Beauty bible

Moisturising from within

REGULARS WILL KNOW I’m lowintervention on the cosmetic-tweaking front. Not because I disapprove of tweaking – high, low or off the spectrum. Whatever it takes. But I’m wary. Fillers, so one school of thought goes, stretch the skin. Botox atrophies the muscles. Lips? I’ve never seen a pair that convinced me. Laser treatments to erase wrinkles and soften ‘blemishes’? Ultimately you’re thinning your skin. Cities like New York, where dermatologists are two a dime and keen on these things, are full of papery faces. Have a nice day.

You can argue all this the other way, and the Botox and filler doctors do. But I go with what I see and what I glean from experts who deal with skin on a daily basis. I’m no scientist, but the people I trust on this kind of thing generally are, so I’m with them, dawdling on the side of caution, although God knows I’m tempted to get my downturny mouth lines done, so watch this space.

Meanwhile, there’s one tweakment gaining more and more buzz, which I’ve tried and absolutely love. Profhilo involves needles. It also involves injecting a solution into your skin, so it’s definitely one step on from using a highly potent cosmeceutical cream. But the liquid in question is hyaluronic acid. We’ve discussed this wonder substance before: it holds up to 1,000 times its own weight in water, which makes it a mighty hydrating, plumping agent. We produce it naturally, but all the usual culprits – ageing, sun degradation, free radicals – slow down the supply. It’s now pumped into everything from moisturisers and cleansers (can’t really see the point of that) to shampoos – and doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Garden of Wisdom’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum is £9 for 30ml on victoriahealth.com. (Use all HA serums under a moisturiser or you’ll just draw moisture out of your skin.)

If you want a more sustained, concentrated, targeted hit; if you’re feeling (and looking) worn out; if you’re seeklifting, ing a bit of lift, tone and a whole lot of retexturising, then Profhilo could be for you. It’s hightly effective targeted injections of moisturiser.

Does it hurt? The blurb says it’s painless. I beg to differ. I’m a wimp – on a scale of relaxing to childbirth, I’d say five. But the injections – five on each side of your face – take less than 10 minutes. And the effects, which really start to kick in after about a month, are fun. I can’t tell you the number of compliments I’ve had. Skin really does look – favourite beauty word – radiant. As for contouring and jaw defining – it’s subtle but perceptible. You can also get Profhilo on your neck, hands, knees... anywhere in need of an MOT. It’s far from cheap – about £790 a treatment at Dr Rita Rakus in Knightsbridge, where I went (ask about the packages, which work out costing less). On average, clients have two treatments every eight months or so. As more places offer it, I think we’ll be seeing women moving away from pillow-and-rigor-mortis faces. This stuff ’s good. drritarakus.com

Profhilo moisturises from the inside out