In this issue, we have some horrifyingly great articles that will make your Halloween season terribly memorable.  For one, facial resurfacing treatments like microdermabrasion and dermabrasion face off, giving your clients – and business – a healthy new look for fall.  And in recognition of National Breast Cancer Month during October, we talk about Endermologie® technology being FDA cleared for treating post-mastectomy patients…  
 
Speaking of October, are you scared you won’t turn a big enough profit this Halloween? We have some really creative, fun suggestions that’ll give clients a treat and business a boooost.

Do you know Gunnar Peterson? You should.  He has a huge client list of a-list stars – and they think his innovative fitness technology and Lipomassage treatments are pretty stellar...  

Have a comment about this month’s newsletter? Email us at editorial@techno-derm.com .Want to stay up-to-date on Techno-Derm news and articles? Subscribe to our RSS feed today.

Freckles aren’t my friend.  Whether you call them angel kisses or fly specks (thanks dad), freckles mean sun damaged skin.   And for millions of women, summer’s end means severe sun damage, brown spot pigmentation and dry, flaky skin.  What facial treatments can you use?

One of the safest, most popular treatments for treating sun-damaged facial skin is microdermabrasion.  And that’s nothing new - facial skin resurfacing can be traced to ancient Egyptians who used abrasive masks with alabaster particles to rejuvenate skin and specialized sandpapers to remove scars.  Today, microdermabrasion is still the rave.  In fact, it’s one of the top five nonsurgical cosmetic procedures performed in the United States.* 

According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), microdermabrasion effectively “reduces wrinkles, treats sun spots,  tightens loose skin, improves skin tone and color and removes blotchiness.”  It’s also used to shrink enlarged pores, fade stretch marks, clear clogged pores of debris, control oily skin and revitalize dull skin. 

This fall, why not combine microdermabrasion with relaxing Facial Fitness treatments and a topical skin regeneration serum, like our new Clayton Shagal skincare line.  The trio works beautifully together – after microdermabrasion removes skin’s sun-damaged outer layers, Facial Fitness soothes and refreshes skin, increasing blood flow to nourish tissues and stimulate fibroblasts’ production of collagen and elastin. The oxygenated, newly exfoliated skin is more receptive topical skin treatments, so it allows for deeper penetration and enhanced anti-aging results.  

Looking for something an all-in-one skin resurfacing system?  Consider Diamond-Dermabrasion with NUA SOLUTIONS’ advanced new Oxygenesis system.   Including a wide range of both microdermabrasion and dermabrasion intensity levels, it offers tailored treatments for all skin layers and skin types.  But that’s not all. The System also offers oxygen infusion massage, which is designed to increase blood circulation and facilitate oxygen delivery to cells for faster healing and advanced results.  The best part?  The Oxygenesis system requires no local anesthesia, antibiotics or analgesics – and there is absolutely no down-time.  

If you would like more information about Diamond-Dermabrasion (aka diamond-exfoliation) or are interested in purchasing the OxyGenesis machine for your spa or salon, please call (888) 892-4588 or email sales@techno-derm.com.  

*American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery’s 2007 statistics. 

Are you Abreast on Breast Cancer Lymphedema?

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you’re educating yourself and your clients on breast cancer prevention and treatments, right?  Well so are we… but on one topic in particular – lymphedema. 

After breast cancer surgeries treatments, women often suffer from lymphedema.  Why? During surgery, lymph nodes (and sometimes lymph vessels) are removed.  These lymph nodes and vessels are responsible for carrying lymph fluid (composed of infection fighting white blood cells) throughout the body.  This removal changes the way the lymph fluid circulates, and very often, the lymph vessels are unable to adapt and remove enough of the fluids.  Soon, excess fluids buildup under the arm and breast causing painful swelling. This is called lymphedema – and Endermologie can help.  How?

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), LPG’s Cellu M6 devices can:

1. Reduce secondary lymphedema of the arm (SLA) post mastectomy (RX only)
2. Improve secondary lymphedema (RX only)
3. Improve lymphatic circulation in treated areas (RX only)

The FDA clearance was based on clinical studies* that compared the efficacy and durability of LPG® Treatments on post-mastectomy lymphedema to traditional Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) and Compression Bandaging (CB).  The study proved that LPG Treatments are able to significantly decrease the perimeter (arm size), bioimpedance (blood flow), and tissue softening in half the time of the control groups - with a lasting effect.  The conclusion?  LPG’s Endermologie offers an all-inclusive, standardized therapy for post-mastectomy lymphedema – with greater consistency, efficacy and faster results than traditional lymphedema treatments.

To receive a copy of the associated press release or register for therapeutic training, please call (888) 892-4588 or email emails us at training@techno-derm.com.  

The Marketplace: Halloween Night

Halloween is the second most commercially successful holiday in America and western culture – so why ignore it?  But how do you tap into the Halloween ‘spirit’ – tastefully – without terrifying your clients?

Stage a Halloween Hospitality Night a few days before Halloween.  Instead of a Haunted House full of horrors, clients can spend the night wandering from room to room and station to station in organized intervals - sampling a wide range of seasonal spa treatments – all at a ‘frighteningly’ great rate.  To make it really fun, give the evening a Halloween edge.  How?   

• Wear costumes.  Have staff dress up in intriguing beauty costumes.  Perhaps do famous beauty icons, or exotic women from Middle Eastern bath houses, or Greek goddesses…   Get clients involved, adding discounts for dressing up.     
• Dim the lighting.  Use very low lighting, perhaps even using red light bulbs or covering the lights with a red material.  Blood red, scented candles do the ‘trick,’ too.
• Soundtracks.  Scary Halloween music is a no-no, but mysterious or romantic orchestral music could be spellbinding. (Think Phantom of the Opera.)
• Wine & Chocolate.  Offer glasses of blood red wine and sinful chocolate treats at the end of treatments. 
• Name rooms. Give treatment stations or treatments fun names.  For instance, a room featuring a green facial mask could be called Witches Cauldron – and a black clay body treatment could be the Swamp Monster.  Perhaps you could do Fiendish Facials with Facial Fitness and a Devilish Debutante with Endermologie or Lipomassage…
• Halloween makeup.  If you have a makeup artist on staff, hand out an advance offer to do bewitching Halloween night makeup or body painting - a skilled makeup artist does wonders for a costume – and often saves clients both time and money.    
• Goody bag.  Give clients samples of the skincare treats you’re selling – they’ll surely buy them. 

We’ve all had the client who – whether from a bad past spa experience, first-timer jitters, or just a bad day– is visibly nervous before their spa treatment.  Here are some great tips to scare away nervousness: 

• Explain carefully.  Try to find out the source of their discomfort, and answer their questions accordingly. Use a soothing tone. 
• Check Temperatures.  Make sure the room isn’t too hot or too cold.
• Create Ambiance. Get a relaxing ambiance with soft, calming music.  
• Give Privacy.  If undressing is involved (like with Endermologie and Lipomassage), give clients privacy by letting them undress in private.  
• Position Comfortably. Make sure clients are comfortably positioned  – they probably won’t tell you otherwise (especially the newbies).
• Converse with clients.  Engaging clients in polite coversation.  It makes the treatment more personal – and you more personable.   
• Talk about you. Tell clients a little about you - where you were trained and your experience – they’ll know they’re in great hands.