How often should I have a facial?Once a month is recommended. The skin cells take about 28 days to reach the surface so once a month it is beneficial to deep cleanse and remove impurities from the pores. Your skin care expert can recommend the proper home care agenda as well as help you maintain your skin’s well-being.

What is acne and how do I know if I have it?Acne affects the skin by a series of recurrent, infected breakouts. Classic acne blemishes include blackheads, milia, pimples and cysts. if you experience ongoing breakouts, you should seek help from a licensed skin care therapist, who may refer you to a dermatologist if the condition is sufficiently severe. With the numerous advances in skin care formulations, however, more people are combating their acne with regular facial treatments and at-home regimens.

Acne outbreaks are caused by the four "trigger factors": excess oil, pore-clogging dead skin cells, acne bacteria and inflammation. Hormones prompt your oil glands to produce excess oil, provoking the skin cells in your pores to rapidly shed. When the pore becomes clogged by trapped oil and dead skin cells it creates a perfect breeding ground for irritating acne bacteria. As your skin tries to deal with the bacteria, it becomes inflamed, eventually causing a full-blown breakout.

There are many benefits to regular facials: Clearer skin is a natural result of professional exfoliating on a regular basis, and smoother, more moist and supple skin is a result of the professional massage that may be included in your facial.. As you keep regular appointments with your esthetician, she will learn the cyclical changes that occur with your skin and will adjust and offer the correct products for you to use.

pH stands for potential of Hydrogen. It is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance. The pH scale ranges from 0 on the acidic end to 14 on the alkaline end. A pH of 7 is considered neutral. Our bodies have a natural covering called the acid mantle. It's composed of fatty acids from our perspiration and amino acids from our skin tissue. This acid mantle fights infection from bacteria that gather on the skin. The pH factor is a measurement of the percentage of hydrogen ions in the acid. Normal facial skin is a pH of 4.5 to 5.5, meaning it is slightly acid. If something comes into contact with the skin that is either too acidic or too alkaline, the skin's natural protective barrier (the acid mantle) is affected. Barrier recovery is slowed, damage is prolonged, and skin problems will arise, such as skin peeling, rashes, irritation, etc. We recommend using a cleanser with a pH of around 3.0-3.5. 

When you drop the pH in the skin during the cleansing process, the subsequent products used penetrate the epidermis more readily. Your skin will usually normalize itself within a couple of minutes to a couple of hours after using such products. When you use a product which is alkaline (above a pH of 7) like soap, it interferes with the protective acid mantel. Toners were originally created to bring the pH back to normal after using soap. Once the skin is at it’s normal pH, additional products will not easily penetrate the skin. The cleansers we carry are all pH balanced for maximum effectiveness. 

A wrinkle is defined as a crease or furrow in the skin caused by the natural process of aging, by excessive exposure to the sun's damaging rays, or environmental insults. For example, if you look in the mirror and see crow’s-feet around your eyes ? these are wrinkles. If you stretch a wrinkle in the crow's-feet area, you will still see it. 

However, a fine line (or “expression line“) is a small wrinkle that may be caused by the contraction of facial muscles during smiling or frowning. When you stretch the skin of a fine line, the lines are barely visible. When these muscles contract, they pull the skin in, causing a line. And the muscles controlling frown lines between the brows may contract even when the muscle is resting, causing deep lines — which could result in the start of a wrinkle.