Lately I have begun justifying a lot of my purchases as wedding/honeymoon essentials; with 10 months to go until the wedding I think this is perfectly acceptable! Then it dawned on me that the same rule could apply to skin care and beauty, which after all is probably my biggest guilty pleasure, and I want my skin to look its best on the big day!Having a facial, in my eyes, is one of life’s most enjoyable treats and were my bank balance to allow it I’d be putting my face in the hand’s of a facialist every week. So it’s no wonder then that Skin Laundry’s Laser facial caught my eye as it boasts that your first facial with them is free!
Skin Laundry originates from Los Angeles and it focuses on laser and light therapy to improve the appearance and condition of your skin. Now I could talk for hours about the benefits of ‘traditional’ facials, which acids do what and why Retinol has become my holy grail skin care ingredient, however I have never looked into or tried laser treatment before. The USP with Skin Laundry is that the treatment only takes 15 minutes so it’s perfect as a lunchtime pick me up or last minute appointment type of treatment, it has no downtime and it promises that all important glow from the off.
Booking online is easy and there are no requests for payment details to and lock you into further treatments. In the UK there are only 3 locations to have the treatment, Bristol, London and Leeds and all outlets are based within a Harvey Nichols store. I turned up 10 minutes early for my appointment and found an iPad booking in system which also gets you to fill out the disclaimer and medical information questionnaire which facials generally require you to do.
I was then shown through to the treatment room where the therapist explained that the treatment would be in two parts, the laser initially to deep cleanse the skin and then the light therapy to work on the surface appearance of the skin. She placed some goggles on my eyes to protect them from the laser and, after cleansing my skin, started working around my face in sections with the laser. The sensation was very similar to that of IPL, tiny pulses which, whilst very mildly uncomfortable, did not hurt at all. This took approximately 5 minutes. Some ultrasound gel was then spread all over my face which was explained as allowing deeper penetration of the light therapy and then the light therapy tool focused on sections of my face again, in particular areas of redness and historical scarring from teenage acne.
Treatment done my skin was then cleansed again and an SPF 40 applied as all skin will be more susceptable to sun damage following the treatment.
Final thoughts:
My skin had a definite glow to it immediately after the treatment and there was no redness or sensitivity. The therapist advised applying a hydrating mask that evening to replenish some moisture which might have been lost through the laser treatment. I choose to purchase one of Skin Laundry’s sheet masks but any mask with hyaluronic acid in will do the same job. The glow continued the next day and I haven’t experienced any breakouts or adverse reactions from the treatment.
The question is would I choose this treatment over a more ‘traditional’ facial that offers more of an all round pampering experience, given that the price is fairly equivalent between both. If you want instant results from the first treatment and are short on time then I would definitely recommend. This is also an ideal facial to try if you have sensitive skin as minimal products are actually applied to your skin – given that your first treatment is free you have got nothing to loose!
Book your treatment here
Jess X
abrunetteedit.com 