A Facial Virgin’s Morning in Banbury

“You’re gaining results like a facelift, but in a non-surgical way; a really refreshed glow without having to go down a more invasive route”

Out From Under the Pile

“I’ve had bad skin all my life,” says Pamela Crombie, telling me she’s “tried everything” to combat this, including Botox. “As I’ve got older I’ve explored more holistic avenues.” This is how she came across the technology she uses at Quartz Aesthetics, with which she provides medically-based treatments in body contouring, inch loss, fat loss, cellulite reduction and skin tightening.

Operating out of The Wellness Centre, on Banbury’s Bloxham Road, the most invasive treatment Pam offers is the pyramid facelift (microneedling), which just leaves “a bit of redness” and perhaps some miniscule wounds which can easily be covered. “You’re gaining results like a facelift, but in a non-surgical way; a really refreshed glow without having to go down a more invasive route.”

All her anti-aging procedures are collagen- and elastin-producing alternatives to Botox and fillers. She’s not against these surgical methods, injectables are “great if you like that look”, but they don’t cater for skin health as her treatments do.

But which one would I be having?

“This isn’t just any old facial,” she tells this facial virgin, “that you would go to a spa and have. When you leave me today your body will still be producing collagen for 12 weeks after – this is an investment in your skin.”

She’s talking about the GeneO+ Super Facial, sold as a course of six weekly treatments, though visible results are predicted after just the one. “It will deal with outbreaks, acne scarring, crow’s feet, and by the end of the course you’ve just got a much more rejuvenated glow. People come and have a lovely medical treatment which is super relaxing; most fall asleep, wake up and they’ve got lovely skin.”

It is geared towards people of a certain maturity, and Pam wonders at first whether she can even give me the facial – you have to be over 18 for the radio frequency (skin tightening) treatment. In between telling her I’m 26 and the first stage of the facial known as microdermabrasion, she takes a look at my skin which appears “quite fair, quite sensitive” – better than unsporting and callous I’d wager. Lying down topped with blankets in a tastefully decorated room, I’m about to undergo something “good for all skin types” and gentle.

“You might go a little bit red,” she warns, “but it will dissipate really quickly. Do you normally go red when you exercise?” Yes. I look horrible. “That’s kind of how I know if somebody’s going to go red or not. We’re creating a physiological effect where blood rushes to the surface.” Any redness fades in 10-15 minutes and “it’s very rare for anybody to have an allergic reaction” to the products used.

A cold gel is applied to my face as soothing music plays. The gel combines with capsugen and “countless CO2 bubbles are created and then degassed.” In essence, microdermabrasion “is a really deep clean, but because of the oxygenation process it’s not harsh or drying, it’s hydrating.” During this point of the facial I’m also getting LED light therapy, the title of which is good enough for me.

Hot towel treatment fills the interlude between stage one and two, then Pam removes the gel, puts it back on and electronically massages it into my face, “draining away any toxins, relieving stress”.

There’s not much more said between us, not because we’re bored of each other, but because I am starting to doze a little, like the business people who visit and “find the ability to switch off”. I drift further away during the RF, the heat therapy, “the bit that keeps you young”. 40-41 degree heat is applied to the skin, the temperature scientifically proven to produce collagen. It can’t burn you, she asserts, “Initially it might feel hot, but your brain receptors kick in and it feels like a warm bath.” It feels good; similar to when you float your hand through the yellow flame of a campfire, and it almost licks you.

Then the hour was up. Pam had expected someone older, possibly with crow’s feet to diminish. Still, I did have a glow afterwards, and I had zoned out, coming to at the end of the session really rather refreshed and – as she declared me – a “GeneO+ virgin no more.”

Quartz Aesthetics counts a number of high profile celebrities as it's clients, as does the GeneO+ Super Facial treatment.

Geneo Facial celebrity clients