I think a common misconception about acne is that it can only happen to teenagers.
And I think people think that I just sit around
and pop pimples all day.
I was always breaking out so bad on my chest, on my back, and on my face.
If you can imagine the back of the Nestle crunch bar - that’s exactly what my skin
looked like.
My name is Stephanie, and I’m getting a facial with extractions.
I first started having problems with my skin when I hit puberty.
My mom didn’t believe in birth control, so she ended up taking me to go get treatments
done.
Although they say that they’re professionals, you just never know what your results are.
And especially with my skin being so bad, I ended up with a lot of scarring.
I fell into esthetics from being a makeup artist.
My mom was a professional cosmetologist, so I grew up around beauty and wellness.
My name is Claudia Colombo.
I’m a master esthetician with over twenty years experience.
I educate people on how to take care of their skin, I help them to feel and look good, and
to gain more confidence.
Going to an experienced expert is really important for extractions because there’s so many
different forms and grades of acne.
Often times, when someone takes matters into their own hands - usually dirty hands - they
make matters worse.
And, they create new problems that never existed before.
So, dirty secret of mine - I do extract my own pimples and blackheads.
There is some pain to it, but I’m not expecting it to be way worse than that.
So I’m just going to start cleansing her and getting her prepped for extractions.
So as a professional we use specific tools and methods and professional strength ingredients
to soften and prepare the skin for the manipulation of extraction without damaging the skin.
When there’s a plug in the hair follicle, dirt, oil, dead skin cells, everything in
there, becomes trapped. And then what happens is with the open follicle, air gets in there
and it oxidizes so it turns black.
And that’s really how a blackhead is formed.
So this is the desincrustation lotion, and I’m going to use this with the ultrasonic
skin scrubber.
It literally feels like you’re slothing off skin, but it’s more of the product that
she’s taking off and there’s tingling, vibrations.
It’s like a slight scrape almost, that feeling.
I think with the popularity of pimple popping videos, it can really help someone suffering
with this type of skin condition.
On the other end of that, it can also give them the green light to go ahead and extract something
they shouldn’t be touching and should really be dealt with, with an expert or a professional.
Noone has ever vomited during a treatment, but there’s been a lot of flinching, a lot
of cursing, some crying, and a lot of excessive sweating.
I don’t think people necessarily tear up because it’s painful, but sometimes it’s
because of where the pimple is located on your face.
Ooh, nice and bright!
So, it’s been a
few hours since the treatment, and my skin literally feels amazing.
It feels as if everything has purged from my skin, all the dirt, and my pores feel clean
and everything just feels much lighter.
Claudia recommends for me coming back to her about every 3-4 weeks for a facial, especially
with my skin type - that it’s very congested and acne prone.
It feels very rewarding and actually satisfying to me when someone comes with a full face
of blackheads and they leave glowing, their skin is super smooth, and they’re so happy.
It feels like a really productive day for me.
Thanks everyone for watching!
If you want to subscribe to Refinery29, click here.
If you want to watch more videos, click here.