ara Fordham knows how important a customer’s time is, which is why she’s working hard to make her Time important to them.
Time, in her case, is Biding Time Med Spa in Dixon, which offers the kind of personal care services that some people used to have to travel out of town to find before she opened a few months ago.
Today, she’s happy to help customers in her community cut down on the commute — she’d much rather put people in the driver’s seat of their own well-being.
“I like helping people feel good about themselves,” Fordham said. “They leave here feeling happy. They come here not because they are sick but they come here to choose a procedure to make them feel better and to boost their confidence. Maybe if blending that wrinkle in a little more may make you feel more confident, then they want to be a part of it.”
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If you’re looking for a partner on your personal journey, you’ll find a friend at a local med spa, where the owner prides herself on being able to help clients look, and feel, their best
Biding Time offers botox treatment, fillers, ear piercing, teeth whitening, weight loss injections, skin care products and more.
Fordham, who also is a nurse practitioner based in town, wanted to expand her knowledge of the human body to include learning how to give clients the opportunity to create their best self through cosmetic treatments. Owning a med spa — a hybrid of sorts between a day spa and a medical clinic — lets her do just that, and she couldn’t be happier to help people open that door when opportunity knocks.
“If I can help them feel better, then it boosts my confidence, too, and that’s something that I want,” Fordham said.
Neurotoxin treatments with botulinum toxin — popularly known as a Botox treatment — helps smooth out wrinkles, and can also limit the frequency of headaches and sweating. Fordham utilizes the Xeomin brand of products.
Those wishing to have a neurotoxin treatment can have it done individually at the med spa, or even by way of a “tox party,” where several people can be treated at the same time, either at Biding Time, or anywhere within a 25-mile radius from Dixon.
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When customers leave Biding My Time with a smile on their face, they can do it with brighter teeth and fuller lips. Teeth whitening and dermal fillers are just two of the
“You can teach a lot of people in a group that way,” Fordham said. “You get a lot of returning customers, too, and you meet a lot people that way. You can have your party here, or have it at your house.”
Along with neurotoxin treatments, teeth whitening also has been popular with Fordham’s customers. The procedure lasts about an hour, with a laser applying a whitening coat in front of a bright light for 20 minutes at a time, separated by three spit-andrinse breaks. She offered a special promotional price when she opened Biding Time in June, and she’s been happy to see customers have been coming back for more.
Full mineralization and sensitive tooth treatment are also offered.
What
goes better with a new look
than
some new clothes? When you’re finished at the Biding Time Med Spa, you can pop on over to Biding Time Boutique to pick up some new women’s clothing and accessories. The shop is owned separately, by Sherri Englund, a registered nurse, with nearly 30 years’ experience in a number of fields. She’s also certified in neurotoxin and dermal filler injectables, and has been trained by The American Academy of Facial Aesthetics. “I’ve always had a passion for skincare, beauty and fashion,” she says.
“We just had so many people who couldn’t wait until we have that promotion again,” Fordham said. “It’s instant teeth whitening, as opposed to where it may take months. This is using a laser and medical-grade product, and it’s instant.”
A wide range of dermal filler procedures, including ones that help give customers fuller lips, also are offered. Vitamin B12 injections, meant to provide a boost of energy to the metabolism, also are available, as well as semaglutide injections for type 2 diabetes and Kenalog injections to treat cystic acne.
“Basically we do non-surgical medical aesthetics,” Fordham said. “I think the community is still learning about what we do. Essentially, they’re still learning what these services are and what they mean” — and Fordham is more than happy to help teach them more about what she does — which in turn will help them feel more comfortable about something that’s new to them.
“Some people may be a little leery, but I’ve had lots of opportunities to teach a lot of people who come in.”
All med spa procedures are done by appointment, typically between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the weekdays or Saturday, but sometimes Fordham will offer a walk-in day. Follow-up appointments are scheduled two weeks after initial procedures to assure that all is well, and an online patient portal system allows Fordham to connect with clients for post-treatment instructions and any troubleshooting.
A nurse practitioner, business owner, wife and mom — Sara is plenty busy, but never too busy to provide personalized care to her customers: “I can make you feel trusted and feel like you're not just a number here.”
The med spa facility also houses Biding Time Boutique, which is owned separately by Sherri Englund. The boutique has a wide selection of women’s clothing and accessories, giving folks who stop by for some work at the spa a convenient place to get some new clothes to go with their new look.
“I grew up here and have kind of built up a reputation working here [in town] for all these years,” Fordham said. “I can make you feel trusted and feel like you’re not just a number here, whereas in bigger cities, you’re just a number. With easy access to come here, if you have any issues, we’re right here, you don’t have to drive far again.” n
Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
Biding
Time Med Spa, 715 N. Brinton Ave. in Dixon, is open by appointment only. Find it on Facebook, go to bidingtimemedicalspa. com, email bidingtime@ yahoo.com or call 815-677-5386 for appointments or for more information.
Biding Time
Boutique, which shares space with Biding Time Med Spa, is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Email bidingtimeboutique@ gmail.com for more information.
workstations, storage, and more
make the perfect space possible.
the eyes really are the window to our soul, then it can’t hurt to have some window dressing to help them look their best.
That’s where Hannah Romera can help. The “Han” in Brows by Han has a talent for making eyebrows look their best, and she’s been sharing that talent at her downtown Rock Falls business for the past year.
Romera specializes in eyebrow work, from shading to blading and more, and she considers her work as more than just a way to give the brows a boost — it can give her clients’ confidence a boost too.
“Your eyebrows are your main focal point of your face,” Romero said. “They make women feel better, more confident, and it makes them feel better in the morning with not as much makeup to put on.”
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Hannah Romero of Rock Falls has long been fascinated with the effect eyebrows can have not only on a person’s appearance, but their outlook, and lately she’s been helping others see the benefits of brows that wow: “They make women feel more better, more confident, and it makes them feel better in the morning with not as much makeup to put on.” CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM
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Romero has long enjoyed caring for her eyebrows, even as a young child growing up in Rock Falls; but while the eyes have it, they’re not the only area she works on. Eyebrows are still Romero’s specialty, but she’s also been doing lip blushes, lash line enhancements and saline removals, and the demand for those services has increased so much in the past year that she said she’s been thinking about changing the name of her business to better reflect the services she offers.
The last 10 years have seen a trend toward bigger brows, Romero said. While many women are familiar with microblading, she said there are other methods to consider too, depending on a person’s skin type.
Microblading uses a small tool with a row of tiny needles that create hair-like strokes of color along the brows, using pigment deposited in the skin. It’s considered a cosmetic tattoo procedure, but unlike tattooing, it’s semi-permanent, lasting for a year or more. A procedure best for young and dry skin, microblading creates the appearance of fuller brows.
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A combination procedure of microblading and shading also can be done, which leaves the front of the brow with strokes and the tail defined with shading. If you want to lighten the microbladed brows, or shorten their lifespan, Romera does saline removal procedures, where a tool similar to the one used in microblading injects a saline solution into the area, causing the pigment to break down.
Eyebrow procedures also benefit people who’ve lost their brows due to disease, cancer or alopecia.
Romero will always recommend what will be the best option for clients, she said. They may come in looking for one thing, but decide on something different after she’s offered her recommendations for what will look best.
“Microblading is well known because it’s the oldest technique, but it’s not the best for everybody,” she said. “Sometimes that’s what clients think they want, but once they kind of know what will feel the most natural, that’s what we’ll go off of.”
The ombre brow, also known as a powder brow, has a darker appearance at the tail and fades lighter closer to the nose. Tiny dots are created under the skin with a small tool to replicate powder makeup. For those with oilier skin, this procedure is better than microblading.
“That’s the most popular because it’s the best for everybody’s skin, Romero said. “Typically when people think of more permanent makeup, they think of microblading. That was the first technique, basically, but it’s not good for everybody’s skin because it cuts a little deeper in the skin.”
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Moving down the face, lip blushes enhance lips’ natural shapes and give them a color boost. Similar to microblading, it’s done with small needles that deposit pigment into the skin. The added color eventually fades into a natural matte look.
“It enhances your natural lips,” Romero said. “It makes them look fuller and gives them more pigment in color.”
Lash line enhancements are another service Romero offers. They’re done by tattooing an ultra-thin black or brown line along the top lash line, with pigment inserted between the lashes to create a fuller or darker looking lash. Have droopy eyelids? No problem — enhancements can still be done. Enhancements last anywhere from one to three years, depending on the client.
“Most people want a thicker eyeliner, but this one is thin and natural, and it enhances your eyes,” Romero said.
Business has picked up for Romero since she opened her doors, and she’s seeing a mix of returning clients and new ones, including some who travel a couple hours for her services. Some come for just one service, while others get the full package: brows, lashes and lips.
Romero began her cosmetic service journey in March of 2019, having worked at other beauty places before deciding to venture out on her own. “It ended up being the best thing I ever did,” she said.
“I like making women feel confident in themselves. I like enhancing their natural beauty. I tell my clients that you already are this beautiful, and I’m just giving you that little push of confidence that you need. All I’m doing is giving you eyebrows, and they already feel so much more better about themselves.”
Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
Brows by Han, 301 First Ave. in Rock Falls, is open by appointment. Find Browsby.han on Facebook and Instagram (@browsby.han), go to browsbyhan.godaddysites.com or call 815-213-1270 for appointments or for more information.
