In light of the increasing uncertainty surrounding the corona virus outbreak, we have very sadly decided to pause offering treatments until further notice.
Whilst not being directly subject to the official government guidance to close, we feel that, given the escalating spread of the virus, we can no longer be assured that we can guarantee your safety.
We’re devastated to have to do this, and we know some of you will be disappointed, but please remember this is our livelihood, we have not made this decision lightly. We feel it is morally the right thing to do to protect you all and the wider community.
Please be assured that we will extend the validity period of all existing gift vouchers, and will be contacting all of you with appointments booked for the coming weeks, to reschedule. Please ignore any system-generated appointment reminders.
Please also don’t be concerned if you are undergoing a course of advanced skincare treatment – we will contact you to offer support and guidance so that your progress is not diminished.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our lovely clients for your unstinting support. Be assured that this is a temporary blip, life is scary right now and for most of us unprecedented, but if we pull together, we will come out stronger. Please look after yourselves, and others if you can. Stay safe.
It seems like a long time since we went into lockdown, but we have been busy behind the scenes. Now, after weeks & weeks of hard work, our new online ‘shop’ is now open!
Not every product is listed yet…It’s a work in progress 😊, but all of your favourites are there!
We can deliver many of the products needed to support your skin treatments, including items which are not available online. In these strange days, delivery times can vary, especially for out-of-stock items. On the plus side, we have arrangements with some suppliers to deliver direct to you 🙂
Staying indoors, protecting the NHS, and saving lives, doesn’t have to mean put up with lacklustre, unhealthy skin.
Follow these simple rules to beat the lockdown blues, and have healthy, glowing skin.
Keep your skin clean …. but, don’t strip away its protective barrier
Soap or bar cleansers tend to be too harsh
It’s important to thoroughly cleanse your skin before going to sleep. Soap or bar cleansers tend to be too harsh; they are generally more alkaline (remember the pH scale from school – alkaline things like chalk, have a high pH, whilst acids have a low pH?), whilst the surface of our skin has a natural acidic film. This film, called the ‘acid mantle’, is essential to protect our skin against bacterial infection and irritation, and its effect is reduced when cleansers with a higher pH are used. So, use a good quality, lower pH cleanser, that is suitable for your skin’s needs
Gentle lotions and emulsions, light washes or gels (suitable for your skin type) are better
gentle lotions and emulsions for those with drier, rough or flaky patches, or who suffer with sensitivity.
light washes or gels for those with oily zones or who are prone to breakouts.
Be sure to pre-cleanse, to remove make-up or sweat and grime if you have been outside to exercise. You can use an oil to emulsion product for this, most are even suitable for those with oilier skins. But while we’re staying indoors, why not give your skin a rest and go make-up free?
Unless your skin is particularly blemish prone, try simply rinsing in the morning instead of using a cleanser. If your skin is clean when you go to bed, it’s not essential to use a cleanser in the morning, simply use tepid water to freshen your skin and gently pat dry.
For those of you with acne-prone skin (that’s about 48% of adults…) make sure that your pillow case is changed every day to reduce cross infection and keep blemishes at bay.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Our bodies need water to stay healthy, and being inside for prolonged periods of time, especially where the central heating is on constantly, we can lose moisture from the outer layers of our skin into the surrounding air. This causes our skin to become dehydrated and a patchwork of very fine lines to develop on the surface…. just think about that apple in the fruit bowl that you kept meaning to eat…!
The solution?
If you need to keep the central heating on, think about investing in some humidifiers to place over the radiators, they stop the air from drying out. You can add your favourite essential oils too, some, like Chamomile, Rose or Ylang Ylang are considered to be mood enhancing, great if the lockdown is making you feel a bit blue, and well they just smell nice!
Try to drink between 1.5 and 2 litres of water (or herbal teas) a day
Try to drink between 1.5 and 2 litres of water a day. Try herbal teas if you can’t face plain water, but limit coffee and black tea, both of which are high in caffeine and so have diuretic properties.
Invest in a good quality hyaluronic acid serum, which despite the name is actually a humectant that occurs naturally in our bodies. It’s the same substance that is used in many dermal fillers to give skin its youthful volume. It works by attracting and retaining moisture in the lower layers of our skin. The catch? In its natural form it has a large molecular structure, and so a lot of products that say they contain it simply won’t work, because it can’t penetrate into the skin. So, it’s important that you choose wisely, look for a low molecular weight product.
Moisturise…..keep that hard-won moisture in your skin!
Dry skin, and dehydrated skin are two completely different things, although they can be closely connected. Dry skin, also called Asteatosis, refers to skin that is lacking in oils, and is often associated with conditions like Eczema. In fact, it isn’t as common as people think, more often skin that is deemed to be dry is actually dehydrated and lacking water not lipids.
But regardless of whether your skin is actually dry, or dehydrated, you need those oils, to keep the moisture in and your skin supple. Even skins prone to breakouts need moisturisation, because water is essential for the processes that keep blemishes at bay. So, you should make sure that you moisturise both morning and night, after cleansing and hydrating.
Choosing a moisturiser
Choose a moisturiser that will support your particular skin needs,
creams or heavier lotions for those with drier, rough or flaky patches,
water-based lighter lotions and gel type products for those with oily zones or who are prone to breakouts. If you’re unsure, look for products that are ‘non-comedogenic’, which means they won’t block your pores.
avoiding those with essential oils if you suffer with sensitivity
We naturally lose more moisture during the night, so you may find that you need to use a richer moisturiser at bedtime, than the one you use during the day. Those of you that do have dry skin may also need to reapply your moisturiser throughout the day.
Don’t forget the Sun Protection……even on those miserable cloudy days!
You can be forgiven for asking, why not say ‘don’t forget your SPF’, after all it’s sun protection, right? Well not exactly. Sun Protection Factor (SPF) products do indeed protect our skin from damage by the sun, but generally only protect against UVB radiation. This is the short wave ultraviolet rays, largely responsible for the sun burn that we all try to protect against whilst being out in hot sunny weather. But research has shown that we really need to protect against UVA rays too. These are longer wave rays that are able to penetrate our skin more deeply, reaching the dermis – the lower layer of our skin, where new cells are produced – where they can disrupt cell processes, damaging the cells ability to produce the structural proteins, Collagen and Elastin, which leads to the development of lines and wrinkles. Even more worrying, is the evidence that they are able to switch off our cells ability to prevent tumours, and so promote cancerous change.
Unlike shorter UVB rays, UVA rays are able to penetrate cloud cover, light rain, glass and even light clothing! Similarly, UVA is also not limited by latitude, or time of the day, and so can potentially penetrate our skin 365 days of the year during daylight hours. It is therefore absolutely essential that the last step in your morning skincare regime is to apply a broad-spectrum solar protection product that screens for both UVA and UVB.
UVA penetrates cloud, glass and light clothing, all year round
As with your other products, buy one suited to your skin, but ensure that it has a minimum SPF 30 if you will be out in strong sunlight. Many cosmetics now contain SPF, and it is fine to use these in addition to your main product.
You should apply solar protection to all areas of skin routinely exposed to the sun – face, neck, décolletage and backs of your hands! Make sure that you buy separate products for your face and body, as the skin on your face is thinner and more delicate than other areas of the body. If you are out in strong sunlight the recommendation is to reapply your sun protection every 90 minutes. Finally, if you nip to the loo whilst out, remember to reapply after washing your hands!
Keeping it simple….
The four basic steps above are the essentials needed to keep your skin healthy. Don’t be a slave to prescriptive skin care regimes, give your skin what it needs.
So, is that all I hear you ask. What about serums and other specialised products, are they not needed?
The answer is, that it really depends on what concerns you have about your skin, and what your goals are. If you are looking to resolve established issues, like Acne or Rosacea; signs of premature ageing like lines and wrinkles; pigmentation issues or scarring, then you will certainly need the support of serums, and other products containing more active ingredients. We’ll look at more advanced products in part 2 of this ‘Skin Fit’ blog.
Afterthought
One final reminder about the importance of choosing your products carefully……
whilst price isn’t always an indicator of quality, remember the old adage –
With life in lockdown, it’s really easy to forget those extra-special days, Easter, or a loved one’s birthday.
All of these occasions shouldn’t be forgotten, just because we can’t get out to celebrate, or buy that special gift – now more than ever we should be showing that we care and that
‘out of sight definitely doesn’t mean out of mind’!!
So, why not let us help you?
Our gift cards make the perfect choice – one that will allow your loved ones to choose their own indulgence,
and at a time that suits them.
By purchasing a gift card, you will also be helping to support us during this time of enforced closure!
As we are unable to perform our services and carry out your treatments at this time, we will add an extra 20% to the value of your purchased ‘card’ –
our gift to you.
A small thank you for supporting us during this very difficult time.
Purchasing
Gift cards can be purchased through our website. We will then send you, or your loved one, an e-voucher to the value of your purchase plus our little gift.
The gift card can then be used when we reopen our doors, and it will be valid for six months after that
A few people have asked if we’re open for appointments. The answer is yes.
I’m trying to steer a course between unnecessary risks and overreacting — monitoring the situation daily and taking heed of official advice.
Measures I am taking which affect you (some have been in place for weeks):
I’ll ask you to wash your hands on arrival.
I’ll ask you about
any recent overseas visits
if you have any symptoms like cough, fever, shortness of breath
if you have been in contact with a known or suspected case of the virus
I’d prefer contactless payment if possible (but sanitizer is available if you need to use buttons or cash!).
I won’t be treating people with symptoms of illness ( but we never have; your body should be in good health to get the most of our treatments.)
Other measures I’m taking behind the scenes
Staff will wash hands between clients ( of course, that’s always been the case 🙂 )
Cleaning and sanitising all contact areas between clients as usual. This includes equipment, treatment areas, but now also door handles, toilets, chairs etc.
Normal sterilisation practices are being followed for tools and equipment. Some equipment (like microneedles) is sterile single-use anyway.
Of course, if Timeless Allure staff were to develop symptoms, we would close until cleared.
We’re in the fortunate position of being a small, appointment-only studio. So there won’t be anyone present except yourself and the therapist.
It’s all commonsense really. It isn’t in our interest for you (or us) to become ill.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Some treatments are most effective when repeated. Microneedling, for example, gets much better results after three to six sessions.
We’ve always offered a block discount for pre-booked courses of 3, or 6 treatments. But that can still leave an uncomfortable amount to pay in one go.
Until now we didn’t have a mechanism to allow payment by installments.
New: Installment Scheme
We’re very pleased to say this is no longer the case :-). Effective immediately we are able to offer a tailored direct-debit facility to pay by installments. It is quite flexible, so if you’re interested, just ask!
Bear in mind that
We prefer payments to have cleared before each treatment
If you decide to discontinue, future payments would obviously stop, but we reserve the right to charge the difference between discounted and standard prices of the treatments already taken.
Since we posted the below last year, we’ve continued, after due research, to add to our range of peels.
How wide a variety?
We worked out the options today and realized that our range now contains over 35 distinct types, strengths, and combinations of chemical peel.
Why does this matter?
It means that we’re probably going to be able to select the right one for your skin…
The Good News: We’ve expanded our range of chemical peels
We have been exploring additional types of chemical peel, and have now settled on some strong additions to our range.
What this means for you
This will massively increase the effectiveness with which we can treat a whole range of skin conditions.
What this doesn’t mean for you
More decisions!… Salicylic or Mandelic acid? What about Glycolic? AHA or BHA? CHA? (is that even a thing?)
Stop. You won’t find a whole new set of options in the services menu. We’ve seen those elsewhere; they either give you technical choices which you shouldn’t have to make yourself, or worse let you pick from a list of fluffy names.
There’s a reason we did all that training. To help you to make the right choices.
As always, we’ll work with you to decide the most suitable treatment in discussion with you, after your skin consultation/assessment, and with consideration to what you want to achieve.
Not that kind of peel!
