The Perfect Facial

I think every Cebuana must have tried to get a facial at least once in her life. A regular facial usually starts with some generic cleansing cream that the cosmetologist massages on your face, followed by a slew of other mysterious creams, some steaming (with the false belief of opening the pores), and finally the dreaded painful pricking and prodding. Today, patients are smarter. They want more than the average facial. They want results.

Different skin types have different needs. The best way to start in getting the perfect facial is to have your skin evaluated (by a PDS-certified dermatologist no less!) to see what concerns need to be addressed. For example, a teen with pimples would benefit from a facial with something to dry up the acne and bacne. This would require incorporating a chemical with salicylic acid, lactic acid or resorcinol into the chemical peel that can dry up the pimples. The facial for acne will sometimes involve injecting a medicine into the larger pimples to make it flatten faster.

A lady in her 20s or 30s would probably just want something to maintain a beautiful skin texture, hence the dermatologist would usually prescribe a facial with a glycolic acid peel or a diamond peel.

Facials that fight wrinkles are a whole different level, in cost and in technology. This could involve using Radiofrequency or Infrared or CACI to tighten the skin. Lucky for us that RF, IR and CACI do not cost as much as it does in the States. Madonna, who recently just gave up fillers and botox and replaced them with an advanced facial system called CACI, is another firm believer in facials. She was so impressed with one session of her CACI facial, that she bought a machine for her personal use! Imagine that. While the rest of us cannot afford to buy our own CACI machine, at least we can afford to have it done monthly.

While facials still somehow represent spending some “me” time and can still be soothing, it is no longer enough to have your face massaged, steamed and pricked. The ever-practical Cebuana now looks for ingredients that are part of the facial and what the facial can give her. So, go on and ask what active chemical is in that facial and what can it do to your skin. Once you find the perfect facial, you shouldn’t be able to live without it!