Claudia Heaps is owner/operator of Cloud 9 Aesthetics, in Ferry Road, Clive. Photo / Warren Buckland
Claudia Heaps is owner/operator of Cloud 9 Aesthetics, in Ferry Road, Clive. Photo / Warren Buckland
Claudia Heaps loves working from home.
The registered nurse, who is passionate about cosmetic nursing and specialises in anti- wrinkle treatments (botulinum toxin A) and dermal fillers, is the owner operator of Cloud 9 Aesthetics Beauty Salon in Clive.
"See that fence out there?" she asked me when I visited.
"On one side are my children, husband, dog, chicken and goats and on this side it's work. "I love it."
Claudia, which is pronounced Cloudia, hence the name ("Lots of people call me Cloud"), has been a cosmetic nurse for 10 years and has been running her own business for four years, three of them from home.
She said while she was more focused on injectables, her business was getting so busy with clients also looking for skin treatments, she decided to expand.
"I wanted someone who was an excellent skin therapist and I found just that with Aden Cooper. She is an expert when it comes to anything skin based and it was her idea to combine three treatments to offer clients the ultimate tri collagen facial.
"It is a combination of three treatments to stimulate your collagen and is non-surgical, painless and there is no downtime."
The three treatments are radio frequency skin tightening, which is an advanced scientific way to tighten and tone loose, sagging or ageing skin; microneedling, which stimulates deeper layers of your skin; and LED light therapy with serum infusion .
LED therapy uses varying wavelengths of light, including red and blue, to stimulate cellular activity.
All treatments are individualised to target personal concerns including fine lines/wrinkles, skin quality, volume loss, scarring, acne etc.
Claudia said while she thinks botox definitely has a place in the beauty industry, people have moved away from "the frozen look".
"My clients want to look natural. They don't want overfilled lips or cheeks. There is definitely beauty in emotion so you don't want your face frozen.
"More young people are using injectables as a form of prevention. It's perfect for your frown lines. It stops those frowns therefore prevents the deep lines we tend to develop on our foreheads.
"Older clients are looking for natural and gentle rejuvenating. It gives people confidence and I love seeing them bloom. It's about enhancing what you have."
Claudia said it was important to use good, natural products on you skin. She uses several locally made products including Happy Happy NZ and Adashiko.
"However, the best thing you can ever do for your skin is to protect it from the sun. I have never seen sun damage like I have in Hawke's Bay — it's next level."
The tri collagen facial takes just 90 minutes and with Aden looking after you the time just flies.
I knew as soon as Aden touched my face I was in for a treat. She cleansed my skin and used hot towels to clear my face. Her touch was gentle yet firm and it was obvious she knew exactly what she was doing.
The radio frequency skin tightening was warm and lovely. Aden worked methodically on one side of my face and then the other. Once she had finished the first side she applied a numbing cream for the microneedling so no time was wasted.
Aden Cooper, at Cloud 9 Aesthetics, has come up with the tri collagen facial. Photo / Warren Buckland
The microneedling was a little bit scratchy but not at all painful. Before I knew it, it was time for the LED therapy. I've had this before and was thinking staying still for 20 minutes is going to be rather boring.
But the next thing I knew Aden's hands were on my face, neck and skull, giving me the most amazing massage. She constantly checked that my eye mask had not moved. I was just thinking I don't want this to end when the buzzer went off. No — it can't have been 20 minutes.
Aden told me she had learned Indian head massage while she was training to be a beauty therapist.
She said the tri collagen facial would be beneficial to people of all ages.
My skin was a little red in places for a couple of days. Easily covered with makeup but I could see a subtle difference in the fine lines around my mouth and eyes but more importantly, my skin felt amazing. No dry spots, and almost two weeks later it still feels great.
For more info go to cloud9aesthetics.com or visit Cloud 9 Aesthetics on Facebook, @nurseclouds on instagram
