Thanks to names such as Jo Malone and Eve Lom back in the 1990s, the facial became recognised as not only a pampering beauty treatment, but something special and unique. Today’s top facialists are no different, offering treatments that really can be compared to going under the knife.
Nichola Joss
With celebrity clients such as Keira Knightley, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Moss, Liz Hurley and Claudia Schiffer, celebrity skin guru, Nichola Joss’s latest creation is the ‘inner facial’, a completely unique treatment that works from the inside out to sculpt the contours of the face and diffuse tension around the chin, cheekbones and jaw line.
The treatment begins with a lymphatic face massage to reduce puffiness around the eyes and help get rid of toxins. Then the ‘inner face’ bit starts. Nichola dons a pair of rubber gloves and literally massages from the inside out by massaging the cheeks and along the gums from inside the mouth. It sounds strange, I know, but according to Nichola, massaging the face internally has more of an impact from the outside as it allows the muscles in the cheek and inside the jaw to be repositioned bringing everything back to where it should be. Intimidating? Maybe. Worth it? Definitely.
From £200
Sarah Chapman
Sarah Chapman’s Bespoke Facial, a firm favourite with beauty editors and celebrities, is a treatment that combines luxury and pampering with high-tech science. Each facial is different, depending on the needs of the clients, and because it is tailor-made, it is unlikely that you will have the same treatment twice.
It can include anything from the latest machinery including dermaroller or LED light therapy, to good old-fashioned techniques such as steaming, extraction, and her famous facial massage to lift the muscles, as well as high-tech ingredients such as vitamins and peptides to increase collagen production. The lifting and smoothing results are instantaneous, and there is something really quite addictive about this treatment.
£150 for 90 minutes
Emma Hardie
Dubbed as the ‘face whisperer’, Emma Hardie has developed a unique form of facial massage that lifts and contours the face back to its original shape. Years of researching the connective tissue system of the body and how it produces collagen, led her to create the Natural Sculpt and Lifting Facial.
‘I work by softening all the soft tissue right down to the bone and stimulating the muscles’, explains Emma. ‘Once it’s as soft as chewing gum I can sculpt it to lift and re-contour the face. I call it ‘tissue talk’, and not only does it speed up cell rejuvenation but it makes the skin really plump and juicy looking’.
£160 at Michaeljohn, London
Julia Hart
Hailed by Madonna’s make-up artist, Gina Brook, as ‘instant gratification’, Julia Hart’s O2 Intraceuticals Oxygen Infusion Facial uses a series of treatments to create incredible looking skin. The facial uses pure medical grade oxygen to heal the skin and push the active ingredients into the skin’s deeper layers. But according to Julia, it is not the oxygen that is the real magic ingredient. ‘The serum I use is key’, she says. ‘It contains the same medical grade hyaluronic acid as facial fillers, which has tiny molecules which deeply penetrate the skin and bind moisture. This has a plumping effect, rather like a light filler all over the face. When you pinch the skin afterwards it feels completely different’.
£150 at The Hale Clinic, London
