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What the Heck is Sugaring?

Utopia Salon & Day Spa now offering Sugaring! Why is Sugaring a sweeter deal in hair removal?

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  • Sugar paste is 100% natural. There are no chemicals, fragrance, or artificial coloring. Since it’s made from sugar, water, and sometimes lemon, it is hypoallergenic and even edible!
  • Sugaring is a less painful form of hair removal because it only adheres to the hair. It can be used on the same area more than once. This results in a smoother, more complete service.
  • Sugar encapsulates the hair, reducing broken hairs and ingrown hair bumps.
  • There is never a reason to panic if sugar accidentally ends up in the wrong place. The stickiness of sugar is easily cleaned with warm water.
  • Bacteria can not breed in a tub of sugar.
  • Sugar is ideal for bikini, Brazilian, and underarms.

To schedule a sugaring service or for more information call Utopia Salon & Day Spa today! (360) 573-4806

Why you need Surface Gloss

My new favorite service at Utopia is the Glossing treatment from Surface. It’s the best of both worlds, it is a hybrid that lies between a traditional clear gloss and a deep conditioning treatment. Full of naturally derived ingredients, it infuses hair with tons of moisture and protein as well as seals the cuticle, leaving hair smooth and shiny with significant frizz reduction. I also love that it can be customized for each client by adding pigments to neutralize or enhance the natural tones in your hair. Try adding Surface glossing treatment to your next appointment or treat yourself to one paired with a flawless blowdry and style.

~ Mallory Musson

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Utopia Salon & Day Spa Named Top 200 in Nation

Utopia is Honored to be Chosen as Salon Today’s Top 200 in the Nation. The team at Utopia has been working hard, to provide exceptional service and the latest techniques. We strive to always be learning to bring you the best we can.

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2016 Salon Today 200: Growth, Part Two

By Stacey Soble December 03, 2015 | 1:51 am EST

 

To achieve the business momentum that is sustainable growth year after year, salon and spa owners must master a number of best business practices all while confidently leading their teams forward. For ST200 applicants in this category, it’s a numbers game. Who among them achieved the highest percentage of growth between calendar years 2013 and 2014? This year, honorees in this category grew at rates of 10.3 percent or higher. And, we didn’t just take their word for it–their financials were verified with copies of their tax returns.

 

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UTOPIA SALON & DAY SPA
Vancouver, WA
utopiadayspasalon.com
Lisa and Jason Houser
INCREASE: 12%
SQUARE FEET: 3,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 10
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $40
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aquage, Loma, Kenra
COLOR: Scruples
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“We keep momentum by encouraging and training staff continually, both technically and personally. We are implementing level systems for both pricing and employee growth.”

Safety and Sanitation in Your Salon

Understanding the safety and sanitation standards set by your State Board of Cosmetology is a great way to educate yourself so that you may be able to spot a clean salon. As a Nail Technician I’m constantly being questioned on our (Utopia’s) cleansing and disinfecting habits with implements, nippers, cuticle pushers, and other tools. With all the stories we get from the news and social media about fungal outbreaks and bacterial infections, I definitely don’t blame anyone for being scared. I welcome these questions; it gives me the opportunity to educate my clients on a few things to watch out for.

Knowing the difference between sanitizing and disinfecting will protect you from infection. Sanitize, by definition, just means to cleanse and is the first step in the disinfection process. Sanitizing implements with liquid soap and hot water helps to remove the majority of bacteria, viruses, and fungi but it neither kills nor removes them 100%. That is when disinfection comes in. After sanitizing implements and drying them, they need to be fully immersed in an EPA registered, hospital-grade disinfectant for 10 minutes. The disinfectant needs to demonstrate bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal activity. After that the disinfectant needs to be rinsed off and the implements need to be dried. Implements should never be taken directly out of disinfectant and applied to skin because it is designed to kill micro-contaminants and is too toxic for application to the human body. While not required by WA State Board, we at Utopia keep them in a sealed bag and process them under a UV light to further maintain a cleanly environment for our nail implements.

It’s also important to know which implements are able to be disinfected and which are not. Nonporous, non-absorbent tools such as metal cuticle nippers and crystal files are multi-use, disinfectable tools. Porous, absorbent tools such as your run-of-the-mill files and buffers should not be used twice, nor should they be given to clients to bring back since they usually have a wooden or spongy center that, over time, collects and harbors bacteria and cannot truly be fully disinfected.

Remember – it’s always appropriate to ask about a salons safety and sanitation habits. The professional should be ready and willing to educate you on their safety and sanitation habits. It’s much better to be safe than sorry.

By: Mani

Summer Feet & Pedicures

Summer is coming!

As we dive into our closets for strappy sandals, and flashy flip flops, let’s take a moment to get those feet looking flip flop fabulous! Of course you should definitely go to Utopia Salon and Day Spa and get a fantastic pedi to start the summer maybe some gel polish or glitter toes to jazz up those sandals. Face it, our feet take a beating throughout the summer months. Frequent maintenance, is a must for these summer days filled with sand, concrete, swimming pools, salt water and prolonged flip flop wearing! Try and avoid walking barefoot especially on carpet. The carpet will pick up the oils in your feet, drying them out as well as breaking down the carpet fibers, thus wearing on your carpet.

Try and use your foot file on your feet before getting them wet. Then apply lotion. This will smooth down the callus that is scratching your sheets when you go to bed, or worse yet your sweeties leg next to you! This is also a good quick fix if you’re in a hurry sanding and lotion do wonders. Ideally you should up your pedicure frequency and let the professionals take care of it for you once a month in the summer with a lovely paraffin treatment to open pores and suck in all that good moisture!

Keeping the feet well moisturized is imperative to the care and treatment of summer feet! This will help prevent cracking and build up. However, if you don’t sand down or sulfur bar the callus ahead of time, the moisturizer won’t be able to get through that thick barrier and your moisturizing efforts will be all for nothing! Remember, if you have a lot of callus, you are not going to get rid of it in one day. It has to be a work in progress and eventually you will bring those feet to a condition where just a little weekly maintenance is all they need to stay beautifully soft in those adorable summer sandals. Bring on the bright polish and toe rings!

– Shelly K. Westphal

Massage and Running

Massage Therapy and Running

It’s marathon season and lately I’ve been asked by a lot of clients if there is anything I can do to help them “go the extra mile.” Here is the best recommendation I can give to those looking to improve run times and cut down on soreness and increase mobility after events.

First of all, regular treatment should be part of your training schedule. You may only think of getting massage after the big race when your glutes, hamstrings and calves are throbbing but if you include massage as one of the components to your training you will be less prone to injury and feel better overall. Immediate benefits of massage include improving blood flow to the muscles, loosens muscles that have contracted from overuse, releases lactic acid that is being stored in muscles (especially important for active people), and shortens recovery time between workouts.

I tell clients to come to me a day or two before their race for a more sports centered massage where I focus on the areas that will be affected during their run. Afterward I suggest they come in a couple days later for a lighter relaxation massage where I concentrate more on relieving any pain or swelling and increasing circulation to aid in recovery.

Water intake is crucial to your performance as well.

Male Drinking Requirement, in fluid ounces:
Body Weight x .35

Female Drinking Requirement, in fluid ounces:
Body Weight x .31

Example: A 132-pound women needs to drink 41 ounces of water a day (132 x .31= 41). She’ll get the rest of her daily water supply from food and metabolic processes. Runners need to drink extra to cover daily sweat losses.

Directly following the race up to a couple days after cold compresses and Epsom salts are an ideal way to cut back the swelling and discomfort in your legs before your massage. Good luck to everyone this year and I’m looking forward to seeing you on my table!

– Katrina Keizer, LMP

Introducing Surface Hair Care

Utopia Salon and Day spa is proud to announce the acquisition of a new hair product line that is available to our guests, starting this week!

Surface is high performance salon exclusive hair care that completely respects personal health and the earth!

  • Certified organic botanicals
  • Sulfate-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Paraben-free
  • Vegan
  • Color Vita-Complex

 

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This line comes to you complete with any and all of your hair care needs. With up to five varieties of shampoos and conditioners, you can strengthen damaged hair with our Trinity shampoo or, stimulate your senses with our Awaken therapeutic shampoo. As most of us color our hair regularly, it is important to provide extra care and porosity equalization to potentially damaged or dry hair. The Surface Trinity Protein Cream uses proteins, oils, and Color Vita Complex to smooth and repair while strengthening cuticle. Mist into clean, damp hair and style as usual!

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We at Utopia Salon and Day spa are excited to bring this new hair care line to our valued guests!

Best Salon, Spa & Massage in Clark County

Utopia Salon is Honored and Excited to Announce that we have been chosen as the Best Salon, Spa and Massage in Clark County Washington.

The staff of Utopia knows the importance of always listening and putting our clients first. We strive to provide and excellent experience as well as service and this is why we guarantee all services and products provided and recommended by the staff.

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