Vagul nerve toning

I am almost too nervous to mention the ‘C word’ but to give this article context I must – COVID.

We have all read articles and books about resilience and bouncing back through tough times, as we try negotiate the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. What has surprised me during this pandemic is the sudden upward swing towards natural remedies, some of which have been in practice for centuries. We have had these tools at our disposal for years, but it took a massive global pandemic to open our eyes to what is around us.

I suppose this is a positive outcome of the current crisis. People are taking charge of their lifestyles and choosing to try and balance things naturally versus through synthetic medication or a traditional western approach. People are trying to find a way to balance the trauma around them.

According to the Integrated Listening website, trauma is described as follows: ‘The response to a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope, often causing feelings of despair and resulting in a feeling of diminished self, as well as a decline of the ability to feel the full extended range of emotions and experiences.”

Emotional response

Trauma can also be seen as the emotional response to stress in the body. And when stored for long periods of time, it can result in an imbalance where mental health becomes affected and the nervous system falls out of sync.

In today’s modern stressful lifestyles, our bodies seem to prefer to lean towards the sympathetic nervous system; the side of the nervous system that pumps adrenaline, prefers fight and flight, and often leads to weight gain and disease. This is simply programming – we have told our body that stimulating these things leads to drive, success and performance.

Consequently, we often miss the benefits of the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the ‘rest and digest’ part of the body, the ‘calm and quiet’ and the part of the nervous system that regulates weight gain, build-up of toxins and disease.

Balance

The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the body and it ensures the balance of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. It is the nerve that sends a signal to the brain to tell the body whether it should respond or react to a stimulus or environment. Today’s lifestyle has our bodies on autopilot to always react and this isn’t healthy.

An ancient practice of vagul nerve toning can allow for a more balanced nervous system and one that is not constantly in distress or reaction.

Vagul nerve toning can be done via a variety of practices such as humming, taking 10-15 slow deep breaths, daily intake and application of probiotics, meditation and splashing your face with cold water.

All of these things when done on a regular basis allow for the reduction of anxiety and the regulation of mental health, which in turn starts to regulate the two nervous systems.

By stimulating the vagus nerve you can inform your body that it needs a time out and a chance to relax, ensuring that you control how you feel.

Lauren Gibson has over 15 years in the health and beauty industry with qualifications in yoga, mindfulness, content marketing and management practice. laurenleigh.gibson@gmail.com

If the name Bev Courtney sounds familiar to Professional Beauty readers, it’s because she is the owner of Grace Skin and Wellness in Parkmore, a thriving beauty and nail salon that has managed to weather the COVID-19 storm. As to why Courtney would choose to open Lueur (which means ‘glow’ in French), an extensive aesthetics and wellness centre with spa facilities, only a few roads away, it’s because she felt there was a real need for such an offering in the market. “Just before COVID struck, I was wanting to expand Grace and also to bring in the high end French skincare brand, Bioloqique Recherche,” she says. “I discovered the brand during a trip to France a few years ago, when I googled ‘best facial in Paris’ and Biologique Recherche popped up at the top of the list. Once I experienced the facial, I was so blown away that I’ve used their products, which are all cold processed, ever since. All the massage movements in their facials are designed to change muscle memory. At that time Bioloqique was only exclusively available in South Africa at The Westcliff Hotel Spa. “When planning to expand my business a few months ago, I decided that Biologique was not quite suited to Grace as it’s more of a home salon, so I decided to launch a new, full on, deluxe aesthetics centre.

Instead of investing in someone else’s property, my husband and I decided to convert our existing family home in Sandton to Lueur. “There was very little refurbishment necessary – we only put in one new wall between two treatment rooms. We already had an outdoor heated pool, as well as an outdoor Jacuzzi and a steam shower and we’ve used our own furniture and art. The whole setting up process took just a month.” This prime property occupies 5,000 square metres and is characterised by beautiful and intricate gardens, all designed by Courtney, herself a professional landscape gardener. Elegant and extremely spacious, Lueur looks more like a

high end hotel than an aesthetics centre. Standout features include its blue and gold colour scheme, two large aquariums (inhabited by colourful tropical fish) at reception, as well as several waiting rooms and an outdoor relaxation area. There is also the signature Mani & Pedi Room, where clients can select their own preferred music/ sounds. The retail area houses the Biologique Recherche Skin Instant© Lab, where skin diagnoses take place and the appropriate treatments and products are prescribed to clients. Dr Vranjes diffusers and candles, as well as Xyza Savanna ostrich bags, are available for retail. Other brands offered at Lueur include RègimA, Heliocare,

DermaQuest, Dr Schrammek, LCN Spa, iS Clinical and Xymogen.

Lueur has two resident doctors – Dr Eva Siolo, a plastic surgeon who does anti-ageing fat transfer treatments, and Dr Nooren Moti. The doctors operate from a separate treatment room at Lueur, which has its own entrance. “While we offer anti-ageing injectable treatments like toxins and dermal fillers, we are getting lots of consultations for the fat transfer treatments. These work really well as the body doesn’t reject its own fat,” explains Courtney. There is also a registered nurse on hand at Lueur to draw blood for PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) treatments and to administer vitamin drip injections. Lueur is about to launch five different vitamin drip plans.

The centre boasts a wide array of aesthetics equipment, including the Tixel Skin Rejuvenation Device. This is a novel thermal fractional system powered by Novoxel’s patented technology. A Cutera system treats vascular conditions, while the Skin Classic direct high frequency machine removes skin lesions, milia, skin tags, etc. At the time of writing, Courtney was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the latest BBL (BroadBand Light) device, an extremely powerful IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) dermal renewal system.

Courtney and her team of three full-time therapists are in the process of developing an entire wellness programme in conjunction with a homeopath – Dr Jaci Schultz. Lueur is able to offer spa days for birthdays, wedding parties etc and even has its own sushi chef. The property is also available to hire out as a venue on Sundays and Mondays. In conclusion, Courtney notes that Lueur is a fully womenrun practice and that she is in the process of creating a membership programme for clients.

JoANNA STerkoWIcz speaks to RégimA founder, Jacqui Faucitt, about how this leading skincare brand has navigated the extreme challenges of 2020 and about the reasons for its longevity in the market

The RégimA team, including our in-house staff, distributors and reps, stayed positive throughout all stages. A number of the team worked from home for a while, but they were back in the saddle as soon as allowed. We are blessed that RégimA has several products with medical aid codes, so we had an essential goods licence to sell our flagship products from day one. This at least gave a lifeline to many salons and, when requested, we couriered products directly to their clients.

Sadly, some salons closed, mainly those that were not given rent holidays. Most of our stockists have survived the ‘disaster’, with many coming out fighting, with sales soaring in some cases. Stockists and their clients were hungry and anxious for normality and hit the ground running. We have also found that many new salons and spas throughout the country have been contacting us on a weekly basis to get on board, which is a fantastic sign for the future of our industry.

The fact that RégimA was able to continue providing products throughout the lockdown, which helped many stockists keep their heads above water, has been greatly appreciated. Social media presence was important, with at least twice weekly motivational and informative Facebook postings. One-on-one Zoom trainings were offered and when allowed, in-salon trainings were offered by RégimA distributors, who provided all important ideas on how to upsell, particularly for nervous clients still remaining at home. Despite raw material prices for manufacturing rising between 20% to 50%, RégimA did not do an annual price increase, which has been greatly appreciated, helping both stockists and consumer.

RégimA celebrated 24 years

of changing lives this October. During all of these years, we have built an exemplary reputation for powerful treatments that therapists are proud of, assuring them that clients would continue to return and spreading the word. We are now ready for the next 24 years as we enter a new power phase with RégimA Medic, which will include Peel de Monaco - 80% Profond Exfolier. RégimA will excite professional taste buds and make 2021 a year to remember, for the very best reasons.

On arriving in South Africa all those years ago, it was apparent that skin health was not near the top of the priority list, and for men to use a moisturiser was almost unheard of. Well, we had to change that, which was done by educating within the industry, reassuring, and removing the fear of therapists using very active products. With our focus on manufacturing, there has been a constant stream of innovation in active ingredients, allowing for exciting new product development on a regular basis, with continued improvement of existing products. South Africa is now definitely a skin treatment leader, not only here in our industry, but around the world.

I wanted to change lives. The products available in South Africa 24 years ago were mainly from Europe, and not made to deal with our beautiful but harsh climate. Everyone seemed to dismiss skin health and thought problems only occurred with age. One day, whilst working with a plastic surgeon, I saw a 16-year-old girl who had had a skin cancer removed, which left a huge deficit on her cheek, and what was she going use, something with lots of perfume in it? Oh no, I thought, and that was the birth of RégimA Scar Repair. Also, in the 1990s, deep medical laser was all the rage, however, there was no real aftercare, only petroleum jelly. Downtime from laser treatments was horrendous and people were suffering. That was the birth of RégimA Laser Azu-Repair ‘The Blue Gel’, which one of the plastic surgeons called his ‘life saver’, as well as that of his

patients. He still uses it for every patient today.

When manufacturing, in order to change lives, one must focus on maximum clinical effectiveness

irrespective of cost, so RegimA utilises the highest percentage of actives providing therapists with the tools to solve each major skin problem. We have in excess of 5,000 stockists, including doctors, salons and spas.

Yes, my Mom, Ada McDougall, and I started RégimA, working seven days a week, with my husband, Pete Faucitt, financing the dream, until he too joined the business. Once our son, Danny, finished studying for his degrees, he also became an integral part of the Faucitt vision. With a family sharing one goal, all determined and working extremely hard, the business succeeded, although one must sacrifice certain things along the way, such as holidays, for instance. Over the years the business has evolved into a hybrid decentralised structure of collaboration between many independent businesses, all working together in different parts of the supply chain. When one has a strong bond, there can be a very informal and practical approach that is resilient and deals with crisis fairly easily onthe-fly. Family equals security.

My cousin lived in Johannesburg and raved about the business opportunities in South Africa, which were there then, and remain today. If you have a passion for what you do and the will to achieve, as well as tenacity and the willingness to work hard, it can truly happen. If it happened for this girl from Manchester, who started with nothing, then success is out there waiting for you, but it is up to you to make it happen. South Africa is a most beautiful country, offering so many opportunities, especially in the beauty, hair, nails and makeup industries. Believe in yourself!

I was drawn to, and joined, the Red Cross, when I was only 14. After starting my career as a nurse, I went on to study medical science, human physiology and human disease. These all gave me a tremendous grounding in order for me to pursue my truelife passion – skin health – and wanting to change people’s lives for the better in my amazing new country. An enormous amount of constant research is required in this industry, and my background definitely helped me understand everything and realise that the ‘one product fits all’ approach does not work.

Because of my vision of the more medical side of the industry such as treating scars, burns, acne, pigmentation and anti-ageing, RégimA was launched initially to plastic surgeons, anti-ageing doctors and laser clinics for the first five years. Demand grew as more and more therapists began working with doctors and wanting life-changing products. RégimA was then released to highly trained therapists who shared our passion for treating skins and making a difference and not just pampering. This approach helped many build their businesses, whilst RégimA has always remained a professional range, supporting therapists. The young burn victim, Pippie, who sustained horrific injuries some years ago from a braai accident, was helped tremendously by Yolandy Mouton, a dedicated RégimA distributor, as she regularly visited and supplied essential products to Pippie, helping her healing process and relieving her pain.

Scar Repair, Laser Azu-Repair ‘The Blue Gel’ and Power Peels. These three products are award-winning and have healed every type of wound, whether traumatic, or operative, severe burns, or peeling ugly keloid scarring. It is not all about aesthetics, it is returning confidence, which is lifechanging. There is an amazing feeling when you really see the difference you make to lives.

As someone who has always been extremely competitive, I must admit I have been absolutely overwhelmed and proud of winning the awards. It is so important for the company and all associated with RégimA in South Africa and overseas. The primary focus of our efforts is ensuring the products have a genuine impact on real skin conditions, with a real impact on quality of life. The most rewarding thing of all is receiving feedback from clients who have life-changing results. Rather than competing for bigger, faster or cheaper, our emphasis has always been on achieving better results, and our focus on product effectiveness and quality is appreciated by the industry.

We have all read articles and books about resilience and bouncing back through tough times, as we try and negotiate the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. What has surprised me during this pandemic is the sudden upward swing towards natural remedies, some of which have been in practice for centuries. We have had these tools at our disposal for years, but it took a massive global pandemic to open our eyes to what is around us.

I suppose this is a positive outcome of the current crisis. People are taking charge of their lifestyles and choosing to try and balance things naturally versus through synthetic medication or a traditional western approach. People are trying to find a way to balance the trauma around them.