Today we were back at Auralia Skin Lab in Kitsilano. Our original visit was during their grand opening celebration, where I got to be the model for their quickie demo version of their HydraFacial. So now after getting a little taste of the treatment, I was back for the full service. Away from the gallery of onlookers and in the privacy and comfort of an empty room.
My session began with an analysis of my skin. Where after I placed my chin on a pedestal and my forehead against a plate, the egg shaped machine took 3 photos with flash. These would be used to look at the health and overall wellness of my skin breaking it down into categories like pores, age spots, wrinkles, derma texture, UV effects, pigmentation, hydration, and skin sensitivity. Together the technician reads your results like a book and uses it to curate the treatment to come.
This analysis is done during your initial intake and it is redone after 3 treatments to note any changes and any improvements. With percentages and skin grade, the goal is to move the needle and land a “balanced” review. I was sitting at “problematic” with largest concerns being dryness and pores. Left untreated there is a way to speed up time and see how you will end up 3 years from now and then 5.
The machine reads the deeper levels of your skin, which rejuvenates 28-40 days. The more often the skin rejuvenates the better, as this is the way the skin detoxifies itself.
The best way to describe the HydraFacial is a deep cleaning of your face. Like how you would do on your carpets semi-regularly, you want to do the same for your face despite how “clean” it looks.
The results are instantaneous, you can visibly see 25% improvement after the first session. For me it was smaller and less pores on the nose and t-zone, as we discussed would be our focal points based on my face scan above. This is where most of the bacteria on my face bred. I walked away with what felt like a lighter feeling face with tighter skin and a smoother and brighter appearance, like that of the highly coveted Korean glass skin look.
Whereas other facials focus on extraction and pushing out black heads, which can break the skin’s barrier, Auralia’s motto is “beauty shouldn’t be painful” so their techniques are non-evasive with no downtime, if not a short 3-4 hours of surface redness. During the 7 step treatment my technician constantly checked in on me, asking how things felt and if it hurt. None of it did. Were she not as engaging as she was, I would have and could have fallen asleep on the heated chair, which is a testament to how gentle she and the procedure was.
You start with a clean face and the first step is to still cleanse. This is done manually with their gentle cream based cleanser and two hands. This is one of the choices made in consideration of my diagnosed dry skin. This gets massaged into the skin. During this process the technician noticed bumps on my chin that were from clogged pores. She foreshadowed that these would come up during the facial process. Once rubbed and scrubbed the cleanser is then removed with moist towelettes.
Then we started the HydraFacial using the specialty machine. This is like other facial with multiple steps, but it is all done with a specialty wand that injects water all throughout the process, as the name of the treatment suggests. Each one gets a different cartridge and nozzle that gets screwed on to the applicator wand.
The process feels like a mini vacuum cleaner sucking your face. It is used in an up and down suction motion as well as a dragging one. As it does this, it is simultaneously injecting serum into the skin; which is then rubbed in by hand. The machine uses vortex technology to exfoliate the skin and remove dead skin with lactic acid. This is preparation of the skin for the extraction process to come. It doing so it strengthens the skin barrier for our chemical peel down the road.
The next step feels exactly the same as the one before it, except with a different serum and a different purpose. This one is to soften the skin barrier, making it more susceptible for the additional treatments to come. Still dabbing with the wand, still rubbing in with gloved fingers.
Step four is extraction by way of peel. There is a warning of tingling and sensitivity here, much like you would get from any other facial peel. Like how the wand was dragged across the skin previously to remove dead skin, it is now being done to extract black heads, white heads, and anything else blocking your pores.
Next I got a hydration boost serum, once again this was in consideration my original face analysis. They have other boosting serums like brightening and peptides, and ones for acne. It is applied using the dab method with a great focus on chronic areas of interest.
Next is a red light treatment, where you are given cotton pads and goggles over the eyes and a portable machine is placed directly over the face. This is in order to shine a bright red light over it, thus increasing the absorption of everything into the skin.
During this 10 minute treatment you are given the option of a hand massage. Given how much and how often I use my phone, I jumped at the opportunity for one and relished each gentle rub from fingers to forearm.
The final step is a hydrate and glow serum injection and this is where the Korean glass skin look comes from. It feels like all the other suctions above, just with a different serum rubbed in.
And once the facial is completed you get a handheld mirror to be able to look at the results. And before you are sent back into the world, the technician gives you a layer of moisturizer and sunscreen as well. You also get to see all that HydraFacial pulls out. It gets sucked into a watery capsule that they call the “gunkie”.
I walked away with better understanding of my skin including the following nuggets of vital information. Sun screen is always a must, it does not prevent you from tanning, it just protects you from wrinkles and skin cancer. Where due to the fact that our face is often left uncovered, it is the number one source of skin cancer. You can still catch UVA and UVB rays even when the sun is behind clouds. When looking for sun screen you want to get one that is mineral base instead of chemical, which is not natural and can be harmful.
Hydrating the skin helps to to smooth out wrinkles. The texture of your skin and how uneven its tone is can be effected by staying up too late, not drinking enough water, and day to day stressors.
In closing, this is a treatment worth investing in, as it means taking care of yourself. A lovely way to enjoy the day, while loving yourself.
Auralia Skin Lab
2935 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6K 4T3
(604) 339-2935
auralia.ca
