| Indah -Asian Massage Techniques And Cosmetology For Holistic Facial Care |
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| By Antje Neumann | ||||||
| Wednesday, 09 May 2007 | ||||||
 Inside the Indah Premises One Thursday evening in April a group of women from the Oulu International Women’s Club met up for a hair and make-up trial evening. Heta-Liisa Smith, founder of the company Indah, joins us to give us each advice about which make-up suits us, and gives us each a quick make-over and puts on some colour right away. In the meantime, we also have the possibility to ask some questions about Indah. The company offer several services: make-up for special occasions like weddings is one of the services, personal make-up lessons another. However, the thing which is closest to Heta-Liisa’s heart is holistic facial care. Trying out holistic facial care  Nina Lah before and after Heta-Liisa leads me to a room with low Asian music and a bed covered with a silk blanket and an Asian looking fabric on it. “Please take as much clothes, so that you are comfortable and that I am able to massage your chest. You can wrap yourself into the sarong and go under the sheet,” - easier said than done. I think an Asian woman would have laughed while watching me trying to wrap the sarong around me in a somehow elegant looking way. But so what, I go under the sheet anyway …Heta-Liisa comes back from the neighbouring room and lets me choose between four different scents, to find out which kind of massage oil would be best for me. “When using aromatherapy I always let the customer decide which scent to take; the body usually knows itself which kind of scent it needs at that moment”. My body seems to need relaxation and stress release since it chose Lavender.  Heta-Liisa gives Tiina Järvelaid perfect mascara After softening my skin with warm, wet towels Heta-Liisa applies different natural substances on my face for to clean the skin and remove impurities. Alone this part is quite a sensual experience, because the different masks and peeling all have different scents and consistencies and are applied carefully with some massage. However, the most relaxing part is the combined treatment of shiatsu massage and lymphatic drainage on face, neck, chest and shoulders with discreet Asian music playing somewhere in the background. It makes me forget the world and I feel like I am far away from everything in a place of calm and silence. At the end of the session, Heta-Liisa puts a refreshing mask on my face and leaves me to relax for five minutes. I have nearly fallen asleep when she comes back to carefully remove the mask. Very relaxed in the end“ Now, you can slowly get up. I have made some tea for you.” I am really astonished when learning that two hours have passed already. I would have estimated the treatment to have lasted for about half an hour or an hour. It was so relaxing and comfortable that I have completely forgotten time. Moreover, I am that relaxed that it really feels a bit difficult to get on my feet again, go to the other room nearby and listen Heta-Liisa’s advices for my personal skin care. Besides recommending different products of the natural cosmetic range Jurlique, I get some advices for nutrition. Natural oils like that of common flax are very good for skin as is drinking lots of water and doing sports.  Beautifully coloured lips for Sandra Hänninen According to Heta-Liisa, a holistic approach to facial care combining cosmetology, aromatherapy, facial massage treatments and consultation for life style is quite rare in Finland. That is somewhat surprising, because the combination of those treatments is much more effective than a cosmetic treatment alone. Muscle tension in face, neck and shoulders due to stress slow down blood and lymphatic circulation which has negative effects on the skin. When releasing those tensions and stimulating the circulation in the skin, it does not only absorb products of facial care better but also gets softer and fresher. Heta-Liisa often uses a combination of different Asian massage techniques for these purposes. This is a new experience for many of her customers at the first appointment but comes naturally for her - although she is Finnish, Heta-Liisa spent her teenage life in Singapore and received her first education in beauty therapy there. Later on, she moved to London and attended a business school where she studied to become a make-up artist. She has also worked in a day Spa and as an educator in New York and Lisbon for a company who used Chinese herbs for skin care.  Marion Eichorn before and after “For a long time I had been hoping to open my own company somewhere. The right time seemed to be there when moving with my husband to Oulu and starting all over again.” The concept of Indah is holistic: A facial treatment concentrating not only on the face but on the whole person, natural products and even recyclable product packages. “Some clients come only for cosmetic treatment in the beginning and do not know anything about my other treatments”, says Heta-Liisa. “However, after having experienced the treatment, they are positively surprised.” Nowadays, stress and bad nutrition are a common reason for skin problems like for example adult acne. Gift vouchers for facial massage have become a popular gift among her customers and a good way for Heta-Liisa to get new customers.
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