Ageing gracefully was an adage for the pre-Botox era, when we had to rely on good genes and prayer to make it to the other side without looking like Frankenstein or his bride.
Today there is no excuse to look your age and this doesn’t necessarily involve getting butchered, tightened and trussed up. Use bee venom, bird poo, snake venom, salmon collagen or snail mucus instead to get rid of those pesky lines, worrisome warts and unsightly blotches.
If the thought of slathering avian droppings or bovine placenta on your face makes you squirm, look up your favourite celebrities for inspiration. Angelina Jolie, for instance, swears by the uber-expensive caviar facial, Kim Kardashian promotes the vampire facial, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, attributes her royal glow to bee stings, and Kate Hudson swears that placenta is the new Prozac — for skin.
If all this sounds too extreme, how does being wrapped in bandages, soaked in minerals such as potassium and then made to bounce on a trampoline for 50 minutes sound? This treatment ostensibly helps you knock off six to eight inches and has found patrons in Ellen DeGeneres and Tyra Banks.
Admittedly, it sounds more ridiculous than spooky when compared to dermaplaning, which is all the rage at the moment. Essentially involving shaving off your skin, this Sweeney Todd-inspired treatment supposedly guarantees baby-soft skin.
Dr Apratim Goel, a cosmetic dermatologist and laser surgeon based in Mumbai, says, “As the market for anti-ageing products becomes saturated, beauty companies are turning to a host of new surprise ingredients in an effort to entice the age-conscious consumer.”
Dr Goel visits the UAE often to see patients in the region. “The new ingredients in the cosmetic skin care segment with a promising future are stem cells, snail saliva, caviar, coffee, snake venom, algae, sea salts, metals including gold, peptides and a host of antioxidants such as acai, white tea, glutahione, alpha lipoic acid and co-enzyme Q10.”
GN Focus takes a look at some of the popular anti-ageing treatments doing the rounds these days.
A bloody deal
A number of clinics and spas offer various forms of the platelet-rich plasma treatment. “A blood sample is taken from the patient and the portion of plasma containing a high concentration of platelets is injected into his or her skin. Platelets are a rich source of a multitude of growth components,” says Dr Maria Angelo-Khattar, founder of Aesthetica Clinic.
Perfect poop
Dubai’s Biolite Aesthetic Clinic helps you unlock the beauty secrets of geishas who used nightingale droppings as facials to remove make-up and brighten, heal and re-texture the skin. The natural enzymes and guanine in the droppings work like magic on the skin.
Also popular with Victoria Beckham, the most crucial ingredient in the contemporary facial is the powdered version of the enzymes. It uses traditional and natural Japanese ingredients to soften, brighten and nourish the complexion.
By a thread
Aesthetica Clinic in Dubai has the latest non-surgical treatment on offer — the meso thread lift. It uses biodegradable threads to tighten and re-contour the face and neck by lifting the jawline and elevating the cheeks, thereby improving the nasolabial folds (or smile lines) and marionette lines. You can also contour and tighten flabby inner arms, sagging abdomen, lax skin above the knees and inner thighs.
Something fishy
At Silkor on Jumeirah Beach Road, you will find the Salmon Collagen Facial that uses actual salmon extract to boost collagen in the skin, leaving it plump and radiant.
Stings like a bee
The Nail Spa in The Dubai Mall offers Heaven by Deborah Mitchell’s Bee Venom facial. The 70-minute treatment involves cleansing, toning and moisturising, with the bee venom acting as a natural alternative to Botox.
