The Hello Hydration formula is infused with coconut milk and orchid. Coconut milk is a great additive to any hair care product for it’s hydrating qualities, and I’ve used several products with this additive that really help with moisturizing and preventing dryness and split ends and brittleness.

Since I really enjoyed the way Hello Hydration worked on my hair, I decided to try their anti frizz shampoo called None of Your Frizzness, another clever play on words, since my hair has been tending toward frizz in this humid Ohio summer we’re having.

This one is in a red bottle and has the same great pricing as the Hello Hydration formula.  I only tried the shampoo so far, not the conditioner, but I will probably add the conditioner to my collection soon too.

The shampoo is great for giving you soft, shiny and less frizzy hair.  It has a great consistency and a great smell, and lathers nicely, without feeling like it’s dried the heck out of your hair when you rinse it out, like some other shampoos do.

Your hair feels really clean, yet slicker when you’re done if that makes any sense. I’ve read that the conditioner and the smoothing balm work great together to further help control the frizzies all day long, so I’ll probably also try the smoothing balm.

I love the shampoo though, which is going to prompt me to try the other products in this particular line.  Shampoo is just as important as conditioner, because it provides the foundation for how your hair is going to interact with conditioner and the styling products you use, so it’s not just conditioner that should be chosen carefully.

If you finish off your straight, sleek look with a Sedu flat iron or other high quality salon straightener and hair dryer (also very important for shiny, smooth hair in my opinion), you’re going to have minimal problems with frizz, flyaways and dryness all summer long – and all winter.

This device is unique, as it doesn’t use radio waves, lasers, heat or any other sort of fat melting technique to get rid of fat cells, or allow your body to excrete them on their own like the other laser assisted fat removal techniques we discussed in our last post, but rather it uses cryogenics.

Yep, it uses the principle of freezing to kill fat cells, and then allow your body to get rid of these destroyed fat cells on it’s own.  It’s a device that is held against the skin for a long time, allowing it to adequately freeze the fat cells, which can be a rather tedious process, and over a period of months of treatment, your body should dispel these fat cells from the body.

It can be a very long process, but the good thing is that it is completely noninvasive. No cutting, probing, tearing, or incisions.  Zeltiq goes by the name of cool sculpting as well.  I’m not sure if it is under review with the FDA for fat removal and sculpting use, but it sure will catch on if it works because a lot of people don’t like the idea of being cut to reduce fat with the traditional heat and suction techniques we have today.

What’s interesting is if you go to the Zeltiq site, it won’t even take you to a US page, it pops up a message that the procedure is not yet approved for fat removal in the US, but it is approved for dermatological procedures that involve cooling the skin and the layers below it.

The interesting part of this cool sculpting procedure is that it appears you only have to get one treatment that can last up to three hours (probably depending on what you’re getting treated), and then over the course of four months or so, your body actually eliminates the crystallized fat cells over this period of time.

I’m not sure why it takes this long, but it does. The results pictures on the website are pretty good, but they don’t look as dramatic as laser lipolysis.  The cost as far as I can find is about $800-1,000 per body part treated. I could not tell whether this is a good procedure for any areas of the body other than abdomen, back fat, or bra jiggle fat, as those were consistently the only examples I could find.  It looked like, per the before and after pictures, it might work a little bit to reduce the appearance of cellulite potentially.

Laser lipolysis goes under several different names now. The most well known perhaps is Smart Lipo, which uses the principle of lasering and melting the fat cells, and then either vacuuming them out gently or allowing them to be expelled from the body through the body’s natural elimination process.  That last part is what makes a lot of patients nervous.

What if you get this done and your body fails to rid itself of these destroyed fat cells?  Well, that’s why some patients prefer to go to the docs that will also vacuum this fat out with this method.  LAL as it is called (Laser Assisted Lipo) is a great option though for those that are of a pretty normal weight that have stubborn problem areas like saddlebags or a double chin, or maybe love handles or centralized belly fat, or perhaps too much upper arm fat that all the tricep extensions in the world and dieting won’t help.

The additional benefit of laser lipolysis, or SmartLipo is that it may help some patient’s skin tighten and tone in the areas where it was performed.  This may mean less cellulite appearance, which is obviously a huge benefit, especially in the hips, buttocks and thighs area, where we all tend to have cellulite issues. Essentially, it acts as somewhat of a cellulite treatment as well.

This fact, combined with the faster recovery period, has made LAL a popular choice for those that have localized fat they want removed.  Now, if you’re looking for much more dramatic results, and need to have a lot of fat removed, then you may want to look into traditional liposuction. I’m sure it’s come a long way, however, this used to be one of the most painful recoveries for cosmetic surgery out there.

Doctors can typically remove up to five qts. of fat with traditional liposuction. You’d think that might result in actual weight loss, but usually it doesn’t amount to much at all, because fat in and of itself does not weigh all that much.

Patients definitely want to keep the fat off their bodies by maintaining a healthy diet after they get either one of these procedures done, because they still can gain weight, it will just be in different areas than the lipo was performed.  They may notice other areas expanding, and of course that is not desirable.

I instantly thought of the body parts I’d love to downsize like my upper arms and my thighs, but of course if you tried to fix everything on your body that you thought was imperfect, you’d go broke!

Velashape and Velasmooth are actually cellulite treatments that are made by the same company, it’s just that Velasmooth is the latest and greatest version of the treatment, and it combines a couple different technologies that really work together to break down cellulite and minimize fat cells.

Velashape combines manual stimulation, via roller-like contraptions, much like the other popular cellulite treatment endermologie. But it also adds infrared heat as well as radio waves that penetrate deep down into the skin’s layers and reach the fat cells, supposedly helping to sort of “compress” or shrink them.

It does not break them down in any way and flush them out like Smartlipo does, just so you’re clear, but it is more of an upkeep sort of treatment that works for a while, then needs maintenance to keep the results up and keep the shape and tone you got out of the initial sessions.

Most places that perform this treatment say that it takes 4-6 treatments to obtain optimal results, and these are spaced about one week apart. The average cost I found, at least in my geographic area was about $200 per treatment.

So you’re probably looking at a cost of about $1200 for your initial treatments, then an additional $200 a pop for the maintenance treatments, which are supposed to occur every 3 months approximately, to ensure you keep your results. Of course, weight gain is not recommended after this powerful and often reportedly effective cellulite treatment, and may negate or reduce the effectiveness of the treatment.

Stretch marks are notoriously hard to treat as they are essentially damaged skin that has been stretched beyond repair, which has a very difficult time coming back to it’s normal pigment.  It’s the same effect as stretching a rubber band and keeping it that way for a few days, then letting it go back to it’s normal size.

Well, if you conduct this experiment, you will see that the rubber band does not return to it’s normal size, nor does it return to it’s normal color where the most stretching happened. It gets little white lines, much like stretch marks, where the most breakage of it’s bonds occurred.

Our skin is the same.  Our skin is made of pliable small cells called collagen, and part of the reason we take on an aged appearance as we get older is because this collagen and the flexibility it gives our skin breaks down and no longer is as stretchy as it used to be.

Good stretch mark treatments help to intensively moisturize the skin, and also contain ingredients which help to mend damaged skin and to help the skin repair and rebuild itself where the trauma occurred, whatever it may have been from – pregnancy, weight gain and extreme weight loss, or a sudden growth spurt when you were younger.

Some of the ingredients you may want to look for include shea butter, peptides and olive oil, all of which are not only nourishing and repairing, but also which have excellent hydration qualities to provide intense hydration.

Dehydration is the ultimate enemy of getting rid of stretchmarks, and a good stretch mark cream penetrates and provides deep down moisturizing, not just topical, superficial moisturizing, so it minimizes the appearance of discoloration.

Botox, after years of use, tends to result in what’s called “Botox brow”.  Botox brow is where the brows tend to look overly arched and higher on the head, resulting in a sort of angry or surprised look, all the time.

Women who I think have aged fantastically without anything (I’m guessing here, by appearances) are Valerie Bertinelli, Kyra Sedgewick, Julia Roberts (who recently proclaimed her disdain for Botox and other anti aging surgeries and extremes), Demi Moore and Jennifer Aniston.

Now, some of you may disagree with my assessment that these beauties are au naturelle, but I think they look very natural, and they don’t “look” like they’ve had anything done.

Which leads me to the question, is 40 really the new 30?  And then, is 50 really the new 40 also?  It seems like women are able to age so well now with all the nonsrugical products at their disposal. Also, knowing what to eat and how to live your life to maximize your skin’s beauty for a long time is key well.

There are so many anti aging and anti wrinkle products that really make a big difference in our skin’s appearance and help our skin to maintain moisture so much better than products of yesteryear and were minimal on technology. Ingredients like idebenone, hyaluronic acid, potent vitamin C and alpha lipoic acid, DMAE and various hydroxy acids really can make a difference in skin over time.

Daily exfoliation really helps too, because it keeps the skin cells new on top, and refreshes the older dead ones, resulting over time in less fine lines and wrinkles, and making the skin appear fresher, more toned and more taut and even.

We are lucky to live in an age where these types of products are at our easy disposal – it really does make you look younger than your years, and it’s no wonder that so many women get mistaken for much younger than their bio

However, many women have a really hard time getting tan legs. The thought as to the reason is that there is not as much blood flow to the legs, and places that have more blood flow usually get tanner more easily.

A good example of an area of the body that gets tan pretty well is your stomach. This is because there is a lot of blood pumping activity in that area of the body. This is not true for your extremities, because they have less blood flow.  Therefore, the only really good way to guarantee tan legs is to put some self tanner on them and wait for them to develop.

Another reason you shouldn’t try to tan your legs in the sun is that you are also putting the rest of your body out in the sun for too long, since they take longer. Incidentally, the legs are the most common part of the body that turns up with cancerous growths. So, it’s safe to say to just try to stick to supplementing your sun time with a good self tanner to get your legs tan.

Another tip to baring your legs in the summer is to use a shave minimizer. You can find good hair removal products that will minimize your shaving time, and leave your legs a ton smoother in the summer.

This way, not only do you have to shave your legs less (something that all of us ladies love), but you are also minimizing the removal of any tan you have built up.  Shaving does help diminish your tan, even if it’s a self tanner, because it literally shaves off layers of your skin cells, which is where the tan is held, when you run the razor over your legs.

If you hate wearing shorts, like I do, especially the older I get, then get yourself a few pairs of cute capris. They’re cool in the summer, and you can buy materials that really flatter your shape , and minimize the leg you have to show.

The particular brand I’m reviewing for your today is Aveeno, and it’s their Active Naturals line. This one is called Aveeno Active Naturals Lifting and Firming Eye cream.

It’s in a tiny little round pump container, which I was very skeptical about when I received it in the mail (I ordered it online), because I don’t like when things come that small – it makes me think they packaged it that way on purpose so I’ll fly through it in two weeks and have to run and buy more which is their ultimate goal.

This, however, will go a long way as long as you’re not doing two pumps every night and using it night and day.  I just use one half of a pump under both of my eyes every night, and I believe this will last me a month if I continue to use it like this.

I’ve been using the eye cream for about 2 weeks now. I only use it at night, sometimes I’ll put a tiny bit of it under my eyes in the morning though before work if I’m looking tired. It really does brighten the under eye area, and I think that’s what take the attention off of lines.

I’m not sure if it’s actually helping to diminish the fine lines and crows feet I have, but it’s definitely a great brightening and tightening anti aging cream to use for this sensitive area.

It contains mushroom extract. I’m not exactly sure what the therapeutic benefits of mushroom extract are supposed to be, but I can tell you that this cream has definitely helped make my under eye area more defined, tighter, and brighter looking.  If you only use it under your eyes, it should last you a month, and that’s about what I’m projecting mine to last as well, so at just under $18 per bottle, it’s not terrible, but it’s not the lowest priced thing either.

Well, this latest one is pretty interesting because it uses stems cells from fat to make various parts of your body filled out (wrinkles, hollows in the cheeks, etc. as we age, and even breast augmentation).

If you’re a stranger to the news, then you may not know that stem cells in general have stirred quite a controversy in the medical community. They are very controversial in science right now because of stem cell therapies that are derived from fetuses.

Obviously, there is a moral dilemma there, and a debate on where a life begins and ends.  However, fat stem cells are different, because they can be derived from a non-controversial subject.

Cosmetic surgery performed with stem cells has not been approved by the FDA, but it has been used successfully for years in other countries, which is typical for the stringent approval process of the US for all things medical and cosmetic.

Some of the supposed benefits of stem cell fat implantation versus non stem cell fat transplants used to fill out wrinkles and correct other cosmetic imperfections is the amount of time it lasts. It can last up to fifteen years in the body instead of disappearing or migrating more quickly to other areas of the body.

Many plastic surgeons say there is really no results differences between the two though, and tend to hesitate to back it because of it’s fairly exorbitant price compared to ordinary surgeries performed with fat cells.

It appears to be about double the price of regular fat transplants.  Gosh, just saying that sounds hilarious. The fact that we transplant fat (a generally loathed thing) from area of the body to another is downright ludicrous if you think about it!

As I discussed not too long ago, I really like the benefits my hair got from using a product called No Frizz by Living Proof. However, even that can’t keep out all humidity on those overbearingly hot ones where the air literally steams. Pretty much the only way your hair might look decent outdoors on days like that is if you’ve had the expensive japanese straightening done, because that really does lock out all humidity.

There are other ways to keep your hair shaft staying smooth and behaving itself though. One really good way to wake up with smooth hair is to sleep on a satin pillow case. This way your hair doesn’t snag and rough itself up on the pillow as you toss and turn at night, which is partially to blame when you wake up with bed head.

Another way to keep your hair smooth is to blast the A/C in your house. My mom and I were just talking about how when we sleep in really cool temps in A/C all night, our hair in the morning looks ten times better. That’s because A/C basically sucks moisture out of the air. Moisture is what makes your hair frizzy. When there is moisture in the air, that’s what creates humidity, and depending on how porous your hair is, it will suck it up and expand, hence creating that word you love “frizz”.

Blast your hair with a good rinse of cold water in the shower too, this helps not only boost shine but also helps to lock the shaft and protect it against humidity.  Also, try using a great frizz reducing hair dryer. My dryer of choice now is the ionic FHI hair dryer. Sedu makes some great frizz fighting hair dryers too.  It’s expensive, but it leaves your hair shinier and smoother and more humidity resistant than most other drug store brands of dryers.