What are Facial Treatments?

People get facial treatments for different reasons. Some people want their horrible blackheads to be removed, others start taking care of their skin in their 20’s to preserve a youthful look and older people want some help with anti-aging regimens. And then there are the people who just want to relax and be pampered.

A facial treatment is essentially a multi-step skin treatment that is one of the best ways to take care of your skin. A facial cleanses, exfoliates, and nourishes the skin, promoting a clear, well-hydrated skin and complexion and can help your skin look younger. You also receive advice on the best way to take care of your own skin. A facial works best when it is part of an ongoing program of skin care.

It is best to find an experienced, knowledgeable, and licensed aesthetician who has special training in skin care and is knowledgeable, fastidious, and passionate about their work. Legally, a cosmetologist is allowed to give facials, but their primary training is in hair, so they might not be the best choice. There is also a trend toward dual-licensed therapists, where the person is licensed to give both massage and facials. Be on the lookout for this in a resort setting, especially if you would rather go to someone who gives facials all the time. Facial treatment is the second most popular spa treatment in the world next to a massage.

How often you should get a facial treatment will vary from person to person. Ideally, get a facial once a month because that’s how long it takes the skin to regenerate. Try to have a facial at least four times a year, as the season changes. You may need it more frequently if you are trying to clear up a case of acne, especially at the beginning. Otherwise, once a month is more than enough. Never overdo it or your skin can face damage, especially if you have sensitive skin.

Why Should You Get One?

Less acne scarring. Professional treatments like facial peels and even laser treatments work to even out your skin tone, which means that scarring from environmental stresses and acne scars are less visible. You can expect your skin’s color and texture to see a great improvement. Treatments can also help prevent further acne scarring due to a reduction of breakouts.

Visible wrinkle reduction. Stripping off the top layer of skin will allow the more evenly textured skin to come to the surface, causing fine lines and wrinkles to seem less prominent. Treatments like microdermabrasion, microneedling, microcurrent or an anti-aging facial treatment can cause collagen production to kick up that will restore skin cells, further defending against wrinkles.

Even skin tone. If your skin has scars from surgeries, wrinkles, or sun spots, a regular regimen of facial treatments such as peels are designed to treat pigmentation that can help even out your coloring so that such damage is not so noticeable. Plus, an evened skin tone can give you the freedom to completely stop using a heavy foundation.

Unclogged pores. Dirt, oil, and dead skin cells will clog up your pores and cause them to be more visible to the human eye. Having regular facial treatments with extraction, peels, or microdermabrasion and peel combination can help to decongest your pores and keep them that way. Unclogging pores helps prevent acne breakouts.

Sensitive skin. Facial treatments calm and soothe the skin from conditions such as rosacea or overly treated skin is soothing facials with a calming mask and even laser facial. These treatments help to restore the epidermal barrier. These can restore, replenish and rejuvenate the skin.

Therapy for pre-cancerous conditions. Research has shown that chemical peels, along with other facial-resurfacing techniques, help prevent skin cancers by treating precancerous conditions such as actinic keratosis, which is an early stage of squamous cell carcinoma. Because of this, regular facial treatments can be a tool in your fight against skin cancer.

Rejuvenated appearance. While getting rid of dead skin cells, laser treatments, chemical peels, and regular facial treatments stimulate the production of collagen that helps reveal new skin that looks and feels smoother and newer. Your skin will look revitalized and refreshed after a facial treatment.

More effective daily care. Once you’ve had a facial treatment, you’ve removed icky bits that have been clogging your pores. This means that your regular skin products regiment using moisturizers, creams, serums, and lotions can be more easily absorbed, and are now more effective.

That fresh, healthy glow. Regular microdermabrasion and facial treatment peels can strip away the top layer of skin, which is full of dead skin cells, to improve its appearance. These treatments can reduce the appearance of wrinkles, sun damage, and more, so that your skin becomes more luminous and healthy-looking.

Feeling good after. There’s nothing like the feeling that you’re healthy and putting your best face forward. Having regular facial treatments helps you radiate confidence and makes you feel great about yourself.

So, which facial treatments do celebrities swear by? (Whether they’re effective or not is another issue)

The Vampire Facelift

So perhaps this is how vampires stay so young with smooth skin, but truly, it’s not easy being Kim Kardashian. She has to spend so much time, money, and pain to maintain her highly photographed face. Recently, she shocked her fans by posting pictures of herself during a Vampire Facelift. Blood is drawn from the victim’s arm, platelets are extracted and then injected into the face to prevent wrinkles. This goes to say that beauty really hurts. But not only Kim Kardashian, but also Israel’s top model, Bar Rafaeli, is into this treatment, and she has the pillowy plump cheeks. The treatment also goes by the name of Platelet Rich Plasma facial. Many actually do swear (including Kim and Bar) and assure that this isn’t as gory as it seems and involves only a small amount of blood being drawn from a vein in your arm. This blood is then spun round to separate the different components and the white plasma, which is rich in platelets, is then injected back into your skin. Directed into the right areas, this encourages regeneration, specifically collagen synthesis, which helps promote firmer skin and softened lines and wrinkles. However, scientists and dermatologists are cautioning that there is no medical evidence that this treatment is truly viable since blood and its components have no regenerative abilities.

Water Therapy (Or Just Drink Lots and Lots of Water)

The claim by Gwyneth Paltrow – not the only water-obsessed celebrity – is that water is full of healing power especially for the skin so you need to drink lots and lots of it. But the real truth is that while drinking water is undoubtedly good for your overall health, it’s actually proven to be the least effective way to hydrate the skin. Apparently, much of the water we drink is filtered out of our bodies by our kidneys, and never actually reaches the skin’s surface. It’s helpful to understand that hydration levels in the skin have very little to do with drinking water and much more to do with how you hydrate topically. Instead, the simplest and easiest way to effectively hydrate your skin cells and keeping them moist and healthy-looking are by using an alcohol-free toner and sealing that in with a skin serum that contains hyaluronic acid and sodium PCA.

Foreskin Cell Facial Cream

Celebrity Oprah Winfrey certainly got some heat several years ago for having endorsed this controversial moisturizer to her fans. SkinMedica’s anti-ageing TNS Recovery Complex contains a nutrient solution derived from foreskin cells. The company describes the solution as “Human Fibroblast Conditioned Media,” a growth factor that reportedly corrects all woes of aging skin such as lines, wrinkles, age spots, dullness, and uneven texture. Various products from SkinMedica’s line have been reviewed and loved by beauty editors far and wide, but this one kind of takes the cake you will certainly cringe at the thought of adding this 0.63 oz skin serum to your shopping list for $179 a pop. This almost sounds like the Vampire Facial but instead of drawing blood, now they draw from flesh as well. Again, there is no factual medical research and evidence to prove that this facial treatment is effective, let alone safe.

Snake Venom Botox

The Iron Man starlet swears by this synthetic snake venom complex that has been engineered to be a non-invasive alternative to Botox. Gwyneth Paltrow is known to frequent Sonya Dakar Spa in Beverly Hills, where the complex is used in anti-aging facials. According to some experts and dermatologists who are trying to study this new facial treatment, this facial mimics the effects of actual snake venom by reducing muscular contractions and cell movement, thereby keeping skin smooth, and this is similar to how Botox functions. The spa complex can be found in a variety of different products and price ranges in the beauty industry, so it is for sure that Paltrow isn’t the only A-lister getting in on this beauty scam that they don’t know is a scam. But while there are similarities in the ways the two compounds function, most dermatologists and doctors agree that there are no well-done clinical studies showing the showing the specific effects of using snake venom topically on the skin. None at all. Your skin will look paler if you just let a rattler have a bite at you.

Bird Poop Facials

David and Victoria Beckham swears on this one. Now, there are feces facials. Yes, feces, as in poop. But not just any poop, because it has to be bird poop. And not just any bird poop because it has to be special Nightingale poop to be exact. Manhattan’s Shizuka New York Day Spa was the first to advertise their latest, and probably most cringe worthy skin facial. It is new to the United States but bird poop facials, in fact, come from ancient Japan. Geishas used powdered nightingale droppings to remove the white makeup that they wore on their faces. They found that the bird poop concoction not only cleaned their skin, it also left their skin brighter and smoother. The Shizuka Spa asserts that the bird droppings are sanitized and powdered under a UV light, which apparently makes putting feces on your face acceptable. Unfortunately, no scientific or medical evidence exists to prove that bird poop on your face will truly brighten up your skin. Perhaps bird poop is more effective if you just consume it orally.

Bee Venom Facial Care

We can excuse all the fans who swoon over how cool Kate Middleton is. She’s bonafide royalty on top of being an incredible philanthropist, and she has declared once and for all that leggings are indeed pants. She also set this bee venom beauty trend a few years back when she revealed it as a staple in her own beauty routine. Bee venom in beauty products touts the same benefits as that silly snake bite (or was it snake venom) treatment, but with a few extra in tow. The celebrity brand responsible for bringing buzz-worthy skin care to the public is called Rodial, and their bee venom products also contain peptides that increase skin elasticity and firmness, as well as stimulating collagen production in the skin. But according to some dermatologists and doctors, while honey itself from the bees has shown clinical results in reducing fine lines and wrinkles and also causes an increase in Epidermal Growth Factor – the protein responsible for cell growth – and accelerates cell regeneration, leading to a higher level of skin elasticity and an increase in collagen production, there is nothing to be said about enhanced and purified bee venom, which is just as poisonous as snake venom. And be wary though, because if you’re allergic to bees (or if you’re not sure), this facial treatment could pose some serious health risks.

Red Wine Skin and Facial Baths

According to Teri Hatcher, a former Bond girl, the wine skin and facial bath are fast becoming popular in most countries. Bathing in the fermented grape juice is supposed to have a rejuvenating effect on the body. This we may believe given the effect wine has on us when we’re only drinking it. This practice goes way, way back in times of antiquity, according to the Japanese. But the Egyptians also thought of this and in fact, it is recorded that Cleopatra loved this bizarre treatment. However, medically speaking, though it has some exfoliating qualities, the attributes of red wine that have a truly positive impact on your health will not cross the dermal barrier into your skin when bathing. The best way to internalize wine’s antioxidants is through drinking or cooking with it.

The beauty world is awash with high skin care tech treatments, lotions, potions, and gadgets all promising to whip our stress-worn faces back into its former youthful shape all in the name of vanity.

This pursuit of beauty is no modern phenomenon since it all started when the Assyrians and eventually the Egyptians invented cosmetics. But while some of us are content to simply give a new face cream a try, plenty of others test out some seriously weird and whacky treatments.

Here are some of the more unusual and weird beauty treatments from all over the world that are still trending today.

Sheep Placenta Treatment

Is your skin beginning to lose its firmness because of age? Perhaps all that is needed is a little sheep’s placenta that might help you tighten up your skin. At this stage, readers should get used to the fact that what comes out in this article are not typographical errors. You read it correctly: sheep’s placenta as a skin treatment. And celebrities like Victoria Beckham have experienced it and say that it was effective. Skin treatment spas in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and New York City are offering the sheep’s placenta treatment to those searching for a youthful look. Apparently, sheep placenta contains high levels of iron, proteins, amino acids, and enzymes that combat skin aging (but do take note that all mammal placentas have all these as well). During the sheep placenta treatment, all the usual steps of a facial are followed with the addition of a placenta mask.

Fish Exfoliation

This skin treatment is fast becoming popular in the whole of Asia and Europe, particularly in Southeast Asia where it started. Pedicures consist of a lot of scraping and filing of the soles of your feet, that is unless you’re getting a fish pedicure. With this treatment, your feet are just chewed on by tiny fish that enjoy the taste of dead skin. The fish is actually called a garra rufa fish, or a kind of “doctor fish.” In the wild, the tiny fish survive by sucking the dead scales off from other fish. In a spa, the fish survive by sucking and nibbling the dead skin off from the feet of the spa customers. The fish are kept in a large tank. When you request a fish pedicure, the fish are moved to an individual and sanitized tank. You then place your feet in the tank and the fish begin nibbling off your dead skin. Though the fish pedicure has not completely caught on in the United States, some are actually insisting that it has cured their foot ailments such as athlete’s foot and dry skin.

Snake Skin Massage

Massages are supposed to improve blood flow and aid in stress relief, but for those of you who do not like snakes, Israel’s latest snake skin massage probably will probably get your blood boiling or increase your stress levels even more. If you don’t mind the slithering reptiles, you can get a snake skin massage at the Carnivorous Plant Farm and Spa in Northern Israel. This skin massage was supposedly created by the court of the ancient King David when he ruled all of Israel. Just as you would any other massage, you lie face down on a massage table. From there, the massage therapist will cover your back with six or seven nonpoisonous snakes (do take note they are non-poisonous, but all snakes do bite if they are suddenly frightened). The medium sized reptiles will slither across your back and around your head and neck for the entirety of the skin massage. Those who have been brave enough to last the full length of the massage say that it helps with muscle tension and migraines. We kind of find that hard to believe.

Hay Skin Bath

Hay is for horses, or so we thought, and anyone who’s been a kid and played in hay knows just how itchy it can get later on. It can also be used as a luxurious skin treatment. In Italy, visitors of the Heuband Spa take part in hay skin baths, which are said to reduce rheumatic issues and revitalize the body. Since when did hay have medicinal value? The hay used in the skin treatments is filled with oils that grow naturally within the fields from which the hay is picked at precisely the right moment in the early morning or late evening. The use of hay for therapeutic treatment dates back to the 17^th and 18^th centuries when farmers used to sleep in the hay after a long day’s work. They noticed that despite their laborious work they felt rested and free from physical pain after a rest in the hay. The use of hay as a relaxant caught on and remains a treatment in Italy to this day. After the hay skin bath, spa customers are wrapped in a towel so that the oils can continue to penetrate the body.

Beer Skin Bath

In the former Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic, the Chodovar brewery has an exciting new skin beauty treatment called the dark beer bath. The carbonation in the beer is supposed to help drop blood pressure, and the hops and the yeast are said to calm many skin issues, like psoriasis, cellulite, and acne. It also claims to be anti-stress and this is quite believable given that aside from the beer skin bath you’re also given beer to drink. Yes, every beer bath comes with your own beer to drink, so you can be chilled from the inside and out as well. We’re betting that after reading this part you’re probably booking your next flight to Prague.

According to many customers, soaking in beer enriches the skin, cuts toxins and exfoliates. And not just in the Czech Republic but also all over Germany and Austria. Case in point, the Landhotel Moorhof in Franking, Austria, offers a beer facial and bath with hops, malt, honey and cream cheese. According to proprietor Hedwig Bauer, bathing in beer fights rheumatism, gout, poor circulation, eczema, kidney stones, heart attacks, strokes, and stress. We figure that the disappearance of stress might have more to do with the pints of Schnaitl’s offered along with the baths rather than the baths themselves.

Japanese Wine Skin Bath

Similar to this is the wine skin bath that is fast becoming popular in Japan. Bathing in the fermented grape juice is supposed to have a rejuvenating effect on the body similar to what beer can do. This we can all believe given the effect wine has on us when we’re only drinking it. This practice goes way, way back in times of antiquity, according to the Japanese. But the Egyptians also thought of this and in fact, it is recorded that Cleopatra loved this bizarre treatment. We can imagine you’re having a hard time to decide whether to book your flight to Tokyo or Prague.

Snail Skin Facial

If you don’t like even to look at slime-coated gastropods then you might want to skip this strange skin facial. The Labo Salon in Tokyo, Japan is now offering snail facials. Yes, you read that right: snails! A few snails are placed on your face and left to slither around for awhile, or for as long as you can stand it. When the gastropods have covered every inch of your face they are removed, leaving behind a thick coating of their slime (yes that’s right, slime, and this includes any waste they happened to spew out while crawling on your face). Apparently, their residue assists in removing old skin cells and moisturizes skin. Given how smooth and fair Japanese skin is, we find this hard to argue with.

Black Pepper Body Rub

Some people like a little black pepper on their food, but this skin treatment will have it rubbed all over their body. Customers to the Pho Tree Thai Spa in New York City can order a tingling black pepper body scrub at a very affordable price. The body scrub consists of an initial slathering of green tea moisturizer. Then black pepper is rubbed all over the body, creating a tingling effect. Finally, the body is covered in extracts of live silkworms. What does this strange mixture of spices and extracts do for the body? The black pepper gets the blood moving, making you sweat, which in turn detoxifies your body and helps you shed water weight. Well, don’t we all sweat when we eat spicy foods?

Feces Skin Facial

Well, there are facials made from plant extracts, then there’s that one with snails. Now, there are feces facials. Yes, feces, as in poop. But not just any poop, because it has to be bird poop. And not just any bird poop because it has to be special Nightingale poop to be exact. Manhattan’s Shizuka New York Day Spa was the first to advertise their latest, and probably most cringe worthy skin facial. It’s new to the United States but bird poop facials, in fact, come from ancient Japan. Geishas used powdered nightingale droppings to remove the white makeup that they wore on their faces. They found that the bird poop concoction not only cleaned their skin, it also left their skin brighter and smoother. The Shizuka Spa asserts that the bird droppings are sanitized and powdered under a UV light, which apparently makes putting feces on your face acceptable. The entire Geisha skin poop facial last 50 minutes.

Chocolate Skin Treatment

Now, this is one health treatment that more than a few of you are bound to try having a taste for. It’s a skin treatment that is filled with chocolate. Soak in a whipped cocoa bath, have a warm chocolate fondue wrap, and partake in an edible dark chocolate face mask as part of your slightly pricey experience at the Hotel Hershey Spa in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Yes, that’s the name of the place where the skin spa is, and we kid you not. If you don’t really like chocolate, don’t worry because the spa also offers a Cuban Experience, which includes mojito sugar scrubs, seaweed soak, and even Cuban coffee wraps skin treatments. What are the purported benefits of chocolate? Beyond the yummy flavor and decadence aspect, it is high in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. Feasibly, it could help soften the skin. Beyond that, true health benefits have yet to be determined, though they do taste heavenly.

The Diet and Skin Treatment Soap

How would it feel if you can have a skin treatment that also helps you lose weight, so the claim says? Made from a mysterious “species of deep seaweed plants” the Aoqili diet soap is a skin treatment soap that keeps the skin smooth and healthy while apparently being credited for a 20 percent reduction in body fat. But, upon further inspection, all it contains is a fatty tissue of animals, fatty acid salts from coconut oil, seaweed powder, and aloe gel, not exactly the miracle product it purports to be. Besides the fact that it may seem creepy with the idea of rubbing animal tallow all over the body, we can only guess that unless you doing an intense shower work out while washing with this soap, it wouldn’t contribute to any amount of weight loss, though the ingredients could contribute to keeping the skin smooth and healthy. But what do you expect for a product that is made in China?