You may have clear skin, closed pores, and no under-eye circles (share your magic with us?!) but you’re still missing that one all-important key to beauty: a healthy radiance to your skin.
A brighter complexion gives that special something to any skin type, and gives you that happy glow to your entire person – who wouldn’t want that, right? Thankfully, besides a great skincare routine, regular brightening facials may be the key to achieving a radiant complexion.
The Best Brightening Facials in Singapore: We Try a Few of Them
Many facial salons nowadays have treatments that help you achieve that brightened complexion, but which ones should you be trying out? We saw great reviews from a few salons and sent our writers down to try their brightening facial treatments – just to see if they’re as good as people say.
Read on to find out what each of the processes is like and see before-and-after photos so you know how they’ve worked for us.
Slimming Sanctuary [Rebranded to Medi Beaute]
Reviewer: Mandy Wong
Slimming Sanctuary has several outlets around the island, and the one I went to was conveniently located at Marina Square. Upon entering the salon, I was impressed by how the front desk and waiting area emanated the ambience of an oriental zen garden.
Most of the salon is also a no-shoes area – this may not sound like much, but it’s small details like these that make the luxurious spa experience begin from the moment you step in the door. I waited for a while in the quiet and spacious waiting area until my therapist Yan ushered me in.
Inside, I was greeted by the sight of a spacious and comfortable-looking lounge, locker area, dressing tables, and shower rooms. I typically don’t enjoy taking showers outside of home, but I wouldn’t have said no if I had had the chance to do so here!
What Makes It One of the Best Brightening Facials?
I was doing the Oriental Facial today.�Designed for Asian skin, the facial harnesses the power of both Ginseng, well known for its strong anti-ageing properties, and�guasha, a traditional Chinese acupressure technique that removes toxins from the body. Together, the two work to brighten up the complexion, and impart that well-rested glow to your skin that seems to come from within.
Although the facial is generally marketed for its lifting properties, said to reverse sagging and ageing skin, the procedures in the facial would also help brighten skin tone and improve the luminosity of the skin.
The facial began with Yan cleaning off my makeup, and then going in with a cleansing milk�and a cleansing gel after that. Proper makeup removal is important to me, so I was happy that this was well taken care of before my facial began.
Later, she applied a scrub all over my face, but let it sit as she switched on the steamer. Steamers can sometimes get a little uncomfortable with the vapour being either too hot or too heavy, making it difficult to breathe. At Slimming Sanctuary, the process was somehow so comfortable that I nearly fell asleep as it was going on.
After that, Yan proceeded to do extraction on my face. I have a low pain tolerance, so I requested Yan to only do minimal extraction. In previous facials, I have had bad experiences when the therapist continues extraction as per usual despite my protestations. Yan, however, was considerate and obliging. She did not pooh-pooh my concerns with the pain, and did only the most necessary extraction.
When she was finally done with extraction, Yan packed cooling towels on my face to soothe the skin, while also spreading a cooling gel over my neck and shoulders and giving me a massage. I didn’t realise I had tensed up so much during the extraction, so I was really glad to feel the massage kneading away all the knots.
Yan began dripping a ginseng-based serum on my skin which she spread with the help of a machine that remained constantly chilled to the touch.�Widely used in Chinese and Korean skin care, ginseng extract helps stimulate collagen production and blood circulation, encouraging a healthier radiance to my complexion. The coolness of the machine also helped to soothe my skin after the extraction, while also encouraging the absorption of the serum.
I was most apprehensive about the next step in my facial: the facial guasha treatment.�The practice of guasha dates back to the Ming Dynasty. It is a Traditional Chinese Medicine that helps to improve blood circulation while also detoxifying the body of “qi”.
Used in a facial, it can smoothen fine lines, plump up and tighten and lift facial contours. I had never done guasha before, but I have heard countless stories about how painful it was, so I urged Yan to go easy on me. She assured me that she’d go as light as she could.
To my amazement, the guasha treatment was actually – wait for it – very comfortable. I told Yan about my surprise, and she explained to me that the nightmarish stories I had heard were probably from those who had done body guasha, which necessarily used more force to dispel toxins.
Facial guasha, Yan explained, encouraged lymphatic drainage under the skin, which helped to reduce bloating on the face, lift the skin, and also encourages blood circulation which would help the skin to achieve a healthier glow and a brighter complexion.
The above photo was taken after Yan had done the guasha on the left side of my face (where I am pointing at). Two things might surprise you as much as it did me: firstly, the obvious lifted appearance of the side that had gone through the guasha treatment; and secondly, how my face did not turn tomato-red all over but only contained itself to a health glow at my cheeks, even though Yan had been applying the guasha over the entire area.
With the guasha treatment completed, Yan applied a very thick ginseng mask all over my face which gently chilled the skin and let it sit for about 15 minutes. I was not surprised to find myself dozing off while waiting for the mask to be complete.
Result of Brightening Facial at Slimming Sanctuary [Rebranded to Medi Beaute]
I was very pleased with the whole experience, and was also happy with Yan’s professional service. I’d certainly return to repeat the facial of my own volition!
The days following the facial, I felt that my skin was calmer with a more natural glow. To show it off, I got into the habit of using a lighter coverage foundation, which allowed my radiant complexion to peek through. The end result was a very natural and healthy-looking, which I loved and got many compliments on!
SG Face
Reviewer: Mandy Wong
This wasn’t my first time at SG Face, and walking along the quiet corridor of Holland Village Shopping Center towards the salon brought back memories of the peaceful and tranquil facial that I had enjoyed with them from before.�They are tucked away in a quiet corner of Holland Village, which is actually perfect – its location is accessible while still remaining quiet and chill.
What Makes It One of the Best Brightening Facials?
Upon entering the salon, I was quickly attended to by a therapist who would be assigned to me for my session that day.
She explained to me that I would be doing the Aromatherapy Brightening Treatment with them, which not only rejuvenates the skin and body, but also the mind and soul with its use of soothing aromatherapy oils.
My therapist brought me in to the treatment room without much ado, and the facial began. First, a foam cleanser was used to clean the skin twice, ensuring that all remnants of skincare were removed so that the skincare products used later in the facial will be absorbed as optimally as possible.
An exfoliating cream was then applied all over my face to gently dissolve and remove the topmost layer of dead skin cells. I was surprised that my therapist used this cream simultaneously with a steamer, but on hindsight, it actually makes a lot of sense.
The steam opened up my pores, allowing the exfoliating cream to be absorbed into them and really cleaning out the gunk that may have accumulated there. The exfoliation would also help to remove the rougher and duller topmost layer of skin cells, revealing a brighter and smoother complexion below.
The extraction session followed, and the therapist was thorough and meticulous in her task. She didn’t rest until she had ensured my skin was smooth to the touch with not a discernible bump in sight.
She then applied a brightening toner over the face to soothe and hydrate my skin. Next came one of my favourite parts of the facial. I’m really big on the calming effects of lavender, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that the cold compress used on my face had already been infused with lavender essence.
The scent together with the chillness of the cold compress made me feel the most relaxed I had ever felt in weeks. The way my therapist used the cold compress to massage my face was also indescribably soothing – I didn’t want the massage to end!
After the cold compress was removed, my therapist applied a series of brightening skincare products to balance my skin’s hydration and brighten my complexion. She then applied calendula cream, with a mild herbaceous scent, to help with redness and to further soothe any irritation that my skin might have felt over the course of the facial.
The delightful fragrance of rose greeted me after this as my therapist used a rose face oil to give my face an overall gentle massage. The massage would encourage better blood circulation all over my face, which helps the skin to maintain a healthy glow that would never go out of style.
Finally, a brightening mask was applied to my face. The mask is made out of high-performance clay (but actually has a more creamy texture) that is infused with lemon and avocado oils, as well as extracts of carrot oil.
My therapist said the mask would provide the icing on the cake as it smooths, brightens, and intensely hydrates my skin to cement that healthy glowing look. I am not ashamed to say I dozed off as I let the mask sit on my face – the whole proceeding had been�that comfortable.
Result of Brightening Facial at SG Face
Over the next few days, I felt that my skin certainly looked brighter than before, and seemed to be luminous from within. It wasn’t my first time at SG Face, but it certainly won’t be my last either.
