A space for the face

MOSES LAKE — A longtime Moses Lake hairdresser is adding to her focus.

Michele Cain opened Face to Face, a facial massage by skin care business, July 3.

Located within the Hair Affair at 424 S. Alder St., the business offers soft lighting, a steamer and skin care and facial massages.

"The lamp can magnify up to five times, so I can show you what's going on with your skin," Cain explained.

Cain does not offer microdermabrasion or anything using chemicals, preferring to offer natural services. The process typically lasts an hour.

Cain will first do a basic facial, and then discuss what can be done from there with her customers.

Originally from California, Cain moved to Moses Lake when her husband came to work in the area.

"I've been doing hair for 37 years, and I did facials and things when I lived in California," Cain said. "When I moved to Moses Lake, I was raising children, so I didn't have a chance, but I wanted to do something different."

For the last seven years, Cain has been offering her services at a local senior living community. A friend at a hair show noted there was interest locally for someone to offer facials, just as Cain was beginning to look for something else to do.

About eight years ago, she had been considering going back to school to offer intensive skin care full time, but she preferred to avoid the machines in favor of a more natural approach.

So at the show, Cain asked her salesman about offering facial services in Moses Lake. He thought it was a good idea, so Cain conducted research online and contacted the owner of the Hair Affair about using space.

"I started checking it out, studying back up about it, doing practicing — I brought people in and practiced, because it had been years since I had done it all the time," she said. "I have done some guys from the foundry, some teenage kids and some older people."

Cain said she's received a lot of positive comments from customers since she opened.

"Matter of fact, one gentlemen from the foundry said to me — we were probably only halfway done and he goes, 'I see why people do this: this is wonderful,'" Cain recalled.

Cain enjoys working with people and offering care, but said her favorite part of the business is the fact she and her customers don't have to talk, save for an initial skin care checklist.

"For me, it just was really interesting because I love to learn and I love to share what I know, but when I sit here, other than this time (with the checklist), they don't talk," she said. "If they want to, they can, but we can just sit here, listen to this quiet music, sit in this soft light and just relax. For me, I feel like I've come out of a sauna, it's just really relaxing."

Business has been slow at first, but Cain expects it will pick up.

"A lot of people know me because I've done their hair," she said. "I've done hair in Moses Lake for 17 of the 23 years I've been here, so I know a lot of people. For me, it's a slow down. I'm at that age where I don't want to start over and have to go build a new clientele doing hair, but I'd like to stay in my industry."

Cain continues doing her hair work.

But in considering the rising popularity of facials, she said more and more people of Cain's generation are taking better care of themselves.

"We want to have that pampering, we're looking at the skin damage that took place when we were younger," she said. "We have a lot of people who are seeing if they don't take care of their skin, they're going to have lots of lines, wrinkles and saggy skin and they want to take care of that."

Men are becoming more aware of the need to take care of themselves, Cain added, plus people are finding they have more disposable income for such services once their children grow up and leave the home.

"The ladies I've talked to, I've asked them why they do it and they say, 'You know what? I deserve it,'" Cain said.

The business is open Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and evenings by appointment.

For more information, call 509-765-5987.