THE CAR WASH FOR YOUR FACE

DEEP-CLEANSING and exfoliating, the HydraFacial gives your skin a quick acid peel and plumps it with hydrating serums, all in the space of half an hour or so.

WHAT IS IT? The HydraFacial involves a device which looks like an overgrown pen with a whirling vortex of water at its tip and a tube at the other end. By changing the tip, it can be used to do a spot of lymph-draining massage, then exfoliate to get rid of old skin cells, then apply glycolic acid to soften blockages in the pores. The softened gunk is vacuumed out, leaving skin receptive to the complexionboosting vitamins, skin-building proteins called peptides and hyaluronic acid, that follow. The final step is a few minutes of soothing red light, which calms the skin and stimu-

lates collagen formation. Depending on what your skin needs, you can have either some or all of the various steps. WHAT IT FEELS LIKE: It might sound like putting your face through a high-speed car wash, but you are not hosed down — that vortex tip sucks liquid back up as fast as it delivers it. PAIN LEVEL: 2 VERDICT: Quick and easy and gives great results. It’s like a deep-cleansing ‘reset’ for the face. My skin is a bit pink by the end, but looks plumped up from the hyaluronic acid and peptide solution. I’d do this a day before a big event to give my skin time to calm down afterwards. The glow lasted for several days and the super-clean feeling lasted for a week. COST AND LOCATION: From €150 at select clinics nationwide.