Treatment Diary: Trying the Hydrafacial

Curious about trying LaserAway’s new Hydrafacial? I was, too

Upon learning that LaserAway added the Hydrafacial to their treatment menu, I got super excited and knew I needed to try it. Of course, I immediately realized I had no idea what a Hydrafacial was or what it even did. So I did what any adventurous skincare aficionado might do—I went into the appointment blind and decided to just roll with it. Here’s how my first Hydrafacial went for me.

After arriving at the LaserAway location in TriBeCa, I was set up with my super-knowledgeable medical provider, Sabrina. After I signed consent forms and took “before” photos, I asked her my most pressing questions: How long will this take? Will it hurt? She quickly assured me that the treatment wouldn’t hurt at all, as it’s not invasive (although some people feel some slight tingling from the serums) and that it would take me all of ~30 minutes. We got right to it.

Step 1: Cleanse

Sabrina gave me a couple of LaserAway Beauty City Cloths Gentle Cleansing & Makeup Remover Wipes to remove the concealer and moisturizer that was already on my face. It’s important to go into this treatment with a totally clean slate.

Step 2: Exfoliate

Using the Hydrafacial Activ -4 skin solution, which contains a soothing algae extract and an exfoliating lactic acid, Sabrina deeply cleansed my skin with a suctioning device. She moved the wand all over my face, which felt like it was getting cold, gel-covered kisses. This process kicked off the exfoliation process and helped reduce the appearance of fine lines.

Step 3: Peel

Next, Sabrina replaced the cartridge in the handpiece with a new tip. Using short feather strokes, she applied light pressure as she moved a serum that contained a mix of glycolic acid and salicylic acid all over my face. She warned me that some people might feel a slight tingling sensation from the acid, but I didn’t feel anything of the sort. These acids are both exfoliators, and help with surface skin turnover and reduce the appearance of clogged pores.

Step 4: Extractions

Now was the fun part. I was worried that because I don’t often have visibly clogged pores, the extractions weren’t going to do much for me. Boy, was I wrong. Starting with my chin, the wand moved across the face using a much stronger suction, as it vacuumed out all the gunk in my T-zone. Again, still no discomfort. In fact, the feeling was weirdly satisfying.

Step 5: Hydrate

Using a combination of the antioxidant, arnica, and ultra-hydrating hyaluronic acid, Sabrina soaked my face in hydration. It felt like moisture was flooding my open pores—and it felt totally rejuvenating.

Step 6: Laser treatment, AKA Lightstim Elipsa

Sabrina asked if I was more interested in using red light to soothe post-treatment inflammation and redness or blue light, which targets acne. I chose red. She covered my eyes with protective goggles and placed the Elipsa over my face for a few minutes as the light permeated through my skin.

Finally, she showed me all of the gunk that was vacuumed out of my skin. I couldn’t believe it. I felt disgusted and satisfied—I felt a lot of things! She then placed a cool LaserAway Beauty Jetsetter Hydroserum Face Mask over my skin to help keep the inflammation under control and assured me that there was no downtime following this treatment—big win! She topped me off with sunscreen, and I was good to go. Upon looking in the mirror, I couldn’t believe how dewy my skin was. I walked around the neighborhood absolutely beaming. While the shine was certainly turned up to a maximum in that moment, my skin maintained a more desirable level of dewiness over the coming days.

In short: I loved the Hydracial and would 100% do it again—particularly if it was a day or so before a big event.