An Honest Review of HydraFacial

Reviewed by Aesthetic Dr. Hala Mahfoud, Md, MRCOG, DipGum, MFSRH

Written by Ali Rislan, BSc.

Wondering if HydraFacial is just another trendy skin treatment, or if it actually improves your skin? Maybe you've thought about having it, and you're doing a little final research to see if it's right for you?

The HydraFacial is everywhere right now, and it has been for a while. Promising glowing skin, better skin health, and even anti-aging.

But does it live up to the hype? And more importantly, is it the right facial treatment for you?

Here’s our honest HydraFacial review, based on what we’ve seen and what our clients experience. By the end of this article you'll learn about our perspective about HydraFacial. You'll also have a better idea if HydraFacial is worth it for you.

HydraFacial Review Summary

• A popular skin treatment, it has been for a long time, with good reason.

• HydraFacials are great for skin glow, hydrating skin, skin barrier repair, and balancing skin. We agree, and even rank HydraFacial number 3 in our top 5 treatments for glowing skin.

• Many people overhype the anti-aging and extraction results of HydraFacial; there are better options available. Many clinics market it as the best option for everyone, but in truth it is not always.

• The positives of HydraFacial heavily outweigh the drawbacks. We recommend it to many clients daily.

• We recommend the HydraFacial for a red carpet glow. It helps with hydration and skin barrier repair. Great for regular maintenance of your skin.

What the HydraFacial is Great For

Let’s start with the positives, because there are quite a few.

Glowing Skin

HydraFacial treatments are fantastic for giving your skin an instant glow. It ranks number 3 in our top 5 skin treatments for glowing skin for a reason!

After just one session, your skin looks brighter, plumper, and more refreshed. A favourite before events or holidays, the results are immediate and camera-ready.

Hydrating Skin

This one might not astonish you, but HydraFacial leads the way in hydrating skin.

By pushing hyaluronic acid deep within your skin, you will feel a serious hydration boost.

This undoubtedly makes it one of the best hydrating treatments available. We'd definitely recommend HydraFacial if your main concern is hydration. As a bonus, properly hydrated skin is slightly more resistant to sun damage too (but don't substitute for sun cream)!

Skin Health: Barrier Repair & Support

Great for skin barrier repair and support, HydraFacial can help compromised skin.

Many people don’t realise how much their skin is crying out for hydration and gentle repair. The HydraFacial helps cleanse and infuse the skin with active serums without stripping or irritating. This makes it a great option for compromised or sensitive skin.

So, we often incorporate it as a step in wider skin treatment transformation plans.

Balancing Skin

When you think of HydraFacial you think of rich hydration. You might then think it is best or only suitable for dry skin types, and that's only half true.

It can actually also be great for extremely oily skin. We know that sounds a bit counterintuitive, but hear us out. Glycolic acid and salicylic acid as part of this treatment are amazing for regulating oil production. On-top of that, hyaluronic acid helps to regulate your oil production.

So for balancing extremely dry or excessively oily skin types, we'd recommend it.

Bonus Benefits

While they weren't quite enough to make the cut by themselves, there are some bonus HydraFacial benefits.

1. Firstly, we love the exfoliation step of treatment. Great at removing dead skin cells from the top layer of your skin, it improves skin texture and keeps skin clear.

2. Secondly it is great as a regular maintenance treatment for unproblematic skin. You can have it year round, with no added risk to sun exposure. Think of it as a problem-preventer rather than a problem solver.

3. Lastly it is quick, with the active treatment taking 30 minutes. With us you'll also get a complementary full LED facial, so expect it to take 50-60 minutes total.

   
   

Where the HydraFacial Falls Short

Of course nothing is perfect, and HydraFacial is no different. For all its positives, it does lack in a few areas.

Reducing Wrinkles & Fine Lines

Claims suggest that HydraFacials can help your anti-aging efforts, and some evidence supports this. In truth, we’re only including this because many clinics promote it as a great anti-aging treatment.

But, we're going to go against the grain on this one. You will see some anti-aging results, but there are better options available for reducing fine lines and wrinkles. In our opinion, you could only make a case for HydraFacial delaying signs of aging in young people. Here's what we mean:

The HydraFacial is £170 with us, whereas PRX T33 chemical peel for example is £250. Both treatments give you a similar degree of glowing skin. BUT, PRX T33 will give a much more significant skin aging improvements at the same time. In fact, you would need to have plenty more HydraFacials to get the same anti-aging result if you manage to at all.

So, HydraFacial is not the best anti-aging option for value for money. For that reason, we would not recommend HydraFacials for anti-aging.

Deep Cleansing the Skin

One of the main touted benefits of the HydraFacial is that it includes extractions as part of treatment. That is a great bonus in theory, one un-interrupted treatment that addresses everything.

But in practice the extraction is limited, and unable to deeply cleanse the skin. This is a minor drawback though, as we include a 15 minute manual extraction as part of treatment to make up for it.

Not Suitable for Everyone

Commonly marketed as suitable for everyone, and it almost is. Versatile, HydraFacials are suitable for almost everyone but not:

• Extremely sensitive skin issues, as the actives and suction can cause reactions. But you need to be careful with any skin treatments for this type of skin, so this is unsurprising.

• Specific skin conditions such as severe acne or severe rosacea. In the early stages of treatment, we'd recommend avoiding it until your skin is in better condition. With that said, it can be excellent mid-way through your treatment journey.

• Those in need of a significant skin transformation. It can play a good role in part of a transformation, as we mentioned. But don't expect significant and enduring changes from HydraFacial alone, unless you repeat it often as maintenance.

So, Who Is the HydraFacial Best For?

• People looking for an instant glow for events

• Clients with sensitive or dry skin who need gentle exfoliation

• Anyone in need of barrier repair or hydration support

• Those maintaining their skin in between other corrective treatments

Final Verdict: A Treatment We Would Definitely Recommend

With the drawbacks of HydraFacial being minimal, it's no wonder that we recommend it often to our clients.

HydraFacial is a brilliant treatment for glow, hydration, skin repair, and balancing skin.

But if you’re looking for a significant transformation in:

• Tackling texture

• Brightening pigmentation

• Improving scarring

• Anti-aging

Other treatments could take you further.

Want to know what those are? That’s exactly what our free skin consultation is for. We’ll analyse your skin in 3D, listen to your goals, and build a plan that gets you real, visible results. Click the button below to book yours now, or ask us anything about skin!