Biofreeze: $10 for Tube or Roll-On

Biofreeze has been available to purchase from us for awhile, but I haven't mentioned it here. $10 for either the roll-on or the gel (plus tax.)

It's the best topical pain relieving product that we've found. (If you know of one better, we'd love to hear about it!) It's considered a cryotherapy or "cold-therapy" product because of the cold sensation that it produces.

While most people hate the sensation of cold, it's often the best thing to use on injuries and aches. Why? Heat can cause inflammation if it's used incorrectly. Most people reach for the heating pad, leave it on for hours, and then complain that their pain is worse after awhile. Cold constricts the bloodvessels, works more deeply, numbs nerve endings (helping with pain levels), and then brings more blood to the area as it re-warms. Instead of using a heating pad, reach for some Biofreeze if you're on the go, or a pack of frozen peas if you're at home. It doesn't have to be ice-cold for you to get benefits. In fact, most people get their cold-phobia from trying to use ice directly!

If you have questions about using heat verus cold, biofreeze or any other products, please call licensed massage therapist Lizz Pugh at 941-321-5311. You may also purchase Biofreeze during your next appointment.

Update on Susan

Susan and I touched base a few days ago to follow up on the results of her first peel. She did experience some actual peeling (flaking of the skin--not everyone actually flakes) that migrated around her face during the week or so after she came in for a treatment.

Yesterday she came in to pick up her PCA Trial Sized System for Anti-Aging. She'll be using this in between her monthly peels.

Included are:
Phaze 1 Facial Wash
pHaze 25 ExLinea™ Peptide Smoothing Serum
pHaze 15+ C-Quench® Antioxidant Serum
pHaze 24 Rejuvenating Serum
pHaze 12 eyeXcellence
pHaze 6+ Hydrator Plus SPF 25
pHaze 11+ Après Peel® Hydrating Balm

I also included a trial-size nutrient toner as well.

The ExLinea Peptide Smoothing Serum will really start to give her results by the time she comes for her next appointment. She'll apply that after her cleansing and toning, underneath everything else. (You should always apply serums before moisturizers/hydrators due to the molecular size. Serums are made to be applied first.)

The Phaze 12 eyeXcellence will help with the slight looseness that she has under her eyes as well as the fine lines around her eyes and mouth. (This product can also be applied around the mouth, where she has fine lines as well.)

The hydrator with SPF will be her best defense during the day, helping her avoid unwanted sun damage. The sun is the number one external aging factor. (Smoking is the number one internal aging factor, followed by dehydration and lack of nutrition.)

I'll have pictures for you when she comes in for her next peel. I can't wait!

Myofascial Release: Another Update

I had the opportunity to work on a person that has asthma for the purposes of helping him breath better. He doesn't have to use his inhaler every day, and he's not on any steroids or other medication. He does, however, get into something from time to time that really sets him off.

His attacks are controlled by inhaler so that they don't worsen, but it still takes him a few hours to regain his breath and feel like he can do anything. In the meantime he tries to be still and just breath.

I brought him into the office the other day to see how the new techniques I learned in March worked for releasing the rib cage. Most of my clients don't come to me with complaints such as this--it's not something I've thought to promote or really educate people about--so I wanted to really play for a few hours.

The protocol I learned from the instructor and that we worked on all weekend for 18 hours was based on myofascial release, my new favorite technique since last year. (More classes in June and August--yay!) And while it is meant to be done over a series of session, this particular asthma suffer (being my husband, Jay) was pretty patient and enjoyed every minute of it.

After we were done he took some deep deep breaths and let them out slowly. He was impressed. "I didn't realize that I had been having trouble breathing," he said.

"Do you think you were having trouble?"

"I can breath so much better now. It's really amazing."

Jay was impressed. It was great to see that massive rib cage move in and out while he took deep belly breaths without straining to do so. Like he said, neither of us thought he had problems breathing before, but that after picture made us both realize how much breathing wasn't getting done.

I will likely be marketing this treatment to athletes, asthma sufferers, and others who either have problems breathing or who can get great benefit and performance improvment from breathing more easily. If you have any questions, please give me a call. 941-321-5311

Chilling Out: Two weekends of chair massage.

This past Friday and Saturday I spent a lot of my time at K2 Scrapbook Studio on Clark Road. (I say "K Two" but they say "K Squared". Just FYI.)

It was a lot of fun. I did some chair massage, made some money, chatted with some wonderful ladies, and found new products to add to my "wish list". (They have the most awesome glitter sets in the world. I've got about $20 burning a hole in my pocket and I have to say that I am tempted to pick up some!)

I'm excited about this coming Saturday as well. One of my clients who has stuck with me for the past few years just moved into her dream house. It's a huge accomplishment for their family and something that she's looked forward to being able to do for a long long time. Jay and I are going out there as our housewarming gift to her and doing a mini-massage spa party for her. There will be too many people attending to do facials or any fun projects, but everyone will at least get a massage.

So thanks for having me out, Karen, Amy, and Gail, and congratulations Gaylee!

To schedule a chair massage or spa party appointment with Lizz or Jay in or around Sarasota, Florida, please call 941-321-5311. Rates vary based on location, length of time, and activities desired (massage, facials, guided meditation, activities, etc.).

Susan's Before Pictures

This is one of Susan's before photos. Overall she has great skin. In the analysis I noted that her skin is well-hydrated, free from blocked pores, had great elasticity for her age, and aside from the one area above her lip was pretty much blemish-free.

Her main concerns are the areas around her eyes and mouth.




You can see here that she has the fine expression lines around her mouth and on her brow.



This shot doesn't really show the lines around her mouth, but will give you an idea. I'll use a better photo for the side-by-side comparisons as the treatments go on.

After she finishes her 7-10 days of post-peel treatment Susan will be using a few products to help reduce the appearance of her lines.

Phaze 12 Eye Excellence ($32) uses peptide technology to reduce puffiness, dark circles, and wrinkles. It may also be used around the lips to help stimulate collagen production.

Phaze 24 Rejuvenating Serum ($70) is an anti-aging serum that's packed with antioxidants and nutrients.

Phaze 25 ExLinea Serum ($50) is a spot-treatment that reduces the depth of existing lines and relaxes facial tension.

(Click on the links by the products to visit PCA's site and find out more, including ingredients, instructions, etc.)

We'll have updates for Susan about once a month when she comes in for her 28-day(ish) treatments.

To schedule an appointment for a chemical peel in Sarasota, a facial in Sarasota, or a massage in Sarasota, or to schedule a skin analysis and purchase PCA products, please call Lizz Pugh at Light Weaver Massage & Esthetics 941-321-5311. We offer daytime, evening, and Saturday appointments.

Susan's Thoughts On First Peel

(If the above doesn't work, you can go to http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/7997daba1c1ef6/46a14ade5309ccbc)

New Model: Susan

Susan is one of our new models. She is concerned about the fine lines and wrinkles around her eyes and mouth--a common concern for the over-50 residents of Sarasota, FL.

As an image consultant, Susan is very concerned about personal appearance. (Tangent: In fact, we've hired her to redo our image! If you see me walking around in some new clothes during your massage or skin care session, you'll have Susan to thank.) When I approached her about possibly improving the appearance of the lines, she was very excited.

We're scheduling our treatments for about every 28 days. Her first treatment was today.

After her initial after-peel week, Susan will be using PCA's Anti-Aging Trial Sized System for three weeks. We'll move her to full sizes after her second peel and fine tune what products she needs.

Ready Dress Go! (866) 746-7931
www.readydressgo.com

Natural Awakenings

I don't know if anyone picked up the March edition of Natural Awakenings (they've changed their name to something else... I don't recall what), but if you do we've got several mentions.

They printed a press release about the upcoming Jaw Pain Workshop. (Note: Our phone number is 941-321-5311--they misprinted that... oops!)

We're also listed in the calendar section for the workshop and a free skin care analysis. We also purchased space in the directory. I'm not sure if we'll repeat our listing or not. So far no one has reported seeing us there.

This Past Weekend: Myofascial Release Class

I spent my entire weekend in a wonderful class learning more about myofascial release. This is the technique that I've been so excited about since I took my first class in November.

The class reviewed a lot of information from the first class, as both dealt with similar areas. It really helped to strengthen my understanding in those areas and I enjoyed getting great feedback on my skills.

The class also went over a lot of areas that I hadn't explored quite as much in my post graduate work. I've focused, as many of you know, on headaches, neck pain, and TMJ dysfunction. 90% of the classes I've taken have been on techniques to help with those complaints.

The class in November was on the neck and shoulder area. Little did I know that I would fall head over heels for the modality! I just can't get enough and am looking forward to each class that Pete will be teaching in 2007 and beyond.

This weekend's class was on breathing. Not as in how to breath, but as in how to assist clients to breath better. We learned how to release the entire rib cage, chest, abdomen, and neck. It was powerful stuff. I can't wait to work on some of my asthmatic clients as well as the athletes who can benefit from breathing more deeply. One client in particular has problems with her ribcage and I'm itching to get in there! So many applications for this new technique!

Coming up in 2007 is a pain management strategies class and a lower back and leg pain class. Next year there will be a burn and scar class and an extremities pain class. I can't wait!

Allison Update: Third treatment

The above photos show three "before" photographs from Allison's various appointments.

Photo 1: January 29th Prior to any treatment

Photo 2: February 12th After one peel and two weeks of PCA home care products


Photo 3: March 10th After two peels and home use of PCA products

This photo shows just the first and latest treatments. (I think you can see a larger version by clicking on the image.)

You can see that the level of overall redness has decreased, as has the number of breakouts. While she does still have acne, the areas are less inflammed and the texture of her skin has improved.

Even her husband noticed! (He didn't notice when she painted most of the house purple, so this was a big thing...) Her kids commented that she looks like she's wearing makeup. Needless to say, she's excited.

Originally we had planned on 6-8 treatments, so the improvement that she's gotten from just two is pretty impressive.

Her first two treatments were both chemical peels. (You can read more about those in past posts.) For her next treatment we decided that an oxygenating treatment to help with some of the congestion and improve skin health would be a good next step.

The oxygenating treatment has three main steps. First a solution is painted on the face with a small fan brush. A second solution is massaged into the skin for approximately two minutes. We remarked over how good the second solution smelled. Most of the time the face will feel quite warm. It's not a burning sensation--more of an internal heat from the increased blood flow. At this point it's normal for the skin to become bright red. The third solution is applied in a thin layer, and the skin gets more red.

I was excited to have my digital camera with me so that I could take a picture of Allison's face turning colors. This treatment was a testimony to how different everyone's skin is, because she barely blushed at all and felt no heat!

When I did this treatment on myself, I literally turned purple and felt like I was having a hot flash (which I can only imagine, being 26, of course).

She felt the treatment was very pleasant and said her skin felt great afterwards. We will be getting together in another week to do a detoxifying treatment to help address some of the blocked pores and so forth.

I've also started her on an additional product called A&C Synergy Serum. This will help address some of the bacterial causes of the acne, as well as promoting skin health, and helping with the weakness in the capillaries around her nose and cheeks.

I asked her about her chest and back. We didn't document them with the camera (we will next time), but there is definate improvement. We haven't done any peels or treatments on those areas. She simply uses the PCA Acne Control Body Bar in the shower once a day. Check back soon for updated photos.

Three Chins: Photo Update on Allison

The first photograph (sorry for the blur) was from before Allison's first treatment.
The second photograph was after the first and before the second treatment.
The third photograph was from before the third treatment.

As you can see in the first image, Allison's chin was very red and irritated and had numerous breakouts that were also red.

In the second image you can see some improvement. The general area is less red and there are fewer breakouts, each of which is less "angry" than before.

In the third image you can see that the skin tone is much more improved, and while there are still some breakouts, they are much more minor than before.

Wow. Just Wow.

I saw Allison (our acne model) over the weekend and I was amazed.

She came in for her second treatment on the 12th of February. Her second treatment included four layers of the peeling solution (the maximum allowed for that peel) as well as a peel accelerant. She "peeled like a snake" (I think her kids came up with that one) for a few days, especially around her chin, and has been improving daily since then. Not only has she survived an anniversary weekend with her hubby, a trip to the Windy City, and the general chaos of her life...

Her skin looks AMAZING.

I've never seen her skin look nearly so good. Her next appointment with me is tomorrow morning, so I'll have new pictures soon.

In her interview she mentioned that one of the kids said she looked like she was wearing makeup. I completely understood what they meant when I saw her. Her skin wasn't red at all and while she still had a few blemishes, they weren't nearly on the same scale.

After only two treatments and slightly over a month of products, we've managed to help her more than anything else ever has.

And that just makes me EVEN MORE EXCITED about these treatments!

Check back tomorrow for pictures and a detailed update.