Walk-in beauty bars that’ll knock years off you — in just 20 minutes
Blitz your wrinkles, sculpt your neck — and even get an instant facelift
Time was when any anti- ageing beauty treatment that actually worked was, frankly, both daunting and time-consuming.
Skin peels involved acids with intimidating chemical names, applied by a nurse wearing a face mask. The flaking that followed was Freddy Krueger- esque and necessitated skulking about for at least three days with your upper face covered in shades and your chin swathed in a scarf.
Lasers, meanwhile, were delivered via huge, noisy machines operated by sternlooking doctors. The treatments felt like being burned with hot pokers and were to be endured rather than enjoyed.
Then there were the waiting lists. Heaven forbid should you request an appointment the next day. Or even the next week. The anti-ageing gurus were like gods — willing only to offer help at a time and place of their choosing.
Thankfully, that’s all changing. Some youth-restoring treatments are now so subtle, so varied and so sophisticated that they don’t need to be performed in clinical settings by doctors with letters after their names.
This means that the emphasis has moved squarely to what the industry calls ‘patient experience’. in other words, the clinics know that you have the power to shop around and the onus is on them to make anti- ageing treatments as accessible and pleasurable as possible.
These days you can drop in — without an appointment — at a time and place to suit you and order your treatment off a menu in rather the same way that you might order a coffee.
So browse our round-up of the best drop-in treatments that promise to turn back the clock during your lunch break . . .
THE 15-MINUTE ‘FACE SHOT’ MASSAGE
WHAT’S ON THE MENU? Opt for a ‘Face Shot’ at the new Decleor Boutique Day Spa and brace yourself for a series of facelifting, plumping and tightening massage moves targeting the various facial muscles (did you know there are 52 muscles in the face?). You can choose from ‘Brow and eye Lift’, ‘Cheek and Jaw Contour’ or ‘Jaw and Neck Sculpt’.
HOW FAST? 15 minutes.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL? Rather than just showing you the moves and leaving you to go home and forget them, the mirror in front of you records the treatment, then emails you the video so you can carry on doing your sculpting massages at home.
my therapist is evangelical about facial massage being the single best thing you can do for your complexion — even if you do it for only a few minutes a day. DOES IT HURT? No, although i do find the massaging of the
cheekbones somewhat uncomfortable. i store tension in my jaw — a common midlife trait, apparently. RECOVERY TIME? None whatsoever — simple!
HOW MUCH? £ 15 ( including your video) and face shots are also redeemable against the purchase of products.
WHERE? Decleor’s new spa opened in West London last month, but the drop-in face shot treatment is being rolled out to concessions nationwide.
Newcastle and Leeds, where Decleor has salons in House of Fraser stores, are expected to be the next to offer it.
THE NO-DOWNTIME EXPRESS PEEL
WHAT’S ON THE MENU? The new Peel Boutique offers three express peels: The Brightening Peel (to lift skin), The Hydrating Peel (to diminish wrinkles) and The Blemish Peel (for those with acne-related problems and skin discolouration). HOW FAST? 20 minutes.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL? instead of using glycolic acid ( which, depending on concentration, can sometimes dry or irritate skin), these peels use lactic acid. Lactic acid still removes dead cells from the face giving the all-important brightening effect, but doesn’t make you peel in that unattractive snake-shedding-its-skin way.
DOES IT HURT? No. i went for the Brightening Peel and my skin tingled when the mask was applied. it looked slightly pink afterwards, but no more so than if i’d done an exercise class, and any redness could easily be disguised with make-up.
RECOVERY TIME? None. This is the real beauty of the express peel. You could have it done at lunch time and go out that evening (although best results are usually seen after 24 hours).
The effects last a few weeks and the peel is gentle enough to be performed every month. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? £75 for 20 minutes.
WHERE? Housed at the women’s-only Grace Belgravia club in London’s Knightsbridge, but there are plans to open peel boutiques outside the capital.
The peels are performed in a reclining chair and the atmosphere is very high- end spa rather than medical facility. See thepeelboutique.com
THE SPEEDY VITAMIN DRIP
WHAT’S ON THE MENU? You name it, there’s a drip for it at The elixir Clinic: weight loss, hair growth, jet lag, mood support, post- party, fitness,
pre-and post-surgery, immunity . . . I went for the VIP VitaDrip, which has a bit of everything — the perfect midlife energy boost.
HOW FAST? 45 minutes, but setting it up takes about 15, so allow a little more than an hour for the treatment.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL? The key information here is that when amino acids or vitamins are taken in pill form, the body absorbs only up to about ten per cent of the ingredients.
What’s more, some vitamins (such as vitamin C) can irritate your stomach. When delivered intravenously, absorption is 100 per cent, and the digestive tract is bypassed. Maximum benefits, no tummy aches.
DOES IT HURT? No more than a blood test, but there’s no escaping the fact it involves needles, so it’s not for the faint-hearted.
RECOVERY TIME? The clinic records your blood pressure before and after the treatment to check you haven’t reacted to anything adversely, but once that’s done, you’re free to carry on with your day with no downtime at all.
In fact, I’d go so far as to describe the period after the treatment as ‘up time’. I felt so uplifted I phoned a few friends to tell them how good I felt (annoying for them, I’m sure).
Conversely, I slept like a baby that night — a common benefit, according to the clinic. The next day my skin looked plump and hydrated, which is apparently a result of the high dose of Vitamin C coursing through my veins.
COST? VitaDrips range from in the region of £100 to around £400 depending on the problem you want to address.
WHERE? The Elixir clinic has two London branches, on Wimpole Street and in Harrods, with more opening across the UK in September — exact locations to be confirmed. Visit theelixirclinic.com
THE INSTANT FACELIFT
WHAT’S ON THE MENU? The various workouts at FaceGym — yes, that’s a gym for your face — range from a 30-minute ‘Signature’ workout for £45 up to a 90-minute ‘I Need It All’ for £390. HOW FAST? A ‘ Signature Electrical’ workout takes about 40 minutes WHAT’S SO SPECIAL? FaceGym’s workouts are just like workouts for your body, in that they feature warm-up, cardio, sculpt and cool-down phases.
The treatment involves vigorous knuckling movements and whipping strokes from your therapist or ‘ trainer’, which gradually increase in speed and intensity as the workout progresses. The aim is to stimulate circulation, cell renewal and wrinkle-busting collagen production.
My treatment — or ‘workout’ as they call it — was augmented by use of a FaceGym Pro, an electrical muscle stimulation tool that emits electrical waves to stimulate facial muscles. Remember Slendertone? Well, it’s the same principle.
DOES IT HURT? Honestly? Yes, a bit. This definitely isn’t a relaxing massage, but my jawline, in particular, was noticeably tighter after my pummelling.
Strangely enough, the electrical stimulation wasn’t at all painful, although feeling your lips and eyelids move unbidden is a very peculiar sensation.
RECOVERY TIME? No more than there would be after working out any other part of your body — in my case some mild aching around the cheekbones.
COST? The Signature Electrical that I went for costs £90.
WHERE? Available at the FaceGym studios on King’s Road and at Selfridges in London. There are plans to move to more locations in the UK.
The studios have the vibe of a juice bar — in fact there’s an actual bar at King’s Road where you can blend your own face oil. For more information, visit facegym.com.
THE LUNCH HOUR BABY LASER
WHAT’S ON THE MENU? The baby laser has a brightening, plumping effect so is used with other treatments for different effects — I went for the £99 ‘Face Up & Be Illuminated’ treatment where the laser is combined with radio frequency (builds collagen) and an antioxidant tonic, which penetrates the skin via ultrasound.
HOW FAST? A treatment from the Debbie Thomas ‘D. Thomas Illuminate’ range featuring the baby laser takes 20 minutes.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL? These treatments are tailored to giving you a before-work, lunchtime or pre-party boost so they’re short, but very effective.
DOES IT HURT? Not at all. I’m not a fan of lasers, having had some very painful IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) experiences in the past, but these feel like you are being gently flicked. In fact, at various points I could only tell the laser was in operation because of the faint smell of burning (a common feature of laser treatments) and the lights flashing through my protective goggles.
RECOVERY TIME? Hardly any, but the menu does indicate a risk of redness after the treatment just in case you’ve got an important event the same day. This should subside in 24 to 72 hours.
COST? Treatments start at £79 and go up to about £129. You can save money with block bookings as these are mild enough for weekly treatments.
WHERE? In the Beauty Lounge on the ground floor at Harvey Nichols in London, and Manchester and Liverpool Harvey Nichols within the year.
Being slap bang next to the beauty counters, these treatments are intended to appeal to the passing shopper. Visit