Source: OK! Magazine
September 1 2008
Issue #35
By Loni Albert

Joanna Vargas is in good company with the likes of Dr. Murad, Kate Summerville, Christine Chin, in a recent issue of OK! magazine. She and others give some easy yet brilliant tips and tricks for achieving and keeping a perfect complexion. See what the Hollywood elite are doing and what skin care products they are using. You can find all ten tips on pages 54 and 55 of the September 1, 2008 issue of OK! magazine. See what Joanna says by clicking on the link above.

Not all facials are created equal and deciding what type of facial you need might be a daunting task. Especially when there are a multitude of facials found in todays spas and skin care salons. Knowing the basic purpose of a facial will help you in deciding what kind is best for you and what you can expect.

Regardless of the many names spas give facials, in my estimation there are only two types: they are anti-aging facials and deep cleansing facials. Both use a variety of techniques and products to either rejuvenate or to give you clean and clear skin. And each can be customized for the specific skin type by using the proper combination of skin care products.

When clients come to Joanna Vargas Skin Care, most want a luxurious and pampering experience and indeed, that is what they get. However, there is an underlying practical philosophy that I impart and it is my operating basis for skincare. And that is, that a facial should be done as part of a regular skincare regime and used as a means to prevent and protect the skin from the factors which cause skin to age prematurely.

That does not mean that a facial should feel like work or be painful. A well crafted facial will be something that you look forward to and not something that you avoid because of painful extractions, harsh skin care products or techniques that leave your skin red or irritated. After a facial your skin should be clear and glowing not red or irritated.

Surely you can get facials to handle a specific skincare problem or to even pamper yourself, but its main function for me is that it should be a preventative measure against aging. That is why I craft each part of the facial to give results and the sum of its parts give an overall improvement to your skin that is undeniable.

All facials regardless of their fancy names have a basic purpose and that is to cleanse and purify your face. And that is done by exfoliation, or the removal of the top layer of dead skin and deep pore cleansing. Both essentially act as a means of detoxifying the skin. The end of that process, if expertly done, reveals fresh and glowing new skin.

This simple action alone can handle a variety of skin issues and restore the health of your skin dramatically. The reason? Exfoliation triggers the skin’s natural healing ability by the production of collagen and elastin, two vital proteins that firm and give the skin elasticity, restoring it to a more youthful complexion.

These two essential steps of exfoliation and deep pore cleansing are the cornerstone of most facials as they prepare and allow the skin to more readily absorb the needed skin care products for a more radiant and youthful appearance. I prefer to use organic skincare products for this reason as the skin absorbs a more natural ingredient and they act as a nutritional source for the skin. Chemically base products might irritate the skin or in the long run cause the damage that they were meant to “prevent”.

Our bodies tend to shed the skin every 28 to 30 days. And by properly exfoliating at home or during a facial we help the body get rid of the extra skin that usually clog pores and can cause the skin to become dull and lifeless. Also, oil can get trapped beneath the skin and cause breakouts causing a more complex problem.

The solution to beautiful and clear skin is a skincare regime that includes facials at least once every four to six weeks and a maintenance plan at home that includes: washing your face every night that help remove surface dirt and impurities, using a proper hydrating night cream, to help regenerate and repair the skin, and exfoliating at least once a week if not twice.

The reward of any specific skin care salon or spa come from its services and the results they yield, not from the lavish settings and the soothing music.

When I develop a skin care treatment, my first concern is the workability and the results each step yields. Each basic step is measured and tested for results and safety. This includes testing and researching the organic skin care products used. Any part of a facial treatment must stand alone for workability and results and when combined must add or enhance the overall benefits of the facial.

It is this practical and meticulous approach to skin care that separates Joanna Vargas Skin Care Salon from other salons and spas. This is why beauty editors and clients alike recommend our signature facials because they contain basic steps to staying young and beautiful. And these anti-aging treatments are noninvasive and use only organic skin care products. I have created in each treatment a new and holistic approach to skin care.

One of the most basic steps to any beauty regime is microdermabrasion. This means the removal of the uppermost layer of dead skin cells and surface dirt from the skin on the face or body. This action triggers the skin’s natural healing mechanism allowing the skin to safely produce collagen and elastin, two vital proteins that keep skin young and healthy.

Once the fresh new skin has been exposed it can more readily absorb the perfectly crafted organic skin care products that we use in our anti-aging treatments. These specific organic skin care products nurture, heal and restore damaged skin while at the same time stimulating the production of collagen and elastin.

Collagen gives the skin the firmness that young people have and elastin provides the elasticity that so many older people lack in their skin.

Microdermabrasion has been commonly done in the past by sandblasting the face with abrasive aluminum dioxide. This sand-like material is very hard and very fine and although it works, it can leave the skin red and irritated in the first twenty-four hours.

We use an innovative new way of doing microdermabrasion that does not scratch or makes the skin red with irritation. This type of microdermabrasion is done with a diamond tip wand that gently removes the top dead layer of skin. It can be done even on the most sensitive of skin.

The immediate benefits are a fresh, clean and glowing face. Over time, microdermabrasion will actually reduce enlarged pores, eliminates fine lines and wrinkles and improve the overall texture of the skin. This simple step brings beauty back to dull and lifeless skin.

This basic step in skin care, exfoliation, has been done since ancient Egypt! Although greatly refined and therefore any discomfort that was associated with the technique is no longer there.

In fact, regular exfoliation at home in between facials greatly improves the overall look of the skin and gives you a mini-facial right at home! Our best selling exfoliator for at home use is the “Phyt’s Contact +”.

Using the power of light for healing the body and its ills dates back to the Greeks, when it was observed that sunlight had a healing effect on people. The Greeks called this form of therapy heliotherapy. The Greeks knew the benefits of using light to heal, but perhaps not the why. Today we know that exposure to sunlight produces vitamin D, an essential vitamin to good health. Unfortunately, we have also learned that sunlight contains UV rays which are harmful to people over prolonged periods and can cause premature aging as well as skin cancer, as its most damaging effect.

Over 100 years ago the theory of light as a therapy was explored by Dr. Niels Finsen, a Danish Physician who demonstrated the beneficial effects of various light wavelengths in the treatment of tuberculosis. This same technology has proven to be effective in the fields of dermatology, neurology and physiotherapy. Dr. Finsen consequently won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1903 as a result of his findings in the treatment of disease with specific light waves.

LED light therapy and the specific use of light waves as a therapy has continued to advance and has been validated by thousands of studies because of its diversity and efficacy in the treatment of medical ailments. Even NASA and the NAVY SEALs have used LED light therapy for a whole host of things: muscle regeneration, the treatment of wounds, pain management, even the growing of plants in outer space!

Over the past 100 or so years, scientists have concluded that the use of both red and infrared light spectra worked best in the treatment of the injured areas. But how does it work?

Since the beginning of life on Earth, cells have been converting sunlight into food energy. This process, called photosynthesis in plants, stimulates the production of chlorophyll, their energy for life. Humans have a similar process called photo-bio-stimulation in which cells produce ATP, the fuel that powers life at a cellular level.

During an LED light therapy session, ATP is produced which in turn powers our cells daily activities. ATP specifically carries out repair, healing and rejuvenation in the body. In other words, light therapy literally RESTORES existing damage to the tissue!

Red and infrared LED Light Therapy, and this includes blue light therapy used in the treatment of acne, is the culmination of the evolving technology that started over 100 years ago. And in most spas and skin care salons, red and infrared light therapy are used exclusively because of its rejuvenating and healing powers.

The technology of LED light therapy, although over 100 years old, has only in recent years been integrated into the aesthetic field, becoming one of the most powerful anti-aging tools in the industry today. The procedure is non-invasive, gentle, painless and safe. Yet the red and infrared light therapy is very effective as it penetrates deeply into the tissue thus delivering energy for repair and rejuvenation.

Moreover, blue light therapy has proven to be extremely effective in the treatment of acute or chronic acne. In clinical studies more than 86% of study participants experienced a 74% reduction in acne. People who once felt hopeless now have somewhere to turn! Additionally, the red spectrum and infrared spectrum used in conjunction with the blue light therapy help diminish the scaring that occurs from acne breakouts! Truly a wonderful advance for people who suffer from acne.

Another benefit of using red and near infrared light in skin care is that it increases cell regeneration- up to five time faster than normal! Talk about reversing the signs of aging. Many experts feel that this is the ne plus ultra in advance skin care and in anti aging treatments. Additional benefits include: collagen and elastin production, healing of connective tissue. This will give the skin a youthful look and improved elasticity and firmness as a result.

The results of this anti aging treatment will reduce fine lines and wrinkles and the overall skin tone will be improved. Even things like sunspots, stretch marks and scars are reduced! In addition LED light therapy is incredibly relaxing and all the gains are CUMULATIVE.

We are all aging. In fact, its inevitable. Elasticity lessens, collagen production slows down, and our prolonged exposure to the sun causes sun spots, fine lines, and wrinkles. We must seek alternative forms of healing that stimulate healthy, organic body functions. LED Light Therapy is our answer. Its our healthy fountain of youth!

RECOMMENDED TREATMENTS: VitaLight and MultiVitaLight

Many of us know microcurrent as the wondrous European anti aging treatment found in many of the top spas and skin care salons around the United States. But did you know that microcurrent has been in used in the medical field for decades as an effective way of treating pain, burns, and sports injuries?

It has been credited by hundreds of medical studies for its range and efficacy in the healing of wounds and muscle rehabilitation. Its transition into the aesthetic field was a purely accidental discovery. A physician treating Bell’s Palsy patients for paralysis noticed that his patients had a more youthful appearance after treatments.

This discovery caused the integration of microcurrent technology into the aesthetic field, creating a revolutionary new anti aging technology. Many people consider microcurrent facials an alternative to cosmetic surgery as it is completely safe. So what are microcurrent facials and how does this anti aging technology really work?

Microcurrent, meaning mild electric current, is a near duplicate electrical current to that which the human body generates on its own. In 1830, Dr. Carlos Matteucci discovered that the human body generates electricity. He further maintained that any injured or wounded area of the body discharges electricity.

If that is the case then, an injured or damaged area disrupts the natural electrical balance of the body. It is this disruption that delays or prevents the body’s natural healing process from going into effect. When microcurrent is applied to any injured area of the body it begins to restore the natural flow of electricity in the damaged or injured tissues, allowing the body to begin healing itself.

Microcurrent is so slight, one cannot generally feel it. To give you an idea of its relative strength, it would take one million such machines to light a 40 watt light bulb.

How does this apply to aesthetics? Skin with fine lines or wrinkles, sagging muscles or lost elasticity is simply damaged skin or tissue. Microcurrent has the ability to restore the lost energy to the tissue and thereby turning back the hands of time in all of us.

A microcurrent facial is in essence a non-surgical facelift. The application of microcurrent to facial muscles and the skin thereof stimulates collagen and elastin production. Collagen and elastin are two essential proteins needed for the skin to remain youthful and glowing. The production of this vital proteins begin a catalyst in the skin that produce some amazing results. This is why this treatment is so sought after by Hollywood stars, chic women and any one looking for a truly anti aging treatment that gives proven results.

Some of the benefits are lymphatic drainage, regeneration of connective tissue, lifting of the jowls and eyebrows, eliminates or reduces fine lines or wrinkles, tones and tightens the skin, enhanced skin elasticity, skin pigmentation is improved and much more. Most people report immediate results even after the first treatment and best of all, results are CUMULATIVE!

The many factors involved in aging such as pollution, stress and free radical damage are simultaneously addressed with microcurrent facials. This type of facial also called the red carpet facial or the resculpting facial is truly an anti aging wonder in the aesthetic field. And over time microcurrent facials have the ability to literally rejuvenate the face.

Most estheticians recommend a series of 2 to 3 in the first month and then 1 per month in order to maintain and increase the gains. Most clients think of it as a gym workout for the face! Microcurrent remains even after all these years one of the most revolutionary technologies in the anti-aging arsenal and is totally safe.

When a microcurrent facial is done by an expert the results are nothing less than miraculous and if used in conjunction with other anti-aging treatments such as LED light therapy, microdermabrasion or oxygen added to the facial, any of them will be enhance greatly by microcurrent. And one of the best things about this facial is that any skin type can get it as it is extremely gentle.

Additionally, even young people can benefit from it as it prevents the natural progression of aging from going into effect. Look your best at every age with a natural, healthy beauty regime!

Treatments: The Triple Crown Facial, The Royal Treatment, The Tone Up and Two Tone

Oxygen treatments have emerged in the last few years as the newly recognized skin care essential. From oxygen creams to oxygen spray treatments and oxygen inhalation, most spas and salons across the country have something on their menu oxygen related to offer their client.

If you are not a frequent spa goer, then you have perhaps heard of oxygen facials from the biggest celebrity in the world, Madonna. During her last world tour, she touted the benefits of having frequent oxygen treatments in nearly every interview she gave, even going so far as to travel with her own aesthetician so she could partake of an oxygen facial daily. But aside from the celebrity endorsement, what are the aesthetic benefits of oxygen?

Oxygen has incredible regenerative powers and therefore we can assume, it is anti aging. For decades doctors have recognized the regenerative power of oxygen and have used it in the treatment of burns, gangrene and wounds that simply would not heal otherwise. In an oxygen rich environment, bacteria, viruses, and fungal infections simply do not survive. Moreover, high concentrations of oxygen trigger the body’s own healing functions. Reversing many ills or unwanted conditions.

It is these two very important functions of oxygen that inspired skin care experts to incorporate oxygen into aesthetic treatments around the world.

Did you know that in pre-historic earth, the earth’s atmosphere contained oxygen levels of up to 35%? Today, thanks to the Industrial Revolution and deforestation, that number has gone down to 21%. In some major cities, that number is even worse- as low as 17%!

The United States own EPA estimates that the US emits 137 million tons of pollution EACH YEAR! What does that mean for our bodies? Our skin, the protective barrier between us and the environment, gets hit with that pollution every day. We are oxygen starved from our skin to our lungs. Damage will occur, and that damage will accumulate over time resulting in very stressed, premature aged skin.

As an aesthetician, I have seen skin that is highly sensitized, breaking out in a rash because they use products with harmful chemical ingredients of any kind. Wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and excessive sun damage are also the result of the assault our skin is under.

Keeping all of these facts under consideration, it only makes rational sense that incorporating pure oxygen as a treatment into our routine would have real benefit. We need to replenish the oxygen the environment is lacking. We need it to repair damage inflicted on our bodies.

And not once a year, but a minimum of once every month. Oxygen treatments in facials and body treatments help combat all sorts of enemies to the skin, from pollution and stress to the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere. The procedure involves spraying hyperbaric oxygen, 98% pure to be exact, that is infused with a serum that contains essential nutrients and antioxidants. The result is an anti aging treatment that really works.

The oxygen and serum work in conjunction to reach and repair the skin at a cellular level, achieving optimum results. These two elements, the oxygen and serum, work together to eliminate free radicals that cause premature aging, as well as promote the production of collagen and elastin.

Benefits abound: firmer and smoother skin, also erases fine lines and wrinkles and enhances elasticity. Additionally, the benefits are cumulative as the production of collagen and elastin repair the skin and restore the complexion to a more youthful and beautiful you.

The results of a properly done oxygen facial are nothing less than startling as can be attested by the many celebrities that endorse them and its one of the safest and most efficient ways I know of how to continue to look your best. A truly anti aging treatment.

Treatments: The Oxygen Purifying Facial, The Triple Crown, The Royal Treatment, The Two Tone, The Double Happiness, The Golden Glow, The VitaLight and MultiVitaLight