HydraFacial now available at LAVISH Nails Wax and Lash

Complimentary treatment was provided by our sponsor. All opinions are entirely my own.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've gotten a facial in my 40+ years of life. It's not that my face doesn't need deep cleansing, because it really does. But, I don't have the patience to lie there for an hour (and now that I'm a mom, I don't have the time either!), and the extraction part of facials is just downright so painful that I would always ask myself why I'm paying all this money just to get tortured to the point where I'm on the verge of tears!

After experiencing a HydraFacial at LAVISH in Kahala Mall, I can honestly say that I am both a believer and fan of this gentle, yet effective treatment for facial skin.

HydraFacial uses patented technology to cleanse, extract, and hydrate your facial skin. The magic is all in this machine you see in the picture below. The machine consists of a handheld device that has different tips and various skin care solutions, all in one machine. During the facial, different tips are used, and different solutions (serums) are applied.  

So here's how my first HydraFacial experience went down .... first the technician Cassie (who I adored!) instructed me to put on a spa wrap towel, since she would be doing some work on my neck and upper shoulder area in addition to my face. 

Then she took some "before pictures" with a camera that was attached to the HydraFacial machine, so that the photos would pop up instantaneously.  

Then I slipped under the covers and so began my 30 minute facial.  

There were essential three steps:

1. Cleanse + Peel: manual cleansing of the skin followed by the first of three VortexFusion treatments (think of it as a gentle vacuum delivering a solution onto the skin while at the same time sucking up the dead skin cells). 
2. Extraction + Hydrate: first a mixture of glycolic and salicylic acids was applied to my skin. Cassie had warned me that there might be a slight itchiness associated with this serum, but for me, it was very faint and definitely tolerable.  Then Automatic vortex suction cleansed the pores of my skin. This is usually the most painful part of a regular facial, but thanks to the vortex-extraction nozzle, this was painless! It's like a little vacuum that sucked the whiteheads and other debris from my skin.
3. Fuse & Protect: Specific skin solutions and a serum of antioxidants, peptides and hyaluronic acid is infused into the skin with the VortexFusion tip to nourish and protect it.

With HydraFacial, at the end you get to see what was extracted from your skin. I'm not sure what it should look like if you have good skin or not-so-good skin, but Cassie said it didn't look that bad, so I'll take that as a good sign! 

There are different "boosts" available for an additional cost, that are designed to do things like reduce wrinkles, minimize the appearance of dark spots, brighten skin tone, etc. Also available for an additional fee is LED light therapy.  These add-ons may extend the time of your treatment.

Would I do this again? Absolutely. The treatment was quick, painless, and my skin felt GREAT afterwards. My skin was definitely smoother post-treatment and felt ultra-clean. While it is a tad more expensive than a traditional facial, I am willing to pay a little bit more money to avoid the painful manual extractions!

If you want to check it out for yourself, head to LAVISH at Kahala Mall.  They are conveniently located inside the mall next to California Pizza Kitchen and across from Macy's.  There's plenty of parking at the mall, the facility is clean, and Cassie is an awesome esthetician!  As of the date of this post, LAVISH does not have the HydraFacial pricing and information on their website yet, but you can call them at (808) 528-4748 to inquire. The 30 minute facial that I received today is currently priced at $150.