It's been 6 months and I'm back here again at Glow Beauty for a facial. During this time, Glow Beauty has moved to new location also near Taipower Building Station. It's on the first floor now and it no longer shares a space with another store, which makes it much more spacious and comfy.
Last time I did the "999 Pure Gold and Caviar Age-Freezing Duo Face Pack Facial." This time, I tried something different. It's called the "8-in-1 Premium Goddess Facial." Yes please, give me that goddess glow. Aside from cleaning out pimples, this facial also aims to draw out all the deeply hidden acne and waste to help get rid of any potential break outs.
I only spent a short 2 days to fully recover from it and got super smooth skin in return. Even my blind acne went away. Most importantly, my eyelids have been red and swollen for months. Sometimes it gets better, sometimes it gets worse, but they never fully recovered. After the facial, the redness was visibly reduced and after 2 days of extra care, my eyelids are finally, FINALLY back to normal. I have smooth eyelids again! I'm going to cry.
Best Taipei Facial—Glow Beauty: Process
Glow Beauty takes reservations only. If this is your first visit, and you are planning on trying the Premium Goddess Facial, they'll ask for 3 photos of your face–without makeup and filter–in advance through their official LINE@. This is for them to get to know your skin beforehand. This is my second visit, so I didn't have to send any pictures. They know what's up. As soon as the beautician saw me, she told me to wear more sunblock. I know I'm lazy and never reapply, especially when I go to the beach. But I didn't think I was going to get busted immediately!
The owner/beautician Afra brought me a collagen drink before the facial started. It was mildly sweet and amazing for your skin. Win-win. Then as usual, there is a form where I could fill out additional information about my skin. 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. This time, I was also asked about the skincare products that I use, especially those that contain acid.
After filling out the form, the beautician clearly explained the whole process of the facial to me. As usual, she never tried to sell me anything, which made me very comfortable. Afra is as easy to talk to as always, but my appointment was early that day so I'm still in sleeping mode. Once she explained purpose of each step in the facial, we spent most of the time in silence so I can rest and enjoy my facial. At one point, I almost fell asleep.
Best Taipei Facial—8-in-1 Facial: Gentle Cleansing
The first step is, of course, makeup removal and cleansing. If you show up to your facial with make up on, they will first use an eye and lip makeup removers. I showed up with only sun block so the beautician jumped right in with lip balm and eye cream as makeup removers. Because both are skincare products that contain oil, they can effectively melt away any makeup, sunblock, or dirt. Since our lips and eyes are especially sensitive, this also allows us to moisturize while cleansing.
Next, a cleansing oil with jojoba oil and green tea extract is applied. Unlike most cleansing oil, this one does not contain emulsifiers. It creates this warm sensation as it's massaged around the face. It's very soothing and gentle. Once the cleansing oil is a wiped away, the beautician cleansed my face once more using a deep cleansing gel. Before we officially start with the facial, naturally, we had to take some photos! The beautician takes photos from several angles so that we can easily see the results by comparing photos taken under the same lighting and angle at the end of the facial.
Best Taipei Facial—8-in-1 Facial: Moisturizing
Cleansing is followed up with a light skincare routine to help create a great foundation for what's coming after. The salicylic acid lip balm is applied once again. It has a Vaseline-like texture but is not stifling. It can lock in moisture and soften your lips. Then it's a 4-step skincare.
First comes Repair Cream, it's a semi-paste texture, almost like an ointment, but not suffocating at all. Afra saw that my red, swollen eyelids and applied a thicker layer around my eyes. She also told me that she was going to give me a small box of Repair Cream at the end so that I can take extra care of my eyes.
The second layer is Platinum Cream which activates the skin and provides it with more nutrition. Though we have applied 2 layers of cream by this point, both were very uickly absorbed and did not feel heavy and sticky. The third layer is a cold, watery gel mask that increases the moisture in your skin and brightness of your complexion. Finally, it's the Brightening Serum that contains tranexamic acid (TXA) which lightens spots, mandelic acid which is an AHA that reduces breakouts, salicylic acid which prevents sebaceous filaments, and peptides which have strong anti-aging properties.
Best Taipei Facial—8-in-1 Facial: Exfoliation + Painless Extraction
We have fine hair all over our bodies, including our faces. So before we start working on that horny layer (no, not THAT horny! Why is your mind dirty?), we are removing the fine hair to make everything we do from now on more effective. The beautician uses a small eyebrow razor to shave the entire face. This does not just remove the fine hair to pave the way, but dermatologists also say that it helps with exfoliation.
Your face actually gets completely replaced every 28 months. You literally have an entirely set of skin cells, so the dead cells naturally linger on top. This forms the horny layer which desperately needs to be cleaned up, or else it would give you a dark, tired complexion. I'm not saying tan, I mean, a lack of glow.
For the exfoliation, the beautician used the Golden Diamond Probe, which sucks out pimples while it lightly scrapes off the dead keratinocytes. Before we started with my face, we tested it on the back of my hand first to make sure that it doesn't hurt too much. Honestly, it just feels like a tiny fish is sucking my my skin. And the scraping just feels like someone lightly running their nails across my face. There was no discomfort. During the process, Afra paid close attention to reapplying Repair Cream on the side of my nose and other areas that are dry and peeling.
After the exfoliation, I looked inside the probe and saw all the waste and pimples removed from my skin, as seen in the picture on the right (or above if you are on your phone). I was so shocked and grossed out, was all this crap on, nay, IN my face just now?
Finally, there's a manual painless extraction. Afra gave me a hand held mirror so I could see what she was doing at all times. So I watched closely like it's a stress-release video. By the end, most of my pimples were gone.
Of course, there are still some blind pimples and hidden acne that cannot be removed like this. So what we are going to do next is to draw them out.
Best Taipei Facial—8-in-1 Facial: Oxygen Hydra Pico
Oxygen hydra pico uses normal saline and pressurized oxygen. The strong spouts of water effectively cleanses the pores. Afra explained that it's a lot like how a car wash water as the car is being cleaned. It may be a funny simile, but it really works. Though we can't thoroughly prevent cutibacterium acnes from surviving and growing, we can create an environment that they do not like to live in. This stunts their growth and would make our skin less prone to breakouts. The oxygen hydra pico feels pretty nice. It's a bit cold and ticklish, but not in a way that is disturbing. After it's over, my skin felt squeaky clean.
Best Taipei Facial—8-in-1 Facial: Brightening
The next step is to brighten our complexion to give it a glow. And we are using the aforementioned Brightening Serum. Most skincare products that contain acid cannot be used too frequently. For instance, the salicylic acid serum that I use cannot be used daily. But this Brightening Serum uses low doses of different acids, making it safe to be applied daily and can help shrink wounds, enhance your glow, lighten acne marks, and sweep away pimples.
After applying it, we let it sit for 3 minutes before neutralizing it with normal saline and heading into the next step. By this point, I could see that my complexion has become brighter, plumper, and more even.
Best Taipei Facial—8-in-1 Facial: Micro-current Facelift
Unlike radio frequency skin tightening, micro-current facelifts do not create tiny wounds. But we have created some wide open pores from removing all the pimples, now, we are tightening them through this face lift.
Before the micro-current facelift, the beautician applied another thin layer of Platinum Cream to revitalize my skin, then started rolling the probes on my face. When the current passes through, there's a stinging, numbing sensation. Personally, I think it feels kind of like pulling out eyebrows, and it doesn't hurt. The round probes rolling across my face felt like a massage. It's relaxing and I could feel my whole face de-puff.
Best Taipei Facial—8-in-1 Facial: Negative Pressure Face Mask
The final step, is the most special of them all. To apply negative pressure face mask, the beautician layers 4–5 different face masks based on your skin condition. The multiple layers on top helps create weight and negative pressure that helps the face mask on the bottom be fully absorbed. the first layer is the most important fullerene face mask.
Fullerene is a type of carbon with extremely small molecules. Because of it's strong affinity to electrons, it can easily react with free radicals and essentially suck those aging monsters off your face. The face mask further helps moisturize your skin and improve its anti-aging benefits. On top of the fullerene mask is another layer of cotton pads that are packed with Revitalizing Serum, with extra care around the eye and lips. Then there's a layer of allergy-soothing face mask. Finally, it's all covered with a thin layer of gauze before a clay mask is applied The multiple layers is not suffocating and restrictive. On the contrary, the light pressure on my face felt really good. I was so relaxed I fell asleep during this process.
Best Taipei Facial—8-in-1 Facial: Aftercare
Last but not least, aftercare. After removing all that pimple, we might end up with some tiny wounds on our faces that we can't see. So for the week following this facial, we shouldn't be using any skincare products that contain acid. Many people think that their faces go back to what it was very soon after a facial or even a cosmetic procedure. That's because most people overlook the important of the aftercare the week following their procedures.
The best way to do aftercare is to precisely follow the beauticians instructions, maybe even use a collection of skincare products they have selected. So a lot of places would use this chance to start selling you a bunch of cosmetics. And by this point, it's too late to turn around. But Glow Beauty is different. They generously prepared aftercare packages for each client that are clearly marked with numbers 1–7 to indicate the order in which you should use them.
Cleansing oil, cleansing gel, 4 layers of skincare, and finally, an SPF35 tinted moisturizer. For the first 3 days, apply a thin layer of Repair Cream on your entire face before the rest of the skincare steps. 3 days later, simply applying Repair Cream on more sensitive areas and areas that are peeling is enough. For the 7 days after the facial, pause all skincare products and routines that you usually do and only use the aftercare package which would suffice.
Afra also reminded me that for the first 3 days, some of the blind pimples will be drawn out and there might be a few white pimple like pusses that would form. Don't pick at them, just apply some Repair Cream.
I got 2 of those tiny "acnes" one on each side of my cheek the night I got home. I applied some Repair Cream and wen I washed my face in the morning, the "acnes" popped themselves and did not leave any visible marks Other than the pimples on my nose and cheeks being cleared up, my eyelids were no longer red, swollen, dry, and itchy. It also became much easier to apply make up, and skincare products are much easily absorbed by my skin. I have to come back in 28 days when all the gross dead cells pile up on my face again!
Best Taipei Facial—Store Info
Name: Glow Beauty
Address: 1F, No. 7-13, Lane 8, Alley 210, Roosevelt Road Section 3, Zhongzheng District, Taipei (7 minute walk from exit 1 of MRT Taipower Building Station.)
Opening hours: Mon–Sun 12:00–22:00 (reservations only, no walk-in's)
Phone number: 0902-203-961
Official line：https://line.me/R/ti/p/%40724pickb (prices and discount information are clearly listed in their posts)
Treatment: 8-in-1 Premium Goddess Facial 150–180 minutes
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