Clean slate

An all-new beauty treatment proves you don’t have to suck it up when it comes to general skin problems, but it helps to know the HydraFacial can do just that.

Words Hayley Barnett / Photos Salina Galvan + supplied

If you spend any amount of time on social media, or read magazines or beauty blogs, there’s a good chance you’ve come across the much-hyped HydraFacial. It’s being recommended by everyone from well-respected dermatologists, to highly-influential celebrities like Kate Winslet. Being the first in the Bay to offer the HydraFacial, it wasn’t hard for Constance Santos from Epidermis & Sage to convince me to give it a try.

Walking into the treatment room I was met with a large machine that looks like it belongs in a surgery, which is slightly intimidating when you think you’re there for a facial. Fittingly, the person who invented it is a plastic surgeon who wanted to offer clients with all skin types the opportunity to extract impurities from their skin, with a more gentle treatment, compared to, say, microdermabrasion procedures. And the tagline, '3 steps. 30 minutes. The best skin of your life', sounds promising. 

The reason the machine is so big is because it has three main functions – firstly to cleanse and peel, with gentle exfoliation and resurfacing; secondly to extract and hydrate, with painless suction and nourishing moisturisers; and lastly to fuse and protect with antioxidants and peptides. To do this, it uses a patented Vortex-Fusion delivery system, or what I would describe as a sucky pen thing attached to a machine by a clear tube, extracting debris from your pores. You can literally see the gunk being sucked out of your face as the pen glides across your skin like a deep-cleaning, moisturising vacuum cleaner.

“So it’s a vacuum for your face?” I asked. “Uh, yes,” came the reply, accompanied by a sideways glance. My very scientific description was confirmed when Constance held up a large, clear container full of liquid with a whole lot of small, black floaties – my blackheads. It’s safe to say a whole lot of gunk was removed from my skin, which was embarrassing yet satisfying. Add to that, my face felt naked, but also like it was breathing for the first time. 

The whole experience was much more relaxing than it sounds. The procedure is completely painless, and Constance says it combats any skin problem – from pigmentation to acne. But it's also suitable as a regular cleanse. She recommended I have it done once a month, to keep my skin clean and clear, but the frequency depends on your skin type. Oily skin, for example, may need a couple of treatments within one to two weeks of each other, before moving to monthly. 

A few weeks later, my skin still feels clean and naked without my usual blackheads filling my now-empty pores. I might try to stretch it out to every six weeks, but rest assured that I’ll certainly be back for more. 

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Skin revival

Constance Santos from Epidermis & Sage gets down to the finer details and pinpoints editor Hayley Barnett’s problem areas with the latest micro needling treatment.

Micro needling is the latest anti-aging treatment to hit the beauty scene and, not being one to shy away from skin rejuvenation as of late, I jumped at the chance to try it out. Closing in on 40, my skin isn’t quite the peaches and cream complexion that I regularly received compliments for in my younger days. To summarise the state of my skin, it needed emergency TLC stat.

When Constance explained how micro needling is administered I was a little concerned. I cried during a bikini wax once. But she assured me it wasn’t that bad. She also gave me a little rundown on how it works. 

Medical micro needling is designed to improve your complexion by activating the skin’s natural regenerative processes, which stimulates the production of collagen. Very tiny needles are applied into the top layer of the skin. This regenerates the skin cells by awakening the fibroblast that lies within the deeper layers. Then, through the process of healing, healthy collagen is produced and, after a course of treatments, skin is visibly revitalised.

So why would you choose microneedling over another form of skincare? Well, the Amieamed EXCEED is equipment that treats acne scarring, pigmentation, firms up sagging skin, activates collagen (so it softens lines and wrinkles) and minimises pore size. Constance says most of their clients use it for slowing down the aging process. 

After our initial consultation, Constance sent me home with a serum and retinol cream, both from SkinBetter Science, with vitamins A and C. This was to ensure my skin is hydrated and any sensitivity is addressed before treatment.

A month later I arrived for my 75-minute needling appointment. Firstly, my face was treated to a deep cleanse then a mini peel (Skinbetter Science peel pads) was applied. Then out came the needle. The needle depth is decided by what is being treated and skin thickness. Thankfully, my skin only required shallow needling. It’s always nice to hear that a beauty therapy session “won’t become a blood bath”.

The needle is run in soft lines or circles, depending on the area, across the face, neck and chest (and hands on request). “Some areas may be a little sorer than others during treatment but we’ve never had a client struggle to cope with the discomfort,” says Constance. The treatment is quicker than I anticipated. Constance moved skilfully across my forehead (the most painful part, apparently) and I didn’t bat an eyelash. The only area to bring about some jaw clenching was my neck, a particularly ticklish spot, so she zipped across the area, resulting in what looked like a vicious cat attack (the marks went down after an hour or so). In hindsight I should have just clenched and bared it.

The process is finished with the Lutronic HEALITE device, to really kickstart that growth factor response, and then a soothing and hydrating peptide gel mask is applied. 

After that, there’s very little down time. Results are accumulative so Constance recommends four to six treatments initially and then a couple of treatments per year to keep that collagen activated.

I was told my skin would feel a bit hot, like sunburn, for about a day, but I barely noticed it. I took home another peptide gel mask to pop on in the evening, which speeds up the healing. The redness was gone by the day after and I was advised to wear mineral make up. On day five, Constance followed up with a skin enzyme peel and another HEALITE. 

All in all, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it sounds and, four weeks later, I’m definitely seeing a renewed glow. Thanks Constance.

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Spot the difference

Constance Santos from Epidermis & Sage shows you how to treat unsightly pigmentation from the inside out.

Brown spots or dark patches on your skin occur when your skin produces too much of the pigment melanin. We most commonly see four different types of pigmentation issues in our clinic, namely, melasma, post inflammation, liver spots and general sun damage. We will always see an increase in people seeking pigmentation treatment after a hot summer as each of these forms has one common element – they are all made worse by the sun. 
When treating pigmentation, often the problem is not just skin deep. There is usually an internal driving force behind it and so long-term results come from removing that trigger before treating the issue externally. This comprehensive approach is better at ensuring any bothersome pigmentation doesn’t return. 

Melasma, often called hormonal pigmentation, mainly affects women. It’s symmetrical on both sides of the face and often has a vascular component. Birth control, pregnancy and exposure to hormone disruptors (pesticides) are common causes. It may occur because the liver is overloaded and not coping, so we’d look at liver support to aid the detoxification of hormones, followed by specific skin care and treatments. With this type of pigmentation, it’s important to stay away from laser and IPL treatments, as Melasma is sensitive to heat and these will only worsen the pigmentation.

Post inflammatory pigmentation (PIH) is caused by injury or trauma to the skin. The skin is a very clever organ and will form a little pigment umbrella over any damage – so while we may not like its appearance, it’s there for a reason. An example of PIH is seen in acne or eczema sufferers. To treat this successfully, we need to discover what is causing the inflammation on the skin, target that first and then we can start working at improving the appearance of the pigmentation. 

Liver spots are large flat brown or dark spots appearing on your skin. They are usually age related and will not fade on their own in the way a freckle might. We see these start to appear on women (and men) around the age of 50, but there are targeted topical treatments and IPL which can significantly lighten their appearance.

Sun damage is caused by UV light but also can be a result of persistent blue light exposure from your phone or devices. The dark patches seen on the skin’s surface is the result of a dribbling melanocyte cell no longer able to regulate the amount of pigmentation being released. There’s only so much the cell can take before it starts misbehaving and releasing excess pigmentation. It sees that constant light source as something it needs to protect the skin against, and it makes more and more pigmentation without the ability to regulate it. So, whipping it off with a peel will not keep it at bay. Repairing DNA damage at the same time as treating the surface is an important step. 

Before

After

When it comes to even skin tone, we always advise our clients to:

1. Find a really great mineral sunblock. Chemical sunscreen can cause heat within the skin, making pigmentation worse. Reapply! Sunscreen needs to be applied every 2.5 hours (there are some easy reapplication options out there, including our Skinbetter Science sunscreen compact).

2. Use your recommended products both day and night. These should include tyrosinase inhibitors, vitamin A and, niacinamide and vitamin C.

3. Cover up, wear long sleeves and look for shady areas. If you are dedicated to fading or preventing pigmentation, make sure you always have a hat and sunnies to throw on.

Treatment at our clinic will be different for each type of pigmentation. We have a range of services which can work in combination to give you the best possible outcome. It can be effectively treated, but just as the pigmentation didn’t happen overnight, results won’t occur overnight either –  after all pigmentation is usually the result of years of sun exposure or other triggers. For this reason, we offer our clients a plan of up to a year’s worth of treatment for optimal, long-lasting results.

*Epidermis + Sage has designed a skin membership for beauties dedicated to their skin health. The EVEN skin membership has been tried and tested with incredible results. 

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