Reviewing Results

Acting Editor Shannon Kilgariff experiences HydraFacial, the perfect pre-wedding treatment

What is it about a big event that makes you suddenly notice all your skin’s impurities just days leading up to it?

This happened to me recently, when I suddenly realised the week of my friend’s wedding that after months of lockdown, my skin had seen better days. Thankfully I was generally clear of spots, but my pores had started to get quite dark and congested, my skin was dull and dehydrated and I just felt – yuck. I didn’t have time for the likes of chemical peels, microneedling or radiofrequency – I needed results straight away with no downtime. With practitioners promising HydraFacial to be a gentle, yet effective treatment, I made the decision to book in just days 1 before the wedding, and report my experience trialling this treatment.

What is HydraFacial?

HydraFacial is a hydradermabrasion treatment that sucks away your dead skin cells, extracts impurities and pulls away the gunk in your pores, whilst simultaneously bathing the new skin with cleansing, hydrating and moisturising serums. It’s a popular treatment, performed in 87 countries around the world with more 2 than 2.5 million treatments per year! New on the HydraFacial menu is a range of boosters, which aim to create a more bespoke treatment approach to address individual skin concerns. I decided to go for the Dermabuilder, as this hopes to smooth the appearance of fine lines, enhance skin elasticity and provide intense hydration. It sounded like a good way to prepare my skin for wedding makeup! Next time, I think I’ll opt for the new Keravive as it’s specifically designed to cleanse, exfoliate and hydrate the scalp and hair follicles to promote the appearance of healthier, thicker, fullerlooking hair – who wouldn’t want this?

3 1. LED light to end the treatment 2. The extraction stage 3. The HydraFacial gunk tube

The results

You’re not going to look like you’ve had a facelift after a HydraFacial. But your skin will immediately feel cleaner, fresher and incredibly more hydrated. As soon as the treatment ended, my skin felt smoother, and I had that glow and radiance I was looking for, which was perfect for the wedding. When I inspected my pores closely, I could really see the difference – they were completely clear and there were none of those dark congestions I had before. In the days following, I was delighted to have several compliments about my skin, so the treatment will be something I’d soon have again before a big event.

Cost: £170-450 depending on the chosen treatment and clinic location Where to book: You can find a HydraFacial provider near you by using the clinic finder function on the website.

The treatment

After a consultation with the therapist to ensure you’re suitable for the treatment, a consent form is signed (you are asked about things like allergies and you can’t have used retinol recently as this can cause irritation). The first stage is a lymphatic drainage massage to flush out toxic build-up from the body and help reduce facial puffiness. It’s a nice and relaxing feeling, and really got me comfortable and settled into the procedure. Then is the cleansing and exfoliation stage, where a vacuum-like tip dances around your face while delivering key ingredients that aim to help both exfoliate and revitalise the skin. A skin solution with glycolic and salicylic acid is then applied for about four minutes, which helps further exfoliate the skin to remove the dead cells. Extraction is the exciting part – this stage involves an intense (but not at all painful) vacuum of your pores – it’s like a vacuum cleaner for your face! Once the pores are clear and all the dead skin cells are gone, the boosters full of antioxidants, hyaluronic acid and peptides are added. These provide immediate hydration and help reduce redness and inflammation. Finally, you go under a red LED light to end the treatment, which provides a gentle warming sensation, setting the ingredients into your skin and helping stimulate collagen production.

Top tip

After your HydraFacial, make sure you ask your therapist to see the gunk tube – my highlight of the treatment is seeing all the grime and dead skin cells that have been removed to show how clean my skin was!