Review by Courtney Smith “You should get a facial,” I would hear my sister-in-law say to me over the past few years, “they are so great, so relaxing.”  It sounded nice, but other than imagining mud plastered over my face, I really did not know what a facial was or what kind of benefits to expect from getting one.  Low and behold as I made my daily drive past Breathe Salon and Spa of Lansdale, PA I noticed a big sign that hung promoting anti-aging facials. Weeks away from thirty-five and with enough fine lines on my face to show it, anti-aging sounded fantastic to me. I have had the pleasure of enjoying Breathe Salon and Spa’s knock out cut and colors in the past and thought this would be a terrific opportunity to explore one more, of the many, self-care aspects that the salon and spa has to offer.  Per usual the staff was friendly and welcoming, the environment was creatively inspiring and offered a sense of serenity, and upon meeting Maureen Barnes, Breathe’s premier certified Esthetician, who is filled with 20 years of cosmetology wisdom, I was provided with a tour of the room where my facial would be done, as well as educated on what to expect from our time together.  Maureen displayed confidence, professional and practical knowledge, and her presence emitted calm energy that placed me in a mood of ease for the hour we spent together. She was able to answer all my questions and then some and offered me some simple tips to assist me in dealing with the season’s harsh effects on my skin and for my my anti-aging  (appearance) journey.   The facial was so much more than mud on my face.  It was an investment into myself that I am seeing positive effects weeks later. Since I write from the every day woman’s/mom’s perspective, as well as with the eye of a healthcare professional as an RN, I feel it is pretty realistic to say many everyday woman have NO idea what a facial has to offer or what is involved. With that said I want to equip you with some well rounded know-how and encourage you to go indulge in a facial!  Yes ladies, just because we are tired and perhaps a little worn from all of our daily duties does not mean we have to look it, and when we begin to take even a little time for ourselves we can get some release from feeling it too! My view of the top 10 benefits of a facial:

1. Relaxation
2. De-stressing of skin, emotion, and over-all mind, body, spirit
3. Increased circulation to the skin on our face (this has enormous health benefits)
4. Decreased sinus pressure
5. Release of toxins from our skin (if you only could have seen mine, whoa!)
6. Minimize the appearance of pores
7. Decrease in fine lines and wrinkles
8. Increase in moisture balancing
9. Decrease appearance of age spots
10. Firmer skin with an added glow

Maureen Barnes 10 steps to an awesome and effective facial: 1. Cleanse. Facials are different from regular at-home cleansing because they deep clean, removing toxins caused by pollution, grease and dirt found in your everyday environment. 2. Analyze.  This tells what skin type you are working with or any concerns. i.e. large pores, sun damage, dry patches. oily patches. 3. Exfoliate. This gets rid of dead skin and improves the look of the skin. It also helps any product you use work better. 4. Steam the skin and loosen the debris in the pores. The oxygen helps the immune system and heat from the steam help the hardened, clogged oil in the pores to soften therefore becoming easier to extract. 5.  Extraction.  Is the removal of whatever may be clogging pores. 6. Massage. This increases circulation and helps products to sink into the skin, It helps soften the look of lines, and has emotional benefits of touch. It also assists with digestion and metabolism. It de-stresses you period, which has a long list of health benefits. As part of the facial, the scalp (which helps with hair growth), face, chest, shoulder, arm, and hands are massaged. 7. Mask. There are the highest amounts of nutrients and minerals in this product and designed to work with different skin types. 8. Skin booster. This is a potent serum (there are a variety), which give a strong boost to the skin and assist in alleviating skin issues. 9.  Mini massage with the serum. 10. Moisturize.  Moisturize, moisturize and your done! Now go get your facial and reap the benefits! Book your facial with Maureen Barnes at Breathe Salon and Day Spa by calling 215-362-1277. Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! for more beauty reviews! Watch our reviews on YouTube. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! *Disclosure

Review from my fabulous sister, Courtney “Breathe,” that is what I keep trying to tell myself amidst my crazy life as a mama of seven beautiful babes. “Self-care,” I’ve heard myself preach the importance of it to my pre-teen daughter and to my patients who I care for in the hospital a million times. So as the collection of dust mounted on the silver envelopes of my now two unused Breathe Salon and Day Spa gift certificates, and my daily drive past their ever-so inviting window treatments called my name, my summer fizzled chlorine-damaged hair could take no more and I decided that I WAS finally making an appointment for me. The only appointment that a girl can make that will last a couple hours, but will be sure to rejuvenate her for at least six solid weeks, if she chooses wisely. I am no beauty expert, but I know what I like, and I do have a gift for creative flare that’s easy on the eyes. 215-362-1277, my fingers dialed quickly with a finger flip back to my icalendar, as I listened to a smile answer the phone to help me make my appointment. Did you know that it is a fact that you can hear a smile over the phone? Indeed, I could and it put me at immediate ease that this would be the experience I had hoped. In saying that, I might add that more of my salon experiences have been negative then positive. I always described my experiences to friends as the scene in the 1996 A Very Brady scene when David Spade is Mrs. Brady’s hair dresser and he goes in with a chainsaw and all, then she comes out looking exactly the same with that damn hair flip on the ends, lol. Seriously folks. Just know as friendly as I am I don’t give my every day woman’s stamp of approval of a salon lightly. Here is my scoop and review: Breathe Salon and Spa was recently voted, “Best Beauty Salon” by Readers Choice. They are friendly and created a welcoming environment from the outside in. The atmosphere was bright, filled with beautifully flowing fabrics, clean, and a light spread of coffees and sweets were presented after entering the door. They offered a great deal of services from facials to massages to hair/beauty, as well as a specialty in ethnic hair. Although they educated me about what they had to offer in terms of services, it was more as an FYI without the uncomfortable push. Rebecca Cooper, the master colorist, brought me back within minutes of my arrival to discuss my wants and needs. I remembered her talent from a previous salon and was immensely excited to have her do my color. She has a real knack for listening, advising, then producing color with a pow, like no other that I have met. Before I came for my “me” day, I looked up new looks and was inspired by the Rose gold color tones that I saw in Allure's pics of the fall 2012 hair trends. Rebecca took the time to listen and she even look up what I was telling her I wanted. I had some other ideas that I also liked, so we decided to mix them a bit to give me the versatility I love. David Van Guilder, owner of Breathe, came over to introduce himself as my hairstylist and talk about my goals and plans for my hair. We discussed my typical styles, my likes, and my work parameters. Though I have an idea of what I want, I simply love to get a hair stylist’s advice, in-put, and ideas. When I meet someone who is talented I truly respect and will listen to what they say. David was the first hairstylist to ever respect my own layperson ability to do my hair and he was able to also build in the versatility I wanted. For instance, I wear my hair naturally curly, I straighten it, I put it in up-do’s, twists, braids, I wear it in all sorts of creative funkiness, but I also need to be very professional at times if I am public speaking or out on the floor for my nursing job. David was able to truly listen to my needs, advice me on best styles for my lifestyle and on what looks would be complimentary to my physical features. David and Rebecca worked as a team to get it done and the results were marvelous. Love the color, love the cut, and I LOVE how many styles I can do my hair in, each giving me a different look with a different color enhanced. Awesome job Breathe Salon and Spa of Lansdale, PA!