By Lorelle Williams
Joanne Evans is a household name within the beauty industry. She is one of the world’s most sought out experts in the skin, medical and beauty industries and maintains a three month-long waiting list for an appointment. After twenty five years of experience including teaching, training and managing the beauty department the Harbour Club in Chelsea, Joanne has launched her own clinic, Skin Matters. Found on High Street Kensington with treatment rooms also at Bodyism (the celebrity-favourite gym in Notting Hill), Skin Matters takes a holistic approach towards skin care meaning that the treatments include nutritional health and lifestyle as well as cosmetic procedures and maintenance.
I took the tube to Notting Hill Gate station and made the short walk to Bodyism on Westbourne Grove where I had been invited to try out the indulgent 90 minute Advanced Vitamin Facial developed by Joanne and her team. The groups of gym-goers sipping smoothies around wooden tables in the street made Bodyism easy to spot. I went inside to introduce myself and was given a consultation form to fill in. I was then led by the therapist, Louise, through the gluten and sugar-free Bodyism Café, past the flawless gym studios and into the cosy treatment room for the facial.
Before the facial began, Louise and I sat down to talk through my consultation form and discuss any skin concerns I had. My skin had broken out and I knew exactly why – my diet. I’d swapped my normally healthy meals for freezer foods and sugary snacks and my skin was taking the toll. The Skin Matters team know that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work when it comes to a facial; each treatment needs to be tailored to the individual. On this basis, Louise said she would adapt the Advanced Vitamin Facial to focus on calming my skin and reducing inflammation rather than treating it purely as the anti-ageing facial it normally is. She also warned that a probe is used in the Advanced Vitamin Facial to send ultrasound waves through the skin, and whilst this would be entirely painless, I would hear I when it was near my ears.
With that in mind, I tucked myself in to the heated treatment bed and we were ready to go. Louise began with a three stage cleanse using creams, oils and an enzyme mask to rid my skin of any impurities. Next, my face was steamed to open my pores; two wet cotton pads were placed over my eyes and a steam machine was positioned over my face to prepare my skin for the impending extraction and mila removal (in other words, to make it easier for Louise to squeeze any spots!) Then came the ultrasound probe. A vitamin serum was thickly layered onto my skin and the flat, metal end of the probe was placed on top of it. As Louise glided the probe through the serum across my face and neck she explained that ultrasound waves are used because they help penetrate the most active ingredients of vitamins 4,000 times deeper into the skin. This actively enriches the skins natural moisturising factors and repairs dull, pigmented and dehydrated skin. True to Louise’s warning, I could faintly hear the ultrasound waves whenever the probe glided towards each of my ears, but nothing distracting.
The final stage of the facial involved my face being cocooned in a thick, white mask to seal in the vitamins and finish the hydrating process. Once the mask was dry and hard, Louise clipped several crocodile clips to the top of it and switched on a current. With my eyes closed under the hardened mask I saw dim flashes of light and my tongue detected a metallic taste. Louise assured me that this was perfectly normal and explained that the electrical pulses were flowing through the mask to lift and sculpt my face. While the mask worked its magic I was given a deep neck, shoulder and scalp massage to bring the facial to an indulgent end.
Details:
The 90 minute Advanced Vitamin Facial costs £180 by Joanne Evans or £148 by a skin expert. Telephone Joanne Evans on 07710381438.
Website: skin-matters.co.uk
Skin Matters is found at:
Skin Matters
5 High Street, Kensington
London W8 5NP
Also at:
Bodyism
222-224 Westbourne Grove, London W11
