A ‘Whole Person’ Approach to Good Health

Jessica Certain has been nurturing wellness on Marco Island, in one form or another, for more than two decades. 

Today, she’s a licensed massage therapist and reflexologist at Skin Renewal Systems Salon and Spa, located in the Heritage Square Plaza. A holistic health educator since 1998, Certain is also a certified health coach, licensed massage instructor, a Reiki master, and a chakra and crystal healer. The long-time island resident tops things off by also being a yoga instructor.

Before joining Skin Renewal in 2023, she operated the Soulshine Massage Studio on Marco Lake Drive for several years until the COVID pandemic led to the business’ closure. Prior to that, Certain and her family owned and operated the Summer Day Market and Cafe in the Marco Town Center for 16 years. They sold the health food store in 2017. 

Taking the all-encompassing holistic approach to helping people achieve and maintain good health is a driving force for Certain, who’s also known by the nickname “Soulshine Jess,” in reference to her former massage studio, which also offered yoga classes. 

“Health isn't just how you look and it isn't just how you feel,” she explained. “It's a blend of your physical with your emotional, your nutritional, your spiritual and your environment. And if one of those aspects is missing, we're really not whole holistically. We're not a whole person. We feel like there's something missing.”

Certain illustrated that point with a scenario reflecting Skin Renewal’s varied offerings, particularly those of its Spa Renew, which includes her and fellow massage therapist/reflexologist Lisa Cooper, biofeedback, the Q2 Energy Spa, physical therapy, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, and mind and body wellness.

“There could be somebody going to the medical spa and doing facials and doing all these things to be beautiful, and they might feel like something's missing and it's because their nutrition is off, or they're not meditating and they're stuck in fight-or-flight or high anxiety,” said Certain. “Or maybe they're not moving their body the right way. So by Liz (Skin Renewal owner and esthetician Liz Havens) offering all these modalities (approaches or methods), we can really approach the client in a holistic way and help them in all aspects of their life, not just the physical.”

Her primary focus as a practitioner is healing the female aspect of spiritual power - the divine feminine. This came after she noticed that in working with women, many of her clients were experiencing the same aches and pains, regardless of physical capabilities or their exercise programs. 

“A lot of it came down to the emotional stressors they had,” she said. “That's when I started really researching the emotional aspect of physical pain. With that, I use Reiki, which is energy work. I do crystal therapy, where I use different crystals on the chakras (the body’s energy centers). I use sound therapy. I have seven different crystal bowls. Each one is tuned into the frequency for each chakra. So, I use sound in my treatments. I use aromatherapy. I am a master reflexologist, so I do reflexology on the hands and feet.”

Certain uses “ThetaHealing,” a technique based on the idea that conscious and unconscious beliefs directly impact emotional well-being, to help people break through barriers that may be holding them back. She also utilizes “cupping,” an ancient process where special cups are placed on the skin to create suction and help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and more.

She is also trained in myofascial release (gentle, sustained pressure into myofascial connective tissue restrictions to eliminate pain and restore motion) in the method of John Barnes, who created the technique, as well as Raindrop Therapy, a healing technique that uses essential oils.

In addition to all that, she holds monthly women’s circles at Spa Renew. She is also starting a monthly day-long healing retreat at the spa. For the circles and retreats, she blends energy work with meditation, yoga, chakra, healing crystals and aromatherapy, a fusion of all seven modalities into one.

“My hope is that we can develop a women's retreat program through Skin Renewal Systems using the incredible staff we're building and all the different modalities for healing,” said Certain about the future. “That's what I told Liz we're going to work on and she's really excited because there isn't anybody doing that in this area at all.”

Skin Renewal Systems Salon and Spa is located at 1000 N. Collier Blvd. For more information and to make appointments, please visit skinrenewalmarco.com/ or call 239-394-1083. For more information about Jessica Certain, please visit soulshine.com.