In honor of Skin Cancer Awareness month, I’d like to get back to basics on sun safety! The sun can take a toll on your skin and in the short-term, that can mean a painful sunburn. Even if you don’t burn there are long-term consequences lurking in the skin. As a result, your skin may develop more wrinkles and lines and too much sun exposure can raise your risk for skin cancer, the most common type of cancer in the United States. If you have experienced a lot of sun exposure or sunburns over your life it’s a good idea to see a dermatologist to evaluate the extent of the damage and look for signs ..read more

When I saw that April is "Stress Awareness Month" I kind of giggled, because hey, we're all totally aware that we are stressed! However, it seems many of us are not aware of what all that stress is actually doing to our health and our skin's health. Can stress make you age faster? The effects of stress often show up on your face in the form of dehydrated skin, sallowness, roughness and deep expression lines. Stress and the high amounts of the hormone cortisol can break down the skin's collagen and elastin, which are the natural ingredients in your skin that make it firm and give it resiliency ..read more

With the 15th anniversary of Skin Essentials coming up on October 1st, I’ve been reflecting back on my decision to go into business for myself in 2007. My main motive for creating my own business instead of working for someone else was to be able to offer my clients only the services and products that I believed in. Not someone else’s vision. At that time there were almost no options in my hometown for healthy beauty services or professional, healthy skincare products. In those days the craze was mostly Microderm and peels, far too harsh exfoliants and of course department store products laden ..read more

Have you seen the scary photos online of the LED masks that covers your face? Reminds me of those old 80’s horror movies! I get asked a lot if those “Jason” LED masks work. Or what about those skin rollers that punch little holes in your face for better collagen? Well I hate to disappoint you friends, but there are no clear answers to these questions. It just depends on the device. I’ve found that some are good and some are crap and the only real way to figure it out is to try them. This is how the beauty industry rakes in billions of dollars from people like us every year.  I’ve tried a ..read more

In real life I’m not a great multi-talker. I’ve gotten to the point where I realize that everything turns out so much better when I focus on one thing at a time. However, with skincare, it’s different. I’ve discovered many great multi-taking products over my career as an esthetician and I’m here to share them with you friends! Brush On Block It’s a finishing powder, it’s a healthy SPF! So many reasons I love this product. Since this SPF is a powder you don’t have to worry about leaving it in your car or taking it through a TSA checkpoint! It’s also oil-absorbing for those of you with oily ski ..read more

I love how there is a “holiday” for everything now. Well June is not only Acne Awareness Month, it’s also Beautiful in Your Skin Month. True story. Honestly every month is Acne Awareness month at Skin Essentials. It’s the top skin concern we deal with at the spa. Acne is a tricky creature. It effects a wide range of ages for different reasons. It can be hormonally driven. It can be a symptom of other health problems or a result of lifestyle and dietary factors. No matter what your situation is, acne can cause many unwanted side effects like scarring, depression, anxiety and loss of self-estee ..read more

“What’s an Esthetician?”… Years ago at cocktail parties people would ask what I did for a living. When I said: Esthetician, a lot would say “Oh, so you put people to sleep for surgery?” (uh, no, that’s an Anesthesiologist.) The term Esthetician is much more mainstream now. I don’t always have to explain that I do non-medical skincare treatments and other beauty services. Though I do end up in a lot of conversations about the latest “miracle cream” being advertised on TV or get asked “Can you get rid of my wrinkles?” or “Can you fix my skin?” If only it were that simple, right?  My problem ..read more

Friends you know I’m a coffee lover from WAY back… Recently I’ve had to cut back on my coffee consumption because seriously, I was wired for sound! So I started replacing my afternoon coffee with green tea! Green tea has many health benefits. EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate), found in green tea has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and can help protect skin and support the immune system. Green tea has been studied widely for it’s role in preventing cancer and aiding in weight loss. Drinking 3-5 cups of green tea per day seems to be optimal to get the most health benefits, but the ..read more

Let me tell you about some oh so common scenarios I have encountered in my many years as a professional esthetician and health coach.  It’s pretty frustrating not only for me as a professional, but I’ve personally also traveled these same roads and made all the same mistakes. Scenario #1. You try all the things. The products, the systems, the treatments, you clean up your diet, you figure out your hormones and then you finally start to see improvements in your skin. It’s clearing up, you may even be happy with its condition. Finally! Then a few months or even years go by and you get comf ..read more

Gua Sha originated in China during the Ming Dynasty and has it’s roots in traditional Chinese medicine. “Gua” translates as “to scrape” and “Sha” translates as “disease, illness or sand” This refers to the small red dots that can appear on the body when firm pressure is applied and is an indication of disease, stagnation, and heat leaving the body. Although the roots of Gua Sha are in east Asia, it is now practiced across the globe for many health conditions. Gua Sha creates friction to eliminate internal stagnation and heat, both of which can result in many inflammatory conditions like muscu ..read more