Articles by Topic: Bath and Body

When it comes to the shape and condition of your body, you are most definitely what you eat. Diet can help beat fat and fluid retention and protect you against sun damage. Read on to equip yourself with the information to help transform the shape and condition of your body

In a recent survey, 51 per cent of people said they lelt better about their body when it was tanned. They felt thinner, they felt sexier and they felt fitter. Feeling confident about your body is one of the most beautiful states any woman can be in. However, as we know only too well, tanning comes at a price. Exposing yourself to the sun's ultraviolet rays ages the skin, adding up to 20 years to how you'll look by the time you reach your forties.

Doctors may debate whether or not cellulite exists, but if you suffer from that orange-peel effect on your bottom and thighs, you'll know it does. The old theory was that cellulite was caused by toxins building up under the skin, but that's probably not true. It's more likely to be the result of poor skin structure, causing the fibres to split. This means fat and, yes, possibly toxins squish out through the holes in the fibres, creating that lumpy effect.

The average woman has around 11,000 hairs on her legs and 2,500 under her arms - here's how to find the best method for you to get rid of them.

The ultimate relaxing bath is around 38 degrees Centigrade; this is the temperature that's been shown to relax the muscles and stimulate the production of calming chemicals in the brain. Add soothing bath oils containing scents like lavender, melissa or patchouli.

A soak in a tub for about 15 minutes will rehydrate your skin, but add good bath oil and you'll soften and moisturize the skin like you can't believe. The oil, which smells nice and floats in shimmery little slicks on the water, actually clings to the body as you leave the tub—instantly sealing in the moisture the skin has soaked up from the bath.

According to folklore, the true way to tell a woman's age is to look at her knees or elbows. Whether plump and dimpled or dry as the bones in a Georgia O'Keeffe landscape, these areas are a dead giveaway. The skin on the elbows and knees is some of the thickest and most neglected on the body, which, in most cases, means the dead skin just keeps piling up until it resembles your pet lizard's hide.

Amazingly, in spite of huge technological advances in the beauty industry, the mass-market soap available today has not changed much since Procter & Gamble, Colgate, and Lever Bros, first set up shop in the early 19th century. Most supermarket soaps are still made from lard (sodium tallowate) and lye (sodium hydroxide), and you don't need a Ph.D. in chemistry to guess that there are gentler ways to clean your skin.

Many people don't realize it, but shaving is a form of exfoliation, too. Shaving the legs first became popular for women around World War II, when a shortage of nylon stockings kicked off a bare-legged trend. Today, shaving is still the easiest, cheapest, and most convenient way to get rid of unwanted hair—under the arms, on the legs, and around the bikini line. The downsides are stubbly regrowth in two to three days and cuts and irritation.

Soaps and cleansers scrub away everyday dirt, but exfoliation actually improves the health of the body's skin. It stimulates blood flow to the skin, helps the circulatory and lymphatic systems release waste, and gets rid of built-up skin scales that can clog pores and lead to ingrown hairs. Exfoliating softens and smoothes the skin, makes it easier to absorb moisturizer, gets rid of flakiness, relieves itchiness, and, over time, results in healthier-looking skin.

When the seasons change and your skin is shedding like a snake's, a body scrub—salt glow, herbal wrap, or mud mask—is an alternative way to exfoliate and pamper yourself at the same time.

So many skin problems (such as flaking and itching) that people blame on everything from diet to weather to indoor heating come down to the soap they use. If your skin is always dry, it's probably the fault of your cleansing bar. To counter the dryness, you probably over moisturize and find yourself in a cycle that will never really correct the problem, especially if you use a mineral oil- or petroleum-based moisturizer.