Non Laser Skin Rejuvenation Methods: Microdermabrasion and HydraFacial

If  only all wrinkles were this cute, right?

I’ve had a lot of facials in my lifetime but had never tried HydraFacial.  I’m going to tell you about the facial in general since not all of my readers are located in San Diego, and then talk about the spa I went to should locals want to try it out.  If you’re not in San Diego, you can go to www.hydrafacial.com and find a provider near you that does it.  But there are certain things that are helpful to know about the HydraFacial regardless of where you get one.

What is HydraFacial? The Hydrafacial is a new breakthrough, non laser skin resurfacing technology.   It’s non invasive with no (almost no downtime, in my case) down time after the treatment.  This treatment provides deep pore cleansing, exfoliation, extraction, and hydration all at the same time.  The developers of the HydraFacial system take great pains to point out that the facial takes its name from the root word hydrate, and believe the ability to moisturize the skin separates the HydraFacial from all other skin resurfacing procedures. The HydraFacial procedure is suitable for most skin types, including thin or aging skin, ethnic skin, and dry skin or oily skin.  You need to make sure that you have a good technician (which I did) because they can customize the facial to your skin type. HydraFacial was recently featured on the CBS show “The Doctors”.

Exfoliate prior to HydraFacial with Microdermabrasion: The spa I visited, Ulan MedSpa, does a diamond microdermabrasion prior to the HydraFacial.  They told me that this is not always the case at every spa, but they believe it to be necessary because the microdermabrasion preps the skin to receive the moisture and antioxidant serums delivered by the HydraFacial.  It makes sense if you think about it., because microdermabrasion smoothes your skin’s texture by gently exfoliating the damaged outermost layer, revealing young rejuvenated skin underneath.  This is  also without pain or down-time.   The diamond microdermabrasion tip looks like a large Lifesaver and has thousands of tiny diamond particles which are uniformly sized.  A fun factoid – these diamonds can be natural or synthetic for cost reasons.  Anyway, the diamond particles plus some suction is what exfoliates your skin.  It’s very comfortable and relaxing actually.  The treatment only takes about 20 minutes.

Diamond vs Crystal Microdermabrasion: If you book a microdermabrasion facial, you have to make sure that you know the difference between diamond and crystal microdermabrasion.  Crystal microdermabrasion facials CAN have down time, and is where aluminum oxide or sodium bicarbonate crystals are blasted on to your skin to perform the exfoliation, and then suctioned away.  I’ve read that there is some concern about aluminum oxide crystals being used on skin and what kind of long term effects that might have.   Crystal microdermabrasion is being phased out because diamond microdermabrasion is more popular and also more accurate.  You can exfoliate closer to your lip lines for instance with a diamond microbrasion tip, then you can when blasting crystals.  A lot of people suggest that it’s a matter of preference, but for me there is no question.  I go with diamond microdermabrasion though, I confess, I’ve never had a crystal one.

Therefore,  if you’re going to book a HydraFacial, you will get better results if you get a microdermabrasion prior.

My HydraFacial:  The HydraFacial felt like someone was literally vacuuming all the dirt out of my pores!  There’s a “hose” with an “attachment” that applies serums and suctions away debris. There is a video on the home page of www.hydrafacial.com that shows in more detail how the device works.   It’s not a completely zen like spa experience but, to be honest, the facials that WORK in my experience have been all about “business” and not “pleasure”.  I’m totally ok with that.  Hydrafacial is definitely not the slightest bit uncomfortable and is oddly pleasant.  Maybe I just felt liberated after been vacuumed clean!  The treatment took about 20 minutes.  I have sensitive skin so I was a little bit red for an hour or so but it wasn’t a big deal.  As usual, you can’t do this if you plan to go in the sun for several days afterward.

The next day, I had my first ever TV interview.  My skin was soft and there was not a blemish or splotch in sight.  Makeup went on easy and I was very pleased (still am).  A few days after that (2 full days post treatment) my skin began to peel all over like I’d had a mild sunburn.  A few pimples appeared (that happens to me after extractions) but today, day 5, they are totally gone. I think this is all normal “transition” but it would be inconvenient if you had to go somewhere you wanted to look your best, had a TV interview. So that’s why I say ALMOST no down time in my experience.  It’s not a big deal, and totally worthwhile, but you should know about it before you book so that you can plan accordingly.  Your skin might not have any downtime, however.

I would say that the biggest difference that I notice is that the lines around my eyes and pores are certainly smaller.  My entire face is hydrated – some times I get dry spots.  It was recommended to me that a week later, I should use Alpha Hydroxy Acid which probably will get rid of the peeling, if there’s any left.  Prior to a week out, I think my skin would be too sensitive.   I already use AHA weekly as a non abrasive exfoliant, at the recommendation of my dermatologist.  So I’ll update this post after that.

You can see before and after photos of people that have done the HydraFacial here.  In summary, I’m very happy with the results and am curious to see how long they last.

HydraFacial opportunity for San Diegans! Periodically, I now help write for www.buywithme.com. They sent me on “assignment”  to Ulan Spa so that I could try the HydraFacial complimentary in order to do an accurate write up. Only a handful of spas in San Diego County can offer the HydraFacial, but I would definitely recommend Ulan MedSpa if you’d like one.  The staff at Ulan MedSpa couldn’t be nicer and I get the feeling that they are naturally this way.  They took great care to show me around the facility.  Clarissa was my technician and very, very thoughtful and thorough.  There is an insane deal right now throught BuyWithMe here where you can get $400 worth of services at Ulan MedSpa for only $89. This includes diamond microdermabrasion, Anti-Aging LED Treatment AND HydraFacial, in this order.  I did not have the LED treatment but it provides an extra anti-aging boost. The deal has already sold past it’s required number of participants due to it’s popularity, BUT you have several days left to buy this power packed set of treatments if you want to.  I recommend that you do!!! Ulan MedSpa’s website is www.ulanmedspa.com – check it out!

Tagged as: Health, San Diego, Spa