| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 SUNDAY, JULY 5, 2009 4:02 pm |
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Living 
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Holistic skin care offers alternatives to traditional beauty treatments Carol Lervick couldn't believe it.The 53-year-old Stanwood woman was shopping at Target. She happened to see some beer she thought her husband might like, so she placed it in her cart. When she arrived at the check-out area, the clerk asked for her ID and even asked her to take it out of her wallet. Lervick, mother to a 25-year-old daughter and a 28-year-son, was beaming by the time she returned to her car. "I called my husband right away," she said. "It felt great." Lervick wondered if her new skin-care regimen was doing something extra special. That very day she had enjoyed a facial at Holistic Skin Care, a new venture in Stanwood. Ronna Lane of Camano Island, a licensed aesthetician who has been in the beauty business for more than 30 years, opened the spa in January with a focus on 100 percent certified-organic products and gentle, relaxing beauty treatments. "I'm actually a chemical-free salon," Lane said. "I work with people who are tired of going the chemical route." In an age of hugely popular, laboratory-refined facial injections such as Botox and Restylane, 58-year-old Lane prides herself on offering natural, painless alternatives to fight aging and problematic skin conditions such as acne. Her services include everything from facials to microdermabrasion, and she is happy to work with people who have chemical sensitivities. Lane complements her beauty treatments with advice on diet and other healthy-living habits, which, she said, can have a huge effect on skin health. She's encouraged Lervick, for example, to start each day with a tall glass of water mixed with juice from half a lemon. It cleanses the liver, and thanks to its diuretic properties, it decreases puffiness in the face, she said. "If you want pretty skin, you have to drink a lot of water," Lane said, adding that she also encourages clients to eat raw "super foods" such as avocados, leafy greens, walnuts, almonds and olives to improve skin health. "It's not just what you do topically." Lervick is a fan of Lane's certified-organic skin-care line, Miessence, which also includes mineral-based makeup. Because the products aren't full of preservatives, they come in small quantities and include expiration dates. The Miessence line relies on natural ingredients such as organic safflower oil, honeysuckle extract and shea butter, with none of the polysyllabic unpronounceable agents listed on the back of many other cosmetic products. Lane has worked in many other spas over the years, including her own Bothell-based business, Ronna Lane Aesthetics Day Spa, which she sold in 2005 when she and her husband, Richard, moved from Seattle to Camano Island. Lane, who had planned to retire, decided to dedicate her two years off to learning about all-natural skin care. Right now, she is finishing her thesis as part of a long-distance course with the Global College of Natural Medicine in Santa Cruz, Calif., to become a certified holistic health practitioner. She was also recently certified as a raw-food instructor through Alissa Cohen's "Living on Live" raw-food program. Next month, she'll speak on "Eating for Beauty" at the Camano Senior and Community Center. Lane isn't pushy or preachy when sharing diet and lifestyle advice, Lervick said. "She has a wealth of knowledge," Lervick said. "When she gives her class, I'm going." Lervick has tried a variety of procedures with Lane, including diamond microdermabrasion, an alternative to increasingly controversial crystal microdermabrasion, which often relies on aluminum oxide or sodium bicarbonate crystals mechanically blasted onto the skin. Lane's microdermabrasion treatment looked almost relaxing for Lervick. Using a small wand with a dime-sized circular pad called a Dermafile, Lane stroked Lervick's skin until it was just slightly pink. "I don't apply any pressure," Lane said. "You can see her skin is just kind of rolling off. It really helps with fine lines and wrinkles." Lervick, who was receiving her second treatment since January, said the texture isn't much harsher than a washcloth. Lane said it can feel like a cat's tongue. Lane recommends 10 to 12 treatments, which cost about $85 each or less, for people with average skin or up to 20 treatments for people with more slack skin. "It has a cumulative effect," Lane said, while working on Lervick. "I've activated cellular renewal. I've warmed up the muscles in preparation for lifting." "Lifting" refers to a procedure Lane calls a "microcurrent nonsurgical face lift," achieved by using electrodes to manipulate face muscles and firm the skin. "It reprograms the muscle to lift," Lane said, who was giving Lervick her fourth virtual-lift treatment. "It's a pretty low voltage of electricity that goes between the electrodes. I've had a lot of patients fall asleep while I do this." Lervick, tucked under a quilted comforter with a pillow under her legs, definitely seemed at ease while Lane softly prodded her face with the electrode wands. Plush red carpeting, velvet-upholstered chairs, a beeswax candle, a small red-shaded lamp and soft window sheers created a calm ambience. To cool Lervick's skin after finishing the lift, Lane gave her a soothing calamine mask, applied with a soft brush. She followed with a cool towel rinse, a finishing cream, a face massage with smooth beauty globes made of rose quartz and a distilled water spray infused with herbs. Lervick wasn't in a hurry to come out from under the comforter when she was done. "It's very relaxing when I leave here," she said. "I feel like I've had a massage." Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@heraldnet.com |
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