Planning your wedding spa service timeline

The holidays are one of the most popular times to get engaged and if you were part of a couple celebrating your recent engagement, CONGRATULATIONS!  Hopefully you are able to enjoy planning a celebration with family and friends, but we know sometimes wedding planning can be stressful and confusing.  Here are a few helpful hints for planning spa services to prepare for your wedding.

Waxing:

Whether it is a bride looking to schedule a first Brazilian or a groom wanting his first back wax, the worst time to experiment is the day or two before your wedding!  For best results, we recommend getting the wax services you’re considering for your wedding and honeymoon at least 6 months out and then keeping up the routine until your wedding.  The first wax is often the most painful and until you have a wax, you won’t know how your skin will react.  With regular waxing, you’ll likely get a smoother result and less irritation for the big day.

If you are planning to wax your underarms or legs prior to your wedding, plan to have AT LEAST 6 weeks of growth for a smoother wax.  Hair needs to be a minimum of 1/4 inch long and the longer the better in those areas.  Brow and lip waxing should be planned at least 3-4 days in advance of the wedding.Leg Waxing at East Village Spa

Nails:

If you are a nail biter looking to grow your nails for your wedding, we recommend at least 3 months out getting at least a basic manicure every 2 weeks to help keep your cuticles and nails in shape and reduce your temptation to bite them.  Applying a cuticle oil like CND Solar Oil and hand cream nightly will do wonders to get your hands and nails in shape for wedding photos.

Wearing a hard polish like Shellac is a great way to grow your nails because it makes it harder to bite your nails and easier to break the habit, especially with stressful wedding planning.  Using REAL CND brand Shellac (as opposed to one of the imitation versions some salons call “Shellac”) with proper removal will not damage your nails.

Facials:

If you have skin concerns you’re looking to address before wedding photos, the best time to start working on them is at least 6 months out.  A professional esthetician can help you determine the best products are for your skin needs (and your lifestyle).  They can also help with clogged pores and clearing up your skin.  Once a month is best for a facial, but taking care of your skin at home with the proper products for your skin type between facials is going to make the most difference!

Avoid booking a facial the day or two before your wedding or your engagement photos, especially if you are traveling and aren’t familiar with the esthetician or product lines in case your skin reacts or because deep pore cleansing can lead to break-outs while your skin is purging impurities.  A facial with an esthetician you know well and products you are accustomed to should be fine the week of your wedding or photos, your esthetician can always go easy on extractions to avoid any redness.

An added benefit to facials is that they are super relaxing, with tons of massage on the face, scalp, neck, and arms.  Any bride-to-be can use that nurturing stress relief!

Men's Facial

Massage:

Sometimes during the wedding planning it can be easy to lose touch with your fiance!  Booking a couple’s massage can be a great way to reconnect and relax together.

To book time to prepare for your wedding, give us a call at (515) 309-2904 or hop online to schedule when it is most convenient for you!

Too much of a good thing?

We know that there are many benefits to our services and the products people can use at home for self care, but sometimes it is possible to get too much of a good thing!  Here are a few times when it is best to ease up during a treatment or during self care at home.

1: Foam rolling

Foam rollers are great for relieving aches and pains, for myofascial release, and stretching but sometimes people over-do it and can cause injury or tissue damage for excessive or overly aggressive foam rolling.  If foam rolling hurts, you might be bruising or causing tissue inflammation.  Check with your chiropractor, a trusted massage therapist, experienced trainer, or physical therapist for tips.

2: Exfoliation

Who doesn’t love the smooth feeling of their skin after a good facial exfoliation?  Once or twice a week is the perfect amount to exfoliate, but if you do any more than that, your skin can become dry, irritated, and overly sensitive.  Ask an esthetician if you aren’t sure whether you are exfoliating the right amount or with the right consistency product.

3: Pressure during a massage

A bit of “good hurt” is helpful, but massage pressure that causes pain, makes you tense up, or grit your teeth is counterproductive and can actually bruise your tissue and create inflammation.  The ideal working pressure for your body to actually create lasting change (at least when dealing with trigger points) is about a 6-7 out of 10 on the pain scale.  More than that and the body tenses up to defend against the pain, causing even more tightness, potentially bruising and injury.

In most cases, if you are told by a therapist that massage has to “hurt to work” or if you experience soreness that lasts for more than a day after a massage, you might need to try a different therapist or treatment style.  Please, don’t go into a massage and issue your therapist a challenge stating “Bet you can’t hurt me!” because we do not WANT to hurt you and we’d rather give you a great massage than spend 20 minutes explaining why we shouldn’t just pummel you with an elbow.

4: Aromatherapy

Essential oils are a great way to help ease stress, boost focus, and relax sore muscles but they should be used with caution and by following the instructions.  Essential oils should not be used “neat” or directly on the skin without being mixed into a carrier oil or cream.  Some oils can cause irritation, over-exposure to oils can cause side effects (any of us who have made too many blends and bath products at home in a sitting can attest to the headaches, insomnia, or other side-effects we’ve experienced from over-exposure), and some oils are not safe for all health concerns.  The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy has some great safety info on their site.

 “Throw moderation to the winds and the greatest pleasures bring the greatest pains.” ~Democritus

Top 5 products your skin needs this winter

It happens to all of us…you finally settle on a great skin care regimen and your skin feels awesome.  Then the dry winter air strikes and it seems like your products are no longer working like they should.  To get the best skin care results in the winter months, Camille Arbegast, our managing esthetician, shared 5 tips:

1. Switch up your cleanser.  A gel based or acne cleanser may have been what you needed during the humid summer months, especially if your summer activities lead to dirt and debris on your face.  In the winter when skin is more irritated, a switch to a soothing cream or hydrating cleanser may be the ticket to calm down skin that feels itchy and tight.

2. Use a microdermabrasion scrub.  This scrub can be more abrasive if used dry, or gentler if used in the shower or by adding water.  It is ideal to slough off dead skin so you are better able to absorb moisturizers, serums, or masks.  Do not over-do it though!  Once to twice a week is all you need to exfoliate!

Derma E Microdermabrasion Scrub East Village Spa3. Try a hydrating mask designed to nourish and replenish skin.  This is a great switch for a hydrating boost, especially if you have regularly been using a drying mask like a clay mask.  Derma E’s Hydrating Mask with Hyaluronic Acid can work as a face or hand mask.  And Farmhouse Fresh’s Honey Heel Glaze is like a miracle mask to soften and hydrate dry feet and hands.

Farmhouse Fresh Honey Heel Glaze hand and foot mask4. Use a proper moisturizer designed for the face.  Hydrating day and night creams are great for daily moisturizing.  Look for ingredients like hyaluronic acid which draws moisture to the skin like a magnet.  Avoid creams with pore-clogging petroleum derived ingredients like mineral oil or paraffin.

5. Don’t forget your cuticle oil!  Dry cuticles are not only unsightly, but tears around the nails can lead to pain and even infection.  Use cuticle oil morning and night to keep your nails and the skin around them healthy.  And don’t forget gloves to help protect skin from dry, windy winter weather.  Cuticle oil and protecting nails with gloves will also go a long way to preserve a CND Shellac manicure so you can get a full two weeks wear!  Dry, brittle nails and cuticles make it easier for the polish to chip.

Our favorite cuticle oil: CND Solar Oil
Our favorite cuticle oil: CND Solar Oil

What is a facial and why do I need one?

A very common question at the spa is “What IS a facial?  Why would anyone pay someone to just wash their face?”  The easy answer is you really have to experience one of our great facials and you’ll understand just why they (and our estheticians) are so popular!

An eye treatment upgrade during a facial at East Village Spa.
An eye treatment upgrade during a facial at East Village Spa.

What is an esthetician?

Estheticians are licensed skincare professionals who are able to provide esthetics services defined by the State of Iowa Board of Cosmetology code as:

  • Beautifying, massaging, cleansing, stimulating, or hydrating the skin of a person, except the scalp, by the use of cosmetic preparations, including cleansers, antiseptics, tonics, lotions, creams, exfoliants, masques, and essential oils, to be applied with the hands or any device, electrical or otherwise, designed for the nonmedical care of the skin.
  • Applying makeup or eyelashes to a person, tinting eyelashes or eyebrows, or lightening hair on the body except the scalp.
  • Removing superfluous hair from the body of a person by the use of depilatories, waxing, sugaring, tweezers, threading, or use of any certified laser products or intense pulsed light devices. This excludes the practice of electrology, whereby hair is removed with an electric needle.
  • The application of permanent makeup or cosmetic micropigmentation.
Hot towel wraps and steam help to remove products and open the pores.
Hot towel wraps and steam help to remove products and open the pores.

Not every esthetican is trained in every one of these services (above), but you can see that esthetics covers a broad range of skill sets!  In Iowa, estheticians are required to have the same amount of educational hours as massage therapists.

What is a facial:

A facial can range from extremely relaxing to pretty intensive treatments (the most intensive or uncomfortable facials would be those performed in a doctor’s office or medical spa, not at a spa like ours).  At our East Village Spa during a Wellness or EV Signature Facial, you can expect your esthetician to look at your skin health history and your skin to assess your skin type to determine the best products for you.

She will cleanse, exfoliate, steam, perform pore extractions (our estheticans do this manually with gloved hands as they do not want to cause scarring and want to make this as comfortable as possible), massage the face, neck, and shoulders (and depending on the facial may massage the hands, arms, scalp, and feet while your mask works!), apply a mask to the skin, and finish with eye creams and moisturizers for your skin type.

Yes!  Men do enjoy great and relaxing skin care...and because of the damage and irritation caused from shaving, men actually need facials MORE than women!
Yes! Men do enjoy great and relaxing skin care…and because of the damage and irritation caused from shaving, men actually need facials MORE than women!

It is certainly more involved than someone “washing your face.”  Also, our clients are shocked when they experience the incredibly relaxing and skilled massage techniques included in the facials.  Most people don’t realize how stress-relieving these services are.  Our receptionists and even massage therapists suggest facials to their clients who are experiencing jaw tension, sinus congestion, or just need major stress relief!  These massages are great to relax the muscles of the face reducing the appearance of lines and stress and are also important for boosting circulation and lymphatic flow.

Our estheticians can help  with all of your questions about products, self care, and can help you decide what is the best skin care regimen for your skin type and lifestyle.
Our estheticians can help with all of your questions about products, self care, and can help you decide what is the best skin care regimen for your skin type and lifestyle.

Another benefit of getting a professional facial is that our experienced estheticians can recommend the right products for you.  Before I owned the spa, I used to have drawers, cabinets, and a shower full of different skin care products.  Now that I have guidance from pros, I have streamlined my routine and only have about 5 products in my house and stick to a really easy routine with no guesswork and am not wasting my money on products that don’t do what I need them to!

If you want to book at facial at East Village Spa, or would like more information, visit www.evdayspa.com!