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Acne Treatment
Acne isn't something you treat once and move on from. It's a process, and getting through it depends as much on what you do at home as on what happens in our treatment room.
That's why we work the Face Reality program. Every esthetician at Elevate is a Face Reality Certified Acne Expert — it isn't optional here, it's part of how we hire. So whoever you book with, you're working with someone trained in the same protocol, and your plan doesn't fall apart if your usual esthetician is booked that week.
Here's what we'll tell you honestly up front: this takes months, not weeks. Your skin may get worse before it gets better as congestion works its way out. And your home care matters more than your facials do. We'll build you a routine, adjust it as your skin responds, and stay with you through the part where it's frustrating.
Clients come to us from Eagle, Boise, Meridian, and across the Treasure Valley, some of them after trying everything else first. If that's you, start with an Acne Facial — the consultation is built in, there's no separate fee, and you'll leave with a plan.
How it Works
1. Your first visit
Start with an Acne Facial. We'll spend the first 5–10 minutes looking at your skin and talking through what's been going on — what you've tried, what made it worse, what's happening with your routine now. No separate consultation appointment and no extra fee. Then we treat, using Face Reality products chosen for what your skin is actually doing that day.
2. Your home care
You'll leave with a routine built for your skin. This is the part that does most of the work — more on that below.
3. Coming back
Monthly is the rhythm for most people. We check how your skin responded, adjust the routine, and treat again. Some months we'll change things, some months we'll leave it alone because it's working.
4. What to expect along the way
Months, not weeks. Things may look worse before they look better as congestion clears out — that's normal and it's not a sign the plan is failing. Once you're clear, we'll talk about what to keep doing so you stay that way, and about the marks left behind, which are a separate project from the acne itself.
Acne Services
ACNE FACIAL
Are you dealing with small blackheads and pustules that never quite go away? Do they leave behind pink marks or brown patches once they finally clear?
That's what this treatment is built for. We start with a quick consultation to look at your skin and map out a plan. From there we use Face Reality acne products chosen for what your skin is actually doing, including a Level One Acne Peel, and finish with post-care to start the healing process.
One honest note: a single treatment won't clear acne. What it will do is start the process and give you a plan you can follow at home, which is where most of the progress actually happens.
50 Min - $132
MINI/TEEN FACIAL
Once your skin is heading in the right direction, this is what keeps it there. Thirty minutes, focused entirely on the work — cleansing, exfoliation, and extractions, without the neck, shoulder, and scalp massage we build into our longer facials. Less time, lower cost, easier to keep coming back for.
It's also where we usually start teens. A 30-minute appointment is a much easier sell to a fifteen-year-old than an hour on a table, and it gets them in front of someone who can look at their skin honestly and give them a routine they'll actually follow. Parents are welcome to sit in or wait out front — whichever makes your kid more comfortable.
Good for: ongoing maintenance between Acne Facials, teens starting out, and anyone who wants consistent extractions without a full appointment.
30 Min - $85
BACK FACIAL
Back and shoulder breakouts are common, frustrating, and almost nobody brings them up. So we'll bring it up: it's treatable, it's not a hygiene problem, and you're not the only person asking.
The skin on your back has larger, more active oil glands than your face, and it spends its day under clothing, backpack straps, and sports gear. That combination clogs pores in a way no amount of showering fixes. This treatment deep cleanses, exfoliates, extracts where needed, and finishes with a nourishing mask and hydration.
It's also the one area you can't reach, see, or treat properly yourself — which is most of why back acne lingers for years when facial acne clears.
Good for: back and shoulder breakouts, and anyone who's been covering up rather than dealing with it.
45 Min
$105 stand alone treatment
$84 add-on to other facials
EXPRESS+BOOSTER HYDRAFACIAL™
When the problem is congestion — blackheads, clogged pores, that gritty texture across your nose and chin — this is the fastest way to clear it out. The vortex suction pulls debris out of pores more thoroughly than manual extractions alone can, and it does it without the squeezing and pressure that leaves you sore and pink afterward.
Your booster gets chosen for what your skin needs, and there's no downtime at all. You can come in over a lunch break and go back to work.
Where it fits: this isn't a replacement for the Face Reality program. Acne and congestion aren't the same problem, and clearing pores doesn't address what's causing them to clog in the first place. But it's a strong addition when congestion is the main thing you're fighting, or when you want a reset before an event while you're working through a longer plan.
45 Min - $260
PROCELL™ MD MICROCHANNELING
Acne and acne scarring are two different problems, and this is the line where facials stop being the answer.
First, the distinction that saves people money: most of what people call scarring isn't scarring. The pink and brown marks left behind after a breakout clears are post-inflammatory marks, and those fade — peels, consistent home care, and time will handle them. True scarring is textural. If you run a finger over it, you can feel it: indents, pitting, an uneven surface that doesn't smooth out no matter how good your routine gets. That's what this treatment is for.
Microchanneling with the Procell™ MD device uses human growth factors to rebuild from underneath, which is something no facial or peel can reach. Downtime is a couple of hours rather than the couple of days you'd get with traditional microneedling.
One thing first: we won't treat scarring while acne is still active. Working on the surface while breakouts are still happening means treating skin that's about to change again. Get clear first, let things settle, then we'll look at what's actually left behind — which is usually less than people expect.
It's the biggest investment on this page at $394, and it's the only thing that genuinely addresses texture.
60 Min - $394
Available Add-ons
Basic Add-ons
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Bright Skin Peel - $33/15 min
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Acne Peel - $33/15 min
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Glow Peel - $33/15 min
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Dermaplaning - $33/15 min
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Hydrojelly Mask - $33/30 min
Advanced Add-ons
Glacial® Skin Mini
Precision cooling, added to any facial. Acne is inflammation, and this calms it down — useful when your skin is angry, reactive, or you're mid-purge and everything feels irritated. It also takes the heat out of a face that's just had extractions.
Back Facial
Same Back Facial listed above, added to another Facial or an Advanced Treatment.
*Normally $105 as a stand-alone service
45 Min - $84
25 Min - $80
Your Home Care
We'll say this as plainly as we can: with acne, your home care matters more than your facials do. An hour with us every month can't outrun a routine that's working against you the other thirty days.
That's why we use Face Reality. Every product in the line is acne-safe, meaning nothing in it will clog your pores while you're trying to clear them — which is the reason most routines quietly fail. People assume a product isn't strong enough, when the real problem is that something else in the lineup is putting congestion right back.
Your routine gets built for your skin and adjusted as it responds. We start simple, add as you can handle it, and pull things back when we need to. And you can buy it here, so when something isn't working we can change it without you guessing in a drugstore aisle.
F.A.Q.'s
How long will it take to clear my skin?
Months, not weeks. For most people it's somewhere in the three to six month range, and it depends heavily on how consistent you are at home. We know that's not the answer anyone wants. But we'd rather tell you now than have you give up at week four thinking it isn't working.
Why is my skin getting worse?
That's usually purging, and it's a normal part of the process. When we start clearing congestion that's been sitting under the surface, it has to come up before it goes away. It typically shows up in the first few weeks and then settles. If it's still getting worse past that point, tell us — that's a sign we need to adjust something, not a sign you should push through.
Do I have to buy the products?
The home care is where most of the progress happens, so yes, it's part of how this works. What we won't do is hand you a shelf of products on day one. We start with the basics, add as your skin can handle more, and pull things out when they're not earning their place. Face Reality's line is also priced reasonably compared to most professional acne systems.
Can't I just use what I got at the drugstore?
You can, and a lot of people have before they come to us. The problem usually isn't strength — it's that one product in the routine is quietly clogging pores while another one fights acne. That's what acne-safe means: every product in the Face Reality line is formulated not to work against the rest. It's the most common reason a routine that looks right on paper doesn't work.
Is my acne hormonal?
Often, partly. Breakouts along the jaw and chin that flare on a cycle usually have a hormonal component, and so does a lot of adult acne. That doesn't mean topical treatment won't work — it means we may need to be more patient and more consistent.
My teenager needs help. Where do we start?
The Mini/Teen Facial. Thirty minutes is much easier for a teenager to agree to than an hour, and it gets them in front of someone who'll look at their skin honestly and give them a routine they'll actually follow — which lands differently coming from us than from a parent. You're welcome to sit in or wait out front, whichever makes your kid more comfortable.
I'm on medication for my acne. Can I still come in?
Yes, but tell us when you book. Prescription retinoids, oral medication, and some prescription topicals change what we can safely use on your skin, and some rule out peels and extractions entirely. We'll work alongside it — we just need to know what's on board first.
What about the marks left behind?
Most of them aren't scars. Pink and brown marks after a breakout clears are post-inflammatory, and they fade with time, peels, and consistent SPF. True scarring is textural — you can feel it with a fingertip, an indent or pitting that doesn't smooth out. That's what Microchanneling is for, and we'd wait until your acne is clear before treating it.