Week 2 – My First Facial EVER
Shawn starts the facial with a deep cleanse and removal of my makeup (war paint)
There’s A First Time For Everything
This week I went into Skin Bar for my first facial EVER! Not only did I survive, but it was lovely!
How Did I Get This Far In Life Without A Facial?
I’m a bit embarrassed that I’ve gone this long without ever getting a basic facial. I was raised in the wilderness of Colorado where skin spas as lovely as Skin Bar were not exactly on every corner. My skin was lucky if it got a daily dose of decent sunscreen let alone a facial.
I wonder now what my skin might look like had I seen a skincare specialist fifteen years ago, but oh well. I’m just grateful that I lived through the avalanche (that I later set off behind me in that photo..) so that I could finally find the professional skincare help I needed!
Although my skin has never experienced the likes of a mud mask or chemical peel, it certainly was happy to finally get some attention.
I’m Basically In Love With My Skincare Specialist
When the facial was over I was so sad to leave my amazing, talented and sweet skincare specialist, Shawn! Poor Shawn might not realize that he, in addition to being my new weekly skincare specialist, is also my new therapist. He’s a great listener AND he has the magical, soft hands of an angel! What more can one ask for?
Shawn’s Prescription
When I saw Shawn last week for my first skin consultation I told him that besides clearing up my spontaneous acne, reducing the size of my huge pores, and generally preventing early signs of aging, I am most concerned with reducing all the sun damage I have acquired over the years.
After seeing the UV photos of my skin Shawn suggested that I ultimately go through a series of Fraxel Dual Laser treatments, which have the most dramatic results for removing sun damage. Before the Fraxel treatment, however, Shawn wanted me to get a chemical peel to remove the top layer of dead skin. That enables the energy from the Fraxel Laser to reach the layers of skin that really need it.
Before any treatments start, Shawn has instructed me to overhaul my home skincare regime. He insisted that I throw away all my old skincare products (a bar of soap and a $5 moisturizer) and start fresh with real, skincare products. He said that products like Image Skincare have much higher concentrations of active ingredients than the over-the-counter products, thus making them far more effective – we like that!
Shawn’s instructions were to start with the gentle, Ph Balanced Cleanser, followed by the Stem Cell Serum, then the Vitamin C Serum, and finally finish with a day or night moisturizer. Shawn told me that if I did my homework, twice a day, all week, then I would be ready for my first chemical peel.
Shawns home skincare regime
Real Skincare Products ARE Actually Amazing
I have to say (and I have no affiliations with this Image Skincare company) these products were AMAZING. Now, I didn’t start with amazing skincare products to compare Image to, but I can say that these products made my skin feel fantastic, AND they all smelled divine. After a full week of following Shawn’s recommendations I was ready for my first peel.
The Actual Treatment – A Chemical Peel
I was finally ready for the heavy part of the treatment – the chemical peel! I was a bit nervous, but Shawn assured me that he was using the proper dose of chemical for my toilet paper-thin, fair and fragile skin. I half expected my skin to instantly feel like it was burning off, but the treatment barely tingled. After maybe a minute or two he washed off the chemical and moisturized me up with an orgasmic (am I allowed to say that?!) facial massage.
My skin will supposedly look flakey and peel over the next few days. I will report back with this experience next week!
See the list of available peels at Skin Bar
Stay Tuned
Next treatment – a deep pore cleansing facial! Stay tuned for my Skin Story update next #TransformationTuesday!
