What is a laser facial?
A laser facial is a facial aesthetic treatment that includes some use of a laser.
Many facial treatments add a spot of lasering to boost the effects and the appeal of what is essentially a pampering beauty-salon facial. I use the term ‘facials plus’ to describe this category of facials. You’ll see such facials describe their laser component using terms such as ‘baby laser’ or ‘micro laser’.
Some ‘facials plus’ use intense pulsed light (IPL) as well as laser to treat skin conditions; other ‘facials plus’ use IPL instead of laser.
Practitioners use various types of lasers for laser facials, depending on the effects they’re aiming to achieve. The following list briefly explains the three types of lasers that are perhaps most commonly used:
- Neodymium Yttrium Aluminium Garnet (Nd:YAG) laser. Nd:YAG lasers can be used on a low power setting to deep-clean your skin by vaporising dirt, oil, and bacteria on the skin’s surface and in your pores. (Nd:YAG lasers are also used to clean years of grime and pollution of stone buildings and to clean ancient artefacts such as papyrus scrolls so yes, they can be very gentle.)
- Erbium laser. Erbium lasers are used for skin resurfacing. They are good for removing wrinkles and lines.
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) laser. CO2 lasers are widely used for minimising wrinkles and scars, reducing enlarged oil glands, and improving skin texture.
Are laser facials safe?
Yes – provided a) that your practitioner is skilled and experienced with the laser, b) that the laser is the right type for the treatment, and c) that the practitioner uses suitable settings on the laser.
You’re absolutely right to ask about safety, because lasers sound a bit too much like serious and possibly painful bits of equipment to be deployed in something like a facial. The lasers you’ll find in skin clinics are powerful devices capable of burning the skin – but what effect they have depends what intensity, or what power setting, they are used at.
Lasers are good for clearing pigmentation, resurfacing, and tightening the skin; but if used on lower settings, they make a useful addition to a facial.
Do laser facials work?
Yes, laser facials are effective at brightening your skin and improving its texture.
Clearly, if you have a light sweep of a laser at the end of a facial in a beauty salon, you won’t see the same sort of results as you would with a full laser treatment in a clinic; but if you repeat that laser-facial experience often enough, you will get a cumulative improvement in your skin.
Lasers used to be a no-no for darker skin, because the light energy that they use strikes the pigment in the surface of the skin which can create rebound pigmentation (hyperpigmentation) or depigmenting (hypopigmentation) of the skin, but now, lasers which reach deeper into the skin can work to improve pigmentation on darker skins, too.
What do laser facials treat?
The laser component of a ‘facial plus’ is used mainly to freshen and brighten the surface of the skin. The practitioner may also use a laser to target specific problems such as thread veins or spots.
As well as the laser treatment, many laser facials include components of a standard facial, such as a light peel, steaming to open the pores followed by extraction of debris, and massage.
Do laser facials hurt?
Laser treatment has a reputation for being painful, but what you feel depends entirely on the energy levels that the laser is putting out. You can have a really easy, comfortable treatment with an Nd:YAG laser if it’s on a low setting, but the higher the power is turned up, the more things are likely to hurt.
Most lasers have an inbuilt cooling system which both physically cools your skin to remove the heat that the laser is generating, and also distracts your brain from thinking about the impact of each zap. If a treatment is likely to be uncomfortable, the clinic will offer you numbing cream beforehand. No practitioner wants deliberately to inflict pain, so they will do their best to make everything manageable for you.
Where can I get a laser facial?
You can use the Find a Practitioner tool on this website to find a practitioner who offers laser facials.
When looking for a practitioner, bear in mind that practitioners who use cosmetic lasers in the UK don’t have to be regulated; nor do their clinics: Anyone can rent, borrow, or buy a laser and use it for cosmetic purposes (as opposed to medical purposes, for which lasers are regulated). So it’s vital you make sure that your chosen practitioner is skilled with the laser they will be using and has demonstrated they can get the type of results you’re seeking.
How much do laser facials cost?
Laser facials vary widely in cost depending on what exactly the facial involves. As an example, here are the costs for three popular facials that include laser or IPL:
- Skin Laundry facial: £60 (but the first treatment is free)
- Debbie Thomas Laser Facial: £130 upward
- Skin Matters facial: £380 upward
How long do laser facials take?
Some laser facials are really quick – for example, the Skin Laundry facial takes only 15 minutes – but most take from 30 to 60 minutes.
If the facial uses a type of laser that requires you to have numbing cream, that will add about 30 minutes at the beginning of the session.
How long do laser facials last?
How long the effects of a laser facial last depends on what exactly the facial involves. But normally the effects of a ‘facial plus’ that includes light lasering would wear off in four to six weeks.
Are there any side effects to laser facials?
High-intensity laser treatments, such as ablative laser resurfacing and laser treatment of pigmentation problems, typically have side effects, such as reddening and swelling. But the low-intensity laser treatments used in laser facials should have no side effects.
What is it like to have a laser facial?
Your experience of a laser facial will vary greatly depending on which particular laser facial you have. But here, as an example, is how I found the Skin Laundry facial.
- First, a pen-like laser device which blasts out low-level laser light is wafted over my face. It feels as if tiny drops of hot fat are being spattered across my skin, but they are so small and so light that the sensation is just a sort of exciting prickling, rather than actual pain.
- I’m more disconcerted by the fact that there’s a sort of frying smell, which I reckon is my blackheads being dissolved and sautéed by the laser. That takes about five minutes, and after that I have a conductive gel applied to my face before the IPL light device is fired across my face, section by section. I can’t even feel it.
- Afterwards, my skin is patted with a moisturising sunscreen, and I’m done.
- My skin looks much fresher and brighter after its laser deep-cleaning. Only 12 minutes have passed, but it looks airbrushed – fresh and smooth, as if my pores have shrunk. I can see why people get hooked on this treatment.
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