The ‘Baby Foreskin Facial’ Is a Real Thing

And it's offered at a plethora of spas in and around Boston.

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The billion dollar beauty industry keeps coming up with new, innovative facial treatments that promise to banish fine lines, smooth out wrinkles, and even out skin tone. From stem cell face creams to prescription strength retinoids, the possibilities are endless. That’s why we found it funny last month when numerous publications were writing about the “baby foreskin facial.”

New York, Refinery 29, and the Huffington Post are just three publications that wrote about the procedure in the past month. But “baby foreskin” being used in beauty products is nothing new. In fact, the active ingredient in an Oprah-touted skin cream from SkinMedica uses “foreskin fibroblasts” that are used to grow and cultivate new cells. Just one foreskin is said to be able to grow these cells for decades. But it’s not just skin creams that use the ingredient. Foreskin fibroblasts are also used to help treat burn victims, help cover diabetic ulcers, and more.

Now, you can get those same properties in a facial. The HydraFacial, which has been around for some time and offered at nearly every spa up and down Newbury Street, has changed up its serums to incorporate the fibroblasts in its procedure.

First, the five step facial system uses high-pressure water to cleanse, exfoliate, extract impurities, and hydrate. Then, the same machine is used to push “antioxidants” deep into the skin. LED lights are then used to enhance the treatment by fighting acne-causing bacteria and to stimulate collagen production. The light helps with skin resurfacing to diminish the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, enlarged pores, and dark spots, but without using a harsh laser.

But what exactly is in the “antioxidants?” And where does the foreskin come in?

“It’s growth hormone,” says Jane Aransky owner and aesthetician at La Residencia Spa in Newton, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. “We put it in an ampule. It’s an extra $75 add on to the basic Hydrafacial.” The HydraFacial machine blasts the growth hormone into the skin, she says.

Dr. Gail Naughton, an expert in regenerative science told New York:

[The] growth factors captured from the donated foreskin of a baby (just one can generate over a million treatments) are at their peak ability in promoting rapid cell turnover. Applied topically, they spur adult skin cells to regenerate. This is said to have a smoothing effect on the skin.”

So there you have it. The next time you are invited to a Bris, it may change the way you think of your skin.

Starts at $149; 336 Elliot Street, Newton Upper Falls, 617-244-2280, laresidenciaspa.com