Hashtag Life is always on the look out for accessible skincare experiences that are both effective but also adaptable to your skin needs. The days of fixed “boiler-plate” facials are well and truly numbered now that WOW Facial is storming the beauty scene. So we were extremely excited to hear that one of our favourite London aesthetic clinics, Vie Aesthetics, offers WOW Facials as part of their skin treatments. Hello WOW skin!
Our Instagram video will quickly sum-up my WOW Facial experience at the Harley Street based Vie Aesthetics Clinic, but for those who are curious on the precise effects of a WOW Facial, then I would definitely recommend that you keep reading.
From the outset, the WOW Facial will have an immediate glow-up result, there is no question about it. Yet the true test for any facial is by its sustainability in the following days. Usually, you look at yourself in the mirror and ponder on whether your skin is still glowing, or has gone back to being dull and oily again, or worse yet, broken out into a product-overkill reaction. With WOW Facial, you will be looking at your skin week after a week, and in my case one month later, saying “WOW, this facial has definitely made a big difference to my skin!”. Your skin will give you an abundance of supple, glowing, and evenly toned thank you’s!
In fact, it is thanks to Aimee, the Senior Aesthetician at Vie Aesthetics, that the results are still going strong one month on, and not just because of the targeted approach of a WOW Facial, but also because of her careful and brilliant pre-treatment study of my skin. She could tell I had many sun spots, and due to my olive skin tone she knew that this was partly genetic/partly environmental. So she selected the precise ingredients and products that my skin needed to treat the sun spots, and just the right amount so my skin could tolerate the products and avoid any flakiness or reactions.
Each step of the WOW Facial is tailor made, meaning that your facial will likely be different to the person before you and after you. So every product chosen for you will be freshly mixed during the appointment, guaranteeing maximum potency and effectiveness. That is why WOW Facial is known by many as the “hyper-personalised” facial.
CLEANSING
The facial will start with cleansing the skin using an AHA cleanser in order to remove dirt, make-up, excess oils, and prepare it for the chemical peel. Your therapist will choose between Salicylic, Lactic or Gycolic Acid based cleanser depending on your skin type. I had Salicylic based because of my oily/combination skin and needing to clear out many clogged pores!
RESURFACE PEEL
An alcohol-based lotion is brushed over the skin using a rough gauze to prepare the skin for the Peel. There are 4 peels in the WOW range so there will always be one that is ideal for your skin type. In my case, I had a peel that works on pigmentation, but whatever peel your therapist chooses, you will be targeting a specific issue as well as removing dead skin and creating an even skin tone.
WOW FUSION
The WOW Fusion was my favourite part! This small gadget is an innovative needling device that allows WOW Facial to create bespoke skincare cocktails in the glass vial to provide truly personally tailored treatment for your skin's needs.
The Fusion device contains 20 titanium needles each being as fine as an individual hair, making it precise and accurate. The needles make a small localised trauma to the skin surface without the pain. They are also tapered on the end of the needle to allow the high-quality skin cocktail to flow down and into the epidermal/dermal junction. The micro-needling helps stimulate collagen and elastin for a more youthful-looking skin and the WOW fusion cocktails hydrate, brighten, stimulate and improve the texture and tone of the skin. I believe I had a cocktail of Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C and multi-vitamin complex. The results are accumulative and last over 3 months from one treatment.
WOW LIGHT THERAPY
This is probably the most instagrammable part of the WOW facial (although my favourite is still the microneedling step). The WOW LED mask has the capability to change strengths and settings, from professional strength blue, red and near infrared LED settings. The Light Mask stimulates collagen and elastin alongside purging the skin of toxins and bacteria to heal blemishes. The red mask was great for preventing redness in my skin and excess oil secretion that would turn into blemishes. I did have some redness and sensitivity the following day around the jawline, but all in all my skin was glowing, soft, and smooth and had zero breakout!
WOW MASK
This step was so refreshing after the Peel, Microneedling, and LED Light Therapy. The Mask is a super strength hyaluronic acid, collagen, argireline and RMCP complex. The mask is famous for reducing dynamic wrinkles and lines and surcharging the skin with hydration. The Mask pouch comes with much product that Aimee let me take home the remainder so that I could apply the liquid straight onto the face in the evening and the following morning, instead of using any other products, just with a gentle cleanse. I know my skin loved the hydration (and most definitely needed it) because my face just soaked it up like water-to-a-tissue.
WOW SPF
The very final step will be a WOW spritz of moisturising spray to soothe, and the application of the Intradermology Synergy6 NRX SPF 50 to protect the skin from the outdoor extremities. This SPFcream has become my favourite new product discovery, and has now replaced all my other SPF alternatives. It smells divinely citrus, is reminiscent of a BB cream colour and texture, and applies very smoothly and quickly.
All in all, the WOW Facial, as experienced at Vie Aesthetics Clinic, was simply amazing, and will definitely become my go-to facial for every 3-6 months. What makes the WOW Facial truly effective is how wonderful your face continues to feel week after week. It has been over a month since my treatment and I still can see the accumulative improvement of my skin, especially the pigmentation around my nose and cheeks, which I believe is at least 60% gone! The facial treats rosacea, acne, pigmentation, sun damage, wrinkles to name a few, as well as a boost to give your skin that porcelain-like skin glow.
If you would like to book a WOW Facial then check out the many approved providers on the WOW website.
Alternatively, if you are based in London or Essex then I really do recommend Vie Aesthetics, at Harley Street, Rayleigh, or the brand new Holborn clinic.
