I used to think that only rich taitais go for facials. It made sense to me because my mother doesn’t go for facials and the only exposure I have to this concept was through dramas where they usually portray rich ladies going with their girlfriends. When I found out that my friends and some acquaintances younger than me had been going, it made me curious about facial treatments and their benefits. It also seems like people’s first experiences of going for facials are usually with their mothers or close friends. Well, I went with a friend but we didn’t end up in the same room, so is that counted?
Anyway, I started going for monthly facial sessions in December last year at a place that my friend recommended. It’s a small ladies-only place in the neighbourhood and the estheticians are nice Chinese ladies in their 40/50s. After the first session, I decided to sign up for a package of 11 sessions since it was relatively affordable - each session is around $65 and 1-1.5h (depending on whether you’re strapped for time).
I usually make a trip to the washroom in the nearby mall before going over for my appointment. They offer me a cup of water before my session starts and then my esthetician directs me to one of the three treatment rooms. After I hang my stuff up, I can choose to leave my top on OR take it off and change into this loose tube top that they provide. The main purpose of wearing the tube top is so that they can give you a simple neck and shoulder massage. If you’re already wearing something that gives them access to your neck or shoulder, then I guess you don’t have to take anything off luh. Just do whatever that makes you feel comfortable but don’t go overboard. When I’m ready, I switch my phone to silent mode, remove my spectacles and shoes, proceed to lay on the bed and cover myself with the blanket.
I’ll try to describe the process but tbh, I can’t remember the exact steps and sequence. The esthetician starts with cleansing and gentle exfoliation to remove any makeup, skincare or dirt that might be on my face. She prepares the skin by applying products targeted at allowing all the nasty stuff in my pores to be extracted more easily. The first device, which I think is called a pore vacuum, is used. No pain and in fact, quite comfortable - just a gentle sucking feeling over small areas to remove blackheads. After that, a strip of damp cloth is placed over my eyes to strategically shield them from the lamp that will be switched on soon without covering too much of my face. The esthetician trims and shapes my eyebrows before proceeding with manual extraction (aka pricking). She applies pressure and squeeze on various parts of my face using her hands and a small metal tool. Ngl, this is the part that hurts the most (especially at the nose area). I always have to mentally prepare myself for it, but I can imagine how satisfying it is for her to see the gunk come out of the pores. Thankfully, the cloth is there to block my vision from seeing the “surgery” that’s happening and also to absorb my tears at lightning speed (haha). When this part is over, I heave an internal sigh of relief and my breathing returns to normal because I know that the rest of the facial is going to be relaxing~ I get treated with a face, head and neck massage (I think she uses an oil blend) which helps with circulation. My favourite part is when she uses this spinning flat-headed device to spread a cooling gel/serum all over my face and massage it at the same time. After that, it’s time for a mask! She comes back into the room while mixing something in a bowl and my eyes are then covered to prevent the mixture from getting in. She slathers it generously on my face and then, I feel myself drifting off to dreamland. After about 10-15 minutes, she returns to remove the mask which had solidified and wipes the rest off my face with a damp cloth. Finally, she ends off the facial by applying some skin care - toner and sunscreen, and we’re done!
During my first session, I remember myself feeling pretty tensed up because I was unfamiliar with the place and the procedures. My friend had also warned me about the pain during extraction. These could have contributed to me being unable to relax and fall asleep throughout. However, my second session onwards was a different story. I look forward to going for my facials now as I can catch a quick snooze and wake up knowing that my face is clean and radiant. That being said, facial treatments are not a necessity, but going for it consistently can help to improve your skin. In my opinion, looking and feeling good can really boost your confidence.
Although there’s really nothing fancy about the place or the methods that they use, the sessions are relaxing and value for money. The place is clean and they play soft classical music in the background. I enjoy chatting with my esthetician who is also attentive to the times when I want to just enjoy my facial quietly. But hor, the place is small luh, so I inadvertently hear others’ conversations sometimes. Additionally, I also wish that there’s an alternative affordable painless method to pricking.
Since this is my first facial place, I probably will try other places in the future. The next on my list is the Kskin Korean Express Facial that I’ve been seeing in malls. $28 for 15 minutes of painless and non-invasive facial treatment sounds really enticing, right? Would you give Kskin a try? If you’ve tried it before, what’s your experience like? If not, have you ever gone for a facial before? Any funny stories to share?
Credits:
https://www.bioelements.com/blogs/blog/facial-facial-encyclopedia-part-3
https://mothership.sg/2021/12/kskin-korean-express-facial-singapore/
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