My name is Gisely Valiani de Assis. I am Brazilian by birth and Portuguese by heart. I have a degree in Literature from the University of Lisbon and have been working in the field of aesthetic treatments and care for over 12 years.
How did I learn about lymphatic drainage?
I often say that I was chosen for my profession, not the other way around.
My first contact with this world was with massage, when I was 16. I shared a room with a physiotherapy student. Although I wasn't at university yet, I loved taking part in their group and was sometimes the "guinea pig".
That's how I got to know lymphatic drainage. I lent my body to practice and my ears to people explaining the technique. Without realizing it, I had already started studying.
That realization only came, however, when my mother had her first liposuction. One of the post-surgical treatments required is manual lymphatic drainage. To relieve her pain and swelling, I began to apply everything I had heard, seen and felt in massages.
My professional life had just begun and my mother was one of my biggest supporters. I decided to migrate to Portugal and attend a technical course for physiotherapy assistants. The course covered several areas and would give me the basis to follow the path of aesthetic care. I studied for 18 months and started working with my mother.
We provided home care and our specialty was post-surgical massages. It took many visits before our name began to be recommended by surgeons. At that time, massage still had a sexual connotation in Portugal. So we also fought an ideological battle.
I gained a lot of experience. I worked in a few offices until I realized that I didn't want to work for anyone but myself. It was important to apply my ideology that beauty is integral and should be more linked to well-being and self-esteem than to standards.
I've taken several courses over the years, including in Thailand. To this day, I study all the time. I'm in contact with my laboratory to learn about, study and test new protocols all the time.
I'm constantly learning.
In 2016, I got pregnant with my eldest daughter and, as this work is very physical, I ended up taking a step back. But life is wonderful, and my clients even more so: they kept coming back to me.
I decided to turn one of the rooms in my house into my office and gradually return to the job market. The challenge for mothers with young children, right?
Right. It worked so well that we decided to get pregnant again and return to the same professional scheme we had already set up. I worked for most of my youngest daughter's pregnancy and I'm now back to my professional life.
Today, in addition to body and facial treatments, I study treatments for pregnant women and mothers in the puerperium. I take a more delicate look at this moment of such transformation in a woman's life.
Working from home gives me the peace of mind of breastfeeding my youngest daughter on demand and always having meals with my family. In other words, to take care of myself too. To be happy, so that this happiness also reaches other women.
I work by appointment in Lisbon and with strictly personalized protocols. I believe that each client's journey is unique. Rather than following or dictating aesthetic standards, my mission is to help women connect with their own beauty, with care, affection and real expectations for each body.
Thus, the moment of care is also one of care, experience and affection. Will you join me on this journey? I'm sure I can help you... and you me!
