Angel Healing Arts and Tanya Joy Skin Care are two new denizens of the Peninsula Center in Point Loma.
Having recently hung their shingles out sharing, among others, Suite 103 in the building with a cool breezeway, the massage therapist and esthetician say they’re both comfortable in their new digs.
Angela Howley, C.M.T., talked about how she got started in massage. It turns out Howley, the mother of two, found inspiration to join the profession as a patient.
“I’d moved to San Diego in 1997 when I was in my 20s and had hurt my back,” she said. “I knew if I went to a regular doctor they would just throw pills at me, so I thought I’d try massage therapy first. And I just fell in love with the idea.”
Her back improved, and she went to the accredited School of Healing Arts, then in Pacific Beach. Her other inspiration, she said, was “to work for myself.”
Nineteen years later, Howley’s still practicing massage therapy independently in the Peninsula Center Building that she described as “a good fit.”
Who are Howley’s clients, and what are they seeking from her?
“Most people are coming to me because they feel sore, or they want to relax,” she said, adding she treats everyone from teenagers to retirees.
Some of Howley’s clients have been with her for 19 years. “We’ve gone through some of the aging process together,” she said.
Howley added the biggest thing affecting nearly all her clients, regardless of age, is stress.
“That can be physical, or mental,” she said adding, “I’ve developed my own style through all the different modalities that I’ve studied. It’s my goal to approach wellness in the most natural way possible first.”
Linda Lynn, 73, of Point Loma came in for a massage. Asked why she chose Angel Healing Arts, Lynn replied, “I like that it’s near, but I’ve had a gazillion massages in my life, and I think Angela does an excellent job.”
Lynn said she comes in because “I get tight (muscles) easily.”
“She brings stuff in for me to do,” added Howley.
The two businesses owned by Tanya Joy Brueckner are pilates in Kearny Mesa, and her Point Loma practice, Tanya Joy Skincare.
Tanya Joy Skincare & Pilates was established in late 2001, after Brueckner turned her passions into her career. After graduating from the University of Arizona in 2000, she moved to San Diego to work in a corporate job. That proved unfulfilling, so she went back to school to learn esthetics.
Of her methodology, Brueckner said, “I help clients feel their best from the inside out, with Pilates, and also with the body’s largest organ, the skin.”
Regarding skin care Brueckner began “evolving” her own approach to esthetics focusing increasingly on treating “those suffering from premature aging.”
That process, Brueckner noted, stems in large part from sun exposure, and the realization that, through anti-aging skin treatments, “some of that damage can be reversed.”
Tanya Joy specializes in microdermabrasion, hydro-dermabrasion, chemical peels, oxygen treatments and spa facials. She also does facials and bikini waxing. 
Brueckner said most of her clientele are female, about 85 percent, and older, age 40-plus. But she has the products — and the expertise — to properly care for someone’s skin care needs — whatever they may be.
For a list of services and prices, visit tanyajoyskincare.com.