THE AGE-OLD REMEDY TO GOLDEN SKIN
I was playing “I Spy” with my 10 year old son when he stared at me and with a naughty grin on his face said, “I spy the Philippine Islands!”. I looked around to check if there’s a map lying around the room. But he started giggling and pointed to my left cheek. Puzzled, I looked in the mirror and I realized what he was pointing to - tiny sun spots on my cheeks forming shapes of various “islands”. I had to laugh, he does have a sense of humor, but deep inside I knew it was no laughing matter.
Sun spots, wrinkles and sagging skin are all signs of aging. I’m in my 40’s so I knew that this was part of the normal “wear-and-tear” of a life well-lived. But it is also a sign that I need to take better care of my skin. Sun spots mean that I fail to regularly apply sun block on my face leaving brown pigmentation or melanin deposits. Wrinkles mean that I have to religiously put on moisturizer as part of my morning and nightly ritual. Sagging skin is another matter altogether. Gravity is at work here but, fortunately, we live in an age where nothing is impossible.
Surviving the test of time
The skincare industry have flaunted their gravity-defying techniques to counter aging, in countless ways, some through surgery. But, I am not that hardcore. I’m okay with the conservative approach to beautifying myself. So conservative in fact, that I opted to try an age-old technique that dates back to the time of Cleopatra.
Through my research I learned that gold masks have been used since ancient times. Cleopatra used to cover her face with gold powder every night to retain her youthful looking skin. The queen during the Ch’ing dynasty used a gold massage roller on her face every day. In Ancient Rome, gold salves were commonly used to treat skin problems. The benefits of gold facials have even been recognized by the ancient healing art of Ayurveda. The use of gold masks has been practiced throughout history because of its curative and anti-aging properties.
The fact that this method has been around for centuries means that it works. So, off I went to our Megamall branch to try this ancient remedy to flawless skin. Our derma clinic offers a modern twist to this age-old remedy called the 24K Gold Facial.
The Preparation
I had to start with a clean face. The derma assistant, Minnie, rubbed a mild liquid soap on my face. She gently massaged every part of my face using the soap to remove the sticky combination of make-up, sweat and pollution. The facial massage was surprisingly relaxing. Had she done that longer I would have dozed off but, after a few precious minutes, I felt a slightly rough implement on my cheek. It’s a small brush used to loosen excess dirt that might be clogging my pores. She brushed my forehead, nose, cheeks and chin to make sure that she gets all the stubborn dirt out.
Next is the steamer. Steam relaxes the pores – opening it and exposing the stubborn dirt and other skin impurities hiding between the crevices of the skin. Then I heard the sound of a small motor. A pencil thin tool with a suction cup at the end was used to vacuum off the loosened dirt including the exposed blackheads and whiteheads. Afterwards, she wiped my face with warm water using a soft facial sponge.
Next step was scrubbing. A facial scrub was applied to my face. Once again, Minnie massaged it across my face to exfoliate it by sloughing off dead skin cells. She kneaded my face exactly the same way she did with the soap. Then she repeated the whole process once again – brushing, vacuuming and cleansing.
Then came the tricky part – pricking. She beamed a strong white light on my face to help her see clearly. I had to brace myself for this. The last time I had a facial was years ago so I was not used to this procedure. True enough, a few seconds into the pricking, I felt a stinging sensation on my nose. A blackhead or whitehead is stuck too deep into the pores that a slight pinch of the tool is not enough. It seems that there was a concentration of impurities in my nose and chin. Thankfully, she didn’t take long. Either I only had few blackheads/ whiteheads or she felt sorry for me every time she saw me wincing. I think it’s the latter.
Beneath the Golden Mask
Then came the part I was looking forward to – the gold mask. The assistant mixed gold powder with water in a small bowl. Using a fine brush, she mixed the two until it became a golden white paste. Then she applied the cold, sticky solution to my face using the brush, avoiding my eyes and lips. The assistant left the room for a few minutes to allow the solution to harden while I was lying in the clinic bed. The paste was cool and slightly runny at first. But I felt my skin tightening as the minutes passed. Then it became so firm that I could hardly move my face. In fact, my phone rang and I couldn’t even answer it because my face was so stiff. I felt like Cleopatra beneath her golden mask.
So what does it do exactly? Masks offer a deeper kind of cleansing because our skin is in close contact with the mask for at least 10- 15 minutes. That length of time gives our skin the added benefit of absorbing all the revitalizing and healing properties of the mask. Gold masks in particular are known to increase cell renewal and is effective in fighting off damaging free radicals, preventing premature skin aging.
Gold masks also reduce the appearance of sun-damaged skin and age spots. It also has anti-inflammatory properties. The properties of gold help to slow down collagen depletion and the breakdown of elastin. This firms the skin by tightening it thereby reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
After about 15 minutes, the assistant arrived to remove the taut solution. I thought she was going to peel it off but instead she used cold water and soft sponge to gently remove it. Then she applied moisturizer while briefly massaging my face. Next she used a small hammer-like contraption with a flat rounded base aptly named the “Cold Hammer”. She rubbed the cold metal all over the face to help close the pores.
Minnie told me to avoid using make-up for a few hours to allow the skin to breath. I was hesitant to do this at first because I had errands to do in the mall and I had a date with my husband. But, I reminded myself that he has seen me at my worst so it really doesn’t matter. So I left the spa ‘au naturel’ without a hint of make-up! But the look on my husband’s face when he saw me was priceless. He said that there was a certain glow to my skin. I looked radiant and rested. Maybe I should schedule another visit soon. The assistant told me that the effects of a gold mask lasts longer (up to 2 weeks) compared to other facial masks. If I do this often enough, the tiny islands on my face will slowly fade till there will be nothing left for my son to spy.
Body Tune derma clinics are located at the following braches - SM Megamall, Mall of Asia, Market Market, SM City The Block and Annex North Edsa, SM City Fairview and SM City Pampanga.
