A spa must have the perfect setting and must strike a balance between top notch customer service and a relaxed environment. Joanna Vargas Skin Care meets those needs and brings to the table beyond organic skin care in synergy with the latest skin care technology. We get right to business without the yammering and manhandling facials you might have gotten in the past. You’ll walk out with clean, clear and glowing skin. Read Kelly Quan’s account of her experience at Joanna Vargas and see why you need to make your appointment now. For the Pumpkin Yam Enzyme Facial referred in the article below call, 212.949.2350.

Source:ZOOZOOM
By: Kelly Quan
October 2009

Get your Glow on: Joanna Vargas Skin Care

As most of you know I am always on the prowl for new skin care products and services. When it comes to practitioners and estheticians for treatments, I am not only looking to them to perform cutting edge beauty therapy but also to provide skin care that is good for you, both inside and out. While I know this may seem a bit confusing (You may be thinking…isn’t all skin care good for you?) this is not always the case. So I have spent considerable time and energy, testing driving all kinds of products that contain ingredients that promote good skin and overall health and have omitted the brands containing toxic ingredients that are known to contribute to all kinds of ailments– from hormonal displacement to contact dermatitis. These maladies are no longer rare, research tells us that, many beauty care ingredients contribute to the cause of these disorders.

I am always inspired when I come across someone who not only understands how this issue impacts our community and industry but does something about it. Enter Joanna Vargas, from her namesake spa, Joanna Vargas Skin Care. Located conveniently in midtown (which immediately got me thinking all about next season’s show week and how close in proximity Bryant Park is…hmmm, I could imagine slipping off for a quick facial rejuv!) In this small, yet intimate setting, Joanna has spent the last three years creating a perfect blend of hi-low spa environment where women can get a plethora of treatments that produce amazing results. She uses two organic driven skin care brands exclusively, Eminence from Hungary, and ila, an artisan skin care company base in the Cotswolds, U.K. Both offer a variety of products to suite every type of skin. While the product Joanna uses during her treatment sessions are organic and naturally based, don’t think for a minute she’s some kind of hippy, granola girl. You would be far wrong there. This tech savvy, stylish, beauty specialist doesn’t shy away from the sharp, cutting edge. In fact when she first took me into the spa suite, I was under the impression I had suddenly entered a very lux medical office, for all the equipment surrounding the spa bed! Yet Joanna strikes the perfect balance between modern advances in skin care rejuvenation and keeping it real (and pronounceable!) so her clients receive the benefit of both worlds.

She got right down to business with me, (and I had to admit that I was feeling just a little bit harried, having just gotten off a plane the day before, headed to a photo shoot, then a deadline for a writing assignment , and oh yeah, taking care of my two kids… I was kind of beat to say the least!) but her pleasant and calm manner put me at easy right away. I chose her Pumpkin Yam Enzyme Facial. This jammed-packed, 35 minute treatment gives a good bang for your buck (at and your time to boot!) It consists of a wonderful coconut milk cleanse, light micro dermabrasion , pumpkin/yam enzyme mask which tingled and awakened my skin, a red and LED light session (which took some getting used to but left me skin feeling warm afterward ) and finally, the Oxygen/vitamin infused skin blast. It felt a bit like being airbrushed with a bonus: She added floral water infused with vitamins and green tea to the oxygen blast to really rev up your complexion. One thing about this facial is you’ll never be bored or consider this the same old, same old, facial encounter. Joanna makes sure your experience feel as fresh and new as your skin looks when she’s all done. And for this busy career mom? I definitely plan on making this one of my regular beauty must’s. To book an appointment or for more information visit www.joannavargas.com
Kelley Quan

So where do you go when you are looking for the best in organic skin care and the most innovative treatments while vacationing in New York City? Joanna Vargas Skin Care of course. This is not your average skin care salon as each and every facial is always customized for the individual. This is only but one aspect of what separates Joanna Vargas from every other salon. Read about the incredible treatments recently developed by Joanna Vargas and come try them at once. Call the salon at 212.949.2350 for your appointments.

Source: The Organic Beauty Expert
October 2009

SpaCation :: New York girls have all the fun @ Joanna Vargas’

Joanna Vargas Fall is just around the corner, so what better way to get ready for the winter doldrums than a trip to the esthetician. Joanne Vargas uses all natural products for her clients and she has two treatments that sound good enough to eat!

Cool as a Cucumber Mint Body Wrap

Close your eyes and imagine toned, hydrated, baby soft skin.
Your transformation begins with a gentle yet invigorating full body exfoliation using a Cucumber Mint Sugar Scrub. Cucumber revitalizes and tones while mint stimulates the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin.

During your rub down, you’ll feel the sugar actually melting into your skin and the cucumber and mint draining out excess water and toning. An application of an Herbal Cellulite Remedy to enhance skin texture and increase elasticity is next. The finale: a nourishing Cool as a Cucumber Mint Body Butter.

Cool as a Cucumber Mint Body Wrap, 60 minutes - $150

Radiant Radish Seed Facial Peel

Goodbye pimples, blackheads and clogged pores! Hello clean skin!

The Ravishing Radish Seed Refining Peel is the perfect treatment for blemished skin as it gets to the root of acne. Its organic ingredients include Nettle, an anti-inflammatory that lightens; Radish Seed, a remedy for pimples; Whole Grain Oats for exfoliating; and Lemon Balm, which supplies high levels of rich Vitamin C. It smooths and brightens – afterwards your skin will be glowing like a firefly.

Radiant Radish Seed Facial Peel, 60 minutes - $175

Joanna Vargas Skin Care

How do celebrities do it and how can you have that ageless face and clear complexion. It is an open known secret that has its share of skeptics and non-believers. But once you seen how smooth and clear your complexion can be all the second guessing will go out the window. This type of facial, the microcurrent facial, is very popular in Europe and it has been in their beauty arsenal for at least 50 years. Joanna Vargas of course revamped it and made it phenomenal. Get one and you might never have any other type of facial again. Read the full story below and see why not only celebrities can have clean, clear and glowing skin.

Source: Latina Beauty
August 2009

GIVE YOUR FACE A PAINLESS WORKOUT.

Next time you’re in New York, pay a visit to Joanna Vargas and give your face a well-deserved workout. A skin trainer for many celebrities and supermodels (Zac Posen and Bijou Phillips among others swear by her!), this chica combines the latest technological advancements with organic products that include antioxidant-spiked serums and a stream of pure oxygen that feels divinamente heavenly on the skin.

The Joanna Vargas Salon’s menu includes your typical treatments such as oxygen purification treatments, LED light therapies, full body microdermabrasion and sunless tanning. But what makes Vargas’ salon ultra special is her innovative, signature treatment called the Triple Crown Facial ($250 or $325 with Vargas for 60 minutes), which gives your face a total workout. This one-hour treatment uses microcurrent technology, which is safe and non-invasive. It is combined with organic products to make your skin look healthy, radiant and youthful without any pain at all (no extractions!).

Vargas starts the Triple Crown Facial with a deep exfoliation, using diamond fragments to prep the skin and then uses a microcurrent device to drain excess puffiness and tighten muscles on your face. The treatment concludes with a serum application made up of green tea, vitamins and aloe as well as an application of 98 percent pure oxygen. After she was done, all I could do was stare at myself in the mirror in amazement at what a little electrical current and organic products can do to the face.

To maintain the benefits of the Triple Crown Facial, Vargas recommends doing it once a month if you’re in your 20’s-30’s or twice a month if you’re older. She also recommends maintaining an SPF regimen year-round to protect the skin during the day and a scrub once or twice a week to keep the face looking radiant.

The Joanna Vargas Salon is easily accessible because of its proximity to Grand Central Station, Time Square and Bryant Park. Located at 501 Fifth Avenue, it is open Monday, 9-5, Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat, 9-6 and Thursday 9-8. To make an appointment call 212 949 2350.

Many think that cellulite is a fat problem or a weight problem but the truth is that even skinny girls can have cellulite. In Joanna Vargas’s article, “The Truth About Cellulite” she uncovers the truth and exposes this general misconception as a skin problem. Yes, you read correctly! A skin problem. And it occurs due to damage skin not fat. Even some so called experts don’t know this. Knowing this you can then approach the problem with nutrition, however that can take some time. So what do you do for fast results? Well, read the article by “Everyday Health” and see how Joanna Vargas handles it and then make your appointment at 212.949.2350.

By: Katie Kerns
Source: Everyday Health
August 2009

Joanna Vargas: Not Your Average Spa

There are spas, and there are super spas… Spas that, after seducing you into a snuggly serenity and whipping your skin into shape, simply send you on your way; and then spas that dispatch their clients into the world as younger, healthier – even thinner – versions of themselves.

Joanna Vargas, a boutique salon in Midtown Manhattan, commands super-spa status. Sure, its menu features facials (such as the Oxygen Purifying Facial), waxing (even foot waxing!), and sunless tanning (care for a Golden Glow?). But, if you’re feeling bold, you may also want to venture in for microcurrent body treatments, microdermabrasion, or anti-aging LED light therapy.

On a recent visit to the cozy, very-pink salon, I overcame my apprehension and dove into the Tone Up microcurrent body treatment. Tone Up promised to tone my muscle, tighten my skin, and smooth out my cellulite, which couldn’t work against me in those remaining few bathing-suit-required events of the summer. According to the salon, the treatment renders the same results as going to the gym – without actually having to exercise.

I was lucky enough to meet with Joanna herself, who detected my concern as she placed wired, adhesive circles onto my upper thighs and lower butt and then reached for the “on” button. “Not to worry,” she assured me; microcurrents are totally painless and safe. For 30 minutes, tiny (and yes, painless) pulses zapped my problem areas, and it didn’t take long until I felt the same burn that breeds from a 30-minute run. Joanna prompted me to try on my tightest-fitting jeans as soon as I got home (which I did, and I was pleased!).

Cool? Very. The problem? Just like that 30-minute jog, one $200 Tone Up session isn’t going to produce long-lasting, life-changing outcomes. Results are cumulative, so many clients break the bank to get treatments often. Weight also matters. Joanna says she treats models hoping to lose that last centimeter for measurements, as well as overweight woman who see results faster. I’m on neither end of the spectrum, so it’s probably more cost-effective for me to stick with a gym membership. However, the Tone Up could be a nice treat for a woman about to embark on a big day such as a wedding or decade-bending birthday.

If microcurrent treatments have sparked your interest (and you’ve got the funds), I recommend treating yourself to a session at Joanna Vargas. You can also pair the Tone Up with a facial (which Joanna is actually famous for) or an oxygen treatment.

Joanna Vargas Salon is located at 501 5th Avenue, Suite 707 in Midtown Manhattan. To make an appointment, call (212) 949-2350.

- Katie Kerns, Everyday Health Production Editor