professional skincare – East Village Spa Blog

Hydrafacial returns with safety upgrades

We took our time learning the safest way to start offering facial services again in the middle of a pandemic. There hasn’t been a ton of solid guidance for our profession, so we’ve been studying the dental profession and their practices as we developed our safety upgrades.

Hydrafacial is currently the first facial skincare service we brought back after we re-opened. We love this service because it is the most effective of all of our facial services with maximum benefits in a shorter time. Because guests will be “unmasked” for most of the service, efficiency will help minimize risks for providers and guests/ Don’t worry though, this service still includes nurturing upgrades we’re known for. Read descriptions here.

We can be safe AND relaxing!

In addition to our regular COVID19 safety upgrades,

Your Hydrafacial will be performed by a licensed esthetician who is wearing both a mask and face shield.
We will run a HEPA air purifier designed for a much larger space in order to quickly exchange the air in the room.
Guests will arrive in a mask and leave in a mask. Consider bringing a clean, cotton mask to put on after the service.
You’ll first select one of three essential oil massage blends and your esthetician will help you relax (while masked) with some neck, arm, or scalp massage techniques (will vary by provider). You’ll get to keep the rest of your oil as a gift to enjoy at home.
If you select the Deluxe Hydrafacial option, we’ve changed the in-service mask to a custom selected mask your esthetician will send home with you. You’ll then apply this mask at home one-week following your Hydrafacial which will further enhance the results of your service.

Esthetician in a face mask and shield at East Village Spa

We feel confident we can provide Hydrafacial services with reasonable risk reduction, but please remember that no service is entirely risk free. For this reason, every one of our estheticians had a choice of whether to offer Hydrafacial services and some have decided to wait until cases significantly decline. This means that whomever you see is comfortable providing your service, which always makes for a more relaxing experience!

Book your Hydrafacial online now!

Resolve to avoid these 3 skin health mistakes

New Year’s Day is always a good time to set goals. People often focus on nutrition or fitness goals, but neglect their skin’s health when creating a wellness plan for the year! We’ll make skin care resolutions easy with 3 common skin health mistakes to resolve to avoid this year.

From Camille Arbegast, Managing Esthetician at East Village Spa:

Resolve to exfoliate properly: That might not mean using an actual “scrub.”

Many people think that to exfoliate you need a scrub, any scrub. But more often than not, a manual scrub is not appropriate for your skin. Some scrubs are really aggressive and will damage your skin. For people with acne-prone skin, scrubs can cause inflammation, spread bacteria and increase breakouts. People think that Clarisonics exfoliate the skin but they really don’t (slightly, but not enough). They’re great for deep cleansing but that’s about it.

A serum exfoliates with acids instead of “grit.” The benefit of using a serum to exfoliate is they will likely have multiple benefits for your skin along with exfoliation.

From Lindsay Crowe, Licensed Esthetician at East Village Spa:

Resolve to stop getting skincare advice from social media celebrities.

People may use the wrong products because of social media influencers. They see what they are using and want to look like them or have their skin, but the products that work for the Instagram or You Tube celebrity may not be appropriate for the person watching the video. That’s a new thing happening in our industry and I have started to see it with my clients this last year… they see it on YouTube and they want it!

For example, you may see someone raving online about a clay mask, but those are only for oily skin or spot-treating blemishes. If someone with normal to dry skin uses that mask, it can lead to irritated dry skin and breakouts.

Getting the right products for your skin starts with an esthetician so we can talk and map out your personal needs. That’s why our facials and products are customizable, which I love!

Cassie Sampson, BA, LMT, Owner, East Village Spa

Resolve to quit picking at your skin!

2018 was a stressful year and stress translated to breakouts for me. Breakouts translated to stress relief in the form of “picking” my skin to try to do my own extractions. It was a vicious cycle that caused some scarring on my cheek and chin. I work with 7 licensed estheticians, so WHY I felt the need to try to extract my own skin is beyond me. (This is a lie, I did it because it was satisfying.)

Now I’m in repair mode to minimize the scarring. I use Rhonda Allison Perfection Clay to spot treat when I get a blemish to make it easier to extract if I feel compelled to try to do it, and I properly treat my skin before and after. Mostly, I’ve made it a goal to get a facial or Hydrafacial when I’m stressed. The services are incredibly relaxing which helps to reduce my stress and anxiety that causes my blemishes (and my desire to pick) AND they help with the scarring. Win-win.

Need help achieving your new year skin health resolutions? We’re here for you! You can book a facial online here. Not sure where to start? A Wellness Facial is a great option for people who are totally new to professional skincare. Want more stress relief with your facial? Book the EV Signature Facial which has all of the benefits of the Wellness Facial, plus lots of extra TLC. If you’ve tried facials before and want something that packs more punch, I strongly suggest the Hydrafacial. It is a game-changer!

You can also stop into the spa and see if one of our estheticians is free to consult with you about the best service or products for your needs. Cheers to healthy skin and a low-maintenance routine designed for YOUR needs in the new year!

The value of professional skincare

Let’s say you are experiencing some skin break outs. Your first instinct might be to try the drugstore products you used in high school when you had teen acne, or to buy a full line of products at a home-party that is specifically labeled for acne. The problem with this approach is that breakouts, like many skin concerns, can’t be treated with a “one size fits all” approach. Without knowing the cause (stress, diet, hormones, bacteria, medications, etc…), breakouts are hard to treat and prevent. A licensed esthetician can help you get to the root of the problem, whether acne, hyperpigmentation, dry skin, etc… to address it with a customized approach.

Licensed estheticians are professional skin care experts. In Iowa, an esthetician is required to have a minimum of 600 hours of training in skin health, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, ingredients, and hands-on treatment techniques before they can sit for a licensing exam that allows them to provide facials, skin education, waxing, and powerful “professional only” treatments like chemical peels. Once licensed, they must continue their education regularly.

With an abundance of professional skincare lines and more advanced ingredients at their disposal, Estheticians have the ability to mix and match products to provide the most customized treatments for ideal results. Many estheticians invest much time and training to select the best professional line for their clients, paying close attention to ingredients, effectiveness, ease-of-use, cost, and complementary services like chemical peels to help maximize benefits.

A few of the benefits customers might expect with a professional use line:

Greater ability to customize products for desired results.
May need LESS product due to higher level of active ingredients
More pure ingredients for more potent results
Similar price points to mass-marketed or direct sales lines due to less money spent advertising to mass-markets. The savings are passed on to you!
Advice from a professional who has had extensive training in product chemistry
The ability to combine home care with professional treatments like facials or peels for more intensive results

At East Village Spa, another benefit of using a professional skin care line is a professional BEHIND the line. Not only will you have access to our estheticians for advice via e-mail, phone, or in-person, but our estheticians have direct access to those who formulate their products and thousands of their licensed peers for advice on particularly difficult skin care situations. We have even been able to submit (with client permission!) skin histories and photos to product educators to “crowd source” a perfect solution for unique cases from advanced professionals.

Too good to be true?

We’ll be honest: Professional skincare takes work. Your skin won’t likely become perfect overnight and your skin’s needs are always changing, but your esthetician will help guide you as your needs change, from pregnancies, life stress, new medications, seasonal changes and aging. Like exercise, you have to stick with it and be diligent to create change. You can’t go to the gym once and expect to your biceps to swell overnight!

Ready to learn more?

Set up an appointment for a facial with any of our licensed estheticians who are happy to help you learn more about professional skin care and offer you a service that is not only super relaxing, but really informative. Click here to schedule or e-mail [email protected] if you aren’t sure which facial is right for you.