At-Home Facial: How To Recreate London's Top Facials

London is a hub of skincare experts offering an abundance of high-performance facials that combine high-tech technologies, such as LED and microneedling, with cutting-edge products for glowing, more radiant skin.

But, if you can’t go visit them in clinic, don’t fret – the CF team has asked our favourite facialists how to recreate their stellar facials at home, and it can be a lot less complicated than you think.

From how to use their expert-backed product lines for the best results, to simple techniques to lift your cheekbones, provide a deep skin clean, and treat your key concerns, you can now bring more than a little of the in-clinic experience into your home. To get the lowdown on how to keep your complexion looking fresh, we spoke to the experts for their best at-home facial advice.

Since FaceGym landed in London in 2018 it has garnered quite a cult following. Essentially a HIIT workout for your face, your skin is pummelled, stretched and toned through a series of carefully developed movements designed to lift, contour and deliver a boosted glow.

“The practice of facial exercise has a long history, but it’s often news to people that over 40 muscles make up the scaffolding of the face,” says Theron. “And just like the muscles in the body, the more you move them, the more lifted, tightened and toned they become, so it’s key to keep this up! Facial muscle stimulation helps to keep the muscles firm and skin tight but it also stimulates the most important protein for keeping the face look young- collagen. It’s further proven to help with skin cell renewal, detox and fine line reduction. So, give yourself a quick facial workout and you’ll really feel the benefits.”

“My favourite tool for mimicking our popular FaceGym workout at home, is the FaceGym Multi-Sculpt Tool. This stainless steel ‘gua sha’ has 6 individual edges to target different parts of the face and muscles. You can follow along with the unique FaceGym method by scanning the QR code on the pack, which is a great way to begin if you’re unsure of what to do. I love to use it first thing in the morning with the Face Coach Oil to set me up for the day. It’s perfect for de-puffing, sculpting and giving your skin a healthy glow.’

Sarah Chapman’s Skinesis clinic is so highly sought-after, you’ll have to fight Victoria Beckham and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley for an appointment. With LED light therapy, microneedling and lots of layering of her serums on offer, you walk out with a youthful glow which can incite a ‘wow’ upon close inspection. It’s well worth the wait, but Chapman also offers high-tech devices for at-home use too if you don’t want to be patient.

“The fastest way to supercharge your routine is by steaming your skin,” says Chapman. “Most facials at my Skinesis Clinic start with a steam – this deeply hydrates and draws out impurities. My Pro Hydro-Mist Steamer emits microscopic steam particles that can penetrate further than regular steam, leaving skin smooth, supple and silky. If you’re noticing congestion in your skin, follow this step with my Pro Pore Refiner. This device brings pore-cleansing extraction techniques – thermo-therapy, ionic cleansing and ultrasonic vibrations – to your home, visibly restoring skin’s clarity.”

“Then, for a truly professional-style treatment, try my Meso-Melt Infusion System. This mimics a microneedling treatment in my clinic; creating tiny micro-channels that allow my Pep⁸ Stem Cell Serum to deliver eight firming peptides and hydrating hyaluronic acid deep into the skin for dramatic rejuvenating results. Finish by massaging my Overnight Facial or Platinum Stem Cell Elixir into the skin to boost circulation, nourish skin, and achieve the coveted Skinesis glow.”

Nataliya Robinson operates out of her discreet cottage, tucked away in the heart of Chelsea. Combining her love for holistic health with high-tech technology, she works her wizardry on complexions, turning out a dewy glow within the hour. The magic doesn’t stop there, she will send you off with little potions of her homemade products as well, and the facialist has some brilliant tools and ‘do-it-yourself’ advice too.

“If you are looking for a micro-dermabrasion effect similar to what you can experience in a clinic [aka a deep physical exfoliation], then sprinkle sodium bicarbonate powder into your moisturising cream and use it as a face, neck and décolletage scrub,” suggests Robinson. “Apply firm pressure on the T-Zone and areas with blackheads, massaging for less than a minute and then rinse off. As an alternative, you can buy the Beauty Buffer by Quantum Botanika and use the cloth to scrub and polish the skin in a flossing motion.”

Then, if radiance-boosting is your big focus for facials at-home, “bring some blood circulation to the upper levels of the skin using the Face & Scalp Rollers. These spiky tools provide a gentler dermaroller (microneedling) effect, without the need for needles. A good hands-on face massage is extremely important if you are serious about your skin too: it encourages blood circulation, which brings nutrients and oxygen to the upper layers of the skin.” Use your favourite oil-to-milk cleansing balm to do a thorough job.

With no downtime and instant results, light treatment is an increasingly popular alternative to classic cleansing-based facials. At The Light Salon, the treatments are super-speedy (you are just 25 minutes away from an instantaneous glow), and you can benefit from both collagen-boosting red light and blue light for acne-prone complexions.

But, as co-founder Laura Ferguson explains, the brand hasn’t kept the powers of LED light therapy locked within the clinic setting. You can now easily achieve a similar effect at-home with The Light Salon’s Boost LED Mask, which helps you recreate the indulgence of an in-clinic facial in your living room. The silicone mask might look a little creepy at first, but it’s comfortable and lightweight, so you can easily wear it while watching TV – one of the reasons it’s recommended in our beauty tech guide.

“It offers both instant and long-term benefits,” explains Ferguson. “LED helps increase the release of ‘feel-good’ hormones and lowers ‘stress’ hormones, which enables you to relax. Portable and hands-free, you can wear the Boost around the house while doing chores, or just taking time for yourself, lying with your eyes closed.” While you do so, you can trust that it is helping to calm, hydrate, strengthen and repair your skin over time, by helping increase your body’s natural production of collagen and elastin, while boosting circulation, and curbing inflammation.

Tucked away in Sloane Square, Lisa Franklin gets to the heart of what you most want to see in your skin post-treatment, and sets about achieving just that. Having suffered from rosacea (a sensitive skin flushing disorder) herself, her in-clinic facials work particular wonders on city-dwellers, whose complexions have been ravaged by pollution. She is also always on hand to remind us that a facial (either at-home or in a clinic) really needs to get the basics right – including taking the time to properly clean the skin.

“A good cleansing routine is the key to healthy ageing, and vital for keeping your skin glowing and healthy, at home,” says Franklin. “Give yourself time in the evening to ensure you remove all of the day’s build up and makeup. Start with an oil-based cleanser, such as my Pro-Effect Anti-pollution Cleanser, to effectively remove impurities whilst nourishing the skin, then follow with the gentle Pro-Effect Phyto-Gel Wash to purify and leave the skin soft and supple.”

Once you have a clean canvas, you can set about treating your concerns. “If your skin has been reactive to stress recently, I suggest our No. 4 Serum – Calm + Heal, which calms and softens the skin, ideal for reducing rosacea and redness,” Franklin continues. “Lastly, lack of hydration will make your complexion dull and even accentuates wrinkles, so it’s important that the last step contains a product to lock in moisture and replenish hydration to the skin.” She recommends her Privé No. 3 Hydrate + Regenerate Serum.

Lead image: Pexels

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