Recently, I tried the Dermalogica’s face treatment at Essenses Aesthetics. The place has seven individual treatment rooms, five specially trained therapists, and shelves full of Dermalogica products. Ooh, exciting!
Before the facial started, I had to fill in a consultation card and tick boxes (revealing how unhealthy my skin rituals are). I felt guilty because no matter how much I take care of my skin, I wasn’t aware that I was creating damage by drinking coffee and exposing myself to environmental aggressors.
The unique thing about Dermalogica’s facial is the Face Mapping service. No other brand has this revolutionary approach, which analyzes 14 skin zones. Mavic, my therapist, removed all traces of makeup and cleansed my skin twice before mapping my face. She said that my skin type was normal to oily, but my skin condition was sensitized (sensitive) and dehydrated. Yikes! Other problems include clogged pores on my nose, freckles, fine lines under the eyes (caused by contact lenses), and zit marks under my chin (allergic reaction to fluoride toothpaste).
I was given the sensitive-skin treatment. The techniques and product application were amazing. First was the exfoliation, which I really enjoyed. Mavic used Dermalogica’s Daily Microfoliant with rice granules. For the first few seconds you can feel the rice granules, then they just melt away, removing all the dead skin cells. Steam never felt this good. A softening solution that bubbled was applied afterwards for seven minutes to prepare the skin for extraction.
Yes, extraction is what I dread the most because it hurts so much with the tools used and you end up leaving the facial treatment with a red nose. But Dermalogica is very careful about what to extract. Mavic only removed the white heads and black heads that were ready so my skin wouldn’t be damaged even more. To close pores and so that bacteria won’t enter, an antiseptic solution was applied.
After extraction, the face usually gets red. So Mavic put an antioxidant treatment or the Multivitamin Recovery Masque to reduce irritation. What’s a facial without a massage? The best treat was the lymphatic drainage massage with a non-oil fluid. It made me forget where I was. Super relaxing!
I didn’t even know that the facial was about to end. My therapist sprayed on a hydrating toner, put eye cream with SPF 15 and alpha hydroxy acid (to hide dark circles) and a three-in-one moisturizer, sunblock and tint. If you think that’s it, no it’s not – she put a color corrector to match my skin tone and give me a little blush. Finally, I was given a face map prescription with the Dermalogica products suitable for my skin.
Ia Alano, Dermalogica brand manager, says, "We recommend to our client to have a facial at least twice a month." Not bad, eh? "The great thing about Dermalogica is that we don’t have celebrity endorsers although a lot of them use our products. It’s more of silent advertisements because what keeps the brand alive is that customers really believe in our products."
My Dermalogica facial was really worth it since there are so many steps. Plus, you get a professional treatment for 45 minutes, sheer bliss, relaxation, and of course, healthy, gorgeous skin.