My Medical Facial From the Aesthetician to the Stars!

How do Jennifer Aniston, Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman keep their perfect complexions? Genetics are only part of the answer. And a cocktail of products only go so far. But the real secret to consistently clear skin comes from the deep-down clean that only regular medical facials provide. Something that looks NOTHING like the pretty picture here! Never heard of a medical facial? Well, that€™s why I'm here. It€™s time to ditch the idea that facials are a relaxing pastime and start embracing the astonishing, long-term benefits of this form of consistent, aesthetic attention.

A medical facial is an extra amenity served up in many plastic surgery and dermatology offices, usually by a staff aesthetician. It is the polar opposite of a spa facial because relaxing it is not. As a matter of fact, it can hurt. But never fear, it€™s like your first Brazilian, pretty soon you€™ll be tap-tap-tapping away on your blackberry while she does her thing.

I got a few treatments from the aesthetician of choice to the Park Avenue peerage and countless celebrity faces. Aesthetician X (she has asked to remain nameless to protect her clients) took us through her process of attacking delinquent pores, and it goes something like this:

* Dermaplaning
* Microdermabrasion
* Extraction
* Chemical peel
* Sunscreen

Dermaplaning, is the use of a scalpel (yup, that€™s right) to deeply (but gently) exfoliate off a layer of skin, while attacking scars and lines. This step is phantasmagorical if you want to dump some peach fuzz because it ALL falls off and grows back way thinner. Then, she microdermabrases, using crystals to exfoliate some more.

The next step is money, kids: extraction! Aesthetician X spends most time here, and with doubly-exfoliated skin, no clogged pore escapes her hawk eyes. She uses a teeny-tiny needle to open the pore, creating a passageway to get all the gross stuff out from even the most cystic pimple. Sounds heinous, I know, but this is where the results come from, attacking the root of the problem.

Next comes a chemical peel and sunscreen (X prefers uses Peter Thomas Roth products for the last step.)

The result: my very own celebrity skin! Do I recommend? Damn skippy! Besides, we can€™t even begin to name the socialites and celebs waiting in this underground office to see her, and if they can do it, so should you.

Photo Credit: z.about.com