FACIALS USED TO entail someone else doing the cleanse, tone, mask and moisturise mantra, without you having to give much thought to what they were slapping on. Today, the plethora of spa treatments makes it hard to know which facial is suitable for you.
Could a Botox facial leave you with swollen Mick Jagger lips, or smooth out those stubborn wrinkles on your frown-filled forehead? Does adding caviar to the mixture really help? And is a diamond-peeling machine really what you want at work on your sensitive skin?
Therapists say women in Hong Kong should take facials seriously, and that new tailored treatments help.
'In Hong Kong, the pollution and humidity mean faces can become sticky, dark and dirty,' says Kala Thapa, therapist and manager of Sense of Touch's Hollywood Road shop.
Jamie Chiu, spokesman for the Japanese MTM Skincare salons, agrees that the outside environment and air-conditioning can take their toll. She recommends that women have facials once or twice a month, depending on skin type.
Some of the treatment names sound as if they'll have you looking 10 years younger, but what do therapists actually do to you? Here are some of the newest offerings in town: