The Dirty Esthetician

Facials aren’t just for women. And this one definitely isn’t.

More and more men are coming in for my Super Lift Facial + Buccal Release, and while healthier-looking skin is certainly part of it, that’s often not the reason they love this treatment.

Men can carry a tremendous amount of tension through the masseter and temporalis muscles of the jaw and temples, the scalp, sternocleidomastoid along the neck, and the trapezius across the shoulders and upper back. Clenching, grinding, desk posture, workouts, stress and simply holding tension throughout the day can leave this entire area feeling tight and overworked.

This treatment goes well beyond the surface of the skin.

I incorporate facial and scalp work, neck and shoulder release, intraoral buccal massage and gentle lymphatic techniques to encourage movement of lymphatic fluid and support the body’s normal processes for clearing cellular waste and maintaining healthy fluid balance.

Clients often leave noticing:
• less tension through the jaw, face, scalp, neck and shoulders
• a softer, more relaxed feeling through the face
• less puffiness and congestion
• improved circulation and healthy-looking skin
• deeper relaxation and better sleep afterward
• relief from the muscular tension that can contribute to tension-type headaches and jaw discomfort

And yes, you still get the skin benefits of a facial. But the Super Lift is as much about nervous-system downshifting and releasing what you’ve been carrying as it is about your skin.

No fluff. No need to be a “facial guy.”
Just 90 minutes to unclench your jaw, drop your shoulders and give your nervous system a little room to exhale.

Men welcome. Always.

For a long time, I’ve believed COVID was a major turning point for many people dealing with histamine intolerance, mast cell activation symptoms, chronic inflammation, and nervous system dysregulation. Now the science is starting to catch up.

My own symptoms began about a year after a mild case of COVID. I recovered quickly and did not think much of it at the time.

Then I injured my knee, had to take NSAIDs, and for me, that was one of the biggest triggers.

From there, everything changed.

I went from being a very healthy, active, fit person to feeling incredibly sick and, at times, basically bedridden.

Gut issues. Histamine reactions. Heat intolerance. Skin flares. Nervous system dysregulation. MCAS-like symptoms. Things I had never dealt with before.

I have said for a long time that COVID, immune stress, gut disruption, and NSAIDs can create the perfect storm for mast cell activation.

For me, NSAIDs were a major trigger. For someone else, it may be mold exposure, hormone shifts, chronic stress, infections, gut dysfunction, or something else entirely. Usually, it is a combination of things, not just one.

In speaking with many people in mast cell support groups, our root causes and triggers may look different, but one common thread shows up again and again—many people either had COVID, were vaccinated for COVID, or both before these symptoms became significantly worse.

New studies are now showing that coronavirus spike proteins can directly activate mast cells and trigger histamine release.

That matters.

Because for many people, these symptoms did not come out of nowhere.

I do not believe MCAS is usually the true root cause. I believe it is often the body’s warning system letting us know something deeper needs attention.

The real work is identifying what is driving the inflammation and overload.

That usually means looking at gut health, nervous system regulation, inflammation, hormone balance, bile flow, detox pathways, and overall immune stress.

Healing is rarely about one thing. It is usually about reducing the total load and helping the body regulate again.

See the full PMID article listed below:
PMID 40304504

Spike proteins of coronaviruses activate mast cells for degranulation via stimulating Src/PI3K/AKT/Ca2+ intracellular signaling cascade Mast cells (MCs) are strategically located at the interface between host and environment. The non-allergic functions of MCs in immunosurveillance against pathogens have been recently underscored. However, the activation of MCs by pathogens may ...

Nervous system regulation doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.

Sometimes the biggest shifts come from the simplest changes. ✨

Nervous system regulation doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.

Sometimes the biggest shifts come from the simplest changes.

Worked on this lovely client in her 40s today. She has beautiful bone structure and a naturally youthful look, but like so many women, she’s starting to become more mindful of the aging process and wants to support her skin in a natural way.

She came in dealing with a lot of stored tension through the jaw, occipital area, scalenes, and SCM, along with habitual jaw clenching. This kind of patterning doesn’t just affect how the face feels, it can also influence how the face ages over time.

Today we performed my SuperLift Facial with Buccal Release, focusing specifically on those areas of tension. This work helps release deep holding patterns, improve circulation, support lymphatic flow, and bring more balance back to the face from the inside out.

We finished with Red Light Therapy to support the treatment on a deeper level. Red light helps stimulate ATP production in the cells, which is essentially energy for repair and regeneration. It also supports the lymphatic system and helps calm inflammation, making it the perfect follow-up to this kind of hands-on work.

This is slow, intentional, results-driven care. No forcing. No overdoing. Just working with the body so it can do what it’s designed to do.

If you’re feeling tension in your face or noticing changes in your skin and want a more natural approach, this treatment is a great place to start.

Book your SuperLift Facial with Buccal Release through the link in bio or send me a message and I’ll help you get scheduled. 💛