Pamper your body

LOOKING good and feeling fine means much more these days than long fingernails and the newest make-up colours.

Beauty and health now go hand-in-hand and salons and centres catering for both needs are now springing up all over.

The idea is that when you look good, you feel good and vice versa. And water is one of the most important properties in achieving this.

Drinking eight glasses of water a day can help you lose weight and improve the way your body works.

Water also fills up fine lines and acts as the best anti-wrinkle cream ever. About one half of every cosmetic moisturiser is pure water and it is this ingredient, rather than anything else, which makes the skin look young.

So after giving the beautician a soft surface to work on, it?s time to treat yourself.

The expertise of the beauty therapist means you can walk into a salon looking tired and withdrawn and come out feeling pampered, fully revitalised and loved like a million dollars.

Most make-overs take about half an hour and consist mainly of the application of facial cosmetics for a day or night out.

Other popular beauty treatments include waxing or electrolysis for the removal of unwanted hair, facials, massages, manicures, pedicures, non-surgical face lifts and eyebrow trims.

?People do come in and have one off luxury treatments, but things like monthly facials and waxing are becoming a necessity, the same as going to the hairdressers.Pampering yourself is fast becoming an essential luxury in today?s 24-hour society and people now believe it is our right to have the chance to look and feel good.One of the reasons why health and beauty often come under the same category is because when people look good, they feel good and that goes a long way in boosting their confidence and making them less stressed.

And the beneficial effects of beauty treatment, like boosting your self-esteem, have become well documented in recent years.

People, especially women with families, can become out of touch with fashion and get stuck in a rut. In this case, nothing is more refreshing than a few relaxing moments to revitalise your self-esteem and get a fresh, up-to-date look.

Creating a slimmer body as well as a softer face is another large part of the beauty industry and, even though a sensible diet and exercise are the best combination to lose weight, there are other ways to achieve this on the beauty market.

Ionithermie is used to reduce stomach, hip and thigh measurements with two types of electrical current. Gels are smoothed over the relevant areas and then a thermal clay is added. A prickling, tingling sensation follows but the results are impressive with an average of two inches lost on the applied areas.

And if you want to look younger, than plastic surgery could be the answer, but actual operations need a great deal of consideration and money!

So for most of us, simple health tips on eating sensibly and drinking plenty of water are the perfect grounding for those beauty treatment trips.

Many salons sell gift vouchers, making a make-over the ideal gift for Mum, your partner or even yourself.

The beauty industry is getting bigger all the time. And it?s because people enjoy taking time out to feel pampered and finding out how best to take care of their natural looks. And who could argue with that?