Well, it is official. Spa Grace will be opening up by the end of the holiday season this year! We have signed our lease at 2913 Boone’s Creek Road. It is a great location just off I-26 in the shopping center where Woodcraft and Beef O’Brady’s is located (across from Kemosabe’s). The build-out process is underway and we will post pictures of our progress periodically.

We will be at the Women’s Expo in Kingsport at the Meadowview Convention Center on October 20th and 21st, promoting Spa Grace and our new line of products. Come by and register for our great giveaways including a “Zen Earth Escape” spa package, an “Ultimate Pedicure” and an “Eminence handmade organic skin care of Hungary” Prize Pack.

I am also proud to announce that we will be upper east Tennessee’s only “Green Spa”. We will strive to maintain our pledge to be a Green Spa supporting our health, environment, and earth. All of our products will be Organic, Paraben-Free, Vegan Friendly, and come from sources who support our earth by “going green”. Our walls will be painted with eco-friendly paint, and we will purchase products which are non-toxic and either biodegradable, recyclable, or made from post-consumer recycled materials where possible.

Check out our complete service menu and fabulous products at http://www.spagrace.net. You may go ahead and purchase holiday gift certificates with either Spa Grace online or at gracehealing.com, as always. And, don’t worry…if you have a gift certificate which has NOT expired, it will be honored at Spa Grace at the original purchase-price value.

We will still be available for our current service offerings at our Jonesborough location until Spa Grace is opened for business, at which time the Jonesborough location will close. I am currently re-vamping the facial treatment options at Grace Healing Therapies to include our new Eminence Organics skin care line. I will post news about those changes in a week or so.

We are so excited to be on this journey of expansion! Spa Grace will work hard to provide fabulous spa experiences, five-star customer service, and youth-inducing, world-class treatments.

Inhale. Pause. Enjoy. Repeat as necessary.

The proverbial summer of 2007 is over *sniff*. It’s back to work or back to school for most of us. Just because summer is almost over doesn’t mean you can’t still indulge in things that are sinfully good for you…

Chocolate has recently been touted in both the health food and the cosmetic industry as having lots of positive effects on the inside of our bodies as well as the outside! Ingredients found in chocolate and cocoa have been shown to produce some very encouraging results on the skin. For example, the cocoa butter in chocolate has a softening effect on the skin, which helps to ease the appearance of wrinkles. Also, chocolate contains powerful antioxidants!! Therefore, it can help neutralize the free radicals that cause skin damage and even cancer. What better way to sooth your tired skin after a long, hot sun-drenched summer?

If nothing else, chocolate definitely gets to the chocoholic within us all! The sensual aroma of cocoa calms and soothes the spirit and brings back childhood memories of happiness whilst eating any chocolate treat. It can really bring back any nice feeling you ever experienced from any event involving chocolate or cocoa. Really…how can you go wrong with a treatment this scrumptious???

And, the best part is, you don’t even have to count one single calorie!

This September, why not ease your way back into work/school with a sweet treat you definitely won’t feel guilty about afterwards!

Our Chocolate Indulgence or Ultimate Chocolate Experience spa package is sure to not only bring a lingering smile to your face, but health, vibrance and refreshment to your skin!!

NAMASTE,

Beth

Many of you who’ve come to me with specific problems and received deep tissue work have heard me recommend a nice, hot bath in Epsom Salts that evening. Well, there is a good reason for it. With the creation of new tonics, balms, sprays, soaks and other aids, many people have lost sight of the fact that before all of the fancier products came along, the old-fashioned products were what worked for most people. The newer products might come in fancier packages, have added aromas or come with sparkles and colors (not to mention a hefty price tag), but stripping all of that away, you end up with the underlying ingredient which is one that works on many different levels.
Did you know, for instance, that soaking a splinter in Epsom salts can release the splinter and help the area to heal? Many people know that Epsom salts work to relax tight muscles and are found in many bath salt products, but Epsom salts actually have dozens of healthful benefits. Epsom salts - magnesium sulfate - are a natural way to treat skin problems, relax the nervous system, and draw impurities and toxins from the body.

Soak aching, tired feet in a pan of water with half a cup of Epsom salts and not only will your feet feel better, but they’ll smell better too. Epsom salts work to neutralize odor and soften skin. Soak feet until they feel better then rinse and dry well.

As you’ve probably heard me say before, a full bath should contain 2 full cups of dissolved Epsom salts for relief of sore, tired feet, back muscles, legs, bruises or just as a way to have softer skin. I highly recommend this after any massage or bodywork treatment, as it can actually help prevent a large part of the soreness one might experience after having an intense deep tissue massage. If you have any strained muscles or sprains, you can take 1/2 to 1 cup of Epsom salts and make a “pack” with it to place on the affected area, wrap with hot towel and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. TIP: This can be alot less messy and more relaxing if done in the bath.

You can also rub Epsom salts all over the body, while wet, then rinse and towel off. Rubbing Epsom salts directly on the body exfoliates skin and leaves it smooth and silky. They make a great gift to give someone when you put them in a nice glass jar with lid and tie on a pretty ribbon. You can add scent to them by sprinkling them with essential oil. Or mix Epsom salts with moisturizer or olive oil and keep by the sink if you wash your hands a lot.
The salts do wonders for the hair, absorbing oil from problem hair by adding 8 tablespoons of Epsom salts to a half a cup of shampoo that’s formulated for oily hair. Put a tablespoon of the shampoo mixture on dry hair and work it in and around the scalp area, rinsing it out with cold water. To rinse it well, and further treat oily hair, pour a cup of apple cider vinegar over the hair, leave on for 5 minutes, and then rinse with cool water. To add fullness to thin hair, combine equal parts of Epsom salts and hair conditioner. Warm the mixture in a pan then work it into hair. Leave on for 20 minutes and rinse with warm water.

For occasional constipation or irregularity, adults can mix 2 to 4 teaspoons into water until dissolved and drink. Kids 6 to 12 take half of that. This can be used twice a day by taking the first treatment, waiting 4 hours and taking the second dosage if necessary.

So, the next time you’re shopping for bath, health or beauty products, pass by the fancy, expensive stuff and try Epsom salts for an inexpensive, healthy and effective alternative!