5 New (and Kind-of-Out-There) Beauty Treatments for 2015

The Treatment: Black Diamond Exfoliating Men’s Facial

The Promise: “Diamond dust” combines with “nutrient rich silver spheres” and a special cleanser to penetrate a man’s tough, hairy face. Dry, dead skin is removed, “leaving a clean, healthy, recharged complexion.”
The Experience: The hour-long treatment is entirely pleasant — no painful extractions or too-rough scrubbing. Still, the highlight isn’t the facial itself but the neck and scalp massage, which you can tack on for $25.
The Results: By the end of the hour, you’ll be thoroughly relaxed. Still, we can’t say (and no one else did) that our skin looked any cleaner, healthier or more recharged.
The Bottom Line: Save the $110 — or, better yet, buy a massage with it.
The Details: $110; the Rittenhouse Spa & Club, Rittenhouse.

The Treatment: Silk Eyelash Extensions

The Promise: Full, long, glorious lashes — without mascara.
The Experience: It takes at least an hour for Sherry Lanphear, Laurentius Salon’s lash guru, to painstakingly apply the extensions with medical glue. Choose a double strand (two lashes are connected to each one of yours) or, for a more dramatic look, a four-strand (four lashes for every one of yours).
The Results: Lashes look incredible and last for nearly a month, provided you avoid mascara, use oil-free makeup remover, and don’t rub your eyes. To keep them in longer, you’ll need a 30-minute touch-up every three weeks.
The Bottom Line: Get these for a special occasion, a vacation, or a month during which your social calendar is packed. But be forewarned: Once you get them, you’ll never want to go au naturel again.
The Details: Starting at $100 per hour for initial application; $40 per half hour for touch-ups; Laurentius Salon, Bella Vista.

The Treatment: Uplift and Glow Microcurrent Facial

The Promise: Electronic mini-currents stimulate muscles and encourage collagen production, for toning, contouring, lifting and fine-line reducing without pain or needles.
The Experience: You’ll feel a tingle and have a slight metallic taste in your mouth, but no pain. Two stylus-like conductors are strategically smoothed over wrinkle-prone spots — laugh lines, crow’s feet, chin and cheeks. If you don’t need the pampering, skip the facial for a quicker, 50-minute fix.
The Results: You’ll be instantly brighter and tighter, but this isn’t an actual lift, so expect to return to your old self within a couple of weeks.
The Bottom Line: If you’re looking for a boost that’ll last a bit longer than regular facials, this treatment is worth it — especially since it doesn’t cost much more than a facial. Results are instant and free of side effects; pop in for a quick hit before a night out.
The Details: Treatment only, $153; with facial, $237. Eviama Life Spa, Midtown Village.

The Treatment: Himalayan Salt Bed Therapy

The Promise: Think of it as the Dead Sea, in Philly. Lying on a bed of crystalline salt micro-particles stimulates cell production, detoxes the body, increases energy and spurs weight loss.
The Experience: Don’t expect to get too comfortable. It feels like you’re lying on hard-packed sand — which, well, you sort of are — and weird chromotherapy lights above (which have purported detoxing properties of their own) make it difficult to ever really tune out.
The Results: Er …
The Bottom Line: Wait for summer, head to the beach, and lie down on the sand. Same relaxation benefits without all the hype.
The Details: $25 for 20 minutes; Le Rêve Rittenhouse Day Spa, Rittenhouse.

The Treatment: TruSculpt Body Contouring and Fat Melting

The Promise: Radio frequency energy — administered via a handheld device against the skin — blasts apart fat cells; the gelatinous substance inside these cells is eliminated through your lymphatic system, leaving the area firmer.
The Experience: A small device is pressed along the treatment area, remaining on each patch of skin for four minutes and delivering a pulse of energy that increases in temperature. (It’s measured in joules, so it doesn’t translate, but it’s hot.) It takes about an hour, and you’ll need follow-ups. We needed Vicodin.
The Results: Measurements don’t lie. We lost over an inch on the
circumference of each arm.
The Bottom Line: It’s pricey but worth it, especially for those stubbornly flabby areas that exercise won’t help.
The Details: Treatments start at $299 and go up depending on size of treatment area; About Face Skincare, Washington Square West.

Originally published as “Can Beauty Be Bought?” in the January 2015 issue of Philadelphia magazine.