By Alison McGill
With red carpet season back in full swing, prepare to have your social feeds lit up by the flawless, radiant faces of celebrities hitting movie festivals and awards ceremonies. The beauty prep that goes into such appearances is an intense regime which starts months before the actual event. A treasured skin treatment that’s a favourite of the stars in the run up to show time is the oxygen facial.
The luxury skin service counts Naomi Campbell, Emma Stone, Emily Blunt and JLo (about that wedding glow…!) as fans. Currently the buzziest oxygen-based facial is the OxyGeneo facial, a three-in-one super service that exfoliates, oxygenates, and infuses the skin with nutrients creating a positively angelic glow up—your skin will have a next level luminosity.
I recently experienced the OxyGeneo facial at Toronto’s Miraj Hammam Spa and can tell you the hype is real. Immediately following the 60-minute service, my skin looked like glass; in the days and weeks following the glow continued to grow.
Below, everything you need to know about the OxyGeneo facial.
How an OxyGeneo Facial Works
An oxygen facial is designed to rejuvenate and hydrate skin. Oxygen helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, improves blood circulation and boosts collagen production. During a traditional oxygen facial, a wand is used to deliver a stream of pressurized oxygen to the skin’s surface.
An OxyGeneo facial builds on that basic principle but incorporates a deep exfoliation into the mix. Also, instead of infusing oxygen into the skin, it oxygenates by triggering a chemical reaction in your skin causing oxygen to be naturally released into the skin from within your body. Amazing, right?
A Treatment Step-by-Step
Here’s how an OxyGeneo treatment rolls out. Skin is gently cleansed, and all makeup removed. Since there are a five different treatment options available, your therapist will evaluate your skin and its needs to determine the best one for you. In my case, we decided on the Illuminate service to brighten and even my skin tone. Using a small microphone-shaped hand piece connected to the OxyGeneo machine, my skin therapist began the exfoliation. A cleansing gel was applied to my face and the wand was lightly buffed across my skin. This process was extremely gentle and not in the least bit aggressive on my sensitive skin—it felt like a relaxing facial massage.
Once the exfoliation is complete, the cleanser is removed with a warm towel you move on to steps two and three of the OxyGeneo facial. The handpiece is loaded with the Oxypod (mine contained a vitamin C-boosting illumination elixir) and buffed onto skin causing the oxygenating chemical reaction. You skin will froth up with tiny CO2 bubbles on the surface. This results in your body sending oxygen-rich blood to the skin to replace CO2, thus releasing oxygen in your body. At the same time, the brightening ingredients were infused deep into the cellular levels of my skin.
Results and Aftercare
There is absolutely no downtime with the OxyGenero facial. I immediately noticed how deep-cleaned my skin felt and looked, in addition to its plumped-up firmness. It magically erased my red acne scar spots from a recent breakout, and of course there was the radiance. I noticed in the weeks following my OxyGenero facial, the appearance and texture of my skin continued to improve. There was no specific aftercare, I continued with my regular skin regime, but took a break from exfoliation for a week because of the treatment’s deep cleanse effect.
If you have a big event or just want to give your skin a little extra love, book this treatment—the results will certainly show!
