Champagne Mami

So many people come to us with under eye issues wanting a quick fix. There are so many before and after posts on IG that make it look like an easy in & out treatment; however, tear troughs are a really difficult area to treat and therefore you need an experienced injector to properly assess & treat the area. There is often a lot going on in the undereye area and it is rarely just one “problem” that is seen. People are often dealing with volume loss and fine lines (or crepey skin) or a whole host of other combinations of issues.

Our experience also shows us that that the tear trough area can be one of the most underwhelming areas to treat- often because there’s a lot going on under the surface and in choosing an injector that is less experienced they may not properly understand how to address all of the concerns & ultimately may make things SO much worse.

We at BE want to ensure the best possible outcomes, align with best evidence & innovate our practice- in doing so we’ve chosen to offer a highly specialized & specific treatment that does wonders for the under-eye area.

This technique is commonly referred to as the “champagne technique” (who doesn’t love champagne?!) & combines hyaluronic acid based dermal fillers with your own platelet rich plasma (PRP). Similar to the technique used in the PRP microneedling treatment we offer, we take a small sample of your blood, spin it in a centrifuge to separate the whole blood components (red & white blood cells) from the plasma which holds the healing and collagen stimulating platelets. We then combine the PRP with the dermal filler using a specialized blending device that allows it to beautifully combine into a substance that looks just like champagne!

The champagne filler can then be injected anywhere in the face but our preferred treatment area is the tear troughs. Since filler alone doesn’t address crepey under eye tissue by choosing the champagne technique you are getting the volume boosting effects from the filler & the skin smoothing effects from the PRP. The benefits are both short & long-term & are an excellent option for tear troughs, so much so that we have chosen to use this technique exclusively when treating tear trough area.

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Because May is one of our favorite months (with Nursing Week & Mother’s Day) we wanted to do a special for all the hard working mom’s & nurses out there… so, we are offering the champagne tear trough filler for the month of May for $999 which is a cost savings of just over $200!

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A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words... Or Is It?

We’ve been seeing a lot of treatment/results photos on Instagram lately & we love a good before & after pic like the next gal but we’re here to clarify a couple things that have been bugging us.  

It’s important to be careful as a consumer to keep a critical eye & do your due diligence. This includes looking at before & after photos of medical aesthetic treatments or procedures. A lot of times you’re not actually seeing the real results.

For those of you that don’t know… FaceTune and the like has taken over the internet & it’s now super easy for anyone to edit and even completely change photos. You can smooth skin, whiten teeth, and alter the shape of images by making things larger or smaller (depending on end goal). The biggest one we’re noticing is the smoothing effect on before & afters which can mislead clients into thinking that lines and pores have been completely eliminated (when in fact they likely have not). A lot of us are guilty of doing some tweaks here & there but there is no place for it in before & after photography. It is so important to capture the same angle, lighting, positioning of the photo/client in order to have a good comparison shot and it is really hard to do.

For example, jawline filler photos can be super misleading as the chin in the before photo can be pointed downward ever so slightly compared to the after photo, making it seem like the jaw is more chiseled and the submental fat (under the chin) is gone!

 It is our job as professionals to be truthful & not misleading to the public (and to each other). As experts we have to set realistic expectations, especially when people are trusting us with their hard earned money. At BE, we strive to be as truthful as possible and never overpromise results. You will not hear us say we can “get rid of” or make something “disappear.” Aging is a natural process that we don’t aim to stop completely (even if we could). We are simply trying to slow the process down & allow our clients to age naturally. Like seriously, no 50 year old should look 20 something.

That is sometimes why we struggle posting our own before & after photos. Good quality before & after photos are nearly impossible to capture (if anything a before & after video is better) because it’s so hard to capture all the elements between photo A & B. Don’t get us wrong… they’re good to use to show the action of the treatment (i.e. neuromodulators relax & fillers add volume) but there is certainly no way that you could come in with a photo and expect to have the exact same outcomes as what you see in the pic. You started at a different place & because of your uniqueness we will get you to your own unique outcomes based on your goals.

So… moral of the story:

• Don’t believe everything you see on Instagram

• Before & after photos are fun/interesting to look at but don’t always capture what’s actually been done or what is possible.

We as nurse injectors hold your trust very highly & are obligated to be honest, evidence-based and of course realistic. Remember… pretty packages are nice but results are nicer!

BE feminine // my postpartum journey

Hi friends.

I wanted to take a second to introduce myself more personally & start a conversation about something really important & super personal to me (not for long).

Here’s some backstory:

I’m a mom of 2 beautiful, strong-willed children ages 2 ½ and 7. Almost immediately following the birth of my 1st child I struggled with mood & anxiety, but I attributed a lot of my experience to the fact that I was a first time mom & that my dad was terminally ill (he died a day after my son’s ½ birthday). Even though having a child was the hardest thing we’d ever done, my husband & I loved being parents. Even so, we told everyone we were “one and done” with kids (I go back to my 1st point, parenting was HARD). Anyways, we decided about 2 years later to start trying for baby #2. I share this because I think its important to stress how wanted our daughter was. It took some time (about 2 years) but we finally became pregnant our daughter and things felt perfect! I was finishing up my Nurse Practitioner program at U of T, I was working an awesome job at a GTA hospital as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in breast cancer, & things just felt good. Hectic… but good. We were managing despite our hectic schedules, our 5 year old son and my daily hour plus commute to work.

So, our beautiful, perfect girl arrived late September 2016 & I waited for the chips to fall. I was certain because of my experience with Brody that I’d experience some sort of postpartum mood disorder…

The weeks passed & I felt GREAT! I was shocked. My body felt good, and although I was exhausted, I didn’t feel unusually up or down mood-wise. I remember thinking to myself “thank God it didn’t happen this time!”

Then about 6 weeks postpartum it totally happened… I was blindsided. My life was changed forever & without trying to sound dramatic, I completely lost. Despite what I revealed outwardly, I was in a deep, dark hole and wouldn’t be able to start coming out of it until very recently.

So… I’ll stop there for now. I plan to share more in future posts but for now I wanted to share at least a high level introduction to my experience. I think it is so important to talk about as we far too often sugar coat this whole parenting/motherhood thing and set each other up for failure.  

What we’re doing today

In addition to my personal recovery from this debilitating illness, Sierra & I have been reflecting a lot about our many passions while building this company & this is something that I just have to share.

The impacts of maternal mental health are significant and underappreciated. The sad reality is that SO MANY of us suffer and struggle silently and/or without necessary supports. Here are some facts about the issue:

Why we need to raise awareness & support Maternal Mental Health Awareness:

• Rates across North Simcoe Muskoka are higher than the provincial average (23.8% in North Simcoe Muskoka vs. 16.9% across Ontario). 

• No one is immune! Women of every culture, age, income level and race can develop perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. 

• Symptoms can appear any time during pregnancy and the first 12 months after childbirth. There are effective and well-researched treatment options available to help women recover.

• Without early screening and treatment, 50- 70% of women with perinatal mood disorders will continue to experience symptoms through the postpartum period & unfortunately up to 40% will still have symptoms 4-5 years post-delivery. 

• Mental illness in the perinatal period may negatively influence parenting practices such as bonding and attachment. As a result, children may experience cognitive, emotional and behavioural impairments increasing vulnerability at school and into adulthood.

The 1st week of May is World Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week & we at BE beauty & wellness are excited to be supporting the local efforts across our region.

During the week of April 29 - May 3 we will be raising awareness for World Maternal Mental Health Week all across North Simcoe Muskoka by joining walks all across our region. Moms, babies, family & friends are all invited to join us for a stroller walk to discuss, promote & support World Maternal Mental Health Week. 

In Barrie the walk will be held on Monday, April 29th & a Facebook event has been created for more information.

What else you can do

We are reaching out to see if community agencies/businesses are interested in supporting the event by either:

1. Walking alongside all of us to support the cause. 

2. Setting up a booth to provide information about your agency/business; or,

3. Donating items for prizes/giveaways (this can include services/gift certificates as well).

We must do more as a society & especially as women to educate and empower each other as well as advocate for more awareness and better support worldwide for all mothers/parents. We really hope to see many of you there… this event is gearing up to be even bigger than last year’s super successful walk!

If you are local & are planning on going or would like to donate to our prize raffles, please send us a message or email us!

Hope to see you there!

Our First 3 Months of BEing

So yesterday officially marked 3 months of BE beauty & wellness being an actual thing. While we both believe this biz has been manifesting for some time (even if we didn’t know it or each other), we are now officially past our 1st quarter as co-founders, business owners & dream chasers.

We’ve learned so much, and have wanted to do a reflection on the birth of BE since day 1, but in all honesty, things have been insanely busy & we haven’t had much time to sit down to reflect let alone blog about it.

So here we are now 12 weeks wiser, new opportunities abound, reflecting on some key themes that have emerged for us through this evolution… and of course, we have to share with you!

1. Know your vibe & find your tribe.

   All too often we try to fit in to what we consider to be ideal (or even normal) & when you do this- silencing that inner self- you lose your authentic voice. This in turn traps us into a continuous, negative cycle in striving for something that isn’t truly ours. The ultimate freedom comes when you break free of this cycle (by unleashing yourself from those perceived social norms), realizing that there is a tribe for every vibe… so just BE!

2. If you don’t ask for it, how will they know to give it?

   Ask for anything & even if you get a “no”, at least you’ve tried. Don’t let fear hold you back because it often (if it’s right/meant for you) will be a “yes”!

3. It sounds cliche but trust your gut!

   Before every decision we make, we ask ourselves one simple question… “does this feel heavy or does this feel light?” If it feels heavy or doesn’t serve us, we walk away. This might sound crazy or irresponsible even but it is truly freeing to live more in our gut vs. in our heads. By doing this (especially over the past 3 months) we have met some amazing people & some pretty incredible doors have opened for us.

There have been so many small gems we have learned that we are developing more tips and tools to share (because we LOVE to share) but for now we want to leave you, dear reader, with the knowledge that if you’ve found us & continue to follow…we will stay true to our founding vision of creating a safe, open and honest community of like-minded individuals looking to BE beautiful, BE well & BE themselves so at the end of the day we can all Just BE!

Anti-aging // Our new skincare line

Happy Sunday! So you might have seen our recent IG story about our new practice location at Salon Rx & our April specials featuring a new line of medical grade skincare we’ve decided to feature (PCA Skin).

So here’s the thing… when we first started this biz, we struggled with the idea of choosing just one brand. We have had some great experience with some products from several different brands but found it hard to jump on the “I love this brand” bandwagon. Also, because there is so little regulation on beauty & cosmetics products in North America, there are literally thousands of products out there claiming to work miracles but not actually producing results. On top of this there’s the issue of toxic chemicals, bioavailability, and fragrance… SO much to consider!

Last Monday we had the opportunity to attend an educational session led by a local PCA Skin expert & esthetician Holly from Kalon Wellness and can we just say… we were floored by the information (and evidence) supporting the use of these products for several key skin issues including acne, sensitive skin, and of course anti-aging. The brand itself isn’t new to us as we’ve been using their powerful Hyaluronic Acid serum in our microneedling treatments and have really been happy with it. We were so impressed with the products introduced to us at the seminar that we’ve decided to add these powerful skincare tools into our arsenal & can’t wait to share them with all of you.

“We want our clients to remember the 60:1 ratio when thinking about skincare”

In launching this brand as part of our overall treatment offerings, we feel the most important thing we can stress to our clients is the rule of 60:1. We might see & treat their skin once a month, but they are (hopefully) treating their skin twice a day in that month. Meaning having a regular skin care routine is so important to optimizing the results of any medical cosmetic procedure.

Stay tuned for future posts introducing key products and treatments featuring this line. For now, we are offering an introductory 15% off all PCA Skin products purchased in the month of April. Come see us at Salon Rx or send us a message for more info & to purchase.

Have a BEautiful day!

BE beautiful // The downsides of the beauty industry + a free treatment guide from your BE besties

Working in the industry has shown us the good, bad & ugly sides of all things beauty. We at BE strive to stay authentic in how we approach each & every client before, during & after treatment. Remember… we said we’re in it for the long haul with you!

Some common themes that might have scared some of you off from considering treatments are a direct result from poor consultation in which you might have seen things like:

• Misinformation

• An overwhelming amount of medical jargon

• Poor bedside manner- who needs to go in and get torn apart when you’re likely already self-conscious

Another issue that often compounds the public’s fears is access to too much information (often not backed by real evidence).

Just remember… Dr. Google never went to med school & not everything you see on IG is gospel.

We’ve decided to combat these “problems” in a couple of ways.

1. We always present our content based on best clinical evidence available & manufacturers’ suggestions. We will never offer non- Health Canada approved treatments (i.e. plasma pens we’re looking at you).

2. We strive to be authentic & honest in an easy to understand way… we might have hit the books hard & can talk the talk but we’re real AF & will try our best to translate all the jargon into practical, understandable content for you.

Finally, to address the Dr. Google concern, we’ve created a simple reference for all of our clients by developing a Treatment Guide that you can download & print for free when you sign up for our newsletter here!

 When you sign up for our free treatment guide, you’ll become a BE bestie email insider which means you’ll be the first to know about all of our promos, giveaways & upcoming events. We will also be sending regular education, product reviews & other awesome content your way so be sure to sign up.  

We’d love to hear what you think!

BEing feminine // International Women's Day

Today is International Women’s Day & we’re both sitting here warm tea in hand, browsing through all the amazing & thought provoking messaging on our social channels, reflecting on our own values and responsibilities as females, business partners, and human beings. While it’s great to have a day dedicated to women, and acknowledgement of our progress, we can’t help to envision a future where this day doesn’t even have to be recognized because all humans are regarded as equal & the concept of gender is much more fluid than traditionally perceived.  

This day, to us, should be a celebration of feminine quality vs. female biology.

Until that becomes a reality, we want to make a couple of promises to you, dear female reader (and males who are on the same wavelength). We promise to always:

1. Stay true to our authentic inner female intuitiveness when presenting information & products to you.

2. Support & empower each other in everything we do. This is so important in today’s society where competitiveness & ruthlessness (between women especially) is celebrated.

3. Be aware of the strength of our voices both as individuals & as a collective community of the feminine (men and women alike).

4. Regard our fellow human as a whole with many qualities, values & life experiences that bring value to our shared worldview (even if different from our own).

5. Stand up to any negative behaviours (i.e. bullying, undermining & degradation of others) as we each are on our own unique path towards BEcoming.

Over the next little while you might start to notice a trend in our IG stories that will highlight the core values of BE beauty & wellness.

BE spiritual

BE nourished

Be beautiful

BE feminine

BE social

Today, on International Women’s Day, we have highlighted BE feminine as our focus is on our own definition of the term “feminine.”

We wholeheartedly believe in embracing these feminine traits (whether you are male or female) &  using them as a strength vs. regarding them as a weakness… because otherwise, singling them out as “girly” perpetuates the cycle & degrades these truly powerful qualities.

We hope everyone reading has spent the day feeling uplifted, empowered and driven towards your truest self.

Oh hi there!

Hi there! If the amazing interwebs has brought you here, know in your heart it’s for a reason & we’re happy you found us!

We hope that the space being created speaks to you and that you feel welcome to come back often & always.

BE beauty & wellness was borne from the uniting of 2 nurses from Ontario, Canada who have big dreams and a million little notebooks filled to the brim with ideas to share. More importantly, they have something really special (no, for real, they do)…they have discovered soulmates in each other. Now, for some of you who already know Ashleigh & Sierra, you might be confused because most people think of “soulmates” as a romantic relationship… and that is not what we’re talking about here. Ashleigh’s husband and children can attest to this…

“We’re talking about a feminine, soul sister connection. One that feels so intense that it makes them almost giddy with laughter because it just feels so easy. (insert GIF of Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch) ”

— Ashleigh & Sierra

Meeting at an amazing job together, over the course of several months they realized that they had a lot in common- despite some obvious outward differences- and then one day it just happened… they just fit. Now, in today’s society this might seem super strange and foreign. We live in a world that prioritizes the male-female relationship to be the ultimate of relationships, harbouring jealousy, competitiveness, and negative energy when there should be a sacred and powerful connection amongst women.

The goal behind BE beauty & wellness- no matter what we do or promote - is to be authentic in our relationship to each other and therefore radiate love to all energy, feminine and masculine alike. As our connection and business evolves we plan to openly share with you the amazing journey that is taking place. We invite you to jump along with us on that couch while shouting your truth… this is a safe space to just BE.