Have you heard of Kogao? The word ‘Kogao’ literally translates as ‘small face’. It is a Japanese beauty concept of correcting facial architecture through chiropractic methods to slim down the face. Apparently, this therapy is offered at Ikeda Spa too and I was there yesterday to try out their small face correction therapy.
Japanese Small Face Correction Therapy (Kogao)
Over at Ikeda Spa, they combine small face correction therapy with a facial treatment. The whole treatment itself is 2 hours but it may take a little longer as the therapists will take some time to explain each step to you and also carry out some measurements of your facial features.
This Japanese-themed spa is located a stone’s throw away from Sixth Avenue MRT station. The moment I stepped in, it felt like I was entering a Ryokan, perfumed with a calming scent that puts you instantly into this zen mode.
This is their reception area where you can sit on the tatami mats and have tea while you wait for the therapist to call you into the treatment rooms.
I was led upstairs to their treatment room for the facial treatment. The room looks small but it’s cozy, tidy, and clean. They provided towels instead of a robe for you to change into.
The first step of the treatment is double cleansing. They also cleanse the neck area while they steamed the face to open up the pores. The facial also includes extraction and brow trimming. Because my skin was rather clogged that day, the therapist spent quite some time extracting all the gunk out of my pores using an extraction needle.
Correcting my facial bones and muscles (Kogao)
After trimming the brow, the therapist proceeded with the small face correction therapy for the next hour or so. She simply used her fingers to apply pressure on the various acupuncture points on my face, neck, and shoulders. At first, it felt quite relaxing – almost like a deep tissue massage for the face. But as she slowly applied more pressure to correct my jawline and muscles, it wasn’t as relaxing anymore. The muscles on my face felt really sore and in the right jaw, where the muscles are more developed, it felt a little painful when she applied pressure to reset my facial muscles and bones.
Hence to me, I would not call this treatment exactly pain-free but it is definitely non-invasive with no downtime. My face looked alright after the treatment and there was no swelling or redness.
To me, it felt like the therapist was doing tuina on my face, massaging the deep tissues with firm strokes of pressure with her hands. She didn’t use any oil or cream. She uses simply just her hands to feel the bones and muscles. She would study my face and try to adjust my facial bones so that my face look more symmetrical than before.
After going through this treatment, I felt like the main benefit of this treatment is achieving a more symmetrical and lifted face. After the facial adjustments, your face would look a little slimmer because it helps to reduce water retention in your face and it helps to lift up the cheek muscles, creating a sharper V-shape face. But my face didn’t exactly look smaller but just more lifted up than before.
After Kogao
After the ‘intense’ massage, the therapist applied a Hifu mask which is a hydrating lifting mask to soothe and hydrate my skin. Then she applied serums on my skin using this device that helps the serum to penetrate into the skin better. It releases microcurrents to stimulate the skin tissues which would further help tone the facial muscles.
At the end of the whole treatment, she applied some sunscreen on my skin too.
The Results
It isn’t very obvious in the before and after photos. However, based on the measurements, there is some difference. Before the facial, the therapist took some measurements of my face. After the treatment, she took the second measurement. Based on the data collated below, the most obvious difference is probably the length of my face which has gone down by 5 mm. This is probably because she adjusted my jaw area as I have uneven jaw muscles.
My Verdict
Personally, it is probably one of those treatments which I would not mind trying once just to see if it works. My skin goals right now aren’t really to get a smaller or slimmer face but a clearer skin. Yes, I still have other skin concerns (e.g uneven skin tone and clogged pores) which I have to deal with so getting a smaller face is probably the last thing on my mind. But if you want to achieve a smaller symmetrical face without going under the knife, this treatment at Ikeda Spa would be an option. Check out their website for the updated cost of this treatment.
Ikeda Spa
787 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 269762
