What Is The Difference Between A Facial And A HydraFacial?

Written by clinic co-founder Kerri Lewis | Medically reviewed by Nurse Jane Lewis, RN | The Skin to Love Clinic, St. Albans| CQC regulated | Save Face accredited | HydraFacial verified provider | Published September 2026.

The difference between a facial and a HydraFacial isn’t just the products and ingredients used. It’s how they get into your skin, a whether anything measurable happens once they’re there.  

If you’re choosing a facial in St. Albans and can’t work out why the prices vary so widely, the honest answer is: you’re not comparing like for like. 

Both have a place. They’re not doing the same thing to your skin.  

A facial is applied by hand. A HydraFacial treatment is delivered by a device that cleanses, exfoliates, extracts and infuses the skin (and sometimes more, but I’ll come to that in a bit) using its unique vortex suction, rather than pressure and friction. That distinction might sound a bit like a technicality but, in a randomised study, it was the difference between a measurable change in the skin and no change at all.  

What I’m going to tell you below is what each type of facial does, what the clinical evidence shows, and how to tell which one you want.

What A Facial Does 

A good facial is an experience, and that’s not a criticism. It is the point. 

Someone, usually a beauty therapist, spends an hour (depending on the type of facial you choose) with their hands on your face. There is usually a facial massage, beautiful smelling products, sometimes warm facial mitts, occasionally steam and extractions, and a quiet room. Circulation improves, facial tension starts to relax, and you leave calmer than you arrived. The products used are often good, but this will vary between each spa or salon, and some may contain active ingredients whereas others may be more aromatherapy led.  

What you’re often buying here is the hour of beautiful relaxation time, the application and massage skills of the therapist, and for your skin to look and feel like it’s had a pamper. For many this is exactly the right purchase.  

We do not offer this type of facial at our skin clinic in St. Albans. That’s not a judgement on facials; it’s a decision on what our clinic is for. Everything at Skin to Love is built around measurable change in the skin, which makes us technology and evidence-led rather than experience led. If what you want is an hour of calm in a darkened room, a spa will do that better than we will.  

What a HydraFacial Does 

A HydraFacial in St. Albans with us is a device-led treatment. A skin therapist or nurse will use a handpiece with a spiral tip that creates a vortex against the skin; loosening and lifting debris such as makeup and oil from within the pores and the surface of the skin. At the same time the treatment delivers skincare ingredients into the skin. The focus is cleansing, exfoliation, extraction, and infusion.  

The extraction is done by gentle suction rather than physical pressure. That’s why it suits congestion, blackheads, and the occasional whitehead without leaving the redness and, sometimes, damage that manual extraction can cause.  

“With HydraFacial, there’s no injections, no anaesthetic, and no major trauma to the skin to recover from.” says Aesthetic Therapist and HydraFacial lead, Nikki DaCosta. “Most of my patients will look flushed after from the improved skin circulation, but this is temporary”.  

Nurse Jane Lewis, co-founder of The Skin to Love Clinic in St. Albans says “In some cases, HydraFacial can help in the management of certain common skin diseases. We will give you guidance towards to most appropriate treatment for your needs and, should HydraFacial treatment be right for you, our practitioners will discuss which of our three HydraFacial options would be your best match.” 

We offer three versions of HydraFacial, which differ in what is included and who it’s best for. A Deluxe takes up to 45 minutes, Platinum and Evolve up to an hour. Which one may suite you is discussed further down this page.  

Now that you have a clearer understanding of the differences between a facial and a HydraFacial, you may be left wondering: does delivering skincare ingredients differently actually change anything for your skin, or is it simply different way to arrive in the same place?  

What The Evidence Shows 

Here’s the honest position. The research of ‘hydradermabrasion’, which HydraFacial comes under, is not huge. There’s no major systemic review and no thousand-patient trial, as you find with some aesthetic treatments. What does exist is a small number of studies.  

There’s one study I want to bring to your attention in particular because it was designed to answer the question that bought you here: 

Twenty women aged 34 to 56 were randomly split into two groups of ten. Both groups received the same polyphenolic antioxidant serum, across the same six sessions, spaced seven to ten days apart. The only thing that differed was their delivery method. One group had the serum delivered by hydradermabrasion. The other had it applied by hand.  

The researchers took photos, measured antioxidant levels in the skin, and took biopsies before and after. 

The hydradermabrasion group showed increased epidermal thickness, increased thickness in the papillary dermis and raised antioxidant levels in the skin, alongside visible improvement in fine lines, pores and pigmentation. 

The hand-applied group showed no measurable change at all. 

“Two caveats that I’d like to give is that twenty participants is a small sample. This study was also from 2008, which is quite a while ago in aesthetics” says Nurse Jane Lewis. “What that study tells you, however, is that when ingredients are the same and only the delivery method changes, the delivery is what produced the result.”  

There is one more thing worth taking from this study. The change was measured after six sessions, not after one.  

Which Facial Is For You? 

A traditional facial might be the perfect choice for you if what you want is an hour of calm, hands on your face (and the benefits that come with that), and skin that looks fresher when you leave. They’re great reasons to want that type of facial and we don’t need to dress it up as anything else, what’s not to like?! 

A HydraFacial in St. Albans may be the right choice for you if there’s something specific you want to improve. Skin that looks dull or feels rough. Congestion. Blackheads. Makeup that doesn’t sit as well as it used to.  

It may also be the right type of facial for you if you want a more evidence-based, results-led facial. 

Three HydraFacial Versions and Who They’re For 

All three of our HydraFacial options use the same device and contain the same basic steps. What changes is the ‘upgrades’ that we’ve included as standard. 

Deluxe: Every HydraFacial upgrade is included as standard, except the Booster Serum. This means that you’ll get all the traditional HydraFacial steps plus lymphatic drainage (great for puffiness and detoxing the skin) and red-light therapy (a standalone rejuvenation therapy in itself).  

This one is great for congestion, dullness, and general skin improvement and maintenance. It takes up to 45 minutes and may be a sensible place to start if you’ve not had a HydraFacial before. 

Platinum: Everything that you get in the Deluxe, plus a skin Booster Serum. Booster Serums can be chosen on the day depending on your skins needs or as part of a wider treatment goal. Lymphatic drainage, red light and the Booster Serums are often seen as optional upgrades in other clinics but come as standard here.  

This version takes up to an hour and may be the best option if your skin needs a little more TLC or if you’re working on something specific with your skin.  

Evolve: This is our Deluxe HydraFacial combined with microneedling. This treatment is one takes skin quality up to the next level: texture, firmness, fine lines, pore size, and some marks left behind after the odd breakout.  

“The microneedling aspect of this protocol builds collagen in a way that a HydraFacial on its own is not designed to do.” says Nurse Jane Lewis. “At our Hertfordshire skin clinic, we use the Derma FNS microneedling system, well respected in medical aesthetics by colleagues such as dermatologist Professor Tony Chu”.  

Microneedling creates thousands of controlled micro-injuries, and as the skin repairs it builds new collagen. In a study using six sessions at two-week intervals, researchers measured significant increases in 3 types of newly formed collagen, as well as tropoelastin (the precursor to elastin), against each patient’s own baseline. In another study examining the skin six months post treatment, Aust and colleagues found a 40% thickening of the epidermis; this is great news because our skin naturally becomes thinner and more fragile with age. They also found a considerable increase in collagen and elastin formation.

What Patients Say About HydraFacial At Our St. Albans Clinic 

Here’s sample of reviews from our patients. Each has given us permission to share their experience from a verified patient appointment. 

“I had a HydraFacial Platinum today at the clinic. I’ve had these before elsewhere but this was by far the best. Super relaxing and I left looking vibrant. Worth every penny.” 

Maria 

“I am very pleased with my HydraFacial and microneedling treatment. My skin looks like glass.” 

Jane 

“Another lovely facial from Nikki. She is so professional and such a lovely person. I very much enjoy my monthly visits and would not go anywhere else.” 

Kerry 

Interested In Having A HydraFacial In St. Albans?  

Talk to us. As a rule, HydraFacial is a low-risk treatment with very few contraindications, so it’s good for most people. HydraFacial won’t solve every skin issue however; we hate for you to be disappointed with the outcome of a Hydrafacial if what you’re hoping to achieve isn’t aligned with what a HydraFacial solves so when you contact us, we will always steer you in the right direction. 

Call us if you’d like guidance quickly, or get in contact with us here if you’re unable to chat right now.