Before booking a facial treatment at a professional studio, many clients raise a similar question with me, often indirectly: "what will the session actually involve?" It's a fair question, especially when you don't know the practitioner yet and you're not quite sure whether to book. Here is the timeline of a complete session as I run it in my Paris 17 studio — welcome, cleansing, observation, massage, finishing. Five steps, around one hour, and the chance to understand why the structure of the session matters almost as much as the hands-on work itself.
Contents
Why knowing the steps before you book matters
A client who knows what to expect arrives more relaxed, and that genuinely changes the session. When you know what is about to happen, you settle into the treatment more easily — and the face often relaxes with you.
Knowing the steps also helps you compare two offers honestly. A "complete" facial treatment at a studio may last thirty minutes or an hour and a half, draw on two manual movements or twelve, may or may not include a structured initial conversation. These differences are not minor — they mean that, in practice, two very different practices can sit under the same name. If you want to go further into the question of effectiveness and realistic expectations, I go into this in more detail in my article on whether facial massage really works.
Here, then, step by step, is what happens during a complete session in my studio.
Step 1 — The welcome and initial conversation
The session doesn't begin on the table: it begins at the door. I usually take between five and ten minutes for this initial welcome. It is not just a formality. It is the moment when I confirm what we already discussed at the time of booking, I revisit your main goal, I note how you've been sleeping recently, and I check whether anything has changed since (skin sensitivity, treatment, recent procedure).
Any contraindications, I've already checked at the time of booking: I prefer to make sure nothing raises a question before you've even travelled to the studio. During the welcome, I simply confirm them, and I adapt the session if needed. If something new comes up at the last minute (recent inflammatory flare, undeclared procedure, fresh injections), I would rather postpone than go ahead, as a precaution in my studio. For pregnant clients, I adapt the protocol in line with advice from their midwife or doctor.
This conversation remains brief, but it shapes everything that follows.
Step 2 — Cleansing and preparing the skin
Once you're settled on the table, in a semi-reclined position, I begin by observing the skin's condition. Ideally, you arrive without makeup — this is what I prefer, since the skin is then more directly ready for the manual work, without adding a studio cleanse to the one you already do at home. If you arrive with light makeup or traces of the day (sunscreen, urban particles), I carry out a gentle, adapted cleansing first. Cleansing isn't systematic in my practice: it adjusts to what the skin presents on the day.
When a cleanse is needed, it is done in two stages. First an oily or milky product that dissolves traces of makeup and the day's surface oils, followed by a gentle cleanser that lifts residue and rebalances the skin. The aim isn't to strip the face, but to start from a clean, comfortable surface before sustained manual work. Around the eyes, the movements are deliberately careful: I avoid pressure on the mobile eyelid and never press on the eyeball — this area asks for precision rather than force.
Then comes preparation: a lotion adapted to your skin type, sometimes a light serum, which serves as a base for the manual work. The face is clean, lightly hydrated, and the massage can take place with just the right amount of slip and contact — no pulling, no excessive slipping. This preparation lasts around ten minutes — those minutes are part of the treatment, not a delay.
Step 3 — Reading the skin and shaping the treatment
It's the shortest step, but one of the most important. Once the skin is prepared, I take a few minutes to observe it closely. This initial assessment, in my practice, is not a judgement on your skin: it simply guides the manual work that follows. I palpate the areas of tension, observe the skin's quality under direct light, notice the spots that feel more congested and the places where tissues seem less mobile. This observation has nothing to do with a medical assessment — it shapes the hands-on work to come, not a therapeutic protocol.
Based on this assessment, I adapt the session's flow. If the jaw is very tight, I know I'll spend more time there. If the area around the eyes is congested, I'll start with light drainage. If the forehead carries marked tension, I may start with that area. No two sessions are exactly alike — and that is precisely what distinguishes attentive manual care from a protocol applied in a mechanical way.
If you want to understand what this hands-on work can do in practice across each area of the face, I've detailed each region in the effects of Kobido, area by area.
Step 4 — The massage and the manual work (the heart of the session)
This is the core of the treatment. The massage itself takes up most of the session: around 35 minutes in the Kobido Éclat format (40 minutes overall) and 55 minutes in the Kobido Signature format (60 minutes overall) as I offer them in my studio. Other practitioners may choose different durations, sometimes longer.
A Kobido massage unfolds in several sequences. The first sequence warms and mobilises the face: broad smoothing strokes, mobilisation of the fasciae, the face gradually starts to soften. At this point, many clients feel their alertness begin to drop — a long, almost involuntary sigh often appears here. The second pass is more precise: kneading on the jaw and cheekbones, pressure on specific points, gentle percussions on less mobile areas. This is the deeper work. The third and final sequence brings the rhythm back down: soft smoothing strokes, light drainage, finishing around the eyes.
All of this happens in silence, or with very discreet music. The face is never treated as a flat surface; it is a living structure with muscles, tissues, circulation and expression, and the alternation between rhythm, precision and calm is central to the work. I speak little during the manual phase — silence is not emptiness here; it protects the quality of the movement. For a broader understanding of the underlying mechanisms — circulation, muscle tone, the response to touch — I've devoted a separate article to what science actually says about the benefits of facial massage.
What I observe
Many clients tell me, at the end of the massage, that they lost track of time. In my experience as a practitioner, this is often the sign that the session has allowed a deeper release. When someone leaves looking at her watch in surprise, I know the work has reached beyond the skin. Conversely, when a client stays very attentive to each movement, the sense of release is often less deep, even if the face looks fresher by the end of the session. Much of my work is about creating the conditions for that shift to happen.
Step 5 — Finishing: hydration, targeted care, parting advice
The session doesn't stop abruptly at the end of the massage. The closing stage is not decorative: it lasts around ten minutes and helps you transition before leaving. It begins with the application of a product suited to your skin: a cream or hydrating serum chosen based on what I observed at the start, adjusted to the skin's state on the day.
Then comes a quieter moment: I leave you a minute or two with your eyes closed, time for the products to settle into the skin and for you to ease gently back upright. Many clients need this transition before standing up — getting up too quickly from a deep treatment can simply give a brief light-headed feeling, so I prefer to allow a gentle transition before you leave.
Finally, a brief closing conversation. I tell you briefly what I observed during the session, what pace might make sense for what follows (a one-off session, a course of five or ten sessions, regular maintenance — I detail the options in how many Kobido sessions to plan, depending on your goals), and a few simple suggestions for the days that follow: drink enough water in the hours that follow, to help you ease back into the rest of your day; avoid intense exercise for two to three hours after the session; and avoid makeup for the first half-hour, so as not to overload the skin straight after the treatment. This moment rarely lasts more than five minutes, but it is part of the treatment itself.
Experiencing the ritual at the studio
If this walk-through helps you picture the session, I welcome clients in my Paris 17 studio from Monday to Sunday, 8am to 8pm. A short initial conversation by phone or email helps me guide you towards the format most suited to your goal. See my treatments → | Book a session →
In short
The way I approach a complete facial treatment is structured around five steps: a welcome and initial conversation (around ten minutes) that frames everything that follows, cleansing and skin preparation (around ten minutes), an assessment of the skin that guides the treatment, the manual work itself (around 35 minutes in the Éclat format, 55 minutes in the Signature format as I offer them), and a final stage with hydration, advice and time to transition before leaving (around ten minutes). The whole comes to forty minutes for the Éclat format and one hour for Signature. Each step has its function; when a step is cut short or removed, the experience and the goal of the treatment are no longer quite the same.
Frequently asked questions about the steps of a complete facial treatment
Can I talk during the session, or am I expected to stay silent?
You can talk if you feel the need, particularly during the welcome stage and skin preparation. During the manual work itself, I deliberately speak little, because the precision of the movement needs real concentration. Most clients welcome this silence and naturally drift into a more inward mode. If something bothers you — a pressure, a position, a sensation — you can of course mention it at any point.
Do I need to arrive without makeup?
I generally prefer that you arrive without makeup: the skin is then more directly ready for the manual work, without adding a studio cleanse to the one you already do at home. If you arrive with light makeup or traces of the day, it isn't a problem — I then carry out a gentle, adapted cleanse before starting. Studio cleansing isn't systematic in my practice: it adjusts to the skin's condition on the day.
What products are used during the session?
In my studio, I use the official Kobido products imported from Japan: these are high-end products recommended by Master Shogo Mochizuki, who only makes them available to practitioners trained directly by him. The range includes gentle cleansers, lotions suited to each skin type, final serums and creams chosen for their compatibility with extended manual work. The idea is never to overload the skin, and to let the hands-on work remain at the heart of the treatment. Each practitioner makes her own choices; those trained in the Mochizuki lineage work with this specific selection.
Is facial massage painful or uncomfortable?
The treatment isn't meant to be painful. On certain very tense areas, such as the jaw or forehead, a slight passing sensitivity may appear as the tensions release, but the intensity is always adjusted to your feedback. Most clients describe a deeply comfortable moment, often losing track of time. If a pressure bothers you at any point, simply say so — I adjust the pressure immediately.
What should I do after the session to extend the effects?
Three simple recommendations: drink enough water in the hours that follow, to help you ease back into the rest of your day; avoid intense exercise for two to three hours after the treatment; and avoid makeup for the first half-hour so as not to overload the skin straight after the session. For an effect that holds beyond a few days, regularity is what matters most; I cover this in detail in the article on planning Kobido sessions.
