Former beauty editor and self-proclaimed beauty enthusiast Kate Milliken tried our latest skin treatment, the Caci Laser Facial, here’s what she thought…
Nowadays, it seems like anyone on Instagram or Tik Tok claims to be a skincare ‘expert’ and look, there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, the more people who share my undying passion for everything skin related, the more I can harp on and on about it to everyone I come across in public without them wanting to exit this life from boredom.
This being said, however, for four years of my life my literal job was to try out every new technology, product, innovation and treatment known to man. It’s not exactly shocking that as a result, when it comes to skincare treatments, I know how to separate the men from the boys. And on the topic of complexion saviours, nothing will get you from woe to wow quite like a good facial. But not all facials are made equal. Self-proclaimed skincare expert or not, the heavy-duty treatments are absolutely best left to the actual professionals, and, for me, that always means Caci Clinic.
A little bit about the Laser Facial
You can imagine my excitement when I caught wind that they were adding yet another revolutionary treatment to their star lineup of skin conditioning treatments. As far as invasive procedures go in the name of beauty, there’s almost no risk I’m not willing to take for the sake of glow. To the point where if they asked me for my next of kin when I signed in, I’d actually take that as a good sign. So the name Laser Facial immediately made me prick up my ears, “this has gotta be good” I thought to myself. But actually, the Caci Laser Facial is not as advanced and invasive as the traditional CO2 or Fractional laser treatments you may have heard of. Think of it as your entry-level laser treatment if you’re wanting to dip your toe in and get a sense of the results. There’s also zero downtime, I went about my day as normal straight after! It is basically great for most skin types and helps to:
Target and breakdown unwanted congestion
If congestion or breakouts are a concern, the laser facial can absolutely help you out. The peel in and of itself is a really effective treatment for these types of skin concerns, and when you add that fractional laser in there, well, it’s even better. The fractional laser penetrates the skin more deeply meaning that you will get a more intensive exfoliation, great for clearing out your pores and removing congestion.
Improve the appearance of uneven skin tone
If uneven skin tone is your biggest challenge, then I cannot recommend this treatment enough. The fractional laser works by creating controlled damage to the skin, this will result in your skin triggering its natural healing response by sending collagen to the area. All of which will help to reduce the appearance of pigmentation and scarring by removing small plugs in the skin.
Increases cell turnover for smoother skin
Both the peel and fractional laser are great for reducing fine lines and wrinkles, revealing smoother more evenly textured skin.
Tighter, firmer and brighter-looking skin
Similar to skin tone, the brightness of your skin will also be improved by the controlled damage the laser facial creates. The pulse of light will penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin, this process allows the cells to be trained to grow back stronger, firmer and faster. This helps your skin to appear smoother, brighter and tighter!
How it works
What happens at your appointment
When I arrived at my long-anticipated appointment, the lovely staff at Caci Mount Eden took me through a brief run-through of what to expect and answered all the burning questions I had. Side note, I pretty much live at Caci and I’m always blown away by how the staff know every single annoying question I’ve ever asked. It’s truly incredible stuff. And they don’t just say generic things like it will “hydrate the skin” either. They can actually answer all your questions on a biological level which I totally appreciate to be honest because I’m always looking to educate myself more on my skin.
How it feels
Once the formalities were out of the way I lay myself down in that warm cocoon of a bed and let this magician do her work. First things first, you’ll get a Level 1 chemical peel which works to loosen and dissolve the connections between the skin cells, making the outermost layers of the skin to peel away and reveal a fresh complexion. If you’ve had a peel on its own you’ll know how life-changing the results are. But nothing could prepare me for what came next when I was introduced to the greatest tool my face has ever met. The Fractional CO2 laser.
I had little goggles on which I’m sure looked really great but it meant I couldn’t see what this magical device looked like, but whatever it was, the clinician glided it over my face. It was one of the strangest sensations I’ve ever felt, kind of like a static shock on a minor and continuous level, but not at all painful. There’s a very faint burning smell I think from some little peach fuzz meeting their maker, and some slight warmth but nothing alarming. This went all over my face and down my neck. Once the lasering part was done I got some delightful calming moisturisers put on my face and then I was ready to see the final result.
As I touched on earlier, the Fractional CO2 Laser stimulates the skin by using a controlled amount of thermal energy. This triggers the body’s natural healing response, resulting in a sudden flood of collagen to the face, and did it what…
The results
Guys, nothing I write will honestly do what I saw in the mirror justice, I audibly gasped. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I looked absolutely fantastic. This is not the kind of glow you can get from at-home topical treatments my friends. This is the kind of glow that means you could quite literally hire me for your next party to stand in the middle of the room and act as a living, breathing disco ball. The kind of glow that meant I had to physically restrain myself from booking a solo professional photo shoot right there and then.
Some people may think that facials are an exorbitant and excessive way to spend your money. But to those people, I challenge you to find anything that will make you feel better than having the flawless perfection that was my skin as I strutted out of Caci that day. I had multiple people comment on how well-rested and radiant I looked and asked what I was doing (umm, lasering my skin to perfection of course!)
I immediately asked the clinician how quickly I could have the treatment done again, to which she told me you can have it done every three weeks. So if you need me, I’ll be at Caci Clinic Mount Eden every three weeks from now until the end of my life. I’m actually going to make laser facials my whole personality from now on tbh.
Keen to try?
If you want to find out more about the technical terms visit Caci’s website which has more comprehensive info about the treatment! Also, if you’re wanting to make sure you get these facials at often as you possibly can, the best way to go is to join Caci’s Reformaskin Skin Membership plan and get the CO2 Fractional Laser add-on! I’ll see you there folks.
