Facial reviews

Getting a facial

You may think of facials as something you do during a gentle, relaxing, and pampering day at a spa. Luxuriating at a spa has its place, but facials are far from a gentle skin rub.

The professional facial is an intensive skin-therapy session that includes deep cleansing, exfoliating dead and dry skin, and balancing the skin's pH. When you're paying as much as a $100 an hour, you want a facial that will improve the tone, texture, and elasticity of your skin.

Facial Options

There are a great many facial treatments available; nearly every spa has their own preferred facial technique and product line. Spas tend to use unique names and descriptions for their facials. Common spa facials are:

• European facial-similar to a standard facial except the products are European
• Peeling mask-designed to lift dead skin and encourage new skin growth
• Paraffin mask-helps increase circulation and rehydrate the skin
• Deep cleansing facial-purifies and revitalizes the skin

If you want to be at your best for a special event, ask for a reviving facial that will leave your skin glowing, ready to party right away, rather than a harsher treatment that will take time to recover from.

Facials for wrinkles

Facials may help even out your skin tone. When combined with a peel, a facial may also repair and prevent the skin problems--like fine lines and wrinkles-- caused by sun damage and aging.  Some natural skin care fans believe that rather than using Botox, routine facials helps relax habitual facial expressions that cause the skin to wrinkle as it loses elasticity.