Facials really never have appealed to me. I'm OK with my skin, and also, I'm chicken. I mean, what if I have some kind of horrid allergic reaction to something? What if I break out or turn a funny color or pass out? That would be the worst, because how would I file this story if I were unconscious?

Fortunately for the world of journalism, I'm not prone to losing consciousness. And after a long consultation with my ego, I determined that even the threat of disfigurement couldn't keep me from pursuing my first-hand research. I recognize that this attitude may not be particularly girlish, but then… well, there you go.

After researching the various options, and weighing the costs, I decided to try three different facials: one professional masque; one full-on salon facial and one all natural facial completed in the comfort of my own home. A description of each is submitted below for your edification.

Emasqueulation
Sometimes you feel like sprinting down the diving board, taking one healthy bounce and plunging right into the swimming pool. Other times you want to go step-by-step, splashing a little water on yourself as you go so you can get used to the temperature. Either way, you wind up swimming, right? All of this is just my way of telling you that I decided to ease my way into the skin care experiment by doing a baby facial. No extractions, no exfoliations, just a nice soothing masque. That way if I absolutely hated it, at least I'd only be out $60.

By some supreme cosmic accident, I find myself surrounded by friends who are incredibly good sports. Indeed, my friend Lorie is such a great sport that she allowed herself to be talked into getting a facial with me. Lorie is wonderfully ungirlish, rivaling me for the sheer utilitarian beauty of her approach to personal ornamentation. So off we went to experience our first facials together.

The spa to which we went was designed and decorated to emphasize relaxation. The lighting was low, the chairs in the waiting area were soft and there were complementary assortments of dried fruit for our nibbling pleasure. The individual rooms where consultation and facials took place were cozy and welcoming, with what looked like a massage table to lie down on.

In a spa setting like this, it's rarely just the face that gets treated. The neck, décolletage, and even hands and feet, get a fair amount of pampering as well. In fact, it might be more accurate to describe the treatment as an "extremital," but "facial" sounds a lot more pleasant. The first treat of the afternoon for Lorie and me was the heated neck pillows. Shaped to cradle the neck, these pillows are wonderfully warm and weighted. The effect is an instant release of tension from the upper back. We paused for a moment, mid-conversation, just to enjoy the experience. If this is a facial, I thought, bring it on.

We were handed a brief questionnaire asking us to describe our skin. Is it generally oily or dry? Does it burn easily? Is it prone to breakouts? When these questions were answered, we were shown to our separate rooms.

My facialist was a younger woman, probably around 25, with absolutely flawless skin. She asked a couple more questions – why I had come in and what was my biggest facial concern – and then she left the room so that I could change and remove my jewelry. Once I was situated comfortably under a blanket on the massage table, she applied a cleanser to my face and neck. This was removed with a hot towel. Next she covered my eyes (not sure what with – my eyes were closed after all) and examined my skin using a very intense light. She told me she was going to apply two different masques, and I apologize in advance for paraphrasing the names. I have a three-adjective limit. The first was a kaolin citrus refining masque used on areas of my skin where there was judged to be too much oil. The second, applied to the rest of my face and neck, was a hydrating silk glisten masque.

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