Best of Philly

Best Facial

2022 Best Luxe Facial

Franklin’s Secret at W Philadelphia Away Spa

Eighty minutes of pure facial bliss: a botanical steam, two masks for exfoliating and soothing, all the face-care works (serum, cleanser, toner, vitamin C eye treatment), a massage with a rose-quartz roller, and a bonus hand and foot coffee-sugar scrub — all enhanced by products from local vegan skin-care brand Franklin & Whitman. It’s Philly’s best-kept beauty secret. Well, until now. Read More »

1439 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2022 Best Facial for Getting Out All That Gunk

OVME’s Hydrafacial

There’s something ASMR-esque about seeing a container of dirty liquid that’s basically been vacuumed out of your pores — which is exactly what you’ll get with the HydraFacial at Ovme. Expect celeb-status exfoliating, extracting and cleansing that leaves your skin radiant and sans all that nasty buildup. Read More »

925 West Lancaster Avenue, number 140, Bryn Mawr, PA Website

2021 Best Facial, But For Your Back

GLO Body Sculpt & Spa

Step one: pore-opening steaming cleanse. Step two: exfoliating scrub for dead skin. Step three: massage with detoxifying mask, rejuvenating moisturizer and optional hot stones. You won’t be able to see it, but trust us: Your back looks amazing. Read More »

526 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA Website

2021 Best New Place for Facials

Kari Skin

Don’t let the light SoCal vibe fool you: There’s serious skin care happening here. Tirzah Blair and her team of top talent use an arsenal of tools to customize treatments to your skin’s unique needs. And that glow, that lift, will last for weeks. Read More »

325 Cherry Street, 2nd Floor Rear, Philadelphia, PA Website

2019 Best Group Facial

Skin Haus

Forget mani/pedis: The setup at this open-concept facial bar (side-by-side reclining facial loungers) makes “going for facials” the best way to indulge with your girlfriends. Read More »

1238 South Street, Philadelphia, PA | 267-273-0594 | Website

2019 Best Facial for Sensitive Skin

Cole Wellness Spa & Salon

Owner Kristy Cole put so many refreshing creams and masks on our skin during an hour-long rosacea/sensitive facial that we lost track of which one was papaya and which one was rose. But our skin looked so pore-less, we can’t wait to go back. Read More »

101 North Wayne Avenue, Wayne, PA | 610-688-7546 | Website

2018 Best Quickie Facial

Cryo Facial at CRYO Philadelphia

Six minutes. That’s all you need for this facial – if you can even call it that. Drop in before a big event (yep, with makeup already applied), and an aesthetician will canvas your face with a liquid nitrogen vapor that tightens pores, boosts collagen, seals your look in place, and gives an all-over zhuzh. Read More »

1700 Sansom St #501, Philadelphia, PA | 267-758-2391 | Website

2018 Best Luxury Facial

Le Lift Parisienne at Rescue Spa

The 90-minute plumping session starts with a massage to release tension, uses micro-crystalline algae and silk extracts to firm skin, and ends with microcurrents to perk up facial muscles. You’ll leave looking naturally contoured and defined, just like those perfect-skinned Parisiennes. Read More »

1601 Walnut Street, Floor 3, Philadelphia, PA | (866) 772-2766 | Website

2017 Best Facial

Soothing Facial at Green City Beauty

There are so many aggressive skin peels and chemical-laden masks out there, so it’s refreshing to see a spa offer an effective alternative. The perfect amalgam of medi- and holistic-spa expertise, this facial tames redness, purges impurities, and hydrates with rose water, jasmine flowers, and heaps of skin-friendly ingredients. Read More »

1036 Pine Street, Philadelphia, PA | 267-908-4148 | Website

2014 Best Organic Facial

Moko

If your medicine cabinet looks more like a kitchen pantry, stocked with coconut oil, citrus essential oils and the like, then this beauty treatment is for you: Moko's aestheticians won't put anything on your face that you wouldn't eat. Plus, the extractions are so gentle, you might just fall asleep. Read More »

55 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-922-6656 | Website

2014 Best Facial

Moko

When was the last time you fell asleep during a facial? Exactly. Moko's aestheticians excel at the art of pain-free extraction. Plus, every product here is organic as in, they won't put anything on your face that you wouldn't put in your mouth. Read More »

55 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-922-6625 | Website

2013 Best Facial

Rescue Rittenhouse Spa

Sometime in my mid-20s, three faint but distinct lines decided to plant themselves on my brow, stretching from temple to temple across my forehead like a fence without posts. I sometimes stand under the harshest light in my bathroom, dapping on a variety of products to see if with the right combination they might plump back out, like little troughs just waiting to be filled. They never do. Well, they never did, I should say Five years ago, on the advice of a friend, I went to Rescue Rittenhouse Spa's Danuta Mieloch, a Polish-born aesthetician who worked in Paris and Manhattan before opening Rescue here nearly a decade ago. Her facials are the only thing that has ever made the lines fade to near-nothingness. I realize this sounds absurd, especially because we're not talking about injectables or lasers or anything you've seen on Real Housewives. The magic comes courtesy of a non-invasive, utterly relaxing 60 minutes filled with exfoliating, a little microdermabrasion, and lots of moisturizing. The result is Beyonce-level luminosity and smoothed-out skin. One glows no exaggeration for weeks. Chances are good that I'm not writing anything you haven't read about or experienced yourself: Danuta (or Dana, as she's known to clients) long ago became an instant Philly classic. Friends told friends, and suddenly you had to wait six months to get an appointment But Rescue the closest thing I've ever found to redemption for all those sunburns in my youth is always worth it. Read More »

225 South 17th Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA | 215-772-2766 | Website

2011 Best Holistic Facial

Juju Spa and Organics

We're making the switch from harsh to gentle, chemical to natural, wrinkled to smooth, with Juju's new all-natural, aluminum-oxide-free, walnut-shell-based form of microderm. Read More »

728 South 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA | 215-922-3235 | Website

2011 Best Bargain Facial

Affordable Skin Care Salon

Mary Freihofner's operation is small and bare-bones, and her $55 facials end in a hard sell. But when you're out her door, your skin is clear; your arsenal, full; your conscience, weightless. Read More »

2005 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 215-203-0995 | Website

2013 Best All-Natural Facial

Eviama Life Spa

When owner Penny Ordway's expert hands get at your face with tonics and lotions from Dr. Hauschka Skin Care, an all-natural brand imported from Germany, you're left with skin so soft, you can't stop touching it. But you really, really need to lay off. Read More »

109 South 13th Street, second floor, Philadelphia, PA | 215-545-3344 | Website