The Most Effective Facial I Have Ever Had!

I’ve had some incredible facials over the years, but a week before Christmas last year, I had the most effective one I’ve ever experienced. I had an ‘A Lift Express’ followed by Dermatude with a Peptide Mask.

Now, being the week before Christmas, my skin had a decidedly greyish tinge to it but what I’d really been noticing was congestion not just in the usual area (my nose) but my chin, jawline and around my brows, too. It was bumpy to the touch. I’d also been on shoots and noticing where my cheeks looked a little hollow and the areas around my eyes quite thin-skinned – nothing dreadful but definitely noticeable to my trained critical eye.

I’ve seen machines like CACI around – these send tiny electrical impulses through the skin to plump it – J-Lo apparently has one in her house! However, I kinda assumed that it was a load of bunkum and that all the massage and hydration was what left skin feeling plumped. Therefore I was fine to trial the ‘A-Lift’, but fairly sceptical, too.

So, what’s A-Lift? It’s non-invasive, and you can walk out of the salon that moment without redness. My lovely practitioner applied a gel and then ran…Well, little white prongs a bit like knitting needles over my face. I felt absolutely nothing, but they were sending nanocurrents through my skin to boost cellular energy, getting that collagen production up! You’re meant to do a course of A-Lift facials, but I could definitely feel how plumped up my skin felt after a one-off – it’d be great before a big shoot or an event – and I’d be soooo up for a course!

Next up was Dermatude. I remember seeing a picture of Kim Kardashian covered in angry-looking pinpricks once, and rolling my eyes at home she’d do anything for beauty/Instagram engagement. Since them I’ve been aware of treatments like dermarolling, and been offered them, but I was extremely wary: I like to be kind to my skin, and this seemed aggressive.

OK, so Dermatude does create ‘microperforations’ in the skin, and I was so worried that I’d have a red, scabby face (it would be typical of my luck!). A serum was applied to my skin (it’s very thick and gel-like) and then a sort of….Pen was rolled over my face. This has microneedles that deliver a consistent depth of performation and the idea is that it creates a ‘controlled injury’. I know that sounds scary, but this stimulates the skin to produce collagen, whilst delivering the active ingredients in the serum to a deeper level.

Did it hurt? This is what I was really worried about, but the truth is that as soon as that needle hit my neck…I was laughing from the ticklish feeling!! It honestly felt nothing worse than tickles, though around my eyes was slightly sore and on my nose was decidedly strange, as it makes the bone vibrate. The treatment is very brief: the pen is rolled over each area once.

My other fear was having angry, red skin to go home on the tube with but by the time the second half of my face was done, the other half had already calmed down. However, I ought to add that I have olive skin and, though it’s sensitive, it does withstand a lot of make up on shoots etc. Paler skin might show up with more redness. You’d only know that I’d had a treatment done because of the peptide mask that followed it.

Ah yes, the peptide mask. This is optional and carries an extra cost, but if you’re going to get bang for your buck I would absolutely recommend it. It’s a gloriously cooling sheet mask that delivers even more nourishment for the skin.

Immediately afterwards, my skin looked slightly red in places, but the following pictures are directly after Dermatude and a mere minute after that! This illustrates just how quickly it calmed down. 

When I got home, I realised that I had loads of dried gel around my nose and eyebrows, which was attractive! I was to leave my face alone and not wear any make up the following day. Also, the morning after the treatment, I was given a surgical wad of cotton and sterile solution to cleanse with, followed by a small pot of moisturiser, My skin was totally calm.

The NEXT day…WOW! I have never, ever seen such a dramatic transformation in my skin. It was simply incredible. It really helped the congestion but it was the quality of my skin that I noticed: it was just such an improvement.

Don’t just take my word for it though: I had a shoot with a regular client who I’d already worked with numerous times that month, and they ALL commented on my complexion. The photographers said it was like I was glowing from the inside. What I really appreciated was that I saw the difference for weeks. The lines around my mouth and eyes were smoothed out and plumped.

In terms of price, none of this comes cheaply although it isn’t too crazy, either. If you were to get both A-Lift and Dermatude (with mask) together like I did, it would be £140. I’d have no hesitation in paying this because I’d rather pay that much for discernibly results than £70 for some lovely serums to be massaged in and make me sleepy, yet make very little long-term difference.

There are lots of options with A-Lift. You can even get the eye area as an add-on for £20ish, and the express is £30. This goes up to the higher end of the spectrum with £130 for 90 minutes, with an upper body massage on top.

Dermatude as a stand-alone treatment is £85, though the mask is recommended too.

You can find out more information about A-Lift, as well as a salon near you, here.

And you can find out more about Dermatude, as well as a salon near you, here.

Rebecca x