by Toban Black

Solve All Your Christmas Gift Dilemmas With Vouchers For Natural And Organic Skincare Products And Treatments.

Stuck for what to get you loved ones for Christmas, or stumped by the friend who has everything? Give your special ones exactly what they need or let them choose for themselves with gift vouchers from Scinboutique and Scin Spa. With a voucher they can choose from all the gorgeous natural and organic Skincare goodies at http://scinboutique.com, spend their gift voucher on pampering themselves with a fantastic treatment at Scin Spa in Notting Hill, or combine the two! We offer some great treatment packages which could be purchased with vouchers at our beautiful and relaxing Notting hill Spa…

The Scin Indulgence for One or Two; this amazing pampering package is now half price. It includes a Hydrotherapy session, a full body massage and a quick fix manicure or pedicure, you can go along with a friend or just relax on your own. The complete package for one person is £60 or £120 for two people.

The Scin Pregnancy Pampering Package is the ideal present for any mum to be. The treatment includes a face, scalp and full body pregnancy massage and a quick fix manicure or pedicure. All Scin pregnancy massages are performed on a specially designed pregnancy treatment couch so the mum to be can enjoy maximum comfort and relaxation. The couch has a hole with elasticated mesh which supports and molds to the bump – whatever size it is! This treatment lasts for two hours and is suitable for anyone over thirteen weeks pregnant.

We feel that men don’t get enough pampering and can often be tricky to buy presents for, so why not spoil your man with a totally relaxing and refreshing Scin treatment especially designed for ‘him’. The pampering package is £75 and combines the ‘back treatment’ – the most popular treatment among our male customers – with a quick fix pedicure or manicure to ensure he is groomed to the max. The Mens Pampering Package lasts 90 minutes.

The Scin Ultimate Pamper Package includes hydrotherapy, fast fix organic facial, back and scalp massage, full manicure or pedicure £125 for 150 mins. Scin Buttock and Thigh Detox includes hydrotherapy, buttock and thigh treatment and a pedicure, £110 for 135 mins. With the Scin Massage Heaven you will be treated to utter relaxation with hydrotherapy, face, scalp and body massage, £95 for 120 mins.

At the Scin spa in London we provide a variety of Dermalogica Facials and Organic Aromatherapy Facials. Scin Dermalogica Facials are deep cleansing and generally include steam and extraction. All Scin beauty therapists are fully qualified and undergo intensive Dermalogica training to ensure that all Dermalogica Facials at Scin are customised to your specific needs and desire for glowing youthful skin. The most popular facial at Scin is the Customised Standard Facial. To bring a little cheer to these credit crunch times we are now offering 15% off all Dermalogica products with every Dermalogica Facial. The offer expires at the end of November 2008, not available on the Fast Fix Facials.

In Scin’s Organic Aromatherapy Facial we use a range of skincare products called Circaroma. Circaroma is a handmade certified organic skincare range and the products contain an array of beautiful organic aromatherapy oils and other natural and organic ingredients. We tailor the Organic Facial for your skins needs from the Circaroma products designed for either dry, combination, oily or sensitive skin. Scins Organic Aromatherapy Facial is wonderfully relaxing and we aim for you to leave with your skin feeling clean and refreshed and feeling personally rejuvenated.

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by keira-anne ?

A Little Bit About Organic Skincare

Organic cosmetics – like natural – skincare products, are sourced naturally and should not contain any chemical additives or have chemicals used in their creation. Organic means the plants are grown without the help of pesticides and other chemicals, whereas natural can simply mean taken from nature; pesticides and the such may be involved. Organic skincare is much less likely to cause reactions as most people’s allergies are triggered by chemicals. Of course most cosmetics have a long list of chemical and synthetic ingredients however there are generally natural alternatives to these which you can look out for if you wish to avoid all synthetics altogether and go totally organic.

Emollients are common and mostly necessary ingredients which bind together oil and water, allowing for better moisturisation. There are a great deal of synthetic emollients out on the market, PEG- 45 Almond glyceride, synthetic alcohols (products that end with butyl, cetearyl, cetyl, glyceryl, isopropyl, myristyl), petroleum, paraffin, dimethicone, and cyclomethicone. Organic emollients are available that work just as well; oils from plants such as jojoba, avocado, and rosehip, and butters jojoba, shea, and cocoa.

Volumising products – predominantly shampoos, add volume by binding the hair with agents to make it thicker and fuller. Because this process adds more elements to the hair it seems important for these to be natural ones such as almond protein, herbal gums, and soy protein.

Detergents work like soap by separating out oils and removing dirt. Most are synthetic although there are some plant-based detergents.

Humecants lock moisture into the skin. Collagen, elastin, and keratin are well known examples – just check out any anti-aging ad – it is assumed that they are natural, but most are derived from animals; definitely a no go for vegans and vegetarians. A few of these synthetic materials can cause some allergies and dermatitis. Natural alternatives are lecithin, panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), and glycerin.

Hydrators supply water to the skin and hair. There are quite a few organic hydrators in use as liquids derived from plants e.g. Aloe Vera, vegetable glycerin, and orange pith juice, actually make the best agents for hydration.

Organic Saponins or glycosides such as Yucca and Soapwort are found naturally; when mixed with water they foam up so are used for products such as shampoos and shaving foams to make them lather. They can also act as an emulsifying agent or cleanser.

Surfactants dissolve oil and dirt so that they can be easily cleansed away and they mostly occur in facial cleansers and shampoos. Instead of synthetics look out for Castile soap, yucca extract, soapwort, quillaja bark extract.

Citric acid and corn syrup are examples of organic sequestrants; these are unique ingredients, in that they bind to metal ions like iron, as well as non-metal ions like salt and can remove them from hard water. Hard water can leave skin dry, discolour hair and make soap residue stick to the skin, further drying it out. Once the extra ions are removed from hard water it can lather more easily and be rinsed off more efficiently.

Just as food eventually perishes, so do skin care products, dependent on temperature change, light, and other factors, the product will eventually dry up or simply not be effective any more. Although synthetic preservatives will probably make products last longer than natural alternatives, you can stick with natural ingredients such as tea tree essential oil, thyme essential oil, grapefruit seed extract, and D-alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), and then popping the product into the fridge will increase its shelf life.

It is important to be aware of alternative organic ingredients so that if you wish you can always ensure your skin care products are totally free from synthetics, Scin Boutique sells ranges which contain the highest possible percentage of organic ingredients and displays the ingredients list for each product – it’s good to always know what’s going on your skin!

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by keira-anne ?

Natural and Organic Skincare Products and What They Can Do For You

Once upon a time the business of shopping was very simple, but now it seems that purchasing even the most everyday of products requires a long period of squinting at a big list printed in small font, trying to remember whether parabens were good or bad, essential oils to be avoided or welcomed, ginger extract suitable for muscle cramps or not.

Unlike natural and organic skincare products, many of the intensively branded, expensively marketed, high profile products subsidise their marketing budgets by using liberal quantities of chemicals and synthetics, often to extent a products lifespan (allowing the shipping between factory and shop shelf to be unhurried) or to perfume a product that would otherwise smell of burning plastic or chemical death.

Whilst analogies between the food industry and the skin care industry are not perfect – after all, one does not have to be a incurable cynic to suggest that some of the big brand food manufactures out there use more dubious ingredients than we might like – what is certainly true is that the privileging of organic, or at least relatively additive free foods has not entirely crossed over in consumer’s attitudes toward skincare.

This is crazy, because our body absorbs around sixty percent of everything that we place on our skin, meaning that ingredients in our creams and lotions become just as cosy to us as the food we eat.

For this reason more and more people are turning their attention away from the well advertised, but not entirely beneficially constructed, big brands and taking the time to find out about the benefits of various natural and organic ingredients. Whereas a couple of years there was the assumption that the more ingredients a product had contained within it the better it was for us, now the tide is shifting, and many of us are aware that a well produced and packaged product consisting of a few genuinely beneficial natural or organic products can far better meet the needs of our skin than it’s chemically cousins.

An example of a fantastic natural skin product is Scin Boutique’s very own This Works Deep Calm Bath and Shower Gel. Rather than other, non natural shower gels that we can choose to lather onto our body, our This Works products work their magic thanks to the fantastic natural properties of the plants that we use as ingredients. In the case of our Deep Calm shower gel, lavender – grown at high altitude in France – is used for its antibacterial properties, as well as for its calming and relaxing scent.

In addition wild camomile, grown in Morocco, is used in combination with vetivert for their calming and soothing properties (anyone who has ever enjoyed a cup of camomile tea will attest to its relaxing properties).
Another great body wash on the market which utilizes the power of natural ingredients is the Green People Nourishing Body Wash.

This product uses ylang ylang and ginger for their natural uplifting properties, and avoids parabens and other artificial fragrances that can lead to the ‘chemical cocktail’ – the unpleasant thought of many different chemicals penetrating and remaining in our bodies.

Find More Organic Skincare Articles

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by Toban Black

London Spa Vouchers and Natural and Organic Skincare Vouchers

Scinboutique has a large array of natural and organic skincare products for men and women. You can check out all their delicious smelling, looking and feeling products on the website. The Scin spa in Notting Hill offers a variety of amazing treatments such as massage (including Pregnancy Massage), facials (dermatological or organic aromatherapy), waxing (including hot wax for all bikini waxing), manicure, pedicure, tinting, spray tanning, cellulite treatment and body treatments.

If you’re stumped for present ideas, looking for the perfect way to spoil someone special or just want to treat yourself (why not!) then you can create a great, personal gift with vouchers. You select the value of the voucher and the lucky recipient can choose from all the gorgeous natural and organic skincare goodies at Scinboutique, spend their voucher on a pampering session at Scin Spa in Notting Hill or combining the two.
If you want to give someone a voucher for a something specific then here are a few ideas for some really special treatments…

The incredibly relaxing Hydrotherapy bath for one or two people warms muscles so is perfect for softening up before a massage, body treatment or facial. Scin Package “Massage Heaven” combines a Hydrotherapy session with a Face Scalp and Body massage, two hours cost £100 and this treatment has proved very popular!

The Scin Pregnancy Massage is the perfect way for a pregnant lady to truly relax in total comfort, and not have to worry about her bump! Scin has a specially designed pregnancy massage couch with a hole in to allow an expecting mum to lie on her front with her bump supported by a moulded, elasticated mesh, using an organic pregnancy massage oil to eradicate all those baby-carrying aches. The treatment is suitable for women who are over thirteen weeks pregnant and a full body massage is £70 for one hour. Alternatively the Scin Pregnancy Pampering Package combines a 90 minute face, scalp and body pregnancy massage with a quick fix manicure or pedicure, costing £105.

Manicures and pedicures always go down well with ladies, especially ones who are too busy to spend time on themselves. At Scin the manicure and pedicure area is located in the Boutique, with huge windows looking out onto Kensington Park Road, great for people watching and the odd bit of celebrity spotting whilst you’re getting pampered! The Scin manicures and pedicures range from £25 for a Quick Fix (30 minutes) to £50 for a luxury treatment (1 hour).

If your voucher is for someone with no free time, or a shopaholic then let them treat themselves with the gorgeous natural and organic skincare products on offer from Scinboutique. We have loads of different products from delicious shampoo, to miracle creams to pubic hair dye! We stock a variety of high quality brands and there are always special offers to benefit from. Give someone a gift that they can really benefit from with the Scin vouchers, allowing them to choose their own treat or surprising a deserving person with something they would never usually get for themselves.

More Organic Skincare Articles

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by keira-anne ?

70% Discount on Organic Skincare Range, Jo Woods Organic

Scinboutique are helping to ease the effect of the credit crunch by offering an incredible 70% discount on a luxurious range of organic skincare products. No woman wants to have to scrimp on her beauty regime, especially when it comes to really taking care of your body in the best possible way with chemical-free organic products, so now there is 70% of any of the luxurious products from Jo Woods Organics.

This skincare range is of the highest quality, beautifully presented, deliciously scented, totally organic and totally paraben free. The skincare products come in two gorgeous and unique blends; ‘Amka’ is a sweet blend of mandarin orange, Bergamot, Rose Otto and Jasmine whilst ‘Usiku’ offers a sultry blend of Rosemary, Cedar wood, Vetiver, Patchouli, and Ginger.

Jo Wood Organics contain the highest possible percentage of organic ingredients, all of which are from high quality and audited sources. Jo Wood are dedicated to finding organic alternatives for widely used natural ingredients, working with suppliers to boost the production of accredited organic crops. As nature provides all their ingredients Jo Woods want to keep their products as natural as possible, they are committed to making the purest products which produce the best results using only the highest grade of essential oils and plant extracts. The products come in sophisticated glass bottles which will stand out in even the most elaborately stocked bathroom!

The gorgeous Jo Woods products available on Scinboutique all with a 70% discount include, Amka Organic Bath Oil, Usiku Organic Bath Oil, Amka Organic Body Lotion, Usiku Organic Body Lotion, Amka Organic Body Oil, Usiku Organic Body Oil.

The Usiku organic body dew is 99% Organic, perfect for spritzing on after a shower and to pop in your handbag for top ups throughout the day! As well as energising your body and soul with its woody aroma, it also treats your skin with a healing, soothing blend of arnica, Echinacea, calendula and St John’s Wort. What makes it truly unique is the use of organic orange water in place of water. This very special ingredient, extracted from Sicilian grown oranges, contains trace elements which are essential for healthy skin, helping to stimulate cell metabolism and leaving your skin feeling hydrated and soothed. Presented in a beautifully decorated glass bottle and encased in a decadent black and gold carton it will stand out on any dressing table.

Jo Wood also offer three gorgeous gift sets presented in luxurious presentation boxes, which at 70% off provide the perfect high quality gift at a totally affordable price, and Christmas isn’t far away! The ‘Amka Organic Gift Set’ contains Organic Bath Oil, Organic Body Dew, Organic Body Lotion and Organic Body Oil. The ‘Usiku Organic Body Care Gift Set’ contains Bath Oil, Organic Body Soap, Organic Body Lotion and Organic Body Oil. The Jo Wood Organic Bath Oil Gift Set is also beautifully packaged and contains the two Organic Bath Oils; Usiku Organic Bath Oil and Amka Organic Bath Oil.

www.thebodydeli.com shows why feeding the skin with living, fresh and organic skincare is so important. Yummy!
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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by keira-anne ?

Why Choose Natural and Organic Skincare Products?

Organic and natural skincare products are becoming staple purchases for an increasing proportion for people. Everyone has their own reason for making their change, but perhaps two main areas of concern can be located explaining why organic and natural skincare products are taking the place of traditional, often far more extensively marketed, non-organic cosmetics.

The first of the reasons is the concern over what affect synthetic products have on the environment, both in terms of their disposal once they have been used, as certain chemicals found in skincare products can wreak havoc on the ecosystems that they eventually end up in once they have passed down the drain. Triclosan, which is found in soaps, along with toothpastes and deodorants, is an antibacterial which has been discovered concentrated in marine life, to which it is known to be toxic, and also in human breast milk. A quick mention should also be made to products that actually appear, or are, entirely natural and organic, but which are owned by companies that manufacture other, environmentally harmful products. Such an example came recently with the selling out of natural favourite Burt’s Bees to a leading bleach manufacturer.

The second issue which has caused many consumers to make the change from non-organic to organic skincare products is the concern over the effect that the chemicals they contain might have on our bodies. Here we should place a subdivision between ingredients that have been proven to be harmful under testing – which we shall discuss below – and ingredients that have been identified as potentially harmful, and which have not been proven to be otherwise, ingredients such as parabens (which have been linked to cancers, causing many companies to explicitly list their skincare product ‘Paraben Free’) and Genetically Modified ingredients, which people, quite frankly, just do not trust.

One pair of ingredients that you might want to stay alert for if you are still buying non natural cosmetic products – and one that you can be assured you are avoiding by picking those organic skincare products – is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and its brother in trouble Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate. These two ingredients are used in industrial and mechanical processes that might not initially appear to have much to do with the activities we normally associate with skincare and cosmetics, namely in car washes, for degreasing automobile engines and as floor cleaners. Yet, they are also found in over nine out of ten of all products that foam.

Of course, just because these two ingredients are used for industrial processes does not, in itself, mean that they are unsuitable for rubbing into our hair and skin. The fact that animals placed into contact with Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate experience massive damage to the central nervous system, to their respiratory system along with chronic eye damage, diarrhea, sever skin irritation and, in a sizable proportion of instances, death, might be slightly more convincing argument for avoiding these chemical ingredients and going for organic or natural products – ignoring, of course, those that try to sweeten its appearance on their ingredients list by adding the information that is a ‘coconut extract.’

Related Organic Skincare Articles

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by keira-anne ?

What Is Genuine Organic Skincare?

There are many wonderful, holistic reasons for choosing organic skincare products. The reasons range from wanting to reduce the number of chemicals on your skin, for your health, skin sensitivity or just based on personal principals.

The problem facing most consumers wanting to purchase genuine organic skincare products, rather than those making “organic” claims, is that a standard for the certification and labelling of organic skincare products is not available.

Currently in Australia, the only organic certification available for skin care products is a general food standard. This requires 95% of all ingredients, other than the water component, to be organically certified. Water generally makes up to 70% of total ingredients in many skincare creams. Therefore 95% of the remaining 30% of ingredients need to be organically certified.

Only a few Australian products have been certified to these very strict and sometimes impractical rules for food standards. It has been argued by some manufacturers, that to achieve the 95% certified rating is counter productive to producing an effective skin product.

Currently unrecognised are many skincare products with over 50% organic ingredients which cannot be certified, even though they have been manufactured by passionate organic supporters to the highest organic and natural principles.

Essentially, to make a cream for skin, there are two main components (oil and water) which need to be blended. A synthetic emulsifier is used to blend the oil and water components. Emulsifiers can make up to 20% of an ingredient mix other than water. Hence the catch 22, to make a cream which really penetrates and moisturises the deep layers of the skin with beautiful organic vegetable and essential oils, you need a synthetic emulsifier. Purestuf uses an emulsifier created from olive oil which is synthesised to form the emulsifier.

The cream also requires a preservative, so that it will not go mouldy in your bathroom cabinet. This is one area which really distinguishes skincare products. The organically passionate manufacturers use natural preservatives like grapefruit seed extract whereas other manufacturers add chemical preservatives containing parabens and other nasties to their products.

Organic skincare products produced and sold with integrity by the passionate manufacturers aim to be free from chemicals such as parabens, formaldehyde, petrochemicals etc. and made from as many natural and certified organic ingredients as possible.

Australian (and most overseas) manufacturers are not compelled to disclose the percentage of organic ingredients in their products. The word organic is not protected by any law about its use in terms of marketing claims. Often these other so called organic products, contain a very low percentage of organic ingredients and have many chemical additives, which are not good for you or your skin.

So what is being done to eliminate the confusion?

A group of leading Australian skincare product manufacturers (including Purestuf Natural Skincare) are currently working together to formulate a standard which can be certified by any one of the 7 Australian organic certifiers.

Until then – read labels and look for products which don’t include parabens, petrochemicals, sulphates, fragrances and clearly list the organic ingredients such as essential oils, vegetable oils.

For the time being, for consumers it is a matter of instinct, trust and reading the labels.

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by keira-anne ?

Get That Feel Good Factor and Go Green With Organic Skincare

Now more than ever women pay more attention to their appearance, yet in an age where the beauty industry rakes in billions the possible side effects of beauty are still relatively hush hush. In the many beauty tubes and tubs which crowd the average women’s dressing table and fight for attention on the pharmacy aisles, there are a whole load of ingredients which do not rate on the beauty spectrum. Things like SLR’s and parabens which can be extremely harmful to the skin and can also have a harmful effect on the environment.

Thankfully, these days we all have a choice and there are loads of fantastic organic skincare treatments which do not leave an ugly trail behind them. Using traditional methods organic skincare uses natural remedies and with ingredients like organic essential oils and other botanical ingredients a modern take on old fashioned beauty has formulated some fantastic results.

Organic beauty relies on aromatherapy and homoeopathic remedies to act in place of chemicals found in conventional skin care brands. Many people assume this limits the affectability yet in fact the natural remedies boost active ingredients making them more effective than chemical based skincare recipes.

As previously mentioned you can get just about everything organic these days and the realm of skincare is no exception. Most women and in fact men use an everyday moisturiser and it is usually not more expensive to switch to an organic brand. You can get budget organic as well as luxury organic skincare and there are different brands to match different budgets, just like the typical skincare brands.

The feel good factor of organic beauty products is hard to beat. The individual organically infused brands are always packed to the brim with organic goodness and bursting with the scents of fruits and flowers. Organic bath products will make any soak in the tub an event and will see the indulgence factor reach a new peak.

In order to get the best organic skincare products available it is worth checking out an online organic skincare specialist. These specialist online outlets generally stock a wide range of recommended products. These organic skincare stockists will be able to provide products which have been tried and tested and which adhere to strict guidelines which are put in place by each individual organic skincare boutique. Buying different brands from one organic skincare boutique will also mean that you don’t have to research into the beliefs and standards which each organic skincare brand creates to. It really is easy to go green and with so many organic skincare options available there really is no excuse.

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