Category: COVID19

Top skin issues and solutions during the pandemic

Stress, poor diet, lack of motivation for personal care (let’s face it, the Zoom videos are grainy!) are causing lots of skin issues. Providers on the front lines wearing N95 masks all day are faced with raw, irritatied skin. Don’t wait for spas to reopen, it will be awhile before we can safely perform facials. Fortunately, you can do a TON with a great home care regimine.

Stress, poor diet, lack of motivation for personal care (let’s face it, the Zoom videos are grainy!) are causing lots of skin issues. Providers on the front lines wearing N95 masks all day are faced with raw, irritatied skin. Don’t wait for spas to reopen, it will be awhile before we can safely perform facials. Fortunately, you can do a TON with a great home care regimen. Camille Arbegast, a Licensed Esthetician, shared a few solutions if you’re experiencing skin challenges right now.

Camille Arbegast, Managing Esthetician at East Village Spa
Camille Arbegast, Managing Esthetician at East Village Spa

Solutions for stress-related skin freak-outs

Camille suggests Rhonda Allison’s Mandelic Arginine Serum for a gentle, daily exfoliation to curb breakouts from stress and also help calm rosacea flare-ups.

With weather (slowly) warming up, it might be time to switch to a lighter moisturizer. Camille recommends the Mandelic Au Lait, which is medium weight and has ingredients that also help calm breakouts and reduce redness.

Outdoor must-haves

Socially-distant outdoor activities like gardening, long walks, or supervising kids in the yard, are stress-busting musts for many of us. Rhonda Allison has two great sunscreen options. 1. eZinc is best for those with concerns about breakouts or redness. It is light weight and doesn’t have that sunscreen smell or feel. 2. Daytime Defense is ideal for those wanting to get pro-youth antioxidants.

Beta Green Tea Cleanser is great for AM and PM and one of our most popular clenasers. It has a small amount of salycilic acid to deeply cleanse sweat and dirt without drying skin. For best results with any Rhonda Allison cleanser, start with dry skin (or just put a few drops of water on your fingers) and massage in your cleanser that way first, before adding water. You’ll get a better cleanse and your product will last longer!

The Arnica Therapy is a staple of the Rhonda Allison line and is a natural antibacterial cream. It is great for cuts, burns, wounds, or bug bites.

Medical-grade PPE relief

Our front line medical providers and support staff are heroes. Many of have seen photos of the raw skin caused by wearing N95 masks all day. Camille suggests a 3 step approach to ease pain from the irritation caused by these masks. 1. Rhonda Allison Creamy Milk Cleanser, a gentle and soothing cleanser. 2. Rhonda Allison Arnica Therapy, a barrier for skin before the mask goes on. 3. Rhonda Allison Drops of Essence, a soothing gel for after cleaning at the end of the day to help ease discomfort.

We took her suggestions and created a specially priced Face Mask Relief kit that you can purchase for a front line healthcare worker who is struggling with pain from their mask.

Rhonda Allison Skincare for face mask irritation.

Poor diet, dehydrated skin

Listen, we won’t tell you what to eat in times of stress and I pity the person who gets between me and my “secret” chocolate stash right now. We WILL gently suggest that you increase your water intake. All of those Zoom Cocktail hours and extra coffees are going to take their toll on your skin. Tired of water? Try adding some calorie free, sugar free, caffeine free Pure Inventions extracts to your water. For a delicious “mocktail” mix your favorite drops with sparking water and drop in a few frozen blueberries and a lemon wedge.

Blueberry Lemon mocktail at East Village Spa

We can’t wait to be able to give you professional facials and Hydrafacials again, but don’t neglect your skin while you wait for your esthetician to be able to safely provide services to you. Take control of your skin and start or continue good habits at home now!

Blog contributors: Camille Arbegast is the managing esthetician at East Village Spa, where she’s worked since 2012. Cassie Sampson, BA, LMT is the owner of East Village Spa.

East Village Spa Covid-19 FAQs

We’ve had quite a few questions about our COVID-19 closure and we’ll do our best to keep the answers updated here. Thank you for your support so far!

How long are you closed?

While Iowa is currently allowing spas to open, we’ve chosen to stay closed in accordance with CDC and medical provider recommendations. While we miss our guests and providing services, we know the best thing we can do for their health is to remain closed until we see a 2 week decline in cases in Polk County, when there is adequate testing and tracing, and when we can reliably source the items we need to provide services (this is a challenge for a business our size). Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for the most current updates.

We know that most other spas, nail salons, and massage therapists will be seeing guests before us, as they are legally allowed to do. Every business has different financial circumstances and every guest has different health needs. We absolutely understand if you choose to go elsewhere until we feel confident that risk is reduced enough for us to provide treatments. We’ll welcome you back with (metaphorical, because social distancing!) open arms.

How can I book an appointment?

We have to temporarily disable online booking because we have to ensure only one guest is checking in or out at a time. Once we re-open booking, we will do so by call or text to (515) 309-2904. I don’t anticipate we will have our new schedule and temporary service menu hammered out until at least June 1, so we aren’t able to pre-book appointments just yet. Once we are able to relax some social distancing guidelines, we’ll reopen online booking.

Will I be able to book my same schedule as before?

Due to social distancing guidelines, we are making changes to our shifts and hours. It is my goal to bring back every employee that wants to return. This is no small feat with limited hours in the day and our capacity reduced to less than half. We will be adding Sunday hours to increase availability.

We will have to split our team into two non-intersecting groups. If you’re accustomed to seeing the same massage therapist and esthetician when you come for a massage and facial visit, if they are not on the same team, you’ll get to enjoy another one of our amazing providers. Being diligent about isolating teams means that we won’t have to close entirely if an employee or guest is diagnosed with or exposed to COVID19.

Will you still honor my gift card?

YES! Our gift cards have a 5 year expiration. On the gift card, we have a suggestion that you please use them within a year (we don’t want you to lose them and we want you relaxing sooner, rather than later.) For the few gift cards that are outstanding that expire during our closure, we’ll extend the date by the number of months we were closed.

What about my holiday vouchers?

Every year, from late November though December we have a gift card sale where we offer an extra $20 weekday service voucher with every $100 gift card purchased IN the spa. If you have some of these 2020 vouchers, we’ll extend them for use throughout 2021, so hang onto them! You’ll still need to present them in person since we don’t track them.

Do I have to wear a mask?

Yes. Masks protect others and all of our employees will be wearing masks properly to protect you. We will temporarily require guests to wear masks to protect employees (and therefore future guests). If preferred, we are happy to provide a disposable mask to you prior to entering the spa. While masks aren’t a perfect solution, their use by all employees and patrons of a business significantly reduce the risk of an outbreak that will harm the community and close our spa. Repeated business closures are expensive and the cost of outbreaks could force permanent business closueres. We can’t risk our health or careers.

Cassie Sampson, BA, LMT, Spa Owner

Will your menu be the same?

At first, we’ll only be able to offer services that permit a face mask, so unfortunately we can’t offer facials or lip, chin, or nose waxing when we first open. We have most of our regular massages and modifications available for massage therapy, including side-lying massage techniques, for those who feel claustrophobic wearing masks face-down. We have been practicing with immediate household members and find that masks are not as uncomfortable as you might think! Your provider will be more comfortable working with you if you wear a mask, which will make the service much, much better.

We’re developing a few new treatment protocols for things like anti-aging hand facials, foot peels, back facials and more to offer a wider array of cool new services while we are temporarily suspending facials.

Can I book a party at the spa?

Unfortunately social distancing guidelines will not permit the ability to host spa parties. We have created two separate nail rooms so we can still do two pedicures or two manicures at a time, but they will need to be done separately. We’re pleased with how great the two nail rooms look and are excited to help make getting a nail service relaxing and Zen in a private space.

For the same reason, we had to temporarily suspend couple’s massages so we don’t have 4 people in a small room for an extended period of time. Again, these changes are temporary until social distancing guidelines are relaxed.

Can I get products from the spa while you’re closed?

We have a new web store courtesy of lots of hard work from Kelly. Almost every product we carry is available online! Even after we re-open, we will strongly encourage guests to order online for pick-up or shipping because we will need to limit walk-ins to the spa, which will include retail browsing.

Is it safe to buy a gift card right now?

Absolutely, and they’re valid for 5 years. I promise, we will reopen. As a business that has been around for quite awhile now, we’ve been able to develop an emergency savings fund. Instead of investing in fancy spa amenities (locker rooms, saunas, etc…) we’ve invested in our team and our future. The funds from gift cards help us to pay our ongoing expenses like rent and employee health insurance. We will be required to significantly reduce the number of guests we see for awhile, but we promise, you will be able to use your gift card with some advanced planning.

East Village Spa and our team thank you all for your support and well-wishes! We have appreciated providing your wellness services since 2008 and are so eager to continue again as soon as we can!

How you can support East Village Spa during the COVID-19 pandemic

Most of what I could say about my feelings as a business owner and employer during this pandemic have been said, far more eloquently, by others. I’m not alone in my fear, anxiety, overwhelm, and sadness. Whether your job is slammed, you’re bored and lonely, or you’re working in close quarters with children while also being their cook and teacher… this is, as mom would say when we were kids, “the pits.”

As we’ve been reaching out to guests to cancel months worth of spa services that, oh the irony…everyone suddenly has the time and SUPER need for… our guests have been fantastic. Many have asked what they can do to support us. Here’s a simple list, not just for supporting East Village Spa, but many small businesses.

  1. Reach out! Literally, just by checking up on us, we know you care and you give us hope that things will eventually be ok when we re-open. It means the world.
  2. Send a note or post a review for us to share with your providers. The CARES act will ensure that they are financially set throughout their furlough (a huge relief for owners) but many are struggling because their career is their passion and they’re wondering (and worrying) about their guests. We’re checking e-mails every weekday. We’ll forward well-wishes and any Yelp or Google reviews to them!
  3. Shop online! As long as we’re allowed to come in and ship, we are doing whatever it takes to get you products to help you reduce stress and pain while you’re isolating and feel confident for all of those Zoom meetings. We have an amazing new web store with almost every product we carry!
  4. Engage with us on Facebook and Instagram. We’re keeping our skills sharp and minds occupied by generating lots of content in our downtime. We can help via knowledge until we can physically help again.
  5. Purchase a gift card: We PROMISE we will re-open. We were in a fortunate spot as we were saving for some big non-essentials for a few years. We will definitely reopen, but any online gift card sales now not only help us financially, but give our spirits a boost.
  6. Avoid temptation to ask providers to work in secret. Many people see this as an offer of help. The CARES act has made sure providers receive good compensation during their furlough. Asking them to violate the law and risk their health makes them uncomfortable. Whether it is your hairdresser, esthetician, nail tech or massage therapist, know they’re thinking about you and WISHING they could help. There is no safe way to do services because of the nature of this virus and if you DID get an amazing manicure right now, everyone would know you’re not following the rules. By the end of this, crazy hair, unruly cuticles and bushy brows will be “Covid-Chic” Take this opportunity to grow your leg hair long enough to try waxing when we open again!

We look forward to seeing all of you when it is safe. We’re realistic and cautious, so we don’t expect to reopen soon. We most recently pushed our open back to May 1st, but a summer opening would probably be the best case scenario. Baby steps. Deep breaths. We’ll connect with all of you virtually until we meet again (and we promise to save you some chocolate at the front desk!)