FAQ | Woods Rose Skincare

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Woods Rose different?

We don’t subscribe to fear based beauty narratives as conditions of treating the skin. We don’t peddle "exclusive skincare". We don’t follow trends. What we do is create a space for real care, Intuitive, attuned, informed by over a decade of collective experience and a deep understanding of the skin. There’s no rushing, no hard sell, no upsell, and no shaming your routine (or lack thereof).

We believe that good skincare can be nourishing, not punishing. We also keep things affordable, not through flashy sales but by building a model that prioritizes regular clients, repeat care, and sustainability for both your skin and our business. We want you to be able to come back, not save up for one special, expensive appointment a year.

What should I do before my facial?

Just arrive as you are. There's no need to exfoliate or do any special prep — in fact, we’d prefer you didn’t. If you're wearing makeup, that’s fine. If you're bare-faced, also fine. The only thing we ask is that you let yourself off the hook, from rushing, from apologizing, from thinking you

We use oils: Gorgeous, plant-based oils that support your barrier and make your skin feel like velvet. If you have an event right after and need us to go light, let us know ahead of time.

Silence or space to talk: Both are welcome. Some clients use their facials as time to talk through what’s going on emotionally, physically, spiritually. Others need quiet. We’re intuitive, but we’re not mind readers. If you have a preference, you can email us before or just say it at the start of your session. We love clear communication.

What should I do after a facial?

After a facial, your skin has just received attention, touch, stimulation, product, massage, all the things. It’s working hard beneath the surface even if it looks calm. So here’s what we recommend:

Keep it simple that night. No exfoliants, active serums, or heavy-handed routines. Don't go in a hot bath or shower, or hot tub or sauna or to a hot yoga class after. And be wary of aggressive exercise after. Let your skin breathe and integrate. A splash of water and a bit of oil or cream is often plenty.
Drink lots of water. We’ve done a lot of massage and lymphatic movement in the face, hydration helps move it all through.
Pause before putting on makeup. If you can, give your skin the day to stay bare. But if you need to apply something, make sure your hands and brushes are clean.
Don’t test new products. This is not the night to try that trendy potato slice trick you saw on TikTok. Give it a few days, at least.
Check in with us if anything feels off. Mild redness or warmth is normal, as is a very light purge (one or two spots). But if anything feels uncomfortable or unmanageable beyond 24 hours, reach out. We’re here to track patterns, troubleshoot, and help adjust for next time.

Our facials are meant to support, not disrupt. If your skin feels nourished and steady, that’s the point. If you feels vulnerable or stirred up emotionally, that can be part of the process too, especially if you’ve been disconnected from your body for a while or haven’t had the space to explore your emotional landscape and your treatment provided a space for that

Do you do extractions?

No. We used to do extractions, they often felt intrusive and out of alignment with the flow of the treatment and so we eliminated them years ago. They didn’t make sense. You don’t have to hurt to care for your skin. That idea is marketing, not medicine.

We don’t do dermaplaning or chemical peels either. We do use a skin scrubber and offer thoughtful exfoliation where appropriate, but nothing harsh or aggressive.

If you’re looking for that kind of work, there are great people out there who specialize in it, and we’ll never shame you for choosing them.

Can I get a facial if I’ve had Botox or filler?

Yes! We just ask that you wait two weeks post-treatment before coming in. We won’t judge your choices. We just want to work safely with whatever is already happening in your skin.

What do you mean when you use the terms “supportive skincare” or “pro-aging”?

We believe your skin doesn’t need to be fixed. It needs to be listened to. Supportive skincare is about working with the skin, not against it. About helping you reconnect to your body, especially if you’ve been taught to disconnect, criticize, or micromanage it. We don’t operate as experts perched above you. You’re the expert. We’re here to collaborate, guide, and offer tools. But you’re driving.

Expertise culture in skincare is often just a form of control and working within a binary regarding the skin that doesn’t make sense given you are caring for an always evolving organ. We’re not here for that. Supportive skincare is our way of emphasizing a more gentle and intuitive approach to skincare which we can help you develop with yourself based on the causes and conditions in your own life, not trendy, or fear-based information that doesn’t take into consideration the particularities of your own day-to-day life.

Pro-aging means we honour the passage of time. We don’t sell the fantasy of reversing it. We work with where you are now, not some marketed version of where you should be. Whatever your aging journey is, we are here to support you through it and that looks different for everyone. We are great at referrals and can often get you where you need to go. We’re not against most medical aesthetic practices. They are just not in our scope of practice for instance, we support people who choose injectables, and we support people who don’t. Many of our clients do both and we have referral points that Erin has vetted that she feels confident will approach those modalities from a supportive perspective.

Think of Woods Rose as the place that helps you feel into your skin, while cosmetic procedures often focus on what’s visible, we’re tuned into what’s felt. We’re the grounding nervous system support to your aesthetic choices, whatever they are. We can’t treat those topically, and we won’t pretend we can.

Can you treat cystic acne or rosacea?

Return and Care Guarantee

We stand behind the quality of our skincare products and services. Our return and care guarantee allows you to request a return or exchange within a specified timeframe, ensuring your satisfaction with every purchase. It's our commitment to provide a seamless experience for our clients.

Return and Care Guarantee

Cystic acne, rosacea, eczema are medical conditions. If you're dealing with either, we recommend seeing a dermatologist. That said, once you have a care plan, we’re happy to work alongside it, and we’ve supported many clients through Accutane, hormonal shifts, and post-inflammatory healing.

Also: plant-based doesn’t mean gentle, it just means plant-based. We’ll never throw botanicals at a skin condition they might aggravate.

Is this a spa?

Not really. But also, yes. If you define “spa” as a place of quiet, care, and nervous system repair. We don’t do robes or talk about "pampering" or offer cucumber water. But we do offer refuge. We do know how to hold space. And we do think skin deserves better than trends and shame.

Are your facials safe during pregnancy?

Pregnancy safety is ultimately between you and your doctor or midwife. Every body and every pregnancy is different, and we trust you to know what’s best in consultation with your care team. That said, we have worked with many pregnant clients and are happy to adapt the facial to suit your needs — whether that’s adjusting pressure, avoiding certain ingredients, modifying positioning, or simply creating a space where you can exhale. If you’re unsure, reach out and we can walk you through what a session might look like and help you decide if it feels right.

I have sensitive or reactive skin, is this still for me?

All skin is sensitive. Not all skin is reactive. We help you learn the difference and work with both. Open and honest communication is the secret to a great facial. That means telling us about allergies, medications, flare-ups, and what you’ve reacted to in the past. And giving feedback, during or after, about how your skin felt. We won’t get it perfect every time, especially the first time. Expecting that sets everyone up to fail. But we will listen and adjust and make it better each time.

Do you use scent in the treatment room?

We can modify or remove scent entirely in your treatment on request. Just let us know. Our studio however is plant skincare powered and many of our products contain varying degrees of essential oils and so if you're entirely scent averse, our studio might not be a good fit.

Is your studio accessible?

Our treatment room is in an older building downtown. Parking is always a bit of a challenge but there is through location information available on our website. There is a raised concrete step at the front of the building, and double door entry which requires quick movement through to catch the entry window. We are located on the second floor and so there are two flights of stairs necessary to reach us however we have an elevator available as well. If any of this remains a barrier for you, please reach out, we’ll do everything we can to accommodate, including helping you from the parking lot, through the door and up to the studio itself if needed.

We also adapt to comfort with level of touch. If you're neurodivergent, touch-averse, or trauma-informed, we can modify the session to suit your needs, slower pacing, more verbal cues, pressure adjustments, and consent built into every step. You can book online If you need to cancel or reschedule, please do so at least 24 hours in advance so we can offer that time to someone else. We’re a small, independent studio, and late cancellations really do affect us. That said, we also understand that life happens, just reach out and we’ll do our best to work with you. Not officially.