Three rejuvenating facials perfect for the season’s transition

STORY: Jennifer Bradley Franklin

As the Atlanta weather turns from frigid to balmy, our skin might need a tune-up to match the shift in seasons. Here are three facials to help your visage transition from winter’s gray to sparkling spring days.

Ultimate HydraFacial at Natural Body Spa
($275 for 60 minutes)

The HydraFacial system is taking the beauty world by storm (seriously, the HydraFacial World Tour bus even visited Ponce City Market last October, offering free mini-facials to eager guests), and with good reason. The clinical-style facial immediately delivers visible results. All of the steps, from cleansing and exfoliation to extractions and saturating the skin with peptides and hydration, are performed using a wand connected to a HydraFacial machine that delivers the precise amount of product at every step. For a heightened experience, the Ultimate HydraFacial includes lymphatic drainage and LED red and blue light therapy (red to stimulate collagen, blue to ward off bacteria).

Expert insight: “Spring is the perfect time for this kind of exfoliation. The cool thing about the HydraFacial is that you get the experience of micro dermabrasion without the redness,” says Natural Body Spa founder Cici Coffee. “It’s a good lunchtime skin renewal facial. You can go right back to the office, and you’ll look like you came off of a vacation.”

Luzern Serum Layering Facial at Aviary Beauty & Wellness Collective
(from $150 for 60 minutes)

With its new facial, launched in January, this Old Fourth Ward studio became the first in Georgia to carry the powerhouse Swiss organic skincare line, Luzern. The hour-long facial is customized, and estheticians can add up to eight serums to address each client’s unique concerns. Whether you’re struggling with dehydration from a winter’s worth of indoor heat, fine lines or skin congested with breakouts, the goal is restoration and a healthy glow. The products used are available to take home, so clients can keep up the results between facials.

Expert insight: “Luzern’s ingredients are very high in antioxidants. I like this facial for the seasonal transition because you have to rebuild skin after winter, when you can be dry and dehydrated, broken out and chapped,” explains Aviary founder/owner Amy Leavell Bransford. “This treatment layers on potent, low-molecular-weight serums that penetrate into the dermis rather than sitting on top of it.”

Bio Organic Facial at The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta
(from $170 for 50 minutes)

The spa tucked into the lobby floor of this luxe Midtown hotel feels like an oasis of calm before even settling into a treatment room. Once you do, this gentle, effective facial uses the Nelly De Vuyst BioTense organic skincare line that’s so exclusive, only three spas in the United States carry it. Every element of the advanced treatment is aimed at reducing fine lines and wrinkles, and boosting radiance. Spa junkies will likely be fascinated with the gommage (a French word meaning “to erase”), a grit-free exfoliating gel that, when massaged into the skin, removes toxins and environmental pollution in under three minutes.

Expert insight: “We begin with a prebiotic cleanse that facilitates the glow, followed by a birch-based gommage,” explains lead esthetician Kathleen “Kat” Smart. “The lymphatic massage reduces inflammation with warming lemon and ginger. To wrap up this luxurious, eco-friendly experience, we tighten the skin with serums and creams packed with exotic antioxidant extracts such as Acmella oleracea, a natural alternative to Botox.”

Aviary Beauty & Wellness Collective
659 Auburn Ave. N.E.
Atlanta 30312
404.577.2460
aviarybeauty.com

Natural Body Spa
1402 N. Highland Ave. N.E.
Atlanta 30306
404.872.1039
naturalbody.com/spas-in-morningside

The Spa at Four Seasons
Hotel Atlanta
75 14th St. N.E.
Atlanta 30309
404.881.9898
fourseasons.com/atlanta/spa