Spa at Willow Bend Blog

Spa Owner

Meditation at the Spa at Willow Bend

I felt after writing yesterday’s blog on “The Issue is in the Tissue” I did not want to give short shrift to the effect that our wellness spa treatments can have on our inner mind, soul, and spirit more directly. Many times, spa services are looked at as an extravagance rather than as a necessity. Sure, we could live without them unlike food, water, and air. However, as much as sleep recharges us, spa therapies are precisely that, therapies to recharge us. I have made it a point to have at least a spa treatment once a week if not more often to get my brain in alignment.

In our workaday society and with the current stresses in the economy, we tend not to have a constructive outlet for our concerns. We do not have an oasis to put our worries. As mentioned yesterday, those worries lie embedded in your tissues. However, beyond those constraints, they also rest in your mind and spirit. We oftentimes also rush in to have a spa therapy then rush out. That is fine if that is all the time you have but that is not how I designed our spa. You can spend a luxurious time (without extra cost) in our sauna, showers, relaxation room, etc. so that your mind can more easily transition to our core spa therapies. You can also work with adjunctive therapies: a foot detox, an oxygen facial, an oxygen inhalation treatment, a body wrap, hydrotherapy, etc.

What stimulated this blog was reading Chopra’s book Why God is Laughing that I mentioned stimulated yesterday’s blog. I realized by just covering the issue in the tissue that I failed to really focus on a core element to our spiritual and mental path toward a newfound freedom from life’s fears and struggles, that is quiet meditation. During your treatment, try as I have mentioned not to talk (too much) but try to focus and open your mind. As Chopra says, this is not just entering a negative space but truly a time for focus and renewal. I hope you can enjoy this wonderful time and get yourself renewed so that you can plunge ahead with life’s challenges with more vigor, vim, and fortitude.

Best wishes,
Samuel M. Lam, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Deepak Chopra

I just finished reading Deepak Chopra’s book, Why is God Laughing?, and I like what he had to say about our path to spiritual enlightenment and to rid ourselves of the shackles of fear. He talked about not only letting your spirit and mind go through a process of purification but also your body. Anger, fear, and resentment can be literally stored in the body. We tend to focus on allowing our minds to be clear but oftentimes we hold a trembling and stiff fear in our body muscles and body tissues. As Chopra says, “The Issue is in the Tissue”. When you have a massage, a body wrap, a shirodhara treatment, Japanese foot detox, etc., your body can be released of the toxins that are stored there. I know that besides my reflexology treatment on Saturday, my hydrotherapy bath was unique and wonderful in terms of its relaxing properties. I slept better that night than I have in a long time. Come to our spa and remove the “issue in your tissue.”

Best wishes,
Samuel M. Lam, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Spa Owner

Our Relaxation Room

I have spent the past two weeks vigorously and tirelessly updating this spa site to the level that I wanted it to be but did not have the time to execute on given my time constraints over the summer.  We still have a few more things that I want to do but the bulk of what I wanted done has been accomplished.  I put together a single 18-minute video tour of the spa facility and services, which i then broke into 11 separate mini videos for those whose attention span may be a bit truncated or who desire to focus only on the services that interest them.  Here is the direct link to the spa video tours for easy access.

As most of you know, I believe that the quality of a spa experience lies in as much as the services provided as the physical quality of the space. The Ritz Carlton is known for its premier services but if it did not look like the Ritz Carlton but instead the Holiday Inn, I am afraid that it would only qualify as the Holiday Inn. I have put together 21 separate Quicktime virtual tours (sorry you will have to download Quicktime to view them) in which you can pan 360 degrees around each and every room and hallway in our spa so that you can preview your experience or share your experience with your friend before your friend comes in. Because I have a lot of out-of-town patients who come in to use my spa, I think the virtual tours can be particularly helpful to get them to be better acquainted with what we have to offer. Here is a link to my virtual tours of our plano spa.

Also, I hired a photographer (several, actually) who could not convey the warmth and feeling that I wanted so, guess what, I shot the spa myself. I worked to convey some drama with my lighting and models as well as capture the ambience that our spa experience offers, which is nirvana (no, not the Seattle band) but the feeling of enlightenment, peace, relaxation, and revitalization. For a view of the photos that I shot, here is the link to my plano spa photographs. I hope you like them.

Lastly, but certainly not leastly, I would like to welcome to the helm of our wellness spa ship, Linda Youngblood, who has courageously and diligently taken over this new and exciting venture. Our team continues to expand and grow in many exciting ways. For new changes to our team, including an incredible aesthetician and permanent-makeup artist, visit back frequently to check out the updates to our plano spa team.

Speaking to men now, the rules and steps for cleansing and every other aspects of your skin-care regime are exactly the same as they are for a woman; the only difference is the shaving foam, cream, or gel used. As is true for every skin-care step, gentle is the supreme rule. A gentle shave product is one that contains no skin irritants of any kind; preferably, it is fragrance-free and does not contain any menthol, peppermint, alcohol, lime, lemon, orange, grapefruit, eucalyptus, camphor, or mint. Your skin will feel and look better once you keep away from ingredients that can hurt and damage your skin.

Along with the need to use a gentle shaving foam, cream, or gel, it is equally essential to use a gentle aftershave. At the point when you’re finished shaving, it’s even more important to avoid the same ingredients listed above (and in the blog “How to Be Gentle”). Now that the skin has been abraded with a razor it is critical to not cause further irritation. The entire concept of razor burn is actually a misnomer, the burn does not come from the razor, but rather from the skin-care routine most men use on a daily basis.

What is a gentle aftershave? The bad news is that there are virtually no men’s aftershave products that are free of irritants. They are all filled to the brim with fragrance, alcohol, and almost every other irritating ingredient you can think of. To that end, the best aftershave product a man can use (and this may surprise you) is a traditional irritant-free toner. Look for a toner that is well formulated that has a supply of antioxidants, water binding agents and/or cell communicating ingredients.  All these elements help create and maintain healthy radiant skin.

After you are done shaving, it is best to follow the general guidelines for the skin-care routine for your skin type. However, as a basic routine, regardless of skin type, everyone needs a gentle, water-soluble cleanser, a gentle shave product (foam, cream, or gel) followed by a gentle toner). Then, during the day, use a well-formulated sunscreen with an SPF 15 or greater that contains the UVA-protecting ingredients of avobenzone, titanium dioxide, or zinc oxide, and at night use a lightweight moisturizer wherever you have dry skin.

So gents, book your appointment or simply drop by at The Spa at Willow Bend and don’t worry about the rest. We are here to cater to all of your skin-care needs.

Live with Passion!

Esthetically yours,

Connie & Rania

The terms “med-spa”, “medi-spa”, and “medical spa” make me want to throw up.  I used to be on the Medical Spa Professional Alliance’s teaching docket, but I have truly grown weary of the idea of a med-spa.  Every corner you see a “med-spa”.  Do we offer “med-spa” services like laser hair removal and other laser services?  Yes.  Then how are we not a med-spa?  Okay, I want to lay out in no uncertain terms my vision for the spa.

Think of this.  When you go into a spa for relaxation, do you want to hear the whirl of the laser hair removal machine next door or a lady yelping from some waxing or the beeping noise from a Pixel treatment?  The answer should be no.  Do you want to feel as if you have entered a “clinical” environment?  I think not.  Now, what if you want to have these services?  Would you like to get dressed again and walk through to another office, then get undressed again?  No.  So how did I solve this riddle?

Basically, I divided the two sections of my spa into the “Spa at Willow Bend” which occupies the front end of the center and the “Luminaire Laser & Skin Care Center” at the back divided by a glass door.  That way, you have to walk through the quiet of the spa before you get to the Laser and Skin Care Center where you can get all of the therapeutic treatments like waxing, laser hair removal, IPL, fractionated skin care, cellulite and skin tightening with Accent XL, oxygen facial therapies, microdermabrasion, dermaculture, and spray (or better used term application) tanning.

Then, am I just “pampering” myself in your “spa”.  No.  Again, you need to read my blog from yesterday to get a better idea of my position on that thought.  I think that all of my services in my spa are ultimately “therapeutic”.  They serve a different end than what a “med-spa” does.  They are meant for you to RELAX & REVITALIZE yourself using Asian techniques:  chinese herbs, Shirodhara treatments, and modern techniques of manicure, pedicure, hydroinfusion, body sudatonic treatments, foot detox, great massage and reflexology, etc.  Can I encapsulate all of these terms into a synthetic philosophical construct? Yes, my spa is a wellness spa.  It encourages mind-body alignment.  It is time for yourself.  It is using ancient and modern therapies to bring the mind and body into better unity.  You will feel the difference in a very short time.  I have therefore partitioned out the “med-spa” from the “wellness spa” and created a ying and a yang if you will.  You can have the best of both worlds.