Health & Beauty

Feel good and grossed out

Ionic foot bath at Sacred Heart Salon

There’s something about the summertime that inspires a sense of adventurousness. Maybe it’s that nostalgic feeling of being released from academic obligation for three months? If that’s so, that makes this a perfect time to venture into a detoxing ionic foot bath to release all of the nasty things from your body. The foot bath is a 20-minute soak in warm water with an ionic coil that supposedly draws out toxins, rebalances the body and leaves the water murky and gunky to varying degrees. While this alternative therapy may not be medically proven, it is fascinating to see how gross the water gets, plus it just feels nice. Hairstylist Julie Nichols, who offers the baths at Sacred Heart Salon, even saw a pinworm come out in one bath. That’s so gross, yet kinda cool.

912 1/2 J Street, (916) 443-6441.
(S.S.)

Red-face reducers

Village Hat Shop

What’s worse than looking like the one person at the river or at the baseball game who is wearing a funny hat? Looking like the douche who didn’t wear a hat or enough sunblock, with a red face and skin blistering off. With a melanoma. Keep yourself covered with, hopefully, not such a funny-looking hat from a local head-covering dealer, Village Hat Shop, where the selection should be vast enough that you won’t look like a cheese ball, or worse.

123 K Street, (916) 444-7475, www.villagehatshop.com.
(S.S.)

Sweat intentionally

Bikram Yoga Sacramento

If you’re going to be sweating while indoors anyway, you might as well make the most of it. Hot yoga at Bikram Yoga Sacramento is the answer. The invigorating yet calming sessions take place in a room heated to approximately 100 degrees, and you will be led through 26 postures. The practice increases flexibility and strength and is safe for just about any age and physical level. BYS moved out of its studio on 16th and X streets this spring, but due to City of Sacramento Planning and Building Department obstacles, may not open its new space on Broadway and 18th Street until mid-June. If it’s not open by then, feel free to make Councilman Rob Fong sweat, too, by dropping him a friendly message to expedite the process.

1730 Broadway, (916) 554-7687, www.bikramyogasac.com.
(S.S.)

Healthiest way to cleanse your pipes

Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op

Summer is the time for cleansing, but colon therapy is one of those things that no one discusses all too often. So it goes with the buttocks, I guess? Anyway, there are all sorts of colon-cleansing products out there that are terrible; they clean out all the good bacteria your body needs, and that’s a dumbass thing to do. Try something gentler, healthier: distilled apple juice, a tablespoon of flax oil and a whole bunch of aloe (use Lily of the Desert aloe vera juice). It smells a bit foul and goes down a bit strange at first—cold aloe chunks clunking down your throat like Jell-O jigglers—but it’ll give your colon some love. Healthy, sweet, flowing, natural love.

1900 Alhambra Boulevard, (916) 455-2667, www.sacfoodcoop.com.
(N.M.)

Go fly a kite. No, really.

Old City Kites

There are few things more nostalgic and comforting than the sight of a colorful diamond riding the wind, rising higher with each turn of the spool in your hands. Flying a kite reminds of innocence, beauty and serenity, and that makes it the perfect activity for that mental-health day you’ve been meaning to take off from work. Pick a sunny one, with clear skies and the right touch of breeze; find an open field or stretch of beach; and make it really count. Old City Kites should help get you started on your way to a day of total Zen.

1017 Front Street in Old Sacramento; http://kitesatoldcity.com.
(K.B.)

Get high

Stebbins Cold Canyon Trail at Lake Berryessa

There’s something about hiking that’s good for the mind, body and spirit—especially when all three endure an extreme test. The Stebbins Cold Canyon Trail in Solano County is probably the hardest 4.75-mile hike you’ll ever do in these here parts, featuring an elevation gain of 1,500 feet, hundreds of high stair steps and lots of rock scrambling. It’s excruciating. And halfway up, you’re going to want to give up. But then you’ll get to the top of Blue Ridge and experience the most astonishing view of Lake Berryessa. Sit on a rock, eat a healthy picnic, meditate and soak it in. It’s good for the soul.

Visit www.berryessatrails.org for information and a map to the trailhead.
(J.K.)

Baby got biceps

Superwomen Boot Camp

Listen, this isn’t about looking great in a bikini. No, it’s about finally being able to take the stairs instead of the elevator (you know, without passing out, that is). It’s about defined muscles. It’s about feeling like you can handle whatever life throws at you just like a modern-day superhero. The Superwomen Boot Camp, with locations in Sacramento and Folsom, packs a whole lot of squats, lunges, crunches and cardio boosts into a one-hour workout. Meeting time is at the appropriately painful 6 a.m., but if the crack of dawn isn’t your thing, there’s also a 7 a.m. option. No membership required, and a cape is optional. Classes meet three times a week. Visit the website for pricing information.

www.superwomenbootcamp.com.
(R.L.)

Tasty beauty

Farmers’ market beauty products

The farmers’ market is more than just a place to get delicious produce for eating. It’s also a great place to get ingredients for natural skin-care treatments. Strawberries, full of vitamin C and antioxidants, are great for the skin. Make a mask with the berries and a little honey, or with an avocado. Tomatoes can be applied directly to the skin, which acts as a mild astringent, great for reducing acne. Lemons and limes remove dead skin cells, and mixing freshly squeezed orange juice with a bit of cornmeal into a paste makes a natural and inexpensive body scrub. Thyme, mint, lavender, eggs, honey and potatoes are all ingredients that can be used, too.

Check out recipes at http://prettygirlpantry.blogspot.com.
(S.S.)

Contribute to rejuvenile delinquency

Plays kids’ games

You’re familiar with the surge in “kids” activities among adults in recent years, but you’ve been too “grown up” to try it so far. Time to stop procrastinating and start regressing. While it may be too late for a lot of the organized summer sports—dodgeball, kickball, etc.—there’s always next year (www.xososports.com). For now, focus your attention on the myriad outdoor activities that don’t require any bureaucracy. Play catch at William Land Park, skip rocks at Paradise Beach, decorate your street with sidewalk chalk (perhaps a game of hopscotch?) or get some friends together for some double-dutch. The key, truly, is to keep it simple, and it will set you free.
(K.B.)

How do you avoid smelly underarms in the summer?

SN&R’s Facebook friends respond:

Stephanie Buck: Wash with cold water, because it will shrink the pores. And rub on some lemon afterwards.

Gregory J. Kirkham: Organic folks told me that if I stop eating junk, then my body will naturally smell better. I definitely don’t use any deodorant with aluminum. Organic “Tom’s” is my number one choice. It comes in yummy flavors, too.