The Ponder Place

Electronic Cigarettes Will Make Your Skin Thank You

ThePonderGuy — Thu, 16 May 2013 05:00:12 +0000

If you’ve ever seen the big billboard with the utterly hideous looking female smoker on it and a caption saying “smoking is sexy” you probably already have a pretty good idea of what smoking can do your skin. Long story short, it ages you far faster than the normal aging process.

It’s Not Just Your Skin Either

Smoking can trash more than just your skin. It can also wreak havoc on your sex life, your gray matter, your lungs and your heart… And increases the chances of having a stroke. The next time you think about reaching for a cigarette, you would be well served to give an electronic cigarette a test run, instead. These babies are the greatest thing since sliced bread. They come in a vast array of flavors ranging from fruity goodness to old-fashioned tobacco flavor and everything in between. Smokers get all the joy of feeling like they’re smoking, but with none of the harmful side effects. They can even satisfy their nicotine fix with several different dosage levels. Some models will light up on the end, when the person inhales which lends to the authenticity of the experience.

Oh Come on Now, How Is Smoking Bad for My Skin?

Oh, no you didn’t! I can’t believe you went there. Now, I have to break out my list:

the skin across your abdominal region becomes flabbier
stretch marks can increase
cancer isn’t just related to your lungs, there is skin cancer, as well
you are more prone to warts as a smoker (ick)
wounds heal slower
you know that natural glow you work so hard at… Kiss it goodbye
not only will your wounds heal slower you will be more prone to scarring as well
whether you like your hair or not, you may find yourself having a lot less of it
smokers are more prone to psoriasis
as previously mentioned, wrinkles and the aging process increase
and as evidenced in the Billboard previously mentioned, those ugly bags under your eyes will just never seem to go away

And, while not specifically related to skin, smoking is also horrible for your teeth, which lends itself to lessening your overall chances of being good-looking.

Your Outdoor Room Can Look Like a Spa

ThePonderGuy — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 05:00:32 +0000

Everyone needs a place to go to relax and decompress from the stress of the day. Whether it is the local bar that they hit after that five o’clock whistle sounds or even the local gym where they sweat the day away, everyone has that special place. Unfortunately, many of the places that you go, for that much needed relaxation are also money drainers, forcing you to spend the money that you just spent all day working. If you are looking at a way to relax, without paying those monthly premiums that come along with a gym membership, maybe it is time to bring the spa experience home, and your first step will be finding a great outdoor daybed.

Spas

Spas are great for relaxation. The quiet is soothing to the mind and the smells of the aroma therapy candles can be relaxing to your other senses. In most spas, there are also hot tubs available to help relax your aching muscles. Unfortunately, these spas generally come with fairly steep membership fees that may need to be paid on a monthly basis. While you may not consider how much you spend annually on your spa membership, you really should consider the annual fees with the cost of creating your own spa at home.

Creating a Spa Experience

When you are looking at ways to bring the spa experience home, the first step in your search should be an outside daybed. Daybeds give you the opportunity to lay back and relax while enjoying the sunset and a cold drink and can really be the main focus of your home spa. If you have the resources to include a hot tub in your spa, it would be wonderful, but sometimes all you really need is a bit of that peace and quiet that you get with the spa experience, and that can easily be achieved at home.

Of course, having a home spa may be a bit more involved for you than just purchasing a daybed and some aromatherapy candles. Depending on your resources and ambition, you could turn your outside room into a spa that might blow your friends away. In the end, though, it isn’t about impressing your friends or even building the biggest and best spa. Instead, it is all about give you a place to relax after a long hard day, and, really, don’t you deserve it?

Spa Marketing Enhances Better Business

ThePonderGuy — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:00:14 +0000

If you are in the salon or spa industry, you know that there is a special technique when it comes to closing the deal with your lead. Turning spa leads into qualified prospect opportunities takes a bit of finesse while still remaining relaxed and mellow. Yes, it is much easier to sell your services to new customers, but you still need to be able to market yourself correctly in order to bring in as many customers as possible. If you haven’t started creating a marketing strategy yet, now is the time to start.

Different

Getting new customers to visit your spa and buy a membership is much different than, say, selling a new car to a customer. For instance, when you are selling your spa services, you are selling relaxation and health, and potential customers don’t need to be pushed too much, at all. You know you have a great service at a reasonable rate and all that it really takes to seal the deal with a potential customer is a list of the services you offer and the prices.

New Customers

While it isn’t tough to sell spa services, you will never even have the opportunity to try if no one knows you are there. This is where marketing becomes essential. You need for people to know where you are, what you have to offer, and why people should come use your services. All of this can be done with some strategic marketing. Whether it is advertising on social media or running local commercials on local television and/or radio stations, you need to advertise well and often in order to keep bringing in new customers.

Marketing your spa and the services you offer are pretty easy. As a matter of fact, many times, it simply takes the potential customer a few moments to make the decision to sign the dotted line. However, unless people know about your spa, you will never be successful. Create a marketing strategy for your company and stick with it. If you do, you will quickly see just how important marketing is to your spa business.

Keeping Your Spa Business Spotless

ThePonderGuy — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:00:09 +0000

If you expect to maintain a healthy clientele, (and by that I do not mean in shape and eating right, with muscles bulging from their eyelids), then it is important that a regular cleaning schedule is followed. Your clientele come to your establishment expecting an environment, in which they will feel comfortable. But, if they walk into the bathrooms and there are urine stains on the front of the toilet, or they are wanting to get into the hot tub and there is a mountain of foam covering body hair that has not been skimmed in weeks, or the pool water is so murky you can’t even see the bottom, how long will your patrons decide to stay with you. If they are afraid to get into the steam room, because there is mold growing and visibly moving toward you as you sit down, you can bet your competitor will be gaining your clients. In a business that is already struggling, in some cases to keep people coming in the doors, it is important to do everything possible to please your clients and to keep them coming back. With just a little effort, you can save time and money with simple regular cleaning of your facility.

General Cleaning

Appearances are everything. Whether it is a new patron or regular customer, when the person walks in the door their first impression will tell them a lot about the kind of establishment you are running and whether or not they want to stay. The front lobby should be cleaned daily, if not on a regular basis throughout the day. The higher the traffic area, the more attention to cleaning needs to be done. Bathrooms need to be mopped and wiped down, especially the mirrors. Hot tubs need a regular sanitizer to control bacteria and the water should be changed frequently. PH testing strips will help determine how much calcium is building in the water. The tub itself needs to be cleaned often around the water line, to prevent a ring build up.

Keeping Your Clients Happy

A happy client is a regular client. With the internet it is now faster and easier to order online cleaning supplies. So forget the excuses as to why your establishment has dust bunnies growing in the corner. Listen to the people coming into your establishment. Granted, there will always be the whiners and complainers that will find every single thing to nit pick about. But, this does not mean you should not listen to them. If they have a complaint, check it out. You can do ten things right, and never hear about it. But do one thing wrong and the world will know about it.

Ways to Feel Better Post Op

ThePonderGuy — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 05:00:55 +0000

After an operation, the really tough work begins. The recovery process is a team effort. The patient and the entire medical team have to work together to make sure the recovery process goes as smooth as possible. A patient that embraces the suggestions that his or her medical team prescribe is more likely to make a fast and full recovery. However, the recovery process involves more than just an obedient patient. There also needs to be input from the patient. No one knows your body like you do, so if something is not working for you, it is your job to let your doctors know.

Pre-Op Decisions May Help Post-Op Recovery

Sometimes the healing process can be shortened by a patient and doctors pre-op decisions. Being well-informed is your duty as a patient. If you are faced with the prospect of having surgery you should know your options and inquire about them, before you have the surgery. For example, with a major surgery like a traditional hysterectomy, the recovery process can be long and it is easy to get impatient with your own progress. This is because the traditional hysterectomy requires a rather large incision in the abdomen region. The healing process takes time since there is muscle, skin and nerve damage done, during the procedure.

However, a newer procedure like a laparoscopic hysterectomy is less invasive, since there is no need to make a large incision to do the procedure. Instead, the procedure is done by inserting a tiny camera through the belly button and making a few tiny incisions to remove the uterus. Because the incision sites are much smaller, the recovery time is quicker and there is less of a chance of infections and other post-op complications. Although your doctor should discuss all of your options, before scheduling a surgical procedure, it is still up to you to make sure that happens. Never make the assumption that your doctor has already considered every option. Sometime the road to feeling better, begins before the surgery with the choice of the type of surgical procedure.

Get Moving

Post-op recovery methods differ depending on the type of surgery, but it is usually advisable to get moving, after an incision based procedure. Everyone is different and there is no set timetable to get up and moving, but most times after a surgical procedure, once the vitals are stable and the patient is awake, alert and managing their pain well, the doctor will want them to get up and try to move a bit. Short walks in the hallway at the hospital are often the first step. A healthcare professional closely monitors the patient, during this time. Even though a patient may be advised to get up and move around a couple of times a day, the healing process requires that you take it easy. Getting ample rest is important and taking any prescribed medications is also important. Nutrition should also be a part of the recovery plan. Although often overlooked, eating healthy helps the healing process.

Different Methods to Help with Hair Loss

ThePonderGuy — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 05:07:33 +0000

Losing your hair is not fun. It can lead to feelings of embarrassment and inadequacy and truly hurt your confidence, if it gets too bad. If you have started to notice a bit more hair falling out, while participating in normal activities, you may be wondering if there is anything that can help you stop the process. Luckily, there are a few tricks that you can try to get your hair back on track.

Medications

These days, there is a medication for almost any condition and that includes hair loss. For hair loss, the most common medications are Minoxidil and Finasteride. The over the counter option, Minoxidil, is generally the most popular, since it can be used to treat both men and women and can be obtained without a prescription. Minoxidil can be rubbed or sprayed onto the scalp twice daily, which will stimulate hair growth. Finasteride is a pill that is taken once daily and has been proven to produce results. However, Finasteride has not been proven effective for women and can even cause birth defects if a pregnant woman handles crushed or broken tablets. There are more aggressive medications for more aggressive hair loss and your doctor will know which would be the best route for you.

Alternatives to Medicine

If you are only experiencing minimal hair loss but it is still an issue for you, there are ways to address the loss without resorting to medication. For instance, scalp massages are a great way to stimulate blood flow to your scalp, thus producing more hair growth. Another factor to look at is your diet. If you are a male who eats a high fat diet, chances are you will notice some hair loss. For women, hair loss can be a sign of a gastrointestinal problem, possibly even malabsorption of essential vitamins and minerals. Your doctor will be able to give you more information on this, and the treatments available to you, if this happens to be your situation.

When it comes to hair loss, both men and women can suffer. While some men may feel comfortable with the gradual loss of hair, when it comes to hair restoration women really are the ones who feel the loss most emotionally. For a woman, hair is pride and if there is an issue with it, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy. Not to mention, if a woman is experiencing hair loss, it may be a sign of a bigger problem. There is no reason for anyone, man or woman, to just let your hair loss occur. Give these methods a try and if you still experience the loss, consult a physician to see what your next step will be.

Detox Your Body Before Heading to the Belmont Stakes

ThePonderGuy — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 05:07:12 +0000

The odds of your eating something extraordinary and sinfully delectable, while watching this year’s Belmont Stakes are far better than the 2013 Belmont Stakes odds, on any one contestant in the list of Belmont Stakes horses. With not only gourmet delights, but locally grown and raised ingredients put together by local chefs, you may well want to cleanse your system, before subjecting it to the opportunity of a lifetime. Look around online long enough and you can find many of the menu items that have every chance of making an appearance at this year’s Belmont Stakes. There will be no shortage of culinary masterpieces, fit for a king or queen.

Speaking of The Odds at the Belmont Stakes…

Once you’ve cleansed your system and are sitting there eagerly awaiting the arrival of your pork loin, from a local ranch which is fire roasted and combined with a sauce made from olive oil, cilantro, parsley, shallots, and garlic with a chocolate truffle lollipop for dessert… you may want to open your smart phone and check out this website – http://www.belmontstakes.org/belmont-stakes-odds/. This is so that, before making your bet you can check on the Belmont Stakes odds, as they apply to all of the current Belmont Stakes 2013 contenders. Another site that will help you out greatly, even before race day, is the following: http://www.belmontstakes.org/belmont-stakes-contenders/.

There’s Plenty of Time Before Race Day

With the Kentucky Derby just around the corner and the Preakness to be run after that, then finally the Belmont Stakes, you’ve got plenty of time to detox that abused system of yours. Then again maybe you take very good care of yourself and the detoxification will be a minor one. If you have any doubts about how to go about it the smart way you might want to go online and use your favorite search engine to find out the most highly recommended methods of detoxification. If you have a health food store that you frequent, the manager or owner might be able to help you pick out a product that is gentle on your system but will do the job sufficiently.

So whether you’re sitting in the 2300 seats for track side dining or simply having a quick meal at Belmont Park, your system is in for a real treat. And don’t be afraid to splurge… You’re all cleaned out and detoxified and ready to roll. After all, you can always detoxify again when you get home.

Different Ways To Deal With Acne

ThePonderGuy — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:58:25 +0000

How many different ways are there to get rid of acne? Well that all depends on how much time you have. In other words there are probably as many acne treatments on the market and at clinics, as there are for other skin conditions that are less actual medical conditions, but more or less undesirable just the same. But we’re not going to talk about a healthy glow to your skin, how to get rid of wrinkles, or exfoliating….

We’re Going to Talk about the Dreaded Acne Skin Condition

Let’s take a look at a couple of treatments specifically:

? Isotretinoin - before proceeding anymore let’s first look at the risks. If you are pregnant or are planning to be so, this may not be a good idea. Experts caution that birth defects may arise in that instance. They also recommend a three month abstinence from this treatment, before attempting pregnancy. This is extremely effective however on acne that has resisted various alternative treatments. It is for inflammatory, cystic, severe acne sufferers. This treatment is taken orally. You will want to see a dermatologist or visit a skin treatment clinic for prescription. This treatment can come in a generic form and additionally be referred to as Amnesteem, Claravis, or Sotret.

Another Effective Treatment for Acne

Other acne sufferers have shown progress with a nighttime skin treatment that abolishes acne blemishes, while you slumber:

? Retinoids - one of the reasons that this works best during evening hours is its propensity to make your skin more sun sensitive. Basically what happens here is that with either prescription strength or over-the-counter retinol treatments your skin’s oil chemistry is altered, thereby reducing acne breakouts. Blemishes are caused by bacteria, which grow in clogged pores as a result of deposits of oil. If the oil is reduced, the pores can breathe and cleanse more freely and less acne causing agents will be trapped beneath.

And, here is a fortunate side effect of retinoids: if anti-aging is something you’re also interested in, wrinkles can be lessened with the use of this product, due to the fact that fine lines are filled in by the pumping up of underlying collagen. I know I said we wouldn’t talk about anti-aging creams, but this just happens to fall under the bonus category.

Losing Weight Means Time for a Spa Day

ThePonderGuy — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 04:13:19 +0000

One of the biggest contributors to a negative self-image is your weight. In our society, beauty seems to be judged by our weight and sometimes this can be bad enough to make us avoid doing some of the things we love to do. However, there are ways to lose weight and get your body in a shape you are proud of showing to the world.

Set Goals

Before you even start thinking about losing weight, you really need to consider a target weight. You can discuss this with a physician to find your ideal weight, for your body type. You may not want to lose quite that much, but the bottom line is that you want to be healthy, not just skinny. Once you know your target weight, set small goals for yourself and stick to them. For instance, if you want to lose fifty pounds, try losing five pounds per week. Obtainable goals should also be made for your exercise regimen. Try walking for thirty minutes a day or set a certain distance you want to hit every day. If you’re dieting, give yourself a reasonable caloric, fat and/or sugar intake for the day and don’t exceed it. Each time hitting your goal gets easy, make it a bit tougher for next time.

Green Coffee Extract

Green coffee extract is a natural weight loss aid that is widely available. When added to a balanced diet and exercise, this extract can help you lose weight very quickly. Green coffee speeds up your metabolism and also burns fat, giving it a two punch effect. Do a bit of research before you buy, however, to ensure you are getting the most effective product for yourself.

Getting into swimsuit shape can take a little bit of time and a lot of determination. However, consider how long it took you to get in the shape you’re in before judging too harshly. Once you compare the two, you will see why it may take a minute. Once you are at your target weight, though, you can head to the spa to get ready for a night on the town!

Before Betting On The Kentucky Derby Clear Your Mind

ThePonderGuy — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 03:49:23 +0000

All righty then, it’s very nearly time to start thinking about 2013 Kentucky Derby betting. A real time saver can be placing your bet on the Kentucky Derby online. But, before you make those big Kentucky Derby bets you might want to visit Kentucky Derby 2013 online, just to see how it works.

One More Thing Left to Do

Please tell me that you’ve already gotten your Kentucky Derby tickets. If you did your homework ahead of time, you hopefully got the best price for 2013 Kentucky Derby tickets available. If you haven’t purchased your tickets, yet it’s time to get that ball rolling buddy, so that you can clear your mind and concentrate on the really important thing here…the bet.

Deep Breathing, Yoga, Lobotomy?

What do you do in order to clear your mind, set your conscience at ease, relax and unwind so that you can make an intelligent decision about your bet on the Kentucky Derby this year? Maybe a visit to the spa is in order. Maybe a little quickie vacation… Just don’t spend too much, because you’re going to need that for your bet. Unless of course you’ve already put your betting money aside, then you can go hog wild on that vacation. Make sure you’re back in time for the race however. Sometimes physical exertion helps to work out all the kinks, in not only your body, but your mind as well. Perhaps it’s time to start that new exercise regime you’ve been putting off. Work out all your frustrations and get physically fit at the same time. Not only might you make an intelligent bet, but you’ll look great at the race.

Okay so now that you’re feeling all relaxed and rejuvenated, it’s time to place those bets. Did you do your research before your mind clearing or not? Then again maybe you’re one of those individuals that doesn’t feel the need to do any research, because you’re just that darn lucky. Are you one of those gamblers that has some crazy little scenario that you go through, in order to assure yourself the best chance possible? Do you possibly have a lucky charm that you have to rub or have with you at the time you’re making your bet or at the time of the race? Maybe you use a lucky color or a lucky number, when placing your bets at the track? Well, I wish you the best. Good luck. You’re probably going to need it.