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Rippling Muscles on TV Dance Shows Are a Pigment of Your Imagination The Gift That Needs Forgiving St. Tropez Airbrush Tanning! The Best Beauty Breakthroughs That Thicket of Hair Just Spoils the View of All Those Muscles Synergie Body Treatments The Rip-Off Artist Men Turning to Salons for a Little Life Balance, a Lot of Pampering Beauty Tips Why Massage Therapy is for You Top Ten Wellness Trends Email Specials Appointments at the Spa Club
The Gift That Needs Forgiving
The Gift That Needs Forgiving
Jon Protas for The Wall Street Journal
Last year, Lindsay Demma Gibson was thrilled to find a stocking and, under the tree, several carefully wrapped gifts from her husband Christmas morning.
That is, until she opened them.
Ms. Gibson, an elementary-school teacher, had been hoping for her favorite perfume, new boots or a nice purse.
Giving your wife a heating pad for Christmas is a good way to get left out in the cold.
Instead, her husband gave her golf gloves, a golf skirt and a golf shirt with a country-club logo on it—even though she rarely hits the links. He also presented her with a heating pad, Listerine breath strips and generic nasal strips to prevent snoring.
\"I never got gifts like that before,\" says Ms. Gibson, who lives near Hershey, Pa. \"It looked as if my husband was buying for a 70-year-old lady riddled with arthritis and face-crinkling halitosis, not me, his lovely 34-year-old bride who practices good oral hygiene.\"
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your mother was wrong: It doesn\'t matter one bit if you were naughty or nice all year. Chances are, at some point in your marriage or relationship, your partner is going to give you a bad gift. And although it might not be quite as traumatic as the time you asked Santa for a Nintendo set and got a Boggle game instead, it\'s still going to sting.
It\'s one of the holiday season\'s unexpected traps: Just at the time of year when we\'re trying hard to be on our best behavior, the wrong gift can strain our marriage bonds.
Kirk Gibson, giver of the breath-freshener and anti-snoring strips, admits that he erred on the side of practical last year, but says that some of the presents were meant to make his wife laugh. \"My problem is I didn\'t follow them up with a real gift,\" says Mr. Gibson, a 33-year-old organizational development consultant who has been married not quite three years.
Of course, gifts between couples can backfire in either direction. But—please don\'t shoot the messenger—men seem to be more clueless than women.
Women tend to care more about gifts. They shop more, and think more about them. They attach more emotion to them. And they can be more demanding and less direct.
(If I ask my husband what he wants for the holidays, he will say \"nothing\" and mean it. If he asks me, I will say \"nothing,\" as well. And God help him if he believes me.)
Making matters even worse: When it comes to bad gifts, women have the memory of elephants. Take Donna Clark Goodrich. In 1962, she asked her husband for a recording of Handel\'s \"Messiah.\" Instead, he got her a parody LP of the Kennedy family by impressionist Vaughn Meader. \"I\'ve never let my husband live that Christmas down,\" says Ms. Goodrich, 71, a writer in Mesa, Ariz.
When I began asking people about gifts they received from significant others that had gone awry, examples poured in—all of them from women. (Perhaps tellingly, many of these bad-gift stories involved former husbands.)
There were tales of men who gave their wives electric brooms, washcloths and cheese graters, cosmetic surgery, weed wackers and AC/DC box sets. One wife told of receiving a child\'s toy dishwasher—she had asked for a real one—and immediately bursting into tears. Another said she opened a case of Chapstick. A third recounted how she received a size 9 pair of men\'s tennis shoes. (She wears a women\'s size 6.)
Once, Cherie Jorgensen, a 32-year-old event planner in Detroit, had a boyfriend who made her a romantic Christmas dinner. He then gave her a super-absorbent hair towel and a man\'s bath wrap while they were cuddling in front of the tree. \"Needless to say, he is no longer in the picture,\" she says.
Angela Lopez received a mass-market poem from her husband about the meaning of the name \"Angela,\" decorated with a gray wolf on a blue-violet background. \"I felt a little panicked,\" says Ms. Lopez, 38, who owns two sandwich shops with her husband in San Diego. \"We were starting a business together, and it made me think, \'Are we even on the same page?\'\"
You shouldn\'t need a gift consultant (or a marriage counselor) to tell you these presents are wrong. They\'re utilitarian. Unromantic. Ugly. And, in many cases, more suitable for a man, or a cleaning woman, than the love of your life.
In his new book, \"Scroogenomics,\" Wharton School economist Joel Waldfogel estimates that the gifts others buy for us are worth 20% less to us than the gifts we buy for ourselves. But of all the people on our holiday lists, he says, the ones we are best at picking out gifts for are spouses and significant others. That\'s because, presumably, we know these people best.
Then why so many bad gifts within couples?
It\'s simple, really. Sometimes men aren\'t listening to their wives. But just as often, women aren\'t clear about their desires. They want men to pick up on their subtle clues, rather than telling them outright what they\'d like. As one woman I know explains, \"It means we are special to them if they detect what we want without us telling them.\"
Tom Valentino, who grew up in a large Italian-American family, blames his upbringing. In his parents\' house, Christmas was all about religious values—and food. Gifts were an afterthought.
Flash ahead a few decades, when Mr. Valentino, an accountant, had to pick out a holiday gift for his wife. \"I started to think, well, we have three kids already, so no need for anything from Victoria\'s Secret,\" he says. \"And I bought her a fancy watch last year for her birthday. How many of those does she need?\"
Then he remembered his wife had said she needed a vacuum and a bigger pasta pot. Off to Macy\'s he went. \"I could almost smell the sauce cooking with meatballs, sausage and braciole,\" he says. \"How could a woman not be happy with these?\"
He found out, because the gifts made his wife cry. \"The worst part of it all were the looks the kids gave me,\" says Mr. Valentino, 52, who lives in Cheshire, Conn. \"It\'s been about 15 years, and I can\'t tell you how many times I\'ve been reminded of those gifts.\"
And there\'s the rub. When men receive gifts they hate, they typically shrug them off. Women, faced with the same dilemma, feel hurt.
What did it for Susan Wilson? A nightgown her husband bought a number of years ago for their anniversary and presented to her at a cozy dinner for two at their country club.
It was cotton (the scratchy kind). Extra-large (she is a size four). Wrapped in a Wal-Mart bag. And emblazoned with St. Bernards carrying snowballs in their mouths.
Ms. Wilson, 54, a business consultant in Stevensville, Mich., was speechless. \"You could fit three Peyton Mannings in it,\" she says, adding that the thoughtlessness of the gift made her feel unappreciated. As a result, the rest of the evening did not go as her husband had planned. \"He made me feel like a dog, but he went to the kennel.\"
Her husband\'s rationale: His wife loves dogs. \"I thought I was being creative,\" says Doug Wilson, 55, a corporate environmental health and safety director. \"And I always think of sleepwear as something you want to be cozy and not real tight.\"
So what\'s a well-meaning spouse to do? Start with these gift-giving tips:
• When in doubt, go down a size.
• Never give a gift that suggests
your spouse is not perfect. No unsolicited exercise equipment, self-help books, wrinkle cremes or nose-hair removers.
• Appliances and cookware are OK only if she asks for them.
• Don\'t even think about a gift that you will get more enjoyment out of than your spouse.
• Remember: It\'s not just the thought that counts—especially if you didn\'t have that thought until the checkout line.
• When all else fails, at least try to create memories.
That\'s what Ms. Gibson, the Pennsylvania teacher, is expecting this year. Recently a package arrived for her husband, who likes do his holiday shopping online. Who sent it? DrNatura, a company known for its colonics.
\"Is my dear husband intending to give me a colon cleanser for Christmas this year?\" says Ms. Gibson, who says she immediately started to think of all the silly jokes she would share with him, such as \"Out with the old, in with the new.\"
\"At this point, getting perfect, well-thought-out gifts seems a little boring. Bring on the bad gifts, honey.\"
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Rippling Muscles on TV Dance Shows Are a Pigment of Your Imagination
LOS ANGELES -- In the world of television, Fiona Locke is a special-effects expert. She doesn\'t blow up buildings or choreograph car crashes. Ms. Locke wields an airbrush gun filled with a brown liquid. She makes people tan and fit-looking.
She\'s the secret behind the ABC-TV hit \"Dancing With the Stars,\" the competition series that pairs celebrities like former GOP leader Tom DeLay and singer Donny Osmond with professional dancers. Ms. Locke and a team of body makeup artists prepare them for the show\'s scanty outfits and an audience of 18 million viewers eager to see which couple will be crowned champion on Tuesday.
The hit TV show \'Dancing With the Stars\' takes the spray tan to a new level. WSJ\'s Amy Chozick goes behind the scenes to find the answer to the burning question: Did Tom DeLay spray?
\"Dancing With the Stars\" producers advise contestants to get sprayed down the Sunday before each televised competition. A recent Sunday afternoon, backstage at the McCadden rehearsal space here, Ms. Locke spritzed half a dozen contestants, naked or in string bikinis, to chestnut-colored skin. She changed the settings on her gun to paint in the shadows of muscles. Six-pack abs, defined cheekbones and sculpted arms appeared almost instantly. Each 10-week season, the cast goes through more than six gallons of spray-tan liquid, or juice as it is known in the industry.
\"You go in feeling fat and frumpy, and you come out feeling skinny and hot,\" said 20-year-old dancer Chelsie Hightower as she took a break from practicing the hustle to get her weekly tan.
The spray-tan phenomenon is growing around the country, as pasty-faced consumers want the bronze look without the ultraviolet-ray damage caused by natural sun or tanning beds. Nowhere is spray tanning a more serious pursuit than among the TV makeup artists who make their living at the intersection of Hollywood and ballroom dancing.
Mr. DeLay received bronzer on his face before stress fractures in both his feet caused him to quit \"Dancing With the Stars\" after just three weeks. He said he has an unwritten deal with ABC that costumes not show his \"beautiful body.\"
\"They said if I wanted to open my shirt for the finale, they could paint a six pack on me,\" Mr. DeLay said, from his cellphone as he drove an RV from Sugar Land, Texas, to Los Angeles for the finale, at which eliminated contestants will appear one last time.
On season six of the Fox show \"American Idol,\" judge Simon Cowell complimented contestant Haley Scarnato\'s legs and said \"People are going to be talking about a lot more than your singing tonight.\" She had just performed in short shorts after a spray tan. \"Her legs were so white,\" says head makeup artist Mezhgan Hussainy. \"I said \'Honey, we\'re going in the bathroom, and I\'m tanning you.\' \"
Ms. Hussainy also regularly gives NBC\'s \"America\'s Got Talent\" judge Piers Morgan a quick squirt on his hands. \"It looked like he was wearing white gloves,\" she says.
For years television makeup artists used full-body foundation to help make actors glow on the small screen. High-definition TV and the explosion of dance shows made it even more important to hide every flaw. The temporary foundation caked up, rubbed off on costumes and doesn\'t work on physically demanding and sweaty dance programs. Celebrities complained that most spray tan available at local salons across the country wears off awkwardly. Worse, the mix emitted a funky smell and made some users a rusty orange.
So TV makeup artists fooled with the ingredients and came up with new technology to apply the mix. Melanie Mills, head makeup artist on \"Dancing With the Stars,\" and Ms. Locke will hold nationwide seminars early next year to teach professional makeup artists about \"body finishing\" with spray tan. (Both Ms. Mills and Ms. Locke are spokeswomen for the London-based St. Tropez self-tan brand.) In competitive ballroom dancing, with its sequins and tuxedo tails, USA Dance Inc., a nonprofit national governing body of competitive ballroom dancing, encourages dancers to spray tan so they stand out under heavy stage lights, says Angela Prince, the group\'s spokeswoman and a competitive dancer who douses herself in tanner before performing the quickstep or Viennese waltz.
Depending on the dance the couple will perform -- fox trot or waltz, West Coast swing or cha-cha -- TV makeup artists use a specific tone of tan. Latin dances like the rumba and sultry lambada seem to call for the darkest shades. Waltzes and fox trots take fine-tuning on hands, neck and ankles since most of the body is covered. Dancer Noelle Marsh got an extra dose of color when she and her partner performed an Afro-jazz number on Fox\'s \"So You Think You Can Dance\" reality series.
\"It\'s a real Eastern European, communist version of what\'s beautiful,\" says \"Dancing With the Stars\" executive producer Conrad Green.
A behind-the-scenes struggle takes place on \"Dancing With the Stars\" as producers plead with professional dancers not to overdo the spray tan. Ms. Mills calls dancers who get too dark \"tanorexic.\" When they come to the makeup room for an extra dark coat of tan before a performance, makeup artists will apply brown water and pretend it\'s self tanner. \"We try and trick them,\" body makeup artist Nadege Schoenfeld says. \"They\'re about to be half naked on national television. A tan makes them look thinner.\"
Self tanners deliver a color additive, dihydroxyacetone or DHA, that reacts with amino acids on the skin\'s surface to temporarily darken the skin. The tan takes six to eight hours to set and wears off naturally after about a week. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the external application of products that contain DHA but warns that an all-over spray tan may make it difficult to avoid inhaling the mix or potentially harmful contact with eyes.
Spray tan can lead to other problems. On the BBC show \"Strictly Come Dancing,\" which originated the televised celebrity dance genre, professional ballroom dancer Anton Du Beke took a look at his Moroccan-Indian partner after she had received a deep spray tan and made an ethnic reference he later publicly apologized for. A spokeswoman for the BBC and Mr. Du Beke said in a statement that both dancers \"consider the matter dealt with and want to move on and get as far as they can in the competition.\"
On \"Dancing With the Stars,\" in season six in 2008, Miami Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor, who is African-American, had to get a spray tan because his Polish dance partner, Edyta Sliwinska, had over-tanned and was darker than Mr. Taylor, says Mr. Green, the producer. A spokesman for Mr. Taylor says his client didn\'t get spray-tanned.
Melissa Joan Hart, star of the TV show \"Sabrina the Teenage Witch,\" who was eliminated from the contest a few episodes ago, noticed her spray tan was fading Monday. She Tweeted fans to look for her in the \"Dancing With the Stars\" audience as the pastiest person there.
What looks fabulous under the heavy lights of television, though, leaves contestants adjusting to reality after the show. Tony Dovolani performed a salsa with model Kathy Ireland earlier this season. After the couple got eliminated, Mr. Dovolani went home to Connecticut. He tried to scrub off his dark fake tan, but couldn\'t. \"People look at you like you\'re a weirdo when you go in the grocery store,\" he says.
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St. Tropez Airbrush Tanning!
What Clients Are Saying About St. Tropez Air-Spray Tanning
“I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know how excited I am about the St. Tropez tan I recently received at The Spa Club. I have tried many different tanning products and other tanning places, but non of them came close to the results I have seen from The Spa Club. It looks so natural! I love it because it looks like a truly deep, natural tan without the risks associated with baking in the sun or roasting in a booth. My appreciation goes out to whomever invented this product!” -Norma Pech-Roussin
“I LOVE the St. Tropez Tanning…it’s so nice to not worry what it’s doing to your skin for a change. It’s quick and so easy…finally someone got smart!” -Karen Brown
“I LOVED the St. Tropez airbrush tan. Seriously, it was terrific. I have never had a better tan (even a real one) and I loved how it looked. I just wanted to stand in front of the mirror and admire it! I am already booking my next one. Thanks!” -Julie Nelson
“As a natural redhead with fair and freckled skin, having a GREAT tan is something I could only dream about before St. Tropez. I do not sunbathe and have never used a tanning bed. But sometimes, I want a sexy tanned look! I’ve tried spray-on tans twice before with mediocre results. I have also used several self-tanning products at home and found them work relatively well, but they are very time consuming and I can’t get my entire body to look evenly tanned (or reach everywhere, for that matter). I decided to give St. Tropez a try because I have fallen in love with the other Spa Club services – the facials, massages, manicures and pedicures have all been EXCELLENT and every staff member there has been great. Your esthetician did an excellent job with spray-on tan!! It was PERFECT. I have never been so tan and spent the next week wearing cute strapless heels and skirts every day (I also had to show off my perfect pedicure, which I had done the day before the spray tan). I received A TON of compliments on my tan, which is definitely a first. My husband told me several times how sexy it looked and we both think it’s worth every penny. Thank you, Spa Club!” -Jennifer Jensen, A Happy & Tanned Redhead
“I got the St. Tropez airbrush tan when The Spa Clubs first started offering it. I absolutely loved it!! Besides being super tan I would say the best thing about the treatment was that it totally left my skin on the back of my legs so smooth!! I didn’t have any cellulite dimples! My sister even commented on it and also how defined my abs looked. So it turned out to be a total body makeover! Thanks!” -Maggie Clark
“I am in a wedding at the end of this month, and I thought I would try this out to see how it works. I loved it! It seemed to last a long time, and the color was deep and rich and really natural looking. I thought I would feel uncomfortable while it was being done, but the person who did mine took time and I felt really comfortable while she did it. I had many people ask me when I had the time to lay out! I made sure to tell them what it was and where I got it. The wedding is coming up and I am making another appointment today…can’t wait! Thanks for offering this service!” -Roni Rowe
“I am simply in love with the airbrush tanning! I am 7 months pregnant and have been avoiding tanning beds as well as the natural sun all summer long. I’ve tried the self tanners in a bottle but had a hard time not coming out looking streaky or orange. I finally decided to try the airbrush tanning and I was amazed! I was not orange at all, it looks completely natural! I love being tan and St. Tropez airbrush tanning was the answer to my prayers!” -Ali Sumsion
“I have really fair skin and always worry about climbing into a tanning bed and how much it’s going to damage my skin. I tried the airbrush tanning and loved it! It was quick, easy and my husband thought it was real!” -Melissa Beckstead
“I first had my hesitations about the St. Tropez Airbrush Tanning System. I’ve done spray-on tans before, and didn’t have the best results. And when I saw the price tag for the tan, I was not excited to attempt another spray-on catastrophe. But then I was in the West Jordan location for a waxing with Britni. I commented on her great looking skin and she stated she used the St. Tropez system. She looked (and smelt) great! I thought if she could look that good, then I should try it too. I came in to try it and was so impressed. Your staff was wonderful, professional and discreet. I felt completely safe and the esthetician made the experience comfortable for me. The airbrush technique really sets this tan apart from other spray-ons. I have light ivory skin and was amazed at the bronze glow my skin had for about a week after the airbrush session. There were no streaks, no mess and best of all…no smell! I didn’t need to wear makeup for about a week since the soft tan glow radiated my skin…which is great for summer! I am very impressed with the Spa Club staff, who are professionals at this airbrushing technique and with the St. Tropez system.” -Lindsey Adams
“Thanks to The Spa Club for offering St. Tropez airbrush tanning. I came in to “even up” for a friend’s wedding and the results were wonderful! I was a little anxious about how the final color would look but it was very natural and several people complimented me on my great tan. Thanks again!” -Deena Loyola
“After having a baby three weeks ago, I was feeling frumpy and pale (LONG winter with no sun!) and I went to the Fort Union location for a tanning session. Not only did I LOVE the tan, and it still looks great a week later, but your technician made me feel so good about myself post-baby that I’m sold! This is the first spray tan I’ve ever had that is actually natural looking with no lines or discoloration and I’ve received a million compliments!” -Kristin Fox
"I got the St. Tropez tan done at the Jordan Landing location with Britni. Not only was Britni very knowledgeable with the procedure and the products to follow, but she also made me feel very comfortable. I’ve always been a very cream complexion type of girl and doing the St. Tropez tan was much more rewarding then having to go to a UV tanning bed every week. It’s both time consuming and unhealthy. I love this tan...instant and above all, no health risks. Thanks!" -Melanie Koester
"I had plans to attend an outdoor wedding and felt uncomfortable in all of my summer dresses because I did not have a tan. I decided to try the airbrush tan and was pleased at the outcome. All night long people were telling me that I looked good and wanted to know if I had just gotten back from the beach. Nobody even knew it wasn’t a real tan! I already have a medium complexion and was surprised to find that the airbrush tan took on the natural color of my skin. I will be back in to have this done again soon. Thanks!" -Misty Guevara
"Love the airbrush tan! It’s quick and easy, doesn’t turn me orange and lasts at least a week. Great for weddings and vacations! Thanks!" -Robyn Thomson
"I LOVE the St. Tropez tanning...it’s so nice not to worry what it’s going to do to your skin for a change. It’s quick and so easy...finally someone got smart!" -Karen Brown
"I LOVED the St. Tropez airbrush tan. Seriously, it was terrific. I have never had a better tan (even a real one) and I loved how it looked. I just wanted to stand in front of the mirror and admire it! I’m already booking my next one. Thanks!" -Julie Nelson
"Wonderful natural looking color, nice smell, and the esthetician made me feel at ease. Much better results than any spray bed or at-home product. Will do again!" -Alecia Mickelsen
"I had a vacation planned with my husband to visit Cancun, Mexico at the end of June, but I didnt’ want to cause a scene on the beach with my Utah snowy white glow (my body never sees the sun!). When I heard The Spa Club was offering airbrush tanning, I booked an appointment right away, scheduled the day before my trip. I was so excited with my new tan and how real it looked that I packed all of my bikini’s so I could show it off all week! I looked great and felt more confident than I ever have. I’ve had spray on tans before from spa, but I ended up looking orangy/yellow, plus it didn’t fade well and I ended up with scaly colored pieces by the third day. Needless to say, I’m getting another St. Tropez Tan." -C.K. (initials used by request)
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The Best Beauty Breakthroughs
By: Melissa Foss
As published in Parade Magazine
October 8, 2006
Wrinkles, age spots and saggy skin can sneak up on you. And a glance in the mirror may leave you wondering what you can do to look younger. But while many still opt to go under the knife, more and more women and men are choosing non-invasive, in-office procedures: According to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, of the 11.5 million cosmetic procedures preformed in 2005, a whopping 81% were non-surgical. Why the up swing? Minimal downtime, and immediate gratification. Still, it is important to be cautious and to discuss your needs with a board-certified doctor. Here is a look at some of the latest procedures.
MICRODERMABRASION
What it does: Smoothes and polishes skin, and promotes collagen growth.
How it works: The process takes about half an hour. A handheld piece resembling a hose or small iron emits crystals, salt or, in some cases, microscopic diamond particles, over the surface of the skin to exfoliate. The particles get sucked back inside with the dead skin cells.
What you should know: Some patients report a feeling of suction, but there is no discomfort. Many doctors suggest ongoing treatments, with at least three spaced over a few weeks to get started. Be sure to use an experience practitioner, as multiple passes over the skin could leave your face raw.
Cost: About $200 per area. Check with your doctor-many offer reduced rates when you buy a package of treatments.
Injectables
What they do: Injectables fall into two groups. The first, Botulinum toxin type A (aka Botox) “paralyzes” or relaxes muscles so the skin draped over them becomes smoother. Fillers are the second injectable, replacing lost volume in the face by pumping up wrinkles and firming sagging spots.
How it works: It takes three or four days to see the full effect of Botox, and results last three to four months. Among fillers, there are four basic types: One, autologen, is a patient’s own fat removed from another area. “it takes half an hour to remove fat and re-inject it,” says Dr. David Colbert, consulting dermatologist with Cabrini Medical Center and St. Vincent’s in New York. “Then we keep the extra in our bank for up to three years.” The second type is Hyaluronic acid, a natural substance found in all living organisms. The third, bovine-based collagen requires a skin allergy test. But these are becoming less popular as doctors and patients switch to the fourth type of injectable, human-based collagen fillers.
What you should know: Many people report feeling a slight pinch from Botox. Fillers are a bit more painful, since the needle is usually larger and more of the substance is used. Possible side effects include temporary bruising and swelling. (A drooping eyelid from Botox also has been reported, although it is rare.)
Cost: Varies widely; from $400-$1,400 per area.
Lasers
What they do: Non-ablative lasers are intense, focused beams of light that diminish signs of aging like brown spots, acne scars and wrinkles, and help reduce unwanted hair-all without removing and layers of skin.
How it works: Lasers-and similar intense pulse light (IPL) machines-bypass the top layer of skin to treat the lyers underneath. “the result is smoother, clearer skin over time,” says Dr. Lawerence Reed, clinical assistant professor of plastic surgery at NY Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell Medical College. The light source alters collagen, forcing deeper layers of skin to tighten and tone. Dark spots lighten as excess melanin is eliminated.
What you should know: Three to sic treatments are best for optimal results and the pain level is minimal-many describe a feeling similar to the snap of a rubber band. Some popular names of lasers (and similar light and heat sources) are Fraxtel, Thermage and Titan.
Cost: $300-$1,200 per session.
Chemical peels
What they do: Light peels can refresh dullness, reduce redness, reverse sun damage, even tone and give a healthy glow. Results vary according to the strength, ingredients and how long the peel is left on skin.
How it works: the mixture is painted onto your face with a sponge or brush, avoiding the eyes and mouth. Popular choices are alpha hydroxyl acid (AHA), which helps improve skin texture, and trichloric acid (TCA)-especially with dark-skin.
What you should know: Specify that you’d like a “lunchtime” procedure. Other chemical peels cost thousands, severely strip surface skin required weeks of down time.
Cost: From $200-$800
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That Thicket of Hair Just Spoils the View of All Those Muscles
It all started back ancient Greece, home of the original Adonis. When carving their marble statues of men, Greek sculptors, who were careful to chisel in beards and moustaches, almost always gave their subjects smooth chests. Chest hair, says Andrew Stewart, an art history professor at the University of California, Berkeley, “was excluded from the Greek ideal of beauty.”
That’s more or less the view of Jason Vourazeris, who is something of a modern Adonis. The 20-year-old premed major at the University of Southern California is trim and hit by virtue of regular sessions at the USC weight room. The Sunday before last, he was heading out to the beach with some chums. To get ready for a shirtless afternoon, he went into a bathroom of his fraternity house, pulled out a can of shaving cream and a plastic razor, lathered up his chest, and shaved it. “It just looks a lot cleaner this way,” he explained.
It turns out a lot of other men are going smooth. They no longer aspire to the dense pectoral embellishment of an Ernest Hemingway, Burt Reynolds or Tom Selleck. The new ideal is the Marky Mark-style buff body-bulging pecks and tight ads, both as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Body hair, after all, just obstructs the view of all those muscles. So growing numbers of men, especially younger ones who work out, are using razors, electric clippers, waxing, electrolysis and lasers to get rid of it.
These new smoothies are everywhere. The “Body for Life” fitness program asks people to spend six weeks getting into shape and then send in before-and-after pictures. The men in the “after” shots invariably have shaved chests.
FHM, a men’s magazine, ran a six-page spread last year on removing body hair. Men’s fitness magazine hasn’t had a hairy chest on its cover since 1995. If a model showed up for a cover shoot with hair on his chest, “we’d ask him to get rid of it,” said Dave Zinczenko, the magazine’s editor. TV commercials and magazine ads routinely show only polished chests. “In many situations, we’ll be asked if a guy will wax or shave,” says Amy Sobo, of the Sobo Casting agency in Los Angeles.
On youth-and-sun-oriented television shows, such as those shown on MTV, watch as the camera pans a beach crowd. The men are invariably muscular and smooth. Or saunter down fraternity row in parts of the country with warmer and sun-conscious climes-like 28th Street in Los Angeles, a few blocks from USC, home of Mr. Vourazeris’s Pi Kappa Alpha frat house. You’ll likely see an army of buff and largely smooth frat boys sitting out enjoying the sun.
“It’s a huge trend,” says a spokeswoman for Gillette-so much so that the company is thinking of adding a section on chest-shaving to its Web site. “The chest is a delicate area, full of lots of bumps and nuances,” she says.
Of course, body builders have always shaved their chests-and the rest of their bodies-to better show off their sofa-sized muscles. In his “Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding,” Arnold Schwarzenegger dispenses shaving tips, cautioning lifters not to follow the practice his workout partner Franco Columbo used between bench presses: pulling hest hairs one by one by hand.
Other male athletes use razors in untraditional places. Swimmers shave their whole bodies the night before a meet, to better feel the water. Stanford University swimming coach Skip Kenney estimates that shavers get a 2% speed boost. Cyclists shave their legs, largely because a shaved leg heals better in the event of a spill, says Matt Murphy, managing director of the U.S. Cycling Federation.
But much of the current chest-shaving isn’t functional. “It’s an effort to follow the aesthetics of Greek statuary,” says Steven Cohan of the English Department at Syracuse University, who has written about male images in the movies.
Dr. Cohan says many Hollywood actors have been secret chest shavers. Burt Lancaster, for example, went smooth for “From Here To Eternity.” But it’s not always something celebrities want to talk about. For example, many Web sites devoted to Star Trek report that William Shatner shaved his chest for his role as Capt. Kirk.
Did he really? “It’s a ridiculous question, and I won’t ask him,” says a spokeswoman for the star. “Even if he did, he probably wouldn’t want to talk about it.”
Not everyone is so taciturn. On a 1997 episode of “Seinfeld,” Jerry shaved his chest, worried what his girlfriend would think, but discovered that she likes things smooth. Spike Feresten, the “Seinfeld” writer who wrote the episode, says he did so to help get the issue of male body-shaving into the open. “You can tell there is an apprehension about it, but it is definitely going on,” he says.
To be sure, not all men are chest shavers, particularly older guys. Many don’t even approve of the idea. “I consider it creepy,” says Jim Kaminsky, editor of Maxim, the men’s magazine. “In most cases, guys should never shave below the neck. It’s one of the vestiges of womanhood. We’re invading an area we shouldn’t invade.”
The recent interest in chest shaving for cosmetic reasons seems to have started in the gay male community, whence have come other male grooming trends. For example, at the circuit parties that are popular with heavily muscled gay men, shaved chests are ubiquitous, says Bill Haberkam, who runs a Web site devoted to the circuit-party scene. “It’s a total stereotype, but it’s true,” he says.
Indeed, the “gay question” is one that straight chest-shavers say they have to grapple with. “A lot of guys want to do it but are insecure and think it’s gay,” says Kirill Zagalsky, a chest-shaving fraternity brother of Mr. Vourazeris. “But I’m secure.”
The men of Pi Kappa Alpha-avowed heterosexuals all-say that their smooth skin is extremely popular with women, especially younger ones. The men also try to dispel some urban legends about chest shaving. No, it doesn’t itch horribly when it grows back. And no, it doesn’t grow back even denser.
Who knows how many men are shaving their chests. Nobody is counting. But here’s one data point: One Sunday, Mr. Vourazeris’s bedroom at Pi Kappa Alpha was a gathering place for frat brothers, there to watch the Syracuse-Georgia Tech football game on TV. In the course of an hour, about a half a dozen young men wondered in.
Most of them said they practiced some sort of upper-torso depilation.
Garriet Thompson, for example, said he did it regularly when playing football in high school. “The ladies liked it,” he said with a rakish smile. Another brother, Travis Skelton, said that while he doesn’t shave his chest, he does trim it with scissors.
“Scissors?” said Mr. Vourazeris. “That’s disgusting. No wonder it’s all patchy. Use clippers, dude.”
-Wall Street Journal, May 2004
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Synergie Body Treatments
SynergieTM Aesthetic Massage System
What is Synergie?
The Synergie Aesthetic Massage System delivers deep, sub-dermal tissue massage, also referred to as liponic sculpting. The Synergie method is non-invasive and utilizes vacuum massage technology. It is an easy and effective non-surgical alternative for body sculpting resulting in lost inches. Synergie treatments are also effective in temporarily reducing the appearance of cellulite. Non-invasive treatments with the Synergie AMS unit combines suction and applied pressure providing optimal stimulation, stretching, and pressure to subcutaneous tissues – a type of therapy that is more effective than traditional massage techniques.
What is the history of the technology?
The technology behind the Synergie AMS unit was first introduced in Europe in the 1980’s. The original theory behind this technology was to soften scars. However, people began showing improvement in skin tone and spot reduction. Since then, the technology has proved to be effective aesthetically and has been used worldwide for several years. This technology was introduced in the United States in 1996.
Who can have Synergie treatments?
Anyone who would like to see the loss of inches or smooth out cellulite can receive treatments. Although women are privarily the clients most often treated, men will also find Synergie to be successful. Many men will have their “love handles” treated. There are a few contraindications but most individuals are qualified to receive Synergie treatments.
How do Synergie treatments feel?
Synergie treatments are relaxing and invigorating. You are literally receiving a massage. Some clients may even fall asleep because it is so relaxing. The sensation is similar to a deep, invigorating massage. Treatment levels are adjusted for a client’s comfort.
How often do I have to have Synergie treatments?
The typical regimen is twice weekly for 30 minutes. The total number of treatments required depends on the individual’s goals and needs. Treatments can be increased to three times a week if desired but we recommend at least 24 hours in between treatments.
When can I begin to see results?
Noticeable outward changes can usually be seen within 4-5 treatments. However, results will vary. A study of 36 women treated twice a week over an eight week period showed loss of inches in 100% of participants and visible reduction in the appearance of cellulite in 91% of participants.
How long will the results last?
In order to maintain results, monthly maintenance sessions are recommended after completing the initial aggressive phase. Treatment regimens can be customized to meet the goals of each client. Longevity of benefits will vary depending on the individual’s lifestyle.
Is there a limit to how many treatments I can have?
No! The Synergie treatments are a safe, reliable, non-surgical approach. A client could have treatments as often as every other day. Although you may begin to see results in as little as 4 treatments, you may continue to have treatments until individual goals and objectives are met.
Does this replace diet and exercise?
No. In fact, if diet and exercise are used in conjunction with Synergie treatments, greater results will likely be experienced. The recent Synergie Study has shown optimal results will be achieved by following the recommended program which includes Synergie treatments, regular exercise and proper nutrition.
What results can I expect if I choose to only receive the Synergie treatments?
The Synergie study indicated a client would see tremendous results from receiving Synergie treatments only. The treatments alone will help the client lose inches, sculpt the body, and temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite. However, optimal results will occur when a client combines Synergie treatments with proper nutrition and regular exercise.
What happens if I begin treatments and for some reason have to stop for a few weeks? Do I have to start over again?
Each treatment is effective yet subtle. Noticeable outward changes can usually be seen within 4-5 treatments, however results do vary with each client. Someone who sporadically receives treatments will see results. But a client who wishes to see optimal results would routinely participate in the program without interrupting the treatment regimen which is twice-weekly for two months or until individual results are achieved.
Does one lose weight with this system?
Although most will experience some weight loss, these treatments are most effective in losing inches and smoothing skin.
Is Synergie comparable to liposuction?
No, there is no comparison. The Synergie Lifestyle System is non-invasive and painless. Synergies i a non-surgical alternative for body sculpting and contouring.
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The Rip-Off Artist
A Historical Study of the Brazilian Bikini Wax
By Tamar Brott
(reprinted from Los Angeles Magazine, April 2003)
Many years ago Cindee Esser-Thorin was a governess in Beverly Hills. Then she taught Montessori. But now she wishes to improve the world by ripping the pubic hair from women’s crotches. We don’t need hair there, she says. "It was wonderful in the old, primitive days when we would squat by the fire and eat. It let us know if twigs or bugs were on us so we could reach down and brush them off. But now we wear underwear and sit at tables, and nature hasn’t quite caught up."
Esser-Thorin, who has long brown hair and looks to be in her late forties, is extremely cheerful and likes to hug people and talk about karma. She is the proprietor of a salon called Pink Cheeks. It is located on the south side of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, and it is so famous for its bikini waxes that women line up for them as early as 6:30 in the morning, some from as far as New York City. There are six varieties to choose from: the Regular, the Playboy, the Pseudo Playboy, the Thumbprint, the Full, and the Brazilian. Pink Cheeks also does custom jobs, such as pubic Christmas trees and candy canes, heart shapes, and the initials of husbands and boyfriends (new ones, mostly), which are usually bleached, then dyed and sprinkled with rhinestones and glitter. The letter G is the most challenging. But Pink Cheek’s greatest claim to fame is that in the early 90’s, it became the first salon in Los Angeles to wax the vaginal lips and the anus. This style is the Playboy, and it now constitutes 65 percent of Esser-Thorin’s business.
Esser-Thorin, whose motto is "Where there’s hair, we’re there," never advertised the Playboy. Nor was it her idea in the first place. But she enjoys telling the story of its creation, which, as in all satisfying creation stories, can be pinpointed to one particular moment. That is the moment Pamela Anderson came in and said, "Cindee?" and Cindee said, "What?" and Pamela said, "Can you wax my lips?" Back then Anderson was still the "Tool Time Girl" on Home Improvement and Pink Cheeks was primarily a facial salon, whose name was meant to signify youth and good health, that only did the occasional bikini wax. Esser-Thorin was understandably horrified. "I said, ’Your lips? On your hoochie?’" she recalls as if it were yesterday. "And Pamela goes, ’Uh-huh!’ and I go, ’Oh, Pamela, no way! That’s going to hurt, sweetie.’ And she goes, ’Please, I’m so tired of shaving.’ And I said, ’No,’ and she goes, ’Please!’ So I waxed her there, and it was beautiful! This nice little V in front with her lips clean. And she goes, ’Cindee?’ And I go, ’What?’ And she goes, ’Will you wax my butt?’ I said, ’Your butt? Your winker?’ And she said, ’Yeah,’ and I said, ’Oh my God, whatever!’ So I flipped her over on her hands and knees and slapped her little winker with wax, and - yank, yank - she was clean as a whistle. And it was like, ’Oh my gosh, girlie, you’re on to something.’"
Since then Esser-Thorin has Playboyed so many thousands of women, she may have permanently altered the pubic landscape of Los Angeles. The Playboy (so dubbed because Pamela Anderson had been saying how nice it was to be a Playmate) is now performed at salons the world over. According to Esser-Thorin, the mania was generated entirely by the five women in the waiting room that fateful day who, when they found out what Pamela Anderson had done, cried, "Do us like that, Cindee!" and then called their friends, who told more friends, who told perfect strangers. Esser-Thorin has five assistants to help keep up with demand. Even so, the wait can be up to two hours, particularly before Valentine’s Day, their busiest season. Esser-Thorin feels awful about the lines but says they can’t be avoided, since it’s impossible to gauge how long it will take to wax a woman until she takes off her clothes. "You’d assume a blond girl would be light-haired and easy to do. Quite the contrary."
All sorts of women go to Pink Cheeks. Should you find yourself in the waiting room which is full of sex toys and until recently prominently displayed a painting of a pig flying into the sunset you will see movie stars and port stars and lawyers and doctors and studio executives and women who live in their cars. Esser-Thorin’s most rewarding clients are the prudish and the first-timers, like the woman who recently came in to spark a dead marriage. She was so hairy, Esser-Thorin says, "I could barely open the door to the room to get in. But then I waxed her. I really got her good." Esser-Thorin beams. "And after that she could have done the cancan and nobody would run."
The salon is also visited by the occasional panicking woman who has tried to Playboy herself at home but doesn’t have the "objective leverage" to rip off the wax and must drive in weeping and stuck to a towel. Though Playboys can now be had at many salons, most of Pink Cheeks’ clients are too wary of the novice or fly-by-night to take their crotches anywhere else. "I can tell you horror stories, "says Mason, a talk-show host from Santa Monica who has been waxed all over the world. "Once in French Polynesia they had to peel me off the ceiling." After clients undergo Pink Cheeks’ "extreme waxing," they’re are generally hooked for life because, as a makeup artist from the Valley named Julie puts it, it makes you feel like "fine china."
People always ask Esser-Thorin why she doesn’t open a Pink Cheeks Two or Too, but she things it would be bad karma to franchise. She prides herself on keeping Pink Cheeks a working woman’s salon where the Playboys cost $45, movie stars aren’t allowed to cut in line and the doors don’t close before the last girl is waxed, whatever hour that may be. Then sometimes she’ll shut the door, turn off the neon, and go into one of the rooms and wax herself. Everywhere except her winker, of course, which she can’t reach. "My beloved does that."
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Men Turning to Salons for a Little Life Balance, a Lot of Pampering
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK – For executive Frederic Mayerson, being pampered is the only time he has to relax.
“It’s not about looking good. I look good whether I do this or not,” say Mayerson, chairman of The Walnut Group, a venture capital firm. “It’s about feeling good. I work 14-hour days. In order to have a high-speed life, you have to have a bit of balance.” Mayerson was getting primped with a manicure and haircut in a private room at the Avon Centre Salon and Spa at the swank Trump Plaza.
He isn’t alone. A growing number of men are turning to upscale salons and retailers’ cosmetic counters for some heavy-duty indulgences. That means not just slapping on moisturizers, but also getting their eyebrows tweezed and eyelashes tinted, faces exfoliated and back hair waxed. As for hairstyling, forget the basic buzz – many men now want theirs glossed or tinted.
Department stores nationwide are waking up to the new demands from their male customers by expanding their men’s skin-care offerings like facial creams that conceal wrinkles or reduce shine.
“Men are getting sensuous and self-indulgent for sure,” said Camille Lavington, a New York-based executive image consultant. “And they are no longer embarrassed about it.”
A number of factors are fueling the male narcissistic trend, observers said. For one, the long stock market boom raised affluence and allowed executives to spend lavishly on themselves. Plus, an increasingly cutthroat business environment makes a polished image even more important.
“Men are waking up to such pampering. It’s less of a stigma,” Aaron Newman, 24, who heads a New York Internet company, said. “Anyway, my girlfriend likes it.”
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Beauty Tips
By Audrey Hepburn
1. For attractive lips, Speak words of kindness.
2. For lovely eyes, Seek out the good in people.
3. For a slim figure, Share your food with the hungry.
4. For beautiful hair, Let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
5. For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.
6. People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; Never throw out anybody. Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.
7. The beauty of a woman is not the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows. And the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.
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Why Massage Therapy is for You
Most people who experience a massage know for themselves how beneficial therapeutic massage therapy is to their health and well-being, both physically and mentally. Now, there is a study that actually proves the impact on touch therapy to our health!
Research done by the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami indicates that, besides offering deep relaxation, massage therapy can:
• Ease acute and chronic pain
• Reduce levels of the stress hormones cortisol and norepinephrine
• Alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety
• Bolster the immune system
• Heighten mental functioning and facilitate weight gain in premature infants
• Improve one’s sex life and body image
• Enhance the quality of sleep
• Reduce agitation in Alzheimer’s patients
• Bolster athletic performance
• Relieve nausea
• Improve acute and chronic inflammation
• Help asthmatics breathe easier
• Alleviate chronic fatigue and migraines
• Ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome
• Improve Concentration
Although it’s unclear exactly how massage provides all these benefits, many experts believe that it has several effects on the body:
1. It seems to improve circulation to damaged, oxygen-starved muscles, allowing them to heal faster.
2. The mechanical action of the stroking and kneading appears to boost the flow of lymph – a substance that transports excess fluid, protein and waste products – into the bloodstream where it can be filtered by the liver and the kidneys. Massage may, for example, help the body flush out lactic acid, a by-product of overworked muscles, that causes muscle soreness when it accumulates.
3. The pressure of a therapist’s hands on the body stimulates the release of endorphins, the body’s natural pain suppressors.
4. Massage appears to stimulate the vagus nerve, which influences a wide range of bodily functions. For example, the vagus connects the brain with the gastrointestinal tract, stimulating the release of food-absorption hormones such as insulin and glucose.
5. Enormous emotional benefits are derived from human touch.
Here are a few examples of recent findings from various well-designed studies:
• PET scans of severely touch-deprived infants show that crucial sections of their brains are inactive, affecting entire areas of development.
• With just one massage, overworked and overstressed medical students increased their numbers of disease-fighting white blood cells (T cells) and boosted the activity of those cells.
• Massage has been shown to ease the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis.
• Women with early-stage breast cancer who received two massages per week for five weeks had higher levels of cancer-fighting natural killer cells, lower levels of stress hormones, and increased activity of nerve cells that secrete serotonin, a brain chemical that boosts mood. The women felt less anxious and depressed, and they reported increases in their quality of life.
• In elderly adults, massage produced physiological signs of relaxation, including decreased blood pressure and heart rate and increased skin temperature.
• Massage was shown to improve body image in people suffering from eating disorders.
• Nursing home patients who received frequent massages showed fewer signs of senility.
Massage therapy has proven to increase quality of life in so many ways. So, schedule a massage ($48 for a 50-minute massage) at The Spa Club today. There is no reason not to and so many good reasons to do so!
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Top Ten Wellness Trends
• Develop a wellness program to feel invigorated and highly motivated with a great sense of well-being for the mind, body and spirit. Take stock in your life. Make the necessary changes. Review your progress. Continue to strive for change.
• Author Sarah Ban Breathnack, a frequent guest on the Oprah Winfrey show, leads readers in her book “Simple Abundance,” on a true path to a happier, more fulfilling way of life.
• Once considered a spiritual fad, Yoga is now a daily part of many celebrities’ lives. Yoga helps build the outer and inner self.
• Aromatherapy can put you in a feel good mood. The essential oils used in aromatherapy can enhance your emotional state and create a relaxing atmosphere.
• Consider massage therapy and other spa services to relax the mind, spirit and body. Massage therapy is an age-old way to reduce depression and offer a sense of overall well-being.
• Alternative medicine used to be the last resort. Seeking the help of nutritionists, acupuncturists and massage therapists are now a first choice as an alternative to immediate medication.
• Consult a good nutritionist to achieve your optimum weight without dieting. Devise a meal plan and stick to it!
• Exercise regularly and get enough rest and relaxation. Find an exercise program that suits your needs and interests. The Spa Club recommends Body for Life by Bill Phillips. Besides achieving immediate results, it is an overall life change that is doable and helps alter the mental aspect of being fit as well as the physical. E-mail thespaclub@aol.com if you have any questions.
• Environmental aggravations and impurities in the air can do a number on your skin. Use the proper skin-care products and regular facials to keep your skin healthy and glowing.
• Incorporate doing a “good deed a day” into your life. True happiness comes from doing for others while taking care of yourself. Try it!
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Email Specials
One of the most exciting perks that members of The Spa Club get are the E-Mail Specials! At the beginning of each week, The Spa Club sends out a special of the week to all members with e-mail access.
This mailing allows members to enjoy additional savings of 10 to 75% off our already low prices.
These services are from our regular menu or are unique services not usually offered year-round. Remember, these terrific savings are only available to our active members. If you are not presently a member, join today!
Finally, true pampering and total well-being you can afford!
The Spa Club
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Appointments at the Spa Club
Lately, The Spa Club has encountered an unusually high rate of “no-shows” or last minute cancellations for appointments. This has become quite a problem, since in order to keep our prices low, we need to stay busy. No-shows also inconvenience other clients who would have liked to take that time slot but are turned away because that time is booked.
Therefore, we do ask that if an appointment needs to be rescheduled, that you do so at least 24-hours in advance so we may accommodate others that would like your appointment time.
It is also imperative to avoid being a “no-show.” We will now charge you for the service that you miss, on your next visit. Your courtesy in observing this is always valued by us!
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