Boston - September 13, 2006

The Chill Is Gone

The American Facial

Ice-cold toes. Goose bumps galore. It’s not even (officially) fall and you’re already shivering at the thought of another Boston winter.

Rather than await the onslaught, meet it head-on with a trip to The Loft for esthetician Rachel Zaltman-Murphy’s American facial.

The hour-long service starts with a cleansing (using Dermologica products). Then Murphy applies an enzyme to exfoliate before dousing your skin with an herbal solution and wrapping it in moist cotton. Finally, she unveils her secret weapon: a plastic, heat-producing mask that covers the entire face.

For several (slightly claustrophobic) minutes, the mask heats down to the bone, leaving your skull a bowl of mush and your pores primed for the plucking. (Unlike steam, the mask actually strengthens capillary walls, which makes it ideal for sensitive skin.) A painless extraction is followed by one of four masks and a hand massage. The result? Autumn-ready, fantastic-looking skin.

The thought of which just may give you goose bumps of a much happier kind.

The Loft Salon & Day Spa, 207 Newbury Street, fourth floor, Back Bay (617-536-5638).