Putting your face on the map

Aren’t you tired of those one-size-fits-all facials, where they thoughtlessly spackle on about a dozen products on your face before tweezing them out again via those dreaded extractions? You emerge raw, reddened, and feeling not the least bit sexy.

Fear the assembly-line facial no more. It’s been overhauled and reinvented by Dermalogica, the skincare company that cares: about the environment, protecting animals, and most of all, the well-being of your skin. Yes, your skin – not someone else’s dry cheeks or oily T-zone.

Only one spa offers the Dermalogica facial that’s so specially tailored to your needs it’s like a couture dress: Essenses Aesthetics, which you’ll find within beauty mecca Essenses in Rustan’s department stores.

Badly in need of a glow, I headed to the Alabang Town Center branch, which is very new and located within a cool oasis of shops and palm-lined cafés.

Spa manager Maya Martinez recommended the special face and body treatment package for an overall treat (P1,850 for 120 minutes). One hour would be devoted to a relaxing full-body massage, then another hour on the special skincare treatment (i.e., facial).

But first, they sit you down for five minutes to complete a comprehensive questionnaire about your skincare routine – everything from what products you use to how many glasses of water you drink a day. Your skincare therapist then reviews your answers, which will guide her in choosing the products most beneficial to your skin.

Then I was led to one of two Dermalogica treatment rooms (the other rooms in Essenses Aesthetics are set aside for Murad treatments and the Clarins Institute). There, my favorite massage therapist Rose, who I’d met already at Dermalogica’s Makati branch, had me choose between detoxifying lemongrass or relaxing lavender Stress Relief Treatment Oil. I chose lavender, and noticed that it was cunningly packaged in one of those plastic jugs like motor oil, except in pristine white, like all Dermalogica products. Aromatherapeutic lavender is blended with sandalwood and orange to soothe the mind, while organic silicones make this oil water-soluble so not only does it wash off easily after massage, you can also pour it into your bath for a soothing experience.

For one blissful hour Rose ministered to all the niggling aches and pains that had accrued during the week. It takes a special touch to administer a firm but not painful massage, and Rose is an expert at this.

Once the 60 minutes were up, it was with a tinge of regret that this now soft-as-Jell-O massage junkie was led to the facial room. Normally I’d choose a massage over a facial anytime, in contrast to 70 percent of Dermalogica’s clients, who opt for the facial over massage, says Martinez. I soon saw why.

My therapist this time was the charming Liezl, who turned on a magnifying lamp to begin Dermalogica’s famous face mapping, in which she went over my face inch-by-inch with both her eyes and hands (which Dermalogica claims is more effective in detecting deeper-seated congestion and skin problems). Your face and neck are divided into 14 areas, which are inspected for breakouts, pimples, dilated capillaries, milia and pigmentation.

Based on Chinese Diagnosis, Dermalogica believes that your skin provides an outside view into your body’s internal health. Liezl, who like all Dermalogica therpists was trained in the International Dermal Institute, was very reassuring yet amazingly accurate, observing that I wasn’t getting my full eight hours of sleep or eight glasses of water a day: I had dark circles around my eyes while my forehead and jawline were dehydrated. Five minutes of face mapping helped her determine that I had combination-verging-on-sensitive skin, and she designed a skincare treatment that was completely personalized to my needs. (After the facial you also get to take home your face map, which details their findings and your home-care prescription, showing what products to use and how often.)

First she double-cleansed my face – another of Dermalogica’s unique services. For the initial cleanse she chose the Special Cleansing Gel, a soap-free botanical blend of Quillaja Saponaria and calming lavender that foams away impurities without leaving the skin feeling tight or dry, while super-soothing balm mint calms sensitivity. Next she used the Ultracalming Cleanser for face and eyes, which contains an exclusive Anti-Ozonate Complex that protects hyper-sensitive skin from pollution, stress, harsh climate, hormonal changes and cosmetic allergies.

Then she exfoliated with the Skin Prep Scrub, with natural corn-cob meal and soothing botanicals to polish away dulling dead skin cells. Liezl then turned on a steamer to soften my pores in preparation for extraction, which was performed with gloved fingers and no tools to make the whole experience as painless and pleasant as possible.

Anti-bacterial solution followed to disinfect, then Active Moist, a lightweight, oil-free moisturizer with silk proteins and extracts of sage, burdock and calming cucumber that instantly absorbed into my skin without feeling greasy.

To treat my ruddy cheeks, she applied the Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque, with super-concentrated antioxidant vitamins and botanicals to reduce the redness caused by stress and premature aging. Vitamins A and C help promote collagen and elastin production for increased suppleness.

Before my relaxing massage could fade into memory, Liezl doled out some upper-body massage of her own on my shoulders, neck and scalp, making the facial that much more indulgent.

After sponging off the mask, she spritzed on Multi-Active Toner, which is great for jet-setters and 9-to-5ers because it counteracts the drying effects of planes and offices with refreshing aloe, moisture-binding sodium PCA, and soothing lavender and mint.

I found out later that, noticing my tired peepers, Martinez had also included a special eye treatment with my facial. Liezl gently massaged in Dermalogica’s Total Eye Care cream, which retexturizes, protects and refreshes your delicate eye area with gentle hydroxy acids, chemical-free SPF 15 sunscreen, botanicals to reduce puffiness and light diffusers to conceal dark circles. Talk about a multi-tasking product any busy woman would love!

Best of all, you can proceed directly from Essenses Aesthetics to an event because, while most facials leave you barefaced, shiny and pink, the last step in a Dermalogica facial is their fabulous Treatment Foundation – makeup that’s actually good for you. This oil-free formula contains more antioxidant vitamins and humectants that act as a barrier against environmental assaults and moisture loss. It also comes in eight shades made from non-sensitizing natural pigments that stay color-true. This means it gives you radiant, even skin that looks poreless and plumped-up. It’s a glow that says you’ve spent the last two hours either getting sinfully pampered or having the best sex of your life. One swipe of eye shadow and gloss and you’re off to be the life of the party.

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Dermalogica Suites is located in Essenses Aesthetics, Rustan’s Alabang Town Center, Muntinlupa City. For inquiries and reservations, call 842-9836.