Hoping to stave off the plastic surgeon’s scalpel for another twenty years (or forever!), I’m a sucker for any facial treatment promising a ‘non-surgical’ lift. When I discovered that The Spa at Rancho Valencia, a luxurious tennis resort near San Diego, California, had one of nine CatioLift machines in the U.S., I immediately booked a facial and headed to the sumptuous Spanish-style spa.
In a treatment room bigger than a Manhattan studio, with a stone patio and outdoor tub, Kerstyn Ray, one of the spa’s estheticians, cleansed and exfoliated my skin, using organic aromatherapy-steeped products by Paris-based Mary Cohr cosmetics, the machine’s creator.
After applying the Essence Cream, which Ray called the ‘star product’ because it allows whatever is applied afterwards to penetrate more deeply, she followed with the Serum Gel. Then, as I held a negative electrode in my hand, which was attached to the machine, Ray massaged my face with the flat, quarter-sized heads of two positive electrodes.
“The positive and negative are attracted to each other and push the serum into the skin,” she explained.
After I released my electrode, Ray performed a light, lymph massage, ridding my skin of excess toxins and prepping it for the lift.
With the current amped, my face muscles contracted dramatically, as Ray massaged various parts of my visage, including the eye area, jawline, and above the lips, with the electrodes. Though it wasn’t a pleasant sensation, it wasn’t painful, and I had the rest of the ninety-minute treatment, which included facial and ‘collet’ massages, eye and facial masks, hand, foot and scalp massages, to enjoy.
I don’t know if I looked ten years younger, as the brochure promised, but my skin definitely looked plumper, smoother, and lifted. Ray recommends one treatment per week for three weeks, with monthly follow-ups. And the $210 cost per treatment is a lot less expensive, not to mention less painful, than surgery. For more information on CatioLift call (866) 403-4179.
Andrea M. Vaucher
Where to find CatioLift
Skin Spa MD
Dallas, TX
Grove Park Resort and Spa
Asheville, NC
Sheer Artistry
Avon, CT
West Inn Styles
Quakertown, PA
Ioni Slim
Davenport, IA
Sculpture Inc.
Richmond, VA
Spa Beautiful Skin
White Plains, NY
Sudz and Sass
Marlow, OK
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