Education

Yes, I have a tan- and I make no excuses.  Living in Vancouver means there’s usually one month of sunshine to soak in for the year and I took advantage!  Most week ends in July I spent outside and willingly exposed my skin to the sun. In my defense, I did wear sunscreen and reapplied every few hours. So while I avoided any severe damage from a burn, I still ended up with a nice bronzed complexion- the kind I’m usually telling people to avoid!

Now it’s damage control and the best thing for a little post-summer boost to my skin is Dermalogica’s Daily Resurfacer.  If you want bright, smooth, hydrated and youthful skin, then this is your product.  It’s great to prepare your skin for big events or to even out your skin tone as your tan fades.  

The packaging for this product is fun and it’s very easy to use.  Each silver container contains 35 individually wrapped finger mittens that are soaked in sugar cane to gently exfoliate, South African rooibos extract for it’s potent anti-oxidant properties and Japanese Unshiu citrus peel to address hyperpigmentation.  This three-in-one product saves time and money.  Apply the single dose to your skin after cleansing, allow it to soak in for a few seconds and follow with your moisturizer. Exfoliation, hydration and anti-aging in one step.  

My motto is the simpler the better.  Who knew that great skin can be achieved in 10 seconds and comes in the form of a little finger mitten? Now you know!

With the impending fall weather comes the desire to be warm- scarves mittens, wool sweaters and tea come to mind.  Here at the spa, Geo-Thermal Stone Therapy starts comes to the forefront as a way to warm up and relax.

There are many different styles and types of stone massage out there. In fact, the majority of Vancouver spas have this treatment on their menu if they offer massage therapy.  If you’ve never tried a stone massage it  may seem like a strange and foreign concept.  Are the stones rough?  How are they applied to the body without bumping into bones?

You can lay these fears to rest if you confirm that your therapist has the proper training. When you’re in the right hands a massage with the use of stones can be one the most relaxing and transcendental spa experiences you’ll ever have.

At Spruce we offer Geo-Thermal Stone Therapy. What makes this type of stone massage unique is that we use both hot and cold stones in our treatment. Now you may be thinking- cold stones aren’t relaxing.  In response to this I would ask the question: “Would you spend an hour or more in a sauna?” I’m going to assume that in the interests of your health, the answer is “no”. Having a stone massage with hot stones for an hour is the equivalent of spending too long in a sauna.

When we consider our body, it needs to maintain a regular temperature of 38.6 degrees celcsius. When we have a treatment with just hot stones, it brings our core temperature up and our body has to work hard to bring it back to homeostasis.  I’ve received hot stone massages myself and I had completely mistaken the groggy feeling I experienced post-treatment to be relaxation. In fact, my body was drained from trying to cool down.

The feeling I’ve experienced subsequently from a Geo-Thermal Stone Therapy treatment has no comparison.  I feel a deep sense of relaxation that last for days longer than what I get from a regular massage. After a Geo-Thermal Stone treatment, I feel so relaxed and serene that nothing seems to phase me.

What happens during a treatment?

Your therapist applies a warm oil to allow the hot basalt stones to glide smoothly over your skin.  Once your muscles have been warmed up with the stones, your therapist does some hands on work with either therapeutic or swedish techniques.  After this work has been done, cool marble stones are applied to areas of tension.  The different temperature works with your body’s circulation to flush out stagnant blood and muscle aches from lactic acid build up.

Experience a Treatment

If you’re a fan of stone massage but you’ve never experienced alternating temperatures- then I would highly recommend trying a Geo-Thermal Stone Therapy treatment. The cold stones are a bit of a shock initially, but they actually feel quite soothing and relaxing after a few seconds. The alternating temperatures not only support your body’s core temperature, but they have far more benefits for the health of your skin, muscles and connective tissue than heat on it’s own.  While all of that is going on inside, you’ll be revitalized and rested on the outside.

Geo-Thermal Stone Therapy Treatments
Massage Therapy Vancouver

Have you had a Geo-Thermal Stone Therapy Treatment?  Share your experience here!

Did you know that in the 1980’s it was quite common in facials to have your face cleansed with oil and the oil was removed with an alcohol-based toner?   For those of us who’ve never experienced this- we can be thankful.  The concept seems archaic now, but there was logic behind this approach, which is why the concept is having a come-back, without the drying alcohol.

Make-up Artist Shu Uemura was a pioneer in cleansing oils, Dermalogica launched Pre Cleanse- to name a few products that are available. Few people would think that cleansing their skin with oil is helpful, especially people with oily/acneic skin.  The amazing thing about these cleansing oils is that they are good for all skin types and conditions- they can even help improve oily/acneic skin types.  So how and why do they work?

It’s quite a simple concept to grasp when you look at it from a chemistry perspective.  Oils are attracted to oils.  So when you massage the cleansing oil into your skin, it’s being attracted deeper into the follicles (pores) in your skin and grabbing onto layers of excess sebum (oil), sunscreen, waterproof make-up, environmental pollutants and residual skin products that build-up during the day.  

It’s great to have these oils deeply cleansing our skin- but how do we remove it without stripping our skin?  With Dermalogica’s Pre Cleanse, a blend of Olive and Kukui Nut oils  have been formulated to be hydrophilic (water-loving). Once water is added to the oils, they are broken down in to a milky emulsion which is easily rinsed off the skin.

A fact that was brought to my attention recently was about how our skin has many functions (nine in total), but what it cannot do is purify itself. I think the importance of cleaning our skin goes by the way-side with the distraction of anti-aging serums, creams and masks.  But the first step to healthy skin, is clean skin.

I’ve put this theory to the test and I’ve had amazing results.  I’ve been double cleansing my skin in the morning and at night with a cleansing oil and a skin specific cleanser. A double cleanse seems to be the only way that I get my skin truly clean.  With one cleanse, it’s too easy to spend a mere 10 seconds rubbing a cleanser around and quickly rinsing it off.  When I wash my skin twice, it takes my 30 second cleanse to two minutes and I get better results. My skin hasn’t felt and looked this good in years. It’s brigher, smoother and I have fewer blackheads and break outs.

If you’re not happy with how your skin is feeling and looking- try a cleansing oil combined with a double cleanse for a month and test it out. If you’re currently using a cleansing oil, has it worked for you? 

   

Dermalogica Pre Cleanse

Did you know that acupuncture (from Latin: acus “needle” and pungere “prick”) has been practiced as early as the Stone Age with sharpened stones? It’s hard to imagine that anyone volunteered for that!

Today we’re fortunate enough to not only have the benefit of super-fine needles that you barely feel being placed on the skin- but we can get a face lift out of it too!

I’ve experienced this treatment once myself and, let’s face it, needles are not something that most people look forward to. But once I got over the thought of the needles and actually had a treatment, I was pleasantly suprised by the results.

One thing that really stood out for me with this treatment was how relaxed and softened my face looked and felt.  It’s amazing how much tension we hold in our face through repetitive expression and the general stress of everyday life.  For me, this stress shows up in the form of a dull complexion and the deepening of the laugh lines around my mouth.  I’ve also been noticing fine lines popping up in between my brows from frowning.  Cosmetic Acupuncture can address all of these concerns and more.

I know I’m not alone in seeking out ways to prevent these signs of aging without having to inject botox or spends thousands of dollars on laser treatments.  However, the reality is that if you are looking for a more natural approach, it takes a commitment to frequent treatments which can be a hard to fit into a busy lifestyle. A recommended course of treatments for Cosmetic Acupuncture is 12 sessions with regular follow up treatments to maintain results.  The positive spin to this possible negative, is that there are little to no side effects and a slew of side benefits to this ancient practice.

I would love to hear feed back from anyone who’s benefited from Cosmetic Acupuncture.  Please post your comments!

Working at Spruce Body Lab over the past three yeards, I’ve been priveledged to have several Registered Massage Therapists as my colleagues. They’ve undergone some of the most rigorous training to be found in the world; a three year program of intensive study allows for RMT’s in Vancouver and B.C. to be absolute experts on human anatomy and physiology.

I sometimes take it for granted that whenever I’ve had the slightest ache or pain, I’ve had almost instant access to non-medicinal pain relief, held in the hands of my co-workers. I’ve grown to appreciate the art of massage therapy and how each practitioner takes a variety of techniques from their set of skills to improve the well-being of their patients.  Whether it’s deep tissue work, trigger point realease, myofascial release, or craniosacral therapy- I’ve experienced benefits from each and every treatment modality.

So when one of our massage therapists at Spruce decided to go back to school to become an osteopath, my curiosity was piqued. I really had no idea what osteopathy involved- how would this practice compare to massage therapy?  So I decided to give it a try.

The initial consultation struck me as much more in depth than that of a massage therapy treatment.  I felt a little bit like I was in my doctor’s office and I was providing information that went beyond my immediate muscular discomfort and addressed internal issues that had come up for me over the past year.

What ensued was one of the most relaxing yet lucid treatments I’ve had on a massage table.  There were a variety of techniques employed which I don’t have the expertise to describe; my overall sense from the treatment itself was that my whole body was being cared for- not just my specific muscle groups.

As I spoke with my RMT about the difference between an osteopathic treatment and a massage therapy treatment, the key theme of a holistic approach arose.  Osteopathy is about supporting the body’s ability to heal itself. As a comparison to massage therapy- the treatment’s focus is about getting to the root of why muscles may be pulled out of alignment and addressing that cause. Versus simply manipulating that muscle to go back into place.

The theory makes so much sense to me, especially when you look at issues of chronic pain.  I know that I personally have areas of my body where pain arises periodically on a repetitive basis.  Massage therapy has helped me immensely to relieve this pain and keep it at bay. However, I am very excited about the prospect of a therapy that can re-educate my body so that these chronic musco-skeletal dysfunctions no longer arise.

Before writing about this subject, I did do a little research on-line about osteopathy and found that most information was quite vague. There are a few studies that suggest that osteopathic therapy is a suitable remedy to pain relief with some results sighting that the benefits of this treatment modality last longer than the pain relieving effects of medication.

Osteopathy is a practice that is still in it’s beginning stages.  It will take time for this treatment practice to be appreciated and understood, but I know that from my recent experience- I’m a believer! I won’t be giving up my massages though- the two modalities are complimentary of course!