Self-care: You know you need it too
When I was going through my rebrand, I realized how much I really loved naturally made beauty and skincare products. That passion eventually radiated out to wanting to be more conscious of how I was impacting my self-care, my community and the environment as a whole. I knew I wouldn’t always do this perfectly, but I was eager to support small and local businesses and businesses that resonated with my ethos and pursuit to be a more conscious, holistic, and intentional consumer. And it’s for all of these reasons that made attending the soft opening of Almeda, Taochemy, and Hand & Land, located in the Gillham Plaza, so easy.
Coupled with, you know, a global pandemic, civil unrest, massive layoffs, and the steady atrophy the economy, I felt long overdue for some pampering and I bet it’s safe to say that you haven’t really been taking that great of care of yourself either. But, at least after reading this, you’ll have some ideas on where to go to get yourself right.
Detoxing with Taochemy
There aren’t enough good things I can say about the service I received at Taochemy. Upon meeting Stacy, I immediately knew I was in good hands. The acupuncture treatment was different than any other treatment I had ever heard of: the needles go in your ear. Yep, you read that right, in your ear. Acupuncture in the ear is actually meant to help promote detoxification of the major organs. So there is a lot of value in getting acupuncture in the ear; but if we can be honest with each other for a moment, I’m not a fan of needles. I’m not one to faint at the sight of them but I don’t willingly seek out opportunities to get poked either. However, Stacy’s history as a Trauma Nurse and extensive experience studying holistic wellness, I was inclined to trust her.
The initial sensation starts with an intense warmness around your ears before a wave of tingles washes over you and then its just 30 minutes to an hour (depending on which service you pay for) of rest, recharging, and relaxation. It’s not really a feeling I can describe, I would instead highly recommend you book a session and see what I mean. You won’t regret it.
Replenishing with Almeda Labs
Almeda Labs was also founded by Stacy of Taochemy. The Almeda Labs products are a line of multitasking supplements that aid in promoting sleep, organ detoxification, and overall replenishing your cells via high quality, natural ingredients at an approachable price point. The beautiful name comes from Stacy’s grandmother of the same name, who was passionate about feeding her children a nutrient rich diet. That philosophy clearly informed what Stacy would go on to do in life; as well as the products that would become apart of the Almeda lineup. Of the products they offer, I went home with the Kasvi adaptogen powder and Encarna liquid supplement.
What it does
Once upon a time, I took several supplements, but have since backed off them because I couldn’t really tell how much they were actually helping me. However, that isn’t the case with Almeda’s products.
The Kasvi powder has been so helpful with managing my stress and calms me down right before bed. Even though I already take supplements to combat my anxiety, I love having the extra boost of relaxation.
The Encarna, or as the website calls it, “liquid gold” is an amazing supplement that packs all the usual things a regimented vitamin taker might take into one drinkable supplement. Does it taste great? Not exactly, at least I don’t think so. It takes exactly like a vitamin smells with all the tartness of a cherry, but without the sweetness. That being said, the benefits of Encarna are way too good to skip out on. It provides mental clarity and energy, helps maintain a healthy pH for your body, and more.
Of the things I appreciate about Almeda, Stacy has worked tirelessly to formulate her products into multitaskers that likely contain all the vitamins and supplements you’ve already been taking, and package them into something easily digestible and at a price point that will quickly beat out your current routine.
Refreshing the Body and Spirit with Hand & Land
If the name Hand and Land sounds familiar to you, it’s because this is actually Hand & Land’s second location, and this time they added spa services to up your clean-living game. The space seems larger than the Leawood location but still features clean open spaces with the same clean products you’re used to along with several reusable alternatives to general paper goods.
Hand & Land also has a large refill station for those who are looking to live a low-waste lifestyle. You are welcome to bring your own container or select a container from their stock.
The spa services are nothing to sneeze at either. Offering sauna, acupuncture, and facial treatments, you can walk into Hand & Land knowing that you are going to be getting holistic wellness in-store and to take home.
My Experience
In addition to the acupuncture, I also received a complementary sauna session, so I basically felt like a queen. The really cool thing about the sauna at Hand & Land is that it’s a booth, so you aren’t sharing with anyone else. The sauna also has different spectrum light settings that address different health concerns. I set the light to indigo since it was meant to help with eye strain and I had been suffering from some really bad sinus pressure around my eyes at the time of my appointment.
Develop your own Self-Care Method
There is so much more I can say about these three businesses, but that would be taking all the fun out of it, right? I strongly recommend that you check out all three stores, but if you do nothing else—go to Taochemy. It was easily one of the best self-care experiences of my life and and the Kasvi drink I received at the end really tied everything together. Add that in with the sauna and I had the most amazing sleep I’ve had in a long time.
