The Specialist
Zhanna Graeff
"I fixed my own skin first."
From Gazprom contracts to facial architecture.
The Story
The eczema came first.
Lymph drainage visible on her face and body. Hospitalizations. Doctors who couldn't explain it, who kept trying — mud wraps, injections, hormonal ointments, homeopathic creams, one protocol after another. The first twenty years of Zhanna's life were defined by skin that didn't behave — a neurodermatitis that looked one way and felt another. She read everything. She tried every treatment the Russian medical system offered. Every summer she went to the sea, where the salt water would calm her skin for six months — and then it all came back. She was twenty-one when a doctor finally prescribed something different: twenty sessions of lymphatic massage. It worked. For the first time, the eczema didn't return. That was the beginning. Zhanna started practicing the technique on herself — slowly, repeatedly, in front of a mirror, until her own face responded.
That was the long opening to the rest of the story. The training came after the proof. The Moscow years (2003–2018, managing oil-and-gas supply contracts by day) ran in parallel with a quiet, deepening study of ingredients, conditions, and techniques — pursued through work travel and private vacations across many countries, and through visits to spas in Europe and Asia — always on herself first, never on a client until she was certain of the result.
Then the United States.
The move to America in 2019 was not part of an esthetics plan. The plan came after the technique a doctor had prescribed — the one she had spent years practicing on herself — had finally, permanently resolved the eczema. During COVID, she flew back to Moscow for formal facial-massage training and her Russian esthetics license. She landed in Seattle, then Houston. The Texas license followed in 2022 — Ogle School, formal coursework, hours logged. The studio opened in The Woodlands later that year.
In February 2024 the studio moved to Sawyer Yards at clients' request — for a more central Houston location, alongside the painters and ceramicists who chose the district for the same reasons we did. Three clients a day. By appointment only. Never delegated.
The Timeline
Three decades, four cities, one continuous study.
1990s
Minsk, Belarus · Academic Foundation
Bachelor's in Psychology and Teaching, taught at the university level, then a Law degree — both earned at university in Minsk, Belarus.
2003–2018
Moscow, Russia · Oil & Gas Contracts
Moved to Moscow in 2001; earned property-rights and appraisal-valuation certification in 2003. Fifteen years managing construction and supply contracts in oil and gas for multiple companies — including Gazprom.
2019
United States
Moved to the US. The eczema neurodermatitis that had defined the prior twenty years was finally gone — resolved by a doctor-prescribed lymphatic technique she had spent years practicing on herself.
2020
Moscow · training
Flew back to Moscow during COVID for formal facial-massage certification. Russian esthetics licensure followed.
2021
Houston
Moved from Seattle to Houston. Enrolled at Ogle School. The Texas license followed in 2022.
2022
The Woodlands · opening
Vera Pelle opened in The Woodlands. Three clients a day, by appointment only.
Feb 2024
Sawyer Yards · move
Moved the studio to Sawyer Yards at clients' request — for a more central Houston location alongside the painters and ceramicists who chose the district for the same reasons we did.
Training & Lineage
Almost a decade of training — Texas and Russia.
- Russian esthetics license — Moscow, 2020 (during COVID)
- Buccal intra-oral massage — multiple clinical certifications, Russian curriculum
- Myofascial facial release — advanced practitioner
- European lymphatic drainage — precision anatomical pathways
- European face lifting & sculpting lineage
- Texas esthetics license — Ogle School, 2022
- Gua sha scraping massage — face, neck & décolleté — certified 2026
- Continuing study: ingredients, conditions, technique — every client, every session
The Work
A non-invasive alternative — and complement — to Botox and fillers.
Vera Pelle European Skin Spa is a Houston destination for European facial technique. The signature massage work — buccal, gua sha sculpting, European lymphatic, and fascial face lifting — is a non-invasive alternative and complement to Botox and fillers: it smooths wrinkles, reduces puffiness, promotes lymphatic drainage, and delivers anti-aging effects. The same work relieves muscle tension, helps manage conditions like TMJ, and supports post-operative recovery after cosmetic surgery.
The buccal and myofascial work has drawn referrals from physicians, neurologists, and physical therapists, and is used as a non-invasive support for post-stroke recovery, Bell's palsy, and facial paralysis. The case for it is simple: the work reduces puffiness, promotes healthy circulation, and tones the facial muscles.
Begin
Three clients a day.
Personally performed.
The studio takes new clients by appointment.
Consultation form required prior to first treatment.