Game Face

The first thing we did was set my face on fire. Kind of kidding, but not really. Elle rolled an R2-D2 looking robot over to my station and explained what was about to go down. This was the radio frequency machine, which would glide over my face in four quadrants, slowly heating up my skin from the inside. The point? Boosting collagen production, reducing puffiness, and restoring skin elasticity. I just turned 27(!!!) so this was extremely necessary.

The machine buzzed around the right side of my face first - jawline, neck, cheeks, forehead - and then the left side, which for some reason felt a little more uncomfortable. All in all, though, it just feels very warm - as if you put a magnifying glass up to sunlight and aimed it at specific areas of your skin.

Then there's the hand-assisted muscle manipulation, which is more like a very aggressive massage. Elle kneaded, pushed, and pulled to drain excess fluid in my face towards my lymph nodes, which I would pee out later, leaving nothing but cheekbone behind. She also rolled the tiny medicine ball around my skin, which, surprisingly, was very relaxing.

Next up was some good ol' electrocution. The handheld EMS device vibrates sharply to work those small muscle fibers. It feels like a dull and constant shock, kind of like getting a tattoo, but less painful (thankfully). The only weird thing was feeling my eyes vibrate. Trippy. But glamorous. At one point after completing the right side of my face, Elle held up a mirror to show me the difference. I kid you not, the completed side was higher, boasting a more pronounced cheekbone and tighter-looking skin. The results were seriously that rapid.

Like any workout, we finished off with a cool-down, which included some Gua Sha (an ancient Chinese massage) with a couple of jade tools to further relax and drain the toxins from my face, especially around the jawline. At the very end, Elle slathered my face in some glossy serum, which she advised me to keep on for 24 hours.

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