We are running a little contest and you could win TWO FREE FACIALS ($200 value)! Enter our I LOVE MOM Photo contest by liking Tamara’s on FaceBook (if you already like Tamara’s thank  you). Click here to enter or click on the camera in the post announcing the contest. Upload mom’s photo and your in the running for winning 2 fabulous facials and some other great stuff too.

You’ve got to enter to win……… Come on let’s see that beautiful mom.

I am often asked how I got into this business of helping people look and feel better. I would like to say that my career choice was the result of a well-thought-out trajectory or a mid-night dream-induced epiphany – alas, that would not be the truth.

In reality, I wandered into it. At the time (2000), I just knew that I needed to do something that was involved in helping other lives.

Friends and family felt that whatever I did it had to be hands-on, serene and tie into my desire to be self employed. One day, a friend and I went for facials. At lunch, after our facials, we looked at each other and quickly said that’s it!! All the elements were there, beauty, serenity, helping others, self-employed. Soon i was enrolled at a local community college esthetiques program

After passing the State Board examinations I was fortunate to be offered a room to rent. AfterI purchasing equipment and products, Tamara’s was born.

In this business, constant advanced education is essential so I am always learning the latest, greatest and most advanced techniques and processes. Fast-forward to 2002, I received a brochure from The Sisters of Saint Joseph offering a hands-on relaxation technique called Reiki. What a great add to skin care treatments I thought and enrolled. After seeing the initial relaxing and centering results on me and my clients, I wound up taking all courses offered all the way to becoming a Reiki master. My clients have been benefitting ever since.

My facial services have always included some sort of massage; usually feet. Whatever the massage, my clients always commented how good the massage felt. Bolstered by compliments, i enrolled in several massage classes to develop proper technique. Again, a brochure arrived in the mail. This time the brochure was from the American Academy of Reflexology. Now an opportunity to learn a quality, healing, balancing foot, hand and ear massage. More than 400 hours of training later and National Certification I give the best foot, hand and ear Reflexology treatment in town.

Many cities include Reflexology in their definition of massage. I love doing Reflexology along with my skin care services. So, i took the required courses and am now a state licensed massage practitioner as well as a state licensed esthetician.

Looking back on how this career started, what I see in common is that I pursued what I thought would fulfill and improve me therefore my service to my client’s. Learning how to offer beneficial skin care services, while centering and relieving stress in my clients. These skills bring so much relief and pleasure to others harmonized with a core desire of mine to help people feel better. It can’t get much better than that.

How and why did you get started?

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Through LinkedIn.com I have connected with one of this country’s extraordinary Reiki Masters, Pamela Miles. Pamela asked the question, “What’s a peptide?” It struck me that we talk all around skin care treatments and products and never quite define the revolutionary new ingredient. So thank you Pamela for asking and here is the answer.

What is a Peptide?

Amino acids makeup 75% of the body and are the body’s basic building blocks. Amino acids form peptides and polypeptides which are the building blocks for proteins.

The peptides are the communicators, telling cells to perform in certain ways.

Correctly formulated skin care products with peptides topically instruct the skin to:

• Create more under the surface collagen so the skin is plumper, firmer with fewer fine lines and wrinkles.
• Increase cell turnover (exfoliation) so that surface skin is fresher looking. Hyperpigmentation (dark spots) is diminished, tone and texture are improved.
• Rebuild healthier looking skin.

So there you have it!

The big thing in skin care products these days is peptides. So what are peptides? And, what do peptides do?

Peptides are essential ingredients to anti-aging skin care. Peptides are the body’s naturally occurring chemical messengers that instruct the skin to behave in a certain ways.

• Stimulating collagen production to firm skin,
• relaxing areas for fine line and wrinkle reduction,
• stimulate the growth of healthy skin such as controlled exfoliation to reveal newer healthier skin.

Peptides occur naturally in the body and are composed of amino acids which are the essential building blocks of the body.

There are only 20 different amino acids in the human body and like words and sentences, different peptides and proteins in the body are comprised of different combinations and sequences of amino acids. When a chain of amino acids is over 50 acids long, it is usually called a protein, when it contains less than 50 amino acids in the chain it is a peptide. So, a peptide is a portion, or a building block, of a protein.

All peptides influence or direct the cells of the body in some way. Different types of peptides influence different types of cells.

The peptides used in skin care in the correct strength and formulation topically add to and strengthen the skin’s naturally occurring peptides encouraging newer, fresher, relaxed, youthful skin.

So what’s the big deal with serums and why do they cost so much?

Serums are intensive treatment products that are applied, in small amounts, after cleansing and toning, to the entire face and neck twice daily. Serums should be followed with the appropriate sunscreen moisturizer in the daytime and nourishing moisturizer in the evening. Serums can also be applied before a mask.

The molecules in most serums a small and easily penetrate the skin. They contain a concentration of treatment ingredients such as:

·Hyaluronic acid – for moisture

·Polyphenols – antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and skin rejuvenating capabilities

·Peptides – skin rejuvenation reducing fine lines and wrinkles

·Epidermal growth factors (EGF) – reverses cell damage and the aging process while stimulating cell growth.

Although many of the ingredients in serums are derived from plants, they are still costly to manufacture.

So there you have it – serums are concentrated specific treatments that penetrate the skin.

Below are examples of some of the serums that I carry and their benefits:

pHaze 23 A&C Synergy Serum

This is an active blend of L-ascorbic acid, retinol and four natural brightening agents making it most appropriate for normal to oily skin types, especially those with hyperpigmentation (skin discoloration) or prone to breakouts. This product effectively controls oil production, bacterial proliferation, and helps reduce discoloration resulting in a clear, even skin tone.

pHaze 24 Rejuvenating Serum

This is the ultimate anti-aging serum. It contains epidermal growth factors. There is a special blend of vitamins, amino acids, growth factors and osmoprotectants protecting skin cells from water loss, damaging free radicals, and inflammation, keeping the skin firm and smooth.

This appropriate for all skin types and conditions, especially aging skin and those prone to redness and inflammation.

pHaze 25 ExLinea™ Peptide Smoothing Serum

This technically advanced treatment serum formulated with Argireline, a proven peptide that relaxes the facial tension that leads to wrinkling, while also reducing the depth of existing lines. This serum has the added benefits of hyaluronic acid and plant polysaccharides to increase intracellular moisture, and a blend of antioxidants and advanced actives to fight free radicals and provide the skin with an immediate tightening and lifting effect.

Viktoria DeAnn Rejuvenator (formulated in 3 strengths)

Peptide rich serums that are scientifically designed to initiate cellular responses of repair and regeneration, targeting growth of the skin. These products visibly improve tone, texture, and hyper pigmentation while supporting a corrective cell cycle (exfoliation).

Winter may be coming to an end and the signs of spring are hopefully popping up around you. But the damage that the air has done to your skin is probably apparent. Your hands may have suffered the most.

While caring for our face, a person’s first impression of us, may be natural, sometimes we neglect our hands in our skincare routine, leaving them dry, blotchy and irritated. Our hands are usually the second impression we give others when we offer a greeting and handshake. So it’s important to take the time to care for them.

I carry several wonderful home care products to rejuvenate and protect your hands as well as in-house treatments.

Anyone who has lived in sunny southern California knows what that constant sun exposure can do to the skin. Those who have suffered from acne and the resultant scars have similar concerns with uneven skin tone and dark spots.

Forms of vitamin A are the best for correcting age spots, acne and its damage, and sun damage. Vitamin A for the skin comes in two forms.

• Retin A
• Retinol

Retin A comes by prescription from a dermatologist. It is expensive and does one thing – exfoliates the skin. It is usually drying, can feel a little harsh, and there’s a lot of topical irritation and inflammation.

Retinol is sold by skin care professionals and is contained in small amounts in some over the counter products. Retinol is a form of vitamin A or Retin A and has been proven to be effective against acne, aging and hyper pigmentation of all kinds without the cost, harshness, irritation or inflammation of Retin A. Additionaly, retinols contain antioxidants to help correct skin damage.

Come in or call and let’s discuss the best way for you to treat that hyper pigmentation.

I recently started using peptides in my facials as well as carrying peptides for home care. This photo was taken before and after one professional treatment and 3 weeks of home care products. I’m pleased with the results and you will be too.

Peptides are short polymers formed by linking alpha amino acids, capable of penetrating the skin and sending specific “messages” at the cellular level. Some of the benefits include:

• Increased skin elasticity
• Increase of collagen
• Regenerative skin functions
• Wrinkle reduction
• Inflammation reduction
• Tissue Repair

Beating 100,000 times a day, this muscle pumps oxygen, food-derived nutrients, hormones and immune cells throughout every square inch of our bodies. By now, most of us know that a healthy diet (a controversial subject in itself), regular exercise, preventative dental care and plenty of fresh air support a healthy cardiovascular system; and that smoking, obesity, acidic blood, noise pollution, exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and a sedentary lifestyle don’t.

• There is no time in utero that the heart starts to beat. The cells beat from the start. As the cells multiply to create the cardiovascular system, they take their cues on how to beat, at what rate, etc. from the mother’s heart. So, when did the mother’s heart begin to beat? If every cell was beating before it was a heart, then how could there be a single moment it became a heart? The heart (and arteries and veins attached), it turns out, is a circulation system with no beginning and no end. Perhaps that is why the Chinese refer to the heartbeat as the cosmic beat.
• The heart remembers. Modern medicine can now confirm that those early Egyptians were right. The heart has its own intelligence and remembers. Much has been written about transplant recipients receiving not only an organ, but the personality traits, temperament and memories of their donor.
• The Chinese pictograph for the word “busy” is composed of two characters: “heart” and “killing”. Hmm…
• That last one reminds me of a quote from Lily Tomlin that a friend shared today: “For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.”

One of the first things that come to mind when thinking of massage is relaxation.

Clinical studies show that a one massage session significantly lowers heart rate as well as insulin and cortisol levels. High heart rate, and elevated levels of insulin and cortisol are not only indicators of stress but they can also do damage, over time, to health.

Regular massage sessions will help you look and feel consistently better and, coupled with a healthy life style, will keep you healthier. By reducing stress your state of mind and vitality will improve. So why not add a massage at Tamara’s to start on the road for a long and happy life?

• Benefits of Massage and Stress Relief
• Lowers Heart Rate
• Lowers Blood Pressure
• Reduces Cortisol
• Reduces Insulin
• Relaxes Muscles
• Increases Endorphins

Tamara is a state of California licensed massage practitioner specializing in stress management massages for women.