Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of facials. Like, once a week for the past 14 weeks. I never understood the benefits of them until a good friend of mine told me it’s her secret to glowing, hydrated skin.

Facials open the pores by cleansing the skin and exfoliating it with the proper products to remove dead skin. But did you know they can also help with acne scaring by taking out all the impurities—yielding brighter, more even and smooth skin?

If you have acne scars from early adulthood, or say, bad maskne breakouts, then you’ll want to consider facials. Acne scars are developed from the trauma of acne on the skin. But not all acne scaring is really scaring, most of it is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (brown and red spots), instead of the structural change in texture of the skin.

Inflammation in the skin will create melanin and leave a dark spot in place of the inflammation. The good news: A facial (professional exfoliation, steam, and extractions) can do wonders for your acne and skin in general.

Most dermatologists and estheticians recommend facials once a month, but if you enjoy them and have a bit more of a severe skin condition, you can increase your treatments to once a week for long-term benefits in the form of clearer skin.

Remember, you’ll want to have a good at-home skincare regimen to work in tandem with your treatments for optimal results.

What are the different types of facials?

Chemical peels

Great for fine lines, dryness, and most skin types, chemical peels are a great exfoliating treatment. Costing around $200, these peels use natural acids to work wonders on acne scars. Depending on your skin type, your doctor will recommend what peel to choose—superficial, medium, or deep.

Superficial peels, also known as light peels, help to remove the top layer of dead skin to give your skin an instant glow with more even texture. Known to be the most gentle type of peel, superficial peels also help with sun damage, age spots, and mild acne scarring.

Amazing at stimulating collagen production to tighten and firm the skin, medium peels sink into the deeper level of the skin to treat pigmentation, acne, and wrinkles. Whereas deep peels use extremely strong active ingredients to achieve their results.

Oxygen facial

An oxygen facial involves a machine that sprays serum and hydration through micro droplets for deep penetration. The machine then infuses pure oxygen into your skin.

HydraFacial

With a suction machine that spreads hydration and exfoliating serums onto the skin, HydraFacials are one of the most soothing facials out there. Ranging from $150-$300, depending on location, the machine basically sucks away leftover fluid, and strips the skin of any dirt or dead skin.

Microdermabrasion

Starting at $85, microdermabrasion facials smooth out the texture of the skin by exfoliating at a surface level. It’s great for non-inflamed acne and textured skin. Basically, pressurized jets touch the skin with micronized crystals to remove dry or dead skin cells—resulting in brighter and smoother complexion.

For those of you looking to do some at-home facials, try gua sha next time.