Services provided courtesy of Joan Uemura Shure (Unaffiliated Links)
There are certain experiences that are so life changing that words simply fail to capture their profundity. Little did I know that covering the
Pharmaca Friends and Family Event in Pacific Palisades was going to lead to such an experience. It was here that I first met Joan Uemura Shure, and where I first encountered her rare talent as a Holistic Esthetician (discussed
here). Her mini-facial, exclusively featuring evanhealy skincare products, was so transformational and resonated with me so deeply that she graciously invited me to experience her signature 90 minute Luminescence Facial. This is
far more than any ordinary facial! Instead, this treatment is a combination of a facial and Craniosacral Therapy-- and let me just preface the more thorough explanation by stating that this was nothing short of mind-blowing.
Joan Uemura Shure
Combining 20+ years as a Licensed California Esthetician, beautiful, clean and organic skincare and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, I have formulated an extraordinary, restorative and regenerative treatment now available to you at the Well Being Medical Center in Santa Monica, California.
This is an outward and inward experience. More than just a regimen of skin care, my facial treatments are an honoring of your entire being, providing a whole body healing experience. You are already beautiful. My treatments simply bring your inherent gorgeousness forward.
Using clean, organic products is of the utmost importance as your skin absorbs what you put on it. I use evanhealy skincare exclusively in all of my treatments. This skincare is unsurpassed and has a very high vibration that you can recognize immediately by its aroma and feel. Using clean, organic, higher resonating skincare elevates the facial experience to a whole new level.
My Signature Treatment, Luminescence, begins with centering and calming breaths as you are transported into deep relaxations while I treat your skin with pure plant hydrosols, aromatherapy, flower essences, and fruit and seed oils to help your to re-align with nature and your-self. A nourishing massage will be given to your face, neck, shoulders, hands and arms while warm steam envelops your facial contours.
Moving into a deeper repose while your customized facial mask sets, Biodynamic Cariosacral Therapy enhances your experience with the deep relaxation of your entire nervous system and being. It can also facilitate the release of old patterns of trauma held up in the body.
While everyone's Craniosacral Therapy experience is different, it always provides profound relaxation.
We gently come back to the body with energized foot reflexology and an incredible facial massage facilitated with Rose Quartz Spheres. Rose Quartz is heart centering and cooling by nature, the perfect finish to this remarkable treatment.
evanhealy products that Joan uses on her clients.
I already knew that I was in for a very special treat after having experienced a sampling of what was to come, and it was very clear to me that Joan's talents exceeded anything that could serve as a tangible line item on a résumé. One might describe her as a combination of a highly cultivated healer and a Holistic Esthetician. Even before the Craniosacral Therapy part of the treatment began I knew that I was in for something outside of everyday experience. I just didn't realize the extent to which this was going to be true.
Joan led me into a very peaceful facial room that was serene and comforting. It was filled with soft and soothing music that quickly receded into the background as I found myself melting
into the surface upon which I was relaxing. Joan instructed me to breathe deeply to become very centered and still. I trust her implicitly so it took no time whatsoever for me to let go of all control and embrace whatever was to come.
The first hour of my facial featured an amazing combination of evanhealy skincare products that felt and smelled amazing on my skin, but likewise soothed and quieted my mind and spirit. Joan cleansed and steamed my skin followed by extractions on any clogged pores. The aroma of evanhealy oils and hydrosols, that she reapplied liberally throughout the process, kept me in a perpetual state of bliss. With every deep inhalation I was filled with the most delectable aromatherapeutic experience. It was truly sublime.
Joan then massaged my face, head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands and feet with an amazing combination of power and grace. Her touch was gentle- yet she powerfully, painlessly and deftly untied knots that I didn't even realize that I was harboring. At this point I was already what might best be described as out-of-body. My corporeal existence and my spirit seemed to move into two different directions- I was at once experiencing my physical body sinking into the surface upon which I was resting while my spirit experienced a lightness of being that evades precise description. I became aware of a kind of cognition about the power of the body to heal itself, but without being impeded by my busy mind. For anyone who has experienced Biodynamic Cransiosacral Therapy-- what I am trying to convey to you is that this experience was happening to me
before Joan even began the 30 minute Craniosacral part of the treatment. I attribute this less to any inherent abilities that I may have to relax and get in tune, and more to her significant gifts as a Holistic practitioner.
Having never experienced Craniosacral Therapy before I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but I was certainly excited by the possibilities. Joan explained that she was essentially a conduit, and that she would be cradling my energy and offering my body a place of stillness from which it would be able to heal itself and get truly centered. She began by centering herself, and gently cradled my calves while I lay perfectly still. She directed me to empty my mind-- a true challenge for me since mine often runs at warp-speed and seldom shuts down-- and then directed my energy to sink down deeply. I have never experienced anything so profound as seeing that my body had its own intelligence and wisdom that was in many ways unconnected to my thoughts. This interesting shift in energy allowed me to experience what was happening in my body without the interference of my mind. This was also considerably outside of the purview of my default position of analyzing things and being very much in my head. Some of that is character, but much of it is also training since academia demands that of you.
Once Joan felt the appropriate shift in my energy she exclaimed, "there you go, did you feel it?" And I did, it was this deep sinking/syncing into myself, and of everything else melting away. I exclaimed that I did feel it, and while my body felt immobile on the one hand, I felt what I would describe as rivers flowing through each of my legs in a cool and cleansing current that flowed toward Joan. I remained fully aware of what was happening, and yet I was experiencing it almost as though I was a spectator rather than the recipient of that extraordinary sensation. I asked her if she felt the cooling water current, and she said that she did. We were somehow magically in sync and it was profoundly freeing. Joan seemed pleased with my receptivity and openness and said that when she cradled my head that it would likely be mind-blowing based upon what I experienced when she cradled my legs.
She was right!
As Joan cradled my head I felt as though each time that I exhaled that waves were breaking on the beach and with each inhale the waves drew back into the ocean. These were not thoughts and images that I was directing, but instead sensations that quite literally seemed to flow from deep within. I felt the rays of the sun warm my skin while the calming ocean waves seemed to cleanse every recess in my head. Again, I must underscore the fact that I am often
very in my head-- whether at school lecturing or just going about my day. So the ability to quiet a mind that is constantly busy is a remarkable feat, and a truly amazing gift.
Joan then gave me a Rose Quartz Facial Massage after having applied a wonderful evanhealy mask, and when she was finished she left the room and gave me time to essentially reintegrate with myself so that I could drive back home. However, before doing so Joan gave me a mirror to take a look at my complexion, and I have to say that I was shocked to see that it was glowing in a way that I had
never before seen. The entire experience essentially recalibrated me. Joan instructed me to drink plenty of water and when I walked back into the waiting room I felt like I was
literally floating. She told me to have a seat for a few minutes until I felt ready to leave.
Not only did my skin look utterly spectacular, but my body and spirit felt lifted, rejuvenated, cleansed and altered. This was truly unlike any beauty treatment that I have ever experienced! It would be worth a bit of a journey to experience Joan's Luminescence Craniosacral Therapy Facial-- it really is
that amazing!
View down the hall at the Well Being Medical Center in Santa Monica
Overall Assessment: This is less of a review than an effusive endorsement of an extraordinary experience from a truly gifted practitioner. In addition to be so highly skilled, and incredibly humble about her talents, Joan is also one of the kindest people that I have ever met. As Joan suggests in her description of the Craniosacral Therapy Facials-- everyone experiences it differently, and this was my experience. While yours may differ markedly one thing that everyone shares is deep relaxation and an amazingly glowing complexion.
Luminescence 90 Minute Facial $165.00: 60 minutes customized Facial Treatment includes Cleanse, Steam, Extractions, Massage of Face, Head, Neck, Shoulders, Arms, Hands, Feet + 30 Minutes Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy + Rose Quartz Facial Massage.
Joan is offering a special discount for Lola's Secret Beauty Blog readers: Receive the full 90 Minute Luminescence Facial for $100.00 (regularly $165.00). Just say that I sent you when you book your appointment.
900 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 314
Santa Monica, California 90401
(310) 395-0077
cstfacials@gmail.com
Joan Facials are on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10-6
Facial provided courtesy of Joan Uemura Shure.
All views expressed are categorically my own. Unaffiliated Links.
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