Dermalogica Facial Treatment (mini review)

Okay, so this morning (Tuesday 16th July 2013 11am) I went for my first ever Dermalogica "facial". In the last few years I admit I have completely fallen out of the habit, and kind of out of love, with beauty treatments. I know exactly what you're thinking - a beauty blogger who doesn't show much interest in beauty treatments, what?! So I'm going to stop you right there. Calm down, there's no need to panic or start doubting my sanity or whatever. I am a seriously girly girl. I love any kind of R&R, getting glammed up being pampered etc. I just had a few dodgy salon experiences, plus when money is a bit tight I'd rather spend and splurge on something like a new makeup product. So when my step-mum came home all excited last week to tell me that our local salon was doing half price Dermalogica facials (just on a tuesday, some kind of promotional offer), I admit I was more than a little bit skeptical. But my aunty uses dermalogica, plus I'd seen some comments on the internet from you guys about it so I thought I'd put my name down.

I arrived just before 11 and the receptionist sat me down with a survey literally longer than my arm to fill out. I don't really like giving the ins and outs of my life out on forms but I thought, they obviously need the details for something, so I'll just fill it in and reserve judgement. The survey is actually your customer card. It takes note of things like your current skincare routine, lifestyle, allergies, types of medications, and what their habits are. I found out later that this is so the skincare specialist doing your facial can design your treatment specifically to you, so that you get the most out of it and so that they can avoid any problems or areas of hypersensitivity.

So I was led into a small treatment room at the back of the shop, where the specialist told me to drop down the straps of my top and get into the bed (under the covers, on one of the hottest days of the year...). She came back a few minutes after, and had a chat with me about how I felt generally about my skin. What my main areas of concern where and which kind of products I was using. She also examined my skin, in depth. I was told that my forehead was quite dehydrated, and the patches of redness I get on my cheeks are actually because I use a cleanser and toner that's too harsh for my skin type. I was under the impression that I had oily skin and therefore should be using a cleanser and face wash specifically for oily skin. This is actually incorrect, and as I only have an oily T-zone, I don't need such a product.

 The specialist didn't actually tell me what she'd be doing to my skin, so unfortunately I can't go into too much detail about what happened in the next hour and a half. This did nothing to ease how skeptical I was. However, after just a few minutes under her touch I was the most relaxed that I have ever been. She started off with some inhalation techniques, cupping her fragranced hands over my face and encouraging deep breathing. To be perfectly honest I kind of zoned out not long after this. There was a lot of cleansing and massaging of the face, shoulders and neck.The first part of the treatment was done under steam, which was very pleasant, and even though I was practically in another world I was aware of the specialist using different kinds of products on different areas of my face; adding and removing cleansers, oils, masques, exfoliaters and many more things I'm sure. She did tell me that she had mixed together two different types of face masks to make the perfect blend for my skin type, and as she applied this I became aware of a pleasant tingling sensation all over my face. She then quietly told me that she was leaving me under the face mask for 10 minutes and then she'd be back. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep at this point, it was honestly the most chilled out I've ever felt in my whole life. By the time the treatment was finished (90 minutes long), even the 5 minute walk home was a struggle as I felt so relaxed I could have just slept the whole afternoon. I left the salon with my skin feeling as though it had been cleaned right down to the pores. It was the softest I think it's been in about 10 years, and had a visible glow despite me being so sleepy! I was also given a pouch of sample products suited to me, to try out. All this for just £20 (I know it was an offer but still) really was an unbelievable bargain. I would definitely pay full price for this treatment if I had the money, and could not recommend it highly enough. My skin feels amazing and even 10 hours later I'm still so relaxed I think I'll get into bed now! Check your local salons to see if this is available near you - I love it.

B xxo