In addition to your daily beauty routine having a professional salon treatment can enhance the health and appearance of your skin, reduce visible signs of aging, and slow the formation of wrinkles. In the wrong hands or with the wrong ingredients or therapies some treatments from the luxurious hydrating facials) to the high-tech (red light therapy) can actually damage and age your skin.
1. Red Light Therapy
A professional salon treatment can enhance the health of your skin, reduce visible signs of aging, and slow the formation of wrinkles. In the wrong hands or with the wrong ingredients and therapies the opposite can happen. Red light facials, super trendy in the skincare world, penetrate light into skin cells energizing them to promote renewal and stimulate collagen production improving the skin’s structure and elasticity. Overdoing red light therapies can make skin dry, more sensitive, and irritated, and even cause blisters and premature aging.
2. Chemical Peels
Chemical peels also remove dead cells and resurface the skin’s texture but improper application, overdoing it, or going for peels that are too active for your skin type can lead to burns, scars, and increased sensitivity and age signs. It’s worth noting that chemical peels come in light, medium, or deep strengths and use different ingredient solutions such as such as alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA), beta-hydroxy acid (BHA), retinoic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and phenol.
3. Laser Treatments
Laser facials, or laser skin resurfacing use a concentrated beam of light to remove the skin’s surface by heating the layer underneath. Used to treat hyperpigmentation, scarring, age spots, sun damage, and wrinkles, the downside is the process can wound the skin and trigger inflammation so instead of remedying the above you can make symptoms worse and speed up aging.
4. Botox and Injectables
Botox or dermal fillers use various substances and ingredients (hyaluronic acid is popular) that are injected into the skin to freeze muscles (to prevent lines and wrinkles) and add volume and fullness to the face. Badly applied injectables can cause sagging, asymmetry, or even nerve damage, which can make you look older. Even when administered correctly, some fillers never properly dissolve and can warp your face.
5. Microdermabrasion Risk
Microdermabrasion is a professional therapy that uses a handheld device infused with tiny crystals to smooth and resurface the skin’s texture. Like a heavy-duty exfoliation treatment, excessive microdermabrasion can wound the skin causing redness, increased sensitivity, and even capillary damage and micro tears.
6. Vampire Facials
Vampire Facials are as weird as they sound. Also known as a PRP facelift, this is a medical procedure that involves extracting platelet-rich plasma from your blood and re-injecting it (along with hyaluronic acid filler) into your skin via tiny micro needles. The process of microneedling can damage the skin and cause infection, inflammation, and uneven skin tone which can age your overall appearance.
7. Facial Steamers
Facial steaming is a popular salon treatment that sweats out toxins, softens skin, and opens up the pores to remove debris and prepare for professional extractions. Over-steaming the skin however can strip it of its natural oils, leading to dryness, irritation, a dull complexion and exaggerated fine lines.
8. Harsh Scrubs
A luxurious facial usually involves an exfoliating scrub to remove dead skin and allow products to penetrate deeper into the skin. Physical scrubs with large, coarse particles can be too harsh for the skin causing damage, and inflammation and microtears can lead to a loss of elasticity and saggier skin over time.
9. Face Masks
It’s not a trip to a day spa without a face mask but different masks work to hydrate, cleanse, refine, or detoxify your skin so choose the right one for your skin concern. Masks can also be infused with very active and chemical ingredients that can cause allergic reactions, dryness, and irritation, which speeds up skin aging.
10. Skin and Nose Extractions
Extraction is the process of cleaning a clogged or compacted pore with a manual tool and is typically done during a facial. Aggressive, too frequent extractions or if the skin is not steamed first to loosen debris can lead to scarring, enlarged pores, and skin infections, all of which contribute to an aged look.
11. Detox Massage and Lymphatic Drainage
Massages at a salon can be pure bliss but some treatments, especially anything involving intense pressure or harsh chemicals, can lead to skin damage, bruising, and irritation, which all contribute to aging. Lymphatic drainage massages which work to boost circulation, aid digestion and flush out toxins can also cause fatigue, an emotional release and symptoms like headaches, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, swollen lymph nodes and fever.
12. Sunbeds and Tanning Booths
If you covert sun-kissed dewy skin all year round, use bronzer and illuminators and skip the sunbeds and tanning booths. UV exposure from sunbeds is the same as subjecting your skin to the damaging rays of the sun and can lead to premature aging, wrinkles, and an increased risk of skin cancer.
13. Dermaplaning (Face Shaving)
Dermaplaning is an exfoliation method that removes dead skin and peach fuzz from your face using a scalpel-like tool. Make sure to dermaplane sparingly to keep the skin looking youthful and blemish-free as overuse can lead to skin sensitivity, redness and potentially scar the skin on your face.
14. CoolSculpting and Liposuction
Liposuction or CoolSculpting is a non-surgical cosmetic procedure that uses cold temperatures to break down fat cells in the body that don’t respond to diet or exercise. Most often used to target the abdomen, thighs, back, buttocks, and jaw to create a slimmer more streamlined shape, fat freezing can cause aches, tingling, redness, swelling, bruising, numbness, skin discoloration, and sensitivity. There is also a risk of anesthesia reactions and blood clots, and in some rare instances (like in the case of supermodel Linda Evangelista) instead of weight loss, it can cause weight gain and body disfigurement.
15. Face and Eyebrow Waxing
Waxing is a gentler and often more convenient alternative to shaving, plucking, and threading to remove unwanted hair from the face, body, lip area, and eyebrows. It’s not great for overly sensitive skin and waxing too often can cause skin irritation, ingrown hairs, and loss of skin elasticity. Over waxing could also lead to the skin developing a rough texture and the stress inflicted could cause premature aging.