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Treatment News

Comfort Zone Body Active Massage

Tapping into the popular athleisure skincare trend, Comfort Zone’s latest launch is billed as an “alternative to a workout session at the gym”, using massage techniques that work to reshape, remodel and invigorate the body. Ideal for gym-goers and those who practise sports regularly, the 50-minute full-body treatment uses a wooden roller made with bamboo fibres, combined with strong, deep massage movements inspired by Chinese Tuina methods, to remodel, help eliminate toxins, and boost muscle tone and circulation.

A body mask with plankton extract and yellow clay from Brazil is also applied and left on for 10 minutes, before being massaged into the skin using specific Tuina techniques, which start delicate but become more vigorous, helping to de-contract tense muscles and reactivate energy flow.

The brand recommends clients combine the treatment with a fitness or anti-cellulite programme to achieve the best results.

Comfort Zone recommends charging £60 to £80 for the treatment (depending on location). Call the brand on 020 3301 0496

Voya organic mum-to-be treatments

The organic seaweed brand has launched two treatments to help clients feel the best version of themselves during their pregnancy journey. Organic Precious Moments is a 55-minute treatment that aims to relax and ease tension for any mum-to-be, featuring a face, hand and arm massage.

Feet are wrapped in laminaria digitata seaweed leaves to boost circulation, improve lymphatic drainage and reduce fluid retention, while the client’s bump is enveloped in an organic mask that works to support connective tissue and prevent stretch marks. The 90-minute Organic Prenatal Voyager is a more luxurious ritual, which “promotes a sense of tranquillity while deeply hydrating skin”. The treatment includes a full-body exfoliation to gently buff away dead skin cells, while Nourishing Mama Oil is used to ease tension and stress with a massage that goes from head to toe.

Voya recommends charging £70 to £85 (depending on location) for Precious Moments and £90 to £125 for Prenatal Voyager. Call the brand on +353 719 161872

This month we tried… Ashmira Botanica Brazilian wax

The lowdown: Ashmira Botanica launched at Professional Beauty London in February with its shimmering purple waxes and skincare-inspired pre- and post-wax care. It was developed to protect, nourish and repair skin, putting the focus on making waxing as comfortable and enjoyable for the client as possible.

The experience: I have no issue being the team guinea pig for the slightly more personal beauty treatments. I’m also a big waxing fan, so it made sense that I’d be the one to book myself in to experience Ashmira Botanica’s intimate wax. I had my Brazilian at Mayfair Aesthetics & Beauty in London with experienced therapist Edyta Kokoszka.

I used the cucumber-scented Cleansing Wipe that was sitting ready for me on the couch before Kokoszka prepped the area with Refreshing Skin Cleanser – a gentle, cooling milk. She then got to work with the Mulberry Peelable Strip Wax.

This is one of two waxes in the range and the option best suited to intimate areas. There was none of the painfully frustrating picking I’d experienced with peelable wax in the past. Instead, Kokoszka was able to effortlessly swipe off the whole section of wax soon after smoothing it on with an even consistency.

While an intimate wax can never be painless, this was probably the calmest I’ve ever been while getting stripped of my pubic hair. After 20 minutes, Kokoszka had finished with the wax and removed a final few hairs using tweezers (while she gave me a light telling off for shaving), then gave the area a good spritz of Nourishing Body Oil to remove any residue.

Finally, she swiped over Comfort Balm – a fragrance-free product enriched with shea butter, panthenol, aloe vera and allantoin – using a cotton pad, which was really soothing.

Business benefits: Though you’ll never be able to market waxing as a relaxing treatment, you can promote Ashmira Botanica’s efforts to make it as comfortable and healthy for the skin as possible. The products are delicately scented with either cucumber or mandarin and basil (except the Comfort Balm) and serve to ramp up the appeal of the treatment to nervous first-timers and long-time waxing clients alike. The products are also available to retail, and training includes a big emphasis on clients continuing with aftercare, offering an extra revenue source.

Ashmira Botanica recommends charging from £30 for a female intimate wax (depending on location). Call the brand on 01823 428588 Tried by Georgia Seago

Dr Renaud Smoothing and Energising Mimosa Facial

This 60-minute facial is aimed at city-goers in their 20s and 30s who want to protect their skin against premature ageing and environmental aggressors, such as pollution and damaging blue light. The treatment starts with the brand’s signature welcome massage before skin is cleansed, toned and exfoliated. A soothing massage is performed, to lift the facial contours and boost circulation, before the Mimosa Smoothing & Energising Professional Mask with Yellow Petals is applied.

The mask has a whipped cream texture and is formulated with mimosa extract to strengthen the skin’s barrier, protect against free radicals and reduce inflammation, while cotton flower soothes and corn starch nourishes dull and damaged cells.

The facial finishes with application of the eye balm, serum and cream from the complementary Mimosa skincare range, which contains the brand’s neurophyto- oxygenating complex system, formulated to help boost cellular oxygenation.

Dr Renaud recommends charging £65 to £70 for the treatment (depending on location). Call Skin Evolution on 01280 817881

This month we tried… Elemis Couture Touch Treatment

The lowdown: Elemis temporarily turned its flagship House of Elemis day spa into a “night spa” to celebrate the launch of its Pro-Collagen Overnight Matrix Cream. I went down on a chilly Wednesday night to try a soothing face and body treatment designed to showcase the new moisturiser, before being sent home with a kit packed with products from the Life Elixirs Sleep line to help me achieve a peaceful night’s rest while the Overnight Matrix worked its magic.

The experience: Elemis Couture Touch is a bespoke treatment, adapted to suit the needs of each client. It comprises either a deep tissue or hot stone massage, with a bespoke hands-on facial.

Following a thorough consultation, my treatment began with a 30-minute deep tissue back massage using Musclease Active Body Oil, during which my therapist worked mainly on the knots I constantly have around my shoulders due to sitting at a desk. Thoroughly relaxed, it was time to move on to the half-hour facial, which, in addition to Overnight Matrix, used mainly complementary products from the Pro-Collagen line, starting with a deep cleanse using the Cleansing Balm.

Exfoliation followed, using Gentle Rose Exfoliator, before facial massage to apply Cellular Recovery Skin Bliss Capsules to help the dehydration that I’d said was among my main concerns.

Pro-Collagen Hydra-Gel Eye Masks were used to tackle the dark circles on my under-eye area, and followed with Pro-Collagen Eye Renewal serum.

The treatment ended with a generous application of Pro-Collagen Overnight Matrix, which has been developed to target the areas of the face where stress shows the most. It uses “drone peptide technology” as a delivery system for active ingredients including padina pavonica, microalgae and wild indigo oligosaccharides.

My skin felt plumped afterwards and my muscles were sore but felt so much looser. I’ve been using the Overnight Matrix every night since and my skin’s feeling more bouncy and looking more glowy. Business benefits: The ability to tailor this treatment to suit the client makes for targeted results that should improve repeat business. My therapist gave me a written skincare programme that detailed all the products she’d used and talked me through exactly why she selected them for my skin.

Taking this extra time to offer a more personalised prescription makes retail recommendations far more persuasive.

Elemis charges £95 for the 60-minute treatment at its House of Elemis day spa in central London. Prices elsewhere in the country vary depending on location. Call Elemis on 0117 316 1888 Tried by Eve Oxberry

Evolve Organic Beauty Facials

The organic brand’s new signature facial promises to leave clients with clear, glowing skin while also instilling a sense of wellbeing. The treatment is available as a luxurious 60-minute experience or an express 30-minute version for time-poor clients.

The facial begins with a thorough cleanse with the brand’s Gentle Cleansing Melt to remove impurities while maintaining the skin’s integrity. This is applied using specific massage techniques including effleurage, petrissage, pressure point and lymphatic movements.

Next comes an exfoliation, before a plumping lip massage and de-puffing eye massage using Evolve roller-ball technology are performed. The treatment finishes with application of a hyaluronic serum and facial oil to boost hydration, along with nourishing eye and face cream.

Evolve Organic Beauty recommends charging £35 for the 30-minute treatment and £50 for the 60-minute. Call the brand on 01727 822665