Circumcision for kids under 9

I was a bit skeptical about my 8-year-old son having his circumcision done but it is customary for Filipino boys to undergo the procedure.  I’m pretty sure that I was more nervous about it than my son.  Fortunately we had a terrific doctor who came and did home service.  My son and his best friend had their circumcisions together and believe it or not, having a companion to go through the same thing really helped my little boy a lot.  The doctor gave him a local anaesthetic whilst he lay on a padded table reading a children’s book.  This took his mind off what they were doing and the doctor was very friendly and asked him questions about school and what he did whilst on holiday. The procedure itself took approximately 15 mins and my son and his friend were joking around after the procedures and did not find it at all traumatic.  They used a ring on my son which was preferable rather than using stitches.  He did have occasional pain which we managed with analgesics such as paracetamol and the doctor also gave us Instillagel which is a gel in a syringe which you can use on the penis to help with pain.  All in all the healing process took 9 days and he was back in school the day after the ring dropped off.

The World Health Organisation are now recognising the benefits of circumcision To all the parents who are worried about getting circumcision done for their little ones; it is a very short procedure and the more positive you are about it with your son, the less traumatic it will be for them. We have had a very positive experience and I am glad that I got it done when he was 8 rather than at an earlier age so he could understand the benefits, know the effects and manage his pain effectively. This was very much a partnership with our son.

Highly recommended – Clarins facial

Well…once again I went for a pampering session and treated myself to a facial.  Thirsty Skin Soother from Clarins to be exact and it was bliss.

My brother-in-law got hitched at the end of May and knowing me, I tried to get a facial treatment last-minute to get rid of tired lines on my face.  I noticed them when having pictures and thought I gotta do something about that.  Sods law that there was no availability for about three weeks.  Anyway Clarins had a special offer at the time so I ended up booking it for today.  Folks, I do not regret it for a minute.

I’ve had a lot of facials over the years and this was the first time I had ever tried Clarins.  My therapist did a consultation prior to the treatment starting and prodded my face (in a nice way) to find out which treatment was the best.  She informed me that my skin was a little congested (I told her I was due on) and a little dehydrated.  She recommended the Thirsty Skin Soother. Clarins states that this treatment “delivers a moisture rush to dehydrated or sensitive skin, to counteract the effects of pollution, air conditioning and stress.  Taut  skin feels silky-soft, comfortable and glowing again’.

Not only did I have a facial but I also had arms, hands and neck massaged.

I can honestly say that my skin has a glow to it and it feels perky.  I did tell the therapist that it did feel a little bit overdone with oil but that’s not a worry.

Short summary

Would I recommend?    YES

Would I go back?  YES

Rating out of 10 – 8/9

By the way Clarins at House of Fraser are doing a special offer today (29 June 2010 – Book and pay today and get half price treatment)

Get rid of #acne and gain self esteem

Acne. Absolutely, wholeheartedly hate it. I was an acne sufferer and here’s my picture to prove it.  

I have had the whole shabang of treatments. I kid you not.
I was like every other teenager and had a pimply face which I grew out of in my twenties. Of course the odd spot would appear here and then but I could say that spots weren’t a major problem until I hit the age of 28. I wanted the perfect complexion and had been using Mac Studio Fix make up which I believe was a contributing factor to congested skin and consequently acne.
It started of with one or two spots and then all of a sudden spots seem to overtake my face. It was awful. I hated meeting with people because meeting them would mean that they would have to look at me. In my mind, I had the belief that putting on more make up would hide the blemishes but it just got worse.

TREATMENTS
(please bear in mind when I was on treatments I did occasionally pick, touch, even burst spots. Every acne sufferer understands how this could and certainly does happen).

Clearasil – works on teenage spots as this was what I used when I was younger but is honestly useless for full-blown acne.

Pro-active – I was particularly keen to try this product as so many celebrities were endorsing the product. They say when you try a product you have to keep at it for a little while because the chemicals need to have time to work. I gave it a little time but to be honest their products just seemed to dry so I gave up.

Benzoyl Peroxide – I found out about this product having seen someone on you tube hark on about it. When I first used this, it made my skin red and extremely dry but I persisted. I didn’t seem to see any major change either in the spots and a tube only lasted a few days before I had to go out and get another pack.

Clinique spot treatment – expensive little tubes that you roll on the spot. It works by drying out the spot but not effective on a face full of acne.

Glycolic peels and dermabraision– an expensive facial treatment where I went to London each month. Each session cost me about £90. I would have the glycollic acid put on my face and left there for about 5 minutes (my time frames may not be exactly right as it was a couple of years ago when I had this treatment). This was then followed by the dermabrasion which was like a vacuum.
I think I went for a year almost of treatments and it did help reduce the acne but my skin was never spot free. if you can afford it I would recommend for a little while just to reduce the amount of acne but results are not immediate. It may take a few sessions before you see any results.

Light therapy- I always wondered if this actually works. I am told by several skin specialists that light therapy goes beneath the skin to kill the bacteria that causes acne. I had a course of six sessions and started off with a session every couple of weeks to begin with. This cost about £45 for a 30 minute session. I am still to be convinced if this treatment actually works as I never saw any improvements.

Exposed skin care – I found this treatment on-line via google and was attracted to their one year guarantee. Out of all the treatments that I have used, no other skin product has a year guarantee to their name. Every acne sufferer wants immediate results and no acne combatting treatment can give you that. However after using Exposed products for about three weeks, I was pleasantly surprised to see a marked improvement in my skin.
I admit that because I didn’t know the company I did do a review and everywhere I went had good things to say about the products of the Exposed skin care range. I am joining one of these many reviews and have been using their products now for over two years. In fact I am so pleased with their products that I took one of their challenges and gave my before and after pictures of my skin where I won a years worth of free Exposed skin care products. They now use my photos on their website and although its me at my worse, if it helps people use Exposed products to get rid of acne, then at least I can say I’ve done some good.  Click here for the website http://www.exposedskincare.com/

I must add that I did go through a course of light therapy before embarking on the Exposed Skin Care line.  This may have had some impact on the acne treatment as it could have killed all the bacteria causing the acne.  However, my photo above was taken just before I started the Exposed Skin Care treatment as I was keen to take their before and after challenge.

This is me two years on of using their skin products.

This just has to be the best thing since sliced bread. For about £30 you can get a facial wash, acne treatment, clear pore gel, a face cloth, and its 60 days supply. You really can’t get better than that.

Self esteem
I have always taken care and even pride of the way I look. I was confident and sure. When I ended up with acne, confidence and surety were nowhere to be found. I longed for days where I didn’t have to go out but these days never came. I prayed God would give me new skin. I think the answered prayer came in the form of Exposed skin care products. After a couple of months of using Exposed, people would come up to me and compliment me and how great my skin looked. Welcome back confidence.

I’m nearly in my third year of using Exposed and still have great looking skin. Yes I do still have the occasional spot that appears but its nothing that the Exposed Acne Treatment Serum won’t take care of and usually disappears after a couple of days. This is the one skin care regime that I certainly will not be replacing anytime soon.

5 secrets of a beautiful woman

Women in general want to feel and be beautiful but unfortunately beauty doesn’t come naturally for most of the female population. A beautiful woman, will have taken pride and care in achieving their look.

Here are 5 secrets women do and use to appear beautiful:

1. Wear some kind of body support

Unless you are a celebrity or a model like Kate Moss and blessed with a figure that has gone near enough back to pre pregnancy or even able to afford a personal trainer, the woman who you think has a beautiful figure and has had kids is most probably wearing some kind of body support . You would be surprised at what’s available in the market. There’s support for keeping those tummys, bum and thighs in the right place and they work too. These body supports were commonly called girdles back in the day but by goodness do they work. You can achieve a great silhouette with the right body support and with technology now advancing you can get body supports which are seamless and don’t show the ugly VPL (visual panty line) even under tight-fitting clothes. They are a must for any beautiful woman’s wardrobe.

My personal favourites are Trinny and Susannah’s Magic Knickers (only at Debenhams) or there are some good ones available at Marks and Spencers.

2. Invisible gel pads for shoes

Now you can wear sexy shoes or sandals without bearing the pain when walking in them. We all know that heels make a woman feel taller and more feminine. Having these gel pads will make wearing high heels more comfortable whilst easing pressure off the ball of the foot. Therefore giving the illusion that you are wearing beautiful shoes without any effort- but we know otherwise.

I recommend Scholl.

3. Wear a good fitting bra

Beautiful women don’t have excess flesh hanging out either under or over their bra as this will show under their clothes.
Most lingerie departments offer a free fitting service which women should really make use of. Also be aware that bra sizes change after every pregnancy, and after breast-feeding.
A good bra will enhance your assets and tops will hang better.

4. Wear good foundation and knows how to apply it

If only we were blessed with baby skin well into adulthood and beyond but alas frown lines, spots, worry, stress, age effects of our environment can show on our face. To hide these factors and get an even skin tone, investing in a good foundation is a must.

5. Wears confidence

A beautiful woman projects unique grace and confidence.  She knows what her best features are and will promote that. When she is complimented she will not feign that she  is not beautiful but she will humbly accept the compliment.

Beauty as they say is in the eye of the beholder.