The secret to timeless beauty
Our guide to the subtle facial treatments that can plump, sculpt and rejuvenate your skin
Last year, it would have been laughable to suggest we would spend hours each day staring at our own faces like a bewitched Narcissus. Yet, in an era of home-working, this has become the accidental reality as we sit on video calls, seeing the movements of our features
reflected back at us in real time. ‘People are scrutinising themselves more frequently than ever,’ says the aesthetic doctor Maryam Zamani – and the results are not always positive. The phenomenon of ‘Zoom face’ can make fine lines and wrinkles appear more noticeable, as well as emphasising uneven texture and dullness, with the eyes and jawline most commonly drawing critique. ‘Bad angles and poor lighting on calls can distort the face and make imperfections look more severe than in reality.’
Indeed, half of British adults dislike how they look on video calls, according to a recent study by the skincare brand Medovie, while three-quarters of us report being unable to concentrate due to feeling self-conscious about our appearance. Moreover, almost four million British women believe that the pandemic has visibly aged them by up to five years.
No wonder remote-working has triggered a surge of interest in cosmetic ‘tweakments’, including Botox and filler, that aim not simply to make the patient look younger, but also to improve skin condition in the long term. Story in Marylebone and the Cadogan Clinic are among the practices to report a 100 per cent increase in appointments year-on-year as a result of the so-called ‘Zoom boom’.
The demographics of those booking treatments has shifted, too. ‘I’ve received enquiries for Botox and fillers from a much more diverse range of ethnicities,’ says Dr Rekha Tailor, a cosmetic doctor at the Surrey-based clinic Health & Aesthetics. ‘There was a widespread misconception that these were unsafe for dark skins, but research suggests otherwise.’
For Dr Saira Vasdev, the co-founder of Skin & Sanctuary clinic, this is a change in attitudes that is here to stay. ‘Our post-pandemic world will look dramatically different,’ she says. ‘Many have emerged from lockdown with a new determination to look and feel their best.’ becki murray