To the naked eye, my skin looks pretty good. It gets dry in winter but I moisturise twice a day and I don’t get many blackheads or spots.
That’s why when I got my skin scanned in a fancy machine at the Coogan Bergin Clinic on Wicklow Street, I almost fell off my chair.
I looked like a disgusting old prune in the picture they gave me – avert your eyes now if you don’t want to be scarred for life.
The scanner showed that my levels of brown spots were higher than 92% of women my age, and my wrinkles were worse than 54%.
I was clearly a bit taken aback by the results so my beautician Grainne did her best to calm me down.
She explained that the “brown spots” are just run-of-the-mill freckles, and the wrinkles are mostly from dehydration rather than ageing.
She gave me lots of helpful tips about looking after my skin before I was whisked away for part two of my appointment – a Thalgo facial.
I was lucky enough to get the salon’s owner and manager, Sheila Curran, as my facialist.
She expertly cleansed, exfoliated and hydrated my skin as well as giving me a very deep, lymph-draining shoulder massage.
I was recommended some products that would work well with my complexion, but to my relief there was no pressure to buy anything.
I came out absolutely glowing and despite the initial shock of the scan I’m glad I did it.
It was just what I needed to jump-start my skincare regime – so hopefully I won’t actually look like a prune in the future.
Coogan Bergin are doing a deal at the moment so you can get a Visia scan and Thalgo facial for €65.
Not too shabby, eh?
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