A while ago when I first heard of FaceGym, I definitely wasn’t intrigued; I thought it involved going to Selfridges and doing some sort of exercise routine that would then be of benefit to your face. As someone who is all about the pamper, this was definitely not my idea of a treatment I’d enjoy! However, FaceGym is actually a workout for your face, and by that I mean, you’re paying a professional to put your face through it’s paces using various gadgets and techniques, whilst you just happily lay there letting it all happen; this is much more my type of thing. At the start of the year, FaceGym launched FaceCamp, a collection of five corrective treatment programs involving a series of treatments that are tailored to your specific concern; the five faces are Phone Face (£240), Winter Face (£470), FROW Face (£250), Fat Face (£525) and finally Sugar Face (£385) which is the one I was invited to try out.
Sugar Face involves four visits to FaceGym: 2 Signature Facials with Face Ball massage and Under Eye Booster, 1 Clear Lift Laser for acne and 1 Hollywood Lift Laser. The idea is that you have these procedures as close together as possible to see the full effect; ideally you want to have them all within 7-10 days, but definitely within 2-3 weeks of each other. To do this, I would really recommend booking all the appointments in one go to ensure you don’t end up leaving too long between each appointment. Due to the crazy start to my year, I struggled to fit the appointments in (especially as I needed them at the end of the day so I was able to attend events and work appointments first) so consequently I didn’t get the full, cumulative benefit of having all the treatments work in harmony with each other.
FaceGym is located in the awesome Beauty Workshop near the back of the store where the majority of the treatment-offering shops are situated. There are two chairs on the main floor where you can have the Signature Facial, plus a room behind the main floor where you have the laser treatments. As someone with terrible skin, I didn’t want to have any treatments on the shop floor where everyone could see, so I requested that they were all performed in the private room. I don’t know if this is an option for everyone, but I certainly think it’s worth asking about if you would struggle with the idea of having treatments on the shop floor, but obviously this will then restrict the availability of the treatment.
The Signature Facial is a brilliant, amazingly effective and quick treatment that involves a deep cleanse, gentle massage, before things really get going and your face is literally pummelled for a good 10 minutes or so before things are wound back down again. It’s an intensive and invigorating treatment that I personally absolutely love, as it’s the perfect example of the sort of thing that you just can’t do to yourself. I could not recommend the Signature Facial more highly as it really does remove all tension and stress in the face, leaving skin glowing and really fresh in appearance. In the Sugar Face treatment, straight after the Signature Facial, you’re then given a Face Ball massage which literally involves having a firm ball rolled around your face – it sounds strange but it’s really very relaxing! Depending on your skin type, there’s also a dermaroller style device that can be used to gently stimulate more collagen production (great if you’re scarred) and an galvanic roller (I’m sure it has a much fancier name than that!) which performs a similar role to the dermaroller, just on a different level. Post SF, skin really does look like it’s been through a workout – it has that glowy, pink finish that takes ages in the gym to achieve, yet all you’ve done is chill out, possibly even had a little snooze, and left your face in the hands of the pros.
As my skin is pretty bad, I was given two of the Clear Lift Laser treatments instead of one of the Clear Lift and one of the Hollywood Lift. I think it’s a good idea to point out that had I had the Clear Lift and followed it up within a few days or even a week with the Hollywood Lift, I would’ve been fine as the Clear Lift definitely took care of my breakouts, but there was around a month between the two, so I perceived my experience of the Sugar Face program as a way to try out the various treatments available. During my second treatment, I was given a touch of Hollywood Lift to get a feel for the laser, so I can safely say that neither of the treatments hurt; you felt a slight “pinging” sensation at times, but nothing terrible. It did smart a bit over the spots, but nothing awful. In conclusion, I would only recommend having one of the “Face” programs if you can ensure you have all the treatments during the time specified, as then I think you’d find they’d make a real difference to your skin. For me, the biggest thing I’ve taken away from the experience is the amazing Signature Facial, which I just absolutely love and I will definitely be booking in for again. It costs £40 for a 30 minute treatment which I think is very good value for money. Find out all about FaceGym here, and FaceCamp here.
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