Treatment Diary: Trying Out LaserAway’s Instant Glow Laser Facial

My Instant Glow Laser Facial experience

I’ve long been a fan of Clear + Brilliant. The laser treatment checks many boxes for me: it’s quick and relatively painless, it works for my skin type (all skin types, for that matter), and it’s effective in reducing the appearance of pores, fine lines, and other signs of aging. But while the downtime with Clear + Brilliant is pretty minimal, it isn’t non-existent. Shortly after the treatment, my face looks sunburned for a day or two. After that, my skin’s texture is very rough – almost sandpaper-y – until a fresh layer of skin appears approximately a week after the treatment.

So I was looking for a treatment more similar to a facial that I could schedule a day or two before an event or party— one that would have an immediate impact and with zero recovery. Sure, facials (like the Hydrafacial) can make you look dewy,   but they don’t deliver the specific results I was looking for. Enter LaserAway’s Instant Glow Laser, which combines laser and cryogenic technologies for a, well, instant glow.

Here’s what it entails:

Preparing for the procedure

Because there is a gentle resurfacing component to the procedure, the prep is similar to any time you have a laser facial. You should stay out of direct sunlight for at least a week leading up to the procedure, and you should be religious about your sunscreen usage (whether or not you’re doing a laser treatment, in my opinion). It’s also important to avoid topical prescription products as well as spray tans and self-tanners.

Checking in and getting settled

One of my favorite things about LaserAway is that it has lots of locations, including one just a ten minute walk from my house in Brooklyn, New York. When I arrived and checked in, I was offered water, tea, coffee, etc. and only a few minutes later I was escorted back to my treatment room by the nurse who would be performing my procedure. With many procedures, such as Clear + Brilliant and RF microneedling , you kick things off by applying numbing cream and waiting for it to work. The Instant Glow Laser Facial is painless, and so you can start as soon as you lie back.

The procedure

First, the nurse inspected my skin. Because I have some facial hair, she had to avoid my upper lip, cheeks, etc. The laser used is the same one used for laser hair removal (though on a different frequency). This didn’t make a difference to me because my problem areas are my t-zone, and especially my nose and forehead.

I put on metal eye shields, and then we kicked off. The nurse performed several passes of the laser on my face, which got increasingly warm but was never painful – she spent extra time on my nose where I could use the pore reduction benefits of the procedure. Once she was done she applied a cold moisturizing mask. It felt great on my warm skin. She then began to pass over my masked skin with blasts of cold air. She said this served to close the pore that had just been opened up. And that was it! I lied back for a few extra minutes after she was done to let the ingredients in the mask really sink in.    

The recovery

Again, given the laser used in this procedure is less intense than those used in other procedures, the recovery is very minimal. I didn’t look red or sunburned. In fact – I already had a glow about me, and my skin felt incredibly smooth. The nurse simply told me I should avoid working out, hot showers, or anything that might make me sweat a lot for 24 hours. I should also be careful to apply sunscreen anytime I was in the sun (but again, you should do this always)!

The results

So, I wasn’t expecting much here. I always say, “no pain, no gain,” and I thought that a gentle procedure like this wouldn’t do much in terms of results. I’m also such a Clear + Brilliant evangelist that I felt like a deeper laser would be the only thing that worked for me. That said, I couldn’t stop running my hands over my face in the days that followed this procedure – I couldn’t believe how smooth my skin was. But the greatest endorsement of all is that three separate people told me how good my skin looked in the three days that followed my Instant Glow Laser Facial. And that’s without me mentioning I did anything! So the next time I have a big dinner or party, the Instant Glow Laser Facial is happening.

Want to learn more about Instant Glow Laser Facials? Contact one of our treatment specialists here. 

Khalid El Khatib is a Brooklyn-based writer and marketer who tweets too much.