I don’t want to startle anyone, but apparently there is some rumblings about a recession. If you’re faced with cutting back on your spa beauty routine but don’t want to give up the luxury and results, watch for the rest of our series on spa service replacements that will keep you looking and feeling pampered.

Today we’re going to discuss how to duplicate facial acne extraction at home – with no pain, to boot!

Yes, there are those blackhead remover tools on the market, but you can do more harm than good by trying to extract blemishes on your own. Personally, my hand isn’t that steady. You can get the same results with Avon’s ANEW Rejuvenate line. After a week of using the ANEW REJUVENATE Night Revitalizing Cream and ANEW REJUVENATE Flash Facial Serum, you will marvel at how your skin is free of blackheads and your pores are tight. It does this through “Mini-Extraction Technology” – which makes a macro difference. To give you some idea how well it works, before I started using the line, I counted up how many tiny blackheads I had on my nose – the kind that you can only see with a depressing magnification mirror, but are stubborn and make your the skin on your nostrils look dull. The number was 11 (telling you that feels like too much information, but hey, this was a highly scientific beauty experiment!). After three days, I was down to five, after a week, just one teeny-tiny one that I needed to have my face next to the mirror to even see – not a bad change for one week’s time. True, it’s not the in and out nature of a spa, but consider this: I didn’t have any downtime, no red blotches, and I could wear my regular makeup during the day all week as these two great products got out even the tiny blackheads that a facialist wouldn’t be able to extract anyways. And believe me, those little blackheads make the difference between flawless skin and dull skin.

Alternatively, check what your insurance covers as far as dermatology – while it won’t be the relaxing ambience and cucumber water of a spa, a derm can get rid of a pimple with a shot of cortisone and can rid your face of whiteheads with a special tool.

Stay tuned for our next feature in our Spa Economy series on Facial-worthy exfoliation!