I’m excited to share one of my latest discoveries in skincare today which is the Kate Somerville Clinic in Los Angeles. It’s a hidden gem in Los Angeles and if you are ever in Southern California, I highly recommend you book a visit there. I was invited to the clinic for a facial treatment in early fall and had an incredible experience back in September. I’ve had about 5 facials in my lifetime usually tagging along with girl friends who know a lot more about skincare and treatments than I do. I’ve found facials in general to be a luxurious splurge, but not life-changing. My experience at Kate Somerville was what I will call life-changing though, it was hands down the best facial I’ve ever had with visible results immediately following the treatment. Right after the treatment your skin glows. For me, my skin maintained its glow for a week after the treatments.
The week before my facial, my skin had a freak-out. I had breakouts and a lot of red areas from irritation and flare-ups. The following day after my facial, my husband commented how much better my skin looked – all signs of redness were gone, my skin was glowing, swelling of a few pimples was dramatically reduced (and they magically disappeared within 2 days when it usually takes weeks to disappear and heal). My husband told me whatever they did it worked and he suggested I go back for regular visits since he knows how sensitive my skin is. I went back for a second visit about six weeks after my first visit (they recommend facials every 4-6 weeks depending on your needs and skin type). My skin has never looked or felt better.
I’ll go through the steps that were done for my treatment, thoughts on products used, skincare I’ve incorporated since the facials and also take you on a tour of the beautiful Kate Sommerville space.
On both occasions, I had the Kate Somerville Signature Facial which is their basic facial treatment. It runs about 50 minutes long and on your first visit they have a detailed skincare form for you to fill out so the therapists can customize the treatment to your specific needs. Pricing on all treatments are listed here. My main skin concerns were issues with texture, flare ups, break outs, and anti-aging. They do perform extractions which I usually find irritate my skin and often make my face worse. On both occasions at the KS clinic, extractions were very gentle and there were no issues afterwards. Here is what I experiences in Q and A format, I hope you find this helpful! Throughout most of the facial a steaming device was above my face to help open pores.
- What kind of facial did I receive? Was it a mix of treatments?
- You received the Signature Facial, which is customized to your needs and skin concerns. This treatment begins with enzymatic exfoliation and extractions, and a customized treatment mask follows along with an acupressure massage. This is truly the best facial to receive when first dipping into the life-changing world of facials!
- Can you highlight what treatments were performed?
- A custom blend of professional products including one of our hero products – ExfoliKate® Intensive Treatment and DermalQuench Liquid Lift™.
- There were a couple of interesting tools used, one was a tiny needle and the other was a small vibrating tool used over the skin – can you tell me what those were?
- Ashley used an Ultrasound machine for exfoliations, permeation and circulation. This helps with lymphatic drainage and exfoliation. Later in the treatment the High Frequency device was used, this helps bring oxygen to the surface of the skin, it kills bacteria and improves overall texture of the skin.
- There were 2 products that felt active on the skin, can you tell me what those were?
- A custom blend of exfoliation products were used which included ExfoliKate Intensive to eliminate dead skin cells and contribute towards a brighter complexion. This truly reveals glowing skin due to the Fruit Enzymes and Lactic Acid to renew the complexion. Ashley also used the DermalQuench Liquid Lift™ post extractions to oxygenate and hydrate the skin. This also helps neutralize any redness in skin, and instantly plumps fine lines and wrinkles.
- At one point a Clarisonic was used, what was product was used with it?
- She had used the KateCeuticals Moisture Milk Cleanser custom blended with Dilo Oil to add hydration to the skin, while deeply cleansing.
- My skin had a lot of redness but after the facial, everything seems to have calmed down significantly, what was used to help decrease inflammation/redness?
- A customized combination along with Clinical strength professional products from the Kate Somerville line. The skilled massage followed by the Nourish Daily Moisturizer helps increase blood circulation and oxygen to the surface to the skin, which is extremely healing and calming. The EradiKate Sulfur Mask was used which helps tighten and tone the skin. It also reduces redness and inflammation.
- My skin seems a lot smoother, what products during the treatment helped with this?
- Enzymes and acids to exfoliate are the key to a smooth complexion. Ridding the skin of dull skin turning over cells and nourishing the skin.
- I know this probably depends on the skin type, age and treatments performed, but how often do you recommend facial treatments?
- Monthly facials are ideal for all skin types, 28 days to be exact. If a client has highly congested skin, I might suggest coming in every 2-3 weeks until the congestion is under control. If the skin type is normal, coming in every 4-6 weeks will do the trick. There are certain skin conditions that may require more frequent visits. Skin is like a road map – there are several routes you can take to end with optimal skin health. I like to customize the path for each client, to ensure that glowing healthy skin is the end result.
A few of my favorite products from Kate Somerville along with some new discoveries I’ve incorporated into my skincare routine over the past few months:
- Clarifying Treatment Toner is something I’ve had in rotation for a long time, it helps with post-acne scars and keeps the skin feeling clean and hydrated
- Daily Detox Cleanser* is one of the few cleansers I’ve tried that really cleans out the pores but doesn’t dry out the skin, I’ve used up the tube entirely ordered a replacement tube this past weekend
- Age Arrest Anti-Wrinkle Serum* helps with fine lines, plumps the skin and feels ultra smooth, it helps me with oil control throughout the day and works well alone under foundation or moisturizer
- LumiWhite Two Tone Perfector* was recommended for me to use as a spot treatment to help with dark spots, I’ve tried this on spots and all over the face, it’s helped with brightening and spots have started to fade, although the fading is happening gradually (I’ve since purchased the D-Scar Serum to see if this works better/faster, I’ll review once I’ve tested it)
- DermalQuench Liquid Lift* is a something that was recommended I use instead of toner (after cleansing the face), it’s an anti-wrinkle treatment that helps with wrinkles, improves skin texture, and uneven skintone, my skin has looked and felt a lot better after using this, it’s worked wonders with redness and helped keep skin texture smooth
- DermalQuench Liquid Lift With Retinol* (for night) is something I just started testing a couple weeks ago, I’ve used it as an alternative to other night time treatments to start since I wasn’t sure how my skin would react, more detailed review to follow, but I wake up with smoother skin that is noticeably smoother to the touch
- RetASphere 2-in-1 Retinol Night Cream* is one of the most gentle Retinol treatments I’ve tried, although so many of my readers have recommended I incorporate skincare with this ingredient, I have been hesitant to do so since past experiences with Retinol and Retin-A left my skin extremely red with lots of peeling and pain, this treatment from Kate Somerville is ultra gentle and has improved skin texture
Many thanks to the Kate Somerville team for allowing photos of the clinic. Here’s a mini tour of the facility. The entryway is so beautiful:
Spacious and bright waiting room where you can browse the products by line:
Products on display with a tester unit:
Beautiful feminine interiors:
A look at one of the treatment rooms:
Inside the room I had my facial:
I’m overall thrilled with my experience at the Kate Somerville Clinic. It’s a 2-3 hour drive for me to get to Los Angeles, but well worth the drive for me, especially for a fun day trip. If you haven’t checked out the clinic, I think it’s a must. There are a number of different facials and treatment options, I’m still relatively new to most of them but if you’ve tried any, I’d love to hear about your experiences, feedback or recommendations on what else I should try.
If you’re like me and are often overwhelmed by all the skincare options, hands on evaluation of your skin by a facial treatment expert with recommendations based on your specific needs is priceless. I often like to pick out skincare based on what I think I need, but it’s always helpful to hear what the experts say. Out of all the items they’ve recommended, all have worked. I’ve purchased a few more items they marked on a recommendations list that I have yet to test out, but am really excited to.
Do you have any Kate Somerville favorites? Please share!
Facial provided compliments of the Kate Somerville team. Press samples indicated with a * beside the items listed.
