Life Is Like A Salon And Spa For Mom/Daughter Team

Press & Argus:

Connie Kraska and her daughter, Colleen Kraska, have opened a unique combination business at the Sommer Breeze Salon and Day Spa in Brighton.

Connie’s enterprise is called Soak Away the Pounds, offering what she calls “the strongest foot-detox system available today.” It’s an ionic detoxification bath for the feet that she says results in weight loss, pain relief and increased energy.

Colleen, meanwhile, is a Hollywood-trained makeup artist who has opened a business called Makeup by Colleen K. She offers makeup services for pretty much any occasion — weddings, proms, photo shoots, Halloween and more.

“I have a marketing background, and I had done a lot of marketing for health products,” Connie Kraska said. “I was looking for something new that I might be able to get into, and then I discovered Soak Away the Pounds. I had gotten a bad infection from a cat bite, and I discovered the detox system. It was sort of unpolished at the time, but now it’s stronger and a lot more effective.”

She said the foot bath works by drawing out toxins, cellular waste and pollutants from the body. Connie Kraska said the Soak Away the Pounds method has grown in popularity after she was featured demonstrating it on the Fox TV affiliates in Dallas, Indianapolis and Detroit.

“Everybody’s a little skeptical coming in, but at one place, they had four of the producers from the station soak their feet during the broadcast, to see what would happen,” she said. “They could actually see the water changing color as the toxins were drawn out of their body. It even got a little chunky.”

Connie Kraska charges $25 for a 45-minute session, and she said most customers come in every week or two.

As for Colleen Kraska’s makeup business, she said she decided to start Makeup by Colleen K after moving back to Michigan from California last year.

She received her training in both states, and graduated from the elite Studio Makeup Academy in Hollywood, where she studied film, TV and studio makeup techniques. She also studied at Amy Ward’s Media Makeup School in Hollywood.

“We had lots of models and actors coming in,” Colleen Kraska said. “I ended up working on a lot of films out there — student films, short films, a little of everything.”

Since moving back to Michigan, she has continued her film career, working on some local productions. But most of her makeup work in these parts has been weddings, homecomings, proms and special occasions like that.

“Sometimes they’ll come here, but usually, I’ll meet them at their house or the wedding location or wherever they want, and I’ll do all their makeup there,” Colleen Kraska said.

She has also spent some time giving makeup tips to others, including a seminar she gave for the Livingston County Photography Group.