After hearing little whispers here and there about the Hema brand over the years, I finally got myself along for the signature facial a couple of weeks back. Hema was developed by Wellington-native and facialist Margaret Hema back in the early 90’s. Margaret mixed her own hand-blended, organic oils at her salon and shared them with her clients and friends and later went on to care for the skin of the Lord of the Rings cast who were based in the Capital for three years.
The brands’ first retail product is the mainstay of the range – the Facial Cleansing Oil. Once the domain of luxury skincare companies and only just starting to appear into the mainstream now, cleansing oils are a gentle and natural way of cleansing the skin of dirt, makeup and impurities. And yes ladies – those with oily/ problematic skins can also use oils. Margaret believes we should treat the skin like a delicate piece of fabric at all times, hence her non-belief in exfoliants as well. No water is used in Hema products, nor toners, exfoliants, clay base masques, mineral oils, chemicals or artificial preservatives. There are now eight products for retail in the Hema range – the ninth is used exclusively in the signature Hema Facial.
Margaret hand-picked and trained one Auckland facialist in the Hema philosophy – Seonaid Lyons. Seonaid is a gentle soul with amazing healing hands who I visited recently in her Westmere clinic. This is unlike any other facial I’ve ever experienced, but also the best…seriously. Seonaid has such a calm way about her and I felt immediately at ease. This facial is heavy on the facial massage and relaxation, she searches for stress areas (for me – the jaw and around the eyes) and uses lymphatic drainage and acupressure to ease these points.
Synchronised massage movements literally ironed the tension from my face, leaving me looking rested and at peace. A head, arm and hand massage is also included whilst the face is cleansed, a manuka honey mask is applied and the light and dry Millennium Face and Body Oil is applied. Seonaid tells me she has clients from all walks of life – stressed professionals visiting weekly to those in search of improving their skin. This is a truly relaxing experience, and its way more than a facial, it’s an hour of major stress-relief that had me nearly falling asleep and then floating out the door afterwards.
Contact Seonaid on 021 369 642. She is based at the Seven Senses house at 100 Westend Road, Westmere, Auckland. The Hema holistic signature facial is $130.
