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2021-04-14 12:00:00

[Brand Slideshow]: Holly Beauty Salon

New Age TCM beauty treatments, herbal moisturizers, smokeless moxibustion and manual intervention... Holly Beauty Salon takes skincare very, very seriously.

Sponsored by & In Collaboration With Holly Beauty Salon.

  • This is Holly Beauty Salon

    It’s not immediately obvious what’s going on in there when you look at it from the outside. Is it a massage parlor? New Age TCM center? Skincare spa? If you thought any of those things then you’d be on the right track, because it sort of encompasses all three of these concepts. Walk inside, and you’ll find a treatment menu spanning facials… therapeutic body massage… and many other offerings inspired by traditional Chinese medicine, such as “smokeless moxibustion” (heat therapy using plants with medicinal properties). You also see a lot of overlap in the three, such as facial treatments that apply acupressure massage techniques, and skincare products that feature TCM ingredients. Tying it all together is an aim to provide effective, all-natural skincare and wellness treatments through holistic, non-invasive techniques and procedures.

  • This Is Holly. Yes, That Holly, Whose Name Is On the Sign

    Holly Wong is the founder and proprietor of Holly Beauty Salon. Originally from Fujian province, she opened her first shop in Xiamen. 10 years later, she’s now the head of a blossoming and a rather sizeable salon empire with over 30 locations across China (and an international outpost in Brussels, Belgium, too if you’re in the area). Holly had a bit of an unconventional start in the beauty/wellness game. She was studying literature in university when she started cultivating a deep interest in therapeutic massage. She also noticed that many women were deeply into beauty and wellness treatments, but that a lot of spa services available in China at the time were not very advanced or based on scientific research. Holly began digging into this topic, and thus began a bit of an obsession with exploring the intersection between beauty and science…

  • Beauty Is Skin-Deep… Sort Of

    “I remember reading a quote in college that went something like ‘Beauty is what is presented as the existence of you in this world,’ and that really got me thinking about the meaning of beauty and how people interact with their perceived definitions of it. For me, the main point of beauty is to love yourself – and a part of that is to accept yourself as you are naturally. So my beauty ‘philosophy’ is to accomplish the realization of yourself, what’s beautiful to you, in ways that are true to you. This idea is at the heart of Holly Beauty Salon and the ‘people-oriented beauty’ approach we take with our treatments.”

  • Skincare… It’s Science!

    Each of the treatments offered at Holly Beauty Salon is shaped by the boss lady herself. After she started doing her own research into beauty and wellness practices, Holly became particularly interested in the benefits of therapeutic massage – particularly in how specific techniques can activate natural regenerative capabilities in our skin and muscle tissue. She looked at studies done by skincare and massage experts from across the globe – even traveling to Japan, Spain, Italy, etc. to attend conferences and talks – and pooled this knowledge together to create the treatments that are now offered at Holly Beauty Salon.

  • Massage, Or Fascial Manipulation?

    According to Holly, one of her most memorable research-based trips was when she went to Guangzhou and discovered a physical therapy technique called ‘fascial manipulation.’ This technique was created by an Italian doctor named Luigi Stecco. She was drawn to it because it is based on clinical methodology and is well-researched and applied in physical therapy to address certain pain and dysfunction issues, and aid in the elasticity of soft tissue. “It’s not necessarily Chinese or Western medicine, it’s modern technology,” says Holly.

  • Plant Power

    All of the skincare products that are used at Holly Beauty Salon are also developed in-house, based on all that research we just talked about. Every one of these products is all-natural, and does not contain ingredients that could have unhealthy side effects – so no preservatives, alcohol, mineral oil, or artificial fragrances.

  • The Beauty Aid for “Lazy Types”

    One of those products is the grape seed sleeping mask. It features white tea extract, which is packed with antioxidants that provide anti-inflammatory effects and helps to relax the skin and facial tissues. According to Holly, she developed this one because she wanted to cut down on her nighttime skin regimen with a single do-it-all product. For “lazy types like me,” she said. Holly Beauty Salon’s technicians apply the grape seed sleeping mask at the end of their facial treatments, for deep moisturization and skin balancing.

  • Strip Away Problem Skin. Literally

    “The treatment I most often recommend to guests at the salon, and my friends and family, is the ‘Stripping Massage’ facial treatment. I really believe that this technique, combined with the deep moisturization effects in the treatment, is the best way to give vitality to our skin and address signs of aging over time.” Stripping Massage, also called “manual intervention,” is a massage technique that involves deep, targeted massage and contouring of the facial muscles and tissue. At Holly Beauty Salon, they pair this treatment with intensive moisturization using a high-speed CO2 spray gun for collagen rejuvenation. Don’t worry, it’s a lot less scary than it sounds. And it all ends with the application of an herbal face mask and deep moisturizer. “Sagging skin and wrinkles appear over time due to the activity of our daily lives, and nowadays cosmetic operations are a popular way to target these skin conditions – but I believe that manual intervention reduces the side effects of machine-based therapy meant to address the same concerns.”

  • Meet Jia Wei, One of the Technicians at Holly Beauty Salon in Shanghai

    “I have been working in the beauty industry for a while, and the current standard industry practice is to rely on machines – meaning that the contact with the client is usually all machine-based. I really like the treatments we do here, because when we use this holistic approach, it’s a more personal experience and I have direct contact with the client and their skin.”

  • Chinese Empresses Used to Use These Too, You Know

    Though Holly Beauty Salon does use some electronic equipment such as the CO2 spray gun for collagen rejuvenation, most of the equipment used in their treatments are old-school, manual ones like facial contour rollers and scrapers. There’s also an on-site sauna for customers who want to do whole-body heat therapy for the skin.

  • How Holly Beauty Salon Has Grown Over the Years…

    The salon in Shanghai has a bulletin board filled with Before & After photos of customers who have undergone visible changes following their treatments. According to Holly, most of the women pictured on the board are actually owners of their own outposts of Holly Beauty Salon located throughout the country: “We have a lot of clients who, after trying out our services, want to open their own beauty salon in their community. So, I train them on the beauty treatments and how to open and run a salon. My team and I cover everything from hiring to sourcing, and business operations.”

  • “I Want This to Be Like a Spa ‘Home Away from Home’”

    “We keep our salon design pretty simple – it’s just meant to be comfortable, and a relaxing space that acts like a ‘home away from home,’ where you can drink tea or unwind in the sauna after a treatment. A lot of our customers also like that their membership with us can be used at all Holly Beauty Salons across the country, so they tend to visit us even while on holiday in another city.”

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