July is a perfect month for a Facial

Posted by Maria on July 17, 2011 under Aromatherapy, Face, Facials, Fitness, Mobile Spa, Nutrition, Photo gallery, Skin Care, Sleep, Stress Management and Relaxation, Uncategorized, Wellness | Read the First Comment

by Maria Koropecky, Homespunspa owner

Once the socks get stuffed in the drawers and the closed-toed shoes and boots get tossed to the back of the closet, and the bare feet, sandals and strappy stilettos come out for some fun in the sun, most people opt for pedicures at the spa instead of going for a facial. I’d like to suggest that getting a customized facial in the summer is definitely worth the investment also.

Our complexion changes with the seasons and it’s important to adjust your skincare routine to reflect the current environmental conditions. Your skin may have been dry and dehydrated this past winter because of low temperatures and cold winds mixed with heat from furnaces. But now, with the extra sun exposure and heat and increased activity, your skin may be turning more oily, or sensitive or may have more breakouts than usual.

How is a person supposed to keep up with all of these fluctuations and variations? The answer — having a facial. A facial with a professional esthetician will help clear up any outstanding issues you may be having with your skin this summer.

What is a Facial?

A facial treatment is a professional service designed to improve and rejuvenate the skin on the face, neck, shoulders and decolleté. Getting regular facials will definitely and noticeably improve your skin’s appearance and texture.

The Benefits of Getting a Facial

There are many benefits associated with getting a facial and they all come back to managing stress. Stress itself isn’t the bad guy — it’s the amount of stress and the way you deal with it that makes a difference in your life. For example, stress is one of the aggravating factors of acne but if you learn how to reduce the stress in your life with healthy habits such as getting regular facials and eating nutritious food and exercising daily, you will significantly improve the tone of your skin. And you’ll feel so much better.

Getting a facial also gives you a chance to try out a particular skin care product line to see how it behaves on your skin, before you purchase it. I think that’s a wise approach. Ask me which skincare line I use in my Homespunspa facials and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The benefits of a Facial include:

1. Maintaining healthy skin and having radiant-looking skin;
2. Correcting certain skin conditions such as overexposure to Ultraviolet Rays from the sun;
3. Treating conditions such as dryness, oiliness or redness;
4. Deep cleansing and releasing environmental pollution like smog that may be trapped in your pores;
5. Exfoliation and Refinement which makes your skin feel smoother and softer;
6. Increasing circulation;
7. Detoxification;
8. Relaxation of the body and mind through massage and aromatherapy;
9. Stimulation of metabolism;
10. Looking younger and more beautiful;
11. Slowing down premature aging and softening lines and wrinkles;
12. Helping clear up blemishes and minor acne;
13. Reducing stress;
14. Sleeping better at night.

What to expect from a Facial

When you come to a spa for a facial, you’ll be asked to fill out a confidential questionnaire and change into a gown and remove your jewellery and socks and shoes. You may also get a foot soak. Then you’ll lie down on a facial bed. You and your esthetician will talk about your needs and concerns and then both of you will determine the best course of action for your skin.

Steps in a Facial

1. Consultation;
2. Make up removal and Cleansing;
3. Skin Analysis;
4. Refinement Masque (Exfoliation);
5. Skin Balancing;
6. Hand, Foot, Neck, Shoulder and Facial Massages;
7. Treatment Masque & Serums; and
8. Moisturization and Sun Protection.

You may also receive extra services like: detoxification massage, pressure point massage, attention around your eyes, extractions, or make up application, etc. On top of all of that, you’ll also learn a lot about your own skin and how to take care of it and which products and services will benefit you the most.

Homespunspa July, August and September Special on Facials

I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but our summer in the Pacific Northwest has been slow in coming this year. Regardless, if you’re at all curious about how a facial works, Homespunspa is offering a 25% discount on all facials if you book your appointment before the autumnal equinox (September 23, 2011) and if you mention the code “summer” at the time of booking. Feel free to visit www.homespunspa.com and the mobile services menu page for a full list of services and prices. To make an appointment, follow the links on the reservations page.

I love giving facials because I like to help people relax and feel good about themselves. I also love seeing the “after” smiles my customers make when they first look at themselves in the mirror after they experience a 60 or 90 minute facial with me. I really think you’ll be pleased with your results, too.

Have a fun summer!

P.S. Remember to apply your sun protection often.

O.M.G. — Omega 3

Posted by Maria on March 1, 2011 under Esthetics School, Ingredients, Nutrition, Skin Care, Sleep, Uncategorized, Wellness | 2 Comments to Read

by Maria Koropecky, Homespunspa owner

When I think of cod liver oil, I think back to grade 4 when my friend Erin used to complain that her mother forced her to have a spoonful of cod liver oil every morning before school. I was grateful that my mother wasn’t that mean. I didn’t know what cod liver oil was but it sounded nasty — fish and liver? Yuck!

Fast forward 30 years. I have since updated my thinking. While in esthetics school, we learned how nutrition plays a huge supporting role in skin care and we talked about the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil.

Our Skin

This is a story about cod liver oil and essential omega-3 fatty acids and how they contribute to our overall health and wellness. But first I want to talk about skin and how it works.

Our skin, weighing in at around 10 pounds and covering an area of about 16 square feet on an average-sized person, is the largest organ in the body. It works to regulate our internal temperature and to provide us with sensory information about the external world we live in. Our skin is also our first defense against the invasion of bacteria, viruses and other toxins that may want to infiltrate the system. Our skin is also an excretory organ and one of its jobs is to remove toxins from the body via perspiration.

Signs of aging (like wrinkles, uneven pigmentation, dark spots and a leathery appearance) show up in the skin after the skin cells have been damaged. Skin damage can be caused by exposure to strong sunlight, pollution, toxins, cigarette smoke, x-rays, and drugs. Sleep deprivation, poor nutrition and other stressors can also contribute.

Once the skin is exposed to a hazardous agent in the environment, it produces inflammation in the form of swelling, pus or redness to defend and heal itself. As an example, you can see this whole process play out with a pimple on your face. First some dirt lands on your face and clogs a pore. Then the body creates inflammation to defend itself against the invader and voila, you’ve got an oozing red splotch where there wasn’t one before.

Inflammation can trigger the release of free radicals :< (I always picture free radicals as rebels wearing brown berets for some reason, but that’s just me) which are unstable and highly reactive oxygen molecules that cause cellular damage. It’s like the rust that forms on your bike after you leave it out in the rain. Are you with me so far?

Once these free radicals show up, they’ll do one of two things: they’ll either cause damage :< to surrounding tissue (which are a group of cells doing the same job) or they can be neutralized and stabilized :> by the body’s anti-oxidant system. I think there should also be an uncle-oxidant in the mix, but again, that’s just me.

The trick to keeping your skin healthy involves minimizing exposure to environmental offenders which cause the body to produce inflammation and free radicals and then maximizing the body’s protective forces like the anti-oxidant brigade (the army that helps fight the free radicals and keep them under control).

Another way to minimize the inflammatory response in the body is to increase the intake of omega-3 fatty acids — which brings me to — sound the trumpets please — cod liver oil. I never thought I’d write that in a million years. In any case, the omega 3 essential fatty acids in the fish oil help reduce inflammation. They also support anti-oxidants in their task of sweeping away the influx of free radicals before they do any damage.

You can also find omega-3 essential fatty acids in sources like:

• cold water fish: wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, shad, herring and trout;
• oils: flax seed oil, hempseed oil;
• nuts and seeds: hemp seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds;
• avocados;
• certain dark green leafy vegetables: kale, spinach, mustard greens and collard greens.

So while I was in school learning about all of this stuff, my mom (of all people) introduced me to Liquid Omega-3, Smooth and Creamy Lemon Meringue Flavour by Webber Naturals which she found at Uncle Costco’s. I was skeptical, but I tried it and was quite impressed. It was delicious. Tastes just like lemon meringue pie! It was so good, I thought I’d use it as a simple syrup in a cocktail some day. Does that defeat the purpose?

Later, while I was visiting Uncle Costco, I saw a woman holding one of the bottles of Omega-3 in her hand, trying to decide whether or not to buy it for herself and for her young son. I said, “it tastes pretty good but you have to make sure to shake the bottle really, really well each time because if you don’t, it might taste really fishy.” I think she ended up buying it and I hope she liked my recommendation.

Was this article helpful? If so, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear your tall fish oil stories.