I never felt so shortchanged like what happened the previous night. I went back to Lyf Center Spa to use one of the coupons I have from Ecotech. Since I already consumed the three freebies before (skin analysis, 30-minute back massage and basic facial), I figured it was time to use the other coupons as well. I paid for a Pigment Control Facial worth 880 pesos and with the coupon I used, I was entitled to a free service of a lower value so I chose to have a Lyf Therapeutic Foot Spa worth 500 pesos. Since I’ve already tried their Pigment Control facial before, I looked forward to another good service from Lyf Center Spa. Oh boy. I was in for a surprise.

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Some were busy doing their paper and others were reviewing while music from our ipod nano blasted through our headsets when a jolly, high-pitched voice echoed through the room. He called himself Shalala (obviously, he was gay) and introduced his companion (which, on my assessment didn’t belong in the same federation) whose name I totally forgot. When his next statement was: Do you go to the spa? I knew exactly what’s gonna happen next.

He then showed us this little colorful booklet of coupons and started talking about how we might want to avail of freebies and discounts to this particular spa along Tomas Morato. I’ve heard of the spa before. In fact, I pass by it often but I’ve never tried any of their services or inquire about their services at the very least. Suffice to say I don’t know much about this spa Shalala was talking about. I browsed through their “menu” which was conveniently printed in this booklet. Shiatsu massage at 400 pesos and Swedish massage at 350? Not bad. They also offer facial services that range from 350 pesos for a basic cleaning to a whopping 1880 pesos for a so-called Cara Espanola Facial. For that hefty sum, I’m expecting you’ll come out looking like Angelina Jolie after the treatment. Hehe. They also offer slimming treatments (Aha! There’s one for my tummy!) and “infusions” which are pretty pricey at 999 pesos minimum.

I wasn’t exactly impressed with how our two unexpected guests delivered their marketing lines. I don’t think they know much about the services they’re offering aside from the memorized and practiced lines they deliver over and over again to unsuspecting people. When my friend asked what an Oxygen Bar does or what a faradic treatment was, they were stumped and changed the topic nonetheless.

Anyway, my friend and I (and a couple of other friends who unknowingly entered the Mood Clinic later) got ourselves a booklet each worth PHP 399. It already includes a Free Skin Analysis worth 300 (Although I bet my friends from Dermatology could do so much better at no cost), a Free Back Massage worth 300 and a Free Basic Facial worth 350 pesos. Aside from those, we’re also entitled to a number of perks such as a free service of lesser value with availment of any of their services. I’m foreseeing how I’d be pretty tied up to one spa for most of the time this year. So for the most part, I guess I’ll be doing a review of the services at LYFspa as we go along. No worries though. For sure, the spa addict in me would still hop around the Metro looking for steals and thrills.

Wish you’ll hop along with me.

Sleep is perhaps one of the most natural acne treatments ever discovered. I’ve seen the beauty of sleep myself whenever I get more than 8 hours’ worth of sleep… most especially during weekends off. Bring me back to my old routine and there goes my zit-free face going haywire. This is because lack of sleep increases cortisol production which also increases the amount of androgens in the body, hence, there are more androgen-sensitive oil glands working heavier than usual. An overproductive oil gland equals oiliness and zits for zit-prone individuals like me.

The same principle of overworked androgen-sensitive oil glands is in play in women who get pimples when they’re about to have their period. This is because there’s a lot more androgens circulating in the woman’s body due to the natural shift in hormone-production. At times like these, keeping the face clean and bacteria-free is of utmost importance so you won’t get blocked pores which make you more predisposed to acne during periods.

However, when sleep becomes the culprit to acne, there is no other best solution for your acne problem than getting enough zzzzzs to keep your hormones from going haywire.

I just finished reading a thread from Candymag’s teentalk (yes, I know I am way past my teenage years LOL). I must say I am pretty amazed at how “knowledgeable” teens are nowadays when it comes to beauty and skin care. But then it also alarms me at the same time; because admit it or not, what they “know” is most often courtesy of Google whose reliability has always remained to be in question.

Having recently finished my rotation in Dermatology, I’ve come to appreciate a lot of facts and health and beauty practices which I weren’t fully aware of before. That is despite my addiction to googling the worldwide web. I must admit that what I’ve picked up from my 15-day stint as a pseudo-Dermatologist will never come up in any Yahoo or Google search. In fact, the actual experience of handling a patient beats the millions of search queries that these engines will harvest for you at any given time.

Perhaps what bothers me most about what I’ve witnessed to be going on online among many women is how the practice of self-medication has become more rampant than before. And for that I point the accusing finger towards Mr. Google because of his ability to come up with results from Medicare supplement to the latest fad in skin whitening. Don’t get me wrong. Internet results are not necessarily evil; but misleading advertisements under the guise of reliable medical information are and I sure hope that internet users have high enough IQ to know how to spot a fake from the real deal.

I’ve realized that Dermatologists in practice are losing in the battle against non-medical people peddling their skincare goods online. It’s actually a double whammy. For one, they lose potential patients. Second, they become the option of last resort of patients whose problems are even worse than how they started from trying various products without knowing their drug interactions. I’m a witness. Most of the patients I’ve seen would claim to have applied certain lotions, medications and ointments they could not even read. For me, such practice is the same as taking medications without knowing what they’re for. Perhaps most think that the harm would be less since they are topically applied. They have entirely forgotten however that the skin is virtually the largest organ in the body with a huge potential for systemic absorption.

I wish people would be more vigilant not only on the price tag of the goods they see online but moreso on the indications of their use; because no matter which way you look at it, they’re all drugs and just one and the same banana.

This is Ellen Adarna. Friendster, Myspace and Multiply afficionados surely recognize her since her photos are scattered, not only in the sites mentioned but all over the internet, sadly used (and abused) by posers and fakers who wished they were her. (Edit: Oh and I recently learned how she was Uno Magazine’s cover for March 2008. Poor me. I am sooooo outdated. Hehe. Anyway, here’s a link to Jepoy’s blog about her Uno appearance) When I first encountered her pictures, I cannot help but be amazed by how good her skin is (assuming they weren’t enhanced by photoshop). I’ve seen girls like her – all blessed with good genes for a blemish-free skin and I would be a total hypocrite if I say that I am not envious of them. Read the rest of this entry »