They say oily skin is a blessing as it keeps your skin elastic and youthful for longer. However, as someone with this skin type, I’ve been awaiting the day when I can consider myself “blessed” for some time now. First I had to survive my teenage years, constantly trying to battle the breakout. Throughout my 20s they persisted, and then the birth of my children sent everything haywire again.
I have always suffered with enlarged pores and greasy skin, and let me tell you I’ve tried it all. Deep cleansing facials, extractions, peels, expensive masks and home remedies, pore refining products… you name it.
Some of these treatments have made their way into my daily routine, and while many of them produce desirable results, I certainly haven’t seen any drastic improvements in a over 15 years. The enlarged pores never really fade, and I have acne scarring from my youth that I cover daily with foundation. What’s more, making a habit of these treatments becomes a pretty expensive hobby!
After hitting constant dead-ends with my skincare routine, I was more than thrilled by a recent chance encounter at the gym. I met Sebastiano shortly after finishing a pretty gruelling workout. He told me he was from Sicily, and like most Italians, I could tell he liked to look after himself. I complained to Sebastiano about endless breakouts after gym sessions, and pointed out the irony of improving certain parts of the body, while simultaneously making others worse (namely my poor, pimpled visage!)
Sebastiano told me that he was an expert in beauty procedures and ran his own centre in London’s Bellezza Clinic in Marylebone. Working alongside his beautiful wife Maria, the rather suave Italian told me that he’d tried all of his popular treatments on his wife, so he could see the results first hand. Their mission, he said, is “to enhance our client’s natural form and help them to achieve their most gorgeous and confident self.”
The first treatment he suggested was a type of Botox facial that I tried a few weeks ago. A superficial amount of Botox was injected into my sebaceous glands in the upper layers of the skin. It uses a small amount of Botox, diluted into a solution, and applied topically to the face with the help of a micro-needling pen. The Botox isn’t injected into the deep tissue, so you won’t get the same “wrinkle-smoothing” effect of Botox injections. You also need far fewer units (maybe 3-5 units) than with a regular Botox injection treatment.
The treatment works by targeting the sweat and oil glands in the skin as well as the erector pili muscles, which are responsible for opening the pores. The claim is that by doing so, your skin will look tighter, smoother and less shiny. While it won’t work for everyone, the Botox facial also claims to prevent acne breakouts by suppressing oil production. Watch this space…
This week I decided to try the notorious Vampire facial, made famous by stars like Kim Kardashian and Bar Rafaeli.
The rather en vougue treatment is a combination of a microdermabrasion, followed by the application of platelet-rich plasma. This “PRP” is derived from the your own blood to stimulate cell turnover. In other words, it’s a facial that uses your own blood.
The treatment took about an hour in total and while it may look painful, you actually don’t feel a thing due to the large amounts of anaesthetic used. I had the treatment in the morning and once the anaesthetic wore off there was a bit of burning, but by the evening my skin was already feeling plumper. The redness hasn’t yet subsided, meaning I’ve been avoiding daylight just like a vampire, but I plan to post more post-treatment photos so you can judge the effects for yourself.
