When I told friends I was headed to Mercy Medical Center for a beauty treatment, they thought I needed serious medical attention. Beauty treatments at a hospital? You bet. The signature Anti-Aging Facial at the Medi Spa in the Weinberg Building is a relaxing facial picker upper with zero down time. It’s one of many noninvasive facial rejuvenating treatments on offer that will enable me to walk out the door with a refreshed version of myself. Little did I know this treatment would rejuvenate my mind as well as my face.
The Medi Spa at Mercy was founded by Donna Chang, RN, in 1999 when she and her husband, Dr. Bernard Chang, came to Mercy Medical Center. Since Dr. Chang was a well-known breast cancer reconstructive surgeon and Donna had a strong background in skin rejuvenation, Donna felt integrative therapies, such as acupuncture and massage, could be offered to oncology patients as well as a wider audience in a convenient downtown location. Today, the Medi Spa menu includes a variety of custom facials and coming soon nano-needling, dermaplaning, LED light therapy, lash lift, tint and lash extensions plus Botox and fillers, Broadband Light Therapy and the Halo Laser. Ideal treatments for those of us who feel our laugh lines are less than amusing.
Experts say facials are antiaging necessities, not just some feel-good frivolous experience. I know facials can’t stop my aging process but they can slow it down thanks to deep cleansing, exfoliating of dead skin cells to reveal newer, youthful-looking skin as well as increasing blood flow. And collagen-boosting masks or antiaging serums can lessen fine lines and wrinkles. Regular facials also help skin stay youthful longer by encouraging healthy cell turnover. “One of the best side effects” says Donna Chang, “is that the relaxing facial treatment can reduce stress, offering a much-needed respite from the hustle and bustle of daily life.”
“This is your time to come back home to yourself,” says Maria, my esthetician and massage therapist as she gently places her hands on my shoulders. She instructs me to take deep breaths, to let go of everything I want to let go of so I will appreciate this present moment, which is a gift.
Her words are like stardust sprinkled on my spirit. I immediately feel uplifted and my facial has just begun. In an instant I realize that this is no ordinary facial.
I sink deeper into the soft, warm table and Maria gently cleanses my eyes and lips with Dr. Grandel’s Eye Makeup Remover. Unfamiliar with this brand I learn this company was founded 70 years ago by a German chemist and nutritionist and now has a variety of exclusive antiaging products. Cycles of cleansing, massaging and layers of treatment follow as I nearly drift off to sleep in my calming room accented with Asian art. A golden, ornate (mysterious?) box sits alone on a shelf.
What’s in it, I wonder.
An endless array of products grace my skin, brighteners and exfoliants to refine texture and boost cellular renewal. Dr Grandel’s Pro Collagen Serum Concentrate to firm, smooth and enhance elasticity is next, a preface to a soothing massage of my face, neck, décolleté, and shoulders to increase circulation and allow the serum’s ingredients to penetrate effectively. As she works, Maria explains this lymphatic technique is designed to reduce puffiness, ease tension and bring balance to my nervous system.
Halfway through the facial a warm abdominal pillow is placed on my stomach while Maria applies Dermalogica’s Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque to regenerate and refine my skin, creating a meditative state. As the mask does its job, Maria massages my arms, hands and feet. I am in Nirvana.
Once the mask is removed, I am misted with Dermalogica’s Antioxidant Hydramist, a toner that firms, hydrates and nourishes my face like a gentle rain of blessings. There’s more. I receive eye and lip firmers for fine lines and puffiness. Also, revitalizing cream to improve elasticity and to protect my face from environmental stressors, plus a lip renewal complex to hydrate and minimize fine lines while restoring suppleness to my lips.
To gently guide me back to reality, Maria performs a series of compressions on my arms and legs and shares more inspiring words:
“I invite you to start deepening the breath, coming back to this present moment. With every breath, breathe in life-giving oxygen to every cell of the body, bringing in light, love, peace and healing.
“Bring your awareness to your heart center and imagine there is a radiant, warm, loving light in the middle of your heart. As you reflect on all you are grateful for — people, circumstances, experiences — take nothing for granted.
“The light in your heart expands in all directions, going up towards your neck and your head, out your shoulders, your arms, your hands, your fingers, going down the torso all the way down to your feet until your whole body is a body of light and wherever the light has traveled there is peace, harmony, love.
“Feel gratitude for yourself, for your physical body. Feel grateful for your loving compassionate heart, for your alert mind and for your timeless eternal spirit, knowing that there is never going to be another you.
“May you be filled with loving kindness.
“May you be well in body and mind.
“May you be safe from harm.
“May you be truly happy and free. And so it is.”
I sit up slowly and breathe deeply at my own pace. I think about how words have the power to transform how I look, how I feel about myself. Beauty really does come from within.
Maria approaches me, holding the golden box. It is filled with chocolates to savor in silence before we part. My final moment of decadence. There are many therapeutic reasons for a facial, but the best one is, it feels really good.
Aaaaah.
