If you know anything about Seoul. you know it’s the city of skincare and surgery. Where every bus is plastered with beauty advertisements, and getting a nose job is virtually the same as getting an eyebrow wax, South Korea’s capital is overrun with surgeries and clinics offering every procedure you could possibly imagine, all in the name of beauty.
Whilst I’m not opposed to surgery, it’s not for me right now. So when Eunogo, an award winning concierge company for medical beauty trips to Seoul, suggested a surgical procedure for me to try and review, I turned it down. However after learning more about their company, I felt they were providing a fantastic service for foreigners, and we decided I would instead write about the skin detox facial they also offer. So here I am, post facial, and ready to review!
(This experience was provided courtesy of Eunogo. This does not affect my review- see my disclaimer tab for more information on my policies).
Eunogo
As I said, Eunogo are a travel concierge, licensed by Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare, who provide all services for medical/beauty trips to Seoul, from consultation through to recovery care. Their medical coordinators are fluent in Korean, English, Mandarin and Bahasa, and provide 1:1 consultations to ensure you get what you want. If I’m going for a facial, I want to know exactly what they will be doing to my face, and if I was getting anything surgical, this knowledge and discussion would be of absolute prime importance. That’s exactly what Eunogo’s team of industry experts aim to provide- a safe, and reliable platform for foreigners on their medical beauty journeys to Korea.
Skin Detox Facial
The experience Eunogo offered me was the basic Skin Detox Facial at Grace Clinic in Sinsa. I was more than happy to try it, and all I had to do was tell Chloe, my consultant, over Kakao when I was available. She handled everything else! So easy. She told me that my appointment would be on the Saturday I had chosen, at 12.30pm. My translator would meet me there to sort the appointment and inform me of all of the specifics.
Grace Clinic is a well known dermatologist and plastic surgery clinic, located near Garosugil and frequented by Korean celebs such as Suzy, BTS, Chae Soobin, Joo, and Jo Kwon. The clinic’s reputation preceded it, as I already knew about it before this experience, and their facial had been on my to do list for a while.
On The Day
The clinic is conveniently located right next to Sinsa Station, on Line 3. You come out of exit #5 and walk straight for a minute, until you reach a red coloured building on the left. The clinic is located on the fifth floor.
My translator, Edward, had messaged me about 10 minutes before my appointment to let me know he was waiting in the lobby. We met and he was very friendly. He helped me fill out the paperwork and spoke to the receptionists to confirm my appointment.
After about five minutes I was led through to the doctor’s office for my pre-facial consultation. I think it’s important to bear in mind that your experience here is at a clinic, not a spa. Therefore it’s more clinical/medical than you might be used to.
The doctor was friendly, and she spoke Korean to Edward who then translated for me. She asked if I had any skin concerns, which I said I didn’t really. My main skin concerns are simply redness, and sebaceous filaments across my nose. She examined my skin and confirmed that she couldn’t see any problems (she said I had great skin and I must take good care of it- I was so honored and proud that a Korean dermatologist would say this, yesssssssss it pays off). We decided together that I would have a moisturizing facial, to tackle the winter dryness.
I was then led into a small room to begin my treatment. There was light Korean classical music playing, and a robe if I wished to change. I didn’t, and instead lay straight down on the bed.
Edward stayed for the first 5 minutes to explain what the esthetician would be doing. Then he left me to relax.
First, she removed my makeup with a deep cleanse. I loved how gentle she was with my eyelashes, individually removing mascara from each lash, incredibly gently and thoroughly. The cleansing oil she then used smelled ah-mazing (like fresh tangerines) and she did a lovely little facial massage, before fully removing my makeup.
After the makeup removal, the esthetician moved onto the ultrasonic therapy treatment. She painted my face with a gel, then covered with a very thin cotton material. The covering of my face surprised me, but felt nice.
She then painted over the sheet with a creamy mask, and began using the ultrasonic machine across my face. She seemed to massage my face with the handset- it made a really bizarre noise, like some little alien from Men In Black beeping and ticking. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant sound but the actual sensation on my skin was fine- light massaging and slight warmth. This process is supposed to increase collagen production, reduce inflammation, and help skin absorb products, so ya know, I’m down.
She then moved on to covering my entire face, lips and eyes too, with a thick mask (hence no more photos- I couldn’t see a thing). The mask felt verrry cold on my skin, but was a nice soothing experience. She left me for about 10 minutes, before returning to begin the laser treatment.
The laser treatment is supposed to help skin regeneration. I think they hovered the device over my face and left me there for 15 minutes or so. I could just see light through the mask, but didn’t feel anything, and it was relaxing just to lay with the cooling mask.
When the esthetician returned, she began gently removing the thick mask, and cleansing my face. This was followed by a mini massage with moisturiser, and of course an SPF as I was going to leave midday. The whole treatment lasted about 90 minutes.Once I was sat up and ready to go, she asked me if I used sheet masks, and when I eagerly replied yes almost every day, she brought me back two of their own brand sheet masks. They’re absolutely beautifully packaged, and I’m keen to try them!
When I looked in the mirror, I was so pleased with the results. Of course, as expected, I had that glow glow glow glow glow (duh…in tune to Rihanna’s ‘Work’). My skin was radiant, and here’s the proof:
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You can see how even and glowy my skin was, and it’s still showing signs of that today, three days later. It also had a bounce to it, which it was definitely lacking beforehand. My whole face felt soft and rejuvenated, and my makeup applied like an absolute dream afterwards.
Would I use Eunogo again?
Most definitely, particularly if I was wanted to use their services for more invasive, surgical procedures. Everything was so simple and easy, which honestly, often isn’t the way in Korea when you’re trying to figure out a service on your own, with minimal Korean language skills. When you’re doing anything with your body, you want the confidence that you know exactly what’s going on, and I think by using Eunogo and their multi-lingual consultants, there’s no worries about that. They sent me to a renowned clinic, organised everything, and ensured all I had to do was show up and enjoy. Everything else was taken care of. The cost of my treatment was $150, but for a top clinic in Gangnam, a 90 minute procedure, a personal translator for the entire time, and the confidence of everything being organised for me, I really don’t think this is a bad deal. I’m impressed by this service they offer foreigners, and thank you to them for giving me such an enjoyable Seoul experience!
How can I contact Eunogo?
You can very easily contact them or get information from their website, and they’re also on Instagram @euno.go. You can use my promotion code ‘sfos10’ for $10 off the skin detox until April 30th if you buy on their website shop and also $50 off any orders over $200 by using ’50off200′ until February 28th!
Have you had a facial in Korea? Would you consider surgery here?
