By Hannah Powling
I for one haven’t had many facials in my time. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper one before. At 26 years old, I luckily haven’t had too many problems with my skin, so I suppose it wasn’t something I had considered. But, as I am getting a little older and I can see the daily stresses of copious makeup and central London on my skin, and sometimes it just doesn’t look its best. BATD Founder Krista swears by her facials and like a hairdresser – once you find that one person you completely trust with your life, you stick with them.
I’ve known Claire Mazik for a few years now, we both worked together as makeup artists at MAC Cosmetics. Claire is known as Purely Green Beauty, as she has been going down the natural health and beauty road for some time now, converting both her personal and professional kit to a green one. Claire’s keen interest in natural health has led her to pursue training in creating natural skincare products, skin and anti-ageing nutrition, along with Ayurvedic beauty therapy too. She is also qualified in Reiki healing, sound healing and bathing, and is a meditation tutor.
Ayurvedic facials are great for everyone and especially if you suffer from skin issues. They are a great anti-ageing tool and are perfect for stress relief and relaxation.
It’s safe to say that I jumped at the chance to experience my first Ayurvedic facial with Claire – and was pretty excited about it too. I arrived at the Highgate Holistic Clinic where Claire is based on Mondays, and filled in a form about my concern areas and also a little about myself as a person – to determine my Ayurvedic Dosha. Doshas are the three energies that make up every individual, which perform different physiological functions in the body.
Once Claire had a clear idea about exactly what my skin needed, she got to work. She even mixes all the ingredients up on the spot for optimal nutritional content.
Claire started by removing my makeup with Raw Coconut Oil, and toned with Rosewater. She mixed up an exfoliate which included Gram Flour which is great for balancing oil production, and Lemon Juice which is detoxing, pore cleansing, removes dead skin cells and brightens the complexion.
There were facial steams with hot towels in between Ayurvedic massages, concentrating on my areas of concern and to balance my doshas. And then the main face mask came. It was delish.
Claire explained that the face mask she mixed up for me specifically was a nourishing, anti-ageing, clearing and brightening one; which included Maca (a superfood and adaptogens), Avocado to nourish, Aloe Vera, Raw Honey, Royal Jelly, Raw Cacao, Kelp, Wheatgrass, and Castor Oil. Definitely good enough to eat – it smelt so yummy, but I resisted licking my lips (with great effort) and let it do its work on my skin.
Whilst this was on Claire gave me a shoulder, neck and head massage to relieve any tension or stiffness. We can carry a lot of tension here without even realising – and I must have had quite some built up, as it was to die for. There was Paolo Santo burning and I was spritzed with Florida Water – both of which promote calmness, balance and positivity. Claire toned my face with rose water and raw apple cider vinegar, with a rejuvenating facial serum to finish.
I am going to throw in there now that I could have been there for HOURS. It was too good, it was relaxing, calming and such a wonderful de-stress at the end of a long working day. I left feeling refreshed, my skin was plump and felt tingly, but in a healed way. I had a rosy glow in the areas that Claire had worked on, and I could feel my skin thanking me profusely for it. I will be going again soon that’s for certain.
Go on, give your skin what it needs and try out a bespoke Ayurvedic superfood facial for yourself, I have been completely and utterly converted. Because, what more could your skin want?
Claire Mazik AKA Purely Green Beauty is located in North London, at the Highgate Holistic Clinic on Mondays and will soon be located in Central London, Marylebone, at Indaba on Thursdays.
info@purelygreenbeauty.com
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