Hydrafacial is a treatment I have been hearing and reading loads about lately, and when I was offered a treatment at Thérapie Clinic, I knew the hydrafacial was the one I had to go for. Read on for my experience and let me know if you’ve tried one, or if you have any questions!
I went to their Wigmore Street branch, and though it’s located on a busy road the waiting room is a relaxing space and the whole clinic is set up to help you feel at ease for your treatment. It was quite busy when I got there but my lovely therapist Katie soon arrived and took me to the treatment room downstairs. This branch opened in February and it’s very well located moments from Bond Street station. The interiors of white and grey marble are relaxing and put you in the right headspace for your treatment. Katie explained the process and each step before we started the treatment.
Hydrafacial is a 5-in-1 treatment and it’s the most popular treatment at Thérapie. Hydrafacial is a rejuvenating skin treatment, with instantly noticeable results. This treatment is perfect to even out your skin tone, treat fine lines, decongest and calm the skin, and make it firmer and more vibrant.
Who is it for?
Before I get into the treatment details, I have good news – this treatment is suitable for everyone. As acne-prone myself I’m always curious to see what would help, while being careful not to irritate my skin. As the treatment helps decongested skin, this is great for acne-prone skins. Read on for the full details!
The Treatment
We started the treatment by removing makeup and cleansing with a vitamin C cleanser. The first part of the treatment is all about lymphatic drainage. The suction for this is very light, and it should be the same if you do lymphatic drainage at home (with Gua Sha or other facial massage tools). Excess fluid and puffiness will be removed from your face, and this makes you feel so good afterward.
It doesn’t have to be heavy-handed or feel painful, you want to get the nodes and then take it down the side of the neck in a continuous motion. If you don’t, the fluid has nowhere to go, so you always need to pull it down!
We continued with the deep cleanse and exfoliation. For this, the suction is taken over the face and neck twice each side, to make sure every part is nice and clean. This isn’t painful at all, you only feel a small pulling sensation from the suction. At this stage, the machine delivers hyaluronic acid, peptides, and antioxidants into the skin, using the unique Hydrafacial technology, while cleansing and removing dead skin cells.
After that Katie applied the peel and left it on for a couple of minutes. They use 7.5% glycolic peel which can go up to 15% or 30% depending on your skin type but for the first treatment, it wouldn’t be more than 7.5%. This feels slightly tingly but it’s honestly very light and not at all uncomfortable.
Then we go to the extractions part – both done with the machine and manually by hand, followed by the hydrating stage with the vacuum that adds hyaluronic acid to the skin.
This can actually be taken near the eyes, and on the lips, if you have dry lips. For the eyes, it can be taken quite close on the top and bottom of the eyes, and this is actually quite a popular add-on for the Thérapie clients.
The final step is the LED therapy. Starting with the red light to rejuvenate and calm down the redness and the blue light for oilier skin and spots. The blue light fights the underlying bacteria and I’ve personally seen a difference when I use it at home too.
In the end, Katie applied a peptide eye cream, an antioxidant serum and day cream. The brand used in the clinic is SkinTheøry, used exclusively by Thérapie. The brand will probably be available to buy this month!
The Hydrafacial can be done once a month, though if you have a special event you can have one every 2 weeks for the ultimate glow.
I think my personal favourite bit is that you can see all the dirt that was removed from your face – yes I’m weird and even took a picture of it, but I won’t share as I get it can gross people out!
Post-Treatment
No downtime for this non-invasive treatment, but ideally don’t wear makeup the day of the treatment, lay off the actives for a few days and use hydrating products and loads of SPF as the skin will be more sensitive. You might get a few spots after the treatment but that’s completely normal.
The clinic suggest 6 sessions for the ultimate results, so I will be updating this post to include how my skin looks and feels, after each treatment.
Verdict
My skin was immediately brighter, the spots were a bit redder which is to be expected. The lymphatic drainage worked so well, my face was visibly less puffy and more defined right after the treatment. The day of the treatment I applied a lot of hyaluronic acid and a thick moisturiser and continued to do so for the next few days.
The next day I applied makeup and as Katie predicted, it went on really smooth, as my skin was super clear.
See some pictures from the next few days after my treatment, was I really amazed by the results and how immediate they were!
A week later
A week on from the facial, my skin is still clear and radiant and I’m very happy with the results. The blackheads on my nose have resurfaced, but that’s unavoidable, as blackheads are a result of oil in our pores oxidising, and that’s the reason they are black. Exfoliating helps with these though, so I will continue with the inclusion of glycolic acid (AHA) and salicylic acid (BHA and perfect for breakouts).
Two weeks later
My skin is really clear, though I can feel a few spots developing which is probably the combination of sun/sand while on holiday. I’m confident the treatment has massively helped!
I’m definitely coming back in August, to get it done again, facials that actually do something are the ones to go for, something you wouldn’t be able to do at home!
Thérapie was set up over 15 years ago and they have over 30 clinics across the UK offering every sort of treatment you might like from laser hair removal, micro needling, dermal fillers, botox, cool sculpting and more.
According to the Hydrafacial website: “a treatment that uses patented technology to cleanse and botanical ingredients containing nutrients such as hyaluronic acid, horse chestnut seed extract, red algae extract, copper, zinc and magnesium peptides.”
The Hydrafacial at Thérapie is a 30-minute treatment, and costs £150, they also offer packages, check out their website for more info
