Europeans have known for centuries what Americans are slowly realizing--attention to skin and body care is key to longevity and vitality.
For six-and-a-half years Indulgence Day Spa in Swansea has been pampering clientele with a special line of personal grooming and care: facials, microderm abrasion peels, body wraps, waxing and massage.
Indulgence owner Claudia Neumann, a licensed esthetician, was trained in Munich, Germany by a cosmetology expert, gaining experience in permanent cosmetics--eyebrow, eyeline, lips and areola enhancement for women who've undergone post-mastectomy reconstruction surgery.
"It is a form of healing for women," Neumann said.
The process, which involves tattooing, applies pharaceutically-approved dye. A consultation determines the cost of the service, but averages around $250.
Neumann believes in a wholistic approach to skin and body care--exercise, hydration, diet and vitamins complete the appearance of vitality. She also knows that a good complexion is the result of proper care, not luck or genetics.
"My mother will come in and people will look at her beautiful skin and say, 'oh it must run in the family'," Neumann said.
Neumann said her regimen includes vitamins that are specifically helpful for skin.
"It makes a great difference," she said.
The full-service day spa, which employs two massage therapists, has a retail boutique with elegant accessories such as butterfly silk kimonos and silver jewelry, as well.