There are so many types of effective, non-invasive facial treatments out there. But which non-surgical treatments are best, and how do they work?
Natalie Ferrari is one of Sydney's most notable beauty experts. At 24 years old, she opened The Parlour Room in Clovelly, a beauty salon dedicated to refined, relaxed beauty, and creating luxurious experiences.
In this session, the host of Mamamia's The Spill podcast, Kee Reece, chats to Natalie about the most effective non-surgical treatments.
What is the most popular non-surgical facial treatment right now?
Natalie Ferrari: The most popular facial treatments that we're seeing are peels. You see such good results from them, and it's something that you can come in for as a short treatment that doesn't need a lot of time, or it can be added on to a longer treatment if you want more time to relax.
It works by resurfacing the skin and removing any dead skin cells. Afterwards, your skin is left nice smooth, even surface and it can really absorb any of those beautiful nourishing products that you want to apply to the skin afterwards.
What's the ideal frequency when getting peels?
Natalie Ferrari: It depends on the strength of the peel. If it's quite mild, you could do it once a week, and for stronger peels, we would say once every four to six weeks.
What is the downtime for a peel?
Natalie Ferrari: It really depends on the type of peel. There are peels that are quite strong, and they can sometimes take 14 days to really settle. You might find that your face is red and quite sore, you can't put any makeup on it, and you can't be sweating or going to the gym. But there are also more mild peels where you don't necessarily need any downtime afterwards.
What is the second most popular facial treatment right now?
Natalie Ferrari: The second most popular facial treatment right now is LED light therapy. It's great because you can see results straight away. I find the red light - the most popular - gets probably the best results. Afterwards, you can see an immediate difference in your skin. You feel dewy too. It's really quite nice.
What's the ideal frequency when getting LED light therapy?
Natalie Ferrari: With LED light, you want to be doing it more frequently. For the best results, I would say doing it twice a week for four to six weeks. And then after that, just doing it once a month. It's also not a long treatment. You can often get it as an add-on to longer facial treatments, or you can just go in for the LED light treatment itself.
What affordable facial treatments would you recommend?
Natalie Ferrari: For anybody getting into facial treatments, I would suggest starting with a skin consultation, because what you might think you need for your skin isn't actually what you need. A skin consultation, if you're not going to have a facial, should be quite affordable.
I would also say that peels and LED light therapy will always be more affordable, and usually salons will do those in a pack. So, if you want to do a course of treatments and you buy a certain amount, it would be at a reduced price as well.
What non-surgical treatments would you recommend for targeting dull skin?
Natalie Ferrari: The combination of a peel and LED light therapy is the perfect solution to get that glowing look. You want to resurface the skin by exfoliating and removing any dead skin cells so that your skin is nice and even and fresh. If you're just applying lots of hydrating creams, they might not actually be able to be absorbed into your skin if there's dust and grime and dead skin cells on the skin surface.
What non-surgical treatments would you recommend for targeting dark circles?
Natalie Ferrari: This is a really hard one. It's an area where the skin is so thin and delicate. You don't want to be putting anything heavy duty on that area. And even if you put a lot of hydrating and nourishing products on there, if you use too much, it can really overload the skin in that area. Using an eye cream is great, but sometimes it is just genetic to have dark circles in that area.
Are there any other treatments for congestion other than the peels mentioned?
Natalie Ferrari: Skin congestion is something that's really good to look at internally. It can depend on what sort of congestion or acne that you're dealing with. Sometimes it can be hormonal, and sometimes it can be influenced by your diet, or how much water you drink. It's about taking more of a holistic approach as all of these things together can be a reason for skin congestion.
What non-surgical treatments would you recommend to targeting fine lines and wrinkles?
Natalie Ferrari: A lot of people don't want to go down the route of injectables, or they want to try something a little bit less invasive. There are a number of ways that you can minimise fines lines. For example, sometimes lines can be from dehydration. So, making sure that you're drinking enough water, and just taking a holistic approach as well. Diet and stress can play a big factor, as well as time spent in the sun, so focus on really taking care of your skin. Wearing SPF is the number one thing you can do, as well as making sure that your skin is really hydrated and moisturised.
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You can find Natalie Ferrari at The Parlour Room. You can also follow Natalie on her personal Instagram @natalieferrari__.
Feature Image: Mamamia.