Bad skin is something that I have struggled with for the majority of my life and one thing that I heard works wonders for congested skin, is extraction facials. This was my first experience having an extraction facial and can I just say: why on earth didn't I do one earlier? 
Today's post i'll be letting you into my amazing Advanced Extraction Facial* experience at Shine, Skin and Body in Kew.


Before getting into Shine Skin and Body and facial itself I thought I would let you all know about my skin if you're new to the blog. I have suffered from acne since I was 12. It began with small, little white heads and throughout the later years of high school, my acne developed into hormonal and cystic acne. My skin is extremely oily and as much as I wish I wasn't, I am a picker! As a result, I have quite bit of scar tissue and my skin is very sensitive.

Now into the fun stuff! I was feeling quite nervous before hand because it's rare for strangers to see my naked acne skin, you know what I mean? But as soon as I walked into Shine, I felt really calm. I was greeted by Sheridan and she was so lovely. We spoke for a good 15+ minutes about my skin history, my concerns and just all of that skin talk. One thing that I loved about this entire experience was that things that are usually weird to talk about, were totally normal and it was okay to talk about those details were often ashamed of, you know the picking and popping!   After speaking with Sheridan I was introduced to Sharaya who was performing my extraction facial. Sharaya and I wondered into the consultation room which appeared very inviting and relaxing. There's a comfy beauty salon bed to lay on and you feel like you're literally drifting off into a cloud - even during the extractions!
The entire process begins with some cleansing and exfoliation. A steam machine is then turned on to open up your pores and get your stubborn pimples ready to leave your face (finally). After my skin was ready, the extraction began and took  a good 40 minutes or so, maybe even more. Sharaya mostly worked on my forehead and the right side of my face this session. My next session will be working more so on the left. 
I wasn't paying too much attention to the extraction itself because it was somehow calming. Pain wise, I was told it would hurt quite a lot but personally it only hurt towards my chin and on my cystic acne. I think it might not have hurt me as much as like I said, I do pick quite a lot so maybe I am a little more used to the pain than some others. 
Following the extraction process, my skin was cleansed again to remove some of the extra bacteria on the surface on my skin. I then had a round of LED Therapy, the infra red light was used on my skin in order to help speed up the healing process. It stayed on for around 10 minutes and whilst it was working its magic, Sharaya gave me a very lovely hand massage.
At the very end of the session I had a thick hydration mask placed on my skin and was told to let it stay on for as long as possible. 
After the session, not going to lie my skin was totally inflamed and red on all of the areas that extractions had taken place. I was assured though that it was normal and that the next day my skin would be on a the right track, and it was.
If you're curious about how my skin looked before and after, prepare yourself for some confronting photos. The before photos were taken while I was at Shine and the after photos were from four days after. 

The left side as you can see is quite scarred so Sharaya mostly worked on emptying a few of my cystic acne spots and cleaning up the general area around my scared tissue. 
I have a few more upcoming sessions and I am extremely excited to continue updating you all with photos about this skin journey - yay! 
If you'd like to know more about Shine, Skin and Body:  Shine, Skin & Body's Website

Shine, Skin & Body's Facebook

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Have you every had an extraction facial before? 
*Products marked with an asterisk have been provided for editorial consideration. For more information, please read my disclaimer.



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