She’s our reigning Waxing Queen – and a brand new mom!   Ology Aesthetician Tonya Tsoukalas shares her insider’s view on her favorite tricks – and treatments….

As an Aesthetician, I’ve sampled and tested more skin care products than you can possibly imagine, and I’ve come to learn that when something works for you, you keep it around! Always test a new product for at least 3-4 weeks before you judge its effectiveness. You didn’t age overnight, so don’t expect to anti-age overnight either. Same goes with acne and hyperpigmentation. The best things in life take some time!

Here are some of my personal Favs:

Jan Marini Bioclear Lotion- This product provides resurfacing and retexturizing benefits on every skin type.  It will measurably smooth, clear, and promote younger looking skin as well. What you have to keep in mind when you start using this amazing serum, is that for the first few weeks it will draw out impurities, so expect to break out a little more initially. Remember to give it at least 3-4 weeks before losing hope. Your skin will never be clearer, and will stay that way too.

Laroche Posay SPF Face Fluid- There is no excuse to not wear sunscreen every day. But for all those women out there with oily skin– layering on moisturizers, SPF, and makeup in the AM will only lead to a big greasy mess by midafternoon. So…you skip your sunscreens, and convince yourselves that the measly SPF in your foundation should be sufficient enough. Well, you are wrong! You would never want to cake on the amount of makeup that is required to actually meet that coverage. I love this product because it’s an SPF 50 that’s formulated into little droplets that not only layer perfectly, they absorb as if you hadn’t applied anything at all. Also, because it’s a mineral formulation, don’t expect to see a single bump or breakout either. There is no excuse now ladies!

Jan Marini C-esta Serum-Oil Control- I have always been a die-hard user of the original C-esta serum, but since I’ve been trying the oil control formula for summer, I am even more in love! Vitamin C is an antioxidant that blocks free radical damage and also increases collagen production. It will result in firmer skin, tighter facial contours, and a healthy more even skin tone. This formula has added microsponges to control oil on hot and humid summer days. You can also use it on your upper eyelids to prevent eye shadow from creasing, and even on and around your lips to increase lipstick wear, and lessen lip color “bleeding”. How great is that?

Best Beauty Advice I Can Give: I can give beauty advice all day, but there is one thing I want to especially stress to those teens and twenty-somethings out there…STOP TANNING. You have no idea the kind of long term damage you’re doing to your skin, and all for what? To be more beautiful? Keep it up and in the future, you’re not going to look beautiful, you are going to look old and ugly. I always hear the same thing- “When the time comes for me to worry about it, there will be new lasers and creams to make it all go away”. DON’T COUNT ON IT my darlings. And what is the obsession with being so tan anyway? Fast forward Snookie twenty years…she’s going to look like an old raisin, and it won’t make a difference if she bathes in Botox. Now is the time to take care of your skin and try to prevent. You are already beautiful, and maintaining is much easier and cost effective than correcting.

Worst Beauty Advice I Ever Got: “If a pimple comes to a white head, pop it”. This is such a hard one for all of us. Whiteheads look awful and it’s so difficult to leave them alone. What you have to try to remember is that the white pus you see is your immune system trying to kill the bacteria that is causing the breakout. When you pick at your skin, you’re not letting your body to its job, and you are also spreading those bacteria elsewhere, causing more breakouts. Stop the cycle. A breakout that would have only lasted a couple days can result in a scar or pit mark that can last years. Invest in a good acne spot treatment (like Aveda Outer Peace Acne Spot Relief) and concealer, and keep your hands off. If you’re having a skin emergency, make an appointment with your Aesthetician that can safely extract and treat the area with no scars in sight.

My Favorite Treatment: I would first like to say that I am 100% Greek, and one hairy girl. Yes…I may have been blessed with a thick head of hair and long eyelashes, but I also had sideburns and a moustache when I was 12. So, it’s no surprise that I absolutely love Laser Hair Removal. The area that I am most satisfied with this summer is not my legs, or even my bikini area. I could not be happier with the way my underarms look. When you have naturally dark hair, and shave your underarms, you know what I mean when I say there is still a “shadow” left behind. And although I loved the result when I waxed it, I hated the horrified gasp my husband would make when he got a glimpse of my grown out underarm hair (it must be grown to at least a quarter of an inch to wax it off). Laser hair removal doesn’t require a grow out period, and after about a week post treatment, the hair falls right out of the hair follicle and won’t come back for up to a month. When it does grow back it will be finer and sparser. After about 5 treatments, six weeks apart, most of it should be gone completely.  It’s honestly been a dream come true.

Biggest Struggle With My Skin: As many new moms know, everything changes when you have a baby, and you no longer have any time for yourself. We are lucky enough if we get to pee alone, let alone finding the time and energy to complete our nightly skin regimen. If you find that you are frequently (gasp) going to bed with makeup still on, or always skipping out on eye cream because you’re just too tired, remember that you don’t have to wait until bedtime to treat your skin. Even if its 6:30 and you know you’ll be in for the evening, cleanse your skin and apply your products then if you get the opportunity. It is better to do it early, then to skip it altogether.

In My Makeup Kit: God knows I have spent a fortune on expensive makeup brushes. I hate nothing more than to see that after a few uses and washes the hairs start falling out. If you use mineral makeup, you know a good kabuki brush is the best way to achieve a flawless application. Aveda makes the best makeup brushes on earth, and my most beloved tool is their powder foundation brush. I have had mine for months, and washed it countless times. Not only has a single hair ever fallen out, but it is just as soft on my skin as the day I bought it.

Questions for Tonya?  Contact her at Tsklas@ologymd.com