Face shake
The promise: Silhouet-Tone’s electronic device is a structural rejuvenator and a nonsurgical facelift treatment that gives an instant result, its makers claim. Firmer, smoother, more plumped-looking skin should result from use of the Canadian-made machine that arrived in the country last year. A course of treatments is recommended, to help with collagen induction over time, but a oncer won’t be wasted.
The practice: It’s a bit of a bone shaker, creating variable energy vibrations as a smooth head is worked across my facial contours. The oddly intense sensation is more apparent on bony zones than on softer tissue. The jolly good rattling reverberates deep — more than being prodded with a smaller micro-current wand — so it feels like something is going on. Midway through the treatment, which also infuses serums, I was asked to look in a mirror to compare the side of my face that had been worked on with the other one, and, yes, the first cheek and jowl definitely looked more lifted.
The price: $159 for a 60-minute full face and neck treatment. $99 for a 30-minute focus on forehead and eye surrounds.
The place: Debra’s Skincare, 10 Anzac St, Takapuna. Ph (09) 4865038. Debraskincare.co.nz. For other clinics near you, phone 021 774 087.
The verdict: I’ve heard a lot of non-surgical treatments described as an instant facelift, so I won’t hold this claim especially against Silhouet-Tone. Providers of everything from massage-heavy facials and upwards are apt to say the same. All these non-surgical services aren’t in the same ballpark, but for many women, including me, that’s why we try them. I don’t want to go under the knife, but I do want to explore ways to cheat time’s saggier side effects. Long-time clinic owner Debra Dowd invested in the machine because she says there’s significant demand for non-invasive forms of therapy. After one session, I did see a decent difference to facial contours and the depth of my nasiolabial folds. It took a few days rather than hours before the familiar droop returned. So, yes, an instant effect, and one it would be interesting to repeat to see how things held up longer term. Worth trying before a big event as unlike the likes of dermal rolling there’s no risk of redness.
— Janetta Mackay