Mesotherapy is considered by some – including Bazaar’s Katy Young – to be the gold-standard in skincare. A potent blend of vitamins and antioxidants injected directly into the skin where they can get to work right away, as opposed to slapping on a face cream and hoping for the best, does indeed sound ideal. But, for those of us not ready (or too fearful of needles) to take that step, we think we may have found the next best thing.
FACEGYM has long been known for its ‘workouts’; massage-based facials designed to target a multitude of needs, including de-puffing, lifting, detoxing, and radiance-boosting. While they're not the most relaxing facials we’ve ever had, they certainly rank among the most results-driven. Now the company, founded by Inge Theron, has added another weapon to its – and your skin’s – arsenal. Skin IV applies a custom range of vitamins, acids and oxygen to the skin at super high-speed, using a high-pressure hand piece designed to accelerate absorption into the skin. Applied directly to the surface of the skin, it helps to remove dead skin cells and unblock pores.
'At FACEGYM we pride ourselves on delivering results in the shortest time possible so Skin IV was a natural progression for us,' Theron tells Bazaar. 'I was eager to focus on specific skin concerns in a quick and efficacious, almost medical-grade manner.'
Skin IV can be added as a ‘bolt-on’ treatment to any workout: customers can choose from a deep clean cocktail (infused with glycolic acid, vitamin B5 and aloe vera), a pro-age cocktail (tripeptides and hyaluronic acid) or a clear-skin cocktail (which uses mandelic acid to decongest troubled skin). Each ‘bolt-on’ follows FACEGYM’S anti-pollution clean, a blend of aloe barbadenis, silver oxide, sodium lactate and hyaluronic acid blasted onto the skin – Theron likens it to a car wash: "It takes the dirt off the bonnet."
'The cocktails are able to further penetrate the epidermis after the quick clean because it clears the skin and pores, leaving them able to fully receive the benefits of the client’s chosen cocktails or shots,' says Theron. 'I have always thought we needed a stronger approach to cleaning the skin given our locations in pollution-heavy cities like London and New York.'
Further five-minute shots can be added after this – choose from a vitamin C Shield Shot, a vitamin B5 Glow Shot, or a vitamins A and E Recovery Shot.
'It’s for all ages and all skin types,' says Theron. 'I also wanted to offer trouble-shooting solutions for acne-prone skin which my younger customer battles, pigmentation which more than half of my customers have issues with and of course give the super-hydrated healthy glow people have come to expect from our workouts.'
When Bazaar went along to try out the treatment, we opted for the clear-skin cocktail followed by the shield shot. True to FACEGYM form, it was 35 minutes of the kind of treatment any facial connoisseur revels in – the feeling of the hand piece is not what one would call pleasant, but neither is it uncomfortable, and you can almost feel your skin becoming brighter and clearer. So glowy and fresh was our skin afterwards that we didn’t even feel the need to reapply make-up before heading to our next meeting.
As for its similarities with mesotherapy, Theron says: 'I would say it’s next-gen mesotherapy. Advancements in ingredients mean the liquids are really very strong, along with the fact you can choose and layer on various different parts of the face. Yes, the needle-free proposition is probably the biggest difference.'
Skin IV, from £15 for the ‘Quick Clean’ when added to your chosen workout, is available at FACEGYM’S King’s Road and Selfridges London branches.
