Southern California: A Beautiful Home,

Home to the Beautiful

Seven Beauty Secrets Revealed

By Jennifer Chapis

It’s not only the tall rocky cliffs, warm sandy coves, and wide beaches that have Southern California’s coastline shouting gorgeous. It’s the people! So Cal also hosts some of the best practitioners of beauty in the nation. 

When asked to reveal her most coveted beauty secrets, Sandra Kirkwood, owner of John Douglas Salon, a 3,000 square foot full-service day spa located in Cypress, suggested five treatments that attack common problems head on.

Beauty Secret #1: Practice Safe Sun

“Start young taking care of your skin, and it will take care of you later,” says Sandra. “The best treatment is prevention,” she says. (You would never guess from her youthful appearance that she holds 30 years personal experience working at the forefront of the beauty industry!)  She recommends professional products such as Jan Marini full-spectrum, antioxidant SPF 30 sunblocks for face and body.  For hair: UV protecting Silkshine Therapy Serum by Iden.  Already fried your mane?  With its antibiotic, antioxidant properties, Iden’s Bee Propolis Treatment Hair Mask is a superb cure for sun, chlorine, and saltwater damage.

Beauty Secret #2: Clean is Clear

“It’s important to unclog pores so skin can breathe,” says Susie Augustin, Head Esthetician at JDS. Clear pores allow toxins to escape and help product nutrients to absorb. Augustin customizes a Jan Marini facial to your specific skincare needs, including deep pore cleansing and a green papaya enzyme mask that eats up dead skin cells and leaves the face soft and smooth. Best part: she performs extractions so thoroughly that you’re left glowing and squeaky clean.

Beauty Secret #3: Sweat the Small Things

Sometimes it’s the small things that make a big difference.  Augustin explains that tinting the eyelashes can make eyes look brighter.  Tinted lashes last 4-6 weeks and, unlike mascara, you can shower, sweat, or swim without smudging.  For a more dramatic look, try lash extensions.

“Having your brows professionally shaped is an easy, inexpensive way to make eyes look younger and more lifted,” says Augustin.  For sensitive skin, she recommends hard wax—works just as well as traditional strip wax, but doesn’t hurt when removed. Less redness too!

Beauty Secret #4: A Permanent Solution

Of course permanent makeup is not for everyone, but many women find it offers the convenience and freedom they’re looking for. “Some people are born with light or sparse eyebrow hair,” says Augustin who has been a permanent makeup artist for seven years.  She explains that it’s common for brows to thin as we age (or lose the tail end completely).  Permanent brows look natural with a powder finish (no “liner” look).  Having permanent brows and eyeliner herself, Augustin is sensitive to client concerns.  She recommends choosing a professional permanent makeup artist who offers a comprehensive consultation and uses a non-buzzing, handheld method.  “I like to start conservatively,” she says. “You can always go darker later.”

Beauty Secret #5: Sun-kissed After All

With all this sun protection, how do you get that radiant So Cal glow?  Augustin says, “Mineral makeup!”  Widely-used and healthy for the skin, the mineral ingredients provide all-natural SPF 15 and work as an anti-inflammatory to guard against sun response, rosacea, and breakouts. The effects are bronzing and beautiful.

Beauty Secret #6: Get Your Bounce Back

Some say beauty is more than skin deep. Others say beauty begins with the skin. Susan Phillips—owner of Advanced Body Solutions in Encinitas, one of San Diego’s best med spas—would agree with both.  Sunny disposition, flawless skin, and not a scrap of fat on her, Phillips is herself a classic Southern California beauty.  And like many San Diegians, she makes her birth certificate look like a liar.

“My favorite treatment for immediate results is Accent,” says Phillips who was selected to serve on the FDA’s investigative review board to set the treatment protocols for this safe, virtually pain-free radio frequency device that conveys heat therapy to combat wrinkles and tone skin on the face, neck, and body.  Often preferred over its laser cousins, Accent Your Body™ builds new collagen, helps detoxify, and can over time replace fillers such as Restylane. Crow’s feet, jowls, turkey neck, or crepe-y looking skin?  A quick-moving wand delivers tighter, thicker, smoother skin with no downtime. Great for post-natal, post-op, or to help get ready for a wedding or silver anniversary.  Finally, people over 50 can wave hello without upper arm skin flapping in the breeze.

Beauty Secret #7: Picture Perfect

With the non-invasive, affordable technology available today, there’s little reason to live with unwanted imperfections.  The technicians at ABS zap cosmetic flaws such as sun spots, acne scars, vascular lesions, hemangiomas, or rosacea with non-invasive AFT Pulsed Light.  Don’t let trouble spots become more pronounced with time.  Instead, kiss them goodbye!