Beauty and Wellness Journal

Tanning Beds: To Ban, Or Not To Ban?

Posted by Aleksandra Andrade on

Growing up on the coast of the Baltic Sea, where sunny days were a rare occasion, I did not get to enjoy much time in the sun. Yet, just like other girls of my age, I dreamed of having glowing, tanned skin. Many of my friends and I wanted to look like the models or celebrities from the covers of our favorite magazines. I remember how excited we all were when the first tanning salon has opened in our city. Every day after school we used to spend our lunch money just to get a few minutes of the artificial...

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The Dangers And The Benefits Of Sun Exposure.

Posted by Aleksandra Andrade on

(Originally published on June 16, 2015)Summer time is the favorite season for many of us. In the summer we spend most of our time outdoors, enjoying the sun. However, exposing ourselves to the UV radiation comes not only with it's own benefits but also with many dangers. Lets talk about the good stuff first. What are the benefits of being exposed to the sun? 1. Sun helps our body produce Vitamin DModerate daily exposure is needed so the body can naturally produce vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for bone health, as without it our body can not absorb calcium...

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Beauty Oils And Their Skin Care Benefits.

Posted by Aleksandra Andrade on

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "oil"? "Grease", "fat", "cooking oil", "mineral oil", "pore-clogging", "film-forming" - these are just a few things that I used to associate the word "oil" with. When talking about oils in skin care we ultimately assume that they are bad for our skin. We might not know why, but taking into an account all of the marketing hype around oil-free products, we assume that the cosmetic products should be formulated without oils. But is that approach correct? In short - no, it isn't. And here is why.Not all oils are the...

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Who are Estheticians?

Posted by Aleksandra Andrade on

The most common question I hear when I tell people that I am an esthetician is whether I “put people to sleep” or not. While that sometimes happens during relaxing treatments, it seems that many confuse estheticians with anesthesiologists. The two, however, have hardly anything in common. Beauty treatments, to which esthetics is largely related to, have been around for thousands of years. Esthetics in the United States has emerged into a separate profession only about two decades ago. Nowadays, nearly everyone tries to put their best face forward.  This trend has been driving a tremendous growth of the skin...

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Can Raspberry and Carrot seed oils really protect your skin from the sun?

Posted by Aleksandra Andrade on

"Before you read, please keep in mind that this post has been originally published in the summer of 2015; therefore, some of the information provided here may be outdated (such as studies on the UV capabilities of Raspberry Seed Oil, which some of you have kindly pointed out). This fact, however, does not change my point of view on the issue." - Yours, AA   In the past couple years there has been an increasing interest around the use of natural oils as sunscreens. There are hundreds (if not more) blog posts and DIY sunscreen recipes all over the internet that promise...

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