TELLURIDE – Tucked in a corner of the historic Nugget Building in downtown Telluride, paramedical aesthetician Ivy Halford has created her own version of a day spa.

Stepping into the cozy second-floor space, dressed in shades of white and pea green and exuding the subtle herbal scents of Halford’s own skin care line, the space certainly feels like the conventional day spa.

But a Halford treatment is noticeably different from what’s on the menu at a typical aesthetician’s office.

A Halford facial utilizes treatments designed and vetted by doctors, and thus a visit to Ivy’s Skincare’s new Telluride location feels more like a transformational skin experience, and less like a traditional facial.

“It’s very clinically based, all on doctor-grade equipment,” says Halford, who has spent more than 25 years in the health, wellness and beauty industry. “There’s nothing frou-frou about it.”

Halford is referring to the centerpiece of an Ivy’s Skincare facial: A non-invasive, no-chemical microdermabrasion treatment delivered via a diamond-tip wand. As Halford runs the wand over the face, hands, neck and décolleté, a gentle suctioning combined with the diamond-tip abrasion removes the outer layer of skin, helping to rejuvenate skin while treating fine lines, acne scars, blackheads, enlarged pores and uneven pigmentation.

The treatment continues with the more traditional facial elements, like deep pore cleansing, toning, enzyme exfoliation with steam therapy, extractions, and masks, but Halford adds a photorejuvenation treatment (FotoFacial,) consisting of the non-invasive application of intense pulsed light to the skin, further helping to break up damaged skin to start the repair process from the inside-out.

Halford completes the treatment with germicidal high frequency and an oxygen treatment. In combination, the treatments help create healthier, radiant-looking skin, without redness or any downtime.

Halford’s method has been honed by years in the Hollywood beauty industry, working as a licensed medical aestheticians alongside top dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons in Beverly Hills.

“Working in L.A. for years, alongside doctors and cosmetic surgeons, I really came to love what I do. I had such a passion for helping transform people’s skin, I stopped doing regular facials,” she explains, and started utilizing more medically based techniques that could actually help heal the skin. Her method has been used to treat severe acne, scars, and even burn patients.  

Because her clinically based facial services can be used in concert with a dermatologist, Halford has partnered with Montrose-area dermatologist Dr. Jennifer Haley, of Haley Dermatology, who specializes in Restylane, Botox and Microdermabrasion. Dr. Haley is accepting appointments at the Telluride Ivy Skincare office monthly, with her next visit scheduled for August 3.   

Halford started her career in her late teens, attending Ron Renee's School of Cosmetology in Texas and Joe Blasco's Hollywood School of Make-up, graduating in the top of the class at both. She also studied health and physical fitness at the University of Texas at Austin, and business at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business in Malibu, Calif.

She launched her career at Rachel Perry Natural Cosmetics, and then went to work for Dermatology Associates in Beverly Hills, as their paramedical aesthetician.

“I got into skincare because I had horrific acne when I was young,” Halford says, of the experience that molded her passion for developing effective methods that don’t just scrape the surface of dermatologic problems, but rather tackle them at their source.  

“Because I was one of the very first people in the industry to work with dermatologists, I really learned a lot, and became the go-to girl for acne, surgery – truly changing the skin,” she says.

She also continued to work as a union makeup artist in Hollywood and beyond, working on numerous productions and televised events from Good Morning America to the Oscars to the Miss America Pageant.

In 1990, Halford opened Ivy's Skincare and Makeup Garden in Santa Monica, where she became known as “one of Hollywood's best-kept secrets” for transformational treatments. She went on to open skincare clinics in California, New York, Texas and now, Telluride.

Throughout it all, Halford also crafted and grew her own skincare line, called Ivy’s Skin Luv, an all-natural line of cleansers, moisturizers, and lip and body balms sold online, at her Telluride location, and now carried by Whole Foods Markets in Texas.

“I don’t like using anything that isn’t going to be healthy, internally as well as externally,” she says of her skincare line, which utilizes ingredients like aloe, witch hazel, cucumber, grapefruit, lavender, and olive and jojoba oils.

Halford also offers makeup application and instruction at her new Telluride location, drawing on her long history as a makeup artist.

Ivy’s Skincare is located in the Nugget Building, 201 W.Colorado Avenue (Suite 210), open by appointment only. Call 214/770-7053, or visit www.ivysskincare.com.