Spa Like a Pro Series: Your Guide to Facials

Introduction

Facials are one of the most indulgent ways to care for your skin, combining relaxation with targeted skincare benefits. With so many types of facials and luxurious add-ons available, it can be tricky to know which is right for you. Here’s a guide to help you discover the perfect facial for your skin type and needs.

A standard facial treatment

What Happens During a Facial?

Each step of a facial serves a spe­cif­ic pur­pose in main­tain­ing your skin’s health:

• Analyzing: Your skin will be analyzed, usually under a bright light. They are looking for your skin type, areas of concern, and how best to approach your specific needs.

• Cleans­ing: The facial begins with a deep cleanse to remove make­up, dirt, and impu­ri­ties from your skin’s sur­face. This helps pre­pare your skin for the rest of the treat­ment and ensures bet­ter absorp­tion of any prod­ucts applied later.

• Exfo­li­a­tion: Gently exfo­li­ate your skin to slough off dead skin cells and unclog pores. This step pro­motes a brighter, smoother com­plex­ion and helps address com­mon con­cerns like black­heads and uneven skin texture.

• Extrac­tions: If need­ed, extrac­tions will clear clogged pores and pre­vent break­outs. When done pro­fes­sion­al­ly, extrac­tions can be done with­out caus­ing dam­age or scarring. Often, a hot damp towel or steam will be used on the face to help open the pores and allow extractions to be performed easily and gently.

• Facial Mas­sage & Add-ons: A relax­ing facial mas­sage stim­u­lates blood cir­cu­la­tion and pro­motes healthy skin cell regen­er­a­tion, leav­ing your skin look­ing revi­tal­ized and refreshed. Add-ons (discussed below) will often be used at this stage.

• Mask & Mois­tur­ize: Your treat­ment will con­clude with a cus­tomized mask fol­lowed by the appli­ca­tion of a tar­get­ed serum or mois­tur­iz­er to lock in the ben­e­fits of the facial.

Some Common Types of Facials

Classic or Custom Facial	Overview: A classic type of facial that is customized to your skin's needs. Each spa may have their own version. Best For: All skin types, especially first-time facial-goers. Benefits: Unclogs pores, removes dead skin, boosts circulation, and leaves skin soft and radiant.
Anti-Aging Facial	Overview: Targets fine lines and promotes skin elasticity using antioxidants and peptides. Best For: Mature or sun-damaged skin. Benefits: Reduces wrinkles and nourishes skin.
Acne/Deep-Cleansing Facial	Overview: Focused on clearing congested skin and reducing breakouts. For: Oily, combination, or acne-prone skin. Benefits: Minimizes blemishes and balances oil production.
Hydrating Facial	Overview: Replenishes moisture with serums, masks, and steam. Best For: Dehydrated or sensitive skin. Benefits: Plumps skin, soothes irritation, and restores hydration.
Brightening Facial	Overview: Evens tone and brightens skin using exfoliation and vitamin C. Best For: Dull or sun-damaged skin. Benefits: Radiant, even complexion.
Microdermabrasion	Overview: Gentle exfoliation to remove dead skin cells and stimulate collagen. Best For: Fine lines, mild scarring, or uneven texture. Benefits: Smooths skin and enhances product absorption.
Chemical Peel	Overview: Strong exfoliation using acids to promote cell turnover. Best For: Sun damage, hyperpigmentation, or acne scars. Benefits: Brighter, smoother skin; may require downtime.

Facial Add-ons

High-Frequency Treatment	Reduces inflammation, fights acne bacteria, and stimulates circulation. Dur­ing the high fre­quen­cy treat­ment, enriched oxy­gen mol­e­cules are pro­duced that cre­ate an anti-bac­te­r­i­al action and a ​“nat­ur­al” ther­mal tis­sue warm­ing. This reac­tion helps your blood ves­sels push away tox­ins, while the cells in your skin are enriched with nutri­ents and hydrat­ing vol­ume. This in turn cre­ates an increase in blood cir­cu­la­tion and cell renew­al that sup­ports increased lev­els of col­la­gen and elastin. The skin is left feel­ing instant­ly ener­gized and notice­ably soft­er after just one treatment. From: https://www.dulyhealthandcare.com/health-topic/what-is-high-frequency-and-why-do-we-use-it
Ultrasound Therapy https://www.haussalon.com/ultrasonic	An Ultrasonic Facial creates high speed oscillations and uses low-frequency sound waves to leave the skin smooth, fresh, and perfectly prepared for product application. It will also remove dead skin cells and debris quickly and safely.
Oxygen Infusion https://essencemedspa.net/how-to-care-for-your-skin-after-an-oxygen-facial/	Hydrates, plumps, and brightens skin by infusing oxygen and nutrients. Great for anti-aging.
Light Therapy https://www.azuremedical.com.au/led-light-therapy-what-it-is-and-how-it-works/	Targets acne, stimulates collagen, and promotes healing with specific light wavelengths, either using red or blue light frequencies. But don’t worry, there aren’t any ultraviolet (UV) rays in the light therapy.
Dermaplaning  Using a scalpel for dermaplaning during a facial	Essentially uses a scalpel on the face to remove dead skin and fine hair (peach fuzz) for a smooth, flawless surface. The goals are to improve skin appearance, but also to allow products to penetrate the skin better. Dermaplaning can be controversial whether it damages the skin barrier.
Ice globes	Cold facial globes are glass skincare tools filled with a non-toxic, antifreeze liquid that’s chilled in the fridge or freezer to deliver a cooling, cryotherapy-like facial massage. When rolled gently across the face, they help reduce puffiness and inflammation, boost circulation for a healthy glow, tighten pores, and soothe redness or irritation. The cooling massage also relaxes facial muscles, enhances the absorption of serums and moisturizers, and can even relieve headaches or sinus pressure.

Facial Types of Peels

• Enzyme peels rely on natural fruit-derived enzymes (papaya, pineapple, pumpkin) to gently break down dead skin cells and boost turnover. They’re milder, better suited for sensitive skin, carry minimal downtime and are more about texture improvement and radiance enhancement rather than dramatic resurfacing.

• Chemical peels use acids (like AHAs, BHAs or TCA) to intentionally exfoliate the top layers of skin, with strength ranging from light to deep. These peels penetrate deeper and are effective for concerns like fine lines, wrinkles, acne scars and hyperpigmentation, but also typically come with more downtime (redness, peeling, sensitivity)

How Often Should You Get a Facial?

Most estheticians recommend every 4–6 weeks, but frequency may vary depending on your skin type and treatment intensity. Sensitive skin should receive treatments less often. Wffects

Tips for Choosing the Right Facial

• The best way to approach this if you're facial-naive, is to opt for a "customization facial" if your clinic offers it, which allows the esthetician to examine your skin and needs and tailor the facial

• Identify your skin type: oily, dry, combination, sensitive, or mature.

• Know your goals: hydration, anti-aging, brightening, or acne control.

• Customize with add-ons for enhanced results.

Pro Tips

• Remember that a facial is customized, and you can opt-out of certain interventions such as extractions if you're not comfortable with them

• Post-care is important. Stay hydrated and try to keep the serums on all day (no need to wash your face.) Follow their post-care instructions and call the spa if you notice anything unusual.

How Can I Tell if the Facial was Good Quality?

A good facial should always have the esthetician at your side, providing services - in other words - slapping on a face mask and leaving the room is NOT a good facial and you should not go back to spend your money there.

Extractions, when done correctly, should not hurt very much, and the proper preparations should be made to open up your pores.

Lastly, you should see a difference in your overall skin condition and leave the spa with glowing skin.