2017 ‘WTF IS THIS?!’ BEAUTY GLOSSARY So it turns out ‘cryotherapy’ is not just having a weep to Long Lost Family
As we welcome in another year full of incomprehensible trends, unpronounceable ingredients and nigh-on-inexplicable treatments, we ask: which are bang-on and which are best forgotten?
1 Microchannelling
Not keen on your crow’s feet? Stick a patch on them, studded with miniscule 0.5mm plastic needles. They create ‘micro-channels’ for the hyaluronic-acid serum that follows, allowing it to penetrate deep enough into the skin for it to actually do something. The patch system is called Radara and costs £199. Doesn’t sound torturous enough? Go to town with an at-home ‘dermaroller’ (a sort of mini paint roller featuring 0.1mm metal needles; try the Environ Cosmetic Roll-CIT, £67) instead.
BUZZ OR BULL? Buzz. Medical facialist Kate Kerr is one of the countless fans of professional micro-needling, “which involves a roller with much longer needles to cause controlled trauma. It gets skin to produce more collagen.” She says it’s something at-home micro-channelling doesn’t do, “but the funnelling of actives deep into skin is the same with both pro and DIY needling, and will help soften lines”. We actually quite like sticking the patches into our flesh, in a masochism-withbenefits kind of way.
2 Cryotherapy
Ice therapy has blasted onto the beauty scene like an Arctic blizzard. From repairing muscles to promoting weight loss, collagen formation and fighting acne, ‘cryo’ is beauty’s new answer to practically all your woes. Sub-zero spa rooms and facials with icy air or -300C metal balls are coming to a salon near you.
BUZZ OR BULL? Bull. “Whole-body cryo can reduce muscle soreness and boost the immune system, and I can see some future for cryo in acne treatments,” says Tracy Mountford, medical director of The Cosmetic Skin Clinic. But, adds plastic surgeon and skin expert Marko Lens, “There is no scientific evidence whole-body cryotherapy aids muscle recovery, slimming, wound healing, or has any effect on wrinkles. Studies even failed to show it boosts microcirculation or endorphin levels.” Oh. Just don’t confuse it with cryolipolysis (as in CoolSculpting), which removes fat by freezing it. That does work.
3 Eartox Watch out, there’s a new body area to worry about. Earlobes can become saggy and discoloured with age, and plumping them out with dermal fillers is apparently the answer. The Botox-free practice is called ‘eartox’ (confusingly), and can also help earrings ‘sit properly’.
BUZZ OR BULL? Bull. Please, let’s reserve our lobes for dressing up, not fretting over. Red-hot jewellery designer and piercer Maria Tash says subtle, not-too-heavy piercings “draw the eye to the jewellery, and not to any perceived imperfections in the skin or shape of the cartilage”. Ask for your lobe piercing to be ‘forward-angled’, so the design is visible head-on and can “light up a face, especially when the colour flatters the undertone in your skin” – think silver for cool and gold for warm. Or try ear make-up: we’ve seen gold-painted lobes, polka-dotted cartilage, abstract line designs… all of it looking really rather cool. 4 SculpSure There are myriad ‘laser’ treatments that claim to heat up fat cells to the point of killing them, promising volume loss after your lymph system has flushed the cells out. Only they don’t employ lasers at all (but rather, radiofrequency or ultrasound waves), and the so-called ‘killing’ is actually temporary fat-cell leakage. Which rarely (or, in our case, never) results in any body streamlining. SculpSure is the latest ‘fat-removal laser’ to claim cell death and permanent fat loss – so is this one for real?
BUZZ OR BULL? Buzz. Granted, we haven’t tried it, but this one is legit, and we’re booked in. “This is the first time an (actual) laser has been able to produce enough heat to cause cell death,” says Dr Benji Dhillon of London’s Phi Clinic. “Its wavelength zaps fatty tissue, but isn’t absorbed by skin tissue [which would cause it to burn].” A single treatment should permanently reduce stubborn pockets of fat; prices are determined by how many laser paddles (£250 a pop) are needed to cover the area. It’s the first fat-reducing laser approved by the respected US Food And Drug Administration (FDA); plus, some of our most trusted doctors are excited about it, which is saying something. 5 LED Light-emitting diode therapy has been a facialist’s standby for yonks, but it’s gaining traction as a separate treatment in salons, or even as a walk-in facial (at The Light Salon at Harvey Nichols London and Leeds, £35). Spending 15 minutes under a panel of these lights set at specific wavelengths tackles acne (blue light) or rejuvenates skin (red and yellow light). Er, really?
BUZZ OR BULL? Buzz. The healing, calming and antibacterial effects of LED are quickly noticeable, which is why so many therapists incorporate them. The tone-evening, plumping, collagen-boosting benefits take longer to show, but as the lights are proven to ramp up skin-cell energy and function, slow and steady wins the race. Meaning you need to have LED a lot (twice a week, initially). Not a hardship (aside from the cost), as marinating in LED is unbelievably soothing and uplifting; the lights boost endorphins and can even treat SAD. 6 Bionic polyhydroxy acids These rather more advanced grandchildren of alpha hydroxy acids (the ones that peel away decrepit skin cells and boost fresh ones) don’t just do as gramps and granny acid did. They are also said to be powerful antioxidants, as well as hydrate skin and neutralise skin-damaging heavy metals in pollution. Too good to be true?
BUZZ OR BULL? Buzz. “Numerous clinical trials underpin these findings, and there is a further benefit: due to their slow but steady penetration, bionic PHAs such as lacto- and maltobionic acid don’t irritate, not even around the eyes,” says consultant dermatologist Dr Sandeep Cliff. Sounds like just the kind of acids we like to drop; try Exuviance Age Less Everyday moisturiser (£49). 7 Colour contouring So, you can recontour your bone structure and flatter your skin tone by highlighting and shading… your hair? “It’s set to be the hair-colour trend of the year,” says Issie Churcher, the Wella Professionals Colour Club technician who contoured models’ locks for the PPQ show with peach and silver highlights and a freehand ‘balayage’ highlighting technique.
BUZZ OR BULL? Buzz. “Placing high- and lowlights to bring out an individual’s face shape is really effective, but it’s a skill any good colourist will have,” says Percy & Reed’s Adam Reed. “It’s more about an in-depth consultation and individually tailored placement of skin-flattering hues than a prescribed technique.” Try any salon that offers bespoke colour and a lengthy consultation. Even if they don’t advertise ‘contouring’ (or ‘zigzag balayage’, or ‘colour zoning’, to name just two alternative terms), chances are that’s what you’ll be able to get. ◆