By Chrissy Iley
The Light Salon is a pioneer in the new generation of facials. Facials that are high science, low invasiveness, fast and results driven. The Light Salon is in the beauty lounge at Harvey Nichols. It’s a while since I’d been to Harvey Nichols and I liked the way the store has moved with the times. It got stuck in the nineties for a bit. Now it’s back on cutting edge form with other salons in its beauty lounge like the impressive D Thomas with her illuminating treatments.
LED therapy means you sit under lights for 11 minutes. The incredible therapist Rebecca Hamill explained that the lights in some way mimics a wound and it puts your skin cells into repair and rebuild mode. It’s been used in hospitals and the result for better skin is phenomenal. You can get different lights for different problems and it’s for all ages. Girls as young as 12 go there for help with acne. Elsewhere tighter, smoother, plumper skin with less discoloration is a given.
You sit in a very comfortable chair, your eyes have an optional protector and then there’s a range of different coloured lights all done. I had an optional peel, only a mini peel as I have sensitive skin. Rebecca said it would feel as if I had ants in stilettos walking all over my face and it’s true. It was a bit itchy but apparently the skin clean works well with the LED.
LED is quite a gentle form of light therapy. I sat under it quite happily. I didn’t get hot or feel claustrophobic but I think that’s partly due to Rebecca whose presence was both comforting and fun. Afterwards I had a lymphatic drainage face massage. This took me to heaven and back. Look up healing hands in the dictionary and there’s Rebecca. I’m always sniffly and congested but somehow she managed to do what various medical sinus clearing potions had failed to perform. The whole thing 20 minutes tops.
There’s a menu and you can tailor your light according to your skins needs and you don’t have the peel every time. It’s recommended you have two a week for ten weeks because the effect is accumulative but don’t let that make you think having just one isn’t impressive. When I looked at my face afterwards I could see it was visibly lifted tighter and I’d had some sun spots that were beginning to annoy me. Even they seem to have faded.
Another lady was just checking out before me and booked for the same time next week. Rebecca said people get addicted because it works and it’s quick and there’s no downtime. Prices start at only £35 so you can afford to be addicted a little bit. I remember facials that left you red and greasy and took hours. That feels suddenly a long time ago. The Light Salon is the future and Rebecca is God given.