Bare Beauty NYC

I wanted to try dermaplaning after I heard Heather and Terry Debrow vouch for it on their podcast. I figured if I'm having a scalpel put to my skin, I better do my research, and ended up on Bare Beauty's page. I looked at her Instagram, too, and saw a good "after" photo and decided to book, especially upon realizing the convenience of being able to make appointments online. (She has a great Spring 50% off deal, so I took advantage of that! Woohoo!)

The salon itself is in a share-space with numerous other salons. Wynter's is located on the far left corner of the lower level so you can just take the stairs down on the right instead of walking all over the ground floor lost like me, haha. Okay, so onto the good stuff. I wasn't sure what I was expecting exactly, but I was a bit nervous and a lot excited to get a layer of dead skin scraped off of my face. First thing I noticed was her demeanor. She was friendly, yet professional -- a relief for me who was hoping I wouldn't end up with some snooty woman. Wynter sits you down in her comfy chair and after filling out the usual paperwork (on pretty paper!), starts you off with a foot soak. I was not expecting that so it was such a nice surprise. She exfoliates your feet and my only regret was that I was wearing pants that I couldn't pull up all the way! Then she steps outside while you undress "to your level of comfort" (instead of like other salons that tell you what to take off) and get in between the sheets on the massage table. She takes off your makeup, inspects your skin, and starts prepping your skin for the dermaplaning, explaining every step of the way. Oh, did I mention she does a lip scrub on you, too? At this point I was already in love with these additional perks!

I'm a weirdo who loves watching stuff like this and extractions, and she gave me a mirror so I could catch the first few seconds of it, haha. The dermaplaning itself wasn't painful at all and felt like shaving your legs. The movements were short scrapes and it was relaxing. Then, I think your skin is more open to absorbing stuff, so she puts on a face mask. I wasn't able to see what exactly it was, but it felt expensive, lol. It was a sheet mask that was made up of two parts -- top and bottom -- but it felt like the thick gel cloth type ones, not the flimsy sheets. Oh, and I love the way it smelled.

So you know how some practitioners will walk out of the room once you have a mask on and leave you alone? I hate that because I feel like I'm wasting my money. I was having these thoughts and wondering what Wynter was going to do when she took one of my arms to massage (this obviously continued to my other arm, and then happily to my neck and upper back, as well). I think I heard angels singing. This is the level of attention and care that was woven throughout my session with Wynter, and this is what sold me on her.

After all was done, she told me to take my time getting up and that she left me a cold glass of water. Considering the layout of the space, I knew she would be just waiting in the hall for me, but the fact that she still didn't rush me at all was so gracious. Another example of the consideration she showed was when I was paying for the bill. Wynter stepped outside so I "could have some privacy," which I thought was very thoughtful. A lot of salons make me feel uncomfortable and awkward, leaving me wanting to dash out, but not once did I feel this with her. She gave me a glass pot of hyaluronic serum to use over the next few days, and not once did she try to upsell me. I've had other facialists who have told me that I should be seeing them every three weeks or so, but Wynter only suggested a deep cleanse once I asked what else I could be doing for my skin, as well as telling me my skin was nice. Maybe it's because she's the owner of this business, but you can tell she gives a damn, and I loved that.

I'll be getting married in a year and I know I should be starting on some kind of regimen, so I'll definitely be booking a facial with Wynter to see what that entails. Oh, and the dermaplaning? A week later and my makeup is still going on smooth!