On the 17th of July I was invited down to London to the Freedomhealth Clinic where I was offered a treatment of Microdermabrasion with the lovely Lee Garrett. As someone who's a big lover of London and someone who suffers with their skin, I couldn't pass this opportunity up and quickly booked myself a train.
Before I tell you about my experience, I'll give you a little bit of background information on the clinic and Lee Garrett so that you're more familiar with them both. Freedomhealth is a clinic that is based on Harley Street in London. It offers the latest in Cosmetic Treatments for both males and females. The treatments available range from Dermal Fillers to Botox, anti-ageing treatments to chemical peels. The director of Cosmetic Treatments, Lee Garrett has worked with some of the world's biggest names and can be seen frequently in the national media. He has been providing cosmetic treatments since 2002 and works full time at Freedomhealth.
When in London, I ended up feeling very proud of myself for how I navigated myself around the busy city. I found my way onto Harley Street and I was amazed by how beautiful it was. It looked exactly how I imagined it would and whenever I picture 'London homes' in my head, this is how they'd look. After walking for what seemed like miles, I found my way into the clinic. It's a stunning building in itself and when you get behind the doors, it's even more beautiful. Let's put it this way, if I was to fall asleep on those carpets, it'd probably more comfortable than if I was to fall asleep on my bed. I was greeted by two lovely receptionists who kindly offered me a cup of tea to which I responded to with a very grateful 'yes please!' After a lot of travelling, it was just what I needed. Anyway, I sat in the waiting room taking in my surroundings and finally, I was called downstairs to Lee Garrett. He's a very kind gentleman that when you see him, you can tell he really wants to help you.
When I sat down, Lee kindly explained that we wasn't able to do the microdermabrasion today as he noticed that I had an active outbreak on my skin. If we were to go ahead and do it, it'd spread the bacteria and I'd be left with god knows how many active breakouts! I must admit, I was a little worried that Lee noticed my spots straight away as I did have quite a bit of make up on but I put it down to him being a professional and not me having worse skin than I originally thought, of course. He also noticed my scarring - once again, what an eye! And said that my scars are pretty deep. He explained that no matter what I did, some of the scarring would remain on my face for the rest of my life as the skin was too damaged. Now, I've been to many doctors before and they had just told me to leave the scarring alone and within a few years, it'd disappear. So although it was hurtful to find out that my skin would be permanently scarred, it was also what I needed to hear so I wouldn't be filled with hope like the previous doctors had given to me. Lee told me that I could however have a chemical peel. My first question was, 'but will it hurt?!' And he told me that I would feel some mild discomfort but nothing too bad. So we went ahead with the procedure.
I sat back in the chair and Lee applied something onto my skin - I'm no genius, I'm not dermatologist but it smelt nice and I accepted it. I did feel some stinging but strangely, it felt quite nice. I laid back and let it soak into my skin while Lee explained more to me about my skin. When I left, I felt like I'd been given so much information that maybe I could take up a degree in dermatology. He was so helpful and I am forever grateful. I also left with a face wash, a toner and a spot treatment which I will be writing about in a separate post as I realise this is already VERY long.
I didn't take any make up with me to be applied after the treatment but Lee realised how insecure I was about my skin and provided me with some foundation to apply so I wouldn't scare the whole of London. When I left the clinic, I went back to my hotel, took my make up off and relaxed for a little bit before I headed off out to meet some friends of mine for drinks. When I went to apply my make up again, my skin was very red. It wasn't sore but it was red. I had expected this but my Skin 79 BB Cream really helped with this. The next day, my skin had returned to normal and there was no pain. However, the day after this my skin started peeling quite badly and it was pretty painful. Lee did say to expect this. I was applying a lot of Sudacrem to soothe my skin and luckily, it only lasted for a day. After this, I felt no more pain and had no more peeling. The only thing I experienced was the reduction in my active breakout and since then, I haven't had a single spot - magic!
I really loved my trip to London and also my trip to the Freedomhealth clinic. Like I said before, I came away with a lot of information and I now feel more savvy about my skin. I know what causes breakouts, I know was causes scarring and I also know how to prevent them and take care of them. If skin treatments are something that you're after, I'd highly recommend taking a trip down to see Lee at Freedomhealth. Or just giving the clinic a quick call or email to find out what they can do for you.
The chemical peel that I had was £350 for a single treatment or £900 for a course of 3.
Have you ever had any skin treatments? Have you ever visited this clinic? Find out more here.
xxx
*The treatment and consultation that I received was free of charge but this as always, has not affected my review at all.