The 411 on Facials

A facial is actually a fairly complicated process. It’s taken thousands of years and lots of useless beauty fads to figure out what really helps your skin look youthful and refreshed. That’s why we don’t use “fad” facials; we do what is proven to help you look your best. In fact, Svetlana, one of our master estheticians, initially got her degree in chemistry, which has helped her not only in giving facials, but has also allowed her to create her own specialty line of skin care products.

So let’s get into the science of beauty. The outermost layer of the skin that homes things like sun damage, acne, dryness, dead skin, oil, etc. is the epidermis. The epidermis makes up the hundreds of layers of skin that we work so hard to beautify. Now in order to do that beautifying, we need to take out the bad stuff and put in some good stuff. The bad stuff includes all the dirt and damage we put our skin through in daily life. And more often than not, what you can do at home cannot get all that gunk out. That is why we offer exfoliation, extraction, and chemical/enzyme peels. These are all methods for deep cleaning the epidermis and ridding your skin of whatever is irritating it and causing you blemishes.

Exfoliation is the removal of dead skin cells, which clog your pores and cause acne or other irritations. Extraction is the removal of those irritations themselves (like acne) in a clean and healing way (instead of popping them at home, which is not only gross, but can also leave you with some bad acne scars). And finally we have peels. Peels are the strongest forms of cleansing we have. Exfoliation and extraction are a vital part of any facial and included in all our facials, but peels are not since we do not recommend them for every client. Chemical peels are extremely strong, and actually remove the outermost layer of skin, leaving only a young layer of skin, and no more dirt or irritations at all. Chemical peels can be used to treat wrinkles, acne and acne scarring, dark spots, as well as leave your skin feeling baby soft. However, they’re not the best option for summertime or those with sensitive skin, since your skin will be more likely to burn in the sun, and will feel a little tender. So if you don’t think a chemical peel will work, try an enzyme peel. An enzyme is an accelerator in a chemical process, and in this case, that chemical process is the natural healing and cleansing of your skin. Enzyme peels takes your body’s natural process of removing dead skin cells and creating newer, younger, plumper cells, and accelerates it so it into a matter of minutes. It’s a little gentler than the chemical peel, but still has all the same amazing benefits.

Okay: so now you know about removing the bad stuff. But what about putting in the good stuff? How does that work? Well the most important vitamin for your skin is Vitamin C (which is why we designed an entire facial around it) which is found most distinctively in oranges (yummy!). Vitamin C is important for a number of reasons. It’s a strong antioxidant and is what keeps your skin rejuvenated and soft.

Vitamin C is also responsible for the production of collagen. Collagen is the protein that makes your skin firm, wrinkle-free, and glowing. It makes up 75% of the skin and is one of the most abundant proteins in the body. If your skin looks just plain sad, your body is probably struggling to produce enough collagen, which is a big problem. An extra boost of collagen, or Vitamin C itself, will keep you looking refreshed, younger, and overall much healthier.

Vitamin C is also responsible for neutralizing free radicals in the skin. Free radicals are nasty rouge molecules that occur in all parts of our body. In the skin, however, they are usually created as a result of sun damage. Free radicals are molecules with an unmatched electron, which makes them unstable, and looking for something to neutralize that electron. Vitamin C, as an antioxidant, can do this. However, if your body doesn’t make enough to spare, the free radicals often steal electrons from collagen proteins. This leaves the collagen proteins damaged and disorganized, making your skin sag and wrinkle. However, this can be avoided and even reversed with Vitamin C and more collagen. That is the reason we created the Collagen Renewal Facial and Vitamin C Hydrating Facial.

Now you know a little bit of the science behind skin care. It can be pretty complicated but we have you covered. If you have any questions, or if you’re interested in trying one of our treatments, give us a call at 703-352-2800.