Self Care Series

What is Self-Care?

The answer is very simple.  Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of ourselves mentally, emotionally, and physically.  Practicing self-care is essential in maintaining a healthy and positive relationship with numero uno, yourself! Think of it as the Golden Rule reexamined. Treat yourself as you would like to be treated.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Taking time for you is not high on the priority list.  You have got way too much to do! It can feel selfish.  It can even make you feel guilty!   I recently started on my own self-care journey and it took weeks of griping and excuses before I gave myself permission to do something that was just for me! It then took an entire extra month more before I was not feeling guilty about spending time doing things I actually liked!

So, after 3 months of spending a lot of time getting to know myself,  I finally feel refreshed!   Self-care for me has helped to produce positive feelings, help boost my mood, help calm anxiety, and even elevate my self-esteem resulting in higher levels of self confidence.  And, here’s a major bonus, when you feel more confident, you get a certain bounce in your step that lets the whole world know, I AM FEELING GOO-OOD!

A lot of times when people talk about self care, they are talking about the emotional aspects of it.  Dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, and sadness often disrupt long term feelings of wellbeing.  Self-pampering does wonders to help trigger the relaxation response, which can prevent chronic stress from damaging your health.

Self-care takes practice and can mean different things to different people.  Here are a few basic things that everyone can add to their self-care checklist.

  • SLEEP! Sleep is an essential part of self care and taking care of you. Adults usually need 7-8 hours of sleep each night.  If you are having trouble sleeping, try things like rubbing lavender oil on your feet.
  • Eat well. DIET can be a scary word and there are tons of diets to choose from! Just trying to figure out what to eat can be stressful! Start small. Stick to things that are healthy and not processed. Try and replace one bad thing with a good thing, like water for soda or grilled instead of fried. How about eating vegis first? Small habits stick!
  • Learn to say no! Make a list of things you don’t like to do or just no longer want to do! Examples might be learning how to say no to taking on extra things that you know you don’t have time for. Maybe it’s turning off your phone at a certain time, or something as simple as not checking emails once you get home.
  • I know, I know.  You don’t want to.  You don’t feel like it.  You don’t have time.  But here’s the rub.  Exercise is not just good for you physically; it’s also amazing for your emotional well being.  It helps you to blow off steam and can lift your mood as well as your energy.  So choose something you like to do (or maybe that you don’t dislike as much ) and get to work!
  • Medical Care- schedule your annual exams! Do your follow ups!
  • Spend time doing things you love! Write that novel or short story.  Spend time with your family.  Visit the museum!  Whatever it is, take a cue from Nike and JUST DO IT!
  • Relax! Try relaxing exercises like breathing or meditation. Get a massage or facial or a pedicure.  Take a short walk, listen to your favorite song, call your favorite person.
  • Laugh! Laugh as many times a day as you can!

Follow me over the next few weeks as I take a deeper look into self-care.  I will be interviewing both team members and clients about their self-care regimens and talking about the huge benefits of the services at the Renaissance Day Spa as well as services that other businesses and friends of the Renaissance have to offer.  I would love to hear all about your self-care journey as well!  If you would like to be featured in our Self-care Series, please share your story with me at selfcare@thereneaissancedayspa.com.

Remember, taking care of yourself allows you to project awesomeness everyday!

Take care you,

Natalie Spencer

HAPPY FEET

Pedicure

Now that Summer is over, people tend to neglect their feet! Some think that just because they’re not in sandals anymore, they don’t have to have pretty painted toes! Pedicures are much more than esthetically pleasing toes! Let’s look at the top reasons pedicures are good for you… in any season!

Removes calluses on your feet
Calluses are caused by constant friction and pressure on certain areas of your feet. They can develop from continuously wearing high heels or from a pair of shoes that doesn’t fit quite right. A callus appears like a thick skin and often looks unsightly. If left untreated, some calluses may develop into an infection and cause you pain.
Getting a pedicure can help remove calluses on your feet. Before you have it treated, make sure that you do not suffer from certain medical conditions such as diabetes. A foot scrub and moisturizing lotion during your pedicure can help reduce the development of callus on your feet.

Relaxes your feet
A pedicure involves a foot and leg massage to help release tension on your muscles and joints. The massage received during a pedicure is also a great for de stressing and makes your feet feel relaxed leading to what our experts call “happy feet”. It helps with blood flow circulation and can act as a therapy to relieve us from stress and relaxation.

Detects signs of nail diseases
Changing your toenail polish regularly, could help you see if you are developing a toenail fungus. Your nails could be brittle, dull, thickened, or a dark color and you might not even notice if your polish is three months old. Getting a regular pedicure allows you to become more aware of the normal condition of your toenails helping to prevent nail disease.

Our nail technicians recommend getting a pedicure every 4-6 weeks for optimal results. Schedule an appointment today for Happy Feet at 910.484.9922!

Oxygenating Facial

Hyperbaric Oxygenating Facial

 

With the change of seasons comes the change in skin! What is the biggest concern for our clients this time of year? Dry or dehydrated skin! Our Hyperbaric Oxygenating Facial by Intraceuticals has the perfect solution! Intraceuticals Oxygen Treatments are a unique experience providing instant results. In addition to being fabulous for dry or dehyrated skin, they also target fine lines, blemishes appear visibly reduced, skin looks rejuvenated, radiant and fresh. There are two different types to choose from that target dry skin.

REJUVENATE

An Intraceuticals Rejuvenate treatment is a non invasive treatment that targets the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and dramatically enhances overall hydration.

The Rejuvenate treatment harnesses three elements to achieve instant and dramatic results: 1. Oxygen under light pressure aids delivery of age defying ingredients to the skin at the same time as cooling and calming the skin. 2. Unique Rejuvenate Serum contains lightweight Hyaluronic Acid and a powerful combination of vitamins and antioxidants. The Hyaluronic Acid helps to instantly hydrate the skin resulting in Increased firmness, reduced appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, improved look to facial contours and overall radiance. 3. Treatment Support Products provide essential layers to seal in and supplement skin nutrients for maximum synergistic effect and longer lasting results.

Rejuvenate targets the following results:
• premature aging
• fine lines
• expression lines and wrinkles
• dehyrated / dry skin
• sagging/loss of elasticity
• dark circles/puffy eyes
• visibly stressed skin

OPULENCE
An Opulence treatment is soothing, relaxing and suitable for all skin types. In just one soothing treatment your skin will look younger, brighter, more luminous. Uneven skin tone is balanced, skin looks and feels hydrated, rejuvenated, radiant and fresh.

An Intraceuticals Opulence Treatment® harnesses three elements to achieve instant and dramatic Results: 1. Oxygen aids delivery of age defying ingredients to the skin at the same time as cooling and calming the skin. 2.Unique Opulence Serum contains lightweight Hyaluronic Acid, a powerful combination of Vitamins and antioxidants, and a blend of botanical brighteners. Hyaluronic Acid helps to instantly hydrate the skin resulting in increased firmness, reduced appearance of fine lines, and facial contours. Botanical brighteners help balance skin tone and Vitamin C protects and helps to defend against environmental damage and the visible signs of premature skin ageing. 3. Treatment Support Products provide essential layers to seal in and supplement skin nutrients for maximum synergistic effect and longer lasting results

OPULENCE targets the following:
• premature ageing
• fine lines
• expression lines/wrinkles
• sagging /loss of elasticity
• dehydration /dry
• visible pores
• dark circles /puffy eyes
• dull devitalised /brightening
• dark spots/ pigmentation

Our estheticians recommend receiving an Oxygen facial once every 3 to 4 weeks for optimal results. Got more questions? Schedule a free consultation today! Call 910.484.9922 to schedule your appointment .

Celluma Light Therapy

Celluma LED Light Therapy

 

LED Light Therapy has been all the rage lately! Clients want to know what exactly is LED Light Therapy and why is it good for their skin. We went straight to the source and got all the answers from our Celluma Pro distributor, BioPhotas.

The Celluma Pro is an award winning LED device that provides a painless, relaxing non-invasive skin care treatment. LED light therapy has multiple benefits- particularly stimulating collagen and treating mild to moderate acne.

Blue, red and near infrared are the most commonly used wavelengths in LED phototherapy. These specific wavelengths are well researched and scientifically proven to produce therapeutic benefits. Blue penetrates through the epidermis and is known to kill P.acnes bacteria. Red penetrates into the dermal layer and has been shown to enhance collagen and elastin production through photobiostimulation of fibroblasts.

LED therapy can be used as a powerful stand alone therapy or add-on to most facial treatments. It is ideal for use following any laser, microdermabrasion, microneedling, or injection treatments. It is clinically proven for the treatment of wrinkles, acne and pain.

According to BioPhotas, in a clinical trial using Celluma to treat facial wrinkles, 80% of participants said that they experienced an improvement in skin texture, 77% reported an improvement in skin firmness and 66% reported an improvement in facial wrinkles after only 4 weeks.

At the Renaissance, you can schedule your Celluma Light Treatment on its own or add it to a facial. It is a 30 minute treatment complete with a hand and foot massage! Our estheticians recommend clients get a series of 6-8 treatments to see the best results. Got more questions, schedule a free consultation today! Call 910.484.9922 to schedule your appointment .

3 Benefits to Getting a Massage

Massage Therapy

Massage is no longer available only through luxury spas and upscale health clubs. Today, massage therapy is offered in clinics, hospitals and even airports.

If you’ve never tried massage, learn about its possible health benefits and what to expect during a massage therapy session. Massage therapy is much more than a mere luxury or an extravagance. Rather, it is an investment into yourself. Listed below are 3 reasons why you should look into getting a massage, but there are others, ranging from specific medical issues to sports and weightlifting.

  1. Counteracts all the sitting. People who sit throughout the day, such as most office workers, need to be especially cognizant of the damage to their bodies all the sitting is accumulating. Office jobs affect more than just our posture, for instance if you spend most of your days on a keyboard, your forearms especially could probably benefit from a massage. More advanced forms of stress may show up as pain or weakness in the low back and gluteals caused by prolonged periods of sitting. Luckily, massage therapy can counteract the imbalance caused from sitting, which means you can keep your desk job as long as you want, just schedule a massage every now and then.

  1. Sleep. No more lying awake, trying in vain to fall asleep. Massages are known to reduce blood pressure and increase sleepiness. Most people, in fact, fall asleep during the massage (depending heavily on the type of massage) which enhances the effect of feeling rested and refreshed at the end of your massage.

  1. Mood Boost. Is the weather outside bringing down your mood? Are you having a rough week? Then you need a massage! There have been studies on massage therapy that concluded that, on average, massage increases your levels of serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter linked to happiness by 28 percent. This is a boost that should help you either recover from a day that was less than optimal or to prepare for one.

Massage therapy is something that is both good for you and fun to do. There are not many things that can check both boxes. In Fayetteville, The Renaissance European Day Spa’s professional massage therapists offer a range of packages and treatments designed to fit any situation. To learn more please visit The Renaissance Day Spa or call (910) 484-9922 today!

Gift Certificates are available online INSTANTLY!

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