I first met Kat earlier in the year when I tentatively dipped my toe into the world of skin recovery with a skin consultation. Kat immediately put me at ease and I found myself really opening up about what was worrying me about my skin. I had recently turned 40 and have been hugely fortunate to have blemish-free skin that has, by-and-large, been categorised as ‘normal’ for as long as I can remember. But I have a pigmentation mark on my cheek that waved hello for the first time a few years ago which really bothers me, and my skin just started to look dull and bleurgh. Cue starting on a super simple-to-follow skincare regime that Kat recommended with the gorgeous Alumier products.
Oooh, that’s actually a pretty good idea; next blog from me will be on skin care consultations and products as they are dreamy!
Kat was very upfront and told me that products alone wouldn’t give me the glow of my 30’s that I was in search of (heck, who am I kidding? I really mean my 20’s!). So, she suggested a treatment regime to kick-start my skin rejuvenation and micro-needling came into my life for the first time. So, on a Friday afternoon a few weeks ago, I trotted along to the Walton Street Wellness Clinic, ready to be pummelled with small needles. Sounds dramatic. It really wasn’t!
A quick side note though about the very good coffee and cake on offer at Barefoot which is pretty much opposite the treatment rooms. As you can tell, I very much made this an afternoon of treats and no tricks (ba-dum-dum-tss, and yes I am here all week!).
So what happens during a micro-needling treatment? Ok, here goes. Buckle in.
First up, you get to take a moment in the beautiful reception area. You get buzzed in, someone pops their head up from the stairwell to say hi, and you get to sink into an armchair facing out on Walton Street. The sun streams through the floor to ceiling windows and you can just breathe for a minute. And it truly is as delightful as it sounds.
Kat then comes up to greet you and you make your way downstairs into her treatment room. Immediately she gets to work, removing makeup and applying a good thick layer of numbing cream. The numbing cream stays on for 20 minutes, during which time Kat runs through the consent paperwork and aftercare. As the treatment is not really that invasive, the downtime is minimal and the aftercare is very simple. You also get a lovely pack of Alumier products to take away that see you through the next 5 or 6 days post treatment. Other than that, put nothing on the skin until the following morning when you can crack open the box of potion joy, no make up for 24 hours, and loads of water. So far so good.
She also tells you all about the treatment and how it works. Basically, very fine needles puncture the top layer of the skin which kick start the skin’s own healing process and prompts it to rebuild. Collagen and elastin are produced along the way, which are code words for plump, firm, and glowy skin. It also works amazingly well on skin conditions such as pigmentation and acne scarring as the skin rejuvenates from the deeper layers.
Science lesson done, Kat lets you lie down on her gorgeously comfortable treatment bed and away we go. The numbing cream gets washed off with a cleanser and then the needling starts. Kat talks through every bit of it, so that you know exactly what to expect. The numbing cream certainly does it’s job and I didn’t feel any pain. It’s quite an odd, but not unpleasant feeling and you can definitely feel your skin warming up. The only slightly ouchy bit was around my upper lip but I was forewarned and could stop at any time. But I had my big girl pants on that day, and should have definitely got a lollipop for my bravery.
And just like that, it’s over. Total time needles are next to face, around 15 minutes.
And the hours and days after? Well, my face was pretty red and warm at this point and when I got home, my boyfriend asked if I had been to the gym. As if! Haven’t seen one of those for quite a while! But it is similar to the red face that you might have from a full-on spin session. And it pretty much stayed like that for the rest of the evening. So maybe something to bear in mind when booking – if you’re off out afterwards, maybe book your treatment for a few days before!
The following morning the redness had lessened although not completely gone and I had a small swelling under my left eye. I sleep on that side, so imagine everything had migrated over whilst I was slumbering. Once my face had been washed and I had been moving around for 30 minutes or so, it all went down though! Later that day, I popped on a small amount of makeup and went to meet my sister for dinner. Even only 24-hours later, and not knowing that I had had a facial treatment, she commented on how much ‘clearer’ I looked. Hello cloud nine!
And it just got better and better. The next day (which is when I took the photo above and around 36 hours post treatment), I could really see what she meant. My skin was clearer and definitely wasn’t as dull. By the end of the week, I was really starting to see the glow and my skin looked better than it had in ages. It’s not a miracle one-off treatment, and I know that it will take a series of them to really see the benefits. But on the back of this one treatment, sign me up please! I may even have the glow of my dreams by Christmas at this rate.
If you’d like to know more about this treatment for you, book a consultation with Kat or Emily today to find out more!
