This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Jade Shelden is a skin specialist and her clinic is The Norfolk Skin Atelier. She emailed A&G during lockdown as she thought we might be interested in some skincare tips for our readers. Last week Annabel drove to Norfolk to stay with a girlfriend, Becky, who, like me, is always interested in improving and caring for our skin. The following morning they set off to meet Jade at her Skin Clinic in Wormegay, North Norfolk. Wormegay is a tiny village in the middle of nowhere and Jade’s clinic, The Norfolk Skin Atelier, is in her home that she shares with her husband and 16 month old son, soon to be joined by another baby. As we drove up Becky and Annabel wondered who on earth would travel so far to have a treatment with Jade. Three hours later they understood why clients come from far and wide to ask Jade advice on their skin.
Jade is extremely knowledgeable about human skin, she has beautiful skin herself. They soon realised that they were learning more in that first hour than they had in over 30+ years of going for regular facials with a beautician. Jade is a skin specialist with a lot of scientific knowledge whereas beauticians are therapists trained in the products that their salon chooses to stock.
Once Jade had been through each of their current skincare regimes, (they brought the products with us as she wanted to see their ingredients) she then directed them as to what they should be using. She told them what time of day we should be applying products (retinol only at night) and how often, without pushing any particular brand. There were so many lightbulb moments when they realised what they had been doing wrong.
Jade then analysed each of their skins in detail and gave them a different facial and to say both of them were thrilled with the results is an understatement.
Jade is going to be writing a fortnightly post on skincare for Annabel & Grace readers – each week tackling a different problem. She is happy to answer individual questions via email.
For this first post Jade is going to explain, below, what a medical facial is and then lead us through each of the facials she gave to Becky and Annabel.
WHAT IS A MEDICAL FACIAL?
There is a big difference between a spa facial and a medical facial. Spa facials are carried out purely for relaxation and indulgence. The products are filled with aromatherapy oils to give a sense of wellbeing.
A medical facial will be to reverse signs of cell damage, to correct dysfunctions in the skin and to create positive cellular DNA changes to get the skin functioning optimally to show healthy glowing skin on the outside. Things to look out for when looking for a skin specialist who can do this:
- Success stories: it’s easy to get Before and After images from a product company but skin transformations carried out by the skin specialist themself speaks volumes.
- Qualifications: most skin specialists come from a Beauty Therapy background but have chosen skin as their specialty. This requires further training than just a NVQ Level 3 Beauty Therapy. Skin Specialists will have studied individual courses such as: Level 4 Advanced Skin Analysis, Science of Corneotherapy, Laser and IPL Light treatments, Chemical Peels, Collagen Induction Therapy by Microneedling. There is a wide range of additional courses available but they aren’t under the 1 single qualification. Please note: Don’t always assume that a medical professional ie Doctor or Nurse has a higher education in skin conditions and treatments for those skin conditions. The wide range of skin treatments available aren’t a part of a medical degree.
- Wide range of treatments. It is impossible to address all skin conditions and skin concerns with just one modality. Her most performed facial treatments are Bespoke facials. Because not one person has the same skin as another and so cannot be treated the same. If a clinic is only offering chemical peels, which is basically an exfoliation, they are only topically exfoliating the skin, they are not treating the reason why that person needs a chemical exfoliation in the first place. Sadly it can be mis- sold to people even if they don’t need it because it is the only treatment they offer.
- Consultations: you should never be able to just book in for any treatment, because how do you know it’s the right one for you and your skin? Always seek a consultation for a correct diagnosis of your skin’s condition, have them explain why it’s behaving this way and what the steps would be to correct this.
ANNABEL’S TREATMENT
“After an assessment of Annabel’s skin, I chose the Diamond Facial as the best suitable treatment for her. In the skin assessment I found her skin to be well hydrated, good cell integrity and minimal sun damage. The areas of concern I wanted to focus on improving was the loss of elasticity and the natural degradation of collagen volume. “
I was so interested to hear that my skin was well hydrated because every facial I have ever had the therapist says my skin is so dry because all the products disappear or are absorbed into my skin so it must have been desperate. However Jade said that shows my skin is working well and receiving the creams and absorbing them as only healthy skin will do that. (More on this topic in Jade’s next post)
The Diamond facial uses the FDA approved medical device Venus Viva, this non invasive technology combines Multi Polar Radio Frequency and Pulsed Electro Magnetic Fields.
The Radio Frequency uses heat transferred into the dermal layer of the skin to cause an instant contraction of the collagen and elastin fibres and signals the skin to produce more collagen leaving the skin instantly tighter, smoother and brighter. Although 1 session gives instant amazing results, a series of 6-8 sessions 7-10 days apart give the best long lasting results.
BECKY’S TREATMENT
“For Becky I wanted to dedicate some time to her neck, decolletage and hands. Becky already had very good skin on her face but was showing the signs of sun and environmental damage on her chest and hands by the way of pigmentation, redness and broken capillaries. After an enzymatic exfoliation with melanin inhibitors on her face and neck (to reduce the pigmentation) I chose Celluma LED Light Therapy.”
“This 640nm Red Light created by NASA increases cellular energy, promotes collagen production, improves cell to cell communication and reduces inflammation. From this single session we could see a huge reduction in the redness and inflammation on the chest. While Becky was under the LED light I mixed a Lactic and Kojic acid peel with Melanin Inhibitors for her hands, this is to shed off some of the sun damaged cells holding the excess pigmentation to brighten the hands. Lactic Acid is a great choice peel to increase hydration in the area.”
As I said Becky and I came away seeing the benefits and having also learned so much about how to help improve our skin at home.
The next post will be on how to improve your skin health from the inside. For more info about Jade and the Norfolk Skin Atelier click HERE.
Jade will be sharing more tips with us, over the next few weeks, so don’t miss out and subscribe to our newsletter (below) to get her posts delivered direct to your inbox.