I Tried a Hydrafacial and My Skin Has Never Looked Clearer
After a weekend of caked-up party makeup, very little sleep, and cranking the heat on the moisture-sucking radiator in my apartment, my skin was in SOS mode. That’s why I walked into Shafer Plastic Surgery and Laser Center for the equivalent of an espresso shot for my face: a Hydrafacial. The goal? Glowy, brighter, eight-hours-of-sleep, eight-cups-of-water skin—quick!
Turns out, I came to the right place. “It provides hydration, dryness, dullness, breakout-prone skin, redness, and any type of anti-aging concern,” Graceann Svendsen, the senior esthetician, said. The whole service lasted 45 minutes (it ranges from that to 60 minutes), and I left looking instantly refreshed and plump. Keep reading for exactly why the Hydrafacial works, and what to expect when you come in for an appointment.
Hydrafacial is ideal for exfoliation and hydration.
The basic steps in a HydraFacial are to cleanse, peel, extract, and moisturize. While most facials use a steamer to open up the pores and cleanse, the Hydrafacial uses no heat (great news for my lash extensions). Instead, it uses a device that performs hydradermabrasion. Unlike microdermabrasion, hydradermabrasion does not using tiny crystals to physically exfoliate the skin.
“The wand is using a patented ‘Vortex-Fusion’ technology to speed and spin the suction, and while it’s doing that, it’s infusing the skin with serums,” Svendsen said. The spinning mechanism vacuums away dead skin so you’ll feel a gentle sucking on the surface throughout. It’s extremely gentle and oh, so satisfying.
Hydrafacials are highly customizable.
The process varies from office to office (or spa to spa), and there is no one-size-fits all approach to doing a Hydrafacial. For example, Svendsen prefers to start out with facial cupping for lymphatic drainage, then does a double cleanse before going into the first step of the Hydrafacial.
The handpiece has different tips that can be swapped out depending on your skin type and condition. “It’s a very versatile piece of equipment and offers the patient a lot of options during the treatment. There are LED lights, chemical peels, and boosters that give me the ability to give more corrective results,” Svendsen explained, adding, “It’s the most popular modality I’ve ever worked with for weddings and brides.” At one point during the facial, the tip of the wand went on top of my lips, which got rid of any chapping and instantly juiced them up.
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It infuses active ingredients into your skin.
One of the steps of the HydraFacial is a chemical peel. “For all first-time patients, I use 2.5% salicylic acid mixed with 7.5% glycolic acid—that can be titrated up to 30%. Glycolic gives a very pretty glow to the skin, and salicylic acid helps reduce breakouts,” Svendsen explained. The best part is that reputable, dermatologist-loved brands like SkinCeuticals, ZO Skin Health, and ColoreScience have cosigned the Hydrafacial by partnering on boosters. She added that, if I were coming in consistently, she would add on boosters like Hydrafacial CTGF, which contains growth factors that can help “power up and bolster the outer layer of the skin when someone’s had acne” like myself.
You can get them monthly for maintenance.
Svendsen suggested getting a Hydrafacial every month, because your skin regenerates itself every 28 days. “It’s a really good habit for skin hygiene,” she said. “You start developing new collagen. Your skin is super hydrated, and when skin is hydrated, it reacts to everything differently in a good way.” Regular Hydrafacials are also a great way to prep for colder winter months since that is when skin tends to be dryer.
Expect next-level extractions.
“A lot of patients literally feel like they’ve lost five pounds,” Svendsen joked—obviously, that is an exaggeration (there is no weight loss!), but the idea is that you will feel so clean it’s as if all the dead skin and gunk has been lifted from your pores. The gentle sucking of the Hydrafacial machine around the T-Zone area, in particular, helps deeply clear out any build-up and hurts a whole lot less than an esthetician manually squeezing your face. “It definitely helps with blackheads,” Svendsen said. In fact, you’ll be able to actually see how much came off your face in a waste vial where all the dirt deposits after getting sloughed away.
It is an investment.
According to Hydrafacial, a single session can cost you $199-$300 depending on what add-ons you may include.
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My skin felt totally reset.
After the HydraFacial, I peered closely at my nose where I always see blackheads. Poof. They were gone. The texture of my skin was baby-soft and whenever my cheekbones hit the light they reflected it as well as a cream highlighter (read: super dewy). Now, I fully plan to keep this up as a regular part of my skincare routine with monthly appointments.
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