has worked for me

Like me, have you suffered with dry, flaky patches of skin on your face?  Do you cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise daily and still nothing improves your appearance?  On top of this, I started developing huge, angry breakouts and teenage spots.  What was going on?  I was even using a brand of skincare supposedly free of damaging, drying ingredients.  For once I took a company at it's word and hadn't bothered checking the list of ingredients prior to buying but taken the company on its ethical standing.  How wrong I was, on closer inspection, I found in the products I was using, ingredients that were indeed drying, damaging and possibly the cause of my angry, spotty areas too.  

I didn't want to buy any more, possibly expensive skin products, so I "borrowed" some of my Facial Therapy products from the Neal's Yard range to test.  To my surprise, after just 2 days, my skin started to look so much better, with no further angry breakouts and the areas of flakiness had begun to get smaller.  I'm still using the products on a daily basis and definitely see improvements in my skin health & appearance.  Obviously, switching to a more natural & organic product range has worked for me, a fact noticed by several friends who have commented on the fact my skin doesn't look as angry as before.  As a therapist, I now feel more confident in recommending these products to clients as, from personal experience, yes they do work.  From a personal level, I can face people, both professionally and socially, knowing that people aren't thinking "he's offering facial treatments & his own skin looks like that?"  

If you'd like to try the range yourself please feel free to read about the facial treatment below;
    
Now available, exclusively with myself at The Riverside, the NEW Rose & Frankincense Holistic Facial with The NYR Organic Skincare range

A rejuvenating facial experience using award winning anti-ageing products from the NYR Organic range, to nurture, firm & tone the skin, smoothing and reducing the appearance of fine lines.  Healing, & calming, rebalancing & clarifying.  All skin types will leave feeling nourished, enriched and more radiant.

1 hour treatment just £40

To book, email me at synergy_therapies@icloud.com or call/text 07794084666

Visit my NYR Organic online store http://bit.ly/1wNN13D

or

I hope to see you soon

Michael

Drink more of the clear stuff! (And I don't mean vodka)

This is a question I always ask clients during a consultation as a lot of the time, what is ailing them, can be attributed, albeit partly, to the fact they aren't drinking enough water.

2 interesting facts;

1. The body is roughly 70% water
2. The brain can be made up of around 90% water!!!

If you feel thirsty, drink, as you are already showing the initial signs of dehydration.  The amount we each require varies from person to person, but if your pee isn't mostly clear, you need to increase your water intake.  If you don't like the taste of plain water add a slice of orange,lemon or lime, try some fresh mint leaves or even watermelon.  Avoid fruit cordials which are loaded with unhealthy sugars, chemicals and what have you.

10 benefits of drinking more water;

• Increased energy, relief from tiredness, increases your focus & concentration
• promotes weightloss - removes fat by products, fills you up so you eat less, raises the metabolism, and water has 0 calories
• flushes out toxins - removes waste through sweat and urine, reduces risk of developing kidney stones
• improves the skin, moisturises underlying tissues, softens the appearance of wrinkles
• aids digestion - keeps you regular and helps the absorption of nutrients
• gives your immune system a boost - drink water and you are less likely to get ill.  Reduces the risk of developing the flu and some forms of cancer
• a natural headache remedy - relieve & prevent headaches which can be caused by the onset of dehydration
• prevents cramping - correct hydration keeps joints lubricated and muscles more supple
• mood enhancer - when the body is working well, you feel great too!!
• Save ££££'s - it's 'free', cheaper than fizzy drinks, and no fat compared to your cholesterol filled latte

Make the change today and see the difference tomorrow

Skin Health for men

"Wow, I really feel pampered after that"

That was the positive reaction, the other day, from a first time male client to his facial treatment which his girlfriend had bought him for his birthday.

Once considered to be a treat reserved solely for the female of the species, male facial treatments, in the celebrity age and an image conscious world, are now very popular, with men now demanding a piece of the facial therapy action.

Addressing everything from razor burn, dry, flaky areas, breakouts, oiliness, a facial treatment will not only leave you feeling and looking healthier but can restore confidence in your appearance and help minimise the signs of ageing. In addition, through the manipulation of underlying facial tissues, stress held in the face is released, toxins are removed and muscles are released of unwelcome tension.

Neal's Yard Facial for Men;  Using organic, natural products that nourish & rebalance the skin, this treatment includes cleanse, exfoliation, masque, tone and moisturize to restore the health of your skin.  Included is a relaxing massage of the upper body & face to reduce tension and stress. 50 minutes £40

Deep Tissue Facial Conditioning;  targeting the lower levels of the skin, this treatment painlessly treats an array of facial conditions;dry, oily, problem, mature, each treatment is tailored to YOUR needs, to revitalize, and rejuvenate your face from the inside out.  The use of Hi-Frequency technology encourages the body's own collagen to replicate more efficiently, softening the appearance of fine lines, increased circulation improves tone and removes toxins from the face that can make a skin look dull and unhealthy.  Comedone extraction optional. Depending on skin type, treatment time is up to 60 minutes £40

A facial treatment could be just what you need to restore your skin to its former glory.  Please feel free to contact me at synergy_therapies@icloud.com, on twitter @synergymichael or mobile 07794084666

And as for that male client who was impressed with his treatment?  He rebooked for next month.

Curing your tension headache

We can all get them, and many of us do, and sometimes we are not able to get ourselves booked in for a massage or similar treatment to ease/release the tension & stress held in our bodies.

Below are a few simple solutions to get you through your day should a tension headache strike;

• BREATHING OUT TENSION;  breathe slowly & deeply in through your nose and out through the mouth, taking deep, even breaths.  Repeat 3 times

• SOOTHING DARKNESS;  Place your elbows shoulder width apart, on a table.  Slightly lean forward so that your hands support the weight of the head.  Find the most comfortable position.  Place your hands over your eyes to create total darkness.

• HEAD HOLD;  Cradle your head on your hands so that the heels of your hands are resting on your temples and your fingers meet at the top of your head.  Exert as much pressure with your hands as feels comfortable. Hold for a minute.  Move your hands a little further back & repeat the hold.

• SCALP LIFT;  Interlock your fingers & slowly press the palms of your hands inward against your scalp so that the skin starts to move between your fingers.  Move to another position and repeat as often as you like.

• MASSAGING THE TEMPLES;  Place your hands against your temples.  With the heel of your hands or tips of fingers, make at least 10 circular movements, clockwise and anticlockwise.  Keep fingers on the skin and move it against the underlying soft tissue to soften & relax the muscles.

• EYE CIRCLING;  Use 1 or 2 finger tips to stroke from the centre of the brow, along the eyebrows and around the tops of your cheeks, forming large circles around the eyes. Use only very light pressure so as not to drag the delicate skin around the eyes.

• SCALP DESTRESSING;  Press firmly with 1 or 2 finger tips on the soft tissue either side of the cervical vertebrae at the back of your neck.  Start at the base and work up, holding for a few seconds before moving up the back of the neck.  Move along the base of the skull.  Move up, over the skull, around the ears to the temples, using pressure that is comfortable for you.

In some respects, many of the examples here form the basis of an Indian Head Massage, except you are working on yourself.  Mix and match these techniques to see what works for you.  A 30 minute Indian head Treatment with me is £25 

Fatless Sugarless Cake

Here is a recipe, given to me by my 103 yr old grandfather, for a healthy cake. It must be doing something right for him as he's still as fit as a fiddle!

6oz plain or brown flour
3 tsp baking powder
2oz ground almonds
2 tsp mixed spice
1lb mixed fruit
4oz dates & 4oz apricots
Rind of 1 orange
1/2 pint water
juice of one orange
1 egg (optional)

• Soak all the fruit in all the liquid overnight
• Add all the dry ingredients
• Bake in a 2lb loaf tin for approx 1.5 hours at 160c covering for the last half an hour

Simples.  I admit I haven't had chance to try this so please let me know how you get on at synergy_therapies@icloud.com

Give your face a boost

 Revitalising Facial Therapy

Exclusively at Riverside Natural Health Centre, Trent Bridge

This versatile facial treatment can be customised to meet the needs of the individual, to treat a range of common skin conditions.

This treatment is an ideal stepping on point if you have promised to take looking after yourself more seriously and want to look good and feel great. 

 After a very varied summer of it being hot one day, freezing the next, and now as Autumn approaches and we all start to have that nightly debate "Do I put the central heating on for an hour" your skin can start to look dull and lifeless. Now is the time to take control and get your skin ready and looking its best in time for the Christmas party season (I'm sorry to have mentioned the "C" word)

The therapeutic benefits of a Revitalising Facial Treatment;

• provides a deep cleanse of the skin and unblocks pores

• soothes & calms a skin prone to angry looking breakouts or acne, redness is reduced

• dry skin is rehydrated, whilst the texture appears and feels smoother to the touch

• an oily, dull complexion, is rebalanced, revealing a brighter, healthier you

• the natural, protective layer of the skin is reinforced, providing a greater protection against infection

• The natural production of collagen within the skin is stimulated resulting in the softening of fine lines

• your complexion will appear smoother, healthier & more vibrant

Each treatment session lasts up to an hour.  Optimum results can be achieved from having regular sessions, every 4-6 weeks is recommended. Available every Monday, Wednesday & Saturday by appointment

Revitalising Facial Therapy normally costs £45, but for the month of September, save £5, just £40!!  Treat yourself today and begin transforming your complexion.  Neal's Yard Organic products are used in this treatment to further nourish & protect your skin naturally.

Would you like to see what this treatment entails?  If you would, email on the address below, and I will video a short demonstration to put online.

To book, email Michael at synergy_therapies@icloud.com or contact Sue at The Riverside on 0115 986 4990