Guest Blog Writer (Laura Clark)

It gives me great pleasure in introducing Laura Clark as the writer of this week’s blog. Laura is a long standing beauty therapist , at Aurora Treatments, who uses her magic to help people look beautiful both on the inside and on the outside. Check out her facebook page . In this blog Laura shares with you her passion for working with people. The blog focuses more on the therapeutic side of her work. She shares with you her insights into how beauty therapy can support well-being, how mental ill health can show itself in our bodies. But more importantly how human touch and contact is healing and is really the secret ingredient in everything she does.

My name is Laura

My name’s Laura and I’ve been working in the beauty therapy industry for longer than I (or possibly my clients) might care to tell. Let’s say I hadn’t even reached my twenties when I started and now I find myself cruising swiftly through the forties!

My job, and love for my job, has always been about helping people feel and look their best. If I can help in just a small way towards helping people, even if it is for an hour of wellness from healthier skin and relaxation, or simply taking time to listen, then my work life has meaning. My whole sense of purpose at work is to help others feel their best selves, through calming touch, relaxation, offering an understanding ear and beauty therapies. I’ve been very lucky to have shared precious and delicate moments of my client’s lives over the years and I am grateful for this. My therapeutic work has been often insightful too.

Beauty Therapy and Well-being

So that’s enough about me! How is well-being achieved, you might be asking, through beauty therapy?

When I think back to covid lockdown, the need for human touch, doing something positive and beneficial for ourselves and connection has became even more apparent. From my own experience and from talking with my clients, we’ve all experienced a greater appreciation for human connection, as well appreciation for a simpler way of living. Although I’ve always known the benefits of beauty therapies and taking time out for ourselves, this was fiercely highlighted when lockdown was finally lifted.

After lockdown I was very fortunate to be busier than I ever had been before and couldn’t find enough hours in the day to accommodate the requests for appointments. A reoccurring theme from my very missed clients was an urgency to just be with one another, do something that made them feel looked after and pampered, human touch and to feel connected.

During lockdown, I found myself missing others immensely too. I missed the simple joy of talking about light hearted every day things, or even answering simple, less taxing questions such as what nail colour would you like today? Shall we pop a little make up on after your facial? I missed noticing the way a client smiles when they look at their nails or at their lip gloss in the mirror, when they touch their now glowing and lifted skin and hearing the gentle snoring during the facial massages. I missed the chatter in the salon about how their skin has been, what they’ve been up to.

Post lockdown

Our post Covid reconnections, took away the heavy and rather frightening unknown of what we’ve just experienced as human kind. Now that Covid has passed ,we are back amidst the throw of life again, work, life, school runs, meetings, appointments, deadlines, all of this has become the norm again for many of us. To take the time out for some self-care in the form of a facial, a manicure, a back massage makes us stop and just be for a moment. Taking time out gives us that essential rest bite to take stock of our lives, recharge and get a more relaxed perspective.

Impact of stress on our skin

One common theme I’ve noticed, since covid, is a change of skin conditions in many of my clients. Such as inflamed, sensitive and problematic skin types. Ruling out other causes of skin conditions, through a thorough consultations, one can only assume the skin problems were due to stress. Covid was an unknown and was a hard time for all of us, it was an additional demand on us and our time. When you feel stressed, your body releases stress hormones that makes skin more sensitive and reactive. Stress releases hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol causes increased oil production in the skin, which can lead to clogged pores and acne breakouts. Problematic skin and its impact on how we look, can reduce our self esteem, lower self-confidence and lower mood.

How can beauty therapy increase our well-being and our skin health

Just the act of making an beauty therapy appointment for a consultation and a facial is a positive step towards doing something for ourselves and our well-being. This first step can increases our confidence. Knowing that you’re taking positive action towards making yourself feel and look good, makes you feel better. When you look good, you also feel good. Self-care isn’t vanity, taking care of yourself is a great way to feel good mentally, emotionally and physically. Caring for yourself and doing something that contributes towards that, creates a further sense of wellbeing. Did you know it’s a fact, when you feel good you look better? It’s a circle, we feel good, we look good, we look good, we feel good.

The hormones the body releases when we feel good are known as ‘happy hormones’ and are proven to lower blood pressure, enable better sleep and more. We all know getting enough sleep is paramount for optimum health. Also sleep is when our body repairs itself. The skin makes new collagen when we sleep. More collagen means our skin is more plump, heals better and is less likely to wrinkle. More sleep also means less dark circles.

The Consultation (Beauty Therapy)

Any beauty therapy session will include a consultation. During the consultation we have a look at your lifestyle to see if any areas need reconsidering to help contribute to healthier skin. We can learn about how certain products and homecare will help achieve healthy, glowing skin. Everyone has different skin, different lifestyles and different skin care goals, so we will tailor make a plan for you. The results my clients and I have seen have been very rewarding and increase confidence. All facials include a twenty minute massage, or a nail paint or foot treatment should you want those instead.

Prioritising your well-being

Women and men, when they come to my sessions, tell me the same thing. “I just want want to do something nice for myself.”

Being a mum and working, I can relate. Like all of us, we have busy lives and are often doing errands, working, shopping, meetings, deadlines, driving, pressed for time. I also hear that “something nice for yourself” is put to the bottom of a priority list. It doesn’t seem as important as the jobs we do for work and and others. Remember the talk on a plane before take off? “Look after yourself first, wear your oxygen mask before you can help anyone else.” Take the time to look after you, in which ever way that may be.

Conclusion

FEELING COMFORTABLE IN YOUR OWN SKIN

(Note: This bit is by Andrzej ACT Hypnotherapist)

Thank you Laura for sharing your insights from your therapy. Your words convey your passion as well as your expertise. As any therapist would tell you there’s more to therapy than just what is seen. There is that invisible care and consideration that really makes the difference. Having been a client of Laura’s I can confirm that Laura has that special care and consideration.

And finally how does what Laura does fit into hypnotherapy. Solution focused hypnotherapy uses a strategy called the 3Ps (Positive action, Positive interaction, Positive Thought). When we do the 3Ps we release the well-being neurotransmitter serotonin into our bodies which gives that well-being feeling. When we feel well, we relax, think more clearly and make better choices in our lives. Better choices feed into a positive cycle of mental health improvement. The 3Ps strategy in the above blog shows itself as human connections, self-care and taking ownership of our mental health. “Doing something nice for ourselves” is at the heart of the 3Ps.

(For more information on the 3Ps see blog “How to find the 3 Peas of Happiness” )

How can hypnotherapy add to the 3Ps strategy?

Well sometimes more focused specific help is needed around anxiety, depression, phobias, OCD etc. This is where many people have found hypnotherapy to be very useful. Hypnotherapy helps you raise your serotonin and address any negative self talk you maybe experiencing. It also helps you be relaxed even in stressful times and much much more. These strategies help enormously, see how it has helped others (Testimonials).

Note: I won’t be able to help you with your nails, facials or body aches (well not as well as Laura!), however I can help you develop a positive, resilient mindset that helps you feel more comfortable in your own skin.

So if you want to find out how ACT Hypnotherapy Swindon can help you with anxiety, depression, OCD etc., or just want to find out more about how we work, contact us for a FREE, no obligation initial consultation. During the consultation you will learn how the brain works, how we create anxiety, depression etc. But more importantly what we can do about them. Remember you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.