Wedding Prep: Maddie West Shows Off the Results of Her Hydrafacials

You've probably heard me talking about how I've teamed up with Advanced Anti-Aging and Weight Loss to get hot and ready for my wedding in April.

After my initial consult, we finally decided that getting a monthly hydrafacial was the right choice for me. I have combination (oily/dry) skin and uneven patches, so I wanted something to smooth and perfect my complexion. I also suffer from blackhead breakouts and I have zero tolerance for that any day of the week, but especially the weeks leading up to my wedding.

I will admit I was a bit nervous to get a facial. I know they're supposed to be relaxing and beneficial, but I have really sensitive skin that doesn't take well to new products. I'm happy to report that my skin took to the hydrafacial perfectly and I'm so happy with my results.

The entire process was pretty simple. I went in, laid down on a comfortable (and heated) bed and the nurse got to work. She explained in detail every process as we worked through my facial.

I am onto phase two of my process and the results are definitely there! I noticed after my first hydrafacial that while I was a tad red, my skin calmed down after a few hours. What was really surprising to me was the results that came in the days and weeks after. Sure, I saw instant results of clear pores, but in the weeks following my appointment is when my skin really improved. I'd say after one week, I had essentially no breakouts or blackheads.

Of course, I went back for another hydrafacial four weeks later. It has now been one week since my last facial and again I'm seeing the results more and more every day. In my experience, it's a very gradual improvement. My skin seems to have a healthy glow now and I'm less prone to breakouts, especially around my time of the month. I've synced up my facials with my hormones, basically, to prevent period breakouts. You could use this for any period in time when you know you'll be stressed. Work deadlines, upcoming events, etc...to help prevent stress breakouts.

If you'd like a play-by-play of what to expect, here's the process:

Every step of the facial uses the same tool but with different tubes of product. First, they washed my face with soap and warm water. Then, they went over my face with water followed by exfoliation. The best part is when they sucked out all the bad stuff after a deep exfoliation - I'll show you the aftermath of that later on. My skin was then primed with a mild acid that seals the exfoliation process. Add some moisturizer and sunscreen and I was in and out within about 30 minutes.

Before we got started and following the hydrafacial, we took pictures for comparison. Here are some of my before and after photos:

BEFORE

AFTER

As you can see, I have a tiny bit of redness from the tool, but my pores are noticeably empty and clean. My skin has a healthy and clean shine that stuck around all day long.

BEFORE

AFTER

Everything that is sucked out is collected into a tube. After everything was said and done, I was shocked at how disgusting my water was. It made me feel clean and dirty at the same time. Do you think just washing/exfoliating your face at home is doing that job? Because it's not.

Here's a nice little swirl action for you. It was amazing to me that you can see all the blackheads and other residue swimming around in the water.

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Here's the machine that is used during the entire facial. The tubes are the various products I mentioned above. Each one is swapped out for the next.

For most skin types, a hydrafacial is recommended at least once a month. It's quick and effective and has no downtime. The only precautions I had to take was to wear sunscreen, which we should all be doing anyway, avoid makeup for 24 hours if possible, and avoid intense cardio for 24 hours if possible.

Final results:

Feelin' clean, glowy, and fresh!