Olive Oil | Spa Week Daily

The Kardashians Open With a Spa-Bang!

November 29, 2011 | By Kimberlee

The season premiere of Kourtney and Kim Take New York was on E! Sunday night and boy did it feature some spa madness! Just when we think the clan can’t top themselves… they somehow do. This one hour episode featured TWO controversial healthy living practices. Let’s begin the lesson…

First, Kourtney gets an olive oil enema at an ayurvedic spa in NYC. There’s even Twitter proof:

Ayurveda spas practice holistic therapy rooted in ancient medicine originating in India. Kim resisted the treatment luckily because back at the hotel Kourtney leaked all over the bed! Michelle recently enjoyed a coffee and chlorophyll colonic (but didn’t suffer the same fate Kourtney did).

And the craziness didn’t stop there – the sisters decided to try a nude yoga session with some friends. Oh my! We’re all for getting naked at the spa (see video below) but this is a whole other beast. Nude yoga has stirred up some controversy even though celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry and Gwyneth Paltrow have confessed to going bare. Supposedly doing the downward dog position in the buff will help you lose those inhibitions, but there are some skeptics. Like Kris Humphries.

So next time you’re at the spa, ask yourself “What would the Kardashians do?”

Images via and via

Filed Under: Media POP, Spa Treatments, Spa-ish Tagged With: Ayurvada spas, ayurveda nyc, celebrities, colonic, enema, getting naked at the spa, Kardashians, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Naked Treatments, nude yoga, olive oil, reality tv, spas in NYC, tweets, what is ayurveda, yoga trends

Spa Foodie: Olive Oil, Mayonnaise and Egg Hair Mask

September 29, 2011 | By Stephanie

Hair mask

You might think Spa Week is all about perfecting your skin and soothing your muscles, but many spas offer salon services, too! It’s easy to find a participating spa & salon near you – simply log on to SpaWeek.com and search by State. Then, use the drop-down menu and select hair to browse all of the spas offering $50 hair services during October 10 – 16.

In the meantime, here is a simple, noruishing Olive Oil, Mayonaise and Egg Hair Masque to do on a night-in to help soften strands and tide you over until Spa Week.

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup olive oil
3 egg yolks

Directions

Blend all ingredients together in a bowl (be sure mayo is room temperature)
Apply thoroughly through your hair adding extra at the ends.
Twist in a lose bun and secure with a hair-tie or cover with a plastic shower cap or saran wrap.
Cover with a towel to keep in the heat so mixture penetrates deep into the hair shaft.
Leave on for at least 10-20 minutes.
Do NOT shampoo afterwards, just rinse out very well. Any oil that clings to your hair after you rinse it out, will continue to condition your hair until the next time you shampoo it out.

Note: For best results, use immediately after making without refrigerating first. The reason is, the fats and oil will penetrate your hair follicles better when warm as the molecules are more spread out and pliable.

Recipe originally featured on Food.com

Filed Under: Beauty & Style, Food + Drink Tagged With: DIY, Egg, hair, hair mask, Hair Masque, hair treatment, Mayonaise, olive oil, Spa Week Event, spa week hair services

10 Foods Every Dieter Should Eat

September 2, 2011 | By Michelle Joni

Bikini season may be gracefully bowing out after this weekend, but you’re smart enough to know that even jackets and sweaters aren’t a ticket to give up your healthy living motives. But try this: when watching your figure, instead of thinking about what you need to remove from your diet, focus on what to ADD to it. In this week’s post by Healing Lifestyles & Spas, take a tour of 10 fantastic foods that studies have found to curb cravings, fight certain food addictions, boost metabolism and burn fat. Chew and savor these slimming sensations… when it comes to your lose-weight mission, these foods (not structured jackets!) are your greatest allies.

1. Eggs Averaging 6 grams of protein per egg and only 4-5 grams of fat and 30 calories, eggs have been superstars in many dieting studies. One study found that obese women who ate 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast accompanied by toast ate less in the next 36 hours than those who ate a bagel of the same calories. 36 hours is a LONG time to control your cravings—wouldn’t it be nice to have your food do it for you?
2. Beans Keeping food in your stomach longer is the key here. I know, that sounds like bloat waiting to happen, but actually slower-digesting foods will lead to a tighter tummy in the long run. Beans contain a digestive hormone called cholecystokinin, which is known as an appetite suppressant. One study found that men who ate beans had cholecystokinin levels twice as high as those who ate a low-fiber meal. Beans can also stabilize your blood sugar, minimizing those sneaky snack attacks
3. Salad Everyone enjoys the process of eating. Cutting up your food, creating that perfect bite and savoring the flavor is most of the fun. That could be why one study found that women who ate a large salad before a meal consumed 12% less pasta than the women who just dived into the carb-heavy plate. Just the sheer volume and effort of eating the salad made the women feel full.
4. Apples I believe the saying is “an apple a day” but change that to 3 apples a day if you’re trying to lose weight. With 3 grams of fiber per medium-sized apples, and the blood-sugar stabilizer pectin, apples can greatly curb inter-meal cravings. In one study, women who ate just 3 small pears or apples a day lost more weight than women on the same diet who did not.
5. Lean Beef Muscle loss is a big problem for dieters. Fight this unwanted side effect with 9 to 10 ounces of beef a day. The amino acid leucine—found in lean meats and fish—helps you lose more weight and fat without losing muscle.
6. Green Tea This could be why the Japanese don’t struggle with obesity nearly as much as Americans—they consume the stuff with almost every meal. The antioxidant called catechins helps speed up metabolism and burn fat.
7. Olive Oil… for Breakfast? Mixed with cereal, it sounds a little funky, I know. But one study found that women who ate muesli cereal with oil-laced skim milk benefited with a boosted metabolism. Not to worry, the stuff is just as great on salads and grilled vegetables, too.
8. Grapefruit Drop 3 pounds in 12 weeks! No, this isn’t an infomercial. This is what 91 obese people did in a study observing the benefits of eating half a grapefruit before each meal. Three glasses of the juice per day will result in the same weight loss.
9. Vinegar Not just for salad dressings, this tangy stuff contains natural acids and enzymes that act as an appetite suppressant and boost your metabolism. Research has also found a link between vinegar and insulin response, showing vinegar’s power to slow down blood sugar rise after a meal, keeping you full longer.
10. Cinnamon You may associate it with unhealthy foods like holiday cookies, but cinnamon has actually been found to help fight diabetes by increasing your body’s insulin response. One study observed the affect of two teaspoons a day of cinnamon on the blood sugar of type 2 diabetics. Participants experienced lower blood sugar and increased insulin production.

First photo courtesy of Womens Health Magazine, all others via Healing Lifestyles & Spas

Filed Under: Food + Drink Tagged With: apples, beans, cinnamon, diet foods, diet tricks, eggs, grapefruit, green tea, Healing Lifestyles, lean beef, olive oil, salad, vinegar

Spa Foodie: Edible Sugar Lip Scrub

June 9, 2011 | By Stephanie

Although this recipe has little nutritional value, it will help to de-flake your pucker for a perfectly kissable pout. This DIY exfoliating sugar scrub will invigorate and plump your kisser for a lip-gloss ready look. It includes brown or white sugar as an exfoliant, honey for hydration, our beloved olive oil for added moisturizer and powdered cinnamon as a quick plumper. Along with a quick weekly rub down, don’t forget to drink plenty of water everyday, as it is necessary for lips to be hydrated for them to actually look full and juicy. Happy scrubbing!