London - May 02, 2006

Let There Be Light

Gennie Monteith Facialist

You get your eyebrows bambooed. You swear by permanent makeup. You’ve been known to tweeze your nasal tufts at traffic lights.

And you scream in agony every time.

Facialist Gennie Monteith doesn’t think you have to suffer for the sake of beauty. Having worked at Bliss (she was one of their first London therapists) and Michaeljohn, the gifted Monteith is well worth a visit, specifically for her cell-rejuvenating acupuncture facial.

Yell not: this has nothing to do with pins but rather small beams of light from a non-invasive, pen-like device. The light travels to the skin cells where, in a process similar to photosynthesis, it boosts the creation of collagen and elastane, and brings anything that’s snoozing in there back to life. The facial incorporates diamond-tip microdermabrasion and the soothing application of Monteith’s own potions; to sum it up, it’s two hours of youth-inducing ecstasy for £75.

What a scream.

Gennie Monteith, Studio 1, 106 Draycott Avenue, SW3 (020 7225 2200).