Last Tuesday, I visited the Skin Health Spa in Marylebone, London; ‘a leading aesthetic clinic’ which offers a ‘sophisticated list of new and advanced treatments available across six locations nationwide’. I was lucky enough to try out the Ultimate Facial; a four step facial inspired by the lovely Louis Spence.
I’ll start off with a bit of background information on the Spa itself, and then go through my personal experience and the treatment I received.
‘Skin Health Spa offers an array of up-to-the-minute beauty options including skin rejuvenating laser treatments, anti-ageing and wrinkle reducing options, treatments for sun damage, pigmentation and acne scarring, permanent hair reduction, pioneering derma roller facials, microdermabrasion, plus more traditional waxing, indulgent facials, massage and even spray tanning’.
‘Skin Health Spa has been at the forefront of skin treatment since 1999’ and boasts a vast array of celebrity clients including; Lauren Goodger, Lizzy Cundy, Cheska Hull and Gabriella Ellis. The aims of the services provided by Skin Health Spa are ‘to help people feel better about what nature has given them through the improvement of their appearance and by taking better care of their health’. They have six clinics nationwide in London, Birmingham, Leamington Spa, Nantwich and Manchester.
I decided to try out the Ultimate Facial because I’ve always wanted to experience what Microdermabrasion feels like/does. I use a product from the Body Shop called ‘Microdermabrasion’, you can find it in their Vitamin C range; it’s an abrasive exfoliator that you use once a week to remove dead skin cells. Real Microdermabrasion however, is very different experience!
The spa is located a very short walk from Bond Street tube station (perfect for heading out for a cheeky shopping trip after!) and has a neat and discreet entrance. Upon entering the spa I was greeted by a lovely receptionist who handed me a form to complete, it required my contact details and some general health questions (was I pregnant, have any allergies etc). I then got to meet the lovely ladies from Zeus PR (Lizzy and Anthea) and was taken down to the treatment room. My wonderful therapist Cheryl gave me a detailed run-through of what my treatment would consist of and any possible side-effects. The whole atmosphere in the building is very relaxing and calming; there were aromatherapy candles lit in every room and the colour scheme throughout is classic and chic.
To start, a glycolic cleanser was applied to my face. Glycolic acid is used to soften up the dead skin cells on the face and prepare it for the microdermabrasion treatment; I was informed that glycolic acid is derived from sugar cane, it came across that Cheryl was highly knowledgeable and took a real interest in the treatment she was performing (which was great and reassured me!).
The microdermabrasion treatment followed afterwards; this treatment polishes the skin and speeds up skin renewal through the removal of dead skin cells. The treatment felt slightly uncomfortable around the sensitive areas on my face, it felt as though my face was being sandpapered and hoovered at the same time (the end results are definitely worth the slight discomfort though!). After the microdermabrasion, another exfoliation treatment is used to remove any dead skin left behind; the treatment is called a ‘skin zyme mask’. The fourth part of the treatment is called ‘Transderm’, prior to conducting the Transderm treatment a ‘Hydragel’ mask is applied to the skin. The mask contains hyaluronic acid; which aids skin hydration and acts as an anti-aging tool. The Transderm machine massages the skin whilst simultaneously stimulating the facial muscles with tiny electric pulses. Again, this part of the facial wasn’t what I would call relaxing, mainly due to the fact that the electric pulses stimulate muscle movement; causing certain parts of my face to twitch without me making them. It felt very strange, and I couldn’t stop laughing; my face must have been a picture to watch!
The great thing about the Transderm treatment is that you can control how strong you want it to work on your face; for more mature skin you would increase the strength of the electrical pulses, thus stimulating the muscles more and eventually improving muscle tone. You can also have it turned down if you’re uncomfortable with sensation of your muscles moving of their own volition (which I did have to request). The Ultimate Facial is then concluded with a gentle facial massage using an SPF moisturiser; it’s incredibly important to use an SPF moisturiser after receiving a microdermabrasion treatment as your skin is left vulnerable after having the dead skin cells removed. You’re also advised not to wear makeup immediately after, as the skin can be slightly irritated and red. My skin was a little unsettled for a few days after the treatment, but a week down the line it looks fantastic. A couple of spots reared their ugly heads around my T-Zone and the skin on my cheeks was slightly bumpy, but that’s to be expected when you go for a treatment like the Ultimate Facial!
The price of the Ultimate Facial is £245 and you can get a series of three treatments for a discounted price of £555. I have to admit that wouldn’t be able to afford a treatment like this on a monthly basis, let alone as a single treat to myself, however there is a wonderful website called Wahanda that offer spa treatments at discounted price. So you can actually get the Ultimate Facial for only £65, a massive saving of 73%; you can’t really go wrong! All in all, I had a wonderful experience with Skin Health Spa and would definitely go there again, I’d like to thank Lizzy and Anthea from Zeus PR for inviting me to experience such a fantastic spa treatment, and to the lovely team of ladies at the Skin Health Spa Marylebone for being so professional.
Have you tried the Ultimate Facial? Would you like to?
Please note: the images used in this article do not belong to Scarlett London or any of her writers. They are used purely for reference purposes only.
