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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.

Hannah Walker
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/london-spa-vouchers-and-natural-and-organic-skincare-vouchers-611368.html

Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, and eczema is a specific form of this condition. What causes eczema and how can you control it?

Eczema Causes redness, flaking or blistering of the skin. The most common condition among children is called infantile eczema. In most cases, the skin is dry, red and scaly, and a rash appears in small areas, particularly on the cheeks. Milder forms of infantile eczema require no treatment other than applications of a thick moisturizing cream. If the condition worsens, take your child to a physician in which case an antihistamine may be prescribed.

In adults, there are several forms of Eczema, including: irritant dermatitis; dyshidrosis, and nummular eczema. The irritant dermatitis is most notably common in older adults in which their skin tends to be dry, especially on the legs. This can lead to mild redness, flaking and irritation. If you constantly use dishwashing liquids, detergents or other household cleaners, these can damage the skin on your hands. Dyshidrosis occurs when itchy blisters show up on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. Some of the blisters burst and ooze and the surrounding areas may become inflamed and tender. The third type of eczema is nummular which is accompanied by disks of red, flaking, itchy skin on the body; most commonly on the arms and legs. While it may last for several months, it usually clears up on its own.

However, you can take preventative measures by following these recommendations: Wool and some synthetic fabrics can irritate your skin. Most people with sensitive skin feel better in clothes made of cotton or a cotton blend. Bathe only with a mild soap and use a small amount of soap when bathing. Keep the water temperature cool or warm, not hot. Soaking in the tub for a short time can be good for your skin because the skin’s outer layer can absorb water and become less dry. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Then use a soft towel to pat your skin dry without rubbing. Immediately after drying, apply a moisturizer to your skin. This helps seal in the moisture

Try not to scratch the irritated area on your skin even if it itches. Scratching can break the skin. Bacteria can enter these breaks and cause infection. Moisturizing your skin will help prevent itchiness.

You can control the onset of these conditions by using rubber gloves over white cotton gloves for short periods of time when you are in contact with irritants such as dishwater. Dry your hands thoroughly and apply an unscented hand cream as often as possible. If you avoid whatever causes eczema, the condition should disappear within a few weeks. If the condition is beyond your control, seek medical assistance.

Jeff Wilson
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/what-causes-eczema-and-how-you-can-control-it-98157.html

Not all brands of Colloidal Silver are equal or of the same quality. Select a brand which is produced by the electro-colloidal, non-chemical method.

· Look at the ingredients to see it contains only silver and de-mineralized or distilled water. If the ingredients include a stabilizer or any other trace elements, it might be a good idea to research this product well.

· If it is suggested that the Colloidal Silver be refrigerated, this is an indication of another element present that could spoil. Colloidal Silver needs no refrigeration and should always be protected from freezing.

· The ideal color of Colloidal Silver should be a golden yellow, unless it is produced in concentrated form to be diluted, in which case it may be a dense looking greenish gray with an orange cast in the light. (Concentrated Colloidal Silver should return to the clear, golden yellow after dilution) A darker color could indicate larger particles of silver, or that the water used contains minerals… so check the product out.

· Colloidal Silver should be packaged in amber or cobalt blue glass, and the product should be stored in a cool dark place.

· Question the product if the directions state: ’shake well before using’. Colloidal Silver should not be shaken or stirred.

Colloidal Silver is sold and packaged in a variety of ways. There are sprays and misters; nasal sprayers and droppers; salves and compress solutions.

Colloidal Silver- Particle Surface Area: Other factors to consider when researching a Colloidal Silver product are: Particle Size and Particle Surface Area, if the information is available. Colloidal Silver products which are actually compounds do not accurately reflect the amount of Silver in the product. Also, it is the surface area of the Silver that must be exposed to the bacteria or microbe, and proteins or salts attached to the Silver particle actually block the Silver from it’s environment.

So, Particle size is extremely important, but for a reason you may not expect. When it comes to Colloidal Silver, the smaller the particle the better.

Typically, manufacturers of Colloidal Silver list the Silver concentration in ppm’s- parts per million. This measurment actually refers to weight; the weight of 1 part silver to a million parts water. If the particles are large, the surface area is actually smaller than if that particle were broken down to smaller particles. Picture a Rubik’s Cube. In one piece it has a definite surface area; but take it apart and measure the surface area of the smaller parts; break those down again and so on… and the surface area is multiplied exponentially.

Colloidal Silver Production at Home: There is good reason to purchase a generator and produce your own Colloidal Silver at home. You can control the quality and the price. Colloidal Silver can be made at home for the cost of distilled water and your time. These days Colloidal Silver Generators practically run themselves once they are turned on and will turn themslves off, so your time may not be a factor. There are other generators which may require constant attendance to change the voltage polarity every couple minutes when producing concentrated Colloidal Silver to be diluted into large volumes.

If you have decided you are going to produce your own Colloidal Silver at home, there are some things to consider. If you want to produce good Colloidal Silver, a suggestion is to choose a system that uses silver rods and distilled water as the only ingredients.

You will want to use high quality distilled water in producing the Colloidal Silver. Not tap water, well water, mineral water, purified water or de-ionized water. These waters all have too many chemicals and minerals in them and de-ionized water is not sufficiently conductive. The water is very important if you want control over your production. Choosing your brand of distilled water can sometimes be a gamble. A good rule of thumb: don’t buy the cheapest. You may also have to experiment with brands of distilled water. If your Colloidal Silver turns grey or brownish, the distilled water has too many minerals remaining and will not do. If this happens, you should start over with your production.

If the generator manufacturer suggests adding salt during the process to increase electrical conductivity and lessen production time, be warned that you will be producing a silver compound and not pure Colloidal Silver. Silver Chloride will always form in the presence of any salt. Also, by speeding up the production time with salt, you risk having silver particles that are too large to remain suspended in the water for very long and the silver particles will settle to the bottom of the container. It also takes longer for compounds to pass through the body.

As a sidenote… a typical suggested dose for Colloidal Silver is a teaspoon a day. This topic will not be dealt with here, because that is up to the individual. But start out with a low dose to keep the body from detoxing too quickly. Once the Silver goes to work and the body starts dumping the toxins into the bloodstream to be eliminated, you might actually begin to feel under the weather if you ingest larger quantities. If you are sick at the time of starting to take colloidal silver, you still want to keep your consumption rate reasonable.

In Closing: Everything we need was given to us from the beginning. Silver was given to us for a reason, and probably not just for fancy dishes and jewelry. There is an abundance of information available on the topic of Colloidal Silver, both positive and negative. Decipher the information carefully and keep in mind, there are no documented cases of a human being having negative consequences from true Colloidal Silver that has been produced with good water and no additives, stabilizers, salts, or proteins. But don’t stop your research here with this writing. Read more; and then some more, and decide for yourself. I did.

Jeannie Salgy
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/buying-colloidal-silver-products-and-generators-92097.html

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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.

Chrissy Birdsall
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/what-is-genuine-organic-skincare-69514.html

ECZEMA IS A COMMON MALADY

Eczema, a general term describing conditions affecting the skin, has many specific descriptions depending on appearance and location, frequency of occurance, and cause of occurance. Often, certain conditions will have two or more descriptions depending on what the Doctor thinks the cause is. For example: Xerotic, Asteatosis and Atopic refer to dry skin that usually affects older people making the skin drier and if not treated causes the skin to crack. Nummular Dermatitis or Discoid Eczema found on the arms or legs and consists of patches of reddish discolored skin. Other names are Contact Dermatitis or Allergic Contact Dermatitis occurring when the skin is exposed to allergens usually found in products people use like medications and deodorants and sometimes your own sweat. It usually shows up on the arms and hands. Venous or Stasis Dermatitis affects the lower limbs and the itching causes dark reddish skin. It is usually found on the lower extremities – legs and feet and frequently appears on people with reduced blood circulation. Lichen Simplex Chronicus or Neurodermatitis usually found on the groin, neck and ankles and is usually caused by severe rubbing. Jock itch is probably a form. Seborrhea or Seborrheic Dermatitis appears as scaling or pimpelling around the eyes or on the scalp. In babies it appears as a yellowish rash on the scalp and is curable.

Other specific descriptions exist, but all are a form of Eczema.

Some forms are curable. Others are not. Some are inherited and occur periodically. These cases can usually be controlled. None are considered contagious.

Causes of Eczema can be allergens and irritants found in food, soaps, cleansers, solvents, cosmetics, plants, weeds, animals fibers, chemicals, toxins in the air, over washing, diuretic medications, nutrition deficiencies, radiation, malignancies, neurological disorders, wind, humidity, decreased sweating, dry air, under active thyroid, metals, and inherited factors. Some forms can be caused by and co-exist with other maladies. You name it, it seems, and one could acquire Eczema from it.

Treatments for Eczema are many and may often consist of reduced bathing, using moisturizers, ointments, emollients, humectants, topical steroids, retinoid, ultra violet light, phototherapy, even coal tar (one of the early means of treatment). It is best to let your Doctor determine the best choice for treatment.

Eczema affects people of all ages, even babies. Baby Eczema usually shows up in yellow splotches on the scalp; and reddish cheeks with what looks like pimples or blisters that may secret fluid. Older folks who may not secret as much oil as younger people, and often get dry skin which if not treated can crack, scale and become for rash like. It can be painful. Scratching an itchy area only aggravates the condition.

If you or a loved one are experiencing itches that don’t go away, or red, pink or dark red areas that itch and don’t go away, try not to scratch or rub too vigorously and see your Doctor for proper treatment. Failure to treat can cause infections that lead to even more severe complications.

For detailed information and photo’s Google for the Eczema Guide.

Richard Prosser

Richard Prosser
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/synopsis-of-Eczema-terms-causes-and-treatments-408875.html

Colloidal silver facts abound, but misinformation about colloidal silver facts is also plentiful. Our purpose here is to provide three colloidal silver facts, coupled with warnings.

Products sold under the general label “colloidal silver” may actually be any one of three distinct products:

- Ionic silver
- Silver protein
- True colloidal silver

Colloidal Silver Fact – Ionic Silver

Most products labeled and sold as colloidal silver are, unfortunately, ionic silver. This is because it is so much easier and less costly to produce this type of silver product. Among misrepresented colloidal silver facts, this is perhaps the most common.

Ionic silver products are made up of silver ions and silver particles. Using electrolysis, the manufacturer produces silver ions. Silver ions are really dissolved silver. Because most of the silver (about 90%) in ionic silver products is dissolved silver instead of silver particles, these are really solutions of silver.

These products are frequently advertised as containing silver ions that are small silver particles. That is confusing, however, since silver ions are different from silver particles.

Silver ions combine with chloride ions to form silver chloride, but silver particles do not.

Some manufacturers hide the identity of their ionic silver behind terms such as monatomic silver and silver hydrosol. These names are used to hide the truth from you. You are getting an ionic silver solution, not colloidal silver.

DON’T BE FOOLED.

If the product is clear, like water with sugar dissolved in it, it is ionic silver, not colloidal silver. Colloidal silver has an apparent color. This is a colloidal silver fact.

HOW TO TEST IT.

Add table salt to the product. If silver ions are present, the solution should turn cloudy. If it remains clear, however, it may simply mean no silver is present at all. Unfortunately, lab analysis has shown that some “silver” products contain absolutely no silver.

Some Products that test out to be ionic silver:

- Alchemists Workshop Colloidal Silver 10 ppm
- Earth’s Bounty Colloidal Silver 5 ppm
- Earthborn Products Colloidal Silver 100 ppm
- High Energy Labs Colloidal Silver 15 ppm
- Pro Star Colloidal Silver 10 ppm
- Survival Enterprises Colloidal Silver 3 ppm
- Ultra Pure Colloidal Silver 35 ppm

Colloidal Silver Fact – Silver Protein

Silver protein products, though often called colloidal silver, are nothing more than silver particles combined with protein. They can be made easily and at little cost. One needs only to add water to silver protein powder. The powder is sold by many chemical companies. This is the second most commonly misunderstood of colloidal silver facts.

If the colloidal silver product you are considering claims to be a high concentration of colloidal silver, it is very likely silver protein. Silver protein products usually have large silver particles. They could not remain suspended unless protein was added. Protein helps keep the particles from settling.

What kind of protein is used? Usually, it is gelatin made from animals. The risk of bacteria from the gelatin is one of the dangers of taking silver protein products.

DON’T BE FOOLED.

Silver protein products are the least effective for human use. In addition, silver protein products are known to cause Argyria – bluish skin tone. The condition is due to the high concentration of large silver particles. This is a colloidal silver fact.

HOW TO TEST IT.

Shake the product. If foam appears above the liquid and remains a few minutes, you probably do not have a colloidal silver product.

Some Products that test out to be silver protein:

- Futurebiotics Advanced Colloidal Silver 10 ppm
- Innovative Natural Products – Super Colloidal Silver 2000 ppm
- International Pharmaceuticals – Invive 500 ppm
- N-Ergetics Colloidal Silver 1100 ppm

Colloidal Silver Facts – True Colloidal Silver

These products are the most difficult to find, but are the products you want if you are going to use colloidal silver. True colloidal silver products present both difficulties and high cost to the manufacturer. Those who want you to misunderstand this colloidal silver fact want to make money from inferior products.

A colloid is a combination of particles of one substance, dispersed throughout another substance, which are too small to be seen with an ordinary light microscope, but cannot pass through a semipermeable membrane.

When referring to colloidal silver, the word colloid means silver particles. True colloidal silver contains mostly silver particles. True colloidal silver will usually contain 50 to 80% silver particles. The remainder will be silver ions.

True colloidal silver products have the highest total surface area of all the particles taken together. This is important. High surface area determines how effective the colloidal silver will be. The extremely small particles in true silver colloids, with their high surface area, remain in colloidal suspension on their own. There is no need to add protein or other substances.

DON’T BE FOOLED.

True silver colloids do not cause Argyria, the condition that causes skin to turn blue-gray. Their freedom from this condition is due to the low amount of ionic silver and the small size of the silver particles. This is a colloidal silver fact.

HOW TO TEST IT.

Look for an apparent color. Add salt, as described above under “Ionic Silver”. Shake as described under “Silver Protein”. True colloidal silver should pass all three tests.

Some Products that test out to be true colloidal silver:

- Advanced Colloidal Silver (Utopia Silver) 20 ppm
- Kelly Colloidal Silver 20 ppm
- Mesosilver 20 ppm
- Vitol Super Colloidal Silver 5 ppm
- Wellness Colloidal Silver 30 ppm

Whichever product you finally purchase, be sure to check with your health-care provider before using it. Be sure you share with him or her the colloidal silver facts learned here.

M.D. Hamilton
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/colloidal-silver-facts-98263.html

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