Much like the wise, funny and much-missed writer Nora Ephron, I have started to feel bad about my neck. Aging is a process I fully embrace, but whereas wrinkles and grey hairs are (arguably) hard-won battle scars paying testament to the privilege of having the years stack up, sagging jawlines and the replacement of a luminous complexion with a silvery sheen which serves only to highlight crepey texture are harder to bear with pride.
There is a certain truth to Catherine Deneuve’s statement that at a certain age, we are forced to choose between our face and our ass – or in my case, my neck and my gut. I chose to address the latter, partly due to need to shift weight to alleviate a knee condition. However, as I watched the pounds drop on the scales, I also noticed the downside of losing that juicy plumpness which, up to this point, had been helping me maintain (what I liked to think of as) my fresh-faced good looks.
As someone who is inherently wary of interventional beauty treatments, I was in something of a quandary. Surgery doesn’t feel right for me at this point, but I was after something more firming, toning and lifting than any cream could promise. It was while I was mulling it over that I met a friend for lunch and noticed that, despite being a similar age, her neck could only be described as snatched. I was jealous: ‘Darling, I had Morpheus8’, she confided. I wanted to know more.
Morpheus8 is a treatment combining radiofrequency (RF) energy with microneedling to encourage tissue remodelling. Essentially, elastin and collagen levels are boosted by causing (managed) trauma to skin, encouraging the natural healing process. Our collagen levels start to deplete in our mid 20s and by the time menopause kicks in, the decline speeds up. The treatment needs some natural collagen to work with, and so, hopeful I still had a modicum left within me, I booked in at Dr Joney de Souza, the Marylebone aesthetician where I’d previously had a Brazilian facial.
Dr Joney’s clinic is discreet, unshowy and tucked away in Blandford Street, about a 10-15 minute walk from Marylebone Station. Small, friendly and professional, it’s a place where you’ll be greeted by name and by your second visit, you’ll feel welcome as a regular.
My appointment was with Roma, who impressed me with her no-nonsense knowledge of skin types and treatments. A trained medic, she has been working in aesthetics since moving to the UK. What I really appreciated was how she framed my expectations. One treatment will yield results, three is optimal. Most importantly, though, the results won’t be instant but will develop over the following weeks and months. I’m an instant gratification kind-of-a-gal but I had faith in her.
She started by prepping the skin, smothering it in numbing cream and then leaving me for about an hour for it to take effect. This brings us on to the unavoidable matter of pain and it has to be said, in the words of Adam Kay, ‘this is going to hurt’. Grit your teeth and get on with it. The time spent using the device depends on the area being treated. I was in for neck and face, and it took around 40 minutes of teeth-gritting. Happily, in addition to the numbing cream I was also furnished with a cooling wand to waft over myself when and where needed.
She worked methodically, with a device which looks (and feels) like a hi-tech stapler, puncturing the skin, penetrating the dermal and subdermal layers to deliver the RF energy. Sun, stress and hormones, Roma told me, are the main culprits when it comes to skin damage and talked me through various treatment options for different concerns. She likes Morpheus8 to treat texture, tone and redness and also rates it for tightening up the abdomen, telling me she’s had great results on clients wanting to flatten up, post-pregnancy. She’s also a fan of Profhilo and PhilArt (polynucleotides) both of which are naturally derived injectables used to rejuvenate, nourish and improve the appearance of targeted areas. What each gives is a natural, rather than an altered, appearance.
Once finished my face was raspberry-red and I wished I hadn’t arranged to meet a friend for coffee. Thankfully, this faded completely within a couple of days, during which time I avoided using active ingredients on my skin. I was also advised to stay out of the sun and reminded that it is imperative to use SPF.
As mentioned above, it can take up to six months for new collagen and elastin to fully develop. I’m in month three and already can see the benefits in terms of tone, texture and colour. The redness from broken veins in my cheeks (which Roma was itching to laser away) has faded and my pores look smaller. My jawline is discernibly more defined, in that I now have one and am no longer appalled when I see photos of myself. The incipient folding of skin which was starting to appear at my collar bone is decreased, although only surgery will eradicate it and that’s still not a step I’m (yet…) willing to take. What is giving me the most joy, however, is the fact that I can see light bouncing off my face again. Call it luminosity, sheen, radiance, whatever: I’ve got my glow back.
drjoneydesouza.com
Prices for Morpheus8 start from £550 for the eye area
AFTERCARE:
Immediately after treatment you’ll want something instantly soothing. Roma recommends La Roche Posay Cicaplast Balm (£10.90 lookfantastic.com), a thick cream to soothe and calm. I slathered it on straightaway and also applied at night and as a day cream for a couple of days after each session.
Following this, I relied on just two products, each of which promise to (among other things) boost collagen. I used the INKEY List Exosome Hydro-Glow Complex (£20 uk.theinkeylist.com) in place of a serum. Billed as a ‘facial in a bottle’ its molecular structure allows it to penetrate the pores, delivering active ingredients direct to the skin cells.
I also replaced my usual moisturiser with Dr Jack’s Skin Cushion (£139 drdavidjack.com), an “exciting breakthrough in skin recovery technology”, specifically designed to address skin going through hormonal changes like pregnancy and perimenopause and also packed with antioxidants to protect and restore post-treatment skin.
