By: Hannah Hartz
Hannah Hartz is a Chicago-based esthetician with 7 years’ experience. She currently works at CaTara Med Spa. Here, Hartz shares her top facial picks.
The days of facial treatments being primarily viewed as a frivolous luxury are quickly turning into a thing of the past. Skincare treatments are necessities to many – a worthwhile expenditure of time and money to gain something that goes beyond a relaxing indulgence. As an esthetician practicing at a medical spa, I get requests for treatments that are minimally invasive and target adult hormonal acne, age prevention, age reversal and revitalization of dehydrated, damaged skin. Here are some of my top in-office picks for addressing these popular concerns.
Adult Hormonal Acne – Chemical Peel
Adult hormonal acne is most prevalent among women ages 25 to 40, and not only affects the skin, but holds a heavy impact on self-confidence and self-esteem. Very commonly, women will choose to just cover up their blemishes with makeup rather than address it, though this only makes the issue worse and doesn’t allow for healing or repair. An amazing course of action, along with a well-procured home care regimen, is a heavy-duty chemical peel. Peels work by stimulating a healing response in the skin, causing cellular renewal**. Not only can peels help to target acne lesions and help them to heal, but they can also help to lighten the discoloration that comes along with acne. Depending on the intensity and nature of your breakout situation, your skincare professional can help you pick a peel series that will yield the most drastic results.
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Aging Prevention – HydraFacial
There is a vast growth in preventative skincare treatments to help clients maintain a youthful appearance. My all-time favorite go-to is the one and only HydraFacial. I could not be more obsessed with this all-in-one treatment. The HydraFacial provides a deep clean and exfoliation, a light chemical peel (although stronger percentages are available for heftier skin concerns), shockingly easy extractions, followed by rehydration, antioxidants and a peptide blast. Touting the “best skin of your life” results, getting a HydraFacial is key for keeping those signs of aging at bay.
Age Reversal – Laser Facial
Undoing some of the havoc that time, genetics and lifestyle has wrought presents more difficultly than preventing (which is why it’s always best to start early). Don’t worry though – there are some easy and exciting therapies to help keep your skin smooth and tight. The most common complaints associated with aging skin is lack of firmness, lines and uneven tone and texture. With so many advancements in skincare technology, there are a myriad of sweet choices to reverse the hands of time. To achieve this with no downtime, no discomfort and no risk of adverse side effects, I would hands-down pick the Laser Facial. This uses a Yag laser to bulk-heat the dermal tissue, which stimulates new collagen production, evens skin tone by reducing diffuse redness in the tissue and helps to smooth lines and unevenness**.
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For Damaged Skin – Enzyme Treatment
Damaged skin is usually a result of dehydration and poor skincare product choices. With a depleted skin barrier, your skin can’t retain its hydration or keep out any bacteria and irritants it gets exposed to. Moreover, in this state, your skin is going to be super reactive to many products and treatments. Frequently, clients will end up with this skin issue after prolonged use of the wrong products or no products. And because damaged skin is easier to ignore than more “in-your-face” acne, it is often overlooked. The key to picking a facial for this type of skin is focusing on nourishing the skin back to health. My favorite choice is an enzyme treatment to gently exfoliate the skin. This allows for sloughing off excess dead cells, making way for better product penetration (go for deep hydration!) and stimulating new growth of healthier cells. With using some nurturing products to continue the healing at home to follow the enzyme treatment, your skin can be restored back to health** and you can move on to trying some more intense treatments in the future to target any other skin concerns.