April 11th, 2012
As the temperatures go up the clothes come off, well the winter ones at least 
While you may be ready to take on the shorts and sandals, chances are your skin might not be so ready to bare it all! And if you are planning to add some color (self-tanner only!) it’s more important than ever to get a good scrub on.
There a only a few things worse for your skin than winter. Low humidity in conjunction with hot air, heat and less fresh air can leave your skin looking dry, rough, scaly and even wrinkled and older. Knees, elbows and heels can also suffer from prolonged use of winter boots.
Prep for hair removal & some self-tanner - Many women pay a lot less attention to body hair accrual during the winter months so you may be facing a major de-fuzzing. One of the best ways to prep your skin is a full-body exfoliating scrub before you start hacking away. In need of an all-natural scrub? Scandle has got the goods – our Dead Sea Salt Soak & Scrub is back and you can get it in any one of our Scandle-ous fragrances.
A good scrub also rids the skin of flaky dead cells, which when a self tanner hits can cause the infamous yellow/orange streaks. The best way to ensure a great sel-tanner application, is an all over body scrub.
If you’ve got the DIY gene then try your own scrub! Here’s a little help:
Brown sugar/olive oil/ginger body scrub
Mix 2 cups of brown sugar with 1 cup of olive oil and add a small amount of ground ginger. Mix well until the mixture forms a paste. Using circular motions, rub your entire body, paying special attention to elbows, heels, and knees. Rinse with an all natural body wash and wet washcloth and towel dry.
What are some other ways to get in your best skin shape?
Tags: Body Scrubs, Scandle Dead Sea Salt Soak & Scrub, Self tanning prep, Shaving prep, Spring beauty prep
Posted in Beauty Care & Treatments, Spring Skin Care | No Comments »
April 5th, 2012
Warmer weather, who could ask for more? Around here we love the heat, well maybe just spring time, it is Texas after all! While you should ALWAYS use sunscreen throughout the year, the spring is when we really start to notice the need for all over coverage.
The FDA’s new sunscreen guidelines go a long way toward making sunscreen labeling clearer. But there’s still a lot to know before your hit those drug store shelves. Here’s what to look for when shopping for sun protection:
- Opt for creams. I know the sprays are so much more convenient but they can release tiny particles of sunscreen that may not be safe to inhale.
- Avoid the chemical ozybenzone. This common sunscreen ingredient is a synthetic estrogen. Some research has shown that it can penetrate the skin and contaminate the body.
- No matter the SPF level, you must reapply! Just because it is SPF 95, doesn’t mean it’s protecting you 95% of the time. Anything between 15-50 works just fine. But pick a product and reapply often.
Posted in Beauty Care & Treatments, Skin Care, Skin Damage, Spring Skin Care, Sun Damage | No Comments »
April 4th, 2012
That’s right, I just mentioned perms. For those young-ins out there here is a history lesson: a permanent wave involves the use of chemicals to break and reform the bonds of the hair. The hair is washed and wrapped on a perm rod and waving lotion is applied with a base. A perm is what made the 80s all about big, curly hair and I might have gotten one in the 90s 
A much less common hair treatment in the 2000s, the traditional perm uses chemicals and rollers to make straight hair curly. Well, in keeping with the technological times, there is a new form for the 21st century – the digital perm. Looks a bit futuristic to me!
A digital perm is a perm which uses hot rods with the temperature regulated by a machine, which has a digital display, hence the name. However, there aren’t too many difference between the two, except for the shape and texture of the wave.
A normal perm, or a “cold perm”, makes the wave most prominent when the hair is wet, and loose when it is dry.
A digital perm makes the wave most prominent when the hair is dry, and loose when it is wet. The digital requires heat, so it is also called a “hot perm” in comparison to the “cold perm”. Because of this heat, perms created digitally are often softer, smoother and shinier than the original perm. FYI – it costs a lot more than it’s original counterpart.
No surprise here – they are extremely popular oversees, particularly in South Korea and Japan. So when this trend hops over to the US, will you be lining up to get a digital permanent?
Tags: Digital perms, permanents, perms, semi permanents
Posted in Beauty Care & Treatments, Hair Treatments | No Comments »
April 2nd, 2012
Razor burn, bumps and ingrown hairs, oh my! Now that the warmer weather has begun it’s time to shed some layers. And while you don’t have to admit to it, ladies, it’s time to start shaving above the knee again
With the emergence of shorter skirts, flip flops and summer dresses, it’s time to prep your winter skin for hair removal. Razor burn, bumps and ingrown hairs are all common skin reactions from shaving. But what causes these gross skin issues and how can you prevent them?
Razor burn – the general skin redness, abrasion and irritation that result from shaving. Nicks and cuts caused by shaving are also categorized as razor burn. One of the most common causes – too much pressure when shaving. Other common causes – lack of sufficient skin lubrication and shaving against the direction of hair growth. In men, after-shaves and colognes can cause drying and irritation, causing the appearance of razor burn.
Ingrown hairs – these guys form when “sharpened” hairs curl back and re-enter the same hair follicle. This causes your body to react to the ingrown as a foreign body. It attacks the foreign body causing inflammation, itching and even infection.
Razor bumps – very similar to ingrown hairs, bumps are small tender pimples which appear on the skin surface after shaving. These bumps occur when closely cut hairs grow out and pierce back into the skin at a neighboring hair follicle. Again the body attacks these hairs as foreign and tries everything it can to eliminate it, causing the bumps, redness and irritation.
Now that you know what you are dealing with, how about preventing it? Well, Scandle’s got your back (and legs, bikini line, and anything else that needs some prep)!
Scandle’s new ECO-Shave and Shower Foam is here! Designed for both men & women of all skin-types, this dual purpose, plant derived shave foam doubles as a eco-friendly body wash! The softly scented foam acts as “first-aid” to skin and razor blades virtually eliminating:
* Ingrown hairs
* Red Bumps
* Razor Burn
* Nicks & Cuts
* …And Dull Blades
Tags: ingrown hairs, razor bumos, Razor burn, Scandle Eco-Shave & Shower Foam
Posted in Inflammation, News, Scandle Candle, Sensitive skin, Spring Skin Care | No Comments »
March 30th, 2012
Happy Friday! Are you on Pinterest? If not, what are you waiting for? We’ve been pinning like crazy since we joined last month and now we want you to show us your Scandle!
We wanna know where do you like Scandle? In the bathroom, in the massage room, in the bed room? (wink, wink) Take a picture of your Scandle Candle in your favorite setting, create a pin with your image on Pinterest and share a link in the comments section of our Pinterest Board and you could win a $50 Spa Finder Certificate to be used at a spa of your choosing! Remember creativity counts! And Scandle would like to remind you to get it’s skinny side!
You can also share your image on our Facebook page or here in the comments.
P.S. Although we appreciate a little Scandle and the human form…please no pornographic or nudie pins please!:) Contest ends April 30th…so hurry up and start pinning!
Tags: free Scandle, Pinterest challenge, Scandle giveaway
Posted in Giveaway | No Comments »
March 28th, 2012
In America, we spend nearly $110 billion on dental care. But in Japan a new cosmetic surgery has got women paying to have their straight teeth rearranged. Yup, that’s right. A common result of tooth crowding or more commonly known as “snaggleteeth” has somehow become associated with the U.S.
The look is called “yaeba” in Japanese or translated – “double tooth.” Japanese men apparently find this attractive, with blogs dedicated to finding celebrities with these snaggleteeth. So how does one create a “snaggletooth” you might ask?
Dentists create it by artificially affixing plastic fronts to their real teeth. But don’t judge the Japanese just yet, us Westerners are apparently fixated on it as well.
The new gap tooth in modeling is the equivilant of the perfect smile of the 90s. Last year, the host and model Tyra Banks encouraged one contestant to have the gap between her two front teeth widened.
Posted in Beauty Care & Treatments, Consmetic Surgery and Procedures | No Comments »
March 27th, 2012
So you’ve put out a little cash to treat yourself to a little something or spent the last hour clipping, scrubbing and polishing a mani/pedi in your favorite spring color. Here are the top 5 ways to put a dent or scratch in your flawless do:
Hand sanitizer – that’s right, unless your little germ fighter is alcohol-free, applying hand sanitizer on the regular erodes the topcoat and makes nails appear duller.
Folding laundry – a great excuse to pass the task on to your significant other, or just wait for the clothes to cool down. The heat from recently dried clothes softens the nail polish and fades the color.
Texting- back away from the phone! Tapping away on your phone is like tiny torture on your recently manicured tips, causing chips in the paint and weakening your nails.
Drying shortcuts – before you dip your tips in that icy water think again! Icy temperatures cause the nails to flare, creating tiny cracks in the polish.
Scrubs – body or facial scrubs slough off the outer layer of skin, which means they will do the very same to your nail polish. Best advice, do that DIY or at-home scrub before you head out to the salon or swap out your polish.
Tags: how to keep a manicure, manicure, manicure treatments
Posted in Beauty Care & Treatments, Spa, do it yourself | No Comments »
March 23rd, 2012
While I’m not the biggest beer drinker (I like fruity, girly drinks) I have heard of marathon runners using it post-run. Turns out there is something to it! Beer contains polyphenols, antioxidants that regulate the immune system and suppress genes involved in provoking stress and inflammation.
A study took 277 marathoners and split them into two groups. One group had a placebo drink and the other had non-alcoholic beer. They drank 34 to 50 ounces of their beverages every day for 3 weeks leading up to their marathon and for two weeks after. The results – wheat beer reduced muscle inflammation and the occurrence of upper respitatory illness.
The participants in the study were drinking non-alcoholic beverages. But if you prefer the real deal, alcoholic beer contains twice as many polyphenols, so you can reap the same benefits from just half as much beer—that’s 1 pint per day—leading up to a marathon or physically taxing event.
But don’t forget, these people were training for a very athletic event, not using it as an excuse to cruise the happy hour spots!
Tags: beer for your health, pros of beer and running
Posted in Antioxidants, Green Living, Healthy Living, Inflammation | 2 Comments »
March 22nd, 2012
This week, lawmakers in Israel passed a law banning the use of “underweight” models in fashion shows and commercials. Models seeking jobs in Israel have to be certified by a doctor that their body mass index (BMI) is at least an 18.5.
Great! A country taking note of an industry known for eating disorders and horribly bad diet extremes but is BMI the correct way to determine body size or even overall health?
Here’s how the chart on BMI breaks it down:
Normal BMI is 18.5 – 24.9 range
25-29 is overweight
Over 30 is obese
And under 18.5 is underweight
And here is the problem with using a chart created in the 1800s, a girl weighing 110 lbs at 5’4 is underweight, I know several petite women who fit this demographic. I on the other had am 5’1, which means I should weigh 100lbs, I would look so gross if I weighed 100 lbs and I work out and eat right. I also like my curves and if I weighed 100 lbs I would look like some of these “too skinny” models.
While the law is aimed at helping young women stay healthy, most gyms don’t even rely on BMI testing as a solid analysis of your overall health anymore. There are much more accurate ways of determining fitness and health.
The Israeli law also bans models who “appear underweight,” which seems like a much better (and yet less enforceable) standard. And it would require advertisers to explicitly state if photos were manipulated to make a model look thinner.
So I want to know, does banning models using this outdated form of weight measurement really do anything to combat the scary world of eating disorders? Can you really measure health strictly on your weight?
Tags: BMI, BMI Measurements, Healthy weight, Israel's law on models
Posted in Beauty/Health Myths, Good eating, Healthy Living | No Comments »
March 21st, 2012
As if we need another reason to ditch plastic bottles, how about this one – they can cause wrinkles. Yikes! Plastic bottles damage more than the planet.
Just like straws (what straws too!) the constant pursing creates lines and aggravates existing ones around the mouth.
Water does a body and complexion good so what are we suppose to use? Sip filtered water from a glass, stash one at your office, in your car or grab a bottle with a pour spout. Oh and don’t forget to ditch those straws too!
Tags: Anti-Aging Treatments & Products, water bottles cause wrinkles, wrinkles
Posted in Anti-Aging Treatments & Products, Beauty Care & Treatments | No Comments »
