I’ve generally been really lucky with my skin. Throughout my teenage years I had nothing more than the odd spot and these days one only really crops up when my hormones are running awry. This has made me exceptionally lazy and I have no real skin care regime, just soap and water and a bit of moisturiser when I remember. Clear skin aside, I do have a few niggles- my face gets very tight and sore from dryness especially at this time of year to the point where under my eyes gets tender. My skin is also quite sensitive which makes me reluctant to try new products.

Recently I was invited along to DestinationSkin in Bristol, a place I must have walked past countless times without really noticing- I had always assumed it wasn’t for me.

DestinationSkin is more of a skin clinic than a beauty parlour. Facials are on prescription and treatments such as IPL hair removal and botox are available. I was booked in for a prescription facial and was intrigued as to what the clinician would make of my skin.

The place itself was lovely. I was a bit apprehensive about how relaxing it would be due to the clinic being smack bang in the middle of The Galleries shopping centre. Although not as busy as Cabot Circus it still gets it’s fair share of foot traffic on a Saturday morning which is when I was booked in for.
I needn’t have worried, as soon as I stepped foot inside to be greeted by the super friendly girls on the desk I felt relaxed. I was shown to the chic waiting area, which is behind a frosted glass wall for privacy. There was a selection of local magazines as well as all the information you could possibly want about the company and what they do. I was given a lenghty piece of paperwork to fill out which included my personal details, past medical history and what medications I take…this is to ensure that none of the treatments given can do you any harm and I felt reassured by the thorough nature of this.

Once I had done all the paperwork the lovely lady who was going to do my treatment came out to introduce herself. She was so bubbly and friendly right from the start which put me right at ease. She also had the most flawless skin imaginable and I found myself hoping I’d leave looking even half as good as she did. She took my through to one of several treatment rooms towards the back of the clinic. This ensured that despite the busy shopping centre all you could hear was the relaxing music being played. The clinic room was spotlessly clean and tidy- just as the reception area had been. Despite being more on the medical side this place had the feel  of a luxury salon too.

The first thing Bonsyia my consultant did was go through all of the paperwork I had filled in. Once she was satisfied I was fit for treatment she laid me back on the couch and cleansed and exfoliated my skin. She then gave it an examination to determine my skin type and what facial she should prescribe. The next step was sticking my head in a box. Somewhat unconventional I’m sure, but this box was a UV light to assess skin for sun damage and other trouble spots. Thankfully I had little sun damage, I had been concerned about this being so pale and I’ve sworn to be better with the sun protection. The light also showed up a couple of oily patches on my otherwise very dehydrated skin and a heck of a lot of freckles!

I was prescribed the DermaQuest Signature Stem Cell Facial which sounded more like it belonged in a laboratory than on my face! My skin was once again cleansed and then the first of two face masks was applied and my face was massaged to encourage the active ingredients to work. It was quite an odd sensation and I was a bit nervous about what the ingredients were doing to me, but with ingredients like fruit acids I knew that although they sounded scary they wouldn’t do much harm! After the first mask was removed and my skin cleansed again the second mask was applied. This one smelt heavenly but it made my face tingle a lot! It got to the point of quite uncomfortable and I was worried I was having some kind of reaction but apparently this is a normal sensation and once the mask was removed and my skin cleansed again (I swear my skin had never felt so clean!) the sensation faded and was gone completely a couple of hours later. A host of products were applied to finish the look- a daily enzyme cleanser, a B5 serum and a SPF to name a few (let me know if you want exact names and details). The products are all available to purchase but as tempted as I was I just couldn’t afford them.

I was so impressed with the effects of this facial. Almost a week on and my skin looks great. Due to the active ingredients the treatment continues to work for a few days and despite a general anaesthetic and a lack of daylight my skin is still glowing and soft.

At £50 this isn’t something I’d do on a regular basis but I will go back once or twice a year to get my skin in tip-top condition. I’d highly recommend DestinationSkin to anyone with skin woes, y0u can go along for a free, no obligation consultation to get an idea of what they can do for you and there are often special deals and payment plans available.

A huge thank you to the lovely ladies working last Saturday for making me feel so welcome and for giving me the confidence to walk through central Bristol bare faced for the first time ever.

Have you ever had a prescription facial? I’d love to know your thoughts.