AROMATHERAPY AND SPA TREATMENTS
Most spa menus include facials, peels, hair removal, body massages, and treatments. The fundamentals of the services are similar in all spas, while signature treatments, products used, and personalized methods make each spa unique. Guests select a spa for the experience, stress relief, to prevent premature aging of their skin, or to improve a condition such as acne, skin dehydration or oiliness, rosacea, psoriasis, eczema, wrinkles, and loss of elasticity, dark circles or swelling of the eyes, cellulite, or heavy legs, Pre-and post-operative care reduces swelling, bruising and discomfort.
FACIALS
Facials are the most popular service in spas. The facials introduced in America by European estheticians since the early 1900s have been called “European facials.” They are cleansing facials, different from skin treatments. Facials take approximately an hour and include exfoliation, a massage, steam or a warm towel application, extraction of comedones, a mask, and applying a serum, ampoule, or essential oils. A treatment consists of equipment, a speciality massage, or a mask. The esthetician educates clients on the benefits of using recommended home-care products.
Contraindications: Sores or conditions that indicate the need for medical intervention contraindicate facials. Equipment that applies electricity on the skin should not be used on guests who have a pacemaker or metal plates or suffer from epilepsy, diabetes, or other conditions.
PEELS
The accumulation of dead skin gives skin a dull, ashy tone and uneven colouring. It interferes with the penetration of creams and serums into the living layers of the skin. The purpose of a peel is to slough dead skin off the epidermis. Peels unclog the hair follicles and, with regular use, diminish the incidence of pimples, blackheads, and closed comedones. Post laser resurfacing or dermabrasion, they help prevent milia and even skin tone. They can reduce lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation due to sun damage, scarring, and enlarged pores. Regular peels indirectly signal the dermis cell to increase cellular activity, which makes peels an essential part of an anti-ageing programme.
Scrubs, also called exfoliating grains, are made of polypropylene, sand, or crushed seed of apricots or other plants. The finest ones are made with tiny grains to avoid irritation to the skin. Some are formulated with soothing medicinal plants, such as calendula, and are suitable for sensitive skin, acne or use after medical peels. Scrubs get applied on wet skin with the fingertips or using a brush in a circular motion. Many scrubs are not suited for sensitive skin.
Peelings are made with kaolin and white clay in a creamy substance that adheres to the skin. Using your fingertips, you can rub the peeling (which mixes with dead skin cells and impurities) off. Peeling is well suited for acne and skin. Scrubs and peelings are used during facials and as home-care products.
Enzyme peels are usually made of plants like papaya or pineapple. They are used as part of a facial or treatment. These peels are in powder form and are mixed with a toner at the time of use or dissolved in an aqueous solution. Some enzymes are formulated for all skin. The best formulations ease deep cleansing of the pores without side effects. Others may irritate sensitive skin.
Alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) and chemical peels are another option. Milder AHA peels, such as glycolic acid, when used in percentages ranging from 14 to 40%, get applied on the skin and then rinsed off within minutes as part of a facial or as a separate service. They sting very little, and there is no downtime. The peels with low ph (2-2.5) and a high percentage of AHAs (30% and higher) work faster and more profoundly. The strongest AHA peels (those containing 75% glycolic acid, Jessner, or non-resorcinol peels) are even deeper, causing the skin’s surface to turn brown and shed within about four days. The peels are done without a pain reliever. Medical supervision or access is advisable with stronger peels.
Microdermabrasion is done with equipment that projects fine inert aluminium oxide crystals, or corundum powder, through a tube to the skin’s surface. The depth of the peel depends on the setting, the powder of the equipment, and the desired result. Light peels are an alternative to enzymes and AHAs. Deeper peels can improve scars, stretch marks, acne scars and discolouration. The quality of the crystals, the equipment, the skin-care products applied and the experience all matter. There is no downtime for mild peels, and the discomfort is none too mild.
Contraindications: AHAs, chemical peels and microdermabrasion should not be administered on individuals using a skin-sensitizing medication, Retin A, or Accutane. Patch tests are advisable on sensitive skin.
MASKS
Besides the classical clay, kaolin cream or gel masks, hydrating and clarifying treatment masks can constitute a service by themselves or be part of a facial. Speciality masks can include an ampoule, the application of a gel (usually made of algae or even single-cell algae so nutrients can penetrate) and a setting solution to turn the mask into a film that can be lifted off the skin. Masks even skin tone, eliminate redness and tighten pores. After a mask, the skin feels like silk. Less therapeutic results are achieved with “rubbery and occlusive” or waxy masks such as paraffin. Clay masks harden and get removed in one dramatic-looking piece. Rubbery and hardened clay masks mainly serve cosmetic purposes, as they do not penetrate the skin with active ingredients but just trap moisture in the stratum corneum.
Contraindications: Do not apply marks that harden on claustrophic individuals.
MANUAL LYMPH DRAINAGE (MLD) AND LYMPHOBIOLOGY
Manual lymph drainage (MLD) was developed by Dr Emile Vodder in France in 1936. Dr Vodder sought a therapeutic method of improving the health and quality of life of individuals suffering from fluid retention, toxicity, and various skin conditions. The method consists of a light massage stimulating lymph circulation on the face or body.
Lymphobiology is a proprietary science inspired by MLD; it uses equipment that produces the therapeutic massage of the manual method, but in less time, through glass tubes sliding on the skin. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies the equipment as a therapeutic massager. Information about the method has been published in medical journals following double-blind and single-blind medical studies (see “Noninvasive Techniques of Facial Rejuvenation,” by Steven Bosniak, MD, and Marian Cantisano-Zilka, MD, Saunders, vol. 2, no. 4, Dec. 1999). Selected skin-care products with integral DNA are used in the Lymphobiology procedure to hydrate the tissues and supply nutrients at the cellular level. Lymphobiology cleanses the skin tissues of waste and toxins and eliminates swelling and dark circles, even after only one treatment. It naturally stimulates the immune system and lowers the sympathetic nervous system, including deep relaxation. Redness after extractions of comedones or after peels virtually disappear. Sagging skin tightens on the face and body. The treatments can be done in series or individually; they can be added to facials, body facials, hydrotherapy, and cellulite treatments. The clinical protocol recommends treatments before and after cosmetic surgery to eliminate bruising, swelling, and discomfort, reduce stress, prevent cellulite from returning after liposuction, and improve elasticity.
Contraindications: Phlebitis, communicating with a physician before and after surgery, and when medical conditions exist. Safe to use on individuals with pacemakers or metal plates since no electricity touches the skin.