Published: Wednesday, 11th November, 2009 4:30pm

Get glowing skin and shiny hair all under one roof

Being pampered to within an inch of your life is a good start to any day, particularly when you've been off work for a few days. So with this in mind on a rainy Wednesday morning I headed to the newly opened Coosan Beauty Salon, which is located in the same building as Colour Starz Hair Salon in Clonrusk, Coosan.

First to the beauty salon where proprietor Rachel Devereaux treated me to a Dermologica prescriptive facial before I headed to the hair salon for a conditioning treatment with Rosie Sweeney.

Before the facial Rachel asked a few questions about my skin and any allergies I might have. She explained that during the prescriptive facial she would be using the principles of Dermologica face mapping, which would allow her to analyse the 14 zones on my face and see what areas needed attention, before prescribing the correct products for my skin. I had had a prescriptive facial before, but not for a couple of years, and Rachel explained that our skin can change due to hormonal changes, changes in diet or lifestyle and as this happens we may need to change the products we use.

She started with a precleanse, explaining that Dermologica believes the skin should be cleansed twice to ensure it is completely clean. She applied pads to my eyes before using a strong light to completely examine my skin, analysing each of the different zones. She explained that I have naturally oily skin, and while this may be a hindrance at times, the upside is that I will have fewer wrinkles as I get older! Rachel explained that I had slight congestion along my chin and the sides of my face, but all in all said I had gorgeous skin tone and elasticity - being pampered and getting compliments, a great morning indeed!

As Rachel gently massaged the products into my skin I began to relax and drift off as I listened to the relaxing music. As she was massaging the products into my face and neck, Rachel also massaged my shoulders, allowing me to completely relax. After applying a multi-vitamin mask, which smelled delicious, to my face, Rachel then massaged each of my arms in turn and my hands, explaining afterwards that the skin on my arms is a little dry.

When my facial was complete Rachel gently raised me into a sitting position and gave me a glass of water, which she advised I drink slowly, leaving me alone for a few minutes to come to completely. We then chatted about my skin, which Rachel said has great elasticity and provided me with an analysis of my different zones and also advice on which products to use to get the best out of my skin. While Rachel advises that we change our moisturiser from time to time as our skin changes, she said I am actually using the right the moisturiser for my skin. She explained that Dermologica products are formulated with the purest, finest ingredients available, all of which improve and sustain skin health and integrity. Rachel added that while people will often try out different products, but she finds they will always return to Dermologica as it gives great results.

Explaining the principle of face mapping, Rachel said: "Face mapping skin analysis provides a deep look at your skin health, giving you a personal prescription for your skin type."

Having just opened the salon, Rachel is offering 20% off all treatments for the month of November and other treatments include manicures/pedicures, acrylic nails, St Tropez spray tan, waxing, tinting, universal contour wraps and massage.

It was then through to Colour Starz for me where Rosie treated my dry locks to a conditioning treatment that left my hair looking silky and glossy.

Harmon Hannon of Colour Starz is delighted with the addition of the beauty salon to the premises, explaining that they can now cater for all occasions under one roof in a setting close to the town centre.

As she was shampooing my hair Rosie explained that the treatment would penetrate the cuticles of my hair and said I should try to avoid washing my hair the following day to allow the treatment a little longer to work, something that's a little difficult for me as I tend to wash my hair every day, as like my skin, it too can be oily. However, Rosie explained that by washing my hair every day I'm actually ensuring that it continues to produce oil and if I wash it less it will produce less oil. A bit of a catch-22, but Rosie recommended that I try a dry shampoo, which did the trick.

She explained that the ends of my hair was quite dry (due to excessive use of a straightner!) and said while a trim is the ideal solution to dry ends, the conditioning hair treatment is the next best thing and would breathe life back into my dry locks.

So after shampooing my hair, Rosie applied the conditioning treatment, wrapped my head in a hot towel and left me to relax for a few minutes. After rinsing my hair, Rosie then blow dried it straight and I was amazed with the results. As I mentioned I'm slightly addicted to my straightner and have been using it way too much, resulting in dry ends and truth be told I'm probably overdue for a haircut, so when I saw how silky and soft my hair was I was absolutely delighted.

Rosie explained that this treatment would continue to work in my hair for a few days, even after shampooing, but advised that I avoid shampooing my hair the following day. She added that Colour Starz had a variety of treatments available for all hair types from coloured/highlighted hair to dry/brittle hair and treatments are free with colour on Fridays and Saturdays for the month of November. She said the 12-week blow dry is also available at the salon now.

So as I left the salon with glowing skin and shiny hair I well and truly felt pampered to within an inch of life.

You can contact Coosan Beauty Salon on 090 7473842 or Colour Starz on 090 6479899.

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