Barbara Lawlor, Nederland. Everyone feels good when they know they look good. Part of feeling rejuvenated is the healthy glow that comes after being steamed, nano-dermed, exfoliated, massaged and moisturized. Pampered. Treated to an “All for me” moment.

Last Tuesday afternoon, May 1, 2018, Sue Leto, former owner of Blumen’s flower shop in Nederland, knocked on the door of Pattie Sabel’s Forget Me Not Skin Care studio in the Columbine Health Center in the Tebo Shopping Center. She had a spring bouquet of flowers in her arms.

It was May Day and it was Pattie’s first day of opening her own business. It was Sue’s first facial and as she sunk into the comfort of the massage table, she already looked more relaxed.

“Mmm, I could just fall asleep here,” she murmured. Pattie and Sue have been friends for decades, since the 80s, and both have been through many life changes, but for one hour, in a candle lit room, they both enjoyed the peace.

Pattie says she wanted to open on May Day, a quiet opening, because she felt it was the start of spring, of planting seeds for new growth for the future.

“I wanted to be here and open today, even though it all happened really fast, all came together in the past two weeks.”

Pattie came to Colorado in 1982. Since she was 18 years old she had been in the hospitality industry, finding a job bartending in Boulder. In 1992 she moved to Key West, Florida where she worked at the Pier House Resort and Spa on the waterfront, where people came to be pampered.

Whenever it was one of the employee’s birthday, all the coworkers would chip in and treat the birthday girl to a day of luxury. It was an eye opener for Pattie, who began getting massages every other week and a facial once a month.

“It made me feel so relaxed. I fell asleep during the first massage…it was like floating on a cloud. At that time, I was in my late 30s and I had a passion to learn.”

When Pattie returned to Colorado, she attended Red Rocks Cosmetology Program, took classes on hair and skin health, nails and reflexology. Her day job was at the NedMex Restaurant and then the Pink Flamingo. She studied during the week at Warren Tech, at Red Rocks Community College, and tended bar on the weekends.

After 11 years of experience at the award-wining Best Spa of Boulder, she earned her certification as an esthetician in cutting-edge skin care procedures. She says skin is our largest organ and when our skin looks the best, it makes us feel the best.

Pattie knows from living in the mountains that the altitude, the sun and the wind can age our skin faster than it does in low altitude, more humid climates. One of her goals is to customize each client’s skin care needs. “We all have busy lives with careers and with families. We all forget about our own self care, self love.”

After much research and experimenting, Pattie chose Rhonda Allison products, a plant based moisturizer, that works to restore the skin’s collagen, easing the dry skin wrinkles. She also utilizes a nano-micro needle pen for acne and blemishes and has treated many teens for their skin needs as well as men who want back facials for their acne problems.

She says she knows it is unusual, but once a man comes in for a facial, he usually returns for more. Pattie says men usually hold more moisture in their skin, but that doesn’t mean they don’t like a bit of pampering also. Lifestyle is a large part of how the skin ages and Pattie says if you eat clean, you will look clean. People who smoke will have dry, grey skin and excessive sugar will result in collagen and elastin breakdown, causing sagging skin and wrinkles.

Pattie can help individual clients assess their overall health and skin condition and then treat their needs to make each person look and feel good.

Opening her own business has always been a distant dream, but one day in mid-March she woke up with the idea that it would be a good idea, now. When she walked into the Columbine Health Center and learned there was a vacant studio, she knew she was on board and began preparing for a May First opening, planting the seeds of her new business.

Fortunately, just in time for Mother’s Day.

To set up your facial, manicure or pedicure, Pattie can be reached at 720.899.8992.

(Originally published in the May 3, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)