Susan MacCoy: press release: Skin care leads any makeover

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Contact: Susan MacCoy, hair artist
312-635-5116
goddess@susanmaccoy.com

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About face: skin care leads in any makeover

Healthy skin requires sticking to a suitable regime, but a finished look demands practice

CHICAGO — Clear, healthy skin is the starting point of any look. Makeovers are no exception. When college student and local basketball star April McCarron embarked on a makeover to transform her look for her freshman year, she knew in advance that skin care expertise would be needed: like many teens, she had a case of severe acne. Her blemished skin was also part of the reason April appeared to be much younger than she actually was (see Before and After photos).

Hair artist and image consultant Susan MacCoy was in charge of April's makeover. Currently based at Elizabeth Adam Salon and Day Spa in Chicago's Water Tower Place, MacCoy confidently delegated the direction of April's skin care strategy to salon owner and skin expert Elizabeth Adam.

Trained in Europe as a certified aesthetician, Adam has been a skin care analyst and practitioner since 1976. She's operated her salon since 1987, first on Walton Street and the last three years at the Water Tower Place location. "I've been an aesthetician for many years, but I still take classes regularly," Adam remarks. She recently returned from a training course on maintaining muscle tone through facial exercises. The class was held in Bologna, Italy.

Given that teens with troubled skin have always been a large part of her salon's clientele, Adam has targeted products and skin specialists available who know just how to deal with adolescent acne.

Adam herself was the head skin and beauty strategist. She designed April's home skin-care program. The beauty services team Adam assembled consisted of:

Basia (Barbara) Walasiak, skin treatment specialist;
Irina Zinchikeva, eyebrow artist;
Paula Sino, make-up artist; and
Rya Reznick, nail care specialist.

Adam handed over April's skin evaluation to skin specialist Basia Walasiak, who recommended a two-phase, six-stage facial cleansing and peeling program, accompanied by a home care program. April's home-care package included a cleanser to control oil production and inhibit bacterial growth that causes skin eruptions, an antibacterial toner with fruit essence, glycolic acid, and vitamin C, and, for evening care, an alpha-hydroxy acid preparation to help exfoliate the skin. Facial number two consisted of steam followed by deep extraction, a glycolic peel, and a soothing masque. After the first two facials, MacCoy and Adam decided that there were some positive results but that, because of her age and overall skin type, April really needed a complete series of facials throughout the course of the makeover, followed by maintenance facials afterward.

Later on, once April's skin was under better control, Walasiak substituted a chamomile-based cleanser to calm and soothe the skin. April was also given a list of skin dos and don'ts right from the start:

Drink a gallon of water a day — every day.
Don't touch your face with your fingers; this keeps you from spreading bacteria that cause pimples.
Absolutely no make-up until your skin heals!

April's color strategy was entrusted to make-up artist Paula Sino, who has been with Adam since her first salon on Walton Street. April "needed a lot of work on her skin and brows," Sino recalls. She developed two different make-up palettes for April: a light, natural daytime look, and a dressier, day-into-evening look. Next, Sino assembled a home/purse make-up kit that would be portable and easy to use. She also spent extra time teaching April how to line the lips and eyes with pencils and to use brow set.

Rya Reznick did the nail restyling and manicure and gave April a paint-at-home-like-a-pro lesson. She trimmed April's nails the first time and taught her how to file an oval tip. Then Reznick chose a neutral-beige polish for April and taught her how to polish her nails and clean the edges for a professional-looking home manicure. This, too, would require practice before the teen became adept at using the techniques.

Success at using these beauty skills was basically up to April. After a few months, she's an old hand at both nails and make-up. Now, "outside of school, I do my hair a lot and wear make-up." That wasn't the case before, but the instruction and practice sessions made her more self-assured about her skills. That, in turn, increased her overall confidence — which, not coincidentally, also increases the likelihood of longer-term results. As one anonymous wag put it, nothing breeds success like success.

Hair artist Susan MacCoy is based at Elizabeth Adam Salon and Day Spa, located in Chicago’s Water Tower Place. She has taught in venues as diverse as the Goodman Theater of the Art Institute of Chicago; the Clairol Summer Sessions at Northwestern University; classes offered by Helene Curtis in the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, and Africa; Clairol, Inc.’s Famous Haircolorists’ Educator Program; and sessions for Glemby International, as well as in training videos for beauty professionals and students. Formerly manager of the Glemby International Salon at the Drake Hotel and long established on Michigan Avenue, MacCoy has served many famous clients, including Barbara Walters, Princess Diane Von Furstenburg, Lucille Ball, and Lady Bird Johnson.

Susan MacCoy is a talented hair artist, image consultant, beauty educator, consultant to the hair care industry, and expert for the legal profession. Winner of the Today's Chicago Woman Reader's Choice Award, Gold Coast Magazine's Chicago Stylist of the Year, the Clairol Hair Fashion Award, and Glemby International's Outstanding Achievement Award, Ms. MacCoy is the creator of the ProWorks Professional Haircare System and a master haircoloring expert. She divides her time and consulting services between Chicago and Cincinnati. Her Chicago practice is based at Elizabeth Adam Salon and Day Spa in Water Tower Place.

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Main story: Want Makeover success? Get a great coach

Sidebar: What makes a good makeover coach — and why you need one

Photo spread: Teen Makeover: looking your own age, only better

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