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F E AT U R E

PSYCHODERMATOLOGY aestheticmed.co.uk

ACHIEVING CONNECTION WELLBEING PERSPECTIVE
With the rising acknowledgement of psychodermatology Light often sees these skin issues going hand-in-hand with
and the popularity of mindfulness, the emphasis on mental health problems. “If people are having anxiety,
the mind-skin link is now trickling into skin treatments panic attacks or depression, which I see a lot more of now,
performed by holistic facialists. One practitioner it affects the skin, and everyone is supressing it because
paving the way is Beata Aleksandrowicz, founder of the they think it’s the norm; no one is dealing with it,” she
Aleksandrowicz System. Her latest treatment, Face Cure, explains. “It’s not just about applying things topically,
addresses the client’s connection to their appearance it’s about looking at everybody’s lifestyle and where the
and the emotions that can be held in the face. “If there is stress is coming from to treat the stress as well as the
a preponderance of the negative emotions, the muscles skin.”
will remain contracted, which will restrict the flow of Light says the initial consultation is vital to fully
oxygen and nutrients to each cell and will be manifested by understand her clients’ needs. “It’s an essential part of
a lack of radiance and tone,” says Aleksandrowicz. what I do to treat the physical, mental and emotional;
Combined with mindfulness and massage, her whether it’s anxiety or eczema, they all need to be treated
treatment focuses on the client reconnecting with their from a whole wellbeing perspective,” she says.
facial appearance. “I see so many clients who are unhappy In her treatments, Light uses a range of techniques. “I do
with their face. Many have had aesthetic treatments and affirmations and visualisations that are personal to that
in some cases they become disconnected with their face,” client, so I would ask: ‘How do you want to look? What is
she says. “It is as much about inner work on the conscious your ideal?’ and we make that in to a storyboard or a visual
and subconscious as outer work on the facial muscles and board of something to aim for,” she says. Neurolinguistic
skin.” programming is another technique she uses, and between
The skin can be a barometer for what’s going on sessions she will also set “homework” for clients, so they
underneath and tapping in to this mind-skin link is have a toolbox of techniques to hand to keep both the skin
becoming increasingly important to deliver a tailored and mind healthy. AM
treatment. “More clients are coming in with stressed skin,
whether that is redness or rosacea, eczema or psoriasis, or REFERENCES
general extremes on the skin,” says Katie Light, a holistic Vallerand, I.A., Lewinson, R.T., Parsons, L.M., Lowerison , M.W., Frolkis,
A.D., Kaplan, G.G., Barnabe, C., Bulloch A.G.M., Patten, S.B. (2018) “Risk of
wellness coach and facialist, who treats clients at her depression among patients with acne in the U.K.: a population-based cohort
treatment rooms in Brighton and London. study”, British Journal of Dermatology, 2018 (Feb 07)

64 Aesthetic Medicine • June 2020