THE GOOD FACIAL GUIDE Give your skin some extra TLC

Brighter, clearer, tighter-looking skin? ‘Yes, please!’ says Red’s beauty team

Facials: what makes a good one? As with most things in beauty, the answer has to be… well, it depends. On what you want, where you’re starting from, where you live, and, perhaps most critically of all, how much you want to spend. Unlike most other things in beauty, facials are further complicated by the fact they’re delivered in person, with varying degrees of deftness and expertise. So who you know matters, or rather where to go and what to ask for. Which is where this feature comes in: 16 stand-out treatments that raise the bar in treating the skin. Some are the stuff of beauty bucket lists, others could be factored into a lunchtime now and then, but all promise smoother, fresher, clearer and brighter-looking skin. And then there’s user experience. While some of us want to slide off the treatment bed punch-drunk on massage, others prefer the dazzling lights of an LED lamp and results-driven tingle of a chemical peel. In many of the following, there’s no need to choose. Modern services take skin on a whistle-stop tour through any number of disciplines – from microcurrent to micro-needling – but even the most gadgety treatments generally involve an element of rest and relaxation, and facials that were once known as ‘classic’ (cleanse, massage and drift off) now borrow a little something from science. We’ll take it all, please. See you in the waiting room.

Elizabeth Arden Red Door Speed Services (Nationwide)

Few lunchtime facials truly have you back at your desk within the hour. Fewer still make a difference in that slim window. Not so these speedy skin MOTS, carried out at department store counters across the UK (don’t panic, you’re upright and fully clothed) using LED, mini peels and clever massage techniques that leave faces feeling deep-down clean and lifted.

Red recommends 15-minute Skintervention Custom Solutions,

£15 (redeemable against purchase)

Skinwork (London)

The clue’s in the name: facials in this welcoming basement (underneath Alex Eagle’s beautiful London lifestyle store) put skin through its paces with a hardworking sequence of galvanic current, vitamin C-soaked gauze and skilled extractions. You won’t drift off, despite a stress-relieving neck and shoulder massage, but you wouldn’t want to – there’s much expertise to pick up from founder Eilidh Smith and her team. Skin looks fresh, bouncy and transformed.

Red recommends 70-minute Signature Facial, £140

Anne Semonin (Nationwide)

There’s just something about an Anne Semonin facial – if ever you spot one (in a European hotel spa most likely, though there are eight UK locations) snap it up. Thoughtful therapists use enveloping movements to drain fluid, boost circulation and layer on beautifully scented oils, serums and masks in flowing succession. Less facial treatment, more a cocoon of care. You’ll walk – no, float – out gleaming. Red recommends 60-minute Detoxifying Facial, £100

Clarins (Nationwide)

Clarins facials do that clever thing of somehow being solid but also modern. House technique The Art Of Touch incorporates more than 80 massage and drainage movements, from feather-light to deeply stimulating, and therapists aren’t afraid to use them (for a full 25 minutes per facial, in its newest treatment menu). Modern concerns, such as pollution, stress and hormonal change, are tackled, too, and the skincare smells as glorious as ever. Red recommends 70-minute Radiance Booster, £74

CACI (Nationwide)

Technology was CACI’S USP long before other brands latched on. Interchangeable heads powered by electrical currents are passed over the skin to exfoliate, cleanse, lift muscles, stimulate tissue healing and boost collagen production. It’s back on Red’s radar since chic and youthful-looking hair stylist Zoë Irwin credited her incredible glow and lifted cheekbones to regular treatments. Red recommends 90-minute Synergy Advanced, from £120

Cowshed (London & Somerset)

Impeccable quality control makes any Cowshed treatment a sure thing, whatever you book. The Signature Facial was devised by aesthetician Nichola Joss (known for her bespoke approach and muscle-lifting massage technique) and uses high-strength skincare from Skinceuticals alongside Cowshed’s plant-based oils. What you’ll get is a little piece of Joss’s magic carried out with pinpoint precision and skincare that really works. Blissful and effective. Red recommends 60/90-minute Bespoke Facial, £120/£140

Medik8 (Nationwide)

We have so much time for Medik8’s no-nonsense protocol: vitamin C, retinol and sunscreen all the way plus dependable add-ons, such as hyaluronic and exfoliating acids, all pleasurable to use despite the lack of fragrance and fluff. Facials follow suit, incorporating professional and practical advice, proven ingredients and (in the case of the new Platinum facial) a deeply satisfying neck and shoulder massage. If you’re seeking long-term strategy and serious change, consider the tailored 12-week programme, including regular peels and an at-home skincare regime.

Red recommends 60-minute Platinum Facial, from £65

Sarah Bradden (London)

Vibrant skin and sharper-looking cheekbones? Yes and yes! Though it’s Bradden’s healing bedside manner that’s really the thing – you’ll feel bathed in light, and not just from the LED lamps. Minty-fresh oxygen shoots up the nose while reflexology, reiki, LED and acupuncture (face and feet) boost circulation and balance energy levels, and a gua sha massage conjures up contours as if by magic – though most clients leave on such a high they forget to look in the mirror. Red recommends 90-minute Cosmetic Acupuncture, £250

The Light Salon (London)

This chic and cosy facials lounge is all about the LED: for calming inflammation, clearing blemishes, keeping skin looking plump and bright, and a whopping serotonin boost. Any number of extras are available (masks, peels, massage and micro-needling) but, for us, it’s the shorter services at 30 minutes or less that are sheer genius, either with cleanse included or over make-up. One Red staffer swears that regular visits keep her mood up, as well as her skin glowing. Red recommends 20 to 30-minute

The Bespoke Light, £35

Face Gym (London & Manchester)

Lavender-scented lie-down this is not. Face Gym’s energetic therapists (sorry, trainers) give muscles, blood flow and collagen supply a serious talking-to through a series of manual kneadings, pinchings and fast flicking strokes, with add-ons such as mild electric currents, radio frequency and frozen oxygen jets. It’s quick and uplifting (quite literally, in the case of jawline, brow and cheekbones), with a little bit of pain but a lot of gain.

Red recommends 55-minute Signature Sculpt, £75

Jasmina Vico (London)

Vico is London’s and LA’S aesthetician of the moment, thanks to her Instagram-documented work on Jodie Comer, Saoirse Ronan and other fresh-faced actors. Her consultation is unflinching, often touching on underlying issues such as gut health, for which she’ll happily recommend practitioners she thinks may further help. Vico’s aim is to leave skin looking juicy with health, and her tools of the trade include extraction and peels, laser and LED, micro-needling, mesotherapy and good, firm facial massage. She also treats (deep breath): teen and adult acne, hyperpigmentation, scarring and stretchmarks, skin tags, milia, rosacea, eczema and spider veins.

Red recommends 60-minute Vicoglow, £250

Mortar & Milk (London)

You can’t have your first facial at this calming Fulham clinic without an hour-long consultation with a clinical aesthetician, so treatment isn’t cheap, but facials are totally bespoke and you’ll go home armed with ways to make long-term change. Acne is co-founder Pamela Marshall’s specialist subject, her team are knowledgeable and kind, and treatments feature LED, micro-needling and gentle peels.

Red recommends Two-hour Consultation with Bespoke Skin Treatment, £275

‘MANIPULATION LIFTS, PLUMPS AND SCULPTS’

Caudalie (Nationwide)

For skincare that feels so sensorial, this stuff really works, whether it’s brightening, plumping or clearing blemishes and dark spots. Facials are equally effective and just as elegant an experience. Hands-on manipulation lifts, plumps and sculpts, though there may be hot and cold stones or gentle micro-needling, depending on which treatment you book. Red recommends 50-minute Resveratrol Lift, £70

Murad (Nationwide)

Peels are a serious business for Dr Howard Murad but so is self-care, which makes Murad Method facials feel like a treat as much as a results-driven service. Consultations cover sleep and stress management before skin is thoroughly cleansed and acids are applied in customised blends and layers, so even the strongest treatments are suitable for most. Critically, there’s some rhythmic lymphatic drainage and a rather lovely neck massage, too. Highly recommended.

Red recommends 60-minute Retinol Dual Phase Power Peel, £65

Bamford (Nationwide)

Bamford’s version of ‘nationwide’ is a curated one, with facials available in a handful of UK spas and on the Belmond Royal Scotsman luxury sleeper train. You’ll need a soft landing after such an immersive experience: hot and ice-cold jade stone massage, facial reflexology, lymphatic drainage, shiatsu back massage and even a foot bath, should you go for the full 90 minutes. A facial for birthday lists and bucket lists. Red recommends 30/60/90-minute Rejuvenating Organic Facial, £70/£130/£170

Sarah Chapman (London, Hampshire & Berkshire)

Polished, discreet yet cutting edge is what you’ll get from Sarah Chapman skincare, and from her facials, too. Therapists are scrupulously trained, so while bookings with Chapman are rare, her protégées all have her signature face-lifting trickery in their fingertips, plus state-of-the-art machinery at their disposal. You’ll leave looking significantly fresher.

Red recommends 60-minute Bespoke Luxury Facial, £130