#18 Herbal Green Peel Day 5

Wow what a relief it’s finally over! My follow up treatment ‘bacial’ felt like a complete treat after the week I have been through and I literally ooohed with joy when I felt the wet sponge on my back. Was it worth it? It definitely was. The scars are not completely gone but my back is noticeably clearer, more refined and the scars are lighter. I will keep you all posted on the results and on if anything changes but for now it looks good.

Xoxo

#17 Herbal Green Peel Day 4

I’m quite excited I received a comment/question about my blog and about the green peel to be precise…..it means someone out there is reading, yay! I was going to respond to just the reader but realised it was a valid question that I tut tut should have written about in my first green peel post. The question was as follows

“Sounds very interesting but as it is a herbal rather than chemical peel - i assume that is why you have to go back twice? what exactly is in the peel - do you know? Pain and Beauty go hand in hand - one word - threading!Waiting for part deux and please follow up so that we know the true effects i.e how long does it last? when does the pain actually end? is it appropriate for black skin - although i suppose you, as the guinea pig, will be the best answer to that! That kind of thing.”

My answer: First of all thanks for the great question. I have to go back twice because the second treatment is essentially a follow up treatment a ‘Bacial’ Back Facial where all the old skin will be massaged off and thoroughly cleansed, steamed, scrubbed and massaged. The green peel contains a combination of herbs, vitamins, plant hormones, enzymes, algae and minerals. It is meant to be suitable for all skin types, black skin included (yes I am the perfect guinea pig) and can help the following conditions – oily acne prone skin, scarring, and sun damaged and wrinkled skin. As for the pain and results, I will definitely keep you posted on the results. Hope this helps …

Moving on to today’s diary post. The word lizard woman and scaly really springs to mind, I seem to be shedding skin like its going out of fashion. I have taken to walking around with a dust pan and brush – I have never been so pleased that my floors are wooden and hiding out at home (I almost refused to open the door to the postman!). Thankfully the itchiness has calmed down considerably but its still there like an annoying fly in the background. I simply can’t wait till this is over……

See you all tomorrow for part five of my diary and hopefully the last

Xoxo

#16 Herbal Green Peel Day 3

I’m in major itchy mode today, well to be honest it’s been since last night really – seriously my back itches like mad! You know what its like when you get a weave, and it seems to go through that itchy phase so you have to pat your head gently rather than dig at your scalp, just in case people start thinking that you have lice! – Well intensify the feeling by about 100!!! I eventually called the salon this morning in a panic and was told it was nothing to worry about (apparently its actually good news!! because it means the herbs are stimulating my skin and encouraging new growth) I had to get Mr Lotions & Potions to pat my back with a book…thank God we are already married otherwise this might have scared him away. I also seem to be 2 shades darker and my skin has started to crack. I eventually take some nurofen and drink camomile tea and funnily enough this seems to help which is fine for now but I can’t help wondering what I have gotten myself into

See you all tomorrow for part four of my diary

Xoxo

#15 Herbal Green Peel Day 2

So today the million nails digging into my back have now been reduced to a bad case of constant pins and needles and I feel like itching my back (all the time!!!!). My skin is also starting to look quite dry but when I touch it, it feels really oily. I keep staring longingly at my long bristle brush which would be perfect for the itch…but no I’m strong and must persevere.

See you all tomorrow for part three of my diary

Xoxo

#14 Herbal Green Peel

So today is the first day of my five day diary on my Green Peel - I will be writing about the process and results on each day. I arrive at the Rag & Beau Salon feeling slightly excited but extremely nervous. This trepidation only increases when my therapist Anna asks me if i'm ready and if I took any pain killers before arriving…..I immediately panic and think – OMG should I have done? And question 4 on my consultation form “on a scale of 1-5 how high is your pain threshold?” doesn’t do anything to calm my anxiety! You see i’m here to put the theory of beauty is pain to the test by having the green peel done. Now you might remember me mentioning that in the past I had gone through a phase of adult breakouts? Well unfortunately this wasn’t just on my face; I also had a few on my back as well. So when I heard about the green peel I decided to have the treatment done on my back to help fade the scars away.

The green peel is an intensive exfoliation treatment – and is described as being an alternative to a chemical peel but with the same results. It uses a blend of natural herbs which when massaged into the skin is designed to increase blood circulation, inducing the regeneration of the skin cells and collagen fibres. As a result this then causes the upper layers of the skin to peel off. The treatment will involve two visits to the salon – the first which was today and the second is on the fifth day for the follow up treatment

The first part of my treatment which lasted for about thirty minutes started off with me thinking hmmm – it’s not as bad as I thought. The herbs were massaged into my back and initially just felt like a very grainy scrub. Fifteen minutes into it and its now starting to feel quite uncomfortably abrasive and hot which only gets worse when she turns on the steamer (i’m told this helps to increase the effectiveness of the treatment). Twenty minutes into it and my back feels like its on fire, i’m wriggling my toes in pain and thinking I really don’t think I can take this anymore when suddenly she stopped. Now just as i’m thinking phew! I’m told the herbs need to be taken off – all I can say is a sponge and a burning back does not equate to pain free. I emerge from there thinking surely my back is red and sore? But no its not, it actually looks quite clear and smooth on the down side though I feel like there are a million nails all over my back and i’m told the worst bit - which is that I can’t get water anywhere near my back until I come back for the follow up treatment. I leave there thinking this week will be an interesting shower or bath experience and what on earth was thinking!!!! I sooo need some pain killers and this had better be worth all this. It’s definitely not for the faint hearted.

See you all tomorrow for part two of my diary

Xoxo

#6 Is it because I'm not a celebrity? - Facial at Linda Meredith

It was my first year’s wedding anniversary last month – woo hoo!!! I can’t believe how the time flew by and I have to admit to still feeling like a major novice in all things marital! But the two big things I have learnt are that you are both always on the same side (yes even when they try to convince you that you don’t need the lovely shoes you just saw on sale!) and what you get out of your marriage is what you put into it, so always make an effort. Anyway in the lead up to our anniversary I decided to be helpful and leave Mr Lotions & Potions various hints lying in obvious places around the house with certain key items circled, pages folded etc – and I thought it was going really well till we decided to go with the traditional theme of anniversary gifts and seeing as the first year is paper – I realised my circled gifts wouldn’t really work anymore. Thankfully the lovely Mr Lotions & Potions decided to surprise me so not only did I get my paper gift but he also got me one of my circled items which was to have a facial at Linda Meredith!!

Now Linda Meredith is known as a facialist to the stars – and boasts a client list that reads like ‘Who’s Who’ with names such as Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Moss as devotees of her facials. Her bespoke facials are often described as some of the finest ones around.

So introductions over – on the day of my facial – I dress with extreme care and skyscraper heels to rival some of the tallest buildings – I’m not ashamed to admit it, I was hoping to bump into some celebrity – please don’t ask me what I would have done if I had ……but alas there was no there in the waiting room when I arrived save for the numerous signed photographs on the wall from various a-list celebrities and my therapist who would be doing my facial. Now for those who are wondering, no it wasn’t Linda herself but one of her specially trained therapists whose skin by the way was so amazingly clear it was practically translucent plus it had the additional benefit of being all glowy and healthy! Wow I think, can I have whatever you just had.

My facial starts really well, with her explaining what she felt was going on with my skin and what specific products and tips would be helpful to turn my skin around but then it all went a bit sour!

While I’m lying there wrapped in my warm towels with something soothing on my closed eyelids, the door opens and a loud voice is heard telling her off for (a) having gone over my allocated facial time and (b) asking her how much longer she will be and urging her to speed it up. HOW RUDE! Obviously this meant that the rest of my facial was quite rushed and I felt completely sorry for my facialist and spent the rest of the time worrying about how much trouble she was in.

Now while I can understand that you have a business to run and need to reprimand staff if they are not able to work to timings, what I couldn’t understand was why this had to be done in the middle of my facial with me lying there (i.e. why couldn’t it wait until she finished with me or at the very least pull her out of the room and speak to her privately) and I couldn’t help but wonder and come to the conclusion that if I was someone who was deemed to be important, in other words a celebrity it wouldn’t have happened. I have to say it left me feeling slightly sad and overall the experience didn’t leave me feeling pampered or relaxed as it should have done. I was extremely disappointed....

On a positive note, my face was glowing when she finished and I felt like I had just been given a touch of what she had. Have a look at the website for facial and product details. www.lindameredith.com

Xoxo