When we enter the spa for relaxation and that all important get away from the rush of everyday life we have certain expectations. There is an ambiance that is created within the spa, the soft, relaxing music, the pleasing to the eye décor, and the cozy treatment rooms. There is however the ‘Spa smell’. The luxurious, gentle smell of essential oils that lulls you into…

While chirality is actually nothing new to science and the pharmaceutical drug industry, it is a relatively new concept to skin care. But what do chirally correct ingredients offer the skin and can they provide real benefits otherwise unmatched? In 1847, renowned French chemist Louis Pasteur first discovered the concept of chirality as a graduate student while studying two acids in wine. He observed that…

Stress, that cliché word meaning 'totally overwhelmed,' is now acknowledged as a proven threat to health. "Over 50 percent of deaths in the United States can be attributed to behavioral and social factors [stress]," says psychologist Oakley Ray, Ph.D., of the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University in a study. This and other research implicates stress in causing disease and degradation at the…

Scientists and researchers have come a long way in their efforts to understand the properties and benefits of supplements in skin care. The use of vitamins and other nutrients to hydrate, normalize, protect, heal, condition and beautify the skin appears to be the wave of both the present and the future. Clearly, the internal use of vitamins is one of the most powerful weapons in…