The Facial Has Grown Up

Why energy-based aesthetics are changing the way we think about skin longevity.

There is a word you’re going to hear a lot more in aesthetics.

Regenerative.

But this isn’t simply another beauty trend — or a prettier way of describing a facial.

Regeneration is biology.

Your skin is constantly renewing, repairing and responding to its environment. Beneath its surface, fibroblasts help produce the collagen, elastin and other components that give skin its strength, flexibility and structure.

As we age, those processes change.

And that’s where the conversation around regenerative aesthetics becomes particularly interesting.

Instead of asking only what we can remove, resurface or correct on the surface, regenerative aesthetics asks a different question:

What if we could also support the skin in doing more of what it naturally does?

That question is changing the way we think about facials.

The facial has grown up.

And it’s one of the reasons Glo₂Facial has become such an important part of what we do at The Mansion.

First, What Is Regenerative Aesthetics?

Traditional aesthetics has often focused on what we can see.

Pigmentation. Fine lines. Rough texture. Laxity. Dullness.

And we have remarkable technologies for treating those concerns.

Regenerative aesthetics adds another layer to that conversation by focusing on the biological processes responsible for skin quality in the first place.

Collagen provides strength and support. Elastin allows skin to stretch and recoil. Fibroblasts are responsible for producing many of the structural components that help skin remain resilient.

Those systems don’t suddenly switch off on your 40th birthday.

They gradually become less efficient over time.

That means regenerative aesthetics isn’t simply about anti-aging.

It’s about skin longevity — supporting healthier-looking, more resilient skin throughout the decades.

The Rise of Energy-Based Aesthetics

This is one of the most exciting shifts we’re seeing.

Rather than relying exclusively on topical products or surface exfoliation, energy-based technologies can deliver controlled energy into targeted tissue to create a biological response.

Depending on the technology, that energy might come from radiofrequency, laser, light or other modalities.

And importantly, not all energy-based treatments do the same thing.

Some are designed to resurface.

Some target pigment.

Some create controlled injury.

Others are designed to stimulate tissue while leaving the surface relatively undisturbed.

That’s why we no longer think about skincare as choosing between a facial or a laser.

We think in terms of:

What response do we want to create in the skin?

That is a very different way of approaching aesthetics.

So… What Makes Glo₂Facial Regenerative?

This is where Glo₂ gets especially interesting.

Glo₂Facial is an energy-based facial designed around Total Skin Regeneration — combining multiple technologies within one treatment.

At The Mansion, our Glo₂ experience with RF Pro™ brings together:

RF Pro™ · Radio Frequency
Oxfoliation™
Ultrasound
Lymphatic Massage

Four modalities. One facial.

And each has a purpose.

RF Pro™ delivers controlled radiofrequency energy, warming tissue to stimulate fibroblast activity and support collagen and elastin production.

Oxfoliation™ combines exfoliation with the body’s natural oxygenation response, refreshing the skin while supporting circulation.

Ultrasound enhances the delivery of active ingredients into the skin.

And lymphatic massage completes the treatment by supporting circulation and the overall treatment experience.

The distinction matters.

This isn’t simply about making skin look polished for the weekend.

We’re creating signals within the skin while also delivering the immediate glow people love from a facial.

That intersection — biology + beauty, results + experience — is precisely why Glo₂ has become such an important technology at The Mansion.

Regeneration Doesn’t Mean One Technology

This is where I think the conversation sometimes gets oversimplified.

There isn’t one single path to stimulating the skin.

And I don’t believe there should be.

Inside The Mansion, we use several technologies because they create different responses within the skin.

Glo₂Facial + RF Pro™ is one.

And then there is what we’ve come to call:

The Mansion Stack™

MOXI® + SkinPen® Microneedling

Our laser uses fractional laser energy to address concerns including pigmentation, uneven tone and texture while stimulating renewal.

SkinPen® microneedling works differently. Controlled microchannels initiate the body’s natural wound-healing response, leading to collagen remodeling over time.

And Glo₂Facial + RF Pro™ gives us something different again: an energy-based, non-invasive treatment that can live beautifully between those more corrective procedures.

Rather than asking one device to do everything, we can layer technologies intelligently.

Correct. Stimulate. Support. Repeat.

That’s a much more sophisticated approach to skin than simply choosing the facial du jour.

It also allows us to stop thinking in isolated appointments and start thinking about the health and appearance of the skin over years.

What Does Regenerative Skincare Look Like at 30? 40? 50? 60? 70?

This may be my favorite part of the conversation.

Because regenerative aesthetics isn’t reserved for one generation.

In Your 30s

This is often about preservation + prejuvenation.

Collagen production has already begun its gradual decline, even though you may not see significant aging yet.

The goal isn’t to “fix” your face.

It’s to support skin quality before substantial structural changes become visible — and establish the habits that can serve your skin for decades.

In Your 40s

Now we often begin noticing things that weren’t there before.

Texture changes. Early laxity. Pigment. Fine lines that remain after the expression disappears.

This is where combining regenerative maintenance with targeted correction can become especially powerful.

It may no longer be about choosing one treatment.

It’s monthly Glo₂Facial between more advanced treatments. Laser for pigment and texture. SkinPen® when collagen remodeling is the goal.

Different tools. Different jobs. One long-term strategy.

In Your 50s

Hormonal changes can significantly affect the skin.

Collagen, hydration, elasticity and barrier function can all change, and suddenly the skincare routine or occasional facial that once felt like enough… isn’t.

This is where we often become more strategic.

Not necessarily more aggressive.

More intentional.

We begin layering modalities instead of expecting one treatment to solve everything.

And increasingly, we begin thinking less about anti-aging and more about maintaining the strength, quality and vitality of the skin we have.

In Your 60s + 70s

And this deserves its own conversation.

Because we hear some version of this surprisingly often:

“Is it even worth starting now?”

Yes. It absolutely is.

And some of the results we’re seeing inside The Mansion in this age group have been extraordinary to witness.

We’ve watched lines around the mouth become less noticeable.

Texture soften.

Tone become more even.

And perhaps one of the changes that is hardest to capture in a clinical photograph — but easiest to see when someone is standing right in front of you —

the skin simply looks more alive.

Less gray. Less dull.

Brighter. Healthier-looking. More luminous.

We’re not trying to make a 72-year-old woman look 42.

That was never the goal.

We’re asking something much more interesting:

How beautiful can your skin become at 72?

Because you have not missed your opportunity to care differently for your skin simply because you didn’t begin at 35.

Regeneration is not reserved for the young.

And skin longevity doesn’t have an expiration date.

The Goal Isn’t More Treatment.

It’s More Intention.

I’ve spent more than 25 years in aesthetics.

Long before The Mansion, my career took me through some of the industry’s most recognized skincare and aesthetic technology brands — including jane iredale, HydraFacial, OxyVERVE and Glo₂Facial — leading teams, building markets and selling the technology I would eventually come to evaluate from the other side of the treatment room.

I’ve watched technologies evolve.

I’ve watched trends arrive, disappear and sometimes return under a different name.

And then I did something that changed my perspective entirely.

I opened my own med spa practice.

Suddenly, I wasn’t looking at technology only through the lens of the industry.

I was looking at it through the eyes of our guest.

Does she love the treatment?

Does she see a difference in her skin?

Does she see the value in coming in for her facial every month?

And perhaps most importantly —

What happens when we stop thinking about treatments individually and begin building a long-term strategy for her skin?

That’s where regenerative aesthetics became particularly compelling to me.

Today, I’ve once again joined Glo₂Facial by Lumenis, while continuing to own The Mansion alongside my daughter, who is also a licensed esthetician with advanced training.

And that gives me an unusual perspective.

I know the technology from both sides now.

And here’s what became especially clear once I opened The Mansion.

Of course, I have hydradermabrasion technology. I have resurfacing technology. I have lasers, microneedling and an entire treatment room full of options.

They all have a purpose.

But not every treatment is for every guest.

Some treatments primarily work at the surface. Some correct pigment. Some resurface. Some intentionally create controlled injury to initiate a healing response.

And then there is Glo₂.

What fascinated me about Glo₂Facial + RF Pro™ was that I could customize the treatment for virtually every guest who walked through our doors — whether she was 28 and thinking about prevention, 48 and beginning to notice changes in firmness and texture, or 72 and simply wanted her skin to look healthier, brighter and more alive.

But there was something else I began noticing.

We weren’t starting over every time she came back.

That, to me, is one of the most compelling ideas behind regenerative aesthetics.

With a traditional surface-focused machine facial, we can exfoliate, hydrate and create a beautiful immediate result. There is absolutely a place for that.

But with a regenerative strategy, we’re also thinking about what repeated, controlled stimulation can do over time.

One treatment builds upon the next.

One month becomes three.

Three becomes six.

And instead of continually asking, “How do we make her skin look better today?” we can begin asking:

How much healthier can we help her skin become over time?

That is a completely different relationship with a facial.

It’s also why we own four Glo₂ devices at The Mansion and why we built an entire membership experience around the treatment.

Our guests certainly love the immediate Glo₂ glow.

But I’m far more interested in what happens for our members after they’ve been coming consistently for six months.

The change in texture.

The change in tone.

The way the skin begins to look stronger, fresher and more alive.

The cumulative result.

That’s where it gets really interesting.

At The Mansion, we use Glo₂Facial + RF Pro™ alongside technologies like laser rejuvenation and SkinPen® microneedling as part of a much larger approach to skin health.

Not because one replaces another.

Because they don’t.

They each ask the skin to do something different.

And understanding that may be one of the most important changes happening in aesthetics today.

This Is Skin Longevity.

The future of aesthetics isn’t about seeing how aggressively we can treat the skin.

Nor is it about abandoning corrective procedures that work.

It’s about understanding the skin well enough to know when to correct, when to stimulate and when to support.

Sometimes that means laser.

Sometimes microneedling.

Sometimes radiofrequency.

And sometimes beautifully healthy skin needs consistency more than intensity.

Perhaps that is the most important shift of all.

We aren’t simply treating the skin you have today.

We’re investing in the skin you’re going to live in tomorrow.

At 30.

At 47.

At 63.

At 78.

Because regenerative aesthetics isn’t really about turning back time.

It’s about what your skin can still do.

And I think that’s a much more beautiful way to think about aging.

About the Author

Debra K. Menke has spent more than 25 years in aesthetics, with a career spanning aesthetic technology, professional skincare, medical aesthetics, sales and leadership. Today, she works on both sides of the treatment room — as part of the Glo₂Facial by Lumenis team and as Founder of The Mansion, a med spa + wellness destination inside a restored 1916 estate in Iowa, which she owns alongside her daughter, Cori Olson, LE.

The Mansion is one of the first Glo₂ Centers of Excellence in the country, with four Glo₂ devices on property and a treatment philosophy built around regenerative aesthetics, advanced technology and the guest experience. It’s also where Deb and her team get to put into practice the same ideas she explores with aesthetic professionals across the Midwest: how technology performs in the real world, how treatments work together, and what keeps guests coming back.

She sells the technology. She uses the technology. And she writes about it.

Deb is also a published author whose work has explored women, leadership, money and personal growth, with work and commentary featured in Forbes Women, The Wall Street Journal, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Thrive Global + Medium.

Her latest writing explores regenerative aesthetics, skin longevity and the changing intersection of technology, treatment + experience.

This article reflects Deb’s professional experience as both an aesthetics practice owner and a representative of Glo₂Facial by Lumenis.

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