Slim pickings

MANILA, Philippines - A good beauty salon can serve as a mecca for those who are looking for a little beautification pick-me-up: just step inside one for a few hours, and you’ll emerge a better version of yourself later, with shinier hair, cleaner nails, and fresher-looking skin.

But what distinguishes a good salon from a great one is the lengths that a salon will go to to give its clients the best possible services to make them look and feel better. The Louis Philip Kee Salon, a chic yet Zen beauty hub found right smack in the middle of the metro, takes the business of beauty even further by adding slimming treatment to its roster of services. “We want our clients to come in and feel relaxed and completely taken care of,” says Louis Kee, the salon’s creative director.

A hit among the salon’s clients is its Radio Frequency Treatment, a non-invasive procedure that breaks down fat to be eliminated naturally from the body through sweating and urination. Introduced to the salon only in January of 2009, the RF treatment has garnered its own fan base among the Louis Philip Kee Salon patrons, with some availing of the service daily. “The treatment is safe and effective to be used frequently,” Kee vouches. “It’s only if the treatment is used on body areas that don’t need to be treated that it becomes potentially harmful.”

A session can last up to an hour, though it would also depend on the scope of areas that need to be treated. With an attendant gauging which body parts need a bit of help in slimming down, the client is made to lie down and relax while her problem areas are massaged by the heated apparatus connected to the RF machine. Skin massage cream is applied to keep the skin hydrated and to soften the impact of contact with the apparatus, and clients are advised not to raise themselves off the bed after the thin metal conducting pad has been placed underneath them; doing so will give them a bit of a shock. Fatty tissues are broken down and melted through the internal heat generated by the radio waves, hence the build-up of warmth under the skin. The RF treatment is not the most comfortable procedure for everyone, as the consistent massaging as well as the RF level could prove to be too much to take for more sensitive individuals. However, the frequency level can be adjusted to relieve the client’s discomfort, and the attendant takes care to add a complimentary massage after the treatment to soothe irritated muscles and skin. The post-treatment sensation on the treated area is comparable to having had a rigorous workout at the gym: slightly sore but undeniably tighter.

What makes the RF Treatment popular among the salon clients is its immediately seen and felt results. Kee is proud to share that salon patrons have consistently remarked on the ease with which they put back on their clothes right after treatment. He further explains, “The treatment is not just about slimming down, it is also about toning the skin: those who avail of the treatment regularly find their skin firmer, with less appearance of cellulite.” Even problem jowls — the sagging of the flesh and skin on the jaw — can be addressed by the RF treatment.

There are certain precautions to be taken, of course, prior to signing up for the procedure. Clients should not eat at least an hour before the service, as well as restrain themselves from eating at least an hour after. This is especially for those who have their waists and tummies as the target areas for treatment. Pregnant women, of course, and those who have their periods also cannot avail of the service. Otherwise, the salon attendant claims, the RF treatment is safe for everyone.

Though the slimming treatment is not really a groundbreaking one, since it is a procedure commonly found in most beauty centers’ menu of services, the convenience of being pampered well from head to toe — with literally everything in between taken care of — in just one place is what keeps the Louis Philip Kee Salon clients coming back. Kee even promises a more high-end machine that will revolutionize the way people lose pounds outside the gym and off surgical tables. “We’ll be introducing it soon,” he assures. With the many options it offers to those who want to maximize their time in a salon, the Louis Philip Kee Salon has become a place where beauty of form is achieved literally inside and out.

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Louis Phillip Kee Salon is located at the Ground Floor of the One McKinley Place, 25th Street and 4th Ave., The Fort (tel. 856-4848).