There was a time when a facial was nothing more than a cleanse, scrub and moisturise, and if you were lucky, you might get an eyebrow tidy thrown in for good measure. But oh, how times have changed. There are anti ageing facials, face lifting facials, rehydrating facials, gentle peels, oxygen facials, non surgical face lifts, electro stimulating facials, chakra rebalancing facials, and just plain honest to goodness aromatherapy massage based facials. But as lovely as they are, are they worth the money?
When it comes to anti-ageing, with claims such as ‘an alternative to Botox’, ‘take ten years off your face’ and ‘a non-invasive face lift’, can a facial really live up to its promise, or is it simply nothing more than a pampering or relaxing treatment?
The best, and trust me there are a few fantastic ones out there, leave your skin looking amazing. Clean, exfoliated, soft, plump and peachy. At worst, a facial may leave your skin looking red and blotchy, or possibly even worse still, looking no different at all. So how do we know which facials are going to deliver genuine results?
‘A lot of facials go down the traditional route – cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise - but a good facial will focus on the skin at a cellular level’, explains top facialist, Sarah Chapman, who is famous for her Skinesis facial, as well as her list of celebrity clients. Derma rollers, microdermabrasion, technologies trialled at NASA, and ‘magical’ techniques, are just a few of the latest developments that have made the facial become a force to be reckoned with.
The bridge between treatments you can have done by a cosmetic doctor in a clinic and those in a salon is shortening all the time, and peels, microdermabrasion, derma roller, and LED light therapy, albeit in gentler formulations and doses, are now being used in beauty salons up and down the country.
Peels use chemical exfoliants such as glycolic and salicylic acid to remove dry damaged skin and stimulate the growth of new, healthy cells. The exfoliation removes all dead skin layers and promotes the regeneration of collagen to revitalise the skin and plump it back up. Superficial peels or ‘lunchtime peels’ are available in beauty salons and medi-spas and are often incorporated into sophisticated facial treatments.
For some time, microdermabrasion, a superficial resurfacing technique which removes dead skin cells from the surface of the skin, while also stimulating the skin at a cellular level, has been the hot buzz word when it comes to exfoliation. The principle has been around for years, but until fifteen years ago, ‘medical dermabrasion’ was a painful treatment which required a sanding wheel and general anaesthetic. When Crystal Clear launched the first microdermabrasion machine in 1995, it was the start of the ‘exfoliating revolution’, and microdermabrasion is now available in most salons and spas around the country.
Skin needling or Dermaroller is a treatment that penetrates the skin with hundreds of microscopic needles, which stimulate the skin to produce more collagen and repair itself. The skin is numbed with a topical anaesthetic prior to treatment to make it painless, and it looks brighter straight away. However, once the new collagen and skin cells start being produced the results will improve over the next six weeks.
LED light therapy uses wavelengths of light, either red or blue, which have a specific and unique frequency vibration, to stimulate the cells of the skin and encourage it to heal itself. NASA have conducted studies on the use of red LED light on enhancing cell growth, boosting DNA activity which in turn produces new collagen, and heal wounds.
Most facials pack enough punch to show immediate results after only one treatment, but the benefits of having a course usually has an accumulative effect on the skin, keeping it looking healthier for longer.
However, even if the immediate benefits of a facial can mimic those of facial fillers, Botox, or even a face lift, the most obvious downside is that the results are very temporary – a matter of days or weeks at best, compared to ‘cosmetic’ treatments that can last anything from six months to several years.
