The Laser Facial That Makes Me Look Like I Have My Shit Together

On my quest to be a person who looks like she has her shit together, I seek wisdom wherever I can get it. Sometimes it's a stale fortune cookie. Other times it's Susan Miller's rundown on this month's astrological prospects. But more often than not, it's by scrolling through Eva Chen's Instagram.

Man, that lady has her shit together.

The erstwhile style mag editor and current fashion pro at Instagram posts reviews of her favorite makeup and skincare products, poses with perfectly broken-in Gucci loafers, and manages to have two super-cute kids all at the same time. 

So when Chen posted about how much she liked Skin Laundry, I was curious. I don't always take her recommendations as gospel, because she can seemingly try anything. But a quick laser facial with no downtime that somehow addresses wrinkles, skin spots, and cystic acne? Um, sign me up.

While the first two skin concerns aren't paramount for me (yet anyway), I have experienced cystic acne to varying degrees over the past couple years. 

And it's the actual worst.

Oh, you're one of those lucky gazelles who's never experience cystic acne? How nice. Here's what you should know: Boulder-like bumps form deep in your skin like tiny aliens from Alien, waiting to ruin your life. You can feel them. You want to pop them. You want to kill them. But they take approximately an eon to surface, and when they finally do, you're in for a weeks-long post-pop process of healing. Or, they try to take over your spaceship. Depends.

Two parts stress and three parts hormones, those terrible bumps had taken up semi-regular residency on my chin and neck, refusing to budge despite every cream, lotion, and serum I cycled through.

But I hadn't tried the coolest possible solution to my problem. I hadn't even considered lasers. 

Here's the deal with Skin Laundry. It's a two-part facial treatment administered by a registered nurse because they are doing #science on your face. 

First up is the YAG laser, which is supposed to deep clean your skin and feels a little like getting gently snapped with a staticky rubber band. No, it doesn't hurt. And yes, you wear goggles the whole time to protect your eyes. 

(Note: This also means your undereye area gets nothing out of this treatment, which sucks. But I also like being able to see things. So whatever.) 

Then, a cold gel is applied, and the facialist proceeds with an intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment that's basically a super-gentle photofacial. This half of the treatment is said to address more topical concerns like broken capillaries and scarring. 

All told, the procedure takes about 15 minutes. It's pretty cost effective at about $65 per facial, though your first one is free. And you walk outta there looking like a totally normal -- if slightly pink -- human. 

For a little more than a year, I've been stopping by Skin Laundry. I've gone twice a month for some stretches and less frequently, too. I've tried and hated some of their skincare products. (Word to the wise: Proceed with caution if you're gonna test out those sheet masks.)

And while I can't say the laser treatment has me looking like a newborn -- or that I don't experience the occasional breakout -- I can say that I've seen a dramatic decrease in cystic acne.

Which really helps with the whole "looking like I have my shit together" thing.