‘Hannibal Lecter facials’ add shock for a youthful glow — but is it safe?
This buzzy skincare treatment is a truly electrifying experience.
Galvanic facials — nicknamed “Hannibal Lecter” facials — send electric currents through the skin by way of a terrifying beige mask, promising firm skin, better circulation and smaller pores while promoting hydration and reducing breakouts.
But glass skin comes at a cost, at least to your wallet. While price points range depending on location and duration, USA Today estimated that galvanic facials cost an estimated $180 per session.
Despite youth-chasing evangelists singing its praises, the treatment may not be as killer as it seems — and, not to mention, the research on it is minimal — experts warn.
“For facial rejuvenation, it’s not really well studied,” New York dermatologist Dr. Muneeb Shah told The Post.
Save for one study, there is little to no research done on the complexion-boosting properties of the galvanic facial, despite the fad coming and going “in waves” every few decades, he noted.
“Now it’s coming back because it has this really cool visual appearance on social media, where you like basically wrap the face and towel, so you look like Hannibal Lecter,” he said of the procedure cheekily named after the serial killer played by Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 thriller “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Overhead LA editor Emily Bernstein took on the bone-chilling fete earlier this year, venturing to the SoCal Marianne Kehoe Skin Studio to undergo the electric treatment, where wet cloths were placed on her face with the brown, Lecter-esque mask overtop.
In a video uploaded to YouTube, Bernstein documented the entire process from start to finish — including when she could taste metal under her tongue as the electric current went through her skin.
“The Hannibal facial is to die for,” she said while gazing at her reflection and her radiant complexion.
But Shah doesn’t expect long-term benefits for the brave souls who dare to undergo treatment, which does have the potential to “increase the penetration of your skincare ingredients.”
“If anything, one of the main things that galvanic energy has been shown to do is increase blood flow,” he explained to The Post, saying it could exacerbate the appearance of prominent veins in the face or redness in those who are prone to it.
Those with pacemakers or any other metal in the body should also avoid galvanic facials due to the electric current.
And, worse, the “devices aren’t well-regulated” and could pose a burn threat if the technology goes awry.
“They kind of look a little bit barbaric,” Shah said of the mask.
“So my concern would be that like one of them short circuits because it gets a little bit a little water in it, and then you end up with burns or something locally on the skin.”
But, if it all goes smoothly for the average person, it might, at most, make them look as if they went for a run, “where you just kind of like look a little bit rejuvenated,” he added.
“It’s gonna give you, like, a temporarily lifted appearance but probably nothing long-term,” he said.
While the method is similar to iontophoresis — a treatment used to stop sweating on areas like the palms and armpits — Shah recommends sticking to tried and true methods.
A traditional facial, he said, is “more standardized” and “safer” because the equipment is “easier to use.”
“[The] galvanic facial hasn’t really been proven any more than any of these have been proven,” he said.