Treat yourself: best facials in London for every budget and skin concern
Treat yourself: best facials in London for every budget and skin concern
After the last year we’ve had, we’re are all in need of a little pick-me-up, and you can't beat the mood-boosting powers of a glow-enhancing facial.
Lockdown messed with your complexion? Help is at hand, as London is home to some of the best facialists in the beauty industry with treatments to suit every budget and skin concern.
So where to go? Below are some of the best in town - one of these will restore your skin back to pre-pandemic perkiness in no time.
What is it: Tucked away on a pretty cobbled mews in the heart of London's Fitzrovia, Pfeffer Sal is where beauty editors go for a full blown skin MOT. First timers are encouraged to opt for the Welcome Essential facial which begins with a 20-minute in-depth skin analysis involving scans which can pick up everything from sun damage to pigmentation and inflammation - don't be too alarmed, a therapist will talk you through everything and offer advice for future-proofing your skin. The facial itself includes a double cleanse, extractions, resurfacing, a face-lifting massage, sonophoresis (ultrasound) to help penetrate a custom cocktail of vitamins deep into the layers of the dermis, as well as a tailored treatment mask and LED session.
Price: £210 for the Welcome Essential facial (100 minutes).
What is it: Your skin needs Pietro Simone in its life, trust us. The Italian celebrity facialist is a beauty buff’s best kept secret, and he’s just opened a new clinic at Flemings Mayfair Hotel. What sets Simone’s facials apart from any other treatment we’ve tried are his signature organic cotton thread method and powerful dry massage technique designed to promote lymphatic drainage and give your face a deep tissue massage. The results are, frankly, jaw-dropping.
Price: £250 for the Anti-Ageing Cotton Thread Revitaliser (75 minutes).
What is it: Debbie Thomas is the go-to facialist for the likes of Dua Lipa and Jourdan Dunn. Best known for her DNA signature facial treatments which combine laser, radiofrequency and a host of other powerful technologies to transform complexions, her new post-lockdown DTC treatment packages combine a series of professional grade peels and masks to restore dull, tired or inflamed skin back to its pre-pandemic condition. Well worth the investment.
Price: price on request.
Where: D.Thomas Clinic, 25 Walton Street, Chelsea, SW3 2HU
What is it: Listen up folks, superfacialist Su-Man, who is renowned in the city for her cult Skin Reborn facial, has just launched a brand new treatment - and it promises ultimate glowiness. The new Advanced Oxygen Facial (available from April 15) combines her signature shiatsu movement technique and oxygen therapy to help penetrate active ingredients into the deeper layers of the skin.
Price: £300 for the Advanced Oxygen Facial (75 minutes).
Where: Away Spa, W London Leicester Square, 10 Wardour Street, London W1D 6QF
What: Tarryn Warren has over 15 years of experience in the skincare industry, and now offers her Signature Bespoke Facial at the Bodyism studio in Notting Hill, where she combines the use of nanocurrent technology, radio-frequency tightening, microneedling and Oxygeneo to nourish skin from a cellular level. Facials also include exfoliation, deep pore cleaning, massage, vitamin infusions and LED light therapy. Enjoy it all while in the Body Ballancer, a wearable lymphatic drainage massage suit that detoxifies the body.
What is it: Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner Ada Ooi delivers highly personalised facials that are tailored to your skin's needs on the day. Each begins with a TCM symptom diagnosis, followed by her signature modern gua sha massage and acupuncture on the face, body and ears, to address both internal and external wellbeing.
Price: from £300 for the Pinpoint Wellness Treatment (60 minutes).
What is it: Trainers, rather than therapists, perform the cult "workouts" at FaceGym, which is set up like gym studio — you even store your stuff in a locker while you get pampered. The workouts are designed to stimulate the more than 40 muscles in your face using an electronic device that emits mild, yet forceful waves into your skin to sculpt and tone. The trainer then performs some vigorous pummelling, knuckling and "whipping strokes" with their hands on your face to contour further. You'll notice an immediate difference.
Price: £75 for the Signature Sculpt (35 minutes).
What is it: Over in East London, a bespoke facial with Katie (founder of re:lax) starts with a consultation and typically involves various massage techniques, including buccal (internal), connective tissue massage, manual lymphatic drainage, gua sha, as well as high frequency and LED light therapy to revive your skin. Treatments are accompanied by a head, neck and shoulder massage and foot reflexology for utter relaxation. Cosmetic acupuncture is also offered at an additional cost.
Post-lockdown beauty hit list: 10 glow-giving products you need
Having spent the last year embroiled in a toxic relationship with the elasticated members of our wardrobes, time is running out for us to pull ourselves together. Not only does emerging from lockdown (even if it is just for a coffee on a bench) mean having to get dressed in real clothes again, it also means having to spare a thought for our pallid complexions and feral manes.
Since the Prime Minister’s announcement at the end of February, sales of make-up have spiked by 110 per cent and 48 per cent at John Lewis and Space NK respectively, with sales of bronzers and tinted moisturisers among the most sought-after.
If you, like us, haven’t even considered changing out of your pyjamas for the last year, let alone slapping on a full face, fear not. These are the ten products your post-lockdown arsenal is crying out for. Glow get ‘em.
Glow getters
After our socially-exiled year, we need a glow up and fast. One of John Lewis’ best-selling products of 2020 was Chanel’s re-formulated Soleil cream bronzer (selling enough to fill 17,000 Chanel 2.55 bags), while NARS’ caramel-toned Laguna is its most popular of 2021 so far.