I Had A Laser Facial, And TBH My Skin's Never Looked Better

Over the years, I’ve done everything from multiple courses of Accuntane (hellooooooo night blindness) to caving and buying a bottle of cult fav SKII Essence (which retails for about $99 for 2.5 ounces) because well, Cate Blanchett who was in their print ads for quite a few seasons has luminous skin.

Neither of those things, however, has given me the noticeably smoother and decidedly clearer skin that I saw after a recent laser facial (by way of a Yag laser that gets down to the 2nd layer of the skin and targets remnants of old makeup, dirt, excess oil, and other yucky stuff you don’t want lingering there) at the Skin Laundry in Boca Raton, Florida.

And no, this isn’t sponsored. (Also, unfortunately for us RI’ers, the closest SL brick and mortars as of right now are located hours away in New York City.) Just so pleased with the results after one session that I wanted to share. In addition, they offer the first facial FREE, so if you find yourself in the vicinity of one in the future…

Since opening their first brick and mortar in 2013 in Santa Monica, California, with spaces designed to evoke a “beach bungalow” feel, they have expanded to include locations in FLA, NYC, London, Hong Kong, and Dubai. (Photo courtesy of Skin Laudry FB Page.)

After booking online and giving my cc (yes that did make me pause, but as I understand it, your card is only charged if you pull a no call, no show, late cancel, or are more than ten minutes late for your appointment), I ubered over to the Boca Mall for my app.

After a slight delay, due to a lot of people having signed up for the freebie, I had my turn at the touchscreen for a Q&A and my medical history. (For the record, the laser facial isn’t recommended for anyone with a sunburn, a cold sore flare up, or who in the past may have experienced light induced seizures. Complete deets are available on their site.)

Immediately following that, I was ushered to the back to a vanity with wipes where I could remove any makeup and clean my hands before being introduced to the registered nurse who would be yielding the laser. She was pleasant and we chatted for a few minutes about my skin related concerns (minor acne, age-related complaints, the broken capillaries around my nose). Next step, she used her tablet to take 2 photos of my face which she then sent to the nurse practitioner on duty to review (and make doubly sure it was okay for me) before my actual Skin Laundry laser sesh could begin.

Photo Courtesy Of The Skin Laundry FB Page

After getting the final go-ahead, I was on the table with protective mini goggles shielding my eyes and she was letting me know that the laser was going to feel hot and prickly on my face - and that the areas most in need of deep cleansing would probably emit a little smoke as well as a slightly unpleasant smell.

Well, she wasn’t wrong (my nose which always seems to have some clogged pores no matter what products I use ended up, no surprise, being the spot with the most heat), but frankly it wasn’t all that terrible. Besides, I was more than willing to endure some pretty minor discomfort (for pete’s sake I had Fraxel 10-ish years ago in Rhode Island and that was NOT fun by any stretch) for a cleaner and brighter visage.

The entire laser facial itself lasted around 15 minutes or so which I think is ideal for those of us who don’t have the time or the patience to be still for traditional ones that can take 45 minutes, an hour, or sometimes more. The other thing is that I was expecting to walk out of there with a red and irritated face. Nope! There was some redness on my nose, but it was gone in about an hour or so and the next day when I woke up, the skin on my face looked and felt amazing. The best it’s been in ten or twenty years. (The closest, non-invasive thing to being able to turn back the clock, I guess.)

Since I don’t live in Boca, it wouldn’t have made sense for me to buy the monthly membership (from what I was told and what I’ve since seen online since, it’s really the regular monthly appointments that would help diminish those broken capillaries around my nose that are the bane of my existence and help promote collagen production and tighter looking skin…WHO at age 50 and beyond wouldn’t want that?!?!). Full disclosure, I did buy a follow-up facial for 20% off the reg price (thx to a special running last month) that I cannot wait to use in a few weeks when I’m back in the BR area.