A quality facial doesn't depend on celebrity status—well, not for facialist Shani Darden at least.
The celeb aesthetician, who counts Jessica Alba, Amanda Seyfried and Chrissy Teigen as clients, walked E! News though her process, which includes a cleanse, peel, extraction and restorative mask—the standard procedure you should expect from any good facial. So what makes Shani's facial a celeb favorite?
"I don't really push products. I'm not gimmicky," said Shani, who has a fixed rate of $300 for an hour session and $450 for an hour and a half session.
Well, that and Shani believes in the power of LED light masks, which Jessica wore in an Instagram not too long ago and, thus, inspired new interest in the technique (even though aestheticians have been using the lights for a few years now).
LED facial masks, or Color Light Therapy, uses UV-free, specific wavelengths to supposedly deliver the same—if not better—collagen-boosting, acne-treating results as topical ointments. Each color purports different advantages. In Shani's arsenal, she uses red for anti-aging, blue to kill bacteria and pink to speed up healing and will pick which colors to use depending on your skin type. The amount of time used for each is also customized based on the client's issues.
After absorbing the light for 20-30 minutes, "you're able to see the benefits right away," said the self-professed LED obsessive. "It's one of the best ways to treat acne and anti-aging without going to another level with lasers or the damaging side effects of it."
Frequent sessions of more aggressive facial treatments like microdermabrasion can damage the skin. At the most, the skin expert recommended getting them once a month. You can, however, get LED treatments weekly—without harming your face.
Luckily, if you can't drop that kind of money on weekly treatments with Shani, there are at-home LED light therapy masks available for your absorption.