Helping people achieve “better ageing” from the inside-out is Anna Lunhu’s mission. As the founder of Glam Medi Spa and Glam Monte-Carlo told Monaco Life, today’s trends are all about ageing gracefully, naturally.
Anna says she was charmed by the beauty of the French Riviera when she arrived here in 2010; inspired by the region’s glamourous women like Princess Grace and Brigitte Bardot, and bolstered by the seemingly endless possibilities to enjoy life to the fullest, in style and in luxury.
She wanted to capitalise on the way Monaco and the French Riviera made her feel, so she created an elegant, state-of-the-art beauty salon, which offered luxury treatments and impeccable service.
But it was Anna’s personal journey with infertility that steered her focus to engineering optimal health, performance and state of mind through a 360° approach.
“I think it’s more beautiful for women or men not to hide their age and pretend to be someone else, because it’s fake. It’s so nice to say ‘I am this age’, and to show that you feel good in your skin, and to be the best you can be at your age, to feel and look the best.”
It is just over a year since Glam Medi Spa was launched in Beausoleil. It came after the birth of Anna’s second child, a “miracle” baby one could say, because traditional doctors had told Anna that, 16 years after the birth of her first child, she would not be able to conceive naturally again.
“Then I happened to meet a doctor and fertility specialist in Moscow who looked at my blood work and said it was no wonder I couldn’t get pregnant because I was lacking the basic minerals and vitamins,” Anna tells Monaco Life. “So, I changed my lifestyle habits and nutrition, underwent detoxification, and took the vitamins and minerals that I needed. Two months later I got pregnant naturally.”
It is the driving force for Glam’s “inside-out” philosophy to achieve “better ageing”. At Glam Medi Spa, aesthetic medicine meets cutting-edge preventative medicine, with dermatologists, cosmetologists, plastic surgeons, nutrition experts and specialists in endocrinology and biohacking on hand to prevent and reverse ageing externally, but also internally.
“I realised that by optimising and balancing our internal systems, we can already achieve so much.”
In a situation that rarely exists outside of a hospital, collaborating doctors at Glam Medi Spa are able to delve deeper into the workings of the body by conducting blood, saliva and urine tests.
“There are some things that normal beauty treatments can not address,” says Anna. “Beauty often comes from the inside. If someone has problems with their skin or weight, for example, it is often related to hormonal issues or health problems, but it can also be a a lack of vitamins, minerals or nutrition. So, a doctor can contribute to achieving the best results”.
After analysing the tests, the experts devise a personalised plan to achieve detox, weight loss or an energy boost, for example.
The rising popularity of IV drips
Favoured among celebrities such as Rihanna, Chrissy Teigen and Simon Cowell, intravenous treatments have become hugely popular for people suffering everything from a hangover and jetlag to vitamin and immune deficiency. Across the globe, IV has become a mainstream option for consumers and is no longer just associated with celebrities or jet-setting executives.
IV drips are popular because they bypass the digestive system and deliver a high dosage of vitamins and nutrients straight into the bloodstream.
A doctor’s consultation is mandatory at Medi Spa in order to receive an IV drip and, suggests Anna, should be selected as part of an overall health programme. Possibilities include an After Party Drip and Stamina Drip.
Treating hair loss after 40
Many people think of hair loss as a male problem, but it also affects at least a third of all women. As women enter their 40s, their menopausal phase begins and oestrogen and progesterone levels decrease in the body, causing hair thinning.
Some of the trending treatments today are Glam’s platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. Popularly known as vampire therapy, it uses one’s own blood cells to stimulate hair growth. PRP has also become a popular treatment for many conditions in sport medicine, regenerative medicine and aesthetic medicine. PRP is also used by Glam practitioners in natural facelifts.
Hormone therapy
Ageing and reproduction are intrinsically linked, and studies show that menopause may quicken the pace of ageing.
According to Anna, the specialists at her clinic are able to delay menopause and therefore slow the ageing process by testing bio-markers and genetics, and applying natural treatments for women in peri-menopause.
Hormone therapy also has a whole range of added benefits, including increased energy and improved sleep, mood stability and the reduction of fat levels.
Alternatives to botox
While botox is by far the most popular cosmetic nowadays, there are other options for those looking for a more natural facelift. They include face lifting massages, facelift acupuncture, microneedling collagen induction therapy and luminotherapy.
“People today really want to go back to natural treatments,” says Anna. “Many people do botox – which relaxes the muscles – and the natural way to relax face muscles is the face massage. I’ve had clients who came out crying because they could see such a big change after the treatments.”
What does the future hold?
It’s only been a matter of months since Anna opened another Glam Monte-Carlo, this time in the Fairmont Hotel. While medical treatments are not available here, traditional hair and beauty spa treatments collide with other aspects of the Medi Spa to offer clients treatments like hair botox and hair nanoplasty.
With a Glam Medi Spa and Glam salon also now in Cannes, one could expect Anna to continue rolling out the Glam franchise in other key areas.
But longevity is Anna’s new buzzword, and discovering the best “better ageing” therapies is her mission.
“I am very passionate about it, I am following my dream,” says Anna. “My purpose is to find the best therapists so I can guarantee the quality of the treatments to our clients, and maybe I can help them to look more beautiful, more glamourous, by helping them be the best version of themselves that they can be.”
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