31 tips to make your home a healthier place for your family.

We all assume our house is safe, but it is built with and we bring thousands of dangerousWoman with gas mask protecting herself from her household hazards chemicals into our house, then close the windows locking them in. The air in your house is actually more hazardous than the outside air. There is a great book coming out in a couple of weeks called The Healthy Home: Simple Truths to Protect Your Family from Hidden Household Dangers by Dave Wentz. Below are a few of the tips from this book to make you and your home healthier.

  1. Cut down on the wrinkle-free materials. Five minutes of ironing will spare you from a lifetime of PFC exposure.
  2. Make certain your body is wrapped in safe, natural material for at least a third of the day by purchasing pajamas and bedding made from organic cotton.
  3. Train and trust your nose. Of all our senses, smell makes the most direct connection between the outside world and your brain.
  4. Use one-half cup of white vinegar in place of fabric softener in the washer to reduce static cling and soften clothing.
  5. Unwrap and air out your dry-cleaned garments for at least two days in an exterior area, like a garage—never is a closet or bedroom.
  6. Whenever you launder your sheets, open your windows and leave your mattress exposed in order to allow your bed to off-gas for the day.
  7. Unplug your electronic gadgets and appliances when they aren’t being used.
  8. Buy nightlights, alarm clocks, and other bedroom electronics that are illuminated with red light, which is less disturbing to melatonin production than white or blue light.
  9. Open a window whenever you can to let in some fresh, cleansing air. The air outside is cleaner.
  10. Cut down on toxic preservatives like parabens, phthalates, and formaldehyde by first replacing products that sit on your skin all day—like a moisturizers—with more natural, preservative-free alternatives.
  11. Avoid aerosol products that have non-spray alternatives. If you must use aerosols, open a window and run your bathroom fan. Wash products off your face as soon as you get home instead of waiting until bedtime. A few additional chemical-free hours each day could add up to more than six years over a lifetime.
  12. Don’t use antiperspirant during cooler months or on weekends when it doesn’t matter if you sweat a little.
  13. If you’ve been exposed to mercury, consider taking a supplement containing N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and alpha lipoic acid to aid in detoxification.
  14. Give your immune system a boost with the beneficial bacteria found on a probiotic supplement. Just be sure to look in your pharmacy or grocery store for a product that contains “live and active” cultures.
  15. Avoid buying products that contain triclosan and its chemical cousin, triclocarban. Simply wash your hands with regular soap and water to get rid of germs.
  16. Start with good antioxidant protection, supplemental B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and lots of CoQ10. Also, try one or more of the foods that have been shown to lower cholesterol, such as steel cut oatmeal.
  17. Start each day with an alkalizing glass of lemon water by squeezing a fresh lemon (no sugar) into purified water. Make sure you include the pulp.
  18. Trade in your table salt for natural sea salt, which contains a mixture of alkaline complexes. And use pepper or other spices to liven your meals.
  19. Maintain a good distance—at least ten feet in front or five feet to the side—between yourself and the microwave when it’s on.
  20. If you must use a PTFE-lined pan, keep your stove’s burner on medium or lower. Also, never preheat an empty pan.
  21. If you plastic wrap, ensure it’s LDPE-based plastic, and regardless of what type it is, never use it in the microwave.
  22. Purchase reusable grocery bags made of natural materials such as cotton and use them as often as you can.
  23. Use a pitcher with an activated carbon filter to reduce contaminants in your water. Although it won’t filter out all pollutants, it’s a good start at a low cost.
  24. If you are cleaning with products that you wouldn’t eat, wear gloves!
  25. Instead of using an aerosol freshening spray, mist your room with real citrus scent,. Simply pour a few drops of orange, lemon, or lime essential oil into a spray bottle of water.
  26. Buy the best vacuum you can afford. Optimally, get one with a HEPA “completely sealed” system.
  27. Use a regular, corded telephone when at home or at work. Cutting even 20 percent of your daily RF exposure is a step in the right direction.
  28. If you have Ethernet ports in convenient areas, you can access the Internet using good, old-fashioned wiring.
  29. Don’t set your car’s air conditioner or heater to recirculated air. Selecting the outside air option on your dashboard will reduce the number of pollutants you’re circulating inside the car.
  30. Take a daily vitamin D supplement with at least 2,000 IUs (International Units) during the winter or year-round if you can’t get out into the sun each day.
  31. Plant a large, diverse range of plants in your yard—native species are best. The more the merrier and healthier.

We are in the metro Denver Boulder area. Please visit us for your laser hair removal needs.

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What is IPL Hair Removal?

While there are many types of laser technology used for laser hair removal today, many of us don’t know the differences between them. What’s more, it’s hard to distinguish between lasers that are used for skin rejuvenation treatments, and those meant for removing unwanted hair. IPL laser technology is one type that’s widely used for both skin rejuvenation and laser hair removal. But how does it work in both treatment situations? Are IPL lasers better for one type of treatment over another?

What Does IPL Stand For?

IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light. IPL treatments are often referred to as photo rejuvenation, Photofacial or IPL Photofacial due to its use of “selective photothermolysis” during treatment. Photothermolysis is the process by which IPL lasers convert light energy to heat energy and treat unwanted hair and skin pigments. IPL lasers can use photothermolysis to remove unwanted hair, or to correct skin hyperpigmentation, rosacea, age spots and the appearance of sun damage.

What Makes IPL Hair Removal Different From Other Laser Hair Removal?

Unlike other types of hair removal lasers that use a single light wavelength concentration, such as the Alexandrite Laser or the Diode Laser, IPL lasers use a full spectrum of light wavelengths. IPL lasers can alter the intensity of its pulsed light beams with various filters, but it can’t be refined to a single wavelength. Some patients and professionals claim that the IPL’s greater wavelength spectrum equals less precision and less control, which could mean an increased risk of burns and hair removal side effects with misuse.

IPL lasers are sometimes available with combined radio frequency, or RF, benefits, like with the popular Aurora laser series. The addition of radio frequencies is alleged to help improve skin texture and clear up troubled complexions. Radio frequencies attempt to heat up and energize skin tissue, which can increase collagen production and create firmer skin tissue. IPL lasers with RF energy will be more beneficial when used for anti-aging skin care treatments, rather than for laser hair removal.

One of the biggest reasons why IPL lasers are so popular in the hair removal industry is the lower cost. On average, IPL treatments are cheaper than the standard cost of laser hair removal. Additionally, they can treat larger skin portions at a time, so areas like the legs and back can be treated in a fraction of the time required with standard lasers.

Is IPL Hair Removal Right for Me?

IPL lasers are more often recommended for skin treatments than for hair removal procedures. This is because greater precision is required to focus light energy on individual hair follicles as opposed to problem skin areas. This isn’t to say that IPL lasers can’t successfully remove hair on the face and body. It just means that before undergoing IPL hair removal treatments, you should take extra care to confirm:

If you want to find out if IPL hair removal will be an appropriate solution to your unwanted hair problems, you should meet first with a professional provider in your area. They will better inform you of the costs, risks and benefits of IPL hair removal, and help you choose the best treatment option for you!

For laser hair removal in the Denver Boulder area please visit us at www.BellaPelleLaser.com

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Does laser hair removal cause scarring?

Any laser procedure can cause scarring, and this is included as a risk on most consent forms you will sign prior to laser treatment. However, the risk of scarring from laser hair removal is rather small and is a function of many things including:

  • The experience, skill, knowledge and training of the laser operator
  • Your particular ability to heal
  • The amount of melanin pigment in your skin with greater risk for darker skin types
  • Type of laser used
  • The condition of the laser.

Temporary Pigmentary Changes
Many people experience pigmentary changes, either lightening of the skin or darkening of skin, following a laser procedure. Most of time this is not scarring, even though people often believe that it is. Pigmentary changes following laser procedures are usually resolve in a period of weeks to months.

Experienced Operators Diminish Risk
Although the risk of scarring from a laser procedure is quite small, you can minimize your risk by selecting an experienced operator to perform your laser treatment who has years of experience doing laser hair removal with that particular laser.

Here at Bella Pelle Laser we have a staff of very experienced laser operators and we meticulously maintain the lasers. If you are in the metro Denver or Boulder area then we are close by in Broomfiled and just minutes from Westminster, Northglenn, Thornton, Erie, Brighton, and Boulder. Please give us a call to see how we can safely meet your laser hair removal needs.

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How to get a Natural Healthy Glow

Contrary to what the tanning industry might have people believe, the way to the mostattractive glow is not via carcinogenic and skin-damaging sun exposure but by consuming fruit and vegetables that are high in carotenoids. Carotenoids, which include alpha and beta-carotene and other antioxidant compounds, give red, orange and yellow fruit their color, and also occur in green vegetables.

In an article published online on December 23, 2010 in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, Dr Ian Stephen, currently of the University of Nottingham, and his colleagues at Perception Lab at the University of St Andrews in Scotland found that individuals with a greater intake of carotenoids, fruit and vegetables have an increased yellow skin tone consistent with enhanced carotenoid absorption. When viewing photographs of Caucasian faces, volunteers judged the golden color associated with carotenoids as appearing healthier than tones typical of tanning. A preference for a yellow tone was also observed in research involving an African population.

“Most people think the best way to improve skin color is to get a suntan, but our research shows that eating lots of fruit and vegetables is actually more effective,” Dr Stephen said. “We found that, given the choice between skin color caused by suntan and skin color caused by carotenoids, people preferred the carotenoid skin color, so if you want a healthier and more attractive skin color, you are better off eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables than lying in the sun.”

The findings are consistent with the evolutionary benefit of selecting a potential mate whose appearance signals good health. “This is something we share with many other species,” noted coauthor Professor David Perrett, PhD, who is the head of the Perception Lab at St Andrews. “For example, the bright yellow beaks and feathers of many birds can be thought of as adverts showing how healthy a male bird is. What’s more, females of these species prefer to mate with brighter, more colored males. But this is the first study in which this has been demonstrated in humans.”

“Together our studies link skin carotenoid coloration to both perceived health and healthy diet, establishing carotenoid coloration as a valid cue to human health which is perceptible in a way that is relevant to mate choice, as it is in bird and fish species,” the authors conclude.

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Summer is time for Electrolysis

If you’ve followed this blog then you know laser hair removal and sun don’t mix. If you love the outdoors and are a sun worshiper, then fall and winter are the best times to start your hair removal.

Electrolysis on the other hand isn’t sun sensative, so if you have some pesky lip, chin, or face hairs. You can start your way to tossing the tweezers and razor now by starting off with electrolysis.

Give us a call to schedule an electrolysis appointment. We are located in Broomfield and convenient to the metro Denver Boulder area and right next door to Westminster, Superior, Erie, Brighton, and Northglenn.

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Why doesn’t the laser get rid of all my hair in one treatment?

We answer this question several times a week. Many people think that after one laser hair removal treatment that all the hair will be gone forever. Unfortunately this isn’t the case.

First a bit of hair biology 101 – every hair on your body goes through three phases.

  1. First is the growth stage. In this stage the hair is actively growing and getting longer. In this phase there is rich blood supply in the hair follicle to feed the hair growth. It is the length of this phase which determines the length of the hair. On your scalp this phase can be prolonged which is the reason you can grow long hair, whereas on your arms this phase can be much shorter, so the hair grows less than an inch, then stops.
  2. The second phase is where the hair stops growing. the blood supply pulls back from the follicle, but the hair follicle holds onto the hair for some time.
  3. Finally the follicle lets go of the hair and it falls out. The follicle will remain in this dormant stage for some time, then the blood supply will return and will start growing a new hair.

The process above repeats over and over for a single hair follicle.

Now lets look at how the laser works. The laser light penetrates the skin and encounters the dark hair in the follicle and heats it up. If it is in the growth phase the blood supply is in close proximity to the hair in the follicle and the blood is heated and cauterized. This then disables the hair follicle so it can’t grow another hair. But if the follicle is in the 2nd or 3rd phases above, then the hair heats up, but the blood supply isn’t there so nothing happens.

At any one time you may have about 20% of your hair follicles in the growth phase. So if you did laser once, you might reduce the amount of hair by 20%. Do it twice and you might thin it by 40%, etc. So in theory five treatments should eliminate all the hair. But in reality the timing of your hair growth cycle is variable and unknown, so one follicle might sneak its growth phase in between two treatments. So then typically seven treatments will be required.

For laser hair removal in Denver, please visit us: Bella Pelle Laser. We are conveniently located in Broomfield, so very close to Westminster, Superior, Boulder, Northglenn, Thornton, Erie, and Lafayette.

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Is Your Shampoo and Skin Care Making You Fat?

You don’t have to be a doctor to know that cheeseburgers and channel surfing can contribute to weight gain. But according to new research, your beauty products (like shampoo) could be contributing as well.

The research out of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, found that phthalates, which are ingredients in about 70 percent of shampoos, soaps and cosmetics, should be avoided when possible. Why? Phthalates could be endocrine disruptors, which mimic the effects of hormones and affect the performance of the glands that produce them.

This is not the first study that shows chemicals’ effect on the system that naturally controls body weight. And phthalates aren’t the only chemical to be cautious of. Bisphenol-A, usually present in plastic containers, is another substance to watch out for. Parabens (methlyparaben, propylparaben, etc) are preservatives found in most skin care, lotions, soaps, shampoos, toothpaste and many other products are powerful estrogenic chemicals and not only can disrupt endocrine levels, but are suspected of causing early puberty in young girls and have been find highly concentrated in breast cancer tissue.

However, while endocrine disruptors may be playing a significant role in obesity, at this point, more research is necessary to fully determine the effect of chemicals on body weight. In the meantime, the doctors behind the study recommend choosing organic and fragrance-free products.

In our salon, Bella Pelle Laser Hair Removal, we use and sell only paraben and formaldehyde free skin and body care products in BPA free packaging. Ask us about the Usana Sense product line.

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Your Skin Care Products may be Causing Skin Cancer!

A study in the “The Journal of Investigative Dermatology” found that topical applications of moisturizers such as Dermabase, Dermovan, Eucerin Original Moisturizing Cream, Vanicream, or other lotions containing Mineral Oil could increase skin cancer risk.

In the study mice were irradiated with UVB, basically receiving a sunburn, and were treated with the mineral oil containing moisturizers exhibited a significant increase in their rate of tumor formation and increase in tumor size per mouse. Treatment of the mice with these lotions for 17 weeks increased the total number of tumors by 69 percent.

Mineral oil is a known carcinogen and applying it to sunburned skin appears to greatly increase this effect.

In light of the potential tumorigenic effects of mineral oil on UVB-exposed skin, it stands to reason that this is NOT an ingredient you want in your suntan lotion or tanning oil. However, that’s just what you’ll find in many tanning products. Unfortunately, just because you don’t see it on the label, it doesn’t mean it’s not in there. Mineral oil has countless different names, but each has the same effect… one you’ll want to stay away from!

Alternate names include:

  • Adepsine oil
  • Albolene
  • Drakeol
  • Lignite oil
  • Liquid paraffin / paraffin oil
  • Mineral seal oil
  • Petrolatum
  • White oil
  • Baby oil

Mineral oil also clogs your pores and can cause blackheads as well as preventing the absorption of any beneficial ingredients which may be in the products.

I think back on my high school and college days laying on the beach slathered in baby oil.

We’re fortunate now though that our skin care line doesn’t contain any mineral oil, by any name.

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Summer is here, no tanning before laser hair removal

Summer is finally here, so we’re all heading outside to the lakes, rivers, hiking in the mountains, or off to a tropical beach for vacation. But remember that sun tanning and laser hair removal don’t mix.  You shouldn’t tan (even tanning booth) for two weeks prior and after a laser hair removal treatment.

Tanning before/after laser treatments can lead to hypo-pigmentation or hyper-pigmentation. Basically what that means is you could have dark or light spots. These aren’t permanent, but it may take four to six months to return to normal.

Also if you are in the sun just a day or two before laser and have a mild sunburn, the laser can then compound that and you can end up with an actual burn.

So, please be careful and avoid the sun before and after and use a good sunscreen at all times.

Happy Summer,

Claudia

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How do Depilatories work and are they safe?

A chemical depilatory is a cosmetic preparation used to remove the hair from the skin on the human body. Currently, a common active ingredient is calcium thioglycolate, which breaks down the disulphide bonds in keratin and weakens the hair so that it is easily scraped off where it emerges from the hair follicle.

This break down reaction is affected by the calcium hydroxide (an alkali). The resulting combination of calcium hydroxide and thioglycolic acid is calcium thioglycolate(CaTG). The calcium hydroxide is present in excess to enable the thioglycolic acid to react with the cystine present in hair protein. As the epidermis is also rich in keratin, the skin may become irritated and sensitive if the preparation is left on for too long. Chemical depilatories are used primarily for the arms and legs. They should not be used on the face unless specifically listed for that purpose on the product’s label.

Chemical depilatories are available in gel, cream, lotion, aerosol, roll-on, and powder forms. Common brands include Nair, Magic Shave and Veet.

Advantages

  • Inexpensive
  • Fast
  • A pain free hair removal method
  • Easy to do, no experience or professional assistance required[1]
  • Various strength products available to dissolve even the strongest of hairs
  • Can be done at home
  • Available over-the-counter

Disadvantages

  • Effect lasts a short time. Regrowth begins to appear generally within 2-5 days
  • Dark-haired users may be left with a visible “shadow” of dark hair under skin
  • Chemical depilatory creams are generally foul in odor and messy to use
  • Can cause skin irritation

Dangers – Below are the dangers listed in the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) from the manufacture of calcium thioglycolate, the active ingredient:

  • Harmful if swallowed
  • Irritating to respiratory system
  • May cause sensitization by skin contact.
  • Avoid contact with skin.Wear suitable gloves!
  • Potential Acute Health Effects:Hazardous in case of eye contact (irritant), of inhalation (lung irritant).
  • The substance is toxic to the reproductive system, upper respiratory tract, central nervous system (CNS). Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.

OK, so this product works and is effective for a few days, it contains a potent chemical which can cause skin and lung irritation.  Bottom line, don’t put anything on your skin you wouldn’t eat, because the ingredients will be absorbed through your skin and inhaled into your lungs. So next time you reach for the Nair, put a dab on your fingers and give it a taste!

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