From Cleopatra’s milk baths to Turkish hammams and Egyptian and Chinese reflexology, body treatments and the caring of skin below the neck have been around for centuries. No culture has ever neglected its skin and the body it covers, nor should modern day people. Currently, more people are beginning to take responsibility for their own health, and studies show that Americans are now more interested overall in taking care of their bodies as a whole. Gone are the days of basic body scrubs and burrito wraps with fluffy descriptions. Body treatments are now a fully integrated multisensory experience combining modalities that target multiple concerns at one time. 

PINS & (MICRO)NEEDLES 

Microneedling has taken the spa industry by storm, and no one can deny the dramatic results this modality can achieve without much downtime or negative side effects. What is not to love? Clients are signing up for microneedling treatments on the face for scaring, glycation, and hyperpigmentation but very few are capitalizing on microneedling for the body. Aesthetics and microneedling teacher, Millicent Russo says, “There is nothing else currently on the market that can address scars and stretch marks like microneedling. It is unique because it regulates cellular functions like the melanocyte and fibroblasts. By regulating we mean, we control the amount of trauma to the cell and when it heals, the natural healing of skin regulates cellular function. Internal vitamin C is necessary to create collagen and proper healing. Of course, a low inflammatory diet is imperative for healing the body from the inside out.” It is important to remember that less is sometimes more and more is not always better. Going too strong could cause post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. 

Master aesthetician, Darcy Debernarde specializes in scalp microneedling. She confirms that this treatment is a “life-changing treatment for those suffering from hair loss due to medications, illness, or hormones. Needling combined with the proper supplements and topicals will stimulate dormant hair follicles to promote natural hair growth without surgery.” 

GUA-TO-THE-SHA 

If one is weary of needles, or if a skin care professional’s state does not allow microneeding, gua sha, cupping, and lymphatic drainage are options that aestheticians have been getting great results to smooth scars, break down scar tissue, create more definition, and increase circulation throughout the whole body. Master aesthetician, Zen Miller says, “It is really a niche market, and everyone has a scar. It is important to get to that scar as quickly as possible. In about six to eight weeks, so you can get that collagen moving the way you want it to. Cupping is great to build collagen on atrophic scars, and a warm gua sha stone is good [for] crossing fiber to smooth it out and then go in the same direction as the scar. Get in with local surgeons in the area and let them know you specialize in scar remodeling.”  

Lora Condon is an international award-winning aesthetician, guest on Dr. Oz, author of “Spa Wars,” and a beauty consumer advocate known as The Beauty Buster. Condon was named InStyle Magazine’s “Best Eyebrow Shaper in New Jersey” and has worked with Ladies’ Home Journal, The New York Times, Success Magazine, Good Morning America, Cate Blanchet, Toni Colette, and Tea Leoni. Condon was featured in videos by Cosmo, Refinery29, Beauty Insider, and Entertainment Tonight. Beauty Buster Organic Skin Care was created to target specific skin conditions and even contains luxury lip treatments with olive oil from her great grandfather’s town in Ital