Nami Spa Blog

Wishing the best to all the Boston Marathon runners!

Here are some post treatment suggestions:

Epsom Salt Bath

Add 2 cups Epsom salts to warm bath water. Epsom salts or magnesium sulfate is the most abundant element in human cells. It is a crucial component for bone health, muscle control, and reduces inflammation, joint pain, and muscle cramps. Sulfates help to flush toxins from the body, preventing or reducing headaches and stress, aids sleep, and improves concentration while relaxing the body. Add a couple drops of an essential oil, like Lavender, for a more relaxing experience.

Not recommended for people with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or diabetes.

Ice Massage

Ice massage is good for muscle soreness and inflammation. Massage an ice pack for 15-20 minutes over muscles twice a day. It is best to space treatments apart from one another equally.

Never place ice directly on skin. Always wrap it in a face cloth, towel, etc.

Relaxation, Aromatherapy Massage or Sports Massage

Gentle relaxation massage is best when done a day or two after your marathon run. An aromatherapy massage with our Japanese Mint Oil helps in the relaxation of the muscle tissues, as well as being mentally calming and relaxing. Post Sports Massage is a combination of gentle massage and strectches assisting in the elongation/relaxation of the muscle fibers. You can also combine the Aromatherapy and Sports Massage for an additional $10. 

Deep Tissue Massage is not recommended immediately after.  

Both articles and other great articles can be found at www.prettycity.com.

Nami Spa will soon be caring the Burt's Bee's Lip Balm and Juice Beauty's Organic Lip Balm!

The Balm! The best balms that won’t cause addiction.

Can you think of at least one person you know who claims to be “addicted” to lip balm? Thought so…She’s constantly reapplying that tube of balm that sits on her desk. Well there’s some truth to the “addiction.” The active ingredient in many balm brands is petrolatum, a derivative of petroleum (which in its primary form just doesn’t sound like something you want to be putting on your lips all day long). After doing some extensive research on the topic, we learned that some experts believe that once the lips get used to petrolatum they stop producing moisture on their own, so we keep applying balm to keep that dry feeling at bay. Not to worry dolls, we’ve rounded up a list of our favorite balms that happen to be petro-free.

The letter ‘B’ in the Gloss·a·ry, PrettyCity.com's official guide to lip gloss from A to Z, proudly stands for Burt's Bees Lip Balm. Call us biased but this time-tested, best-selling Beeswax balm has been a staple at bedtime for overnight hydration since the early ‘90s. When Roxanne Quimby and Burt Shavitz decided to add the natural balm to their collection of beeswax soaps and candles (by-products of Burt's honey business), their beeswax, would never be the same.

Check out the infinitely beneficial Beeswax Lip Balm, $3; and see why millions have been stung by this natural wax that’s made by bees in the cell walls of honeycombs. www.burtsbees.com.

Like any forward-thinking cosmetic company, Burt’s has added more modernized and fashion-friendly balms to its line. A new favorite is Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil, $3; an updated spin on the old standby that incorporates pomegranate oil, an extract touted for its antioxidant and moisture-renewing properties. And then there’s our lip addiction of the moment, Lip Shimmer, $5; the same old balmy goodness in a bounty of shimmery shades like merlot, watermelon, toffee and guava. www.burtsbees.com; for a list of the brand’s participating retailers, click here.

NARS Sabrina Lip Balm, $24.
This high-fashion brand certainly knows how to go low-maintenance, but not without style of course. Nars Sabrina Lip Balm smoothes on a soft, shimmery pink hue while soothing lips with Vitamin E and an SPF 20 to protect the pucker from those dangerous UVAs and UVBs. Buy it online at www.drugstore.com; to search store locations, click here.

Tarte Cosmetics Lip Balm Slide Tin, $12.
Tarte’s soft little pot of pout protection serves up a retro-style sliding-top tin of healthy balm in three tangy, sheer shades: Bee Stung (red), Mouth Off (berry) and Pucker Up (baby pink). All three pack Vitamin E and avocado for natural moisture, straight from the good earth. And the SPF 15 makes this compact a no-brainer. Buy online at www.dermstore.com; for a list of the brand’s participating retailers, click here.

Joey New York Curb the Urge Lip Balms, $12.
Now here’s a novel fix for addiction – balms that curb the urge to indulge in other vices. Joey New York offers three clear lip balms that include the lip plumpers Maxi-Lip and Dermaxyl in their unique formulas that purport to curb the urge to smoke and eat and encourage the urge to attract a man. CinnaMEN contains cinnamon and vanilla (an aroma Joey says is proven to attract the opposite sex); LipFIT uses peppermint, grapefruit and spearmint to suppress the appetite; and LipNix combines lemon, geranium and heliochrysum to hit that “nic fit.” Available at www.makeup.com. To learn more, check out www.joeynewyork.com.

L'OCCITANE en Provence Shea Butter Lip Balm Stick, $10.
What more can we say about this coveted French label? It’s made in France! Even Plain “Jeanne” can stop traffic on the Boulevard Saint-Germain with her luscious lips. Merci to
L'OCCITANE, for its restoring, hydrating balm based in Shea Butter, a moisturizing paste extracted from the magical shea nut. Shop online at www.usa.loccitane.com; for a boutique locator, click here.

I just read this article below and am proud to say that a lot of the products we carry are free of these harmful ingredients. We carry Juice Beauty skin care products and soon will carry Mundo products. We also carry Zoya nail polishs, which are free of Formaldehyde and Toluene (safe for pregnant women!), all-natural Japanese skin care products, and Pureology for our hair care products. Pureology is vegan and sulfate-free.

Personal Story: I have very dry hair, mostly from coloring my hair blonde for so long. So I tried Pureology Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner. I saw instant results the first time I used it and have been a devoted user ever since. I recently decided to give my hair a break from the blonde and went a darker red with black lowlights. The two hardest colors to keep from fading fast! After I had my hair colored I used Pureology for three washes and the colored stayed with no problem. Then I ran out of Pureology and found a bottle of a brand we once carried and washed my hair. My white towel was left with red stains all over it. Forgetting to bring home more Pureology that night I tried some samples that one of our reps gave me and was left with another towel ruined. So, I can personally attest that Pureology really works! Because it is sulfate-free it doesn't strip the color, which not only gives you great looking hair, it saves you money in the long run. You will have longer periods between coloring services. Remember with Pureology products, a little bit goes a long way! 

Ingredients to avoid in health and beauty
By Carolyn Brundage

A friend once tried to explain to me why she didn't believe in facials.

"Don't get me wrong, it feels good, but I'm not convinced that massaging a few creams into my skin actually accomplishes anything."

This is a woman who gets her birth control through a patch on her hip and yet, she wasn't connecting the dots.

What we put on our skin, the body's largest organ, affects not only the way we look, but can actually affect our health as well. So, before you swipe a gloss applicator across your lips one more time, or commence that daily post-shower body lotion ritual, ask yourself if what you're putting on your body belongs in your body.

A moment on the lips

What goes on your mouth may end up in your mouth. It's been widely reported that the average woman will ingest over four pounds of lipstick in her lifetime. And while these "calories" may not hit your hips, they could affect your health.

A 2004 Environmental Working Group survey examined hundreds of lipsticks and found that 28% of those tested contained ingredients associated with cancer risk. Meaning, what you don't know could hurt you. EWG's Skin Deep database aims to bring consumers out of the Dark Age, detailing the safety levels of cosmetics and comparing those products to other brands.

Safety concerns are just one reason that Mundo Products has found a market for its all-natural bath and body line. The Mundo collection even boasts Vegan products like their Vegan Lip Balm ($6 at mundoproducts.com). Crafted with an organic hempseed oil base, the balm contains no artificial flavorings, petroleum, alcohol by-products or chemical sun blocks. Mundo has also signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a pledge made by manufacturers to formulate products that do not use ingredients known or suspected to cause certain health harms.

Log on to EWG's Skin Deep database at www.cosmeticdatabase.com to research the products you use daily.

Organic beauty

The organic movement is picking up speed, with more and more consumers seeking out food that is free of chemicals and pesticides. And that demand for wholesomeness is making its way to personal care.

Simply Organic, founded by Floridian Gene Martignetti, produces a collection of bath and body products based on the simple premise of banning dangerous ingredients including chemical preservatives and lathering agents. The Simply Organic line, available at www.simplyorganicbeauty.com, includes shampoos, conditioners, styling products, skin care and more.

Juice Beauty is another company serving up skin care crafted from certified organic ingredients. The company's two female founders develop products based on their belief that what we put into our bodies is as important as the products we use on our bodies. Juice Beauty's Green Apple Cleansing Gel, $26 at www.juicebeauty.com, boasts certified organic apple and lemon juices and other botanicals which promise to cleanse while renewing skin's radiance.

The bottom line? Armed with some basic knowledge about what to put on your body, and what to avoid, it's easy to look beautiful, naturally.

Top Ten Ingredients to Avoid

According to National Georgraphic's The Green Guide, there are ten top ingredients you simply must avoid in personal care products.

ANTIBACTERIALS

COAL-TAR COLORS

DIETHANOLAMINE (DEA)

FORMALDEHYDE

GLYCOL ETHERS

HEAVY METALS: LEAD AND MERCURY

PARABENS

PETROLATUM (vaseline, petroleum jelly)

PHENYLENEDIAMINE (PPD)

PHTHALATES

SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE (SLS)

TOLUENE

For more information about why to avoid these ingredients, log on to TheGreenGuide.com

Skin is your largest organ and it absorbs everything you put on it. So, this is why Nami Spa strives to use as many all-natural products as possible.

We have just introduced an amazing organic skin care line called Juice Beauty to our already great lines of all-natural skin care products. Juice Beauty uses freshly-squeezed organic juice concentrates as a base, instead of water. Organic juices are rich in potent antioxidants, essential vitamins, vital phytonutrients and powerful hydroxy acids. Antioxidants help prevent the signs of aging, thus bringing back the skin's natural radiance. Juice Beauty products are pH balanced and formulated for even the most sensitive skin! We also carry Juice Beauty's anti-blemish line. If you have any questions our expert estheticians Alana and Sophia will be more than happy to answer them.

We still proudly carry Zoya nail polishes. Zoya nail polishes are formaldehyde and toluene free and are safe for pregnant women. And did I mention they're vegan! They offer a variety of colors from conservative to wild and crazy. Our new nail technician, Leang, does fantastic nail art. She can add designs or dried flowers to any manicure or pedicure.

Another vegan product line we carry is PureOlogy. PureOlogy's ZeroSulfate(R) Shampoos are free of color-stripping sulfates and salts. Providing a longer lasting color. PureOlogy products are 100% vegan and are never tested on animals. All products contain certified organic botanicals, so each treatment is full of aromatherapy. Like getting your hair washed by Ken or Leang wasn't heaven enough!

And last, but not least our massage oils. They are simply made from a blend of essential oils. Okay, the organic green tea and mint do play a part in relaxing the tension in muscles, but it's really the magic of the massage therapist's hands! Just ask Alice's, Dan's, Andrew's and of course my clients.

We also carry a variety of other all-natural skin care products for our body scrubs, wraps, and peels. So when you get the chance we hope that you will come and try out all or some of our all-natural products. Valentine's Day is right around the corner!

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Recently I received what were advertised as 50 and 80 minute massages at two different spas.

The first was advertised as 50 minutes, something I could never understand. Why don't they add 10 minutes to the appointment for the time it takes the therapist to change over the room, instead of deducting it? Why should the client have to pay for this? Well at this particular spa, they not only advertise their appointments as 50 minutes, but the massage time is actually only 35 minutes. The massage therapist had to rush to get a full-body massage done in 35 minutes. When she was finished I politely asked why the massage was only 35 minutes when I scheduled a 50 minute massage. She told me that the first 5 minutes are used for the paperwork and intake and the last 10 minutes are for the room change over. The therapist apologized and told me she was frustrated with this policy as it was hard on her as a therapist as well. I felt for her. I wouldn't like working under these conditions either. I felt that at $90 in the suburbs I should have received 50 minutes on the table, not 35.

The second was advertised as 80 minutes. They also include the intake, closing, and room change over as a part of the 80 minutes, but definitely less time than the first. This spa was also in the suburbs and had a special for $89, regularly $95. As a massage therapist I am aware that there are many modalities of massage, but I didn' t realize that feathering someone with your fingertips was one of them. I know that this may sound mean, but that was the majority of the massage and the rest of it was holding techniques with very little effleurage. I am not quite sure if the therapist was just tired since he was yawning and sighing throughout the massage or he was just bored. I felt like telling him to just end the session because it seemed like I was putting him out. But I was getting a couple's massage with my husband and I didn't want to ruin his session.

As a massage therapist you need to get massage often yourself. I like to get massages from different therapists, so that I can learn new techniques. After the two not so great massages my muscles were still very tense. Dan, one of our therapists, offered me a deep tissue back massage. Not only was I grateful, so were my muscles. I know that this may sound a bit bias, but I truly believe that we have some of the best therapists.

It seems to me that a lot of spas are more concerned about quanitity rather than quality. Personally, I rather continue being concerned about quality. At Nami Spa we do not deduct intake, closing, and room change over time from your appointment. We add 15 minutes before and after to each appointment. So that means if you book a 60 minute massage, you get 60 minutes of massage!      

Last night my husband handed me an article to read in Boston Magazine titled "The South End Is Over". As a new independent business owner in the South End I was appalled and petrified of what this article might do to my business. We have gone through so much already. Struggling with city regulations to try and get opened and recently surviving a flood. Now I am faced with a declining economy and an article reporting "The South End Is Over". I felt the author generalized all of the South End as a "melting pot into rich, white-bread uniformity". Hmm! Isn't this the majority of Boston Magazine readers? I won't generalize though because I am a subscriber.

I don't completely fall into the author's label. I am guilty of being white, but I am far from rich and neither is my staff. I employ a very diverse group of people of all different ethnicities, religions, sexualities, and so on. A major reason I chose to locate my business in the South End.

I, as well as my staff, chose the South End because of its diversity and support for local businesses, especially independent ones. I love that we are so close to the SOWA district and Restaurant Row. Granted, I do agree with the author that some of the restaurants and shops are becoming too pricey. At least for me they are. Perhaps this is due to the outrageous rents. Oh and maybe because of the outrageous advertising costs some local magazines charge. (I may have just ruined my chances of ever getting a Best of Boston award!).

Trust me. I would love to lower my prices, unfortunately I financially cannot afford to. When I can, I try to offer discounts and promotions to my clients. This way everyone can treat themselves to a spa treatment at one time or another. Be it a haircut or a massage or facial.

As someone who used to hang out in the punk scene in Harvard Square. I have seen changes that a neighborhood can go through. During the time I hung out in the square or "pit" as we called it, there was a wide diversity of the different types of people - punks, hippies, homeboys, preppies, college students, etc. Something I absolutely loved. I also loved all the independent unique businesses the square had to offer. Then over the years my favorite local record stores, pizza places, and clothing shops got replaced with chains pushing a lot of the little guys out. Now being one of the little guys I fear the same will happen to me and others in the South End.

I believe that there is a place for everyone. Rich, poor, White, Hispanic, Budhist, Jewish, homosexual, heterosexual, whatever one chooses or is born as. I do not judge people for their wealth, sex, age, religion, race, sexuality, or for the clothes they choose to wear. Personally, I wouldn't like if we were all the same. So, I want to let all the khaki, golf shirt, tie-dying, combat boot, pearl necklace wearing individuals that you are all welcome in the South End and at Nami Spa.

I would like to end my blog by thanking you for taking the time to read it. I also would like to ask that you please continue to support the South End and local businesses. If interested please read the following article on the importance of supporting local businesses. http://www.tradelocal.org/why_local_bus.htm.

Sincerely,

Nicole Mills - Owner/Massage Therapist at Nami Spa