Stephanie Croston

    Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles about ways to indulge oneself in Seward.
     So what's an esthetician?
     The short answer is an esthetician is a person who works on skin. He or she gives chemical peels, performs microdermabrasions and helps restore a person's skin.
     Seward has its own esthetician now. Meredith Piskorski has an office at Hairtrix, located in the old Husker Pop building at 629 Jackson Avenue in Seward.
     I visited Meredith April 30 to find out what a chemical peel and microdermabrasion are. Neither is as frightening as it sounds.
     After filling out the requisite paperwork, Meredith led me and Stephanie Effken, the SCI reporter along to photograph the procedures, to a small upstairs room. The sounds of classical music and birds provided a soothing background to the afternoon, and I settled onto the bed to be worked on.
     An esthetician has to be educated in her craft before she can practice, Meredith said. She completed 700 hours of class work and hands-on experience at Joseph's College of Beauty in Lincoln before taking her state boards and becoming certified.
     A chemical peel, Meredith said as she applied two separate coats of cleanser to my face, opens the pores and helps clean them out. It helps lessen the appearance of lines, brown spots, wrinkles and the scars left by injuries and acne.
     She put patches over my eyes before applying the peel. I could see light through them, but they protected my eyes from the chemicals and the crystals in the microdermabrasion procedure.
     Meredith used a glycolic acid peel, which is derived from the alpha hydroxyl acids in fruit, according to spawichita.com.
     I could smell citrus as she painted the solution across my nose. As she applied a hot towel to remove the peel, I felt decadent, letting someone else clean my face. But then, that's the point.
     After she was done with the peel, she picked up the microdermabrasion machine. Microdermabrasion is a procedure that removes the top three to five layers of skin, Meredith said. She described it as sandblasting the skin, using fine crystals to remove the cells, but it felt more like a vacuum cleaner as she moved the tool across my face.
     Microdermabrasion also helps lessen the appearance of lines, wrinkles, large pores and coarse skin, as well as diminishing sun damage. Interestingly, Meredith said, wrinkles are actually formed by dead skin cells.
     Once Meredith finished the treatment, she applied a soothing lotion to calm my skin. Then she used an ultrasound machine to help the vitamins in the mask penetrate the new top layers of skin.
     When she took the patches off my eyes, I'd almost forgotten that the sun was shining. My skin was still a little red from the microdermabrasion, but Meredith said that would fade. It was smooth to the touch and looked fresh, according to coworkers back at the SCI.
     I asked Meredith if there were things people could do to help keep their skin looking young. The primary answer, she said, is using sunblock since the sun's UV rays age skin faster than anything else.
     People with skin problems like acne or rosacea will take weekly visits for about six weeks before the treatments are complete, she said.
     People with more normal skin could visit her every four to six weeks to keep their skin looking young and fresh.
     Of course, there are things to avoid after the treatments. Post-procedure instructions included a reminder to apply sunblock daily for at least two weeks following the last treatment. Because the skin is new and tender, it's recommended to wash your face with your hands and not a washcloth, which could irritate the skin.
     You should also avoid glycolic acid or other acidic products for 24 to 48 hours following the treatments, the instructions said.
     Water-based or mineral make-up is also recommended, since oil-based make-up could clog pores and, in some cases, make them bigger.
     Breakouts may happen, but that's no cause for alarm, the instructions said. The breakouts will subside as the pores are cleaned out and shrink. The skin may also peel, but that's also no problem. Using a light moisturizer is a good idea to help prevent peeling.
     The treatments together lasted about an hour, so they're something that could be done over a lunch hour. You don't have to do them both, though. Meredith was happy to answer all my questions and explain what each step in the procedures accomplished.
     To schedule an appointment, call Meredith at Hairtrix 643-9680.