Crave: Fresh Faced

The battle to keep your face looking fresh and youthful is constant. So many things we do in our daily lives like sipping too much red wine or eating poorly can make our faces look tired and dull. But after seeing the flawless complexion of Rebecca Johnston, a local clinical aesthetician and founder of Avarya Skin and Body Center downtown, I hung on her every word. Johnston, who has been in the business for more than eight years is somewhat of a guru among her clients. She does no advertising and relies on word of mouth referrals. Yet, it takes more than four weeks to book an appointment with her. Her philosophy is not based in what she calls "party facials" in which you get a lovely facial massage and some pleasant smelling cream slathered on. Her goal is to restore the skin.
"All skin is different. Our skin changes from day to day," said Johnston, who has trained in Paris at the renowned Biologique Recerche.
"Because of that, there has to be a personalized treatment... I analyze your face each time you come in."
She provides her clients, with personalized treatments that last up to two hours. Each signature treatment costs $200 and involves a consultation about your health and lifestyle before heading into a relaxing treatment room for a dose of concentrated organic and scientific serums, creams, toners used with high tech machines. Even with one treatment, Johnston can make drastic improvements.
"People should look at you and say 'You look good' not 'You look good for your age.'"
"You should look ageless," she said.
Some of her tips include:
Use a mini spatula or q-tip instead of your fingers to get products from containers to avoid contamination.
If you are bad about washing your makeup off at night, do it as soon as you get home instead of waiting until bedtime when you are too tired.
Use milky cleansers instead of foaming cleansers. They tend to strip your face, leaving it dry.
Johnston prefers that you use your Clarisonic skin care brush only a few times week in our dry climate instead of daily.
Avoid tugging at the eyes, squinting and being overly expressive with your mouth to reduce wrinkling.
Cut back on the sugar. Johnston said sugar molecules actually attack the skin and set you up for wrinkling.
And of course, drink tons of water and exercise. Both benefit the skin tremendously.