Sculptural Face Lifting · Certification Retreat
An intimate Sculptural Face Lifting Certification Retreat led by Abigail Carson, accredited SFL Method teacher. Sculptural and intraoral technique, hands-on correction and personal mentorship, in a private residence above the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. SFL founder Yakov Gershkovich joins live on video.
You are invited to an intimate 4-day Sculptural Face Lifting Certification Retreat, led by Abigail Carson. Set at a beautiful private residence and retreat oasis above the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, this immersive training is designed to give practitioners the time, space and personal attention necessary to truly understand and embody the Sculptural Face Lifting method.
Over four days you will receive advanced, hands-on education in both sculptural and intraoral techniques, working through the methodology with an emphasis on anatomy, precision, quality of touch and confident application.
The intimate setting allows for direct mentorship, hands-on correction, partner practice and individualized guidance throughout the retreat. SFL founder Yakov Gershkovich will also join the seminar via live video to demonstrate technique and share his expertise with the group.
Apply for a place
Limited to a small group of practitioners to preserve the quality and intimacy of the training. Coffee, tea and curated snacks are offered daily.
Thursday to Sunday, four full days.
Daily, with breaks for coffee, tea and curated snacks.
A private residence and retreat oasis above the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
Kept intentionally small so every pair of hands gets attention.
Real moments from Abi's certification trainings: demonstration, partner practice, correction at the table, and the certificate at the end of it.
SFL founder Yakov Gershkovich joins the retreat via live video to demonstrate technique and share his expertise with the group. You see the movement performed by the person who created it, ask your questions directly, and then practice it under Abi's hands-on correction the same day.
Your certification is issued in Yakov Gershkovich's Sculptural Face Lifting method, and graduates have the opportunity to be listed in his practitioner directory.
The mind and hands behind SFL™: first, original, authentic. It all started with Yakov, and what you learn here is his method, taught by a teacher he accredited himself.
Abi Maeve is one of only four practitioners in the world personally accredited by Yakov Gershkovich, the founder of the Sculptural Face Lifting method, to teach his technique. This rare distinction reflects years of dedicated study and mastery under Yakov's direct mentorship.
As a certified instructor, Abi now shares this work through her SFL training seminars across the United States, where she offers students official certification in the Sculptural Face Lifting method.
After years of traveling and teaching internationally, Abi returned home to California's Central Coast in 2022, where she continues her private practice and educational work.
Apply for a placeThe retreat is held at a private residence and retreat oasis above the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Four days away from the noise of a clinic, in a house with light, garden and quiet, is part of how this method is learned: slowly, with attention, and with your hands rested.
The group stays small on purpose. It is the difference between watching a technique and being corrected while you perform it.
This training is created for practitioners who want to deepen the quality of their work and develop a sophisticated understanding of facial manipulation and rejuvenation. It is an opportunity not simply to learn a sequence, but to develop your hands, your understanding of the face and your confidence as a practitioner.
Adding a signature manual lift your clients can see and feel.
Bringing precision and anatomy to work on the face and jaw.
Building a flagship treatment your team can be trained into.
Working with tension, breath and the emotional load the face carries.
Refining pressure, pacing and intraoral work with direct correction.
A credential and a skill that hold their value in a crowded market.
No filters and no injectables, just the SFL™ protocol. These are the natural, visible results you are trained to reproduce for your own clients.
From practitioners who have trained in this method, in Abi's room and in SFL trainings worldwide.
“This method goes beyond aesthetics, it's a deep energy practice that restores, rejuvenates and helps to release emotions that are stuck in the face. I am in awe of the potency of touch and again reminded how vital it is that we take the time to care for every part of our being: body, mind and soul. Thank you to each person who attended the training, to Yakov for creating and sharing this method with the world, and to Abi for being such a wonderful teacher and mentor.”
From Abi's own trainings
Leave your details and Abi will come back to you personally with availability, registration information and answers to your questions. First come, first served.
Or reach out directly: abimaevehealth@gmail.com · @abimaeve_
This retreat is built for practitioners: estheticians, massage and bodywork therapists, and others who already work with clients. You do not need previous SFL training. If you are already certified in SFL, the retreat is a chance to refine pressure, pacing and intraoral work under direct correction.
You will work through the full methodology across four days, in both sculptural and intraoral technique, with an emphasis on anatomy, precision and quality of touch. You practice on partners every day and are corrected while you work, so you leave able to apply the method with confidence on your own clients.
The retreat is led in the room by Abigail Carson, one of only four practitioners in the world personally accredited by Yakov to teach his method. Yakov joins live on video to demonstrate technique and answer the group's questions.
Official certification in Yakov Gershkovich's Sculptural Face Lifting method, plus one year of access to the official online video course and the opportunity to be included in Yakov Gershkovich's practitioner directory.
Deliberately small. The intimate setting is what makes direct mentorship, hands-on correction and individualized guidance possible, so places are limited and go on a first come, first served basis.
Coffee, tea and curated snacks are offered daily at the retreat. Participants arrange their own meals and accommodation in Santa Barbara. Write to Abi and she will point you to convenient options nearby.
Thursday 8 October to Sunday 11 October 2026, daily from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM, at a private residence and retreat oasis above the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
Send your details through the form on this page. Abi will contact you personally with availability and the registration and payment details.
Four days, a small group, and the method taught by a teacher the founder accredited himself. Places are limited.
Apply for a place