A French Touch Salon

The finest in Parisian skin care on the central coast.

skincare

Jan Marini Skin Research Retinol PLUS

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Why is Retinol the Best Anti-Aging product recommended by Doctors?

~Smoothes the Skin
~Boosts Collagen
~Reduces Fine Lines
~Evens out Discoloration
~Unclogs Pores

The first Non-Irritating and Skin-Smoothing over-the-counter retinol!

Age Intervention Retinol PLUS provides unparalleled skin rejuvenation benefits. The strongest levels of stabilized all-trans-retinol are synergistically combined with advanced topical agents to maximize efficacy while simultaneously decreasing or even eliminating acclimation/irritation concerns. Acclimation with prescription retinol can include redness, drying and visible peeling of the skin, leading many to discontinue it’s use. Retinol Plus delivers the equivalent skin-smoothing and brightening results without the downtime associated with prescriptions, while providing anti-aging and collagen boosting peptides, antioxidants, hydrators and skin soothing ingredients. Retinol PLUS truly separates itself from the pack.

Retinol PLUS helps with numerous skin concerns such as wrinkles, texture, acne and hyper-pigmentation by promoting increased cell health and stimulating the growth of collagen and elastin in the skin, which literally reverses the fine lines, wrinkles, and other damage caused by aging.

At  A French Touch, we recommend incorporating Retinol Plus into your regimen with the Jan Marini Skincare Management System customized to your particular skin, and strongly encourage the use of this regimen before, during, and after any peel series to maintain and enhance the rejuvenating effects of the peels.

A Sonic Clean for your Skin

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

Looking for the best way to give your skin that post-facial, deeply-cleansed feeling every day?  The best way to beautiful skin is a ‘clean’ start (pun intended!), and we’ve got the #1 cleansing brush recommended by dermatologists, estheticians and spa professionals, to transform your skin, one pore at a time.

Clarisonic Brushes use advanced sonic technology to provide you with a clean that is 6 times more thorough than cleansing with hands alone. Cleansing with Clarisonic clears oil, perspiration, debris, makeup, and environmental pollutants out of your pores.  

The secret is described best by Clarisonic themselves:

“Unlike spinning devices, our patented sonic cleansing technology works with skin’s natural elasticity, oscillating at a sonic frequency that produces over 300 movements per second. The resulting flexing action created between the outer and inner brushes works to loosen dirt and oil, removing deep-seated impurities from pores and priming skin to better absorb topical treatments.”

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This approach to cleansing will not only give your pores a chance to breathe, but will also improve the look and feel of skin that suffers from:

  • Fine Lines & Wrinkles
  • Enlarged Pores & Excess Oil
  • Rough Surface, Uneven Texture
  • Dullness, Lack of Radiance
  • Acne-Prone, Frequent Blemishes
  • Loss of Firmness & Elasticity

A French Touch offers 3 different Clarisonic Brushes, along with several different brush head attachment options, so you can take home that same clean you love in our facials!  Also, this month all of our Clarisonic Brushes come with a FREE Jan Marini Age Intervention Cleanser to help you maintain that radiant, youthful glow.

miaThe Mia 1 ($99) is a great starter brush in the Clarisonic series.  It comes with one speed (and in lots of cute colors!), and includes the Sensitive Brush Head for a gentle cleanse.  The Mia is easy to use, quick to charge, and can switch between all of the Brush Head options, so you can find your favorite!  The Mia also comes with a 1 year warranty.

mia 2The Mia 2 ($149) is the perfect travel brush, and comes with a convenient travel case, the interchangeable heads option, and not one but two speeds (delicate and universal) so you can customize your clean.  This brush also includes a 1-Minute Pulsing T-Timer that pulses momentarily to indicate it is time to move to another part of your face.  The Mia 2 comes with a 2 year warranty.

ariaThe Aria (Mia 3) ($199) is the most versatile Clarisonic Brush, and comes with three speeds–delicate, universal, and powerful, to offer even more options for that just-out-of-a-facial clean feeling–in addition to all of the perks of Mia and Mia 2.  The Aria also comes with a drying stand, USB-Enabled Universal Voltage pLink Charger and a 3 year warranty. 

The sonic powered clean is our favorite way to kick off a facial, and an excellent way to intensify the results of your skin care routine by clearing out your pores and refreshing your skin before applying products.  Try one with us today!

Bisous,

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Visit us at SLO’s Annual Health and Fitness Expo!

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

photo (7)Mark your calendars for SLO’s Annual Health and Fitness Expo on March 22nd and 23rd!  For this whole weekend, over 100 businesses and organizations are going to get together at the Alex Madonna Expo Center to celebrate and promote healthier living in the San Luis Obispo area.

Admission into the expo is totally free, and you’ll have access to educational seminars, medical testing (including BMI, body composition, etc.), and the expertise of many health and fitness professionals from around the county.  What better way to invest a little time in yourself and your family than spending time together learning about how to become healthier, happier people!

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A French Touch will be there, representing the very best that skin care has to offer starting with maximum sun protection from JAN MARINI SKIN RESEARCH and COLORESCIENCE PRO MINERALS.  As many of you probably know, The Skin Cancer Foundation reminds us that  up to 90% of visible signs of aging (hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, loss of tone and elasticity) is directly caused by sun damage to the skin.  So the very best way to protect yourself while you’re out enjoying the fabulous weather and outdoor activities that we are so lucky to have on the Central Coast, is to be sure you are using a TRULY broad-spectrum sunscreen, like Colorescience’s Sunforgettable SPF 50 Mineral Powders, or Jan Marini’s SPF 45 Physical Protectant (for those seeking a paraben free, chemical free alternative to 90% of the sunscreen market).Screen shot 2013-06-03 at 7.06.57 PM

The Expo is also hosting a 5K race through the beautiful hills and pastures around Madonna Mountain on the morning of Saturday the 22nd to kick things off.  After hosting a Facebook contest over the weekend to give away 2 tickets to the 5K, we happily extend our congratulations to Bonnie–a wonderful friend and client–and a lucky friend, who won their tickets free from us!  We hope that she has fun, and stops by to see us at our booth after her run!  

If you missed out on this Facebook contest, be sure to stay tuned; I’ll be keeping you posted on additional contests, as well as the amazing specials, that we’ll have at the Expo here on our blog and on our Facebook page, so be sure to ‘like us’ and follow along!

Bisous,

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Professional Mineral Makeup with Michael!

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

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Come celebrate the beauty of the season with us this Monday, December 16th, when Colorescience National Makeup Artist Michael McCarthy visits A French Touch! 

Michael has visited us several times before, and has over 30 years of makeup expertise to share!  He has been an avid Colorescience fan since it’s arrival on the makeup scene, and loves their philosophy of “not sacrificing health for beauty, or beauty for health.”  He has been passionately involved in every aspect of the makeup for much of his life (from everyday to bridal to high fashion to the Seattle Opera!), and has been an official Colorescience Makeup Artist since 2000, when he started featuring Colorescience makeup exclusively in his studio and his work.  

Michael will be at A French Touch on Monday, December 16th from 1 to 7 p.m., to personally apply and train you on your best look with Colorescience Pro Minerals.  Michael’s expertise combined with Colorescience’s high-performance mineral makeup will leave you with a flawless look just in time for the Holidays. Call us, visit us, or email us to reserve your appointment now, or book it online. Promotions will be available at the Event for Colorescience products , as well as beautiful gifts with purchase.  And don’t forget that this month only (and while supplies last!), if you spend over $100 on our selection of Colorescience products, receive a complimentary lip or eye product of your choice.

Ring in the holidays with a “cheer”ful day at A French Touch Parisian Skincare Salon~ We look forward to seeing you!

Bisous,

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Merci Pour Vos Mots Gentils!

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

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And our “amis” are the people we want to celebrate today!  The expression above means “Thank you for your kind words”, and is a sentiment that we are so happy to be extending to our loyal clients.  We wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for your positive reviews, kind comments, and encouraging feedback on our social media pages.  Reviews on Yelp (where we have a wonderful 5 star rating, thanks to you!), comments on Facebook, comments on this blog, responses to the survey on our website, and other social media outlets are so encouraging for all of us at A French Touch, because we love to hear about what we do that makes you happy; our goal has and always will be to keep you looking and feeling your best, and hearing such glowing reviews makes everything we do that much more worthwhile.

In such a challenging economy and such a small community, it’s a great comfort and pride of ours to have such a close-knit, honest, and loyal group of clients.  Your kind words mean so much to us—encouragement, feedback, support, advice, and invaluable input—that we wanted to take this time to let you know how very much we appreciate your love and support, mes amis!  We look forward to many more happy years of helping you look and feel your best.

Bon weekend, mes amis, et encore merci!

Bisous,

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Exfoliation 2.0: Peels

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

Let’s kick our exfoliation up a notch to the professional level, shall we?gentle peel treatment

I know I’ve mentioned peels earlier this week, but I want to go through what our peels at A French Touch are like, and what results they’re designed to have.  First, however, let’s get a few misconceptions about chemical peels out of the way.

For those of you who are imagining the skin on your face peeling off like it does after a bad sunburn, I’m happy to say that you’ve got it all wrong!  

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Only very strong chemical peels have that effect on your skin, but A French Touch prefers to offer gentler, effective peels that provide results without downtime.  We want our lovely clients to be able to jump back into their busy lives, feeling refreshed but not feeling the side effects!  Our Jan Marini-inspired peels penetrate the skin deeper than our home-care products (and certainly deeper than a mechanical form of exfoliation), working to not only clear away the dull-looking top layer of debris, but also to revitalize your skin’s natural glow and beauty.  Jan Marini Skin Research says that peels are one of the most popular aesthetic treatments out there, and are effective in treating acne, acne scars, hyper-pigmentation, photo-damage, lines, and wrinkles.  More radiance and no downtime, what more could you ask for?

Our first, most gentle peel is the Jan Marini 40% Glycolic Acid Peel, which we offer as a one-time treatment, a series of 3 over three weeks (recommended), and as an add-on to your facial.  This peel uses (obviously) Glycolic Acid, which is a product many of us already use in our home-care routines (Bioglycolic cleansers, lotions, and creams for the face and body), just in a  stronger solution.  This peel has zero-downtime, which means you’ll be able to immediately re-apply your makeup and sunscreen and be on your way!  The Glycolic Acid Peel specializes in treating fine lines, uneven texture, acne, and pigmentation issues, even with one application; however, both Patricia and the experts at Jan Marini tell us that these peels, as with most skincare products and procedures, work best with continued application and treatment (read: you get to relax for a peaceful session every week and treat your skin to a little TLC!).

Our new Brilliance Peel takes the Glycolic Acid Peel and turns up the anti-aging magic just a bit!  In this peel, we combine Glycolic Acid with Jan Marini’s new Retinol Plus Mask, which uses Retinol and several other wrinkle-eliminating ingredients to boost cell turnover rates, collagen stimulation, and evenness of pigmentation (this mask is coming soon, read more about it here!).  The combination of these two treatments in one works wonders for your skin because, as the Glycolic acid removes that cement-like top layer of dead skin cells, the Retinol Plus Mask is able to penetrate and absorb even more deepkly into the skin, amplifying the results and leaving you looking lovely!  Again, this peel works best as a series of 3 over 3 weeks, and has almost no downtime.

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Finally, the Refine Peel is our most intensive peel, and should be done as a series of 3, but 3 to 4 weeks apart, due to the strength of the peel.  Jan Marini says that the Refine Peel is excellent in providing overall skin rejuvenation with less peeling and downtime than more aggressive treatments, and works to visibly combat uneven texture, fine lines and wrinkles, acne, and uneven pigmentation while rejuvenating the deeper levels of your skin.  The application of the Refine Peel is followed by a high-powered Retinol Activator, which synthesizes collagen as it regenerates tissue. Finally, our popular, elegant  Antioxidant SPF33 Sunscreen is applied and off you go! And we top off your experience with our signature Sothys hand treatment and Green Tea with Citrus.

You may see flaking that lasts from 3 to 5 days, easily minimized with our efficient Skin Zyme Mask (see above) and BIOSHIELD home care cream.  In fact,  Jan Marini’s new BIOSHIELD is a rapid recovery complex that was designed specifically to speed up recovery and  enhance treatment results from these peels. Unlike most petrolatum-based (yes, read “petroleum”!) products recommended post-laser, or post-peel,  this formula  delivers Epidermal Growth Factor, Palmitoyl Oligopeptides and Tetrapeptides to stimulate collagen and reduce inflammation and Co-Enzyme Q-10 super-antioxidant to reveal healed, healthy, GORGEOUS skin!   

And there you have it, mes amis!  Our peels are gentle enough for all skin types, but effective, and definitely the most thorough method of exfoliation we can offer you.  Exfoliation is a very important component in your skincare regimen, so make sure you’re exfoliating often; your skin will look healthier, and your other home-care products will absorb so much  more  to reveal your most beautiful skin!  If you aren’t sure which method or peel is right for you, call or email us to set up a free 15 minute consultation with our expert, Patricia.

Alors, bon week-end à vous!

Bisous,

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