African Americans and Hispanics Run A Higher Risk of Dying From Skin Cancer

According to recent studies, African Americans and Hispanics are often less likely to be diagnosed with skin cancer in its early stages and need to get themselves checked as often as possible to avoid the cancer spreading. One recent study of 41,072 melanoma patients in Florida found advanced cases in 12 percent of Caucasians, 18 percent of Hispanics, and 26 percent of African Americans. “There is a fairly common misconception among African American sand Hispanics that we do not get skin cancer,” explains dermatologist Marcy Street, M.D. “Because light-skinned and light-eyed individuals are mentioned constantly, minority groups often surmise that the information somehow doesn’t apply to us because we don’t commonly burn or have warning signs of having had too much sun. Everyone, regardless of ethnicity, needs to get checked and often, especially if there is an abnormality.”

So remember to remind your clients of all ethnicities to get screened for skin cancer often, to keep their eyes out for any changes in moles, rashes, or skin discolorations, and to wear sun protection daily.

SpaTerre At Riviera Resort & Spa Offers Guests Tuesday Night Treats

Not too long ago, I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend in Palm Springs, CA, visiting Riviera Resort & Spa. I had a blast relaxing poolside, enjoying delicious cuisine, and experiencing amazing spa services. The only way my trip could have been better is if I was able to partake in SpaTerre’s new Martinis & Manicures package. Every Tuesday from 6-8 through Oct. 26th, guest can spend the evening relaxing in the 12,000-square-foot retro-themed spa while enjoying a mini manicure, a complimentary martini, and appetizers. For only $35, it’s the perfect way to wash away the weekday blues. To find out more about the spa, check out our article in March’s issue of American Spa by clicking here.

GlobalFit Helps Promote Healthy Living

Living in New York City, it is sometimes quicker to walk places than it is to take a cab or the subway, which I realized is quite beneficial after reading an email from GlobalFit, an online provider of benefits for healthy living. The report listed a variety of popular foods, along with the number of steps it takes to burn off the calories, based on an average calorie burn for a 150-lb person, and the results were surprising to me Here is a sampling:

• One serving of mashed potatoes: 1,540 steps
• One serving of chocolate ice cream: 1,980 steps
• Large French fries: 6,000 steps
• A slice of pepperoni pizza: 4,560 steps
• A Cheeseburger: 3,840 steps
• 16 potato chips: 1,800 steps
• A mug of beer: 1,680 steps
• A chocolate chip cookie: 2,520 steps

Even foods that are considered healthy require a considerable amount of steps to burn off calories, such as:

• A banana: 1,068 steps
• A navel orange: 828 steps
• A hardboiled egg: 936 steps
• 14 baby carrots: 672 steps

Luckily, GlobalFit offers online visitors a variety of options to help them stay healthy and keep the calories offer through education, community support, and incentives, but the benefits are not available to the general public. An employer or insurance provider must belong to the network. If you are interested in offering your staff an added incentive to stay healthy, your company can become a GlobalFit sponsor by clicking here.

The Four Seasons Entices Guests to Eat, Pray, and Love Their Way Through Bali

I consider myself very lucky to not only have a job that I love but to also truly enjoy the people with whom I work. In fact, my co-workers and I probably spend as much time together outside of work as we do during business hours. And because we are an all-female staff, one of the things we love doing together is seeing girly movies. On our most recent outing to see “Sex and The City 2″ (of course), we got very excited by the preview for the upcoming movie “Eat, Pray, Love,” based on the novel by Elizabeth Gilbert. For those who have not read the book, it documents one woman’s journey to discover who she truly is by eating her way through Italy, praying her way through India, and falling in love in Bali. Following that theme, the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts just introduced the Bali, Pray, Love package for two. Available through December 2011, guests can experience their own rebirth with this journey, which includes:

• Two nights accommodations at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay and two nights accommodations at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan

• A personal consultation with Ketut Liyer, the actual Balinese medicine man who served as inspiration for the book, as well as a visit to his home, just as the author did

• A private Balinese cooking class at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay Cooking School, as well as a private candlelit dinner for two

• A 90-minute Balinese couples’ massage

• A guide to the top 10 most romantic on-island experiences prepared by the resort’s Love Concierge

• All transfers between airports and resorts, a floral bath upon arrival, and daily breakfast for two

The package starts at $3,000 based on double occupancy, which is a little steep for us here at American Spa. Instead, we already set a date for our movie night, where we will live vicariously through Julia Roberts.

The Grand Del Mar Hosts Ex-Miss CA’s Wedding

While catching up on my daily dose of Perez Hilton this afternoon, I read that Carrie Prejean, the bible-quoting anti-gay marriage ex-beauty queen from California, will be tying the knot tomorrow with NFL quarterback Kyle Boller at The Grand Del Mar in San Diego. I myself was fortunate enough to visit the property a few years back, and I still remember the highlight of my stay being my time spent at The Spa at The Grand Del Mar. In addition to taking advantage of the outdoor Jacuzzi and going for a dip in the Relaxation Pool prior to my alfresco spa meal, I also opted for the Decompression Triad Treatment, which included a rosemary scrub, a body wrap, and a massage. Needless to say, it was a heavenly two hours well spent. Hopefully while she’s there, Ms. Prejean will find time to enjoy all the spa has to offer before her big day. She might also want to take some time to be grateful that she is able to get married in the state of California, because unfortunately, as she is well aware, not everyone has that right just yet.

The Spa at Las Ventanas Gets Personal

Mexico has always been one of my favorite destinations, and a few years ago I had the opportunity to visit the amazing Las Ventanas al Paraíso, A Rosewood Resort in Los Cabos. Like the entire resort, The Spa at Las Ventanas is second-to-none when it comes to the level of personalized service. Recently, with the addition of a Music Menu and an Incense Menu, guests can fully immerse themselves in a customized sensory experience.

The Music Menu offers five categories for spa-goers to choose from, including Gregorian Chants, Sounds of Mother Earth, Celtic Music, House Music, and Ancestral Music. For each category, the menu offers treatment recommendations that work best with that particular music choice. For example, guests who choose Ancestral Music will experience an awakening of emotions that unite them with their ancestors, which would be ideal for treatments based on ancient practices such as the Spiritual Chilam Ritual.

Because the spa’s treatment menu offers services based on one of the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water, the Incense Menu offers guests an ideal way to engage their olfactory senses to complement their chosen treatment. For example, the Earth Element Incense choices include sandalwood and copal scents, while that Air Element Incense options are eucalyptus and lavender. With these two new menu options, guests can engage all of their senses while experiencing a bit of Mexican magic.

The Millionaire Matchmaker Turns to Susan Ciminelli Day Spa & Salon For Guidance

I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoy reality television from time to time. There has been the occasional lazy Sunday where I will relax on my couch watching the Bravo TV channel, which often runs marathons of its most popular reality shows on weekends. That is how I became hooked on “The Millionaire Matchmaker.” If you’ve never seen it before, you are missing out. Third-generation matchmaker Patti Stanger and her staff hand-pick two wealthy clients to transform with the help of personal shoppers, dating coaches, therapists, and more, and then set them up on a date, complete with a list of Patti’s rules to follow in order to ensure a match. Earlier this week, Sanger and the crew visited Susan Ciminelli Day Spa & Salon (New York City), where they filmed one client receiving crystal healing therapy to channel out negative energy in order to help her find true love. Stay tuned for the episode, which airs this upcoming season, to see if it worked. Trust me, after watching the sharp-tongued Sanger in action, you won’t be able to turn the channel.

These Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Having just returned from an amazing trip to County Clare, Ireland, last Thursday, I needed this past weekend to recover not only from jetlag but also from a week’s worth of non-stop fun. We spent our days touring the countryside, hiking, horseback riding, and golfing. We also had an opportunity to meet with some of the locals, who were more than happy to invite us into their homes for a pint of Guinness and a home-cooked meal. After all that exercise, I was thrilled to experience a treatment at White Horses Spa at Doonbeg Golf Resort, the incredible placed we stayed. After enjoying five days of Irish hospitality, I am very much looking forward to the next time I can return to my roots.

Keep your eyes out for more on White Horses Spa in an upcoming issue.

Welcome to Wink Week

This week, fans of RapidLash, the eyelash and eyebrow renewal serum, are encouraged to participate in the company’s first ever Wink Week. Through June 11th, visitors to the RapidLash Facebook page can send a friendly or flirty wink to family and friends; receive special content, quizzes, and polls; and share photos of their best winks with other readers. And, as a wink to charity, RapidLash is also donating $1 for every wink up to 5,000 shared to cancer research.

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon Shares Fun Facts About the Human Body

Anyone who knows me is aware of my fascination with trivia. I am a fierce competitor when it comes to Trivial Pursuit, and every time I get in a taxi in New York City I pray for it to be the Cash Cab from the Discovery Channel’s game show of the same name, where the driver asks random trivia questions en route to your destination, for which you earn money if you answer correctly (that is yet to happen). So when I recently came across an email that included fascinating medical facts from board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ashkan Ghavami, I was so intrigued that I had to share some of his interesting tidbits of info, such as:

• The thinnest skin in the human body is in the upper eyelid.

• The only place in the human body that skin is stuck to skin without any fat or other tissue between them is in the nostril.

• There is a secondary sexual organ in the nose between the nostrils.

• The human liver can regenerate itself if a piece is taken, like a lizard’s tail.

• The second highest concentration of nerves, after the brain, is located in your gut.

• Bright lights can make your nose swell, and so can sexual activity.

• The first rhinoplasty was performed in 500 B.C., in India.

• Fat can easily be turned to stem cells, which means fat can be made to turn into bone and cartilage.

• Every person has a unique “tongue print” just like fingerprints.

• The average human sheds 105 pounds of skin by the time they reach 70 years old.

• The human nose can recognize 50,000 different scents.

• When you sneeze, the droplets can travel speeds of up to 100 miles/hour.

Thanks to Dr. Ghavami and his wisdom of the human body, I am foregoing the subway on my way home tonight in hopes that the Cash Cab picks me up, and the driver asks me questions related to one of these topics. Wish me luck!