Eyebrow Threading

A galvanic facial involves the use of a direct current to ‘push’ the facial products further into the skin. What actually happens is that the application of either a negative or positive current via a metal roller makes the surface of your skin more receptive to products.

However the real reason it works is because a small amount of either lye or hydrochloric acid is formed around the roller, and in SMALL amounts these can either stimulate or soothe the skin a great deal.

Obviously great care needs to be taken so ensure you visit a therapist with experience, and if you feel a tingling feeling at any time then let her know. Galvanic facials are incredibly pleasant though, so don’t be scared off by talk of currents!

A standard facial is a salon treatment that is well over 100 years old, perhaps even more. It derives from Helena Rubinstein’s original categorisation of skin types (normal, oily, dry, combination, acne prone etc).

What usually happens is preparation of the skin (removal of products, makeup, cleansing), deep cleaning (extraction, unblocking pores) and, if required, moisturising or soothing and stimulation or massage. Products often used are witch hazel, calamine, kaolin, fullers earth and rosewater.

The facial is tailored to your individual skin type, so the first time you have one your beauty therapist will spend a few minutes examining your skin under a magnifying lamp.

After the first facial you may actually look worse(!) due to the deep cleaning and manipulation of the skin. However your skin soon recovers and after a course of several treatments you can then choose to have a facial less often to ‘top up’ the effects.

If you suffer from acne you may find a salon facial is better at treating the problem than prescription medicine.

Eyelash extensions are simply a step up from the old fashioned individual eyelashes glued on with traditional eyelash glue. The difference is that the glue used is more of a bond, and the extensions stay stuck until the actual lash naturally falls out.

If you look closely at the next mascara commercial on tv or at the movies you’ll often see in small print that eyelash extensions or ‘enhancements’ were used. Eyelash extensions are relatively new in mainstream salons (less than 5 years) and for that reason are still very expensive.

Eyelash enhancements are a simple but very effective way to alter your appearance.

Eyelash tinting. This is simply colouring the eyelash so that mascara is not needed. You can either use a home kit or visit a salon, however you must ensure you do a patch test first otherwise you may have a bad reaction to the dye. The tint is brushed onto the lashes (whilst keeping your eyes closed) and left on for about 10 to 15 minutes before washing off. The results last as long as the lashes, ie when they fall out you’ll need to retint the newer lashes.

Eyelash perming: Curls the eyelashes so that they widen the eye. This is done using very small perming rods which are sticky. The lashes are rolled and then perming solution is applied. This is left on for several minutes before removing and/or neutralising. The results are dependent on how your hair reacts to the perming solution, so it may ‘fall out’ quickly. This is an alternative to manually curling eyelashes.