Skin Station's diamond peel with mask and red light therapy

Skin Station in the Philippines offers a service called Diamond Peel with Silver Masque and Red Light Therapy. The picture above shows the machine that is used for red light therapy.

Microdermabrasion is a fairly common procedure women undergo to peel a thin layer of skin and to stimulate collagen production.

"Microdermabrasion has gained popularity over the last decade because it’s a simple and cost-effective treatment for the skin with minimal recovery time. It’s important to differentiate microdermabrasion from dermabrasion, which is an invasive procedure that has been used to treat UV damage and skin scarring for decades."

http://theconversation.com/will-microdermabrasion-or-skin-needling-give-me-better-skin-86619

At Skin Station, the therapist first cleans the face then proceeds with the diamond peel procedure with the help of a machine.

She then proceeds to apply what they call the silver masque. In one of Skin Station's promotional stories, a lady had her whole face covered with a silver/gray mask (the kind that you need to wash off). 

In my experience, the therapist placed a leave-on paper mask, like the one typically found in drugstores with a face cutout. She then used a cold hammer to seal the mask on the face. The ice cold feeling was totally relaxing.

Skin Station's CEO Fred Reyes explains what this silver masque is all about.

"Why call it a silver mask? At the heart of the serum formula is the new, patented porous silver that soothes sensitive skin and provides anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial post-treatment protection."

http://skinstationdermax.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-new-complete-silver-masque.html

After immersing the facial skin with all the juice from the mask, the red light machine is then used to help the healing process.

"Red light therapy (RLT) aims to solve skin issues by using low wavelength red light. Many experts believe that it can help with issues such as skin conditions, scarring, and signs of aging -- including wrinkles and age spots." 

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325884.php

Medical News Today reported that red light is used even to reduce pain or help bone recovery, although research findings are still preliminary and require more testing.

That being said, an occasional exposure to red light treatment may be worth a try.

The whole treatment lasted for about 45 minutes to an hour. The therapist recommended the use of sunscreen since microdermabrasion can cause a little sensitivity to sun exposure. She also said that it can only be done once a month.

Overall, the experience gave my skin the expected boost. Some people may experience minor skin irritations that should ease up in a day or two. Any prolonged skin issue needs to be discussed with the dermatologist.

Investing your hard-earned cash in mutual funds

The interest rates that you get from your savings, checking or time deposits are guaranteed by the bank.  The bank essentially borrows money from the depositor, at a fixed rate.  Usually, the returns are not very high because of the guaranteed nature of the account.

On the other hand, mutual funds generally offer a greater possibility of higher returns over the long term.  However, the proceeds are not guaranteed and hence, you can also lose money if you don’t know what you’re doing.  There are different funds with various allocations.  Some are heavily invested in stocks while others offer a balanced mix, while others are invested in bonds.  You should take it upon yourself to understand the difference between all these choices.  For your own financial health, read up and learn.

When choosing a mutual fund to invest in, take the time to do research on management and other issues.  It is your personal responsibility to understand the character and professional qualifications of the team handling your money.

The general rule is to buy low and sell high.  This usually happens over a prolonged period and that is the reason why most mutual fund companies require a minimum holding period.  

What happens in many cases is that a newbie investor hears about the amazing returns on mutual funds during a bullish period and gets enticed to put his own money.  Soon after, a tragic news event triggers a massive sell-off that leaves the clueless investor soaking in his self-inflicted financial bloodbath.  Since many people usually hope to get rich quick, they end up selling at a loss and regretting ever entering the money market.  This experience especially holds true with funds that are heavily exposed to equities.

The best way to realize substantial gains in mutual funds would be to think long-term, anywhere from five to ten years time frame.  This simply means that before entering the market, you should already take into consideration that there might be a long wait, especially when you invest in the fund during a bear period.  Downturns usually offer many buying opportunities for those investors who can see beyond the immediate future.  

That being said, carefully evaluate how much of your money you can afford to keep invested for at least five years.  It is hard to predict the actual market cycles and that is why a wide investment leeway is ideal.  Don’t include the cash that you will use to pay for your child’s tuition next semester, for example.  As a general rule, it would not be prudent to aggressively throw in all your money.

In the game of investing, it is important to have what is known as free cash flow.  This is the amount of money that you have on hand that is available to address your current needs.  This will help avoid the unintentional fund withdrawals that are brought about by your liquidity requirements.  Make sure to have enough cash that can pay for your needs in the near term.  Whatever you have in excess of that, can be invested for the long term, keeping in mind your retirement years.  

While you still have the benefit of a steady income, always remember that it is important to prepare for the time when you may be out of the workforce for one reason or another.  Thus, apportioning a percentage of your monthly income specifically for long-term investments in mutual funds, the stock market or a new business venture could spell the difference between a comfortable retirement and an insecure one.

This article was first published in the Working People section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.