What it’s *really* like to get a $2,000 facial treatment

Close your eyes and imagine getting a $2,000 facial. Are you envisioning your skin being scrubbed with tiny crystals? The most extra LED light setup? Face masks and chemical peels and gadgets galore? Yep, that’s pretty accurate, at least in senior video producer Ella Dove’s experience in Well+Good’s latest episode of What the Wellness.

As Dove waltzes into New York Dermatology Group Integral Health & Wellness center’s (chic AF) clinic on Fifth Avenue in New York City, she prepares to try out The Runway Facial (yeah, it even has a fancy name) right before our very eyes to see what the fuss is about and if it’s actually worth the hefty price tag. “This is the most outlandish episode I’ve been a part of,” she says, right before she gets her complexion scrubbed clean of gunk, zapped with high-tech lasers, exfoliated on multiple levels, and plumped and toned with radiofrequency and LED light therapy. During the 90-minute skin-enhancing extravaganza, you get to witness just what happens to your skin when it gets some of the most high-tech, ingredient-savvy love around.

“This is the crème de la crème of what dermatology and technology have to offer,” says Dove by the end of the facial. It’s true, NYDG’s treatment is all about utilizing the latest advancements in skin technology so that your skin truly leaves looking out-of-this-world radiant. Not every person might want to shell out that much money on a facial, and that’s totally fine. Each of the components of the facial are totally accessible at home (for instance, in place of radiofrequency, try the NuFace Trinity Facial Toning Device, $249, and in place of LED light therapy in office, pick up a full face mask from Amazon, $110).

How does Dove’s complexion look once it’s over? Is this extra-level facial actually worth it? Watch the video to see what true baby-skin looks like, and to get the 411 on just what add-ons to ask your derm or facialist for the next time you lie down for a skin treatment.

For more What the Wellness, watch Dove try working out with an artificial intelligence running coach, or witness her get a different sort of beauty treatment: a gemstone acupuncture facial, which is *very* Instagram friendly.