When it comes to beauty, there’s nothing more empowering than being comfortable enough in your own skin and going make-up-free. Whether it’s heading to the gym sans foundation or popping to the shops without your concealer, as women, that can take a lot. Our formative years are spent experimenting with different looks, trying new shades and slowly building up a make-up regime that we feel comfortable applying day in, day out. It becomes our armour. Our shield. A way to hide a bad night’s sleep, over-plucked brows in our youth or a monthly breakout. To take it all off and have the same confidence is no mean feat. But that’s what I’ve been striving for with some new skincare treatments.
Don’t get me wrong, I love make-up far too much to throw in the towel and embrace a bare faced existence. Oh no. But there has been a few skincare niggles that I’ve had for as long as I can remember and I made a promise to myself that this would be the year to deal with them. Turning 30 and getting married, I feel like this is the time to stop hoping certain flaws will get better and do something proactive to to get rid of them and hopefully, pick up a few new beauty habits along the way.
I’ve got to the age where I don’t want to spend a fortune on make-up or set my alarm 2 hours before I have to leave the hours so I can make sure my foundation is right and my contour is on point. I want simple. I want a glow to my cheekbones that doesn’t come from highlighter and be able to have a last minute gin with friends without worrying that I’ve already taken my face off for the night!
Enter Debbie Thomas clinic. If you’re not familiar with Debbie, you will be. She is widely known in the editorial world as the facialist to the stars. If you see your favourite celeb with glowing skin and healthy visage, the chances are they’ve been in Debbie’s hands! So when it came to stripping back my regime and entrusting someone with, well, my face, I knew there’s be no better place for skincare treatments. Sitting on the corner of Walton Street in Chelsea, the clinic is exactly what you’d expect from a skincare aficionado. Think clean lines, millenial pink chairs (I need these BTW!), lots of gorgeous plants and a team of staff with the kind of skin you’re striving for!
With treatment rooms up and down stairs, it’s clinical but not cold, expert but not intimidating and clients totter from room to room in the hope of catching a glimpse of the woman herself. I saw the lovely Carly who stripped off all my make-up (I nearly cried) and analysed my skin as she asked me what products I use (this took a while!) and if I was on any medication etc.
The verdict? My skin was congested. With small milia bumps along the jawline, dryness on my forehead and, of course, rosacea in places. As I juggle a new career, wedding plans and house renovations, I knew that all the stress of the last few months was showing on my face and so we came up with a skincare treatment plan. It looked something like this.
YELLOW LIGHT THERAPY
Dubbed the botox of the wavelengths, yellow light therapy reduces redness (hello!) and wrinkles while stimulating rejuvenation. After applying a cold gel to the area, a small probe is pushed across the skin in circular motions across the face to eliminate bacteria build up, boost collagen, plump out fine lines and reduce inflammation. It usually takes a skincare treatment course of at least three sessions to really take affect. Although the probe can feel slightly warm, I barely felt anything throughout except a little shock when it left my face but nothing more than a static charge.
I’ve had 3 courses of yellow light therapy and noticed a visible difference after just one session. Although it wasn’t immediate, 2-3 days afterwards my skin was firmer, brighter and looked so much fresher. The redness was reduced after I washed my face and took my make-up off which is the quickest results I’ve ever had – three times what I would expect from topical creams.
All of them have completely transformed my skin – it’s calmer, smoother, more defined and overall more healthy which is exactly what I wanted.
EXTRACTION
If you’re squimish, you had better skip this one! Squeezing every little lump and bump on our skin may give us endless gratification, but the ramifications are infection, swelling and all-round nastiness! If you’ve ever tried to squeeze a blackhead, you’ll know the fall-out isn’t worth the fleeting satisfaction. This is a skincare treatment I didn’t know existed until I went to Debbie Thomas Clinic.
I’ve been lucky that I haven’t experienced many spots in my 30 years…until I came off the pill. Since then I’ve been battling with hormonal breakouts on my chin and an uneven skintone along my jawline. These little skin coloured bumps are also known as milia and need to be treated professionally to avoid scarring. Carly did this by inserting a small needle into the blemish and squeezing it until it disappears.
NANOBLUR
Anyone that knows me is well aware of my microneedling obsession – I mean, I’m pretty much a Swiss Clinic rep and have persuaded a handful of friends to snap up their amazing dermaroller! I’ve been using mine once a week for the last few months and I can always noticed the difference in my skin the next day. But when I spoke to a make-up artist friend of mine on a photoshoot she couldn’t believe I didn’t see a professional to compare the results.
If there’s a lesson to be learned here it’s not to doubt the professionals because this skincare treatment was worlds away from an at-home version. Using shorter needles at 0.25-0.5mm, it floods your skin with peptides and antioxidants at the same time of triggering collagen production thought tiny tears in the skin caused by the needles. It’s a much more comfortable and precise treatment with no downtime afterwards. After a skeptical few minutes, my skin looked firmer and brighter shortly afterwards without the aggravation I sometimes experience at home and my lips were plumper giving a healthier appearance to my face overall.
Three very different skincare treatments but all of them have completely transformed my skin – it’s calmer, smoother, more defined and overall more healthy which is exactly what I wanted. The girls at Debbie Thomas Clinic are absolutely fantastic and I trusted their expertise, advice and (occasionally) tellings-off when it comes to my skin and I genuinely look forward to every visit. If you’d like to find out more visit the website HERE.
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