Jennifer Bianchi, of Dallas, gets an AquaGold facial from Jessica Orman, a registered nurse, at Renew Beauty Med Spa & Salon at NorthPark Center.
Jennifer Bianchi of Dallas tried a $600 AquaGold facial for the first time at Renew Beauty Med Spa & Salon at NorthPark Center. The minerals in the gold flakes fight aging, brighten the tone of the skin and work as an anti-inflammatory, says nurse Jessica Orman.
Jessica Orman held up a tiny, clear bottle of liquid. At the tip of the bottle was a bundle of 24-karat gold needles, each thinner than a piece of hair. This AquaGold micro-needling instrument was kind of, um, cute?
The treatment Bianchi was about to get is sometimes referred to as a red carpet facial, "because it makes you tighter and brighter," Orman explains. She is a registered nurse and has worked at Renew Beauty Med Spa at NorthPark Center in Dallas for eight years.
More specifically, and not for the squeamish, micro-needling is a treatment that makes injections on the face, causing dozens or hundreds of small injuries. To heal, the body produces collagen and elastin, which can plump up the skin. That process is aided by the concoction inside the little clear bottle, which often includes FDA-approved Botox and Juvederm, both which can treat fine lines and wrinkles on the face, shrink the pores, and plump the skin in areas of the face without traditional Botox injections.
There's also a much less scientific reason why micro-needling is having a moment: Gwyneth Paltrow says it turned her skin "really glowy."
"She can go on date night tonight," Proulx says.
Does AquaGold micro-needling hurt? It doesn't feel good, says Jennifer Bianchi during the treatment. But it is more like a short-lived prick vs. a burning sensation sometimes caused by laser treatments.
And is beauty pain? Sort of, Bianchi says. When her skin was being exfoliated, she said it felt like sandpaper was being rubbed on her skin. Then, when the gold needles were stamped on her face, she said it was painful on her forehead and around her upper lip.
"It's less painful than getting a tattoo," Bianchi says, "but the same idea." Some micro-needling procedures hurt more than others, too; an Allure magazine editor had an InnoPen procedure and says it "hurts like crazy." Bianchi says she's "tried it all" — laser treatments, Botox and the like. She seemed relatively unfazed by the time the 10-minute stamping procedure was over. Burns notes that AquaGold is less painful than most other micro-needling techniques.
Nurse Jessica Orman, right, has tried the 24-karat gold needle treatment, too, she says.
Within 24 hours, the idea is that these high-paying patients can expect to see firmer, tighter, glowy and dewy skin, Proulx says. The results are expected to last four to six weeks.
And the price: Renew Beauty charges $600, which includes a facial first. Burns charges $500, no facial. Prices vary, with one treatment in Hawaii costing $500 and another in New York City priced at $1,000.
Burns suggests AquaGold as a supplement to more extensive, and more expensive, facial treatments. "My philosophy is to maintain as much as you can — and as much as you can afford," he says.
It's expensive, that's for sure. But you only get one face. "We all look for the fountain of youth," Proulx says. "This is the fountain of youth — in a tiny bottle."
Published in GuideLive / Dallas Morning News, February 8, 2019