Skin Care For the Colder Months Part 2

Remember last week we got some great advice on skincare for the winter months from our lovely therapists? Well we also pestered them for body care tips as we all know it’s not just our faces that suffer from dry and dull skin throughout the winter.

Again, it was the dryness of the skin that Pav and Tegan said was the problem, with arms and legs hidden away under layers of thick knits without the chance to breathe. However, this can easily be targeted with the right products and skincare routine.

Body Wash
A moisturising body wash is essential in the winter months to nourish dry skin. Elemis Exotic Frangipani Manoi Bath and Shower Cream is designed especially to cleanse the skin gently while hydrating with a rich formula and extra moisture from Tahitan Monoi Oil. Pav recommends this wash as it’s beautifully luxurious while still being extremely effective on dry skin.

Exfoliator
A body exfoliator is essential throughout winter to get rid of dry and dead skin cells that are more common during colder weather. Pav recommends Ren’s Guerande Salt Exfoliating Body Balm as it offers the same exfoliation as a salt scrub but with the added benefit of a body balm which is soothing and moisturising to damaged skin cells and less harsh than a normal salt scrub which can be very abrasive to the skin- something you want to avoid when skin is dehydrated.

Moisturiser
The most important part of winter body care is of course a moisturiser as it’s the quickest and easiest way to restore moisture into dehydrated, tired skin. Tegan recommends Skin Wisdom’s Very Enriched Ultra Rich Body Butter for an affordable but luxurious product. The butter slowly turns to oil as it’s massaged into the skin giving extra moisture to the skin as well as a luxurious application.

Body Oil
For a great extra boost for your skin, Pav and Tegan recommended using a body oil. Body oils are a great way of hydrating skin and locking in moisture. Pav recommended one of her own favourite products- Elemis Exotics Frangipani Monoi Moisture Melt which is a product that can be used in a variety of different ways. The oil comes in a solid form to preserve it and can simply be melted in a jug of hot water. Pav recommended adding a few drops to a hot bath before a long soak to add moisture to your whole body or simply dropping the bottle in your bath with you so that it melts slowly while you bathe and is ready to be applied easily when you get out. Tegan, meanwhile likes to use the product as an add on to others, explaining how she adds a drop to her hair conditioner or moisturiser for an extra moisture boost. However you want to use it, it’s definitely a great way to add moisture to dry skin throughout the winter!

With all these gorgeous products, we’re almost looking forward to Winter arriving! We’d love to hear any winter skin tips you have to add to our new stack of knowledge? And don’t forget if you have any questions at all, our therapists are always here to be pestered, just leave your comments below, Tweet Us or leave us a Facebook comment.

All of the mentioned products are available to buy online at Pure Spa Shop or at any of our 4 locations where our therapists are also on hand to advise you.

Tweet To Win Twitter Competition

We hate to see anyone left out so with our exciting Facebook Competition coming to an end today, we thought it was time we did something for our other online friends over on Twitter. We’re going to raid the cupboards at Pure HQ and give away some goodies to our followers, but not until we reach 850 followers. We’ve not long to go but we really want to do it this afternoon to give some people a great start to the weekend so if you don’t already, get over to our Twitter page and give @purespa a follow (we’d love it if you said hi, too!) Oh and if you’re still confused by Twitter, this could be your perfect opportunity to get started, it only takes a second to sign up!

Skincare For the Colder Months

It may only be mid-September  and some of you may still be refusing to put your flipflops back in the wardrobe, but there was a definite chill in the air this morning on our way to PURE HQ and with the colder weather fast approaching, this is the best time to get your winter skincare routine sorted. We asked our lovely Lothian Road therapists for their top skincare products to stock up on before the snow arrives…

Winter Skin

Our therapists told us that the most common problem during winter is dry skin as the cold weather and constant central heating is harsh on the skin and leaves it dehydrated and dull looking, the best way to avoid and aid this is to have a strong skin care routine consisting of a cleanser, moisturiser, exfoliator and mask.

Cleanser
Our therapist Tegan recommended Elemis Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser. This multi action cleanser combines anti ageing properties with deep cleaning to gently erase all traces of make up and dirt and leave your skin clean and smooth. Tegan recommends this for the colder months as it has a rich, thick consistency and contains essential plant extracts that deeply moisturise dehydrated skin that is so common in the winter due to harsher weather and constant central heating. Simply use daily morning and evening.

Moisturiser
Tegan suggests Elemis Maximum Day Moisture Cream as perfect for everyone through the winter months as it focusses on constant rehydration for the skin but also adapts to the skin type. This means that more oily complexions don’t become overly greasy but are still suitably moisturised- this is important, particularly in the winter as oily skin can still become very dehydrated and still needs to be moisturised.  Meanwhile, those with very dry complexions will also love this product as it recognises the dryness in the skin and combats this. As an added bonus for targetting winter skin, this moisturiser also protects against daily toxins which are particularly prevalent in the winter time.

Exfoliator
Another of our therapists, Pav, told us how important exfoliation is throughout winter as skin becomes very dry, with dead skin cells staying on the skin’s surface. This can be easily combated by exfoliating regularly (1-2 times per week) to remove the dead skin cells and unveil the new, fresh layer of skin. Pav recommends Elemis Skin Buff which easily removes these dead skin cells and leaves new skin refreshed to reveal a brighter complexion that can be so hard to maintain in the winter. As an extra tip, our therapist Lauren, recommends using the Skin Buff on dry skin for added effect and then simply rinsing with water.

Masks
A face mask may not be something you’ve considered for your skin routine but Pav says it’s the best way to give your skin some extra help during winter.  She recommends the F10 Smooth and Renew Mask from REN which is formulated to detox and exfoliate while still being gentle on the skin. This is a mask packed full of natural ingredients to boost the skin, enzymes from Papaya gently remove dead cells while Vitamin C from Barbados Cherry Extract and essential oils of Orange, Mandarin, Grapefruit and Pineapple neutralise antioxidants. In addition Arctic Blackcurrant Oil rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids repairs and soothes. These naturally good ingredients will smooth and tone damaged skin and give it the extra boost it needs to stay bright and healthy throughout winter.

And there we have it, a great plan for combating and avoiding winter skin problems with great expert advice from Tegan and Pav! We’re also going to be looking at body care throughout winter so make sure you check back for more great tips!

If you’d like to buy any of the mentioned products, they’re all available on our Spa Shop now or alternatively you can pop into one of our locations and have a chat with our therapists about what’s best for your skin. You might even want to have a facial while you’re there to give your skin that extra boost as it waves goodbye to summer!

If you have any questions please just leave us a comment, Tweet Us or post a Facebook Comment and we’ll pester our therapists for even more advice!

Guest Post: Skin Wisdom Day Spa Range

Another guest post today, this time from Bettina at Beauty Swot, who blogs through her quest to find great beauty and skincare products. Here, she shares with us her thoughts on some of the Skin Wisdom Range, a bath and body line which PURE Spa are very proud to have helped develop, sold exclusively at Tesco, PURE Spa and two other UK day spas. ..

Readers of BeautySwot.com know that I love everything and anything to do with Rose scents, so when I read in a Sunday Magazine recently that Tesco sold a bath and body oil with Rose and Geranium in their Skin Wisdom Day Spa Range, I was looking forward to trying it.

The range was created and is used by three UK Spas – Cupcake, Pure and Glow – and is available exclusively to Tesco.

Now I love to be pampered but don’t often get the chance to take time out of my life and head to a Spa so home pampering is the next best thing. I do try on a Sunday morning to spend a little time treating myself to a soak and have been using this range.

The packaging is attractive and not dissimilar to Molten Brown’s, which a lot of brands seem to be doing now.

Pure De-Stress Unwind Bath and Body Oil ((Rose and Geranium)
Disappointingly I cannot detect the Rose which I was hoping for, but it is a pleasantly sweet floral scent which nods more to the Geranium. This is a bargain bath and body oil whose scent rises beautifully in the steam of the bath. I like the fact that it is dispensed in a handy glass spray bottle (non messy). I find it calming and leaves my skin soft.

Pure De-Stress Shower and Bath Gel (Rose and Geranium)
This complements the above product nicely. It has the same scent, lathers nicely (a little goes a long way) and once again leaves the skin soft to touch

Very Enriched Skin Silk Shower and Bath Gel (Vanilla and Neroli) & Very Enriched Ultra Rich Body Butter
Once again the scent lends itself far more to the Neroli than Vanilla which is quite spicy. I like this scent a lot and something keeps drawing me back to smell it on my skin. I think that it has something unisex about it and my husband is happy to use it.  Just like the Rose and Geranium, a little goes a long way.

The body butter has the same familiar spicy scent. It is a thick rich butter but sinks easily into the skin and is non sticky.

Used in conjunction with each other the gel and body butter perform exactly like their descriptions. My skin is deliciously smooth and silky, far silkier than it has felt in a long time.

My only reservation with the gels are that they do contain SLS – which can be a skin irritant, which explains why they foam up nicely. I do try wherever possible to avoid products that do contain them but realise that so many mainstream products have them in.

Overall, I think this is a really expensive feeling pampering range which really performs and of excellent value for the cost conscious.

To see more from the range and try Skin Wisdom for yourself, pick up a set in our Spa Shop or pop into your nearest PURE to test and sniff the gorgeous products and hear great recommendations from our therapists!

For more from Bettina, you can read her full blog at www.beautyswot.com

PURE Spa Deal: Buy One Get One Half Price Sculpting Wrap Treatments

Running alongside our celebratory Sculpting Wrap competition, we also have a brand new offer to welcome our new Sculpting Wrap and give you the chance to start seeing results at a brilliant discounted price. Simply book in for a full price slimming wrap treatment (£60) between 12 September and 14 October 2011 at any of our locations and you’ll receive a discount card for 50% off your next wrap to use up until 14 November 2011. You can take advantage of this offer as many times as you like so you could really get started on a full course of treatments which is recommended for optimum results!

The PURE Sculpting Wrap Treatment is exclusive to PURE Spa in the UK and comes all the way from Italy. Working to target cellulite, water retention and excess fat deposits, the treatment can help you loose inches and will leave your skin feeling smooth and toned. As an extra bonus, the treatment also includes your choice of PURE Facial or Back, Neck and Shoulder massage so you can relax while your wrap takes effect!

If you have any questions about our exciting PURE Sculpting Wrap or the offer, just leave us a comment below, Leave Us a Facebook Comment or Tweet Us and we’ll get our PURE therapists to get back to you!

Book Online Now or Call Your Nearest PURE!