Natural Skin Care Tips from Area Skin Care Pros

"Fix me. Fix me. Make me look younger. Make me look good." Pursuit of the freedom to regenerate healthier, younger skin is taking root among women and men in their 40s and 50s and spreading to all ages. In the Grand Rapids area, licensed estheticians using an effective array of affordable aesthetic technologies are providing results. Clients like what they see in the mirror.

Longtime devotees of advanced skin care practices in Europe liken the necessity of monthly appointments for skin maintenance to the need for regular medical checkups. Now Americans are catching on. As with any problem, early prevention is best. But prevention can start today.

Natural Awakenings asked five local experts to share their favorite tips and common sense perspectives on how we all can take better care of our skin.

Elite Herbal Care of Spring Lake–Cindy Sabo

Cindy Sabo at Elite Herbal Care offers an array of knowledgeable solutions to skin care dilemmas. Common issues that Sabo treats include aging symptoms, sun damage, pigmentation problems, adult acne, Rosacea, dryness and care for all types of mature skin. She cautions that even though some people still think a tan looks healthy, "Overexposure is actually unhealthy, and the effects show up later in life."

Elite Herbal Care services include massage treatment, herbal therapy, herbal facial treatments, laser facial, derma laser treatment, waxing, skin care, and ear candling. Sabo attended Lapier Health Enrichment Center and has benefited from the advice of mentors as well as her own research.

Holistic Care Approach of Grand Rapid–Sara Dykstra

Some of the most common needs clients bring to aesthetician Sara Dykstra at Holistic Care Approach are dry skin, fine lines and skin care for professionals ages 40 and up. She likes to debunk the common myth that beaded exfoliates will help. The truth is that "Beaded exfoliates are harsh on the skin and should not be used on a daily basis. If you still choose to use a beaded exfoliate, scrub gently with a soft cloth. New skin cells only renew every 28 days."

Holistic Care Approach is an alternative care facility serving healthy doses of acupuncture, nutrition, massage therapy, and skin care. Dykstra graduated from Douglas J. Aveda Institute in East Lansing with a license in aesthiology. She’s also certified in massage therapy from Spring Renewals.

Personal Palette of Holland–Kimberly Watling

Personal Palette helps brings natural ingredients, relaxation, and beauty together in a mix of services that includes seasonal color analysis, skin care, massage therapy and cosmetic services. President Kimberly Watling takes a holistic approach to treatment. "We like to increase our customers’ understanding of truths and myths in the industry," she says. "We provide information on products and ingredients, how the skin works, becomes damaged and heals, how their skin communicates its needs, and the challenges of practically balancing it all." Moderation here, as anywhere, is a helpful rule of thumb.

Watling persists in correcting two misconceptions. "When it comes to skin care products, more is not necessarily better," she says. "And pricy modern vanity products may well be doing more harm than good."

Watling graduated from the Personal Palette Academy of Image and Color and All Season Academy. She’s also studied aromatherapy, massage therapy, reflexology and nutritional medicine.

Center for Integrative Therapy of Spring Lake–Susan Gerondale

Susan Gerondale surprises clients with the idea that they can cut back on the use of soap. "Most people falsely believe that they must use soap to keep their skin clean," says Gerondale. "But you can also stay clean by using a body brush to gently remove dead cells from skin."

Common skin care issues presented by here clients include dry cracked skin, psoriasis, eczema, contact dermatitis, adult acne surrounding menopause and Vetas, which afflicts people who are dry inside and out, usually thin built vegetarians. Recommendations include Omega-3 supplementation and a flax oil cream.

At the Center for Integrative Therapy, a one stop shop of therapeutic needs, Gerondale applies her expertise as a certified massage therapist, Ayuvedic skin care consultant, and cranial sacral therapist. She is a graduate of The Health & Enrichment Center, The Ayurvedic Institute of Albuquerque, and The Upledger Institute. She often consults with her husband Norb Gerondale, M.D. who also works at the Center for Integrative Therapy.

Public Image of Holland–Patricia Kuna

As the only Aveda Salon in Holland, Michigan, Public Image is the place where Patricia Kuna helps area clients with constantly updated information on Aveda trends, techniques and products. Her body and skin care practice focuses on general hair care, general skin care, and acne.

Kuna would like to dispel the myth that "anyone can do without moisturizer or skin-friendly sunscreen. The truth is that every skin type benefits from the use of moisturizer and protection from the sun."

Kuna graduated from Ferris State University with a bachelor’s degree in business and then attended cosmetology school in order to follow in her parents footsteps. Both had successful careers in hair care.

Source: Local area skin care professionals.