Diamond Peel First Session

July 23, 2011

My first session of diamond peeling at Dermstrata. I have read before in another blog that unlike other facial clinics, Dermstrata gives one a thorough facial first, which was one of the reasons why I chose the spa. True enough, the whole facial took longer than the actual diamond peeling procedure. The facial was to prepare my skin for the skin peeling so the blackheads would be easier to remove and there will be less chance of infecting the skin.

My facialist was April of the Dermstrata SM Marilao Branch. How she treated my face was way beyond my expectation. She was very thorough in cleaning my face, not missing my jaw line, not like other facialists who scrub your face just to say that they did. It felt like she could see all the dirt and sebum on my face and that her sole purpose in life was to remove them. She was by far the best facialist I've met.

The facial has several steps:

1. Cleansing - She washed my face first with cotton pads wet with water, then applied a liquid facial cleanser; then, washed the cleanser off with wet cotton pads again.
2. Facial Scrub - After washing the cleanser off, she applied a facial scrub that has microbeads in it to remove dead skin cells; then washed it off with cotton pads again.
3. Steam - She applied another cream on my face and gave it a little massage. She then put moist cotton pads on my eyes and a gauze to protect my eyes from the heat of the steam. She then left with the steam aimed at my face for about 15-20 mins. The process is to open up the pores and loosen sebum.
4. Blackhead/Pimple Extraction - After the steaming, she wiped off excess moist from my face. She first scraped my face of small blackheads that were making my face feel grainy centimeter by centimeter using a pimple extractor. Back then, everytime I rub my face with my fingers, I could collect tiny blackheads and whiteheads. I also had several pimples that she pricked and extracted the sebum. The pricking wasn't bothersome as she used a very fine sterile disposable needle (I think. I mean, I couldn't see what the tools looked like as my eyes were closed the whole time.) After the extraction which took about 30 minutes because I had lots then, she showed me all the sebum she had collected. It was really gross!
5. Vacuuming - After removing the sebum, she vacuumed my face to remove stray dirt or blackhead out of my face.
6. Laser - I'm not sure what this is for, but she used a laser rod all over my face and covered my eyes with moist pads again.
7. Mask - She put a gauze and covered my face with a cream for the mask. It was a cold cream. It's for moisturization, I believe. The mask was left on my face for around 10-15 mins.
8. Diamond Peeling - After the long wait, finally it's done. She ran the microdermabrasion rod on my face centimeter by centimeter starting on my forehead to my temples, my cheeks, my chin, and my jaw line. The sensation wasn't seriously painful. It was tolerable. After this process, she showed me all the dead skin cells that have accumulated . It was gross. About 2 millimiters thick.
9. Cold Press - After the diamond peeling, she wiped my face with her hands like she was wiping dust off ot it. She then applied a cold cream and then ran the cold press on my face. This I believe was to close and tighten the pores.
10. Bonus Massage - After lying on the bed for over an hour, I felt my back tired. It was a good thing that she gave me a massage after the whole session. I felt reinvigorated after the massage.

Those are the steps in the diamond peeling process in Dermstrata.  I realized after the first session that the service was well worth my money. Yay!