“Have you ever heard of the vampire facial?” asked Allison Van Cott, the Digital Media Manager at Port Washington’s Beautyfluff Cosmetics and Spa.
I was unfamiliar with the Halloween-sounding procedure, but Van Cott explained, relaxing jazz music playing in the background, that it entails first creating hundreds of tiny perforations in your face’s skin; this process is called microneedling. Then, a mask of platelet-rich plasma—separated from your own blood—is applied to your face. Although Beautyfluff does not supply this famous albeit controversial treatment, which Kim Kardashian West has openly regretted getting, it offers a less painful substitute that still beats standard microneedling while avoiding the need to have your blood drawn.
Beautyfluff’s rejuvenating treatment for all skin types includes the injection, through use of tiny needles, of a serum derived from adult human stem cells, which helps get rid of saggy skin, wrinkles and acne scars by further stimulating the production of new collagen and elastin (proteins responsible for your skin’s strength and elasticity, respectively).
Beautyfluff provides other celebrity favorites as well, such as microdermabrasion dermal infusion, laser hair removal and microcurrent facials (about all of which and other services one can learn more at www.beautyfluff.com). Indeed, Director of Esthetics Yennie Chou, whose husband Eric Chou founded the business (of which he is president) in 2014, expressed her desire for everyone to come into Beautyfluff and be treated as a VIP; customers receive chocolates, sparkling water and hand towels, and can select from more than 30 types of facials from around the world.
“We are really passionate about aesthetics, and not just for the money,” she said. “[There are] a lot of things we could charge people for $200; we do some for free.”
According to proverb, the eyes are the mirror to the soul. Scientific research, however, suggests that your skin is capable of generating serotonin, one neurotransmitter believed to be responsible for happiness. Beautyfluff’s mission to make people “feel better overall with better skin” seems to resonate with this finding.
Beautyfluff blends traditional Eastern techniques with state-of-the-art Western technologies, Chou said; carefully chosen and trained estheticians constantly update their repertoire to encompass the latest trends in and approaches to cosmetics and comfort. For example, Beautyfluff is the only spa in the State of New York to use AquaFrixio’s Hydro Massage System, a pressure-customizable and muscle-soothing waterbed, for treatments.
“Luxury meets results,” Chou said.
She emphasized that because each treatment is tailored to your specific needs and skin that day, no client will receive the same one twice.
“There is something for everyone,” she added.
Spa Manager Caroline Swartz, who also serves as a makeup artist and eyebrow shaper, echoed Beautyfluff’s dedication to building intimate friendships with patrons. Chou, who grew up in the Greater Los Angeles Area, feels that the residents of Port Washington, whom she described as “nice, down-to-earth and easygoing,” remind her of home.
“A lot of spas and salons are fast-paced, and they don’t really try to build a relationship with their clients, but we do. We take our time to get to know them and treat them like family,” Swartz noted.
I witnessed Beautyfluff’s personalized attention to customers first-hand; even as I introduced myself (a mere journalist) to Chou, her eyes were set on a regular who had stopped by to schedule an appointment.
Chou admitted that Beautyfluff does not count its clientele, but estimated that the number has surpassed the 1,000 mark. Within the year, Beautyfluff hopes to expand further by going to the corporate level, marketing its own product line, and honing its brand.
When I asked Chou to what she attributes Beautyfluff’s success, she burst into laughter.
“Because we care. Is that a joke?” she asked.
Beautyfluff boasts locations in Port Washington (at 95A Main St.) and Flushing, and maintains accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Business, Yelp and Groupon.
