Today, I turn 24 years-old. Today, I made some choices about my future.

For a long time now, I've been coasting. I'm not really pushing myself. I'm not striving to achieve anything. My chronic pain condition (see: Fibromyalgia) has really been holding me back. I can't work, I can barely sleep and I've really let myself go while trying desperately to maintain my pain levels. This stops today.

I've set myself some goals for the following year. These are targets that I've wanted to make progress towards for a long time. Things I've put off for years. I hope to achieve some or even all of these by my 25th birthday.

Before Age 25 I Want To:

• Lose Weight 
• Clear up my Acne
• Finish Writing a Full-length Novel

On television, often when celebrities or the rich elite are depicted, you'll see women getting expensive facials at spas rather than at home face-masks. I always thought those were a little ridiculous. If I can do this at home for cheap, why would I pay someone else to do it?

Oh, am I sure eating some crow now.

Over the Christmas holidays, my lovely partner bought me a day of pampering at a local spa. This was so sweet of him and, with my current obsession with skincare, I was super excited.  When I arrive at the spa and began my other treatments, the whole time my mind was focused on the facial. Was it going to do anything? Was it a gimmick? Would I look like a fresh faced baby?

The treatment I selected was designed for acne and involved chemical exfoliation using fruit enzymes. (You know how pineapple tingles when you eat it? It's because the pineapple is breaking down the cells on your tongue. It can be used to exfoliate skin too!) When I laid down for the experience, I was really pleased with how many steps were involved. My boyfriend had paid over $100 for this treatment and I definitely wanted it to be worth it. We spent about half an hour steaming and rubbing and extracting. Then came the actual facial. We did the chemical exfoliation first and the esthetician mentioned it might tingle... Wow, what an understatement.

It didn't tingle. It didn't feel fresh or even itchy. No. It BURNED.

I mentioned this to the esthetician to which she said, "Yep, that's normal." Normal to feel like my face is melting off like the cheese sliding off a slice of pizza. Okay. Sure. Then I had to sit there for 10 minutes with that shit on my face. When the woman left the room, I said a few choice words to myself. The lava began to settle into my pores and I started to accept that this was my life now. I would be fire face. Maybe you could cover up exposed muscle with foundation.

Time ticked by slowly and I spent the majority of the time screaming internally until she returned and took it off. Once the chemical exfoliation was removed, I shivered in pleasure. It was so nice to not feel the burning I was relishing in it. Next came the soothing oatmeal mask, which felt like ice after the magma treatment. When all was said and done, I got up from the table and swore to never come back. Those rich ladies on TV were nuts, this was awful. Only insane people who had killed all the nerve endings in their face with plastic surgery would do this.  Then I looked in a mirror...

Damn. I looked good. Smooth, clearer. I still had skin, really good skin, even though it felt like I left it on the spa floor. I thanked the esthetician and tipped well, noticeably quiet as I contemplated what had just occurred.

The following month, I had some of the best skin of my life. Clearer than usual and so soft. I even felt confident enough to not wear make-up. The only difference was the expensive facial. It felt like a revelation and I realized that maybe facials were worth the money. Eventually, my skin went back to being it's naughty self and I longed for another face-melting that drained my bank account.

So was it worth it? Yes and no. I didn't like the experience of the burning exfoliation, but I loved the results. If it weren't so expensive, I'd do it more often.  However, it's nice to know that it's a viable option when I can afford it. Doing regular upkeep for it would be a big hit to my wallet as they recommend you do it every six weeks (which is when my skin started to freak out again). So, maybe I understand how these wealthy women do this regularly if it shows such good results. Beauty is pain, apparently. For good skincare, you start to become a masochist if something works. You want the burning just for the results.

While this facial won't be a regular addition to my routine, I'm pleased to have tried it. I will definitely keep this in mind if I ever have a skin emergency again.

-Dana.

Have you ever tried chemical exfoliation? Did you get a strange facial at a spa? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments!