Hip therapies from around the world
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
world with hands around it
By Katie Corcoran
It\'s amazing what this world has to offer and sometimes we forget just what there is in other far away lands that are often only places we daydream of. How do women in Africa keep such soft skin? Why is it the ladies in New Zealand have amazing hair in the heat? And what do the South Americans drink to keep up their fast paced lives? Read on to discover some of the hip ingredients and health therapies from all corners of this big...wide...world...
Where: South America
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
Packed of Yerba Tea
The Treatment: Get energetic like the South Americas thanks to Yerba Mate a native shrub that grows in Argentina, Paraguay and Southern Brazil. Many people boil the leaves of the yerba mate in hot water to create a tea like drink. It\'s said to be slightly less of a stimulant than coffee and thankfully a lot gentler on the stomach. It\'s a very common social drink for South Americans and for those that need a little bit of extra energy in the mornings without the bad caffeine side effects. Sounds perfect!
Get it here: Yerba Mate tea, from Tea pigs
Where: Egypt
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
Aloe vera plants
The Treatment: Nearly everyone has heard of aloe vera and its healing properties for skin conditions including burns. Today it\'s in hundreds of modern skincare products but rumour has it that it can be originally traced back to Egypt thousands of years ago. In those ancient days it was known as the \'plant of immortality\' and was supposedly often presented as a burial gift to deceased Egyptian kings. Today it\'s found in gels, creams and can even be taken orally, some say to help conditions such as diabetes.
Get it here: Crabtree & Evelyns Aloe Vera range of body products
Where: Japan
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
Woman at a spa
The Treatment: For hundreds of years we have been using marine extracts and sea water to heal and pamper our skin. Not only that, but the oceans of the world are a great place to relax, exercise and sometimes float! In Cape Muroto on the island of Shikoku the first deep-sea water collection was made in Japan. This was then whipped up by make-up artist Shu Uemura and placed into her cosmetics. Now if you want more than revolutionary beauty products how about hopping over to Japan itself and spending a few days relaxing in the Utoco Deep Sea Therapy Centre and Hotel with amazing deep-sea treatments to whiz you back into state of relaxation. Try the mineral deep-sea Thalassotherapy pool....bliss!
Get it here: Find out more about the Utoco Deep Sea Therapy Centre and Hotel here
See the best marine-inspired beauty buys
Where: India
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
Women in yoga position
The Treatment: Today you are practically not a proper celebrity unless you have been papped walking along with your yoga mat, but there was a time when India yoga was more than a picture in a celeb magazine. Thousands of years ago yoga was seen as an incredibly spiritual ritual that was a form of meditation, body conditioning, healing and personal spiritual time to connect with God. It is said to bring the body and mind together. Today many people do yoga for these reasons, spiritual and physical and sometimes more. The exercises in yoga are designed to put pressure on the glandular systems of the body therefore increasing its efficiency and total health. Your joints will work better due to stretching and your muscle tone will be stronger. Practicing your breathing to release stress, movements to improve your body and meditation to clear your mind means you are left with a clear mind and strong body.
Get it here: Find a local yoga class near you here
Where: South Africa
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
Box of whittards Rooibos tea
The Treatment: We often wonder how the South Africans are so laid back and healthy looking - could it be down to their famous Rooibos tea? Known also as \'bush tea\' or \'red tea\' it has traditionally been consumed by generations of South Africans in place of the English breakfast tea we drink by the bucket load here. Rooibos is the drink of health conscious ladies with its high level of antioxidants which keep skin looking young and healthy, its lack of caffeine, additives, sugars and preservatives - making it a great natural healthy drink. Plus some studies show it helps with problems like headaches, insomnia and with certain allergies such as hay fever. So next time you reach for a cuppa, try a nice cup of Rooibos.
Get it here: Buy Rooibos tea from Whittards or find it in the Dermalogica\'s Daily Exfoliant for your skin.
Where: Australia
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
Emu
The Treatment: Can Australia\'s largest native bird hold the key to women\'s great skin? Well rumour has it has that Emu Oil has been used by Australian Aborigines for thousands of years to treat skin burns, sunburn, bruises and muscle pain as well as being used to keep skin soft and cracked heels at bay. We are sure the women of Australia love the traditional benefits of this natural oil and its non greasy highly penetrating benefits and it\'s easy to understand why.
Get it here: Today it can be found it lots of beauty treatments and cosmetics, the Laura Mercier Mega Moisturiser (£36, 0800 123 400) is a delightful treat containng Emu Oil for healthy soft skin, sensitive skin and suffers of rosacea...
Where: Southern Africa
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
African lady smiling
The treatment: Famous and traditional in the Southern countries of Africa is Marula Oil made from the Marula fruit. Africans use this oil to maintain a healthy diet and fabulous skin even though most of the country lives in Third World conditions. For years, women in the rural areas of Africa have cracked the nut of the Marula fruit to extract the precious kernels from which the oil is made. Traditional uses include putting baked nuts into foods as a spice, over meat as a natural preservative and using the oil to soften the skin. The cosmetic and cuisine purposes come from being used by various bushman tribes to preserve meat as well as being jammed packed of healthy anti ageing properties for great looking skin.
Get it here: Forest Secrets Skincare range is 100% natural, animal free and contains this fair-trade, organic Marula oil. They are available online from forestsecretsskincare.com
Where: New Zealand
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
Womans face and hair
The treatment: It\'s no wonder that New Zealanders have fab hair come rain or lots of shine. Maybe it\'s due to the Kumarahou plant that grows in parts of the North Island. Originally a medicinal plant it makes a lather if the leaves and flowers are crushed and mixed with water. For years this plant has been used by the Maori people to wash their hands after working. These days this natural ingredient has been picked up into the hair industry and is used in products to keep locks looking luscious without the harmful ingredients that strip hair like chemical detergents. It will naturally cleanse your locks and also help to keep it dandruff free. We think its time to do as the Kiwis do...
Get it here: Living Natures Hair Care Range contains Kumarahou. Buy it here livingnature.com
Where: Morocco
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
Bottle of argan oil
The treatment: Traditionally used for culinary purposes and even more so today in modern cosmetics is Moroccan Argan Oil derived from the Argania Spinsa tree that grows locally. For hundreds of years Berber women in Morocco have traditionally managed the production and labour intensive oil extraction and believe it to be the key to a healthy heart and body. This oil is one of the rarest in the world due the small supply and limited growing area - hence the high price and hype! Traditionally Moroccan families cook with the oil due to its nutritional values and effective means of lowering cholesterol. The nutty taste of the oil means it\'s perfect for drizzling over salads or the cold pressed cosmetic oils are full of vitamin C and essential fatty acids which are perfect to treat dry hair and skin, keep nails healthy and even help with stretch marks. So is it worth the hype and should we do as the Berber women do to stay healthy and subtle skinned? We reckon do as the Moroccans, but only if your purse strings allow...
Get it here: Buy Argan Oil at Wild Wood Groves
Where: Ghana
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
Tub of Body Shop Shea Butter
The Treatment: Ever wondered how women from some of the poorest communities still manage to have soft skin? Well its all due to the natural resources they have on their very doorsteps and Ghana is one of the many countries in West Africa that grows the shea tree. The shea tree produces its first fruit after about 20 years and reaches its full production at about 45 years old. The nuts it produces are harvested off the ground put into water and the outer shells removed. The pulp is eaten, and the nuts are boiled and sun dried. Shea butter can be found today in many beauty products, especially moisturisers and in West Africa it is still used as a cooking oil and sometimes even in the chocolate industry to substitute cocoa butter...
Get it here: Body Shop Shea butter, £12
Where: France
health,lifestyle,wellbeing
Bottles of rescue remedy oils
The Treatment: Some say that although the roots of
aromatherapy can be traced back some 3,000 years or more by the ancient Egyptians it was France that has produced today\'s modern aromatherapy industry. The term \'aromatherapie\' was thought up by French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé who had studied essential oils for many years. His inspired book, Aromathérapie - Traitment Des Maladies Par Les Essence De Plantes was released in 1964, and translated into English in the 1980s called The Practice Of Aromatherapy. Finally, aromatherapy was on English soil! Today essential oils and aromatherapy is seen as an alternative form of medicine and can help with problems such as
headaches,
insomnia,
stress, skin conditions and stomach upsets.
Get it here: Try Bach Rescue Remedy
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