I don’t often write about facial treatments on here, but recently enjoyed one that really stood out for me and wanted to share. I’d been curious about trying a facial peel for a while and also rather nervous about the whole idea, so was happy to find a highly recommended clinic and brilliant aesthetician.
I went to Array Aesthetics in one of Belfast city centre’s oldest and most beautiful buildings, with a carved stone and ornate ironwork entrance, stained glass windows, a sweeping staircase and beautiful tiled walls. When I entered the treatment room and was greeted with the whaft of a Jo Malone diffuser, I knew I was onto a good thing!
My consultation before the treatment began completely put my mind at ease. My aesthetician, Eithne, talked me through every element in detail. Her depth of knowledge on all elements of skin, not just the treatment, is something I have rarely come across - she immediately gained my trust and has been recommended to many others since.
Described as a Medi-Facial, my treatment combined deep cleaning and exfoliation in a number of stages. The show stopper - a Cosmedix Pomegranate Peel - is a light superficial epidermal peel with no down time, good for a beginner like me!
It contains 15% lactic acid to stimulate cell turnover and some of nature's most potent antioxidants, including pomegranate seed oil, green algae astaxanthin and red wine resveratrol to target skin damaging free radicals. I did experience quite a lot of tingling during this stage - which is to be expected - moreso for my sensitive, rosaceous skin. The peel is left on for 2-10 minutes according to skin type (mine was 3 mins) and deliciously cold compresses were applied after to cool my skin.
The final step was the addition of a protective balm, Cosmedix Rescue, with black cherries, willow herb, shea butter and an SPF (essential daily after a peel). This felt really soothing and smelt divine!
The next day my skin felt incredibly smooth and my sister (who didn’t know I’d been) asked what on earth I’d been using on my skin as she wanted to buy it immediately (I gave her Eithne’s number). My pores looked finer, skin felt softer and looked more radiant for a couple of weeks after. Makeup even applied more smoothly and seemed to last longer with all those dead skin cells out of the way.
I realise that a lot of this is only relevant to those of my readers who live locally, but you may be able to find similar treatments using these products near you via this Medico certified salon locator. My treatment at Array Aesthetics was complimentary on this occasion but I’ll 100% be back and was not paid to write this, just genuinely impressed. The Pomegranate Peel costs £60 and you can see the full range of treatments and prices here.
