Skin Reborned

It's been years since I have last visited a dermatologist or have a facial. My last visit to a dermatologist was back in college. My dermatologist moved somewhere so I have no choice but to take good care of my skin and always clean it well.

Nowadays, there's so many clinics and celebrity dermatologists that makes one really confusing. To be safe than sorry, I do not go to any dermatologists. Whenever I have pimple breakouts, I just self medicate with the available medications in the market. However, deep inside me, I've always wished I can find another dermatologist as good as my last one.

When I learned about The Skin Sanctuary, the one who recommended it has a clear white face. It's been so long since I had a facial and judging by this person's face, I'm quite convinced that I should go give it a try.

Stepping into the place, there's a feeling of freshness because of the white and green colors. The place has a relaxing feel that really makes it a sanctuary.

The reception table (The receptionist was quite shy for a picture)

The very inviting couch which I think is a good angle for a photo shoot after a nice facial.

Unlike other facial clinics, The Skin Sanctuary requires everyone who goes in to be checked by their resident dermatologist Dr. Leslie Colleen Tiongson first to make sure that one gets the proper and right treatment. Sometimes, there are people who get treatments that they don't really need. Dr. Tiongson is the one and only resident dermatologist for now. Also, she's a shareholder so rest assured that she will take care of her patients well.

While waiting for my turn, I looked around to check the place's cleanliness which is very important for a facial clinic.

The Skin Sanctuary has four stations. The three stations are for regular facials while the fourth station is a closed room station for back cleaning. Even though there were no patients inside the facial stations, the place smells good which shows that they clean the place well and it's well maintained. Since there's only one resident dermatologist as of the moment, I feel comfortable that they don't have too much stations because the dermatologist can check each station with watchful eyes.

The three facial stations

This is how each station looks like. The sheets are white and very clean.

This is the fourth station which is a separate room with a door that closes. This room is used for back cleaning.

Despite being a small place, it is quite organized. The shower area is separate from the sink and bowl so that two people can use the washroom at the same time. Also, it can avoid long waiting time and cleaning time.

Shine like the sun after your shower in the shower room.

Ring this bell if you feel like you can't hold number 1 or 2.

It's a very thoughtful touch to have the amenities beside the sink. I love how it makes one feel at home.

Just by looking around, I already like the place because of its color combination, size, cleanliness and thoughtfulness. When my turn to meet the resident dermatologist Dr. Leslie Colleen Tiongson came, she was smiling at me and asked me nicely if I have any questions or problems about my skin. She's quite different from my past dermatologist who scares me about how bad my skin is. Anyway, Dr. Tiongson listened to my complains about my skin as she writes down my skin problems and history of my skin problems one by one.

Dr. Leslie Colleen Tiongson at work.

This is the smile I got from her when I first went in. I asked her to smile again for this picture.

I have a zit on my chin that day and instead of scaring me on how bad it is, she gave me three options on what we can do about it. I felt like I was in charge and responsible for my skin and not the scared type who have no choice but to say yes to the doctor. I went for the slow medication option since I've been always afraid of the needle. She prescribed me a soap and toner which she made then told me to go to one of the stations to have my face cleaned up and have a diamond peel. It's my first time to get a diamond peel so I quickly asked if it will hurt and she said no. I trusted her so I just went into the station with the therapist.

The therapist brought me to one of the stations. The first thing she did was cleaned my face with warm water using a towel. She then put a cream on my face. I think the cream is the cleanser. Since my eyes are closed, I wasn't able to see what the cream looks like. After wiping out the cream, she said that she will be applying toner on my face while cooling it with a fan. The toner stings a little so after she has applied it, she continued to cool my face with the fan.

My face being cooled by a mini fan after toner was applied to my face.

The fan actually gave a big help to lessen and gradually take away the stinging sensation which the toner gave. When it was dried and over, moisturizer was applied to my skin. When I thought cleaning was over, there's actually more and I was so surprised that it's going to take long. This is probably the reason why one must go to facial clinics such as The Skin Sanctuary so that the skin is thoroughly cleansed.

Cotton patches were put on top of my eyes after the moisturizer was applied and for a second, I felt a warm steamy air was hitting my face. I asked the therapist what she was doing. She said that she is steaming my face to open up my pores to let the dirt come out.

There's steam coming out of the tube at the right side but it's not obvious in this picture.

The steam is not very hot but it's enough to make my face sweat. I wanted to wipe my face because it's quite itching but the therapist asked me to hold it. The itching is caused by the dirt coming out of the pores which opened. After the steaming, the therapist wiped my face with a damp towel which feels very satisfying. Next to steaming, the therapist told me that she will start extracting the remaining dirt in some of my pores which might hurt. Yikes!

While she was extracting, it actually was not so bad. Her hands were light and a lot of times I did not feel anything which is amazing! Dr. Tiongson went in that time to check on my face and how the therapist was doing. She stayed for a bit to see everything then went back to her office. The therapist extracted the dirt on my nose last because it has the most sensitive part of the skin. I think it's true because it's the part where it really hurts when she extracted the dirt inside the pores of my nose's corners. To give me some time to recover, she stops a bit after extracting each corner.

During extraction

After the extraction, the therapist brought out a vacuum for the face. The vacuum sucks the remaining dirt on the skin. With all these cleaning, I think my skin is all cleared up! When the vacuum was over, there was a roller-like-equipment that was rolled on my face to close the pores. Then a gauze was placed on my face for the high frequency treatment. According to the therapist, the high frequency further closes the pores.

High frequency treatment

During the high frequency treatment, there was a funny smell that smells like artichoke. According to the therapist that this smell is emitted during treatment. For those who love artichoke, you might get hungry.

When the high frequency treatment was done, I had the diamond peel treatment. I was so surprised that the diamond peel treatment is not a facial mask to be peeled off! It actually looks like the vacuum tube except the ends of the rubber has tiny diamond bits to scrap off the dead skin and revitalize one's skin. Dr. Tiongson was right that it doesn't hurt. In fact, it feels like my face was vacuumed again.

After the diamond peel, a moisturizer was again applied to my face then I'm good to go. However, Dr. Tiongson suggests not to wash the face for 6 hours since the pores are not quite closed yet and the moisturizer is being absorbed by the skin.

The Skin Sanctuary is located at 1047 Metropolitan Ave. San Antonio, Makati with contact numbers (0949)4345239 and (02)9030368. It is open from Mondays to Saturdays from 12nn to 9pm. Its services and prices are:

Basic Facial P299
Hypoallergenic Facial P299
Anti-aging Facial P499
Quick Fix Facial P499
Gentlemen's Facial P499
Diamond Peel P799
Intense Diamond Peel P1,199
Chemical Peel P599
Back Cleaning P999
Wart Cautery starting at P999 to P1,999 per area

Other procedures include:

Skin Punch Biopsy
Excision Biopsy
Intralesional Steroid Injections
TCA Cross/Needling
Mesotherapy
Sclerotherapy
Botolinium Toxin Injections
Fillers

What is more amazing is that the doctor's consultation is free! So if you just want to have a skin check up for a piece of mind, just go there. For more information about The Skin Sanctuary, visit them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theskinsanctuary.