Refine, Refresh, Renew, Rejuvenate at the New Shizuka new york Spa

shizukalogoblk-sNEW YORK, New York – June, 2005 – It is no coincidence that Shizuka means ‘tranquil’ in Japanese. In a city filled with spas promising the best in skin care in a serene and tranquil oasis, the new boutique actually delivers on those promises.

Refine, Refresh, Renew, Rejuvenate  AT THE NEW SHIZUKA new york SPA

Owner and highly trained medical aesthetician, at the Spa Shizuka Bernstein has created a restful and welcoming retreat where clients may enjoy treatments combining the latest research in Western dermatology with time-honored Eastern holistic knowledge.  Visitors to SHIZUKA new york Spa will have a different experience than they have come to expect elsewhere.  Here they will not only receive expert skincare designed to rejuvenate and refine the skin, but also a gracious welcome, heightened personal attention and the quiet tranquility of a remote Japanese retreat, where every guest is made to feel that they are the most important client to walk in the door.

A gifted aesthetician often called “The Skin-Care Guru,” Shizuka is known for her exquisite “butterfly wing” touch and innovative skincare treatements that place a special emphasis on anti-aging.  In the past few years, Shizuka has acquired an extremely loyal clientele that has responded both to the efficacy of her treatments and the genuine hospitality extended by she and her staff. When she decided to relocate her spa to a more central New York City location, Shizuka did so to be able to accommodate an ever-growing demand and to offer a broader range of progressive treatments within the new spa menu.

The Difference

The experience at SHIZUKA new york Spa becomes immediately transporting when you walk through the door, enter its calm sanctuary and leave the grit and breakneck pace of midtown Manhattan firmly behind.  The uniquely Japanese hospitality offered at SHIZUKA is everywhere in evidence – in the gentle smiles of the staff, the lovely Japanese garden décor, the imported kimono robes, and even in the selection of Japanese teas and biscuits offered in the ‘Tranquility Room’ after a treatment.

As a medical aesthetician, cosmetician and electrologist with an impressive list of academic credentials, Shizuka’s treatments reflect her research into the latest and most effective research. For the new spa, she created results-oriented treatments that are a perfect balance of her classic Asian botanical skincare fused with leading edge technology and progressive dermatological research. SHIZUKA Spa treatments are both more detailed and longer than offered elsewhere (80 – 90 minutes rather than the usual 50), because Shizuka believes that most aestheticians do not know how to properly cleanse the skin, rendering subsequent steps ineffective. SHIZUKA new york Spa aestheticians are highly trained to perform all services gently, but meticulously.

The Treatments

The new SHIZUKA new york Spa offers a comprehensive range of superior skin care services that includes facials that target specific concerns regarding anti-aging and acne and other troublesome skin challenges,as well a very popular treatment especially designed for Shizuka’s devoted male clientele. Also offered at the Spa are a variety of Chemical and Body Peels, Hair Removal, a range of Body Treatments including Massage, Eye Treatments, Manicure/Pedicure services and the SHIZUKA new york Skincare System, Shizuka’s proprietary new skincare line combining Japanese botanical extracts and the latest Western dermatological advancements.  These treatments are explained in detail in the Menu of Services, but following is a few of the remarkable services offered at SHIZUKA new york Spa.

One of the Spa’s most popular treatments is Shizuka’s marvelous signature Micro Facial, a highly detailed and painstaking deep cleansing of the face and decolleté customized for the needs of each client.  This amazing relaxing treatment incorporates numerous beneficial steps to decongest pores and clarify the complexion and includes a Japanese powder enzyme mask to gently break down the dermis without resorting to harsh scrubs. A subsequent phase of this gloriously indulgent treatment uses either essential oils or essential oil extracts to confer the benefits of aromatherapy and soothe jangled nerves.  Another highlight of the Micro Facial is the special lifting technique used, a method that uses Shiatsu acupressure to effect a light lymphatic drainage. And finally, every Micro Facial is finished with an eye cream (a gentle, 3% glycolic acid formulation), a non-occlusive sun block and a final massage and gentle cleansing of the shoulders to rid the skin free of all oils and residue. The final result? You emerge radiant, relaxed to the point of bonelessness and ready to brave the realities of urban life.

Shizuka also specializes in truly effective, proactive anti-aging treatments that reflect her extensive, ongoing research into the latest Western technology and dermatological advances, enhanced by her knowledge of Japanese botanicals.  A standout treatment offered at the Spa is the Wrinkle Buster Facial, a groundbreaking new FDA-approved treatment that is proven to stimulate production of collagen in the skin, slow collagen breakdown and reverse the visible signs of photoaging. This treatment is otherwise only available at a handful of medispas throughout the country. The Wrinkle Buster Facial uses GentleWaves™, LED (light emitting diodes), to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, shrink pores and dissolve red blotches without pain or injury to the skin’s surface.  The treatment uses a technology called Photomodulation which is a low-intensity light therapy that modulates cellular activity. A different wavelength than that used for lasers, it has the ability penetrate more deeply into the skin, but because photomodulation does not create heat or injure tissue there is no need for healing time.

Incredibly, the light increases collagen production and decreases the enzymes that break down the collagen and age the skin. The treatment begins with an exfoliation using a gentle rice bran scrub that relies more upon enzymes to eliminate dead skin cells than abrasion, and then the client is seated before the machine for a brief, 45-second light exposure. For the best possible result, eight weekly sessions are recommended. Painless and safe, the Wrinkle Buster represents the next wave in anti-aging skincare and laboratory research suggests that one may use this technology not just to minimize the signs of aging, but to delay their onset. Exciting and effective, the Wrinkle Buster Facial is a brilliant new way to keep wrinkles at bay.

Another extraordinary, award-winning anti-aging treatment is the Lifting Facial, a revolutionary new treatment that penetrates below the surface of the skin. A “beauty editors’ favorite, this high-tech treatment delays premature aging and restores a healthy and youthful glow while firming and toning facial muscles. The Lifting Facial increases elasticity, smoothes lines and wrinkles, refines skin texture and promotes cell renewal as it oxygenates and nourishes the skin. The complexion is refreshed, refined, renewed.

Shizuka has a very loyal male clientele because she and her staff make every effort to ensure that men are made to feel comfortable, rather than self-conscious. With the customized Men’s Micro Facial, tbe emphasis is placed on tackling men’s needs without fuss: deep-pore cleansing, reduction of shaving irritation, elimination of razor burn and ingrown hairs and tightening and firming of the skin.  After all, there is nothing feminine about not wanting to look older than you are sooner than you need to.

SHIZUKA new york also offers a variety of light Chemical Peels that are individually customized for the client’s skin and modified for the area targeted for treatment.  Exclusive to SHIZUKA Spa is the Total Skin Rejuvenation, a safe approach to intense skin exfoliation using a method that lightens, brightens, freshens and restores a youthful glow. The Spa’s special Lunch Time Peel is another popular favorite that utilizes a perfectly-balanced glycolic and lactic acid solution formulated by Shizuka to provide progressive skin renewal in a short amount of time.

Body Treatments at SHIZUKA Spa present the perfect way to indulge. The simply-named Body Scrub treatment is actually anything but.  The ultimate way to rid skin of dull, rough and uneven texture, the Spa uses fine granular mineral salt scrubs and Japanese rice bran extracts to slough dead cells and impart a smooth, refined appearance to the skin.  The Aromatherapy Hydro Pack for Sensitive and Sun-Damaged Skin is the perfect antidote to the evils of summer sun. A thorough yet gentle body scrub is followed by an intensive moisturizing and stress-reducing treatment to soothe and thoroughly hydrate the skin, while essential oils penetrate the skin and work their de-stressing magic. The Aromatherapy Enzymatic Seaweed Mud Body Wrap nourishes the skin while improving circulation, toning cellulite and relaxing both mind and body.

Another innovative Shizuka treatment is the Body Shape (Slimming) Course.  An extremely popular treatment in Japan, this service is a course of treatments designed to help reduce body fat and is especially helpful for spot treating problem areas.  The treatment uses full body massage (using manual or Low Frequency Vibratory Therapy) to heighten the metabolism, dispose of toxins and unnecessary fluids from fat cells and tighten muscles.  The vibratory therapy is a new technique that effectively breaks down body fat in the muscles so that it can pass through the body and is most effective when combined with hand massage, lymph drainage massage and the sauna that completes every treatment.  Before and after each session, each client meets with a certified spa massage therapist to have their weight and measurements recorded on a chart that will be updated each successive visit.  And because there is no known magical cure for weigh reduction, at the conclusion of each treatment the client is provided with nutrition and exercise advice to support the therapy.

To turn stress into a distant memory, SHIZUKA Spa offers an array of Massage Therapies to relax and restore balance to the body and mind.  Clients put themselves in talented hands of expert technicians and may choose from Shiatsu, Anma, Deep Tissue or Swedish Massage, and Reflexology is also excellent to stimulate the circulation and cleanse the body of toxins and other impurities.

Several different methods of Hair Removal are offered at the Spa and all are performed by skillful and sensitive licensed technicians with strict attention paid to aseptic techniques and procedures to ensure the highest sanitary standards.  Electrolysis provides permanent removal of unwanted hair and makes the skin smoother using Short-Wave (Thermolysis) and Blend Method while Intense Pulsed Light Hair Removal (IPL) comfortably removes hair and reduces hair growth for months using a system that emits pulses of intense light into the hair follicles. And even Face and Body Waxing is really a “no-wax waxing”: the Spa uses an organic soy-based liquid that is suitable for all skin types, but is especially recommended for sensitive skin because it contains no wax, sugar or animal products. Best of all, Shizuka promises a painless experience for most areas with this method!

SHIZUKA New York Skincare System:

Shizuka is proud to introduce the SHIZUKA new york Skincare System, a new premium skin care line that is the result of years of research and testing and was developed by Shizuka with her husband, Robert M. Bernstein, M.D., a prominent New York cosmetic dermatologist. Frustrated by a lack of results-oriented skincare, Shizuka designed the System to be an extension of her personal philosophy and approach to skincare –  a fusion of Eastern holistic traditions with Western technological advances. Manufactured according to her specifications in Japan, the System is comprised of two cleansers, a toner and moisturizer, all of which contain powerful natural age fighters and skin retexturizers. Formulated to target the needs of aging, acneic and normal skin, the new line incorporates Intriguing beneficial ingredients include water direct from Mt. Fuji, regenerative pearl protein, sake and mushroom, all ingredients chosen for their efficacy in reducing the signs of aging and restoring the skin.

The SHIZUKA new york Skincare System products are free of fragrance, animal products and lanolin and are hypoallergenic and pH-balanced and may be purchase either at the Spa or online at www.shizukany.com.

The talented Fusayo Yokota (whose other credits include Manhattan’s Paul Labrecque Spa and Salon and the Silk House Salon & Spa in Tokyo), has designed the SHIZUKA new york Spa to be a Japanese urban sanctuary, a place of calm in which to relax and decompress from the day’s challenges. The Spa owes its uniquely Asian aesthetic to the artful choice of simple materials like natural wood, bamboo, iron, stone and water that lend an organic sensibility to the space.

Elements of décor like translucent panels laminated with real beach glass and bamboo grass and framed with solid maple, tatami-patterned wall coverings,  “Shoji” wall sconces, glass bamboo mosaic tiling, bamboo floor matting and a recessed petite water fall with a pebbled stone back all evoke a tranquil Far Eastern retreat.  Fixtures such as custom-made Japanese paper wall sconces and Sendai bamboo window treatments add elegant touches and a color palette that includes “Maccha Tea,” “Fernwood Green” and “Lambskin,” completes the feeling of restful repose.

ABOUT SHIZUKA NEW YORK SPA
SHIZUKA New York Spa combines advanced Western skin care practices and time-honored Eastern holistic knowledge to give you a tranquil, world-class spa experience in the heart of mid-town Manhattan. SHIZUKA is located at 7 W. 51st Street, 6th Fl. (between 5th and 6thAvenues).