One of the big fears I hear all the time is “I’m scared they’ll be too dark,” or “what if they don’t look right.” That’s a truly reasonable fear. I know I’d be terrified if I went to someone and they plopped be down in a chair and next thing I knew they’re saying “OK, done.” 
I’ve worked on several people that have had that experience. Here’s the progress on one of them. The client is a caucasian woman who is very sweet (you don’t feel quite as bad for the really mean ones…) and just wanted to have some nice, subtle eyebrows. This is what she got:

She got brows that were too dark and not the right shape. So now we’re working on changing that, but it’s really hard to lighten brows that are so dark. I’m adding a warm flesh tone to neutralize it and to lighten it and after the first round this is where we’re at:

As you can see they are starting to soften and there’s more texture to them. I’m seeing her again and will update this blog to show you how it goes.
My point is, don’t take a blind leap and let ANYONE start to tattoo your face without looking at and agreeing with the shape and color. I never start working on anyone until we’ve both agreed that the shape is good and the color is just right. It’s way better to start off too light and too thin than too dark and too heavy. Color and thickness can always be added on a touch-up but it’s tough to take it away after it’s healed. 
Please give me a call at 386-6763 if you’d like to discuss how to enhance your own natural beauty, save time, and get up looking great…every day.
 

Like a lot of other businesses in Hawaii, as in other places around the country and globe, I’m encountering a noticeable shift in my work load. There seems to be a general observation amongst clients I work on that many people are not getting regular massages as often as they have in the past primarily because of the economy and I think they’re probably right. Their reasoning is that most people are cutting out luxuries, and while that certainly may apply to “feel-good” products and/or services I want to let you know right up front that The Pain Relief Center isn’t a “bubble-bath,” feel-good kind of place. 

In fact the most 2 most common comments I hear are (in this order) “it feels so good when you stop;” and “the next day I felt like a new person.”

My own personal massage preference is that I want to know I’ve had work done so I go for deep tissue, therapeutic type massages. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking a good “fluff ‘n buff,” I think they have definite benefits. But for the most part people who come to me come to me because something’s off. They have back pain or headaches, they’ve been in a car accident or have hurt themselves at work, or they injured themselves exercising or training for a specific sport. Perhaps they don’t make the connection that the constant achy pain they feel between their shoulder blades and the numbness or tingling or loss of grip they feel in their hands are directly related to the hours they spend every day working at a computer.

My method of working encompasses several modalities (including deep tissue massage, sports massage, trigger point therapy, myofacial release, and lomi lomi) that I’ve turned into my own method that I refer to as Seek and Destroy. I find the problem and I get it out. It’s a pretty simple concept but often not a simple process which is why I have so many tools to work with including massage, acupuncture, and reiki. 

I regard technique as a much more important element than brute force. It’s not how hard you push, it’s where you push, and that’s what makes what I do different than other therapists even though we may employ many of the same modalities. It’s all about the touch…being able to put my hands on a client, find the source of the problem, and then eliminating the source. I admit it can be a bit challenging, and I NEVER work beyond anyones tolerance, but it’s not anything I don’t experience myself. It works, and I know it works because that’s the kind of massage I receive myself.

Making you feel more comfortable in your body is the reason I do this work. So if you’ve got a problem, an ache or pain, or you just want to feel more like your old self, don’t think of this as a luxury, because a fluff n’ buff it ain’t. Think of it as an investment in sustaining good health, a happy body, and a chance to feel good again.

Call me any time at 386-6763. I really can help you feel better. I’m located on Kapahulu Avenue in Honolulu.

And please remember equality isn’t just a civil right, it’s a human right.

I’ve heard this so often that if I got a dollar for every time I’d be writing this on a beach in Hawaii…oh wait, I AM writing this on a beach in Hawaii. Well, you get the point…it’s something every acupunturist hears and since I just heard it again this morning, I thought I’d say a few things about it.

Acupuncture needles are pre-sterilized, disposible, single use, made of solid core stainless steel. When people say they’re scared of needles what they really mean is they hate to get shots, or get their blood drawn. And hell, I don’t blame you I don’t like those either. A syringe is thick, hollow (so the stuff can get in or out) with a razor sharp,

beveled edge designed to puncture the skin. That’s why they put a bandade on afterwards.

But acupuncture needles aren’t syringes. When the Chinese first started using acupuncture about 3,000 years ago, they used thinly ground sto

ne needles. The knitting needle size instruments look like logs compared to what I use 3 millenium later. An acupuncture needle is specifically designed to separate the cells of the skin, not to cut the skin. They move the cells aside and slip in through the epidermal layers, they don’t puncture them. So 90% of the time the client doesn’t even feel them inserted….HONEST. And if there is any blood on removal, it’s only because a small capillary or arteriol was been nicked and I just wipe the tiny drop away and that’s the end of it.

What one normally does feel, and what I always look for, is a dull, heavy, achy feeling that means the needle is actually connecting with the chi. That’s a feeling you want.

Acupuncture can be so incredibly helpful in rel

ieving all kinds of pain from headaches to joint or muscle pain. There’s a branch that deals primarily with pain management type issues, which is how I use acupuncture, and a branch that deals with internal medicine or illnesses, and I can refer you if you need a “zang fu” practioner.

I’m sure people would like to hear the comments of others experience with acupuncture. There really is nothing to be scared of and everything

to gain. Give me a call if you’d like to know more…808-386-6763 or drop me a line at george@flawlesspmhawaii.com.

You can also check out http://www.medicalacupuncture.org/acu_info/articles/aboutacupuncture.html which talks about medical acupuncture,

George.

The permanent in permanent makeup is really kind of deceiving, which is why I have a tendency to call it cosmetic tattooing. I am visiting my family in Texas as I do every Christmas. Last year I did both my sister and my mother’s eyebrows. My sisters still looks great and I’ll do a touch-up while I’m here but she doesn’t really need it. My mom’s are still there but have faded and definitely need to be touched up. They were both done on the same day so what makes my sisters last a full year and my mom’s fade?

They both have the same skin type, both tan easily, use lotion and have pretty good complexions. The main difference is age. My sister is 44 and my mom is 77. My mothers skin is much thinner and far less pliable than my sisters. When the pigment is implanted into the skin, it is put into both the dermal and epidermal layers of the skin. Everyone looses a layer of skin every 24 hours (more or less) and as one ages the layers become thinner and less abundant. As the layers slough, the pigment moves closer to the surface. That means that gradually there will be less and less pigment remaining and it will appear to fade.

The good thing is that it’s easy to fix. We’ll be doing touch-ups before I leave and they’ll both be good to go. What it tells me is that everyone is different. My sister could probably go another 6 months to a year before she actually needs another touch up whereas my mom needed one probably about 3 or 4 months ago.

It also tells me that having regular touch-ups will keep more pigment in more epidermal layers. The more r layers that contain pigment the longer the tattoo will last and the more consistent it’s appearance will be. My own opinion is that allowing your eyebrows or eyeliner to fade makes the touch-up look more obvious. The whole idea is to keep it looking the same, you don’t want to have people noticing that anything was done. You just want to keep them wondering how you look so great day after day after day after day after day etc., etc., etc.

Give me a call at 386-6763, check out my website at www.flawlesspmhawaii.com ,or drop me a line at george@flawlesspmhawaii.com

I recently began studying Reiki. Now I know there are many people who put a lot of trust into energetic healing, but I’ve never really been one of them. I believe in hands on work, and even though acupuncture revolves around balancing the chi (which is, of course, the basic life energy contained in every living and, if you want to get really picky about it, non-living entity) I’ve never really considered it energy work. But over the past couple of months I’ve been on a path that seems to include things that I may not have a full grasp of…yet.

One of those things that have been placed in front of me is Reiki. If you’re not familiar with Reiki, it is a form of healing that allows the practitioner to become a conduit to the universal energy that surrounds all of us and to use that energy to heal. It can be very specific, as in working on a particular body part, disease, or complaint, or it can be non-specific.

The idea is that the Reiki (rei means universal and ki means energy) knows what needs to be done and knows where to go. Everyone has access to Reiki-when you hurt yourself ones first impulse is to put your hand there; when you have a headache ones first impulse is to rub your head or neck. The only difference is that the practitioner has gone through an attunement process which enables them to focus a great degree of the universal energy which gives it a little more umph, so to speak.

I have been practising almost daily, or clients, friends, and myself and have gotten some pretty surprising results. My sister, who has a myriad or physical problems, goes for days with hardly any sleep and even ended up in the ER on Christmas. That night I did Reiki on her and the depth of sleep and feeling of rejuvenation she experienced where markedly different that what she normally experiences. I have clients I’ve worked on for years and (without any knowledge that I was using Reiki as part of the treatment) have told me after their massage that they felt my hands were unusually warm and they had felt particularly relaxed.

While I have far more studying to do, I’m sure that Reiki will become part of my healing toolbox. I’m on the mainland right now for Christmas and New Years, but will return the first week in January. Please feel free to call 808-386-6763 or send an email to george@flawlesspmhawaii.com if you’d like to experience this new tool.

Have a safe and happy new year

Before turning to the healing arts, I enjoyed a 25 year career as a freelance graphic desiger and illustrator. I learned about cosmetic tattooing from my long-time friend and client Dr. Linda Dixon, a leader in the cosmetic tattooing industry. Producing marketing materials and especially filming and editing her technical videos gave me the chance to see all the procedure done frame by frame for years before I ever tried it myself.

As an artist the drawing part came easy and as an acupuncturist the needles never scared me. I see it more like drawing on a 3 dimensional canvas rather than applying makeup. It’s actually a pretty cool thing to do for someone.

Permanent makeup, otherwise known as micropigmentation, is a tattooing procedure implants pigment, which is microscopic particles of the minerals that make up a color, into the skin. In the hands of a skilled technician it’s the perfect way to recreate or enhance eyebrows, make the perfect eyeliner, and replace natural color into lips.

Cosmetic tattooing is a great way to enjoy the natural look of permanent eyebrows, eyeliner or lip color. You’ll wake up every day looking great, and never have to hassel with putting on your face or reapplying makeup as the day wears on. Plus, you can always add additional makeup if you want a more dramatic effect.

Whether you’re looking at cosmetic tattooing for the first time, or have had it done in the past and need a retouch, Flawless is the finest in the art of permanent makeup.

For more information and to see samples and a video please go to www.flawlesspmhawaii.com

If you’d like to schedule an appointment, please call George at 386-6763

Healing massage and acupuncture have been used since ancient times. There are hieroglyphics depicting massage and the Chinese began to use stone needles, and developing their theories, thousands of years ago. Combining eastern and western thoughts and modalities have led to the development of my very unique and extremely effective form of healing.

I have been an independent licensed massage therapist since 1998 and an acupuncturist since 2000. I have developed my own style of healing on clients ranging from elite athletes to couch potatoes and also take auto accident and workers comp insurance cases.

I utilize a wide range of therapeutic massage techniques.  My soothing Swedish massage promotes circulation and relaxation. Various forms of sports massage can be used on athletes and non-athletes alike. Deep tissue massage techniques, including Trigger Point Therapy, Myofascial Release, and Structural Integration, can be challenging but are extremely effective.

From a relaxing full body massage, to specific and intense focus on selected problems, this vast wealth of resources is all there for you to use.

Give us a call anytime…386-6763. We also have gift certificates available…it’s a Christmas gift everyone loves to get.