Saving face

When I was a kid, I would give my little cousins, nannies included, "facials." This usually consisted of using toothpaste as a mask, shampoo to "cleanse" and baby oil to "moisturize."  Of course, even my five-year-old cousins got preemie zits after the treatment.

I’ve always been obsessed with facials despite my spectacular stint as an aesthetician. My puritanical friend once said they were useless and soap and water are all you need. That sounds like a very boring way to live. I want eight products to slap on every night, potions for every bizarre reason possible.

I’ve experienced every kind of facial, ranging from the simple cleansing ones to the ones that promise to change the shape of your face. Some are medicinal, some feel like heaven while others are just plain insane. My favorite kind is one that mixes science and extravagance in one neat session. One of those that I highly adore is the facial at Murad at Rustan’s fifth floor.

Dr. Murad is known all over the world for his no-nonsense potions that deal with every imaginable skin problem known to man. Now he brings the powers of C (vitamin, that is) to healing skins of all ages. Remember what happens to an apple when you cut it in half? After a while the inner white meat browns and changes into a mushy texture. That’s an example of oxidation. Every day our skin is prone to that kind of damage from the free radicals that we find in our environment.

His vitamin C-infusing facial makes sure that it heals the photo-damage done to skin by the environment. You actually feel it working. The Murad-trained aestheticians cleanse the skin with a vitamin C cleanser from Murad that has vitamin E capsules for extra moisture and protection. Next, skin is exfoliated gently so that it will be ready to absorb the vitamin C paste that will be carefully brushed on to the face. At first, it smells like a delicious citrus pastry, but then the magic starts then the super concentrated icing starts working. It tingles and sometimes stings just a bit, but this is just the product telling you that it’s doing its job healing the invisible damage by the environment. A soothing massage follows with the deeply nourishing Vitamin C lotion packed with antioxidants and SPF15! A lot of people just fall asleep during the whole thing, since the therapist’s hands never leave you, giving you a relaxing neck and shoulder massage while they wait for the mask to dry.

You leave the room feeling like a ripe juicy fruit. Not like a rotten apple. Of course, to complete the experience, it makes sense to take home the Vitamin C starter package by Murad. It has all the ingredients for the everyday battle against those free radicals and the stealth agents of aging. It’s a perfect gift to give to your mom on Mother’s Day. After all, children are the greatest free radical among them all.

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Murad products are available at Rustan’s Essenses Makati, Shangri-La Plaza, Alabang Town Center, Gateway Araneta Center, Robinsons Place Manila and Ayala Center Cebu.