A clean, hydrated glow in 30 minutes
A HydraFacial takes 30 minutes: a cleanse, a light glycolic and salicylic peel, vortex extraction under suction, a booster if you’d like one, and hydration. There’s no downtime. After a HydraFacial at Skinovatio Lincoln Park, your skin looks hydrated and matte rather than pink.
$199
to start
At a glance
HydraFacial- Appointment
- 30 to 45 minutes, no numbing
- Downtime
- None, pink for an hour at most
- First results
- Immediately
- Full results
- Cumulative over a monthly series
- Sessions
- Single, or monthly for 3 to 6 months then quarterly
- Cost
- From $199. About $50 per payment across 4 with Afterpay or Klarna.
What to expect
What the appointment is like
You’ll lie back with your hair wrapped. No numbing is needed. The first pass cleanses and exfoliates and feels like a cool, slightly gritty sweep, and the peel step tingles for a minute. Extraction doesn’t hurt: it feels like a small vacuum tracing the nose and chin. We finish with your booster, if you picked one, and the hydrating serum.
Cleanse and exfoliate
The spiral tip sweeps your face with a cleansing solution, lifting dead surface cells.
Peel
A light glycolic and salicylic blend, with a minute of tingling and no flaking after.
Extract
Suction clears blackheads and congestion from the nose, chin, and forehead.
Boost
An optional serum chosen for your concern: tone, lines, or calming.
Hydrate
Hyaluronic serum goes into the freshly cleared surface, then sunscreen before you head out.
Your results
A predictable timeline
Your skin looks brighter right away. Patient reports put the visible result at five to seven days at least, and the clearer-skin effect carries toward the next visit on a monthly schedule. Cumulative changes to lines, pores, and tone need a series: the studies used six sessions at one- to two-week spacing, and the common clinic cadence is monthly for three to six months, then every three months. Individual results vary.
Same day
Hydrated and matte, with pores visibly clearer. Pink for an hour at most.
Day 1 to 7
Skin stays bright and makeup sits better. This is the best window before an event.
Week 2 to 4
The surface returns to baseline, and congestion starts to rebuild, which is normal.
Month 1
Time for your next session on a monthly cadence.
Month 3 to 6
Series effects on lines, pores, and tone show up in photos.
What it costs
Clear pricing, planned by the visit
Your cost depends on the booster serums you add, an LED step, the neck and chest, a lymphatic step, lip and eye add-ons, and whether you’re booking one visit or a series. A single visit before an event is priced as a single visit. A monthly series is priced as a series because the cumulative results are a series effect.
- The tier and its steps and serums
- Booster serums for a specific concern
- Add-ons like LED, neck and chest, lip and eye
- A single visit versus a series
At Skinovatio Lincoln Park
HydraFacial
$199
to start
- HydraFacial MD
- $199
- Deluxe MD
- $249
- Consultation
- $50
- With Afterpay or Klarna
- About $50 × 4 payments
Many people book the MD every 4 to 6 weeks at $199. It’s the treatment our Glow Membership is built around.
Book your HydraFacial appointmentSimilar purpose, different options
HydraFacial or something else?
Two facials sit next to it on our menu. Dermaplaning is blade exfoliation that also removes peach fuzz, with no extraction and no serum infusion. It’s often added to a HydraFacial in the same visit, blade first. An oxygen facial is the calming option, with no extraction, for skin that reacts to everything. And if you’re weighing a peel instead, a chemical peel goes deeper and comes with days of flaking, which a HydraFacial’s peel step doesn’t cause.
| HydraFacial | Dermaplaning | Oxygen facial | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Exfoliates, extracts, hydrates | Blade exfoliation, removes vellus hair | Calms and hydrates, no extraction |
| Minutes | 30 to 45 | About 30 | About 45 |
| Downtime | None | None | None |
| Best for | Congestion, dullness, pre-event | Peach fuzz, makeup that sits badly | Reactive, rosacea-prone skin |
| Cadence | Monthly | Every 3 to 4 weeks | Monthly |
| Before an event | 2 to 5 days out | 1 to 3 days out | 1 to 2 days out |
What it does
- HydraFacial
- Exfoliates, extracts, hydrates
- Dermaplaning
- Blade exfoliation, removes vellus hair
- Oxygen facial
- Calms and hydrates, no extraction
Minutes
- HydraFacial
- 30 to 45
- Dermaplaning
- About 30
- Oxygen facial
- About 45
Downtime
- HydraFacial
- None
- Dermaplaning
- None
- Oxygen facial
- None
Best for
- HydraFacial
- Congestion, dullness, pre-event
- Dermaplaning
- Peach fuzz, makeup that sits badly
- Oxygen facial
- Reactive, rosacea-prone skin
Cadence
- HydraFacial
- Monthly
- Dermaplaning
- Every 3 to 4 weeks
- Oxygen facial
- Monthly
Before an event
- HydraFacial
- 2 to 5 days out
- Dermaplaning
- 1 to 3 days out
- Oxygen facial
- 1 to 2 days out
Microneedling and a HydraFacial work well together rather than as alternatives. Microneedling reaches the dermis and comes with a day or two of redness, while a HydraFacial is surface hydration with none. Many clients do both, on different weeks.
Is it right for me?
Who it’s for, and who it isn’t
Most people are good candidates, across all skin types, including sensitive and acne-prone skin. It suits congested pores, makeup that no longer sits smoothly, winter dryness, and first-time facial clients.
A good fit for
- Congested, oily, dull, or dry skin
- Sensitive or rosacea-prone skin (suction and acids turned down)
- Pre-event glow, booked two or three days ahead
- First-time med-spa visitors
Not recommended
- Wrinkles, loose skin, or pigment (it doesn’t reach those)
- An active cold sore, open skin, sunburn, or a rosacea flare
- Acne scars, microneedling with PRP fits better
- Salicylate swapped out during pregnancy or aspirin allergy
HydraFacial is an FDA-registered Class I device, not FDA-cleared or approved. The surface change returns to baseline within about two weeks with no lasting collagen change, which is why we recommend it as a routine rather than a one-time fix.
In detail
What it treats
A HydraFacial treats concerns in the top layer of skin and the pores. For anything deeper, we’ll recommend a better-suited treatment.
The extraction step is the reason most people come back. The spiral tip runs a salicylic solution over the nose, chin, and forehead under suction, and the debris collects in a clear canister you can see afterward. In an open-label study of six clarifying treatments every two weeks, the share of patients rated clear or almost clear of acne rose from 20 percent to 65 percent, per Storgard and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. A company co-author was on that paper, so the result is encouraging but not conclusive.
Cold wind and forced-air heat dry the surface out in winter, which can leave skin feeling tight and looking dull. The hydration step refreshes the surface the same day.
A randomized study of 20 women found six hydradermabrasion sessions 7 to 10 days apart decreased fine lines, pore size, and hyperpigmentation on assessment, with thicker skin on biopsy, per Freedman in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. That’s a series effect, not a single-visit one. A brightening booster can help target tone.
On the gentlest setting with the mildest solution, reactive skin tolerates it well. If you’re in a rosacea flare, we’ll skip that session and wait until your skin settles. Men with shaving irritation along the jaw and neck get the same gentle setting, and the extraction helps clear the ingrowns a razor leaves behind.
How it works
The HydraFacial machine is a hydradermabrasion device. A spiral-cut tip moves across the skin under vacuum while water-based solutions run through it: a cleanser, then a glycolic and salicylic acid blend that loosens dead surface cells without crystals or a blade, then suction that lifts what’s loose out of the pores. Serums go on last, into a freshly cleared surface, which is why the skin looks hydrated right away.
On regulation: HydraFacial is listed with the FDA as a Class I powered dermabrasion device, exempt from premarket review. It’s neither FDA-cleared nor FDA-approved. What the evidence supports is a surface change: a 2024 imaging study saw a thinner outer skin layer right after treatment that returned to baseline by two weeks, and no change in collagen, per Razi and colleagues in Skin Research and Technology.
Afterwards
Downtime and aftercare
There’s no downtime. Your skin may be pink or a little blotchy for an hour or two, and very sensitive skin sometimes needs a day. Patient reports on RealSelf say most people go straight back to their normal routine, which matches what we see.
That night, it’s best to skip retinoids and exfoliating acids, and to avoid waxing the same day. Wear sunscreen the next morning, which is a good daily habit anyway. If you work out, try to do it before your appointment rather than after, so sweat and heat don’t undo the hydration step.
Why here
Why Lincoln Park
You’ll find us on Lincoln Avenue just north of Wrightwood, a block up from the Apollo Theater. Take the Brown Line to Diversey, then head south on Lincoln, or the Red, Brown, or Purple Line to Fullerton and head north. The 11 Lincoln bus stops on the block. There are meters on Lincoln, and free spots on the side streets west of Clark if you check the cleaning signs. Midday appointments tend to fill first, so it helps to book ahead.
For a wedding or other event, book 2 to 5 days before, and we don’t recommend a first HydraFacial the morning of the event. Your treatment is with our medical esthetician.
Questions
Common questions, answered
The visible glow lasts about a week. Patient reports on RealSelf put it at five to seven days at least, and clearer pores hold toward the next visit on a monthly schedule.
Lasting changes to fine lines, pore size, and tone come from a series. The studies that measured those used six sessions one to two weeks apart.
No. Patient reports describe it as relaxing, with a bit of tingling during the peel step. Extraction feels like a small vacuum tracing the nose and chin, and it doesn’t hurt.
No numbing is needed. Skin may be pink for an hour after.
It depends on the concern. A brightening booster for uneven tone, a peptide or growth-factor booster for fine lines, a calming booster for reactive skin, and none at all if congestion is the only problem. Your provider picks it at the start of the visit, after looking at your skin, so you don’t need to decide ahead of time.
The tiers on the Lincoln Park booking menu are HydraFacial MD and HydraFacial Deluxe MD.
Every tier includes the core three steps: cleanse and exfoliate, a light glycolic and salicylic peel, and extraction, followed by hydration. Higher tiers add a booster serum, an LED step, a lymphatic step, or lip and eye add-ons, and run closer to 45 minutes.
The tiers on the Lincoln Park booking menu are HydraFacial MD and HydraFacial Deluxe MD.
Aim for two to five days out. That puts you inside the week-long glow, with a little margin for the rare case of a small breakout as pores clear.
If you’ve never had one, it’s best not to book it the morning of. A trial run a month earlier is a good idea, so you know how your skin responds.
Yes, for mild to moderate acne. A study of six clarifying treatments every two weeks raised the share of patients rated clear or almost clear from 20 percent to 65 percent. The salicylic solution and extraction are what make the difference.
We work around open, inflamed cystic lesions, not over them. It doesn’t replace prescription acne treatment.
Yes, with the HydraFacial first. Botox aftercare says no rubbing or pressure on the injected areas, and the suction tip counts, so the facial is done before the injections, not after.
If you’d like both in one visit, mention it when you book, and we’ll schedule them in that order.
On the gentlest setting with the mildest solution, yes, and many people with rosacea-prone skin tolerate it well. We’ll skip the session during an active flare and go lighter on the peel step.
If your skin reacts to everything, an oxygen facial with no extraction is the calmer choice.
Yes. Extraction under suction with a salicylic solution clears the nose, chin, and forehead, and you can see the debris in the canister afterward.
Blackheads do come back as pores refill, which is why we suggest a monthly cadence. One session clears them, and a series keeps them cleared.
Yes. The standard visit is 30 minutes with no numbing and no downtime. Skin is pink for an hour at most, and makeup can go on before you leave.
The effects of a HydraFacial are temporary, so if it isn’t for you, there’s nothing to undo, and you don’t need to book another.
Keep exploring
Related treatments
Related priorities
Dermaplaning
Priced at your consultA 30-minute blade exfoliation for smooth skin and flat makeup
Learn more
Oxygen facial
Priced at your consultA calming, no-downtime facial for sensitive and reactive skin
Learn more
Chemical peels
From $200Surface to medium-depth peels to help with melasma, acne, and texture
Learn more
Start with a consult
Tell us what you’d like to work on. We’ll assess your skin and goals, walk you through your HydraFacial options, and give you a clear plan and price before anything begins.
Afterpay and Klarna are available at checkout for eligible treatments.