Gentle care for body, mind

Skin treatments offer oasis of calm in a stressful world

Friday, Dec. 4, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by EMILY BARNES Jennifer Cooney, an esthetician at The Skin Haven in La Plata, demonstrates facial massage on office manager Erin Gregan E-Mail This Article | Print This Story   Got an idea for someone to profile in On the job? Send your suggestions to Erica Mitrano at emitrano@somdnews.com or 7 Industrial Park Drive, Waldorf, MD 20602. Call 301-764-2851.

Pampered in La Plata: There are times when even the most hard-charging person simply needs a little decadence. One place to find it is at The Skin Haven in La Plata, where facials and other procedures aim to help clients feel relaxed and beautiful.

The Skin Haven's owner and sole employee, Jennifer Cooney got into the business a decade ago as an outgrowth of her interest in beauty treatments and relaxation.

Now a licensed esthetician, or skin care specialist, she finds the relaxing atmosphere of the office, with soft colors and fragrant oils, is a good counterweight to her personality.

"I'm a very hyper person so this calms me down. I'm the mother of two crazy kids. My husband is a police officer working crazy hours," she said.

But the business suffered as the economy faltered, leaving clients less willing to spend on self-indulgence.

"Actually, you know, I had about a handful I haven't seen back. They told me they're struggling financially, someone lost their job or they're financially just trying to cut back," she said. To combat this trend, she has started offering 10 percent discounts to customers who come in regularly, provided they do not miss any appointments.

She also offers the discount to regular buyers of Dermologica skin products, sales of which used to be a stable source of income but have been particularly hard-hit lately.

Skin care for all ages: Most of her clients are women older than 40, but some are pimply teenagers brought in by their mothers. Cooney agrees with the conventional wisdom that the zit-afflicted should avoid chocolate as well as sodas and greasy foods, but this is more easily said than done.

"They're addicted to McDonald's at that age," she said.

She also offers "gentleman's facials" and stress relief neck and shoulder rubs for men. She has a few male clients now and hopes to attract more now that she has moved out of Studio M salon in La Plata.

"I think men were very intimidated to come into the salon where there were a lot of women around. But here there's nobody really around but me. If I can get them in the door, get them a treatment, I'll get them coming back," she said.

More than massage: Cooney also offers reflexology, a practice rooted in claims that the nerves of the human feet and hands represent the human body in miniature, so that a practitioner can relieve pain anywhere with skillful manipulation of the extremities.

"If there's a part in the body that's aching, you can massage the feet and toes corresponding to it. … I can massage an area and actually tell what's bothering them," Cooney said.

Cooney shares her new office space on Carroll Street with two others, a masseuse and a reflexologist.

But there are times that, while working with a client, she finds a lump or suspicious mole and suspects a doctor is needed. She's not afraid to say so.

"Sometimes they listen to me. … I would say you need to go get that looked at," Cooney said.

Erica Mitrano