Admit it: people nowadays are extra meticulous and diligent when it comes to maintaining good skin, and skincare products and treatments are offered left and right by various skin clinics and brands. Recently, a specific treatment called the Vampire Facial by The Zen Institute, one of the trusted medical spas in the Metro, caught our attention. Yes, this treatment exists!
Dr. MJ Torres of The Zen Institute
The Zen Institute is a medical spa owned by Dr. MJ Torres, also its Medical Director, who pioneered the body-sculpting technology called Resonax in the Philippines and Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP). Quick trivia: Dr. MJ and her team are also the people behind Vietura of Sofitel! Dr. MJ shared The Zen Institute’s four pillars with us.
They are Aesthetic, because they focus on non-invasive treatments like facial, whitening, body-sculpting, skin rejuvenating, and more; Integrative, as they apply a protocol-based approach for various medical treatments; Lifestyle, which refers to the mind and body workout as patients are given nutritional counseling or fitness regimen; and Pampering or spa treatments protocols for anti-aging and weight management.
Because they’re protocol-based, they tailor-fit programs for their clients using different modalities such as machines and injections. During our visit, we tried two of their most popular treatments: the Carbon Laser and Dermapoint aka the Vampire Facial. Here’s how it went.
The Carbon Laser treatment closes the pores and whitens the skin. It’s ideal for those with pigmentation or Melasma, and people with oily skin or with spots.
It’s called Carbon Laser because the procedure includes putting carbon all over your face and then finishing it off with a laser.
Painless and fast, you can get glowing skin and tight pores within 15 minutes!
The Dermapoint, one of the two types of the Vampire Facial/Treatment, gives the same benefits to your skin, except that it uses a skin needling technique. Also, it solves specific problems such as dark spots and acne scars. It is called the Vampire Facial because of the technique used. You can also opt to do a PRP or Platelet-rich Plasma, where they extract blood from your arm, process it, and then finally inject the plasma into your face for healthier skin. I chose the skin needling because I’m not ready for syringes!
To start, they applied a topical anesthesia and got the micro-needle rapidly rolling all over my face.
Don’t be afraid. The process is totally painless and they use very small needles!
The micro-needles used on my face
As the needles do the work, a hyaluronic acid that contains Vitamin C is spread all over the face. It doesn’t hurt, but you can sense the needles a bit as it hit some parts of your face.
After the treatment, it throbbed around the cheek area, and minimal discomfort was felt, especially when the anesthesia wore off. My face also went really red like I had a natural blush, which lasted for about 4-6 hours. The Zen Institute crew’s made sure I was comfortable, though, and finished the treatment by cooling my skin with ice and applying a post-derma lotion to lessen the redness.
I believe there’s a little suffering in the road to beauty!
For people with normal skin, you’ll get a flattering result after just one session, according to Dr. MJ. To skin types with problems, you’ll feel nice and clean after at least two or three sessions. Not bad! They also recommend doing this treatment at least once a month for the best results.
Ideally, Carbon Laser and Dermapoint should be combined so that the effect is not only superficial or on the surface, but so the effect penetrates deep in the skin.
Aside from these two treatments, they also offer Colonics Hydrotherapy, a state-of-the-art technology that cleanses and detoxifies the colon/liver, which is ideal for people who often feel constipated or those who just want to release toxins. To learn more about their treatments, check out their details below!
The Zen Institute
Branches in BGC, Tomas Morato, Binondo and Batangas
