Juicing for Optimal Health

Juicing has become all the craze since the documentary "Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead" came out in 2010. I strongly recommend you watch it if you haven't done so already. In a nutshell, Joe Cross, an overweight and sickly successful business man from Australia decides to lose a large amount of weight and to cure himself of a curious rash that plagued his body by juice fasting for 60 days. Once a very good looking man in his early 20's, he looked nothing close to that in his 40's. He had a large "beer belly" gut and his skin was a hot mess. So he drove across America with his juice machine, drinking only fruits and vegetables, and ironically met a trucker along the way who was morbidly obese and had the same exact rare rash problem he did! Well, he got him on his juicing program and by the end of the 60 days, both men lost over a 100 lbs and no longer needed to take their medications because their rash issue completely disappeared! It is also important to note that both men were being monitored by a physician during the entire process. 

Being a skeptic, I didn't think it was possible to just live on juice alone. It almost seemed unhealthy?  It's as if you need to chew food in order for it to be considered healthy for you?? But after doing it myself continually for the last 6 months, I know now that that idea is a complete fallacy.

• The fruits and vegetables in your juice is ALL of the nutrients and vitamins you need. Vegetarians are alive and well.

• You can juice as much or as little as you want to. It just depends on how hungry you are. I promise you that you will get full if you drink enough juice.

• You need to make a paradigm shift in your mind that drinking juice IS a complete meal and you don't have to eat/chew food in order for that to be a meal. 

What to Expect When You Begin Juicing:

• You WILL feel lethargic and possibly sickly for the first two weeks. Your body is detoxing and this feeling is normal and it WILL pass. 

• You will be going to the restroom several times a day. Again, your body is detoxing and you are losing weight by doing so. 

Benefits of Juicing:

• You will have a flatter belly because you will eliminate bloating in your belly.

• You will feel more alert mentally and you will have more energy (once you get over the two week hump). 

• Your skin will clear up and have a healthy glow.

Juicing Tips:

• Get a decent juicer/blender. Preferably one that can emulsify the fibers in your fruits and veggies as well. I started out with the Nutri Bullet and it was fine for me, but now I'm ready to invest in a Vitamix blender now that I'm sold on juicing. 

• Always put dark leafy greens in your juice concoction, like Kale or Spinach, and mix it with a fruit (apple, pear, pineapple, etc.) and it won't even taste like your drinking veggies. It's going to taste good! 

• 99% of the time, anything you blend together with a fruit will taste ono! Don't worry too much about recipes. 

• Follow the "Green Glowing Smoothie" recipe that all the celebrities use by Kimberly Snyder, infamous author of the book "The Beauty Detox." Look forward to my blog.

• Take advantage of local fruits, like soursop, which is considered one of the most healthiest fruits since it is known to prevent and cure cancer.

• Do not eat seeds. It can actually be dangerous for you.

Try it for yourself and comment below on your beauty benefits :) xoxo

Skin Care Regimen Recommended Products

I have been getting a lot of requests regarding the recommended skin care products to use following my post on "Evergreen Beauty = Maintenance." 

Listed below is the products that Dr. Denese recommends. I have used most of these products myself and they are very effective. Since her book came out in 2005, obviously there are newer products that have come out since then, however, I have not researched some of the newer products to see if they meet the "science" that is needed to be effective. I like to follow the motto, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", therefore, I know for sure that Dr. Denese's recommendations work true and true. 

Dr. Denese's Product Recommendations:

• Skinceuticals Simply Clean Pro-refining Gel Cleanser

•  Facial Firming Pads by Dr. Denese (glycolic acid)

• Dr. Perricone's Pore Refining Toner Pads 

(glycolic acid)

• DDF Glycolic 10% Daily Cleansing Pads 

(glycolic acid)

• Dr. Brandt Exfoliation (microdermabrasion scrub)

• Loreal Refinish Microdermabrasion Kit 

(microdermabrasion scrub)

• Skinceuticals Serum 15 (serum 15 AOX)

• Cellex C High Potency Serum 

• Elizabeth Arden Bye Lines Anti-Aging Serum

• Hydro Shield Ultra Moisturizing Serum by Dr. Denese

Products I use and can't live without:

• Avon Anew Revitalizing 2 in 1 Gel Cleanser

• Glycolix 10% Gentle Facial Cleanser

• Glycolix 20% Treatment Pads 

• Mary Kay Timewise Microdermabrasion scrub

• Skinceuticals Phloretin CF 

• EltaMD UV Broad-Spectrum SPF 46 Facial Sunscreen (ELLE Genius Award 2010)

The products listed above are similar to the ones Dr. Denese recommends, but are a lot cheaper, except for Mary Kay, Skinceuticals, & EltaMD. 

So there you go! You're on your way to beautiful, youthful, glowing skin!

If you have the time, I would love to hear how the skincare regimen is working for you or comment if you have any questions.  Mahalo! xoxo

Evergreen Beauty = Maintenance!!!

I'm always fascinated by women who seem to have the fountain of youth. How do they stay so evergreen? What's their secret? The secret is MAINTENANCE. You have to be very disciplined when it comes to your beauty and health regimens. No matter how tired you are - you just gotta do it! I was lucky to have older friends in the entertainment business that role-modeled these good habits for me and I've passed that down to younger dancers that I've worked with. Now, whenever they see me, they say, "maintenance, maintenance, maintenance!"  It's my mantra! 

There seems to be a common thread in maintaining a youthful appearance and having more vitality. Some famous female celebrities that demonstrate these traits are Courtney Cox (48yrs), Elle Macpherson (50yrs), Halle Berry (46yrs), Cindy Crawford (47yrs), and Mimi Kirk (73yrs). 

Here are some Maintenance Tips:

*Eat a vegetarian diet. 
Mimi Kirk is famous for being  a 73yr.old vegetarian and looking 20 years younger. 

*Eat a low fat, low carb, low sugar diet.
Most celebrities follow this diet anyway, but especially Halle Berry who is diabetic. 

*Have a strict and religious skin care regimen
Courtney Cox and Cindy Crawford are religious about their daily skincare and using sunscreen. They also are not afraid to admit that they use preventive care like botox to help as well.

*Exercise often
Elle Macpherson reported that she does some type of sport activity every day and has done so her whole life. Courtney Cox also commented that she plays tennis every week for the last 20 years. Cindy Crawford exercises at home in between chores and Halle Berry works out with her trainer. I've been dancing for 20 years plus and it has really helped me maintain without even trying. In other words, Use It or Lose It! 

*Do yoga
Being flexible will also help you to remain evergreen and keep you healthy mentally, physically, and internally. Where the mind goes, the body follows. 

*Juice and/or take vitamin supplements
I strongly suggest that you juice over taking supplements, but if you can't do that you need to get your nutrition somewhere and there's no way your going to get everything  your body needs by just having meals alone. It's just the bad FDA world we live in today unfortunately. Put in lots of dark leafy greens with an apple or pear and you will never know that your drinking a bunch of veggies - it's that good! 

*Drink LOTS of water
We all know this is good for our skin, but it's also excellent for providing energy and vitality to our bodies. I'm totally guilty of not drinking enough water and can go all day without even thinking of it so don't feel bad if your guilty too.

*Laugh a lot
That's right, life is supposed to be fun and not so serious, so laugh often and you will have less stress and frown wrinkles. 

Courtney Cox (48yrs)

Elle Macpherson (50yrs)

Halle Berry (46yrs)

Cindy Crawford (47yrs)

Mimi Kirk (73yrs)

Secrets for Beautiful Hair

In Hawaii, long hair is the traditionally favored style for most women. Long hair is considered very feminine and sexy and makes wahines (women) look fine and exotic.

Here are some tips on having beautiful, healthy, shiny hair:

1. Massage your scalp. Press hard on your scalp with your fingertips and massage your whole head. This gets the circulation going and can even help with individuals suffering from small bald spots.

2. Get a scalp brushing. My favorite place to do this is at Ulupono Academy, A Paul Mitchell beauty school salon, in Kaimuki, Oahu. It's really inexpensive, and great for your scalp. Students will use a hair brush to brush your scalp in sections and invigorate your scalp and hair follicles and exfoliate the skin.

3. Brush your hair, especially the scalp. My girlfriend, Iwa, has the most beautiful long hair and she brushes her hair every night at least a 100 times. I remember Frederick Fekai saying the same thing once in an interview. The proof is in the haupia pudding!

4. Take prenatal vitamins. I know this sounds crazy and I'm not promoting that you get hapai (pregnant), but prenatal pills is a hula dancers secret! We take prenatal pills when we want our hair to grow longer and faster. Plus you get the benefits of healthy full hair and strong nails.

5.  Deep condition your hair weekly. I like to use Biolage deep conditioning balm when I am home. Put a lot on damp hair, put it in a bun, and do your housework. If you want extra conditioning, put a shower cap around it so that it seals in more heat. I also like to use oils, such as organic argan oil, coconut oil, or manoi (Tahitian) oil. I will put this in my hair in a tight bun before I go into my Bickram hot yoga class, and by the end of the class my hair is deeply conditioned. You can also do this before entering a steam room, but be sure that the oil/conditioner in your hair does not get all over the steam room or you may not be welcome there anymore!

6. Eat healthy and try not to dye your hair too often. Try to eat lots of dark leafy green vegetables and give your hair a break by not dying it too often or using hair products that damage your hair on a daily basis.

7. Let your hair air dry instead of blow drying it.

8. Do not comb your hair while it is wet to prevent breakage.

The Beauty Bible for Akamai (smart) Product Shopping

Many years ago I stumbled upon a beauty skincare book at Border's in Waikele, Oahu, and I feel as if my guardian angels literally dropped it in my hands in the middle of some random aisle. For years, I have been on a quest for beautiful skin because I sufferred from acne and spent tons of money on dermatologists, medications, and over the counter products either at the drug store, informercials, or department store brands - and nothing seemed to work effectively and/or longterm. 

Following the principles of this book changed my skin forever! My skin has never looked so radiant and people who don't know me can't believe I even has acne issues. And this is why it is my go-to Beauty Bible that I always use as my reference point when buying products. Whether it is a high end or low end skin care product, it always has to pass the test regarding ingredients and the percentage amount of the ingredient in the product. If it doesn't meet the rules, it's not worth buying because I know it will NOT be effective so don't waste your time!

The book is written by Dr. Adrienne Denese, M.D., Ph.D., one of the first doctors in the United States to specialize in anti-aging medicine. Dr. Denese owns the Manhattan Anti-Aging Clinic in New York City and was progressive way before her time. She was also the first person to make "BB Cremes" way before it even became coined recently - she is that innovative. The book is titled, "Dr. Denese's Secrets for Ageless Skin" and I strongly suggest you get it and study it.

I'm not going to tell you everything that it says in the book, but I will give you some good tips from the book:

1.  Don't buy fancy, expensive facial cleansers. Just get one that you like that leaves your skin feeling soft, refreshed, and not dry or tight in any way.

2.  Don't buy water-free, leave-on cleansers. It can lead to clogged pores.

3.  Exfoliation is key for flawless skin and must be done daily in order to to get rid of thick layers of dead skin so that ingredients of skin care products can penetrate your skin.

4. Use a glycolic acid pad that is 8-10% glycolic every night. If your face isn't tingling, then it isn't strong enough. I personally use 20%. 

5. Use a microdermabrasian cream once or twice a week to micropolish your skin to help with exfoliation. Make sure the particles are small and not large like St. Ives Walnut cremes. I like Mary Kay's microdermabrasian creme.

6. Moisturzing facial creams do not work to moisture your skin. A moisturizer is a "feel good" product and lays on top of the skin. You MUST use a serum because it can penetrate the skin; preferably with 15% Vitamin C, peptides, and ceramides in it. 

7. To seal in all of the serums, you can use a moisturizer of your choice to put on top. This is only a "feel good" product and used only to seal in the serums, but not necessary if you don't want to or if you have oily skin. 

8. Use SPF 30 every single day of the year, even when it's cloudy, preferably with zinc oxide. 

So, the next time you have to buy skin care products, remember some of these rules and live by them. If the ingredients don't meet the requirements, don't buy it. If someone trys to convince you that a moisturizer will be the cure-all for beautiful skin, you know that it's not true. In the foreword of Dr. Denese's book she writes about people asking her what her secret is for looking so young and beautiful and her answer is "my secret is science", and now it's your secret too!

Exfoliation for Glowing Smooth Skin

If you want to have beautiful glowing skin like the beautiful women and men in Hawaii, you HAVE to exfoliate on a daily basis.  This is the secret to smooth, non-ashy, healthy, glowing skin. And don't worry because you can never exfoliate enough! 

Whatever the skincare counter person told you at Macy's about it being bad to exfoliate everyday, could not be farther from the truth. I can explain this to you in my post about my skincare go-to bible by Dr. Denese, which I discovered many years ago during my quest for acne free and beautiful skin. For now, I'm going to break down what you can start doing today to have smooth new skin. 

In Hawaii, we (meaning "da locals") love to use a Japanese washcloth that may be a bit abrasive to you if you have never used a washcloth before. I suggest you use it gently until you get used to it and then scrub harder! There are many different kinds of washcloths that you can buy at any drug store in Hawaii, however, the all time fav is Salux - that's the one I use and it is the best in my opinion. It is not too soft and not too hard, which makes it perfect to exfoliate all that dead skin off of your body! Now please, do not use this on our face unless you use it very gently in circular motions. 

Honestly, I don't know how the rest of the world can live without this because it as important to us as having soap and water! It's great for blood circulation and very sanitary unlike cloth washcloths or loofahs.  Just pour some soap on it or rub your bar soap on it, squish it together, and scrub your entire body. Then make sure you rinse it out well and hang it up to dry for next time. My family on the mainland always ask me to mail them some, which you should replace at least once a year. If you are living on the mainland, you can probably find it at an asian store. In Hawaii, you can buy at Walmart, Kmart, Longs Drugs, and usually at any local grocery store. 

Another great exfoliation tool is the the Korean mitt. This is great because you can use it like a glove. I prefer to use the Salux washcloth because I can scrub faster, but I also have a mitt in case I want to use it. Again, if you are not used to it, please do not go to town on your face or body thinking it's not that bad, because believe me, you will be irritated afterwards. Normally you would soak your body in hot water before scrubbing, so please be gentle. 

So now you've got the body scrub down! Next, ever year I get a Korean Scrub down at my favorite Korean Spa in Honolulu. Alhtough I scrub my body like crazy every day, I feel it's very important to have this done professionally. At a Korean Spa, you have to be totallly naked and a Korean grandma will scrub the crap out you, even in areas you may be a little shy about. I'm always surprised how much dead skin comes off after grandma scrubs the @#$# out of me. You will know this because the dead skin looks similar to a used rubber eraser. The treatment usually comes with full use of the jacuzzi and steam rooms along with the full body scrub, korean massage (painful!), and  hair shampoo wash. 

Let's not forget your beautiful face! I always use my Clarisonic brush on my face every night when I take a shower before bed. I make sure that all of my make-up is completely off. Then to be completely sure that every trace of make-up and dirt is off, I also use Glycolic acid pads to swipe my face, which also helps to exfoliate the skin and get rid of the old skin so that the new skin can come through. Make sure you use 15-20% glycolic, otherwise, your wasting your time since it will not be effective. 

Happy Scrubbing!!!!