Oxygen Facials

Oxygen Treatments: Can It Breathe Life Into Your Skin?

 

 

Oxygen’s got to be a good thing, right?  After all, we all need it to live and doesn’t it make sense that a blast of oxygen would revive our lazy skin? Oxygen facials have been in the press for several years, ever since Madonna announced that she was so hooked on them that she invested in an oxygen treatment machine for each of her homes. The public figured that if oxygen is good enough for Her Madge-esty’s skin, then it was certainly worth checking out. And boy has the beauty industry responded – countless home machines, spa facials and skin care products claim to infuse your skin with oxygen and rave about its impressive anti-aging, brightening and anti-acne benefits. But what’s the real story behind this trend?

 

Proponents of the use of oxygen on the skin believe that pollution/carbon-dioxide accumulation, sun exposure and other environmental and chemical toxins are robbing our skin of the oxygen – or “fresh air” – that it needs to rejuvenate itself, making the skin thinner, weaker and more prone to wrinkles and other signs of premature aging. They believe that blasts of oxygen will boost skin cells, akin to “waking them up” from their suffocation. It sounds pretty reasonable so far, doesn’t it?

 

Oxygen Skin Care

Let’s look at oxygen’s most popular use in this wave of the trend: oxygen-infused skin care products such as serums, creams and masks. Many skin care companies bank on oxygen’s reputation as a healer and tissue-repairing accelerator and use it as an ingredient in their latest products, claiming that it brightens, detoxifies, lessens wrinkles and beats blemishes. However, the question of whether or not our skin can absorb any (or enough) of a topical oxygen-containing product is up for debate.

 

Though some physicians and dermatologists say that these products are no more effective than their non-oxygenized counterparts in terms of anti-aging benefits, my personal experience with oxygen is that it has worked wonders as a brightener and acne-fighter for me. Because oxygen is an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial, it’s a potent weapon against acne-causing bacteria. During a nasty battle against hormonal breakouts, I was quite impressed with the effectiveness of oxygen masks (and facials as well, but we’ll get to that in a moment). 

 

Whether or not you believe in the power of oxygen to penetrate the skin, following are several stellar must-try products if you’re curious about O2.

 

Biologique Recherche L’Eauxygenante contains an oxygen delivery system, antioxidant extracts and vitamin C for a refreshing pick-me-up for tired skin, $37; www.biologiquerecherche.com.

 

Upon recommendation from a skin guru from Bliss Spa, I tried out the one-two punch of Bliss Labs Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask 
($52), which froths up to (as the company claims) release oxygen into the skin, so your complexion is instantly brighter and clearer, and Remede Intensive Double Serum ($130), a dual-chambered bottle of

oxygen and vitamin C potions, which you combine at the moment of use for maximum stability and effectiveness; both at www.blissworld.com. I use this dynamic duo whenever I’m plagued by blemishes, and it truly leaves my skin clearer than any anti-zit cream or mud mask ever has.

 

Skyn Iceland Oxygen Infusion Night Cream with Biospheric Complex 
($75; www.sephora.com) uses microencapsulated oxygen energize skin depleted from stress. The mild warming sensation gives my skin the effect of an energizing work out, which makes me look less stressed even if I’m not.

 

Oxygen Facials

Many spas offer oxygen treatments and facials, and their service menu likely raves about their benefits, such as acne reduction, instant skin plumping and wrinkle lessening, fading hyperpigmentation and giving a glow to dull, oxygen-deprived skin.

 

Unlike some types of facials that can cause discomfort, oxygen facials usually feel soothing. During the treatment, a cool, pure oxygen mist is sprayed onto the skin, and may be “sealed in” afterwards by a serum or mask. The results are immediately noticeable, usually ranging from a healthy glow to real wrinkle-diminishing plumping effects around the eyes and mouth. Typically, results continue over the next several days.

However, many dermatologists argue that any visible effects or only temporary and merely a reaction to the blasting of pressurized air.

 

I recently had the pleasure of an oxygen facial by Nina Curtis of The Nile Institute in West Hollywood, California. Because I know Nina and believe that she is the ultimate skin guru, I knew she’d give me the straight story on the oxygen phenomenon, and that she did. Nina never falls prey to fads or trends and only uses the products and treatments that she knows will improve your skin. Every product in her seemingly-endless arsenal is hand-selected and tried and tested on herself before she agrees to retail it, and she is constantly sourcing the most cutting-edge products in her dedication to staying giant steps ahead of the industry. Thus, it’s significant that Nina not only prescribes oxygen treatments for many of her clients but also exclusively uses O2Vive Isobaric Oxygen Therapy, created by respiratory expert John Gardner, who pioneered the use of oxygen in skin care. According to Nina, “Not all oxygen treatments are equal,” and she stressed that the type of oxygen system that a spa uses in its facials is vitally important.

 

O2Vive is the first organic oxygen gas skin care system designed for professional skincare specialist use in spas, and Nina considers it to be superior to the systems utilized by some spas, and the amount of oxygen that it provides is merely one reason. She explained that without the knowledge of precisely the correct amount of oxygen concentration, there is the risk of flooding the skin with free radicals and damaging the skin. Since free radicals are the very things that we use sunscreens, antioxidants and antiaging creams to combat, this point is a significant one.

 

My experience with the O2Vive facial was superb, and the results quite impressive. It was, interestingly enough, calming yet invigorating, probably due to the deep breathing stage that Nina coaxed me into, as well as the accompanying Skin Sip, a potent cocktail that allows her clients to literally feel energized and “oxygenized” from the inside out.

 

My skin was even brighter and clearer than my home oxygen regimen had accomplished, and, as promised, the effects continued to improve for the next several days. Per usual, Nina had been meticulous in blending numerous ingredients for my customized serum to complement the oxygen’s benefits, and my skin definitely drank it up. Despite what some members of the medical community may say, I’m a believer in the oxygen facial and will turn to it the next time my skin needs a wake-up call.

 

For more information on The Nile Institute, please visit www.thenileinstitute.com.