FAQs – Page 2 – East Village Spa Blog

Top 5 reasons an honest health intake is important

We know it can feel like we’re inundated with paperwork and forms these days, so we really do empathize when our clients groan about having to fill out a health or skin care history. These forms were developed by our employees to help them get the information they need to give you an amazing service. If you’d like a preview of our health history form, click here. We keep all health information confidential and do not share it unless we have your written consent to do so. Here are 5 of the main reasons we require a health history or skin care history before your service:

5. We need to know what products to use. If you are booking a facial, our estheticians have many options for cleansers, toners, masks, scrubs, moisturizers, serums and more. The information on your skin care intake in addition to their assessment of your skin guides their choices. If you are investing time and money in your facial, you deserve a wonderful service customized for you. If you are scheduling a massage, we need to know if you have any allergies or sensitivities so we can select the best massage cream or oil.

4. We might need to modify a service based on health concerns or preferences. Certain medications require a change in pressure or technique due to a risk of bruising or tissue damage. For example, some medications make skin more sensitive to waxing and can cause skin tears. Some health conditions contradict exposure to heat so we might suggest changing your Hot Stone massage to a Sports or Signature service so as not to to exacerbate symptoms or cause burns. Some symptoms might seem harmless, but could indicate a serious problem like an infection or blood clot requiring medical attention.

3. We need to know which techniques to use. There are literally hundreds of styles of massage therapy. Many of our therapists have over 1000 hours of initial training and are required to take continuing education regularly, so our technique “tool boxes” are far bigger than what you can tell by looking at our brochure. Letting your therapist know injuries you have, areas of pain, and pressure preferences will make a world of difference in the effectiveness of your service. Just because you had a light and relaxing massage with a therapist once, doesn’t mean he or she isn’t able to give a good injury-specific focused treatment another visit or visa versa. You just have to let us know exactly what you need so we can raid our massage “tool box” for the best techniques to for you.

2. Some of your answers clue us in to ways we can go above and beyond for you! Have allergies or a headache? We can add a cold compress to your face rest to help relieve the pressure. Work long hours standing on a cement floor? We an add a cooling mint foot cream instead of the regular massage cream. Under an incredible amount of stress and struggling to calm your mind before your massage? Your therapist can add a couple of drops of lavender oil into your massage cream and have you do some breathing exercises. We can even re-position to an incline or side-lying position for recent abdominal surgeries or breast tenderness. The possibilities are endless, but we can’t help you if we don’t know what you need our help with!

1. Your current concerns may be caused by issues you wouldn’t have suspected. A thorough intake could lead to underlying causes of current issues you may not have thought of. An old surgery or injury may be contributing to current pain in a completely different area of the body. Your current skincare regimen could have unintended side-effects you didn’t know about that could be causing dry patches or clogged pores. Your favorite hobbies may be taking a toll on your body over time. All of this information will help us to provide the best results possible for a better treatment value.

If we don’t have the information we need, your service provider will need to take time out of your treatment to ask questions and you won’t be able to relax as fully. If you come a few minutes early to complete your form, it will give you a time to decompress and shake off the day, relax with some hot tea or water, and focus on your treatment goals so you can be sure you are getting the best value for your time spent at the spa and a the best service and recommendations from your expert provider.

Please believe us when we say…

Many of us have been practicing massage, esthetics, or nail care for a LONG time, but we were all clients before we were practitioners and we know how easy it is to ignore the advice of a pro. I polled our team to get their feedback on the top 15 things they wished clients knew (or rather, they wished clients would believe their esthetician, LMT, or nail tech about!)

15. If you are indecisive about nail polish colors, bring an article of clothing you want help matching for a special event or come with at least a basic idea of the color family (i.e. red, blue, pink) and whether you want cream or sparkle. Your nail tech has seen how all of the colors look with lots of different skin types so if you are torn between a few shades, defer to her for the color that will look best and get you the most compliments! If you arrive a few minutes early, ask the receptionist if you can walk back to the nail room for extra browsing time!

14. Sometimes the most effective massages aren’t the ones with the heaviest pressure. Lighter touch might do wonders for tension and services like Cranio Sacral Therapy are incredibly gentle but effective.

13. Shellac is a name brand gel polish from CND, but like most people call all kinds of tissues “Kleenx” even if they are a store brand or “Puffs” brand,some places just call all gel polishes “Shellac.” Real Shellac can remove gently in under 10 minutes with no damage to the nail, but if what you are wearing is an off-brand, it might take our nail techs longer which will cut into your other service times. Please be understanding with our nail techs if they have to adjust your service due to longer removal process of non-Shellac gel polishes.

12. While we love that people think we’re just naturally gifted, our professions do require quite a bit of education and continuing education. Many of our employees have over 1,000 hours of industry training, some over 2000 hours! All of our licensed employees are required to attend regular continuing education (which is awesome because our classes are so cool!)

11. Men visit the spa and not just for massage! Guys need skin care and facial treatments even more than women because of how irritating shaving can be on the skin. Did you know that lots of pro football players regularly get manicures and distance runners often get pedicures to keep their toenails healthy so they can survive the abuse of training?

10. You will enjoy your service more if you arrive 5-10 minutes early to relax and shake off the day’s stresses so you can start your service in a place of relaxation. Arriving late sets the wrong tone, means it takes you longer to get “in the zone” and means a shorter session. If you just can’t seem to make it on time, book 15 minutes later.

9. Real change takes time. While our LMTs, Estheticians, and nail techs are experienced and well educated in their specialties, it usually takes more than one visit to help you achieve your goals. If you have had pain from your posture at work for years, it will take more than one massage for relief. If you have been a nail biter working to grow your nails, a series of manicures can do wonders. Working to see big improvements with your skin? It will take more than one facial. While one spa visit is great for an occasional indulgence, for real change, doing the recommended home care and visiting on a regular schedule will really improve the health of your skin or nails or decrease your pain.

8. We really do book up, especially for evenings and Saturdays. Our happiest clients are those who set aside a regular time for sessions and book standing weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly services so they have something to look forward to and aren’t stressed when they can’t get in last minute. It is easier to give us a day’s notice to cancel than to get in at a popular time on a day’s notice.

7. Everyone’s skin needs change regularly, especially with seasons which is why monthly facials are good. Plus it is really nice to come regularly for a deeper cleanse with steam and extractions.

6. It is totally fine not to chat during your services! You’ll get to a deeper state of relaxation and your therapist can focus more on his or her work for a more effective session. If you snore, even better! We consider that our highest compliment!

5. If your nails are dry or brittle, your hands are frequently in water or you have a job requiring lots of hand washing, or you don’t regularly moisturize nails with cuticle oil, your polish (including CND Shellac) will chip sooner. Really, cuticle oil and starting with healthy nails will make a huge difference in how long your polish lasts.

4. Don’t plan a big night out drinking before (or after) your massage. Trust us, it is very hard to relax with a hangover and massage will not help. If you have a massage on the books and plan to go drinking afterward, you might feel extra crummy the next day. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

3. All bodies are awesome. Trust us, we see pre-teens, great-great-grandmas, people with severe injuries, people undergoing cancer therapies, pregnant women, people of all heights and weights and we are not judging our clients on their bodies. Your therapist is not focusing on your weight or your body hair, or blemishes. He or she is focusing on how to help you feel great in the body you have and it is a really, really wonderful job.

2. Yes, our significant others are lucky (because we are awesome people) but no, they don’t get massage all the time. In most cases, they have to schedule appointments like everyone else. And often, they see our co-workers who are focused more on their therapy needs and not whether or not the dishes got done at home. 😉

1. Having regular massage will assist in strengthening the immune system by lowering stress levels and helping to keep stress in the body to a minimum. And, considering that stress is a huge risk factor for many major life-threatening diseases, reducing stress can save your life!

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!

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.

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.

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!

What to expect at your first massage

Even our most experienced massage therapists had to receive their first massage at some point in their lives, so believe me, we all know that your first massage visit can cause a bit of anxiety if you aren’t sure of what to expect. Even if you have had massage before, your first visit with a new massage therapist can be a bit unnerving, so I’d like to walk you through a visit with our therapists.

Step one: Arrive a bit early (about 10 minutes) to complete a detailed health history. This is important because certain kinds of massage are better for certain health concerns. Some medications, especially blood thinners and pain medications, require us to use different techniques to avoid pain and bruising. Your allergies and sensitivities help us to choose the best products to avoid irritation. Also, our therapists can help with many more concerns that people realize!

Step two: Your therapist will greet you and take you back to the treatment room for a consultation about your health and your needs for the session. This is a great time to ask any questions you might have about the session or tell your therapist about areas you want him or her to focus on more or areas you want them to avoid.

Step 3: Your therapist will give you instructions about how to get on the massage table and will leave the room to give you privacy to undress to your comfort (underwear on or off, either is acceptable. A back massage does feel much better if you remove your bra though). You will get UNDER the top sheet and blanket and cover yourself.

Step 4: Your therapist will take the time you’re getting ready to get your massage cream ready. He or she will knock and then enter the room and offer to adjust the table or use a pillow under your ankles. If anything is uncomfortable from temperature to the head rest, please let your therapist know, everything can be adjusted for your comfort!

Step 5: Your therapist will move the sheet from the parts of your body that he or she is working on, apply massage cream, and start massaging with their hands and forearms (unless you book a Two Feet Deep massage in which case they will also use their feet!). Your therapist will never reveal more of your body than you’d show at the local public pool. They are draping for both your comfort AND their own!

Step 6: You can start to take some slow, deep breaths and let go of the tension. Your therapist will check in with you to see if you need heavier or lighter pressure, be sure to let them know, this is your treatment and every massage therapist appreciates your feedback, in fact, our favorite clients are the ones that will work WITH us. If your massage is for relaxation, feel free to doze off or zone out, we don’t expect you to chat and we can focus better if we can concentrate on your massage. If your massage is a sports massage or for an injury, your therapist will probably ask you to assist in some stretches or give more feedback.

Step 7: Your therapist will let you know when your session is over. He or she will step out of the room to give you privacy to slowly get up and dress and will wait for you outside the door with a cup of water or hot tea. Your therapist might offer some stretches or helpful home care tips. Feel free to ask them any questions you might have! We love to share information.

Step 8: You’ll head home (or to your next spa service) blissfully and wonder why you haven’t treated yourself to a massage sooner and start planning your next visit!

Ready to book your massage at East Village Spa? Click here to book online! Read about our therapists here.