Everything my husband and I did to our face, hair, and body for our wedding
What a great excuse for us to get our favorite aesthetic treatments as well as try the latest beauty trends!
Welcome to Maison Maxgong! As a Libra Rising, I thought writing about health and beauty treatments would be a fun introduction. If you’re familiar with Human Design, my husband Dan and I are both 5/1s which means you can trust we do extensive research before trying or sharing anything. We’re also both neurodivergent and approach health and wellness treatments with both curiosity and skepticism.
I’m an Aquarius, former founder and marketing lead for primarily health and wellness startups. Dan’s the oh-so-misunderstood Gemini and a creative director for a videogame your partner or brother most likely plays. If you subscribe, expect all kinds of stories ranging from relationship advice to our views on the medical system.
In case it’s not obvious, I, Amy Gong Maxwell, am writing this newsletter and Dan’s popping into my office eating cereal and sharing his latest revelations.
Growing up dry and dreaming of moisturizer
I’m a child of Chinese immigrants and grew up in the suburbs of LA. Kids told me I was ugly on picture day, a trauma that led me to cover up my face with makeup for a long time. Now, I rarely wear makeup. Especially since meeting Dan 3 years ago, I’ve definitely focused more on skincare and nutrition.
Dan, on the other hand, is a person of white from the Michigan countryside. Kids used to make fun of his blue hair and he struggled with ezcema. He had a beautiful Olympian mother who taught him everything she knew about health and beauty.
Let’s get comfy —because here’s the long list of what we did to our face, hair, and body for our wedding:
3 months before our wedding
Tia for Women’s Health and Nutrition
I did some bloodwork at Tia. They warned me that my cholesterol was too high and to change my diet. I also had stopped taking my anxiety medication and gained 30 pounds in 5 months.
Dan also gained 30 pounds (I think this is sympathy weight but he blames Tony’s Chocolonely). We decided to cut down on our frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets.
Physical Therapy for Neck, Shoulder, and Back Pain
I worked with a couple of PTs in Pasadena that took my insurance but I got hurt during one of the exercises. Waste of time and money for me. I didn’t want to try it again.
The Joint Chiropractic for Neck, Shoulder, and Back Pain
I used to go here for affordable chiropractic treatments when I worked in an office. I stopped after a couple of bad experiences. Fast forward a few years I was desperate for immediate relief —even if it was temporary. I love how affordable they are and that it is walk-in only. They recommended I work out to strengthen my neck and shoulder muscles.
Update after the wedding: I ended my membership and started myofascial trigger point therapy which has helped me heal my tech neck in weeks. We’re working on the clicking on my left shoulder now and I’m loving the results.
I crack Dan’s back on the floor at night.
ClassPass for Pilates and Yoga
I used ClassPass a long time ago for a yoga studio and didn't care for it. I was excited to get 30 days free again. It was fun exploring all the studios in my neighborhood but I got the impression that ClassPass isn’t great for businesses.
If you’re in the Highland Park area, I highly recommend Kinship’s Yin + Healing Collective classes on Mondays and Thursdays. It’s a gentle yoga class where many different massage therapists, acupressurists, energy and sound healers, etc take a few moments to work on your body. Some of the best massages and bodywork I’ve ever had. I dragged Dan here and he also fell in love.
Update after the wedding: After a bad pilates class experience, I canceled my ClassPass membership but am grateful that the app introduced me to some great studios that I’m giving my money directly to now.
The Now for Massage
The Now in Silverlake used to be my all-time favorite but it’s now a hit or miss. They raised their prices, but the quality of service just isn’t worth it anymore. Some of the massage therapists there don’t want to wear a mask. I found myself getting sick a lot after a massage.
Dan and I tried other massage places but we didn’t love them. We asked someone we liked at The Now Pasadena if they’d come to our house to give us massages but he said no. I wonder if it’s a policy thing or if he thought we were weird. I’m still grateful The Now exists because I needed them to massage away my stress before the wedding.
2 months before our wedding
Forma Skin Tightening at LA Beauty Skin Center
Thanks to my Asian genes, I didn’t need botox and the filler I got on my right cheek 2 years ago — uneven from sleeping on one side next to my Crazy Rich Asian ex who hired a hitman to try to kill my loved ones — was still looking pretty good. I heard really good things from friends about forma, a radiofrequency (RF) energy treatment, for lifting sagging skin. After a phone consultation, we decided to focus on the lower half of my face. There’s zero pain and you can see a more defined jawline in just 20 minutes. I ended up doing 5 treatments in total. I feel like I’m still seeing improvements in my skin’s elasticity months later.
This light treatment is for people of white. They told me this would be horrible for my skin tone. Dan has done Limelight once before years ago and all his visible and invisible sunspots fell off. This time he went in for two treatments of Limelight. The results were great minus one stubborn sunspot on his cheek. Warning, it HURTS. Dan says it’s so worth it. I think it’s a great (but expensive) solution for people of white who don’t like sunscreen.
30-minute tech facials are the best. I love their lymphatic facial, but because I was in the middle of forma treatments, we did a gentle LED facial. Everything from the membership to the products is super affordable and high quality. Not sure if I got special treatment but they gave me quite a few free facials to gift my friends. I always left with a new product to try. Their office is gorgeous and next to one of my favorite restaurants, GiGi’s Hollywood.
Update after the wedding: I eventually canceled after 6 months (that’s the minimum commitment for a membership) because it’s too far to drive. Please open another location closer to Highland Park!
Castor Oil Wrap
What in the woo-woo BS is this?! I was told to put a cloth drenched in castor oil on my stomach before bed for a snatched look. It was messy and felt gross. I did notice softer skin though.
Lympathic Body Massages
So many people rave about these but it doesn’t work for me! I went to two different places. One felt like they were touching my body with wooden spoons. The other used a machine that pinched my stomach —it really hurt. And both were sooo expensive. I don’t regret trying it though because one of the practitioners offered me Ozempic at a discount from her recent trip to Brazil.
1 month before our wedding
Ozempic
T-30 days until our wedding! Though I loved that I could booty clap for my bachelorette party in Vegas, I was disappointed that I didn’t lose any weight after working out for months. My cholesterol was still high and the science behind Ozempic was too good not to try. Dan supported the experiment so we poked each other every week. It was so fascinating! We learned that our brains tricked us to snack and overeat when stressed. We felt amazing with just a couple small meals a day. We each lost 15 pounds in one month.
Update after the wedding: After finishing the box, we decided to get healthy the old-fashioned way. We’ve gained some weight back but are choosing to eat healthier and exercise more. We loved that Ozempic got us to a better mindset.
Swimming at LAAC
Besides being the most beautiful pool I’ve ever seen, it’s filled with drinking water. That’s right, NO chlorine or salt. They use a UV light system that was installed a year ago to keep the water clean. Super thankful for friends who invited us as their guests. The membership is way too expensive.
I LOVE telling everyone about our reiki haircuts. Here’s what you can expect: you first set your intentions as Jo massages oils on your scalp. Then you go into a dark room to pick out some crystals and lay down on a comfy bed. Jo will place a crystal mask on your face and then the reiki starts. Everyone’s reiki experience is different —you might feel emotional or some heat on your body. Afterward, you pull a tarot card and Jo shares with you what she saw while cutting your hair. You can keep your hair at the end and bury it in your backyard to let go of what you might have been holding onto. If you’re interested, you can find Jo, the reiki hairstylist, at Freija Collective in Highland Park.
I first got lashes with Mimi when she was working for Intregity Lash in Pasadena 10 years ago. Their technique is so much better than anything out there. They use a strong adhesive glue that is waterproof. I’ve never had to worry about getting my lashes wet and have never gotten an eye infection with Mimi. She’s so precise and good at her job. We went for a natural look for my wedding. I can’t believe I’ve been going to her every month since 2015!
Mimi also recently got her nails license so she treated me to fresh nails. I’m not a fan of painting my nails but I’m grateful for the gift and they were important for wedding photos!
Collagen Protein Powder
TikTok tricked me into buying a bag of protein powder. I hated the taste but I put a scoop in water every morning and almost finished the bag. Mimi told me my lashes looked longer and stronger than usual so it must have worked!
Thanks for reading!
I was inspired to write this because of Elizabeth Kott’s Wedding Beauty haul. Elizabeth’s Too Niche podcast is my absolute favorite right now for all niche topics. Her LA Hot Girl Guide is so funny and informative!
As a projector in Human Design, I love when people tell me what they want. More lists for what we’re doing for our health and beauty? Maybe dating advice? Updates on building a house in Michigan? Politics talk? More details about our wedding like making our custom tarot deck?
I can also share my personal and professional journey with neurodiversity. I can talk about starting a company, marketing tips, or dealing with burnout at work. Or write about the GPT I’m building now. Let me know!
Until next time!
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