If you’ve followed along for awhile you know that I love learning about skincare products and trying new things all in the pursuit of healthy, glowing skin. Before we moved to the Eastside, I was going to Sapien Skin (now located in South Lake Union in a gorgeous new space) at the recommendation of Pinky at Skin Spirit. I can’t totally remember why she referred me to Stephanie at Sapien as she worked for a med spa herself.. it could have been that I wanted something done that Skin Spirit wasn’t doing yet. But I was going to Sapien in early 2019 up until we moved in 2020 and then stopped. I could kick myself. I stopped going mostly for convenience as there were plenty of options for me in Bellevue and Redmond to get my facials. However, as time has gone on I have felt underwhelmed with my current treatments. I book a 60 minute facial only to be rushed out the door in 50 minutes and $500 poorer and don’t really know what I just got. Whiplash to the fullest. Enter Sapien (I see Stephanie and Jess.. both equally knowledgable and beautiful inside and out).
I booked a microneedling appointment with Jess last week and to say I was impressed is an understatement. Not only did I get a microneedling service, she gave me a full facial first, extractions, dermaplaning, before she numbed me for microneedling at the end. I was in her space for a total of 2 hours. And I paid for a microneedling treatment. Other med spas get you in, numb you up, needle your face and send you out the door in 50 minutes with a $350 ”must have” product and you feel like you were robbed (cuz you were). At Sapien, you schedule an appointment and they give you a comprehensive treatment based on what YOU need. You don’t have to guess when you’re booking what ”add ons” you may want or need. How are we supposed to know? They’re the experts, right? There is no guessing at Sapien. Their prices reflect a comprehensive treatment, no add ons, no guessing games. And it was about the same price, if not cheaper, than my 50 minute whiplash session elsewhere.
But do you want to know what is priceless? Asking a million questions to women who GET IT. Who are so freaking smart, especially in this space. I spent two hours with Jess and it was EASY and fun and educational. I learned a shit ton. I asked and she gave me brutally honest answers that I wasn’t ready for.
Warning: the women at Sapien are going to tell you everything you DON’T want to hear. Brutally honest. And sometimes it feels scary and unattainable. No one is perfect but they are damn near close when it comes to their skin lol. I walked out of there like I am never having a piece of cheese AGAIN! No more alcohol. Water and air only 😉 JK. But I asked and they answered and here is everything you don’t want to hear:
Medical Grade vs Retail/Natural Products
Sorry but skincare at Sephora and your all natural, organic products are doing nothing. I know.. hard to hear. I have a ton of skincare products from Sephora and Nordstrom that Jess crossed out in RED and I about cried. Your jet lag masque and Sunday Riley vitamin C is basically garbage. I said, “What about all the ”clean” skincare lines?” She laughed. It’s all marketing for these companies and we are SUCKERS. And news flash: confusion sells. We are SO confused when it comes to skincare and we buy it all. There are companies solely built around this premise. I said that people don’t want all the chemicals and think they need ”clean” products. Her response: water is a chemical. Touché. Unpopular opinion: chemicals in skincare is what works and makes a difference in tone, texture, fine lines and wrinkles. Everything else is a waste of your money. Now I know we have touted Drunk Elephant before and a lot of other products and there are still things I seriously love and will probably continue to use. I love the cleansing balm to take off the day. But I will slowly add in medical grade serums and lotions instead as other retail prodicts run out. (Also I know a lot of women who would disagree with this entire paragraph and that is ok! We don’t have to agree on everything.)
Light Therapy
Red and blue light therapy is GREAT if done properly and with a medical grade device. Jess put a red light mask on me while I was numbing for my microneedling and it’s supposed to improve tone and texture, plumpness, and improve hydration. I asked about the Dr. Dennis Gross mask and her response: we do not like Dr. Dennis Gross here. LOL. Honesty punch! I see these bloggers touting the expensive red light therapy mask and she said it is dangerous for people to be promoting light therapy when they have no idea what they’re talking about. Light is super damaging and can promote aging if not done properly (probably exactly what Dr. Dennis wants so you buy more of his garbage products). Can I tell you how happy I was that I wasn’t influenced to buy a $400 mask right in that very moment?! She told me medical grade devices only. So you either have it done in a med spa or you splurge on a medical grade device (she likes the Light).
SPF Reapplication
When Jess asked about my skincare routine I was so proud to say that I wear SPF daily. She wasn’t impressed. Her first question: How often do you reapply it? I paused and she said, ”You don’t.” SOS! Even if you apply SPF in the morning, it isn’t enough. She said I need to be reapplying every 1.5-2 hours between the hours of 10 and 4 when the sun is the strongest (it doesn’t matter if it’s cloudy and overcast). She also sent me home with a shield to drive in (I KNOW IT’S RIDICULOUS but hot girls wear a shield. I don’t make the rules!). After microneedling you have to stay out of the sun at all costs. Oh and a baseball cap to cover your face? Does nothing. Great. Shield it is. She sent me home with a new SPF and said I can put my Elta MD on top and then use this spray throughout the day to reapply. She reinforced what I already knew: SPF is the only magic potion to prevent aging. Nothing else.
Dairy/Alcohol/Sugar Impact
The devil. All three. Dairy, alcohol and sugar. The trifecta of inflammation. Even a splash of half and half in your coffee will have an adverse affect on your skin. GREAT GRAND WONDERFUL! Oat milk? Also garbage. Most on the market are filled with sugar as we know from Alix’s research. Jess said almond milk (she likes Nut Pods) is the best alternative. FINE! I told her it would be impossible for me to cut all of these out entirely and she basically said then I am not serious about my skincare results lol. I am sure when I tagged her on Instagram from ”The Champagne Theory” she cringed. Bad for her business haha. I mean these are things we know.. dairy can make you break out, alcohol makes you red, and sugar is just the worst. Duh. Am I cutting all of them out entirely? No and my skin won’t be perfect because of it. Sigh. *pours a glass of champagne
Humidifier/Silk Pillow Case
This isn’t anything bad or daunting haha.. but we should be sleeping with a silk pillow case (that you wash at least 1x a week.. guilty of not doing this one gross) and a humidifier on your nightstand. Just small, easy changes you can make in the name of skin health. Also, the average person touches their face 40x an HOUR. You don’t even realize you’re doing it until you’re conscious of it. Your fingers are disgusting.. the dirtiest ever. Instead of scratching that itch with your fingernail, use the back of your t shirt instead. Or keep a box of tissues in your console in the car and use that to wipe away a stray hair. It seems INSANE, I know. But I started doing it and it’s even more insane how often I am touching my face with my gross hands. It’s no wonder I get random break outs or redness. So box of tissues: CHECK.
Now I am going to share the products I use but I want to preface this by saying that what is right for my skin is not necessarily right for you! This is not a ”one size fits all.” My skin runs dry and so the products I use are geared toward hydration but also reducing redness and uneven tone. I will be doing a series of microneedling and lasers to address my specific issues and in the meantime, SPF SPF SPF.
AM Routine: Cleanser | Vitamin C | Redness Neutralizer | SPF | Tinted SPF for a little color | Reapply with this throughout the day
PM Routine: Cleanse with same cleanser as above | Tretinoin (prescribed by my dermatologust) if you don’t use Tret, use your retinol here but don’t use both | moisturizing serum | Heavy duty moisturizer for overnight | eye cream
1x a week: this mask
1x a week: these renewal pads
1x a week: this exfoliating polish in the shower
Linking what I can from the above:
I hope you learned a little something today.. I know not everyone will agree with what my esthetician had to say and that is perfectly ok. We are all on our own journey 😉 This is what works for me right now. Could change in a month or a year.. who knows! Stay tuned..
xx, Heather
I love this💛💛!! Thank you for sharing!