__my eyebrows resemble fuzzy caterpillars

__i want to feel inspired and learn trends without accumulating more in my closet through clothes, accessories, or magazines

__my hair is one color on the top of my head, and a different, unintended color on the ends

__i don’t get enough time for myself

__my hair feels like a big mop, and i feel like a cranky lioness

__i have bluish veins and gold or brassy hair

__i have greenish veins and pale or ashy hair

__my hair color is harsh and uneven

__i see more than four colors in my hair, in different sections of my head

__my hair lacks luster and shine more than three times a week

__my hair looks stringy

__the color of my hair is flat, dull, or lacks dimension

__my eyebrows are blond, but my hair is dark

__my makeup evens my skin tone, but looks chalky or heavy

__my skin looks or feels dry and cracked

__my nails are discolored, uneven, or unshapely

__i can’t see through my bangs, they poke me in the eyes

__my hair is a manageable length, but my neck is hairy, my sideburns are uneven, and the hair around my ear is too short to tuck and long enough to bug me (time for a $10 neck shave and perimeter trim!)

__my hair is too high maintenance for me

__i feel sad or cranky when nobody works with my hair for at least 45 minutes while letting me relax, with tea or coffee or water

check out our services, we have something for you. see you soon!

leave bad hair days at home

for sun-kissed hair, forget Sun-in and messy home remedies, as they could turn your hair orange in the sun. visit phresh for a foil or hand-painted hair, balyage. we will give your hair a sun-kissed gloss in a couple of hours, not a couple of weeks.

have your hair look photo-ready, but spend more time outdoors, exploring– not cooped-up in your bathroom. comb in a pea size amount of oribe’s creme for style into big  2-3″sections in your hair when it’s nearly dry and let your natural texture shine—it’s amazing for straight, wavy, or curly hair, and a little bit goes a long way. massaging a trace of Crème for Style with a mist of water into cowlicks will deter those stubborn cowlicks—say goodbye to morning pillow-head hair!

if you’re worried about the humidity getting the best of your style, pick up some oribe’s impermeable hairspray, its humectants will protect and nourish your hair, and keep its shape– even in the most humid hours. mist it on top and beneath styled hair, like a finishing spray only it doesn’t get sticky or crusty.

don’t waste time washing your hair when you could be exploring!  go two or more days between shampoos with our travel-size dry shampoo, oribe’s  texture spray. unlike most dry shampoos, it’s completely see-through (good for brunettes and redheads, not just blondes!) and it smells marvelous. take it on the go, spray it on the roots to absorb oils, and brush it through.

perhaps our best hair tip to you is to avoid  ingrown hairs and the worry of packing a razor on the airplane: treat yourself to an underarm, bikini, and leg wax.

you are not what you eat

eat lobster, don’t become a lobster! whether you are going for a healthy tan or trying to prevent a tan, we have moisturizing makeup for you that will keep your skin breathing.

“sunscreen does not prevent you from tanning!” says Miranda, our esthetician. “it provides UV protection from rays that damage the skin’s integrity.”

for evening skin tones and for light protection, invest in a makeup that’s good for you skin and flattering for the photos. eminence sun minerals is a powder with an SPF factor of 30. it is oil absorbing, leaving a light velvet finish on your skin.

for dry skin that needs a little more coverage, our esthetician,mindy, recommends jane iredale’s tinted moisturizer which also minimizes large pores.

want ultimate skin protection? skinceuticals physical fusion has an spf factor of 50. it is a tinted sunscreen and a luminous finish—leave your face makeup at home! the tint adjusts to all skin colors for even and flawless blending.

need a new beach bag? we have just the thing for you! pick up a phresh bag to express your girly side. it features our icon with lips lashes and curlers, our facebook icon.

staying home for spring break?

let us pamper you! treat yourself to a long massage. have your hair foiled to spice up your look and give you something to be pleased about even when school takes over again.

if you find yourself wishing away your pasty skin, stop in to pick up tantasia, jane iredale’s streak-free, mineral-enriched self tanner. it uses your skin’s natural ability to build and retain glowing color. it has a fresh citrus scent and doesn’t feel oily like many self-tanning lotions do.

“tantasia is a user-friendly way to bronze before the beach without hitting the tanning beds! it’s spray tan results without leaving home, while still hydrating, since it’s a lotion,” says Miranda.

don’t forget your feet! let those happy toes have a break from your boots—come in for a pedicure and try our most popular color, a shimmery pale blue named “i don’t give a rotterdam.” It’s been selling out… around the same time as midterms.

we can hardly wait to pamper you! see you soon.

found this nifty little image telling us how to do that big top-of-the-noggen bun we’re seeing everywhere. and oh, is that a can of oribe hair spray we see? yes. yes it is. only the best for this fabulous ‘do!

image credit: the beauty department

tip: to change up the normal blowout, try adding some curls to update the look!

 
blog by rachael stahnke

blog by rachael stahnke

craniosacral and reiki are both light-touch modalities, performed fully-clothed (anything you’d lounge around in or go to the gym in is great!)  they’re really gentle introductions to bodywork, if massage makes you nervous, that can still deliver dramatic results.  also, they’re totally safe for kids and infants!

craniosacral

craniosacral uses five grams of pressure, which is the weight of a nickel, to subtly flex the sutures of the skull and pelvis. this is what gives this kind of bodywork its name (cranium, sacrum).  using this small of an amount of flexion is painless, and is actually the healthy state for your head to be in.  when the skull or hip bones don’t flex, it impedes the natural rhythm of the fluid that cushions your spinal cord and your brain, leading to problems like headaches, dizziness, and ringing in the ears.

the upledger institute suggests that craniosacral might be helpful for you if you experience:

• headaches, migraines
• sinus problems
• neck pain, whiplash
• “black outs” or fainting spells
• dizziness, motion sickness, vertigo, Meniere’s
• TIAs (Transient Ischemic Attacks)
• short term memory problems
• eye motor problems
• hearing problems, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), ear infections
• low back pain
• scoliosis
• depression
• pituitary problems
• LDD/ADD, autism
• dyslexia, dyscalculia
• TMJ pain, clicking, crepitus
• swallowing difficulties
• seizure disorders
• stress

in erin’s personal experience with receiving craniosacral, she has had profound results beyond those of any other service she’s tried (western medicine, chiropractic care, massage) in relieving the chronic, debilitating migraines and short spells of complete vision loss she’d been fighting since age 14.  her inspiration for pursuing this training was the absolutely transformative experience of having her first three sessions with a practitioner in bali.  the first session, she had wonderful, poetic imagery present itself as her body started to relax.  in the second and third sessions, patterns of fascial tension unwound themselves as the work on her head continued, relieving issues she’d held in her body for over a decade.  in continuing to receive this work, she has discovered greater physical and emotional freedom and a deeper sense of well-being.

reiki

she is just as excited about her reiki practice, although it is not the newest modality she has acquired.  reiki was actually the first step in her journey as a bodywork professional.  when at the university of minnesota, she found herself needing a couple credits outside her major to graduate (theatre classes were just too fun, so she kept opting to take classes within her major…), which led her to the center for spirituality and healing, where she took reiki 1 for an easy credit. she had very little idea of what she was getting herself into, and was a huge skeptic about the validity of energy work in general. 

her first attunement changed her tune! 

reiki is energy work.  like craniosacral, the meaning is right in the name (except it’s in japanese)  “rei” is universal consciousness, and “ki” is like “qi” or “chi”, your personal life force energy.  the receiver of the energy, which comes from the creative, universal energy around us, guides it to wherever it needs to go in the body, for whatever purpose is of the greatest importance to your well-being, regardless of whether that is physical, mental, or emotional.  the practitioner basically functions as a faucet, providing a channel for the energy to flow through. 

reiki is a good option for you if:

• you feel stressed out and just really want to relax
• you have issues where other types of bodywork are contraindicated
• you’re not a big fan of being touched a lot (reiki can even be done hands-off!)
• you’d like to try something different
• the description sounds cool

in erin’s personal journey with reiki, her first two attunements came close together, both through the center for spirituality and healing. her third attunement, though, which makes her a reiki master teacher, is new as of this may. she went to stay with a reiki master teacher in portland, maine.  basically, each attunement just means that she has become an even bigger faucet with a better connection to the source of the energy, which makes her all the more able to support you!

call 651.288.4040 to book your craniosacral or reiki appointment with erin for 25% off. offer valid until 9/7/2011.

blog written by erin busby

admittedly, perhaps i’m coming from a biased standpoint. i work at a salon, sure, but if it gives me any “street cred,” i dyed my hair from a box for a long time. i see the appeal of drugstore dye, i really do. it’s cheap, and it allows you to satisfy your random spurts of creative impulsiveness. but at the same time, there really are more pros to leaving the dye-jobs to the pros.

i’ll try to keep the box-bashing to a minimum, because we know it works for some people. typically, box dying works for people who:

• have undamaged hair
• only wish to change their color by one or two shades
• do not want to lighten their hair at all

in addition to the limited practical and effective uses of box dye, it is known to:

• severely damage the integrity of the hair
• lack depth, richness, and dimension
• require frequent application that professional dye avoids

as you might imagine, then, making box-dying habitual is not a good idea. the color and developer are much stronger in box dyes, because they are created to work on everyone– even people whose hair is the toughest to hold color. essentially, the dye is cranked up to maximum strength (aka, maximum damage capability) when most hair doesn’t need anything even close to that strength. furthermore, it’s important to not confuse the aforementioned “strength” for long-lasting color. box dye, despite the harshness of the chemicals, is designed to fade quickly so you have to color every three or four weeks.

what can professional color offer?

• uniquely concocted formulas that suit your individual hair needs and desires.
• color that lasts six to eight (or more!) weeks.
• a gentle approach that leaves hair healthier than box-dye would, and color much richer.
• a relaxing salon experience and the ability to keep your bathroom sink clean!

so what do you think? leave a comment below, if you’d like, and let us know if you’ve had any box-dye nightmares or even dreams-come-true. we love to hear your honest feedback.

let’s rewind a bit. remember the summer? this time of year, we remember it fondly: t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops and the like. at the time, though, stepping out from our air conditioned cars into humid 80 degree days was sometimes dreadful. your skin didn’t like it much either. most of us under-protect our skin in the summertime, and consequently suffer from pigmentation issues as a result of the sun’s harsh and harmful rays. in that sense, thank you, mother nature, for giving us this little break to recover. a great way to diminish those sun spots and pigmentation issues this winter is through microdermabrasion treatments.

so what is microdermabrasion?

microdermabrasion, “micro” for short, is a skincare technique that uses a wand with tiny diamond grains to buff away the surface layer of the skin. sounds kind of magical, doesn’t it? it is.

to truly understand the point of microdermabrasion, it’s important to truly understand your skin. your newest, healthiest layer of skin is found (this time of year buried) under a layer of dead skin cells called the stratum corneum. this topmost layer acts as a barrier between your skin and the outside world, and is unfortunately the home of many minor skin imperfections like blemishes and fine lines.

so, the idea of micro is that if you break up or remove the stratum corneum (that top layer of dead skin), your body will treat that essentially like a mild injury. it will promptly begin to regenerate those lost skin cells with healthy, new, and dare I say it– phresh ones.

the results are truly remarkable. sloughing off all of that dead skin makes it easier for products to penetrate the epidermis, making them far more effective. for follow-up products, our estheticians recommend the skinceuticals advanced brightening system. this comprehensive kit includes: phloretin cf, retexturing activator, pigment regulator, retinol 0.5, and the ultimate uv defense spf 30. the system significantly lightens dark spots, dramatically brightens and evens out skin tone, all the while minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. at phresh, we’ll throw in a free skinceuticals cleanser of your choice with the purchase of an advanced brightening system. buying the kit saves you over $150.

give phresh spa salon a call today to book your microdermabrasion facial with one of our skilled estheticians. your skin will love you as much as we do.

darling friends of phresh,

we are so stoked to welcome shelly to our team. her awesome talent aside, she’s just great person. she just moved back up to minnesota from the warm and sunny south, and we’re sure glad she did! (although, with “snowmageddon the sequel” out there, shelly may admit to missing georgia a bit.)

but hey, back to that awesome talent bit. shelly comes to us with ten years of experience. she graduated from the aveda institute in 1999, and began her professional salon work shortly thereafter. by now, as you can imagine, she’s a lady of many talents. she loves foiling, but not to the neglect of the beautiful brunettes and ravishing redheads of the world! she loves it all. her cutting style is equally versitile: she’s great at anything from a sleek and chic bob to a more edgy, texturized ‘do.

now, for the cool part:

shelly has started at phresh spa salon at our stylist level, offering cuts starting at $35, and color services starting at $55.

now, for the cooler part:

if we could wrap shelly up and put a bow on her head, we would, but instead we’ll give you this little holiday gift: from now until the end of january, shelly is offering 25% off your first service with her.

happy holidays, stay warm, and try not to shovel too much. in the event that you do go overboard, don’t forget our spa services…

we can’t wait to see you soon.

…well that’s all lovely and cute, but what about your skin? what about your scalp? ’tis the season to be thirsty, and phresh spa salon has some ways to help.

skin

our skin changes seasonally, so adapt your skincare regimen to the dry wintery weather. since our minnesota winters are so low in humidity, it is important to find a body lotion that is oil-based as opposed to water-based. the oil creates a protective layer that locks in moisture better than a water-based lotion. look for an “ointment-like” cream that has avocado oil, primrose oil, shea oil, or almond oil– one of the key ingredients in biotone, the cream we use in our massages.

scalp

feelin’ flakey? fear not, it’s normal. dry scalp in the winter seems to be a chronic problem for some of us, but there are a couple of simple and affordable solutions, right at your fingertips. you may have heard of moroccan oil as one of phresh’s favorite hair products: it builds protein and shine in the hair, as well as reduces heat-damage of the hair since it cuts down blow dry time. we rave about it for all of these reasons, but did you know that it can also be used as a scalp treatment? apply a little bit to your fingertips and massage it onto your scalp about a half an hour before you wash your hair, or leave it on overnight for an even more hydrating treatment.

want to leave the treatment up to us? call in and book a shampoo-style. ask the guest service coordinator on the phone to note that you’d like to add on a deep conditioning treatment to your service. after your service provider uses the oribe signature moisture masque on your hair and scalp, you be blow-dried, styled, and your hydrated hair and soothed scalp will be ready to rock for an evening out.

self

feeling parched isn’t only for the hot and humid days of summer. our bodies need just as much water and liquid during the winter months as well. ditch the disposables– or, uhh, recycle them– and go green with a reusable water bottle. using a kor water bottle is a great way to inspire yourself to drink the recommended eight glasses of water (at least), while giving back to the earth. kor gives a percentage of their sales to selected non-profit organizations that focus on water-related issues.

hydrate for your health and happiness. dehydration has been linked to fatigue and feelings of lethargy. conversely, drinking enough water can help boost your energy and lift your mood. cheers!