A WINTER OF BEAUTY AND WELLNESS

Winter for many is a season of cocooning, of looking inwards and listening to what your body needs after what has felt like a rollercoaster start to the year.

It’s also the perfect time to take a few extra moments for yourself, and the neighbourhood has more than a few incredible beauty and wellness destinations in which to commit to exactly that.

Acupuncture (and more) at The Health Clinic

One of the inner central’s best kept secrets, The Health Clinic in Grey Lynn is where you’ll find the incredible Stephen Parsons treating patients with a variety of traditional Chinese medicine modalities to address all manner of concerns. A truly intuitive and compassionate practitioner, Stephen graduated from The New Zealand School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (NZSATCM) with a Bachelors Degree of Applied Science (Acupuncture) and a Diploma in Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) and has been in clinic since 2015.

Stephen also graduated from Wellpark College with a certificate in relaxation massage (Swedish) and has an interest in musculoskeletal conditions along with a strong interest in internal medicine and woman’s health. He takes a truly bespoke approach to each and every person who passes through his doors – the array of treatments working to adjust and maintain your qì in a dynamic and healthy state. Acupuncture does this from the outside, using a combination of needles and moxa, while Chinese herbal medicine works on the inside, using specially prepared herbs. I always feel like I’m walking on air when I leave after time spent with Stephen, and already planning my next visit back. www.thehealthclinic.co.nz

Massage at Victorian Bali Spa

After five years working at Spring Spa locations around New Zealand, senior therapist Loli felt it was time to spread her wings and open her own little slice of blissful Bali in Freemans Bay. Based out of a boutique space in historic Victoria Park Market, Loli’s specialty is massage of all kinds, including deep tissue, hot stone and traditional Balinese, which is the closest you’ll get to the picturesque island without having to leave Auckland. Her reflexology skills are also exceptional and the perfect anecdote for the mid-winter blues. www.victorianspas.com

Clinic 1 Aesthetics for MOXI laser

One of the first clinics in New Zealand to offer BBL BroadBand Light treatment, Clinic 1 Aesthetics on College Hill is unabashedly chic, constantly innovating and the therapists amongst the best in the country. I love BBL for its great results in terms of overall skin rejuvenation, dealing with my rosacea/ redness and generally bringing back my skin’s ‘bounce’, and so returned a few weeks later to try what the team calls the 'new kid on the block' – MOXI™ laser from Sciton™. A gentle yet extremely effective, non-ablative laser that works for all skin types all year around, MOXI is a veritable game changer for addressing the signs of premature ageing, skin texture and pigmentation – including melasma – without the downtime often associated with more aggressive laser procedures.

I am often asked by people what they can do to address their melasma, and the answer isn’t always one they want to hear. Now, with MOXI, that changes dramatically. Melasma is a type of hyperpigmentation that is known to be incredibly hard to treat. It looks like blotchy, brownish spots mostly on the face, and it’s most common in women and darker skin types. UV radiation, pregnancy, contraceptive pills, hormonal imbalance are all things that can cause melasma, and until MOXI, laser treatments could actually make the condition worse as lasers produce a lot of heat and melasma can be triggered by it. The gentle MOXI is breaking boundaries for melasma sufferers, making healthy, glowing skin accessible to everyone. www.clinic1.co.nz

Check in on your health at the BePure Clinic

A regular 'tune-up' with a naturopath is always a great idea if you like to take supplements, ensuring you’re on the right path and taking the correct combination for what your body might be dealing with at that time. For example: the line-up that works when you’re fighting off a cold won’t necessarily be the solution when you’re addressing sleep issues, and vice versa. My goto is the BePure Clinic in Ponsonby Central, where science underpins every measure the team takes to help revitalise your body’s baseline wellness, essentially giving you back the essential energy you need to feel at your best. You can book in for a one-off 75-minute consultation to address a particular health challenge, or go on the clinic' Essentials Programme of monthly 45-minute consultations with a focus on baseline health, making dietary and lifestyle changes as well as learning which supplements are right for you.

Either way, you’ll leave illuminated and educated with the tools you need to keep your health on track.

www.bepure.co.nz

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A 30-minute treatment that can make a real difference to your skin – especially a few days before an event – Caci’s brand new Laser Facial combines a chemical peel and the benefits of thermal laser used at a lower level to stimulate the skin’s own responses. A simple but super effective treatment, the Laser Facial delivers a deep cleanse and exfoliation to stimulate skin cell turnover, plus triggers the skin’s natural healing function for an overall reset. Both the peel and laser steps in the treatment are gentle and non invasive, with just a little tingling and some warmth felt that is perfectly normal and constantly monitored by your therapist. With no downtime, the treatment is great for most skin types, and leaves you with gorgeously glowy, just-back-from-holiday skin even in the dead of winter. www.caci.co.nz

At home pampering with The Spa Nomad

The Spa Nomad New Zealand describes itself as a mobile beauty services company, but really it’s so much more. It brings beauty and wellness right to your door exactly when it’s needed, making it a life-changer for busy people and those looking to celebrate and pamper as a group without having to juggle fitting it with the times available at a spa. The business was founded by New Zealand businesswoman and beauty obsessive Kristen Teo, and she says it was born from “a passion for providing affordable, accessible and effective beauty solutions. We see skincare as more than just pampering and relaxation,” she says, with an emphasis on wellness, health and self-care.

Having tried an extensive range of facial and massage services from all over, Kristen realised what was missing from beauty and wellness salons in New Zealand was the element of convenience and accessibility – which is precisely what The Spa Nomad offers. In this fast-paced world, it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to set aside time in their busy schedules for regular trips to beauty clinics or their favourite massage destination, so she set about bringing them to you.

www.thespanomad.nz

(HELENE RAVLICH)  PN