Any facial treatments you would personally avoid given past experiences?

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Are there any facials you personally would avoid? I used to get facials over a decade ago, for congested skin (though simply ditching the urban habit of coffee, croissants and confectionary would have probably done the trick). They seemed pretty straightforward - extractions, hydrating, that kind of stuff.

Now, my local salon in Surrey seems quite good but things like 'highly concentrated serum of hyaluronic acid and vitamins, delivered via a thermal applicator' does sound potentially off-putting! I will out myself as a bloke now, not that it makes much difference to the question, but my skin tends to be tanned and tougher than most women's I guess. And I am annoyed to realise that I seem to acquired a couple of brown age spots that are probably beyond the capabilities of my local beauty salon. Even so, some of these treatments put me in mind of the bleach I use to clean a surface, only to find it strips the surface!

What are other people's experiences here?

Purely because they made no difference at all - Caci facials. I had a long and expensive course. Did nothing.

Oxygen facials - I had 2 on a spa break. Again, pointless.

Agree re CACI. Unimpressive.

Can recommend good LED light mask at home. Much better for anti-ageing and congested skin than 99 % of salon facials.

Is there any particular LED light mask you'd recommend, @EvelynBeatrice ?

Otherwise - and I suppose the point of my question - are are there any facials that you might think err on the side of potentially damaging? Hyaluronic acid, for instance. Or any that are the equivalent of those skin creams where you'd better not go out in the sun for a fortnight after?

I don’t do salon facials now so can’t answer. I sometimes think people who are prepared to pay a decent amount for salon treatments would be better seeing a consultant dermatologist privately instead - probably not much price difference!!

On LED masks, I have the Shark one, but really any mask which meets the wavelength etc standards recommended to make a difference is good. Have a google.

Hyaluronic acid is a humectant, so it draws and holds onto moisture - it is naturally in the body already and very gentle. I use a hyaluronic serum daily but I don't know anyhing about salon treatments.

I've had one or two facials but never on a regular basis, had dermalogica products used once and the smell alone wasnt my cup of tea. However an Elemis deep cleansing one was lovely.
I've always thought if I had the money it would definitely be a monthly thing, purely due to how relaxed I felt when I left the salon if nothing else.

It's not all that gentle. I made my own at home and obviously put too much in - the instructions said to keep adding powder until it formed a gooey gel, which was a very satisfying process but evidently too strong. It was like paint stripper! Hyaluronic acid, see?!

Your body naturally produces hydrochloric acid but that doesn't mean it's gentle.

I once had a course of CACI facials that prompted everyone to comment on how well I looked, so I assume it worked! Might have been the potions they used, though - it was fiendishly expensive (I got it free).

I know what hyaluronic acid is, thank you. Compared with other acids used in skincare it is indeed gentle, at least if you know what you're doing and don't fuck it up.

Far gentler than ascorbic acid for example, which is commonly known as vitamin C.

I think of facials as pampering self care, but they’re not going to make any significant difference to your skin.

For the price of some facials you could have laser, or microneedling.

What a rude reply.

I would further suggest that lactic acid does much the same job. It's emollient and less likely to leave chemical burns on your face than high-strength hyaluronic.

It's also cheaper. You could use yoghurt 😄