Germs Yuck! Home sanitation and your beauty routine

It's wednesday again and we are going to talk about bacteria and germs in your personal care products.

Germs in my personal care products you say? Well yeah! The thing is, we all use our hands to dispense our care products and facial creams because it's the most convenient thing we have at our disposal. What if that's giving us pimples?! 

Sometimes we forget to wash our hands before using our personal care products, maybe we are in a hurry or we're just really tired. Never the less they aren't always the cleanest no matter how hard we try to keep them clean it's just a fact. Now we aren't saying that a little bit of bacteria is going to be the end of the world but using the appropriate tools to dispense our care products can sometimes be the difference between an acne break out and clear skin.

What am I supposed to use you ask? Well a lot of the time you probably don't need to use anything because the product has a pump or is a squeeze dispenser. However it's very important to clean your hands with warm water and regular soap before you touch your skin. For things like creams or anything with a cream like consistency that you need to scoop out, we suggest purchasing a makeup spatula. These are easily cleaned with soap and water, and sprayed with alcohol after every use. It's very important to keep all you tools in a clean safe place to avoid cross contamination.

For those of us that wear a lot of makeup we tend not to clean our makeup brushes often enough, which should be after every use. It seems like such a tedious thing to do just think about it! You use your makeup brushes on your face and whatever bacteria that transfers on to the brushes builds up. Those evil little germies start to multiply and if you don't wash your brushes you just add to it with every application, not to mention the BRUSH puts all those germs back on your nice clean face! It's like asking for pimples!

Now I'm sure you are wondering where to find a nice brush cleaner for your tools. There are several that you can purchase. Sephora sells some spray brush cleaners that can be used everyday to freshen up your brushes after every use. Just spray them a little and swirl it gently around on a paper towel to remove the makeup and they are ready to go! If you want to do a particularly good clean you can buy some brush cleaners that are more like shampoo. You need to wet and lather the brushes up with the soap and rinse them. Then you have to leave them bristles down to dry, and depending on how dense the brush it could take up to 24hrs to dry.

Once they are dry you are good to go! Your face will be clean and all the product and tools that you've used on your face will be squeaky clean.

We hope you Live well and be healthy.

Renu U Aesthetics

The Sun: A Double Edged Sword

Enjoy the Sun Safely

When it comes to the  sun we all seem to have a love hate relationship, I know all of us at the spa feel want to sit out under those beautiful warm rays and feel the vitamin D being activated. However as aestheticians we know just what we are in for if we do that... Wrinkles, age spots and worst of all Cancer!

Here are a few things you need to know about sun protection:

• What do UVA and UVB stand for?
• Ultra Violet Aging and Ultra Violet Burning, so broad spectrum sunscreen is meant to protect you from both sun burns and early aging. Isn't that great!?
• What options do I have for sunscreen?
• Cream, Spray or Powders
• Is the sun REALLY that dangerous for people?
• Yes! If you expose yourself to the sun unprotected in your youth you raise your risk of melanoma by 70%. Melanoma is a cancer that can sneak up on you, you won't even know you have it till you have reached the final and most threatening stages. This is why so many people understand that sun protection is VERY important.

When picking a sunscreen we recommend that you always choose the broad spectrum variety. Those of us who wear make-up every day should include both a cream sunscreen under their foundations, as well as an SPF face powder. Just to make sure that you are protecting your face as well as you possibly can. Our faces are very sensitive and are continually exposed to the sun, which causes skin damage and wrinkling. UVA rays are one of the major causes of deep wrinkling.

A couple makeup brands such have SPF such as:

Bare Minerals Foundation Powder : SPF 15
Jane Iredale Foundation Powders: SPF 20 with UVA and UVB protection

Some moisturizers with SPF:

• Thalgo Oxygen Defence Fluid: SPF 15
• Isagenix Sunguard: SPF 30

When looking for a body sunscreen it is wise to wear a broad spectrum type with SPF is you are fair or burn easily, however if you are darker you could go for an SPF 20. It's important to remember to reapply cream sunscreens as often as it directs, we sweat in the heat and it's important to stay protected.

If you are someone who worries a lot about what you are putting on your skin here are some all natural oils and their level of SPF:

• Red Raspberry Seed- SPF 30
• Carrot Seed Oil- SPF 40
• Wheatgerm Oil- SPF 20
• Non-GMO Soybean Oil – SPF 10
• Coconut Oil – SPF 4

Just be very careful when using oils as a sunscreen, and reapply often staying out of the sun as much as possible.

Other options for things like large moles or birthmarks are zinc creams, which completely blocks the rays of the sun and are fairly waterproof due to their heaviness, but good for small children and even noses!

Even with all this protection it's still important to cover up. You can buy beautiful sun hats to protect your scalp and face from sun burns, which can get VERY severe. No to mention SPF sunglasses to protect your eye sight. If you are particularly sensitive there are even nylon arm protectors in varying colours that protect your arms from sun exposure.

We hope all this information keeps you and your skin happy, healthy and youthful looking for this summer and all the summers to come.

Live Well and Feel Great!

RENU U Aesthetics

Nail Extensions: What's the Deal?

Acrylic .VS. Gel

The great debate is on! What is better for your nails acrylic or gel? What are you getting when you go to the spa and get your nails done? Here are the answers you are looking for. So many places will upsell their "gel" nails, but are you truly getting what you're paying for?

Here is the truth

When acrylics are being applied there is an acrylic powder and liquid, they are mixed to the appropriate consistency. Then they are apply to the nail plate after the prep was done to ensure that your enhancement doesn't come off. They do not need a light to become solid the enhancements will solidify all by themselves once mixed together.

When true gel nails are being applied the nail prep is done and a clear gel (similar in consistency to toothpaste) is applied to the nail. You place your hand under a UV or LED light to solidify the product. Once removed from the lamp you will find that they have a sticky film, your aesthetician will wipe this off for you and you're ready to go.

These are very different procedures as you can tell. 

Some salons may finish off your acrylics with a gel top coat, which is used to seal gel polish (or shellac as many people know it as). This makes your nails shine bright and stops it them from yellowing, which happens to acrylics over time. This helps clients who haven't been educated in the difference think that they have had gel nails applied when they truly have not.

Don't let yourselves be played the fool!

Some salons are even carrying DENTAL acrylic because it's cheaper to purchase than the regular acrylic used for nail enhancements!

A caring aesthetician will take into consideration what you are looking for with your nails. Are you looking to grow out your nails? or are you looking to have extra length and point you toward gel polish or gel. Most aestheticians won't deal in acrylic anymore for safety reason, both for you and themselves. Acrylic dust can be rather irritating to skin, eyes and lungs! Many types of acrylic can cause contact dermatitis, an unpleasant skin rash that can need medication to get rid of. Also with continued exposure to acrylic powder and liquid you can develop allergic reaction that can cause inflammation and infections.

But if you are aware of what's being done to your nails you'll never be ripped off or put at risk.

Live well and Feel Great

RENU U Aesthetics

Welcome to RENU U our health and beauty blog!

We are excited to talk to everyone about skin, nails and health! As I hope you all are too :)

You might be wondering who are these people? What qualifies them to talk about beauty and health? What do they have to offer me that I don't already have within myself?

We are a team of three educated aestheticians, who work in the spa industry. We love to keep up to date in the industry and with a total of thirteen years of experience between us, we have a passion for helping people look and feel their best!

We hope you enjoy what we have to discuss 

Live well and feel great!

RENU U Aesthetics