Words: Belinda Mountain | Images: Supplied
I’ve reached an age where there is all manner of treatments and procedures that can be done to my face. No doubt you can choose to undertake these when you’re younger as well, but when you’re faced with dewy 20-something skin in the mirror, you are far less likely to consider spending your hard-earned cash on these things. Not so as you careen towards 40. Facials have become a necessary indulgence for me, so I was excited to review Chelsea Clinic & Spa’s 90-minute customised luxury facial.
On arriving at the spa in Wynberg, my therapist Nicole spent time analysing my skin and then chose which products to use. Cleansing, steaming, exfoliation and “extractions” followed.
It was then time for a post-extraction solution to kill any nasty bacteria, after which a customised serum and masque were applied, followed by a heavenly shoulder and facial massage. What makes a luxury facial different to a basic one, is that you get two extra waxing or tinting treatments included, like a lip wax and an eyebrow tint. Also − why, as you get older, must hairs start sprouting from your chin in the most alarming manner? Luckily the spa now offers a treatment called Epilfree, which targets light coloured hairs (unlike laser) and gets rid of errant chin hairs permanently, at an affordable price.
Nicole was hugely knowledgeable about all sorts of treatments and products I had never heard about, such as ColourScience sunscreen that goes on in powder form, so you simply reapply it over your make up, chemical peels and microneedling, and even a very popular treatment called the MonaLisa Touch, which is all about gynaecological health. You learn something new every day.
The spa is all rich velvet and twinkling chandeliers, glowing candles and Zenlike courtyard gardens. You emerge from it feeling utterly pampered, with the smell of clean mint in your nostrils, the feel of hot towels on your weary skin, and a lighter spring in your step as you go about your day.
Chelsea Clinic & Spa
021 797 5001
chelseaspa.co.za