Glamorizing your total body with Rachel

Everyone these days has a beauty regimen; young and old, men and women have found taking care of their skin is a must.

The booming market of cosmetics, skin care products and treatments used to rejuvenate the skin or make people look younger is proof of the awareness of how important skin truly is.

With so many products out there to choose from it can get quite confusing and often frustrating to find just the right match between the needs of each person’s skin and what the market offers.

However, help is as easy to find as stepping into Miss Lucy’s House of Glamour on 10th Avenue where clients’ skin care is their business.

Rachel Copeland, a 14-year veteran in the beauty industry and co-owner with her husband Michael, knows just how to help the residents of Sidney care for this important part of the body.

A resume that would impress anyone, consisting of positions at very well-known cosmetic companies such as Estee Lauder for almost 10 years, Lan Come for two years and Clinique for a year, Copeland said her whole life she has grown up with the understanding of the importance of skin care from start to finish.

An interest Copeland’s web site said comes from her mother, Lucy Roberts, and the beauty oasis’ namesake, saying that for as far back as Rachel could remember her mother showed her the importance of looking good.

Upon finishing her esthetic license in 2011 she decided, after years of working for others, it was time to go into business for herself beautifying anyone who walks through her doors.

The wide range of beauty services Copeland offers goes from air brushing make-up to nails, facials to chemical peels, body waxing to spray tanning, skin care products to education on make-up application.

But none of these services is as important as the skin care line she not only uses but highly recommends called Sanitas, a pharmaceutical grade product made by a company in Boulder, Col.

“It has been formulated by a pharmacist named Benjamin Fuchs,” Copeland said. “It’s a phenomenal product. It is something that not only does the shop have to carry a license for but my personal license is on the line for it.”

To ensure she is treating each client specifically for what their needs are she said, “I actually have a mini consultation with you just so I am finding you the right specific formula of products to use. So you’re just not coming in and grabbing something you think you might need. I have to have a true conversation with you so we are getting you the right products, because it is a pharmaceutical grade product it is very highly concentrated, so if you grab a product off the shelf just thinking this is what you might need or what you think your skin type is, you could have an adverse reaction to the product and we don’t want that to happen.”

Copeland further explained that knowing everything they can about the client’s skin type is essential to giving them the right product for the correct results.

Especially because, “everyone has very different skin” and it is the “biggest organ on your body, the reason you need to treat it the best way is because if you are not hydrating or cleansing it the right way it will flare and you will have a serious problem just like you would your heart, liver or stomach, so if you are not treating it the right way you are going to have serious problems with it,” said Copeland.

The difference between the products she sells or uses and what other places may sell, according to Copeland, is “I have medical grade of Vitamin A and Vitamin C in my products. You can’t get that at Wal Mart. This is an actual doctor formulating the product,” Copeland said.

An example she gave as to the importance of educating a person about what kind of skin they really have and why it is important to know both for her and the client was for the most common skin issue, acne.

“If you come in and tell me you are having a serious acne problem, you and I are going to have a conversation about it. I am going to ask you a series of questions why, what, when and how, that type of thing. Then I am going to suggest a series of products for you and you will see dramatic results.”

She said when people buy skin care products it is based upon what think their skin is doing and very often not what is actually going on, therefore basing purchases on a misconception “when in actuality you are not having a true acne break out, you may be having an allergic reaction to something.”

A problem a recent client had, she said instead of having an actual acne break out her client was having an allergic reaction to the fragrance within the skin care product they were using.

With her help the problem was cleared up and she said her client was extremely happy; especially having never taken into consideration it could be an allergic reaction.

The skin care products are a bit more expensive than someone would pay at a box store, however Copeland said, “It is a pharmaceutical grade so less is more.

“A cleanser that you would buy typically lasts you six to eight months. You’re not replacing it like you would your average cleanser, you buy at a discount store and it lasts you only three to four months. You wouldn’t be replacing the product nearly as often or using nearly as much.”

As proof of this she said some of her clientele only come in to buy a facial cleanser every eight months or so and spending about $28 per visit on cleanser.

The moisturizing creams are a bit more than the cleansers, but here too she said it is the difference in frequency of purchase, making the outcome for money spent about the same.

Another avenue many people look for to in beatification is chemical peels, something Copeland is happy to help with as well and says she bases this process too specifically for each client.

“The peel I do here is what they call a lunchtime peel,” she said. “It is a peel you can have done and go back to work. It’s not the type of peel like done in a dermatologist office where you have to take a couple days off of work because your skin has been so burnt and so fried.”

She said her peels are done in a series of visits but even after the first visit there is such a dramatic result and change in the facial skin it can be seen right away.

For people who are not familiar with the chemical peels, Copeland explained, “A chemical peel is a type of exfoliation with a series of either glycolic or salicylic acids you remove dry dead skin cells, and the garbage that is collected on the skin, you are also removing the hyper pigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles on the skin.

“I have had clients that have literally removed layers and layers of dead skin over the course of 7 to 10 days and have literally seen that bright pink new baby skin come up and have had phenomenal results happen with their skin. The combination we formulate for their skin they are just thrilled with the results.”

She said the goal of the client and what they would like to see happen with their facial skin will determine the amount of visits they will have but it is recommended for more than one visit there be a 14 day wait between.

With growing concern for skin cancer and links between tanning beds and sun bathing a service Miss Lucy’s offers is a clean, orange free, smear free spray tan.

The spray tan she offers is by Norvell, a product she said “some clients can get to last anywhere from seven to 10 days.

“It’s absolutely beautiful. You have an instant beautiful bronze color, no streaking no orange and no paint smell. Not only do you get instant bronze color but it is a skin firming and hydrating spray tan.”

Even with nail care, Copeland said her business uses a healthier product, “We do natural nail manicures and pedicures. We use a product called OPI Gel Color. It is a 14 day no chip, instant dry and instant shine polish. It is an absolutely fantastic polish. I have a nail technician, Chrystal Gartner; she does all our nail services.”

Copeland also boasted of being “one of the only advanced eyelash extensionist in the tri-state area.”

She has the ability to apply false lashes that will not only last but give the look of full long lashes to anyone wanting them.

Miss Lucy’s has a bit of everything for anyone, and Rachel recommends everyone to give her the chance to not only see what she can do for them, but what her products can accomplish for their skin.

If not to keep the all year round tan or remove unwanted hair and wrinkles, then to relax with an afternoon facial, “to escape what is happening in their everyday life and have a body treatment where they scrub away all the dead skin cells and get rehydrated.”

It truly is for everyone, after all, “Men need to take care of their skin just as ladies do. Your skin is the most important organ and function you have on your body. It will be with you even after you leave the world. And your make-up is only going to look as good as your skin does.”