The Restorative Facialist

Somewhere along the way, we convinced ourselves that rest was something we had to earn.

After the work is done. After everyone else is taken care of. After we’ve checked every box.

And believe me, I’m just as guilty of this as anyone. I struggle with slowing down, too. There’s always something that needs to be done, someone who needs something, or that never-ending mental list running through my head.

It’s funny how easy it is to remind others to take care of themselves, yet how difficult it can be to take our own advice.

So maybe this little reminder is just as much for me as it is for you. 🤍

You are allowed to slow down before life forces you to.

Rest isn’t a reward. It’s a necessity.❤️‍🩹

— Shannon
The Restorative Facialist

✨ THE 7 CARDINAL SINS AFTER A FACIAL ✨

Because what you do AFTER your facial matters just as much as what happens during it!

You’ve just spent 60-120 minutes having your skin cleansed, nourished, sculpted, and restored. Now, let’s not undo all that beautiful work! 😉

SIN #1: WASHING YOUR FACE TOO SOON 🚿

Those peptides, growth factors, antioxidants, and restorative serums were carefully applied for a reason! Unless instructed otherwise, skip washing your face that evening and let those beautiful ingredients do their work.

SIN #2: SLEEPING ON A DIRTY PILLOWCASE 🛏️

Your freshly treated skin deserves a clean place to rest. Oils, bacteria, and product buildup don’t belong on your freshly restored complexion!

SIN #3: USING DIRTY MAKEUP BRUSHES 🖌️

Yesterday’s makeup, oils, and bacteria? No, thank you! Keep your brushes and beauty sponges clean.

SIN #4: APPLYING HEAVY MAKEUP IMMEDIATELY 💄

Foundation, concealer, contour, powder… the whole production can wait! Give your skin a little breathing room until at least the following day, or longer depending on your treatment.

SIN #5: AGGRESSIVE SKINCARE 🧴

Put down the retinol, exfoliating acids, and scrubs! Your skin has already received professional attention. More isn’t always better. Follow your personalized aftercare instructions.

SIN 6: TOO MUCH SUN & HEAT ☀️

Hot yoga, saunas, steaming showers, and excessive sun exposure? Not today! Freshly treated skin can be more sensitive. Keep it cool, gentle, and protected with SPF.

SIN 7: FORGETTING TO HYDRATE 💧

Beautiful skin isn’t just about what you apply externally. Drink your water, nourish your body, and support your skin from within.

✨ THE GOLDEN RULE

Your facial doesn’t end when you leave my treatment room.

The hours and days that follow are an extension of your restoration.

Be gentle. Be intentional. Protect your investment. 🤍

✨ Happy National Esthetician’s Day! ✨

25 years ago, I stepped into this beautiful industry, never fully knowing just how much it would become a part of who I am.

What started as a passion for skincare has grown into something so much deeper.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that being an esthetician isn’t just about beautiful skin. It’s about connection. It’s about creating a space where women can come exactly as they are, set down everything they’ve been carrying, and simply be taken care of for a little while.

It’s about the conversations, the laughter, the tears, the quiet moments, and the trust that comes with allowing someone to care for you.

And after all these years, I still feel incredibly fortunate that this is what I get to do.

This year has been especially meaningful as I’ve stepped into a new chapter of my career, working independently and creating an experience that feels even more aligned with my heart and the way I’ve always believed skincare should be approached.

Intentional. Restorative. Never rushed. Healing, not harming.

To every woman who has trusted me with her skin, shared a piece of her life with me, supported my little business, or simply walked through my door over the years… thank you.

You’ve allowed me to build a career around something I genuinely love, while also giving me the opportunity to be present for the life and family I cherish so much.

I don’t take any of it for granted.

Here’s to 25 years of learning, growing, evolving, and doing what I love. And to all the wonderful estheticians who pour their hearts into caring for others, today is for you, too.

Beautiful skin is wonderful. But making someone feel beautiful, cared for, and restored? That’s the part I’ll never stop loving.

With so much gratitude,

Shannon Michelle
The Restorative Facialist

The world can wait. 🤍

The laundry. The emails. The endless to-do list. The people who need you. The million little things running through your mind.

They can all wait.

Because for the next hour or two, you don’t have to be the one taking care of everyone else.

You don’t have to make decisions, answer questions, or think about what needs to get done next.

You just get to be here. Warm, cozy, tucked under the covers, with nowhere else you need to be.

And while you’re resting, I’m taking care of you and your skin. ✨

That’s one of the things I love most about what I do. Yes, we’re working on healthier, stronger, more beautiful skin. But sometimes, what a woman needs just as much is a little peace and quiet and the chance to feel taken care of for a change.

Because taking care of yourself shouldn’t always be the last thing on your list.

The world will still be there when we’re finished. I promise. 🤍

Shannon Michelle
The Restorative Facialist

✨ BUSY WOMEN, THIS ONE’S FOR YOU! ✨

You take care of everyone else, but are you making time for YOU?

Meet the Le Mieux BioSculpt7 LED Neck & Décolleté Mask ❤️

Because skincare shouldn’t stop at your jawline!

✨ Helps support collagen production, firmness & elasticity

✨ Targets fine lines, wrinkles & visible signs of aging

✨ Helps calm redness and support healthier-looking skin

✨ FDA-cleared LED technology with 7 customizable light settings

✨ Comfortable, portable & easy to use while relaxing, reading, watching TV or even doing dishes!

Think you’re too young to start? THINK AGAIN!

Prevention is always easier than correction. Taking care of your skin NOW is one of the best investments you can make in yourself.

❤️ PRE-ORDER EXTENDED! ❤️

Due to high demand, I’m extending my special $20 OFF pre-order offer through FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9TH!

This professional skincare device is available through authorized skincare professionals.

✨ Click the link in my bio to purchase directly through me!

The Restorative Facialist by Shannon Michelle

Okay ladies, let’s talk growth factors… because if you’re 35+, this is one skincare conversation I really want you to understand.

Have you noticed that your skin just doesn’t seem to “bounce back” the way it used to?

Maybe you’re seeing:

• Fine lines that seem to stick around a little longer
• Skin that feels thinner, drier or less plump
• A loss of firmness or elasticity
• Dullness that your regular moisturizer just isn’t fixing
• Slower recovery and healing
• Or that overall feeling that your skin just looks… tired

Welcome to skin after 35. 😆

This is one of the reasons I’m such a believer in incorporating growth factors into an age-management routine.

Think of growth factors as little messengers for the skin. They help support the communication involved in renewal and repair and encourage the processes associated with healthier-looking collagen, elasticity and overall skin function.

Basically, as our skin starts acting a little less motivated with age, growth factors help give it some encouragement. 😉

And instead of giving you ONE growth-factor product, I created my Growth Factor Ritual with three products that work beautifully together:

Le Mieux TGF Booster Serum
Your first layer and introduction to growth-factor support. Lightweight, concentrated and an easy way to start giving aging skin a little extra help.

Osmosis MD StemFactor
This is where we step things up. A more advanced serum designed to support rejuvenation, firmness and healthier-looking skin.

Le Mieux Moisture Cloud Rescue Cream
And then we seal everything in with this beautiful moisturizer to support hydration, comfort and the skin barrier—because healthy aging isn’t just about stimulating the skin. We need to nourish and protect it, too.

Together, these three make up the Growth Factor Ritual I personally recommend for women who are serious about supporting their skin as it ages.
💫Shop my Growth Factor Bundle ( link in Bio) and save 10% for a very limited time! 💫

Have you ever heard of “gluten face”? 👀

No, it doesn’t mean you eat one piece of bread and wake up looking like a dinner roll. 🥖

“Gluten face” is a non-medical term sometimes used to describe skin changes that some people notice when gluten—or other foods they’re sensitive to—seem to trigger inflammation.

Think: puffiness, redness, stubborn chin breakouts, uneven tone, or skin that just seems generally unhappy.

And this is where I always remind my clients: your skin doesn’t live separately from the rest of your body.

It’s your largest organ, and sometimes what’s happening on the outside can give us clues about what’s happening on the inside.

We can use beautiful skincare. We can get facials. We can LED, microcurrent, gua sha and serum ourselves into oblivion. 🌾But if something we’re regularly eating isn’t agreeing with our body, our skin may continue waving its little red flag.🚩

And sometimes the sneakiest part? It can be hiding in foods we think are “healthy.” That’s why I’m a big believer in turning the package around, reading ingredients, paying attention to patterns and learning what your body responds well to.

This isn’t about being afraid of gluten or deciding everyone needs to eliminate it. And persistent skin changes deserve proper medical evaluation. It’s simply a gentle reminder that skin health is whole-body health.

So the next time your skin is acting up and you’re thinking, What the heck am I doing wrong?!… maybe don’t just look at your bathroom counter.

Take a peek in the pantry, too. 😉🌾

Yep… 25 years of doing skin, and I’ve still never heard anyone say, “I really wish I hadn’t taken such good care of it.” 😉✨

You wouldn’t hire a personal trainer, work your butt off for an hour… and then hit the McDonald’s drive-thru every single time you left the gym. 😂

Well… think of your professional facial the same way.

Your facial is the workout.

Your home skincare is everything you’re doing between those workouts.

I can exfoliate, hydrate, stimulate, sculpt, calm, replenish and give your skin some serious TLC in the treatment room — but then I send that beautiful face home with you. 😉

And what you do with it for the next 4–6 weeks MATTERS.

That doesn’t mean you need a 10-step routine or a cabinet full of expensive products. Actually, I’d rather you have 3–4 really good products that are right for YOUR skin and use them consistently.

Professional treatments + intentional home care = where the magic happens.

So when I recommend something for you after your facial, I promise I’m not just trying to “sell you a product.”

I’m trying to help you continue what we started in the treatment room.

Because one facial can do a lot.

But what you do every single day in between?

That’s where we really start changing skin. 🤍

SAME GOAL. VERY DIFFERENT TOOLS. 👀

That little facial razor in your bathroom drawer and professional dermaplaning are not the same treatment.

And listen, I get it. If you look in the mirror and suddenly feel like you have a full-on mustache happening… touch it up! I’m not coming to your house to confiscate your Ti**le razor.

But shaving your entire face at home is very different from professional dermaplaning.

Professional dermaplaning uses a sterile, single-use surgical blade to remove peach fuzz AND accumulated dead skin cells through controlled exfoliation.

And one BIG difference we don’t talk about enough?

SANITATION. 🦠

In my treatment room, your blade is brand new, sterile, used on YOU and only you, and properly disposed of immediately afterward. It is NEVER reused.

Now think about that little razor sitting in your bathroom drawer. 👀 How many times has it been used? Was it properly cleaned, dried and stored?

Reused or improperly cared-for razors can harbor bacteria and potentially contribute to irritation and breakouts.

Technique matters too.

Professional dermaplaning involves the correct angle and pressure, assessment of your skin, and a professional glide that helps cushion and protect the skin as I work.

The goal isn’t simply removing peach fuzz.

It’s controlled exfoliation + proper technique + sanitation + knowing how to safely treat YOUR skin.

So yes… touch up the mustache if you need to, girl.🥸

But taking a blade across your entire face?

Leave that part to the pros.

You’re not paying me to remove your peach fuzz.

You’re paying for my training, technique, sanitation practices and knowing how to safely treat your skin. 💫