Happy Saturday, friends! If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that this week I received my very first hydrafacial with Pinnacle Dermatology - in Charleston, West Virginia. I am here to share my honest review of the process and how my skin felt afterwards!
It is important to note, that generally I have good skin. No acne scars, I breakout maybe once a month. My only problem areas are redness and fine lines and wrinkles! I use my skincare regimen religiously and take my makeup off (almost) every night! If we're being honest, I have to admit that some nights I don't... but I am conscious of that. Sometimes, I take my makeup off as soon as I get home, just to avoid making an excuse of being too tired later in the night.
Ok - lets get down to business! By now, you know my chief skin complaints, and you know my skin habits. So why a hydrafacial? Well - I felt like my skin needed a BOOST, if that makes sense. I felt like the top layer looked good but I was missing that overall glow of my skin.
I arrived at Pinnacle Dermatology on Bridge Road in Charleston, WV (free parking and in a super cute area with local shops - Ooh La Lucy, Yarid's, Charlie Boutique) and was greeted by the most beautiful, kindest group of gals - Krystal, Kaysha, Carly and Mabel. Krystal is the CEO and provider at Pinnacle Dermatology. After skin cancer affected her immediate family, she decided she wanted to pursue dermatology and is passionate about educating her clients.
The interior of Pinnacle is absolutely stunning with a gorgeous green couch at the core of the waiting area. The green color is in line with the Pinnacle logo of green and purple, and to me, those colors mean strength, luxury, confidence.
The team gave me a tour of the entire space and the rest of the rooms did not disappoint. They are all aesthetically pleasing with clean space and bright colors. The walls are decorated with various pieces of art - including one that displays the Pinnacle motto "Be Healthy. Be Beautiful. Be You.".
Carly - who is a licensed esthetician - performed my hydrafacial! She is the sweetest! And of course Kaysha joined us; it was the ultimate girl time chatting about all the things! I seriously felt so at home with these two!
After removing my makeup, Carly got started on the hydrafacial. She performed a couple "add ons" from the standard hydrafacial - and that included the first process, lympahtic drainage. This process is basically the use of a suction tool and targets the lymph areas, grabs the toxins, and helps the body rid them. When toxins are removed, your skin is clearer, fine lines are reduced and complexion is clear. Just looking at the pictures and videos (check out my Instagram highlights to see this part in action), I am reminded of how relaxed I was. Kaysha did warn that I might have a sore throat the day after from the drainage, but I did not.
Next up was the exfoliation and acid peel. The exfoliation was performed using the Hydrafacial tool. Carly swept the tool around my face and it did not hurt at all.
Now, if you love seeing the results from using those pore removing strips, you are going to love this next step! Extractions! This part was also performed using the Hydrafacial tool and the "results" of what is pulled off your skin goes into a bottle. Carly spent a good amount of time on my T-zone - nose, forehead and my chin. I will say that prior to going into the hydrafacial, I paid a lot of attention to the pores on my nose and now (aftewards) they are CLEAN BABY CLEAN! This process also rid my skin of any dead skin!
Another add on to my hydrafacial was the high frequency tightening treatment. Carly laid, what I call, a zombie mask on my face. I know that is not the correct term, but she laid this on my face and then used a tool that was a little tiny bit warm and had some vibration to it. She moved this around my face. The goal of this step is to tighten the deeper layers of the skin.
Now, the best part of the entire process - the serum application! WOW WOW WOW! The serum includes hyaluronic acid - which, if you follow beauty companies, you know this ingredient is all the rage right now! As soon as Carly put this on my skin, I could immediately feel a difference. The best way I can describe how it feels, is that water was basically sitting on my face and my open pores were absorbing it. FEELS SO GOOD!
The last step was LED Light Therapy. Carly slowing moved a wand with a red LED light on it around my face - holding it for a couple seconds in each position. There is an option of blue LED light therapy for those with acne problems.
This whole process took about 40-45 minutes, primarily because of the add-ons and all of my questions! :) A typical hydrafacial can be completed in 30 minutes. I've listed a couple fun facts below:
- A hydrafacial is recommended every 4-6 weeks
- Process is completely customizable to address your skincare needs
- You are never too young for a hydrafacial
I honestly can't say enough good things about Krystal and her team! They really did educate me on proper skin care - and they go above just trying to sell products. I highly recommend Pinnacle Dermatology for any of your skincare needs. They really do provide comprehensive care and do not need to send you from facility to facility for treatment! They offer skin checks, injectables, laser - a complete medical and cosmetic spa right here in Charleston!
Here are more pictures - including some before and afters!
Left is before, Right is after. Do you see what I mean about the GLOW! Same exact makeup, same exact part of my house. The before, my skin looks so matte, after my skin is literally glowing through my makeup!!!
This was immediately before and immediately after - so my skin is a little red. The redness went away after about 30 minutes.
This picture was taken when I got home from the hydrafacial and using my ring light!
And for all of those that want to see what came out of my face LOL! Lots of dead skin floating around in there!
Finally, as a reminder - May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Now is the time to check in with your skin care provider. Krystal is your girl!
Next up, injectables! :)
Thank ya'll for following along! And be sure to check out Pinnacle Dermatology!
xo, ck
*Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own.
*Special thanks to the ladies at Pinnacle Dermatology.
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