There was a time when all I really needed was a sassy dress, a great pair of heels, minimal make up and I was good to go. Then came three children. But, with a little more effort and planning and even though I had a lot less time to get ready, I still scrubbed up pretty well. Now several years past my last big birthday with a zero in it, looking my best is taking a lot more time, effort and product. The things that were my usual go tos aren’t working their magic any more. It was time to take stock and have a long hard look in the mirror. There were a couple of obvious to dos: make time to have my hair cut more regularly ditto minimising the strands of grey. Of course eat less, drink less and move more is a given! But what the mirror really told me was that I was aging. Strangely enough that was a shock!
I decided it was time to ask the experts as I wanted to look a healthier, more rested, more vibrant version of the current me. Who better to ask than Alison Telfer, founder of The Glasshouse, the award winning facial aesthetics clinic, just off Northcote Road. Alison has a thriving, well established practice having opened nigh on ten years ago in 2009. She is currently putting the finishing touches to a new clinic in Wimbledon Village. When not in clinic, Alison teaches in Harley Street. It was Alison’s name and the The Glasshouse clinic which was recommended time and time again when I was trying to decide what to do next.
The first stage in the process was a comprehensive half hour consultation with Alison. This costs £55 but is money well spent as it results in a bespoke treatment plan. For example retinols, which apparently is THE anti-ageing treatment at the moment, is not right for my over sensitive, allergic reaction prone skin. I filled in a detailed questionnaire beforehand which Alison had read before we started the consultation. This informed the conversation throughout and is why the retinol route was firmly ruled out. One of the first things Alison asked was what I liked about my face and what I hoped to achieve. Alison explained about the frame and the canvas of the face: the frame being the structure with its fine lines and wrinkles, deeper lines and sagging; the canvas is the skin itself. We talked about botox and dermal fillers for the structure and retinols, peels, derma rollers, IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) and skin care for the canvas.
Taking into account my medical and skin history, my likes and dislikes about my face and my cautious nature, Alison recommended that the best place for me to start was with my skin – the canvas. The combination of uneven skin tone, high colour, pigmentation, broken veins and loss of volume are ageing. A course of IPL would tackle all of these to even out my skin tone whilst also encouraging the production of collagen. The overall effect will be to give a natural, more vibrant, rested appearance and plumper skin.
I’ve had the patch test and I’m about to embark on a programme of IPL for the face. I’ll tell you more about the IPL in my next review and let you know how I get on.
Also on my improvements wish list is eliminating the road map of veins around my knees and the varicose vein in my left leg which means I can’t wear zip up long boots without agony. Oh, and all the red and purple spider veins either side of my ribs which burst with every singly pregnancy! If anybody has any recommendations for these then do let me know.
Thanks
Clare
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