"Skin is a very honest part of the body," says Mary Napolitano, 45-year-old knockout and owner of Napolitano Day Spa Salon on top of Queen Anne. "It responds to practically everything that we put into it and expose it to."
Skin, our largest and most visible organ, is a powerful gauge of how we are doing from the inside out. It allows us to touch and feel, and can reveal our internal values in a very external way.
"I think that there is an energy to beauty that cannot just be taken off a flat picture," says Napolitano, a woman who incorporates silliness and a sense of humor into her beauty regime. "Beauty is something that you can feel and see; there is an aliveness to it."
Today, in the lavender-scented rooms of Napolitano Day Spa, across from Macrina Bakery on West Mc-Graw Street, that aliveness stares back at me from the face of its owner.
Napolitano, a woman with flawless skin and no wrinkles, entered the skincare business during the 1980s when cover-up served as the solution to problematic skin. Holistic health had not been introduced to mainstream America.
"When I first got into skincare, people believed that covering up the problem was enough," says Napoli-tano, a licensed aesthetician and make-up artist for 20 years.
Today, everything has changed.
"Good skincare is a healthcare issue and not just a pampering and or beauty treatment," says Napolitano. "It has become second nature for me to look at someone and diagnose their skin and their health all at the same time. Some people get away with poor nutrition and their skin looks great, but they are the exception to the rule."
Good skincare is the difference between vibrant and dull.
"My face feels so smooth and clean," says April Ferry, a 54-year-old facial client with glowing blue eyes and radiant skin. Ferry, the 50something woman that young women aspire to be, recently received her first "real" facial, and the results are inspiring. "All of those bumps that I just got used to are gone. My neck looks a lot better, and my skin is so soft!"
One notable feature of Napolitano Day Spa is that it is one of the only spas in Seattle started by an aes-thetician, not a hairdresser. It began as a skin spa and, 10 years later, offers hair, waxing, skincare, nailcare, acupuncture and massage.
It also is a comfortable and welcoming place to be. The staff is kind, hot tea is served and Napolitano, a wom a n w h o sings to her c a t s , i s knowledgeable about skincare.
To comb a t t h e rough winter months, Napolitano suggests drinking more water (especially if you drink coffee), ex-foliating (you are going to have dry skin) and switching to a heavier moisturizer to compensate for the dry, forced-air heat. She recommends alpha-hydroxy products, which exfoliate and help stimulate collagen in the skin, and green tea and Vitamin C, which both have antioxidants to help fight the free radicals that age your skin.
"Papaya is also a lovely ingredient," adds Napolitano, who entered the skincare field because she watched her own skin change during her 20s. "It has an enzymatic action that breaks down impurities in the skin."
Our skin adjusts to changing weather and temperatures just as our emotions do. Skin has moods, affect-ed by the water we drink, the food we eat and the physical activity we partake in. Health habits influence the luster of our largest organ.
"Beauty is that attractive glow that comes from a happy and healthy person inside and out," agrees Napolitano.
Apparently it only gets better as time marches on.
"I don't know anyone in their 30s or 40s who would want to go back to their 20s," says Napolitano, without a moment of hesitation in her voice.
Flawless, youthful skin aside, many of the people Napolitano knows have finally reached that balance between external and internal beauty and a job well done.
"At 54 years old I have a much stronger sense of self," affirms Ferry. "I feel more whole as a person and as a woman."
"You get yourself," adds Napoli-tano. "You finally start liking yourself because you reach an understanding with who you are."
Their words are almost enough to make a 20something wish for more years.
"You are not reaching so hard," concludes Napolitano, with wisdom in her eyes. "And to be able to look forward to the next decade because all that you hear is that it gets better and better - that is a beautiful way to live life."
And reason to schedule a facial.
Napolitano Day Spa is at 614 W. McGraw St. Phone 282-4343.
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