Beauty Blogger Suffers Horrible Reaction to a Spa Facial

I have written before about how I take care of my skin [read post]. My skin is relatively free from acne and I rarely have to do more than wash, cleanse and or tone with regular skin care products. Sometimes, I buy and use creams for home facials, and while I've never had a spa facial, I've heard of them and a friend who has more of an acne problem uses them regularly.


What I've not seen or heard of before is how sometimes the results may be worse than the initial condition. My friend has definitely been luckier than Singapore-based beauty blogger Bun Bun (regular picture above). Bun Bun is beautiful but has a face prone to acne and sensitive skin.

Recently, Bun Bun accepted to do a sponsored post from a local salon in exchange for a spa facial. She would talk about them especially the plant based natural extracts they use for best results. Unfortunately, the whole thing backfired, or more like blew up on her face, literally. Before she went for the facial, she took this picture immediately below, and the one after that just after the facial.

After the facial, all the pimple pus was extracted and she was very happy with the results. However, by that night, things got worse, and by the next day her face had broken out worse than before. She called the spa to complain and they asked her to come in for a redo, which she agreed to. That only made things worse. By the fourth day, her face, like she put it, resembled someone with an incurable disease. She was wearing masks to go out at this stage.

Sorry for spoiling your day with these pictures, but this is so scary. I don't think I've ever seen a break out that looked worse than this. You can read more about her experience, here. The salon owners are sorry about  her ordeal but mad that she blogged about her experience, and may be suing her though she never named them. I say name and shame, and sue them first.

Luckily, Bun Bun has been able to get some help from doctors and a dermatologist and most of the pustules are gone now, though she may have some scarring and hyper pigmentation.

As much as I know her case may be one in a hundred that goes wrong, I think one should still be careful with the use of skin care products. The face can be so sensitive, and if your skin is already exposed to so many other cosmetics, adding so much and at a spa where you're no sure of what they're using can be dangerous.

If there's one lesson to take away, it's that you never go back for a redo if your face, skin or hair reacts badly to a new stylist manipulating it. Rather, go to a specialist - a dermatologist for any breakouts should be preferable for people with skin issues.

Anyone who has had such a horror story after having a facial? How did you work it out?