Planet Beach Blue Bell

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Planet Beach offers new technique for lightening up skin By: GARY PULEO, Times Herald Staff 03/20/2007 WHITPAIN - Let there be light. Whether you want a faux suntan or, now, just to rejuvenate your skin, illumination does double duty when you're at the beach. Planet Beach, that is. The tanning salon, which opened in 2004 at The Shops at Blue Bell shopping center, recently expanded its services beyond duplicating the sun's bronzing effects on the body. "As a franchising corporation, Planet Beach has been looking for ways to open up our client base," said owner Maddy Aten. "This new equipment has been a wonderful addition to everything else we offer," she said, opening the door to a tiny dark room where the Lumiere light therapy machine waits silently to bathe the next horizontal taker in its uniform wash of precisely 633 nanometers of light. Within 20 minutes, the targeted skin - be it face, neck, chest, hands - will be on its way to improved clarity and other benefits, Aten noted. "Customers who want something less invasive than Botox, lasers or chemical peels, love this because it's not only convenient, all natural and safe, but cost-effective," Aten said. A single Lumiere session will run you $49, but multiple-session packages reduce the per-session fee considerably, she pointed out. "If someone came in and bought the all-inclusive spa membership, the Lumiere treatments are all included in that, as part of the $99.95 a month." For the first month, six to 12 sessions are recommended, said Maten, flipping through a "Before and After" photo album, stopping at the face of a woman who had experienced visible reduction of redness and patchy areas. "You can see her skin tone is much more even," Maten noted. The intensity and duration of light therapy is adjusted according to a person's age and needs, she explained. "Someone in her teens or early 20s, prior to signs of aging, could opt for "vitalizing," to reduce pore size, lighten sun spots and reduce crows feet," Aten allowed. A regimen intended for the over-40 crowd will tighten and thicken thinning skin. A line of skin care products is available to boost Lumiere's effectiveness. "Once you see results that you're comfortable with, then you just maintain," Aten said. You don't have to go through six or 12 again, you're just maintaining your results." Another addition to the Planet Beach repertoire is the Hydration Station, designed as a pre- and post- tanning treatment. "It's a well-known fact that tanning indoors or outdoors will dry out your skin," Aten noted. "The Hydration Station will replenish and re-hydrate your skin with a combination of liquid vitamins and steam." Many non-tanning customers come in to take advantage of both new devices, she added. "I'm extremely happy with the success of all our spa equipment, but in particular, the Lumiere ... from using it myself," Aten said. "Here I am with two kids and one on the way, and I'm shocked by the Lumiere results. I guess there's no better endorsement than when you use something and believe in it yourself."YOU!! New clients ALWAYS WELCOME!!