As someone who had gone through life without any real acne issues, the drastic transformation my skin underwent during pregnancy was a rude awakening.

No lie, when I was pregnant with Drew my grandma asked me what had caused the rash on my forehead. “Yeah, thanks Nana. That’s not a rash – just a massive outbreak of acne.” Along with the acne  – and I’ve had all the acne: you name it, I probably had it – was also a lot of melasma and skin darkening. The same Italian genes that have helped me to get a nice tan in the summer had a dark side (no pun intended) that reared it’s Sicilian head in the form of a dark shadow around my mouth and along the sides of my face. Think mustache and side burns. Hot, right?

Thankfully with Blake, the acne remained mostly at bay. The dark shadows along with a generally dull, dry skin tone did not. So when an email from Calospa came through asking if I wanted to try out their HydraFacial, I couldn’t respond with an enthusiastic “YES!” quickly enough.

As someone who has received the occasional spa gift card for random birthdays or holidays, I’ve tried out the typical spa facial at a few places here in Louisville – including Calospa. All have been varying levels of relaxing and great but in all honesty, I’ve never been able to tell a huge difference in my skin. So I was intrigued when I learned the HydraFacial isn’t your typical spa facial but rather a medical facial. Something a little more advanced was definitely what my skin was in desperate need of.

If you haven’t been to Calospa, it offers both traditional spa services (their locker room is on point) as well as a medispa and plastic surgery center. I had only tried out their traditional spa services – which are truly awesome, one of the best massages I’ve ever had – so trying out the medispa side of things was a little different. You don’t get the robe/sandals/chocolates and champagne treatment but all of that is forgotten once you see the results of the treatments.

When I arrived, I was greeted by my aesthetician Katy Jo who got things started with a complexion analysis with their VISIA machine. The test results show what areas of your skin are in good shape and which ones could use a little TLC. The actual photo process reminded me of getting x-rays at the dentist and was over quickly.The machine rates your skin in eight different areas including texture, redness, pores and wrinkles. It also shows you your true skin age, something I was more than a little nervous about especially with my penchant for laying out for hours on end in the Miami sun during high school. The ratings are on a percentage scale which compares your skin to other individuals in your age range with 100% being the best and 0% obviously being the worst. Since we’re in the trust tree (welcome!), I’ve decided to share my results here so you can see for yourself how I fared in all the categories. Sorry for the image quality, I had to scan the print out.

First off, YIKES A MILLION.

Second, I’m not going to lie, I was less than thrilled with my skin age. It came back as 42!!!! I felt like I flunked the SAT’s. In some areas I did great but in others I was failing miserably.

With my new skin age on my mind, I was ready to see what this HydraFacial could do for me.

Katy Jo was awesome and explained the entire process, detailing how it would be different than any spa facial I’d had in the past.  The HydraFacial uses a special machine that felt like a combination of a vacuum, that machine they use at the dentist that sucks up water (and drool) and a Clarisonic. It’s a four-part process that infuses your skin with tons of moisture while getting rid of dead skin and other impurities. The actual treatment didn’t hurt and wasn’t uncomfortable – just a little different. More pressure and you could feel the suction. Oh and don’t let the four-part process lead you to thinking this whole thing takes forever. Katy Jo told me they often refer to it as the Lunch Special because you can easily sneak in an appointment on your lunch break since it only takes about 30 minutes. You can easily go back to work – I just wouldn’t do it if you have a big meeting or presentation to go to afterwards.

The process was definitely different than your standard spa facial but in the best way possible.  The medical aspect of it made me feel like I was getting a much more effective treatment. And now, three weeks later I can say it was definitely better. I noticed that I don’t automatically pull out my make-up when I wake up in the morning and I’ve been much more confident to go with less makeup or none at all for quick errands or to run out in the morning – something I would never have done a couple months ago.

Katy Jo said she really recommends this treatment to her clients because for the relatively small difference in price (it’s $30 more) you see much better results especially when it comes to improving and reducing melasma, brown spots, fine lines and wrinkles. And who doesn’t want to improve their skin in at least one of those areas. They recommend doing the HydraFacials as a series of six every six weeks initially, then spacing them from eight or ten weeks in between. And even though my first session was complimentary, I was so convinced that I’ve already scheduled another appointment. I’m hoping that by the end of the six treatments, my skin age improves (i’ll keep you posted). Beyond that though, I’m looking forward to feeling more confident in my own skin without having to rush to the concealer and foundation every morning.

Sorry I didn’t get to snap pictures of my actual process. The room was too dark to get a good look at what was going on. All in all, I definitely recommend giving the HydraFacial a try especially if you’re someone who already enjoys facials. If you decide to try it out at either CaloSpa location in Louisville or Lexington, mention that you read about it over here. And if you’re in Louisville, request my gal Katy Jo. She’s awesome.

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Want to try it out?

Louisville: CaloSpa Rejuvenation Center  | 2341 Lime Kiln Ln Louisville, KY 40222 | (502) 814-3000 

Lexington: CaloSpa Rejuvenation Center | 824 Euclid Ave #100 Lexington, KY 40502 | (859) 269-2256 

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by CaloSpa but all opinions, thoughts, ramblings and of course, skin ages are my own.
Images via Calospa