EXPERIENCE | skoah Review - What is a Facialiscious?

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For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, you will know that I have a bit of a love affair with getting skoah facials and using all products skoah. skoah is based in Vancouver, but also has locations in Calgary and Boston. I started getting regularly scheduled facials every 6 weeks in 2011 both as a way to relax and more importantly to give my skin some personalized pampering! Skoah offers 8 different facial treatments ranging from a quick 20 to 75 uninterrupted minutes of personal “skin training”. Since I go to skoah once every two months, I opt for the longer sessions, specifically the facial known as the “Facialiscious” which leads to the inevitable question, “What the heck IS a Facialiscious?” To help with this answer I turned to my skin fit trainer, Yavanna, from the skoah lolo location!
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Your first visit to skoah entails meeting with your own personal skin care trainer who will make note of any skin-related concerns you may have, your skin care goals and what your current skin care routine is.  Skoah has so many different products for every type of skin out there and each is chock full of high performance plant extracts and peptides, vitamins, minerals and natural organic compounds to ensure the products generate the results they are supposed to. There is also a “why they work” section on the skoah website that openly lists the ingredients in their products and why they work which I found to be quite informative. And if I still have questions, I know that I can always ask my skin care trainer for more info!
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The beginning of the Facialiscious! Can’t wait!DSCF6008
The Facialiscious begins with a gentle yet thorough cleanse to remove any makeup and also allows the skin trainer to get a general feel for a client’s skin. This is followed by toning with warm cotton pads (feels so good!) which helps to hydrate and prepare skin for the upcoming treatment masks.
Next, is the aha mask also known as the “minty meltdown” - peppermint and alpha hydroxy acids melt away dead skin and stimulate and soften the skin in preparation for extractions. This mask feels like a small fire on your face, but not to worry because it does cool down after a few seconds. I have actually come to enjoy this sensation as I can now visualize my skin being reborn! Your skin fit trainer will usually warn you that your face will tingle because if I hadn’t been told, I would have thought that I was having some sort of allergic reaction! I should also mention that the aha mask used in the Facialiscious is three times more powerful than the version available for purchase so it really is a treat to receive this mask during my scheduled appointments!  
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While the aha mask is doing its thing for about 15 minutes, you are then pampered with a foot and calf massage with skoah’s amazingly hydrating and smelling body kreams in one of five scents (sweet love,soft love, fresh love, summer love or tropikal love).
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Next up, is what I love, but I know some people dread – extractions! From my experience at skoah, this process is much more gentle then when I have had extractions performed at other spas. Your skin fit trainer will then have a little chat with you about what she sees in your skin such as dehydration, redness and/or problem areas. Once the extractions are finished, the kalm down mask is applied to reduce inflammation and redness while hydrating the skin - during this mask the arm and shoulder massage begins once again skoah’s fabulous body kreams! The kalm down mask is also great for the eyebrows after tweezing!
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After the kalm down mask is removed, a second treatment mask is applied depending on your skin’s condition that day. Since my skin is generally on the dry side, I tend to get either the moisture induce (very dry or sensitive skin) or hydradew mask (dehydrated skin) or both! If you suffer from breakouts, then your skin fit trainer might use the klearity mask which is for blemished, oily and acne-prone skin.
During the second treatment mask,  you receive yet another wonderfully relaxing massage, this time focusing on the neck and shoulders eventually moving up the the face. This allows the mask to really penetrate and soften the skin while relaxing those overworked facial muscles and reducing any inflammation to help get rid of fine lines and dark circles around the eyes.
Then using a hot towel, the mask  is removed and the skin is toned again in order to hydrate in preparation for serum and moisturizer.  skoah has four different serums: skin boost for hyperpigmentation and anti- ageing, kontrol serum for redness, firming and irritated skin, skin quench serum for dry skin and contains ceramides for moisture retention and finally the gold serum for the absolute best dose of active ingredients like plant polypeptides and oligosaccharides which work together to stimulate hyaluronic acid production making skin smoother and stronger. The serum is tapped into the skin to stimulate action. serum_-_gold400px_0
All skoah moisturizers start with an olive oil base and are full of highly active and beneficial ingredients such as salicylic acid to treat a acne prone skin or coenzyme Q 10 for a high dose of anti oxidants. My favourite is teprenone which is for anti-aging and has been shown to extend the life span of skin cells by 30%. Yes please! Again, depending on your skin’s condition, the moisturizer your skin trainer chooses might be any of: skotion (for all skin types with a matte finish), skotion lite (for oily skin and contains salicylic acid), dewlux face cream (anti-aging with a dewy finish) or gold (anti-aging). I have mentioned dewlux face cream in a past favourites post and is wonderful for dry skin.
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We cannot forget about moisturizer for the delicate undereye area using either eye kream (for most skin types), or eye candy (anti-aging) to reduce any puffiness discolouration or dark circles for extra eye powereyes_-_eye_kream400pxLips are then moisturized with lip dip which has co-enzyme Q10, lipoic acid and pure lanolin to hydrate, lock in moisture and prevent chapped lips! Lip dip also comes in an SPF 30 version which is wonderful at the beach!
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Lastly, the Facialiscious ends with one last massage - a scalp massage to loosen up the scalp and facial muscles and there you have it! The BEST FACIAL EVER!!! I feel so amazing afterwards both inside and out! My skin glows and even though it got quite the workout with all of those products, it doesn’t feel thick or heavy with product. It feels plump, supple and pampered.
I had fairly good skin before going to skoah with the occasional breakout and those little white bumps underneath my eyes, but once I started using skoah products and going for regular facials, I receive CONSTANT compliments on my skin! I wasn’t paid to do this post, I just LOVE skoah that much! What I love about skoah and what keeps me coming back is that each facial is personalized and has a purpose. Yes, it’s about pampering and relaxing, but a skoah skin care trainer actively pays attention to your skin’s needs and only uses products that your skin will benefit from. I feel genuinely taken care of and the ambience and environment is comfortable, laid back and unpretentious. I look forward to every visit and I hope some of you will give skoah a try if you’re ever in the area!
















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