The dust in the air from biking has really caused me to have so many mask pimples in the past two years. They aren't huge acnes, but just a lot of tiny white and black heads clogging up my pores. Yes, I know that those are just sebaceous filaments and dermatologists say that I should "use salicylic acid for cleansing 2 a week, and use retinol 5 times a week" to prevent them from building. But they are already there, I'm not trying to prevent them or wait for them to slowly go away. I want them gone now! So I came for a facial to quickly clean out all the filaments. While we are at that, let's do some anti-aging skincare so that I can continue telling everyone that I am 20 for the rest of my life.
I shared a no-filter photo after my facial in my Instagram stories last week and a bunch of people asked me "where do I have to for this?" With total "bxtch take my money!" vibes. Of course I'm not going to keep my secret to myself, let's all get prettier together. This was the 999 Pure Gold and Caviar Age-Freezing Duo Face Pack Facial from Flow Beauty. I know it's an awfully long name, but each step has earned its rightful spot in the title. My skin was so smooth afterwards. It's also a very convenient location. Cross the street after coming out from exit 2 of Taipower Building station, and it would be right in the alley next to you. Before we get into the detailed reviews, I have to gush that I am now officially a fan of the owner, Afra. She's so friendly and chatty, explaining each step carefully and professionally. But she doesn't talk so much that you feel bothered and unrelaxed. Even the introvert side of me felt perfectly comfortable. The entire process was extremely soothing.
Glow Beauty–Environment
Glow Beauty is in cooperating with S&D hair salon, you'll see a huge hair salon sign in front. On the side, you'll find a small wooden sign from Glow Beauty with the reservation number on it, so it's not too hard to find. The workshop is on the third floor once you enter the store, and you have to remove your shows. It's small but very clean. The floor is white so if it were anything less than spotless, you'd be able to see. It's very sanitary and neat, the machines also look well-taken care of, which really puts me at ease. This is a stark contrast to the laser whitening clinic I shared last time. Though they both have small beauty rooms, Glow Beauty seemedn professional and easy to trust.
Glow Beauty–Process
First, I filled out a form describing the condition of my skin. Afra also offered me some apple and pineapple water she made herself. It's good for your skin, caffeine free, and delicious! The form includes sections where you can fill out cosmetic procedures you've done, your skincare routine, and your biggest skin problems, so that the beautician can more effectively adjust the steps to target your needs. Several steps in the Duo Face Pack Facial is customized according to your skin, so letting the beautician clearly understand your problems and expectations is especially important. After I filled out the form, Afra clearly explained the process of the facial so that I could fully understand what to expect and the purpose of each step. She never tried to sell me anything throughout the entire process, the prices are also clearly listed, which makes the experience a lot more relaxing. This is one of the things that I found significantly better than other beauty salons and clinics.
Age-Freezing Duo Face Pack Facial–Skin Analysis + Cleansing
Though we just filled out a form detailing our skin condition, we are still going to start off with a skin analysis. This helps the beautician better understand our skin and more accurately pick out the most suitable face essence to use later on down the line. Once the skin analysis is over, the beautician would carefully explain the results.
Mine weren't particularly surprisingly. The oil to water balance was pretty good and Afra also complimented for doing a good job on my skincare. But my pores are seriously clogged, which corresponds with what I have already mentioned as my biggest trouble. It's not too obvious when looking from afar, but there are tiny bumps when I am applying makeup. I don't wear foundation so it's not that much of a burden but it's a huge issue when I decide to contour. I would stare into one of those magnifying mirrors and glare at these sebaceous filaments with hatred, hoping that I could make them disappear with the power of my mind if Aphrodite so decides to bless me. But this day, I am asking Afra to help me annihilate them.
During the facial, the beautician would also give skincare recommendations to follow once you go home. She mentioned types of products that would be suitable for my skin type but never tried to sell me any particular product. It was really sweet and felt like she genuinely cared about my skin.
Though I came without make up and only applied some toner, we still did a deep cleansing and makeup removal before we started, to get rid of the dirt and dust from the streets. I would highly recommend that you come without makeup if you are going to do a facial. It will be much easier for you to apply makeup after, helps the skin analysis be more accurate, and makes cleansing much quicker.
Age-Freezing Duo Face Pack Facial–Exfoliating + Painless Extraction
Next we are going to start prepping for the whitehead and blackhead extraction. The beautician placed soaked cotton pads on my cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead to target the areas with more sebaceous filaments. Instead of using steam to "open up" the pores, they use copper peptide exfoliating water, which is a lot more calming. Then there are two steps when it comes to the painless extraction. The beautician first meticulously removes them one by one using a pair of tiny tweezers, I honestly experienced no pain during the process. I just felt something lightly touch my face. Of course, the smaller and deeply buried ones with no heads require a bit vacuuming pressure to be removed. Do you guys remember that one time I tried to use a pore vacuum at home and ended up bruising my nose and forehead? Yeah, I think I should leave this to the professionals.
There are two types of tips for the vacuum equipment, and the one used here at Glow are all disposable to ensure that they are sanitary. There are soft silicone ones and hard plastic ones. Afra selected the soft one for me. The hard ones are for people who don't spend much time on skin care and have very serious blackhead issues. Probably someone like my dad. Cleaning his pores is like filming a compilation of TikTok, it's so satisfying. The problem with vacuuming your pores or pushing them out at home is that you might harm your blood vessels. It's also hard to be thorough. Once you remove the filaments, the pores are also left wide open, making it even more likely to be filled up and be left with huge pores. The professional equipment is not strong enough to raise concerns of harming your blood vessels. While lightly vacuuming out the filaments, Glow beauty introduces nutrient solution at the same time to fill up and help close up the pores. I felt no pressure or pain, it felt kind of like cold water being sprayed on. I honestly thought we were cleaning at first. Though it's winter, don't worry about being cold, there is an electric mat on the bed.
Age-Freezing Duo Face Pack Facial–Cold Treatment + Gold Massage Cream
My face was inadvertently a little bit red after the extraction but it wasn't really obvious. I did white/blackhead extractions at a dermatologist before, and they actually pushed the filaments out, my face was so swollen, I couldn't go out for two days. After doing the extraction at Glow Beauty, I was able to go out without wearing any foundation, and the redness was barely detectable. At least Ares saw nothing. To allow customers to leave beautifully without redness, after the extraction, they use a cold treatment equipment to calm your skin and shrink pores.
Then it's one of the major spotlights of the day: gold facial massage cream. The cream has a light chamomile scent, it is not only nourishing but can also help with repairing the youthful glow. The beautician put some cream on my face and starts massaging my face first to help relax the muscles and increase metabolism. There are two facial massages throughout the process. Afra has very firm, thick, and soft palms, which makes the massage extremely enjoyable, I almost fell asleep. After the facial massage, she brushed the gold face cream across my entire face as a face pack. While waiting for the face pack, there is an essential oil head massage. Keeping in mind that many customers want to head out after their facial and might not have time to go home and shower, Glow Beauty specifically selected essential oil that isn't oily. It smells of mint and lavender, which is very relaxing. My hair also looked great afterwards and did not appear greasy.
Age-Freezing Duo Face Pack Facial–Customized Essence Introducing
Face essence is a bit similar to serum but has smaller particles, which make them easier to absorb. Glow uses an introducer at the same time to help the absorption with warm treatment. There are 8 types of face essence, which I've previously mentioned will be chosen according to your skin. A total of 4 types of face essence will be used on each person. The first and last layer are all the same. Starting with a collagen base and finished off with elastin to enhance elasticity. For my second and third layer, Afra used hyaluronic acid for extra moisturizing effect and the yeast solution to help metabolize and get rid of the filaments. The 2 layers in the middle are customized according to your condition and needs. For instance, on aging skin, they would opt to use placentin. During the essence introducing, you can feel that it is light and easily absorbed. Though there were 4 layers of face essence, it didn't feel heavy and unbreathable at all.
8 Face essences to choose from: Collagen (C), Hyaluronic Acid (HA), Placentin (P), Elastin (E), Acetyl Hexa-peptide (AH), Ellagic Acid (EA), Yeast Solution (YS), Pearl Solution (PS), Shark Cartilage (SC), Silk Solution (SS)
Age-Freezing Duo Face Pack Facial–Caviar Essential Oil + 999 Pure Gold Peel Mask
There are two important steps here.
First, they used a caviar essential oil for the second facial massage. The caviar essentional oil is packaged in an air-tight capsule. The salmin (extracted from salmon, obviously) can help with the immune system of your skin and defend it against outside harm. The blue spirulina extract helps calm your skin, once again helping it recover from the extraction. Finally, the chamomile extract prevents pigmentation which is very helpful to people who are bothered by too many unwanted freckles. Though it's an essential oil, it didn't feel greasy against my skin.
After the massage, the pure gold peel mask is applied. This takes a bit longer than the gold face cream because we have to wait for it to dry and become peelable. While waiting for the face pack, there is a chest and shoulder massage. The essential oil used for the massage has a distinct eucalyptus scent and light fragrance of cloves and nutmeg. These are all warm ingredients that help with relaxation, which makes it a hot oil. During the massage, there is a warm sensation that really helped loosen up my muscles.
After peeling off the mask, a moisturizing serum and cream are applied to lock in all the moisture.
Age-Freezing Duo Face Pack Facial–After Facial
After the facial, I was going straight out so I borrowed a mirror from Afra. When I was applying make up, I exclaimed "my forehead is flat!" I startled her and she quickly asked what I meant. Actually, I meant that half of the tiny closed up sebaceous filaments on my forehead are gone! Preciously, I couldn't even push them out if I tried. Of course, skincare is still a process, they can't all magically disappear at once. But the improvement was apparent and I could clearly see it with my eyes. Especially on my forehead and round my nose. My skin was so soft afterwards and makeup could be easily applied and stayed on my skin perfectly. It's usually very difficult for me cover up my dark circles. I have to go layers and layers with my dark circle eraser and the concealer just wouldn't stay where I wanted! After the facial, it took two blots to cover it all. My cheeks are more sensitive so they were slightly swollen immediately after, it wasn't visibly red though. After 24 hours, it all returned to normal. My cheeks were as smooth as a baby and I kept touching it. I also kept telling my mom to poke my cheek which she said is very annoying but oh well. My chin has the most sebaceous filaments, so there were still some remaining after the facial. But it did significantly improve.
Afra also recommended that I use skincare products with cleansing properties when I get home, such as deep cleansing serums, which would help with preserving the results and further improving the condition. I give this a 10 out of 10, definitely would return! After Chinese New Year, I want to come back again and say goodbye to the rest of my annoying filaments.
Glow Beauty–Info
Store name: Glow Beauty International
Address: No. 4, Lane 34, Xinhai Road Section 1, Daan District, Taipei City (Taipower Building Exit 2)
Operating hours: Monday–Sunday 9:00–20:00 (reservations only, no walk-in's)
Phone number: 0902-203-961
Official line：https://line.me/R/ti/p/%40724pickb (the prices and discount information are all clearly listed in their posts)
Treatment: 999 Pure Gold and Caviar Age-Freezing Duo Face Pack Facial (120 min)
Price: First timeNTD$2,000; original price 4,200元
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