Q: I had my first facial under duress from my girlfriend and my skin has reacted really badly. I’ve got red patches and it feels really uncomfortable. I’m worse off than I was to start with. What’s the point of men’s facials?
Our expert Ahmed Zambarakji answers your questions below:
A: When skin isn’t used to regular treatment, it tends to play up when it first comes into contact with professional treatment. It’s difficult to give advice without knowing where you went, what your skin is like or what kind of products were used. Nonetheless, you can rest assured that your skin will eventually calm down. It doesn’t sound too serious and you never have to go back to that therapist again.
Unfortunately, a lot of the big brand spas tend to perform facials with a one-size-fits-all approach. Which, frankly, is a rather short-sighted way of tackling trickier skin conditions - everyone responds differently to different kinds of techniques and formulas.
Don’t let one bad experience put you off, though. A good facial every month or so can really help improve the condition of your skin. The catch, as you’ve discovered, is finding a decent therapist who knows what they’re doing, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Nine times out of ten you’ll find someone good through word of mouth, rather than trial and error. The last tip off we got, directed us to Sherron Holder-Culver, a former spa-based specialist, who has set up her own business out of a private members’ gym in Chelsea.
Going solo has allowed her to offer guys a tailor-made solution that isn’t limited by one technique, brand or concoction. So the chances of you flaring up after one of her facials is highly unlikely. Treatment with Holder Culver is an almost medical affair involving a series of ominous looking-gadgets (including oxygen jets and LED machines) that she sources directly from Japan, where skincare is decades ahead of the European market.
Among her arsenal of skin solutions are formulae from cult cosmeceutical company Florlle’d, a little-known Japanese brand that pioneered a low-molecular hyaluronic acid (essentially a natural ‘plumper’). Expect her to mix and match serums ‘mad scientist’ style for formidable results.
HYALOGY O2 HYDRADERM FACIAL £225, 70 minutes; 3 Jubilee Place, Chelsea, London, SW3; 020 7351 3332; [email protected] ; spandco.co.uk
Find Ahmed on theexfoliator.com
