Elena Zinchenko

What are the musts for a basic manly skin care regimen?
Cleansing is very important. If your skin is clean, your skin is breathing, which means oxygen gets into the body and into your system. It helps to attract moisture, so your skin is not going to age as fast. Cleansing and moisturizing—it’s very simple and basic.

Are shaving products vital to getting perfect pores?
In our spa we don’t differentiate between men and women—we treat the skin according to skin condition, skin texture and skin type. Believe it or not, nowadays men have more delicate skin than women do. There are shaving products designed to have a nice glide when you use a blade or shaving tool, but it’s really not designed to treat the skin. We recommend men use a facial cleanser for shaving and it’s been very successful. You save time, you shave and you clean your face at the same time. Then a moisturizing product, depending on the skin type, after shaving.

How should a routine change from season to season?
It’s just like how we change our wardrobes. Especially living here in Winnipeg. In the summertime we need lots of protection and very light moisturizer and in the wintertime we use something that keeps moisture in and prevents dryness. Dryness leads to aging. So there’s definitely a summer and winter skin regimen, which doesn’t mean everything has to change but mostly the last step you put on your skin—which is your moisturizer or sun protection. That would be the difference between a T-shirt or a jacket from summer to winter.

Why is a trip to the spa a good idea when it comes to skin care?
We have the tools and equipment that allow us to repair the damage to your skin that accumulates over time. So when you come in to the spa we repair; we use products that soak deeper into the skin. When you go home you maintain it. Come to the spa while your skin is still good—and maintain that skin texture and condition so your skin will never come to the point where it’s in a crisis. You can compare it to going to the dentist and the dentist will send you to a hygienist and they’ll clean your teeth. You’re still going to brush your teeth every day at home but you are never going to get that deep clean as a dentist does.

How often should a guy visit an esthetician?
Everybody is different. Ideally we suggest doing it every month because human skin takes 27 days to regenerate. But we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a world with pollution, so the process of regeneration slows down. But if you come every month you keep the natural balance of skin regeneration.