Spa spy Target practice

A high-tech facial at New Town Therapy, Edinburgh, leaves skin glowing and feeling soft

The treatment

A 90-minute Dermaviduals Prescriptive Facial, £85 at New Town Therapy, Edinburgh. The first 20 readers who book this facial and quote The Scotsman Offer, will receive a full size Dermaviduals Cleansing System and trial size Custom Blended Prescriptive Moisturiser worth £41.10.

Why go?

If you want a tailored treatment that targets specific concerns, like dryness, oily skin, or comedy-showrelated laughter lines, this is the facial for you.

Our spy says

My therapist, Barbara, meets me in the foyer of this neighbourhood business, which also offers yoga classes and physiotherapy.

There’s a homely vibe inside, though the treatment I’m testing out is rather medical sounding.

First off and my skin is analysed. I put my head into a kind of photographic box – say cheese – and the resulting image shows up any troublesome areas of sun damage or open pores. It’s not a pretty sight. Please, Barbara, is there any hope? She seems to think so, and decides to work on my dry and wrinkly bits. She explains that her chosen product line, Dermaviduals, is formulated using the rules of corneotherapy, which aims to repair the skin’s natural barrier instead of scrubbing it away. Ideal for a dehydrated epidermis like mine. She gently cleanses my skin, then smooths on a gentle enzyme peel to prepare it for the active ingredients that are to follow.

Another layer of potion goes on, which contains the ingredients that Barbara has been tinkering away with. It’s a bespoke blend of hyaluronic acid, linseed extract and evening primrose, as well as vitamins A and C to help with collagen production. To help this mixture penetrate, Barbara revs up the sonophoresis machine, which uses sound waves, then passes its probes across my skin. This doesn’t make for a particularly unpleasant sensation, though there’s a feedback sound in my ears, like I’m at a rock gig. No pogo-ing though, I lie very still.

This is followed by an alginate mask (for added hydration and to assist further in product penetration, according to Barbara). While it slowly solidifies, I’m treated to a hand and arm massage, then the white mask is peeled off in a oner. The final element is the most pleasurable – a facial rub using the Dermaviduals Massage Cream which contains lots of natural oils as well as phosphatidylcholine (a biochemical product found in plants and egg yolk) to seal in the moisture.

The results

My skin looks glowing and feels soft. I’m a newly hatched chick, ready to head back into the festival fray. n

New Town Therapy (31a Dundas Street, Edinburgh, 0131-557 6741, newtowntherapyedinburgh.com). From 4 September, New Town Therapy will have a new location at 5 Dundonald Street, Edinburgh