Benefits of Professional Skin Care

Happy New Year, Everyone! Blessings of Health, Happiness, and Prosperity to all this upcoming 2012. May all be well fed and clothed, warm, joyous, and gainfully employed if that be your need!

I thought I'd start this year's list of blogs by discussing the benefits of professional skin care services. In my opinion, regularly scheduled skin treatments (monthly or at least quarterly at the change of the seasons) performed by a licensed holistic esthetician are as important to skin health as regular dental checkups are to healthy teeth and gums and regular chiropractic visits to balanced energy flow and structural comfort.

Want to undo the damage of time, stress, environment, and neglect upon your skin? Don't we all? Then, pay a visit to your local day spa or full-service salon and schedule an appointment with the resident esthetician (skin care specialist). If you have the time, try to book - at the very least - a full deep-pore cleansing facial and back treatment. While the esthetician can't turn back the hands of time, she sure can take the edge off your nerves and rehydrate and deep cleanse your skin, leaving it smoother, tighter, and more supple than when you arrived.

An Esthetician's Touch

Esthetics involves both creativity and psychology - it's not just about beauty and the science behind it, but also about instilling a feeling of well-being, health, and wholeness in the client. An esthetician's responsibilities to her clients include: assessing and meeting their emotional needs to the degree of her ability (even if it's just offering a listening ear); understanding their physical wants and desires relating to skin care; and being able to make the client feel as if he or she is the most attractive and confident person alive. She accomplishes this by promoting clearer, smoother skin, providing a relaxing upper-body, hand, and foot massage, artistically applying feature enhancing or corrective makeup, and giving her clients the pampering they need to feel good about themselves.

Before entrusting your skin to another person's hands, you may want to ask some questions about the esthetician and the salon:
- Does the esthetician have a current license?
- How many years of experience has he or she had since graduating from school? Try to find an esthetician with at least 2 years of hands-on experience.
- Is it possible to schedule an initial face-to-face, brief consultation with the salon owner and esthetician, prior to booking an appointment?
- Is the esthetician clean and well groomed, having short fingernails and hair that is up and out of the way?
- Is the salon neat and tidy? Does it have a professional setting?
- Is the skin care treatment room tranquil and inviting?
- Are the esthetician's tools organized and new or sanitized? Is there a clean headwrap, towel, and robe set aside for each client?

Benefits of Professional Skin Treatments

1. A complete analysis of skin type and treatment recommendations.
2. A thorough, deep skin cleansing.
3. Increased blood circulation to the skin through steam and massage, or hot towel applications.
4. Focus on current skin disorders, with potential minor problems nipped in the bud or future treatments discussed for more serious conditions. Conditions that can be treated by an esthetician include: minor roseacea, dry skin, oily or combination skin, acne, sun damage, hyperpigmentation (brown spots, skin discoloration), wrinkles, slack skin tone, plus more. An esthetician may also refer you to a dermatologist if she spots "suspect" sun damage or an irregularly-shaped mole.
5. Softened and hydrated skin.
6. Deep relaxation.
7. A self-esteem boost - you just plain look and feel better after a facial or body treatment.
8. Nutritional and lifestyle counseling with regard to achieving healthy skin.

Professional Pampering - What Your Skin's Health Yearns For!

Today's full-service salons and spas are a far cry from those of decades past. The better ones can be quite luxurious and plush, offering a complete sensory experience with myriad services including hair styling, coloring, perming, and straightening; manicuring and pedicuring; brow and lash enhancement and tinting; facials; back, foot, and hand treatments; herbal body wraps; the latest aromatherapy and anti-aging treatments; massage; body waxing; reflexology; and makeup application and instruction. More and more salons and spas now offer pre- and postsurgical skin care treatments and corrective makeup instructions.

Don't you owe it to yourself and to the health of your skin to partake of an esthetician's professional skin treatment offerings to boost your self-confidence, rejuvenate your skin, and put your best face forward everyday? I think so! If you can find a good esthetician in your area, value her (or him) like gold, she is your skin's best friend.

NOTE: This blog was written by Stephanie Tourles, and adapted from her book, "Naturally Healthy Skin: Tips and Techniques For A Lifetime of Radiant Skin", Storey Publishing, 1999. The infomation is true and complete to the best of the author's knowledge. She disclaims any liability in connection with the use of this information. It is for educational purposes only.