Archive for the ‘Product Reviews’ Category

Cellulite Creams Reviewed

Thursday, October 4th, 2007

The lastest review of the hit TV Series on how to look good naked is on anti-cellulite creams. 85-90% of women have cellulite at some stage of their lives, and anti-cellulite creams are sold over all channels as pots of promise of smooth dimple free thighs.

The four products tested included: L’Oreal, Sisley, Dio, Nivea.

None of the products rated that high, the top scoring product came in with only 39/100 points. Admitedly, these tests are neither scientifically managed or scored effectively. Its really just down to what each contestant thinks – but isnt that true market research after all!!

In order of acclaim:

  1. Nivea Goodbye Cellulite Smoothing Cream - 39/100 – skin was smoother and less dimples were evident.
  2. Dio Plasicity - 34/100 – texture of skin was better
  3. Sisley Celluli-Pro - 31/100 – smoother skin, but no improvement in cellulite
  4. L’Oreal Perfect Slim - 27/100 – texture of the product was sticky and no noticeable improvement.

Well there it is, from 100 women!

So message is, avoid cellulite in the first place with low toxin foods, plenty of water and exercise and a good massage every week.

Nicola

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Don’t Forget UV Protection For Your Hair

Thursday, March 1st, 2007

 

In recent blogs we have covered UV protection of the eyes and skin. Most commonly overlooked in UV protection is the hair. So before we leave our feature month on UV protection, I thought a quick reminder to protect your locks was timely.

Because our hair does not suffer from obvious sunburn symptoms like our skin does, it is easy to overlook that UV rays do significant damage to the hair structure.

Radiation is responsible for the photo oxidation of amino acids in the hair cuticle. The keratin bonds start breaking, resulting in dry brittle hair that no longer withstands the normal forces of combing and brushing. The hair breaks.

Hair color is also largely affected by UV damage. And I don’t mean just color treated hair. UVB fades both natural and chemical colors. The longer, deeper penetrating UVA rays reach down into the hair cortex to destroy color pigments that create natural hair color.

Hair that is already damaged from swimming pool chemicals, over shampooing, color treatments and perms are more prone to damage from UV.

Fortunately, like skin protection products, manufacturers have identified key active ingredients that coat the hair shaft or penetrate into the hair to filter out harmful UV rays. These ingredients should be noted when selecting UV protection hair products. This helps to filter out the marketing hype from those products that do afford good UV hair protection.

So if your hair is looking a bit dry and dull at the end of summer, it may be time to invest in some after sun hair care products and buff up on your knowledge on:

Nicola

Posted in Antiaging, Antiaging Products, Product Reviews | No Comments »

Are You A Wimp With Goal Setting?

Saturday, January 13th, 2007

Every year on the second week of January [that's this week] I review my life and plan the upcoming year. On most occassions I will use a formal life coaching program. One of my favorites is Tony Robbins ‘Get The Edge’. Other times, if I am struggling for inspiration as to what I want to achieve, I spend a day or two just searching the Internet for what’s happing in the world. Trendwatching.com is one of my favorite sites for keeping up to date. It’s amazing how we can all get caught up in our own little spheres of interest and not even be aware of the options that are now available today.

I have an underlying life philosophy that I never want to spend my life just doing the same things day after day…..takes me back to the television movie ‘Ground Hog Day’. Now I may have rattled a few chains with that comment, as many of you may be absolutely blissful with your life right now. That’s fine…all happiness to you. I, however want to know what ALL my options are, and live my life for ‘experiences’ rather than dollars.

Now, I am fortunate that I have been a successful business coach and consultant for many years and have goal setting ingrained into my psyche. But how can you set goals if you are not aware of what goal options you have. Sure we all know about the ‘lose weight’, ‘exercise more’, ’spend more time with the family’; but what about your life experiences. When was the last time you did something, just for the hell of it, and just for you. With all the recent family first brainwashing we have all been subjected to, it is easy to feel guilty about doing something just for yourself.

I love my family, I wouldn’t trade having had children for anything in the world, and I have gone to extremes to provide them with the best I could in life…..but along the way I made sure I did stuff that enriched my life as well. Being a parent is only ONE role I had. I was also a wife, a daughter, a friend, a business colleague, and my own life coach.

It’s my life, I’ll do it my way, and I will take 100% responsibility for the outcomes. That’s the key. Everything has a price. And if you are aware of the price, and accept it, then full steam ahead. So what about you, what price are you paying for the way you are living your life now? What opportunity cost is attached to your decisions? What are you not doing now that you really want to?

And you want to know the really scary part? Most of us don’t even know what we really WANT!!!  We all think we do, but it’s only by working through a structured goal setting program that you really get in touch with your personal values. Not the ones your parents taught you to have, not the ones society dictates to you by social convention and not the ones that you think make you friends and influence people. I mean the real deep gut values that make you really happy.

Hopefully now I have you thinking. So why not take the next step and at least check out a couple of options that may help you. I am not giving you these links as a sales pitch. Like I said, I use Tony Robbins Get The Edge every year, and I use my program workbook all year long. If you don’t think you could handle that one straight out, then I can suggest a bundle of Life Coaching Assistance Ebooks that will help you with your resolutions for this year.

Making changes in your life isn’t always easy. So many of us just stay with what we know. Ever heard of being in a rut? Well, all of you just doing the same thing over and over again because its comfortable are collectively digging a new Grand Canyon.

Making your resolutions in the easy bit. Taking action is the hard bit. But it is also where you reap the real rewards.  So I strongly urge you to get some help in getting going with what may turn out to be your best year ever. Good luck, and if you need help, post a comment back on this blog.

My very best wishes for success in 2007

Nicola

Get Your Free New Years Resolution Report Here!

Click here to Get The Edge with Tony Robbins.

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Sugar By Any Other Name Is Not As Sweet

Sunday, December 10th, 2006

A recent news release on November 7 2006 has thrown a curve ball at the health industry, once again. This time it’s about sugar, splenda and softdrinks.

Don’t you feel exasperated just trying to keep up with what’s healthy and what’s not when there is so much confusion? Whilst I am all for progress, and take history as being a given that cannot be changed, I have become highly sceptical of anything I read concerning food!

It seems Splenda is not a sweet as it once appeared. Commonly marketed as “natural” a recent report on the chemical configuration of Splenda declares it “more of a pesticide that a product fit for human consumption”. The US sugar industry has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Splenda claiming it is deceptively marketed to make consumers believe it is natural. The basis of the claim is that “Splenda is an artificial product that contains chlorine which it says is a far cry from the claim of the Splenda slogan “made from sugar so it tastes like sugar”.

According to The Sugar Association, this is misleading as the sucrose, or sugar, contained in the sweetener has undergone a chemical molecular switch. In addition, over 98 percent of Splenda is made up of bulking agents such as maltodextrin and dextrose, used to dilute the sweetener, which is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Indeed, the two groups have a history of battling out their differences through lawsuits, with competitor sweetener manufacturers of tabletop sweetener Equal and NutraSweet lodging a similar claim in November 2005.

As far away as Australia and New Zealand, such claims have been upheld as misleading, yet according to Datamonitor, Splenda was used in 1,436 new products worldwide in 2004, a significant jump from 573 in 2003 and 35 in 1999.

Back to sugar. One day later on November 8 we get this headline “ Sugary drinks in new cancer link, study” The study claims that “Drinking two sugary soft drinks every day could almost double [90%] the chance of pancreatic cancer” And it’s not just about soft drinks. Adding sugar to any food or drink at least five times a day increases the risk by 70%.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, believe the “risk of developing pancreatic cancer rises when the pancreas produces higher levels of insulin. Eating a lot of sugar is a well-known way of increasing insulin production”.

And just in case you are in any doubt at all about soft drinks, November 21 brought this item to our attention “ Doubts hit FDA handling of benzene in soft drinks” raising alarm that the FDA is not sufficiently monitoring the presence of benzene residues in soft drinks, in spite of soft drinks maker Kraft Foods calling for more guidance by the FDA on benzene in soft drinks earlier this year.

It seems the benzene is produced by a reaction in drinks between two common ingredients – sodium benzoate and ascorbic or citric acid, and has been known for some 15 years. According to both the FDA and soft drinks industry, there is little health risk linked to the levels of benzene found in drinks, Whilst the FDA believes the risk due to the benzene bi-product is quite low, manufacturers claim the drinks can be reformulated to prevent is production

So people, as you head toward the festive holidays with all those goodies laid bare, pause for a moment to consider your options.

How Sweet Thy Name

Nicola

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The Eyes Have It

Monday, November 27th, 2006

Sunlight is essential for optimal health. 90% of the population do not get sufficient sunlight to manufacture healthy levels of Vitamin D. We should all get at least 15 minutes exposure to sunlight each day. One only has to live in London during winter to realise that the SAD syndrome [Seasonal Affective Disorder] is real.

There is plenty of publicity today about using sun block to protect the skin from harmful UV rays, but what about the eyes. Have you ever wondered about those cheap sunglasses? We all know that the label bashers will only wear their Michael Kors, Raybans and Christian Diors but for most of us, we are looking for sunglasses that effectively block harmful UV rays from our eyes at a reasonable cost. Of course there are the other reason like reducing glare, especially when driving or near water.

So what makes one pair of sunglasses significantly more expensive than another pair, when the label claims to do the same thing. Studies on sunglasses have shown no correlation between high prices and increased UV protetection. A 1995 study reported that “Expensive brands and polarizing sunglasses do not guarantee optimal UVA protection.” The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has also reported that “[c]onsumers cannot rely on price as an indicator of quality”. It has also been demonstrated that a pair of sunglasses costing less than $10 had slightly better protection than two very expensive brands. Reading labels on sunglasses is critical.

Since your glasses allow your eyes to be more open than without sunglasses, they are more exposed to high infrared or low ultra violet frequencies, unless the sunglasses block these rays. Consequently, more damage is done to the eyes than not wearing sunglasses at all. And if you are concerned that the label claims may be false, look for those with approved safety standards, as found in safety equipment stores. As a very keen boaty and snow skier, I find sports sunglasses designed for these environments afford me the greatest protection everyday. And if it’s lunch al fresco, I do tend to opt for a more fashionable look [however, I will often drive to the restaurant wearing one pair, and change them to my lunch pair upon arrival]. Oh Yes, I can be a snob when I want to!

Take care of your eyes, they are your windows to the world.

Nicola

Posted in Antiaging, Product Reviews, Treatments, Wellness | No Comments »