Wow! What a day Gillian has had at the skin clinic. Chemical Peels, Microdermabrasion, Intense Pulsed light (IPL or similar to Laser), a bit of SkinGym Skin Rejuvenation, Body Exfoliation and, finally, a lesson in Youngblood cosmetic mineral makeup!

Hear what she thought about it all.

You'll remember she's looking to improve skin tone and skin texture, and generally address the natural signs of ageing.   You can see other videos of Gillian - winner of one of the Bare Skin Awards - by clicking on the 'Bare Skin Awards' tag.

The Dermamelan pigmentation treatment scores another hit!  Alka recorded these comments when she came in for a review a few weeks after receiving her Dermamelan treatment.

In the video Alka describes how her skin has a beautifully even skin tone and how pleased she is with the results. She also talks about the experience of coming to the SkinGenesis skin clinic for treatment.

Before having her microdermabrasion, Gillian recorded a short video clip which you can see here.  Gillian won the Bare Skin Award at Top Model UK 2010 but is seeking to improve her skin further - particularly skin tone and skin texture.

You may know that the microdermabrasion treatment takes about 10 - 15 minutes and so you'll appreciate that we had to do a bit of editing to make the video watchable! 

Anyway, the video below shows Top Model UK winner Gillian having her first ever microdermabrasion at a skin clinic. She discusses with Deborah the benefits of skin treatment.

Don't forget, if, like Gillian, you've never had a microdermabrasion before you can call any of the SkinGenesis skin clinics and arrange a time to come in for a trial microdermabrasion for just £35.

A skin clinic visit was one of the prizes at the Top Model UK awards in London in March.  In fact the winners of the Bare Skin Awards, sponsored by SkinGenesis, have been invited to try any of our skin treatments to maintain and improve their skin tone and skin texture.

For Classic Category winner Gillian a trip to the skin clinic in Chester was a 'must do' and on arrival she recorded this short video clip:

You can see that Gillian is excited about her first visit to the SkinGenesis Skin Clinic in Chester.  When we met her at the Top Model UK competition she said she was interested in anti-ageing treatments and would like a more even skin tone and skin texture.  

We will be recording some of the treatments she has - and her comments after-  over the coming weeks. 

She went on to win her category, and the Bare Skin Award, and has now come to the skin clinic to improve her skin further.

Those of you who have been following the fortunes of our Chester client, Naomi Heap, will know that she won an award at the Top Model UK finals in London and is going on to greater things. 

Part of her plan is to have skin treatment to achieve superior skin texture and skin tone, and she is now well into her acne treatment programme.  She has just recorded this short clip for us.

(click to view Naomi's 'before acne treatment' pix)

Regular readers will know that Peter answers readers' questions for a Cosmetic Surgery magazine.  Here is a recent one about adult acne.

Question:

I am 35 and have started to see the signs of ageing with tired skin, open pores and lines and wrinkles, but I’m still being plagued by breakouts every month which I’ve had since a teenager.  What  adult acne treatment plan would you suggest ? Is there one procedure that will deal with these very different problems?

Peter's answer:

The first thing you should do is have a skin analysis and checked for sun damage, pH levels and moisture content. 

Once the condition of your skin is determined it will be possible to chose which treatments will be necessary to achieve the skin you desire.

If your skin is too alkaline you are likely to notice an improvement just by adjusting your skin care regime to more acidic (pH 5.5 or lower) products.  This improvement would be aided further by having a course of salicylic skin peels which will help clear the acne and at the same time rejuvenate the skin.

There are a few other treatments such as microdermabrasion which may help with acne breakouts as well as rejuvenate the skin. These treatments are relatively non invasive and require very little recovery or down time, but the most appropriate treatment can only be ascertained after the skin analysis.

Both ageing skin and acne can respond significantly to changes in lifestyle and I would recommend seeing a nutritionist who specialises in skin conditions. A good diet and the correct skin care will enable you to reduce the number of treatments you require as well as get the maximum benefit from them.

Some of you may have seen an article in the Daily Mail entitled "How slapping on the sunscreen nearly ruined one woman's health".  This was the account of a woman in her 30s who ahd been so diligent in using SPF moisturiser, wearing floppy hats, and avoiding the midday sun, that she ended up with a serious Vitamin D deficiency.

It's thought that many Britons end the winter with a Vitamin D deficiency and it is important to gain some moderate sun exposure during the summer to boost depleted reserves.  The SkinGenesis Guide to Sun Protection states :

"UV radiation does a number of good things for us.  The one most people are aware of is that UV-B radiation is needed for the production of vitamin D.

Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones and a lack of the vitamin will cause rickets. This is because Vitamin D assists the absorption of calcium in your diet, and is also essential for a strong immune system.

Research has shown that high levels of vitamin D will also reduce the risk of active TB by 32%, and is associated with lower risks for Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as breast, ovarian, colon, prostrate, pancreatic and other cancers."

The judging for the  Bare Skin Awards took place during rehearsals for the Top Model UK finals in London on 13th/ 14th March.  Deborah and Sue had a great time meeting all the models informally and took the opportunity to ask some of the front runners why they wanted to win the Bare Skin prizes.

Rachelle talks about Pigmentation Treatment and Scar Treatment

Naomi finds Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics help with her Acne Treatment

Top Model Winner Gillian and her Anti Ageing Treatment quest

Dawn wants Skin Treatment!

Olivia and Scar Removal Treatment

Rachelle likes Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics

At last, we've downloaded our snaps from The Bare Skin Awards at the Top Model UK finals in London on 13/14th March 2010. 

In all there were 3 categories - Runway& Editorial, Classic, and Commercial - but we ended up awarding 4 prizes!  This was because in the Commercial category it was too close to call and so Felicity Mason and Rachelle Mooney were both winners.  The other categories were won by  Helen Macgregor in Runway & Editorial and Gillian MacPherson on the Classic Category. 

You'll remember that the Bare Skin Awards are a prize for the best natural skin tone, skin texture and clarity.  This meant the judging had to happen during rehearsals when the models didn't have their makeup on.  Here's a typical lineup:

Deborah and Sue were able to keep them amused - remember, they're trained not to smile! - while multitasking the serious business of finding the model with the best skin tone and skin texture.  In the next few pix I think you'll see that they were 100% successful in picking the winners.

First we have Gillian MacPherson with Peter, the SkinGenesis MD, and on her own - clutching the spoils of what was a very successful night for Gillian as she was also crowned the overall winner for her Top Model UK category.

Next we have Rachelle Mooney  when it was nearly time to go home, this time posing with Deborah and Sue from our Chester clinic.

Then we have Rachelle's co-winner, Felicity Mason, posing with our client, and Top Model UK second runner up, Naomi Heap.

And Felicity on the runway.....

The winner of the Runway and Editorial was Helen MacGregor in 2 very different shots: during the Bare Skin Awards judging and  with her Award and Peter after the prizegiving:

Thanks again to everyone involved.  We had a great time and have made some new friends who we look forward to getting to know better over the coming year.

Wow what a weekend! Many many congratulations to our acne treatment client, Naomi Heap, for securing the 2nd runner up spot in her category at the Top Model UK finals in London.  Out of 30 finalists this is a fantastic achievement and we were there to see Naomi take the applause.  Pictures and video to follow.

On top of that we were delighted with the response to the inaugural Bare Skin Awards, sponsored by SkinGenesis.  These awards recognised the models in each of the 3 Top Model UK categories with the best natural skin tone, texture and clarity.

The 2010 Bare Skin Awards winners were Helen Macgregor in Runway & Editorial, Rachelle Mooney and Felicity Mason in Commercial (we couldn't choose between them so decided to make the award to both of them!), and Gillian Macpherson on the Classic Category.  Congratulations to all of them and we look forward to helping them prepare their skin perfectly for the many assignments and events coming up in 2010.  

We're very grateful to Andrew Collier Photography and Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics (now stocked at SkinGenesis, incidently) who added their weight to the Bare Skin Awards by donating generous prizes.  

And finally, thank you to all of you who joined in the text vote for Naomi.  While Naomi was pipped to the text vote award, the charity Children with Leukaemia will have benefitted hugely from your interest.  The presentations by the Children with Leukaemia representatives were very moving and it is a very worthwhile charity to have supported.