Every time I confessed to a friend or colleague that I’d never had a facial I could immediately see a look of bewilderment wash across their face followed by scanning eyes examining my skin. It was during one of these exchanges that I said, “I’ve just always had really clear skin my entire life and I’ve never really needed one.” In my teens and 20s, I had the kind of buttery-soft skin that even strangers would comment on. I didn’t appreciate my complexion in my youth, but I knew as soon as the words left my mouth that day that I would regret bragging about it. Truth be told, I had never had a facial before because not only did I not think I needed one, but somewhere in my mind I had also associated facials with a luxury that only older women chasing lines and wrinkles indulged in.
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Well, newsflash, as a 38-year-old who is quickly approaching the big 4-0, I am now one of those “older women” and my skin was starting to show it. Recently all of my sun worshipping and use of a minimalist skin care regime had caught up with me. When I looked in the mirror or at photos of myself, all I could see was redness, sunspots, an uneven skin tone and a rough texture that had replaced the smoothness and clarity I once took for granted. Even my foundation wasn’t helping to cover my problems, but instead, it made them appear more prominent. I soon ate my words about how incredible my skin was and I knew I had to do something—I finally felt like I needed a facial and I needed it stat.
My Pre-Facial Skin
When I made my appointment at New Radiance Cosmetic Center in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, I told them my concerns and also that I was a facial virgin. They recommended that I get a regular facial with a SilkPeel treatment. When I heard the word SilkPeel I imagined another luxuriously rich step in repairing my skin—I mean why else would it be called silk. I wasn’t really prepared for the experience of a SilkPeel or the difference it would make.
When the day arrived, I was curious and ready. Like a skeptic about to have her skin care fortune read, I went in half expecting that nothing could fix the issues that plagued me and half hoping for a miracle. My aesthetician, Rozalia Ciolcau, walked me through each step before she started, and to my surprise, they were the exact same things I was doing for myself about once a week (minus the extraction part). She analyzed my skin and said it was very dry, which I already knew, and recommended that for the SilkPeel portion of my facial, we focus on hydration.
Using a combination of ZO Medical and ZO Skin Health products, Rozalia started my much-anticipated facial journey. First she cleansed my skin with a foaming cleanser, and then she placed a hot compress on my face to open up my pores. She followed this with an exfoliating polish to slough away dead skin. Then things got a little more medical. This is when I found out that a SilkPeel was not just another product layered onto my skin, but rather a machine that delivered a powerful dermalinfusion treatment. It’s a high-tech skin-resurfacing procedure that exfoliates, extracts and infuses skin with a special serum. Because I have dry and dehydrated skin, Rozalia chose the hydrating serum that contains hyaluronic acid. As she slowly dragged the applicator across my entire face, the vacuum pressure sucked in dirt and debris and its diamond tip worked to exfoliate my dry, damaged layer of skin while simultaneously infusing it with the special conditioning serum.
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Immediately After the Facial and SilkPeel
Afterward my skin felt pretty raw. Rozalia did a few manual extractions on the clusters of tiny bumps that remained around my forehead and temples and gave me a minute of GentleWaves LED light therapy and a soothing aloe mask to calm my skin. When all was said and done, my skin was redder than ever, but I felt that every inch of my face had been treated and was confident that I would see some improvement when it started calmed down.
A Week and a Half Post-Facial
It took a little more than a week for me to notice a dramatic change. The results were exactly what I was hoping for and my redness, bumpiness and uneven skin tone were replaced by smooth, clear skin that I thought I’d never see again. It didn’t take long for someone to comment on how great my skin looked and I was even brave enough to only pack a tube of tinted moisturizer for my summer vacation. My only regret is not having a facial done sooner and waiting until I had become one of those “older women.” But now that I know the ways that my skin needs more TLC as I age, I won’t question the power of a good facial ever again.
