Last week, I signed up for the Caci Clinic Reformaskin treatment plan and I have decided to document my journey to see how the treatments transform my skin.
So, I thought I might give you guys a bit of background on my skin. I have an Asian background with both my mum and dad having combination-oily skin. I started having breakouts when I was around 15 and I used to get them on my cheeks, forehead, nose and even on my chest and back. Obviously, it made me really self-conscious and it was embarrassing.
Back then, I had little knowledge in terms of skincare, sunscreen and acne scarring. I did not wear sunscreen, I don’t take care of my skin properly and worst of all, I pick my pimples and touch my face all the time. It was when I am in my university years I started wearing makeup and took more care of my skin, but by then my acne scarring was irreversible and then I realised no skincare product will truly and effectively get rid of those deep scarring. Sure, makeup can help, but with textured skin, heavy and full coverage foundation will just make my skin worse.
This is not the first time I have come across Caci Clinic. I have been to Caci for 2-3 microdermabrasion treatments but to be honest, I knew that a series of in-clinic treatments are basically the cure to my acne scarring, but the cost fo the treatments and to make time for a facial has kind of put me off.
Recently, I saw a post on Facebook about someone’s rave reviews of their Caci Clinic journey and I was blown away by her results! She had a worse case of acne scarring than I do and her skin looks so much better afterwards! So I went online for another look around for results and their treatment plans. Just my luck, Caci was doing a special offer when you book a free consultation, you get a facial for $50.
Caci Clinic Botany Junction
So after work last Friday, I went in for my free consultation and facial. I was introduced to Lena, the owner of the Botany Junction branch and she did my free consultation. She was very knowledgeable and patient. I tell her about my concerns and what I want to improve and she explained to me the different types of treatments and conditioning treatments she would recommend to me. After that, she explained the pricing plan and how the facials and treatments would be planned out for the next few weeks.
So far, she has only planned my treatments for the next 18 weeks because it would be up to the nurse and my facialist to determine what I would need after that. So generally my personalised plan consists of Dermabrasion, Collagen Induction and Sonophoresis in a rotation. So basically, the first 18 weeks I have a treatment every 1-2 weeks. Lena explained that I will get 15 conditioning treatments (options: Microdermabrasion, Sonophoresis, Skin Conditioning Facials and LED Light Therapy), 5 Collagen Induction treatments and 6 bonus treatments from their rewards menu.
My skincare journey:
Last week: Microdermabrasion, wk2: Rest, wk3: Microdermabrasion, wk4: Rest, wk5: Microdermabrasion, wk6: Collagen Induction, wk7: Rest, wk8: Glycolic Facial, wk9: Rest, wk10: Microdermabrasion
Wk11: Microdermabrasion, wk12: Rest, wk13: Rest, wk14: Glycolic facial, wk15: Rest, wk16: Rest, wk17: Rest, wk18: Collagen Induction, wk19: Rest, wk20: Rest.
Wk21: Sonophoresis. wk22: Rest, wk23: Microdermabrasion. wk24: Rest, wk25: Rest. wk26: Glycolic facial, wk27: Rest, wk28: Collagen Induction. wk29: Glycolic facial, wk30: Rest.
Wk31: Rest, wk32: Microdermabrasion, wk33: Rest, wk34: Rest, wk35: Glycolic facial, wk36: Rest, wk37: Rest, wk38: Glycolic facial, wk39: Rest, wk40: Rest.
Wk41: Glycolic facial, wk42: Rest, wk43: Rest, wk44: Collagen induction, *wk45: Rest, wk46: Glycolic facial, wk47: Glycolic facial, wk48: Rest, wk49: Glycolic facial, wk50: Rest.
Wk51: Rest, wk52: Glycolic facial, wk53 (last week): Glycolic facial
*planning ahead.
So these are some of my before and after photos. I will try to take all before and after photos with no makeup at all (or maybe just my brows, I need my brows). My skin is not perfect so please be nice! : )
19/1/18 Before my first treatment with Caci Clinic
As you can see, I have quite deep acne scars on my cheeks and chin area, enlarged pores on my nose and still have active breakouts on my chin and jaw area (hormonal). My skin also looks rather dull which can also be improved.
19/1/18 Before my first treatment with Caci Clinic
19/1/18 Before my first treatment with Caci Clinic
I had a 30min consultation with Lena and then I was in a treatment room with my lead facialist for my 30min Microdermabrasion. First of all, she cleanses my face with a milky cleanser, then she used an exfoliating cleanser to double cleanse. She then applied toner all over my face. She made sure my face was dry before we get into the microdermabrasion. We used the lowest setting for my first time so that my skin doesn’t freak out. The procedure does not hurt at all, it just feels like she moved a suction pen around my face. After the microderm, she cleansed my skin again and applied a mask (I think, she did not say) over my face and cleaned it off. Finally, she applied a moisturiser with SPF for my face to finish off.
19/1/18 After my first Dermabrasion with Caci Clinic
19/1/18 After my first Dermabrasion with Caci Clinic
19/1/18 After my first Dermabrasion with Caci Clinic
After the treatment, I went to the counter to sort out my treatment plan payment and appointments. Lena also recommended me two Murad products to use at home (Advanced Active Radiance Serum for the night ($180) and Rapid Collagen Infusion ($160) which will speed up collagen production and boost the effects of my in-salon treatments.
The total of my 52-week treatment comes to a total of $3150. There was also a set-up fee and a one-off processing fee which is around $140 altogether. You need to pay a deposit of at least 10% of the total cost up front and the one-off set up and processing fee, then you can choose to either pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly (interest-free). I decided to pay a bigger deposit so I can pay it off monthly with a smaller amount.
I know that $3000 sounds freaking expensive for something that is not tangible, but personally, my scarring has been bothering me for such a long time now and the amount of money I spent on skincare and makeup to try and rectify and cover them up has been futile. I truly think the money I saved towards these treatments will dramatically improve my condition. It will boost my confidence and really make me a happy girl. Hopefully, at the end of my treatment year, I can proudly say that I regret not doing this much earlier.
Alright, that’s it for now. I will be going in for my second dermabrasion in 2 week’s time. I will probably post some updates on Instagram or Snapchat (@kittiemui) after each treatment and I will do another post when I do my first Collagen Induction which is about a month after this post.
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