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Read and ShopAngel Faces: Finding Real Beauty in Aesthetics
An industry executive says there is more to the aesthetic industry than younger looking skin and toned and contoured bodies. In the spirit of giving, Roland van Marlen is challenging colleagues to reach out to those in need of help post trauma and injury.
“Whether one likes it or not, the aesthetic industry is looked upon by too many as shallow, but it does not have to be that way,” according to Mr. van Marlen, vice president of sales and operations of the skin imaging technology company Sylton (Ann Arbor, Mich.).
Indeed, Mr. van Marlen walks the talk. Sylton has aligned with Angel Faces, a national non-profit charity that looks to the aesthetic industry not to achieve physical perfection, but to help people affected by injury or trauma to
feel whole again.
“Supporting Angel Faces with contributions or product demonstrates the positive and significant impact the industry can have on the lives of people requiring extensive reconstructive treatments,” stated Mr. van Marlen.
Transforming Lives
Founded in 2003 by Lesia Cartelli (Encinitas, Calif.), who suffered severe burns and scarring in a natural gas explosion as a child, Angel Faces helps to transform the lives of adolescent girls with severe, permanent scars and disfigurements from burn injuries and traumatic events.
Hundreds of girls have attended Angel Faces retreats, during which they learn about the importance of self-care, according to Ms. Cartelli.
“We do facials, massages and corrective cosmetics, which we call ‘facial design,’ ...to introduce the latest and greatest cosmetic and medical methods for scarring on a practical level,” Ms. Cartelli shared. “A lot of these girls think that their only answer to limiting or diminishing scars is reconstructive surgery or intensive lasers. They do not realize that with a lot of products and self-care... they can enhance their beauty and bring back the beauty that was lost in that traumatic experience.”
The aesthetic industry not only provide aesthetic services for these girls but also sends products and makes charitable donations to help support the retreats.
“When we do facials on the girls at the retreat, it is a gamechanger... because many of the girls feel very disconnected from their bodies from the trauma,” Ms. Cartelli commented. “Self-love and self-acceptance are the secret sauce of a healthy community.”
The Beauty of the Industry
To help spread the word about Angel Faces’ work, Mr. van Marlen introduced Louise Proulx to Ms. Cartelli when she purchased two of Sylton’s facial imaging systems.
“I was so moved and inspired by what Lesia had accomplished that I wanted to help,” declared Ms. Proulx, owner and founder of Renew Beauty Med Spa in Dallas and Frisco, Texas.
Renew Beauty honored Angel Faces at its two-day November “Sweet 16” Event, in celebration of the medspa’s 16 years of transforming lives with beauty treatments.
“We are in the ‘beauty industry,’ but this allows us to show the beauty of the industry,” Ms. Proulx emphasized.
“We have been supporting Angel Faces at tradeshows where we donate a portion of the sales to the charity,” Mr. van Marlen noted. “But we want to do more and are working on that. Together, with knowledge partners, we want to explore how we can use our imaging systems for burn patients, so we can provide a valuable service for these girls as they journey toward self-love.”
“Together, with knowledge partners, we want to explore how we can use our imaging systems for burn patients, so we can provide a valuable service for these girls as they journey toward self-love.”
CREDIT: Lisette Hilton, Contributing Editor at The Aesthetic Guide
