The German skin doctor set to captivate the London set
WHEN a tanned German doctor in an Italian suit opens a door to find you half naked on a gurney covered in cream and towels, you feel slightly abashed. “I’m so sorry, I’m not usually late,” says celebrity dermatologist Dr Duve (pronounced duvet), more accustomed to seeing footballers and celebrities in his Munich clinic than the likes of me, frizzy-haired after a downpour. He pops out again after a hand-shake, and my therapist, a chatty Scott and I, are left alone.
I’m here at Michaeljohn in Mayfair for Dr Duve’s jet peel facial, already a sensation in Germany, and available in London from today. It certainly is remarkable. Your face is gone over by a tube that feels part hose, part suction pipe. “It may not feel like it’s doing much, but if I hold it over one place too long, you’ll bleed,” the therapist says, cheerfully.
It’s a nice sensation, the salty water mowing over my face, neck and decolletage. The oxygenating jet peel opens the skin so that Duve’s products, which contain collagen-boosting plant growth factors, can penetrate the skin better. It is also a powerful exfoliator.
Post jet peel, a plumping botanical mask with collagen inflates and invigorates my lips and face and a hand massage completes the treatment. But when I look at myself in the mirror, I look ashen. “Oh yes, it drains the blood from your face,” says my therapist, reassuringly. Two days later, though, my skin is thanking me, and I’m still getting compliments on my glow. £165 for 90 mins. 25 Albemarle Street, W1S 4HU. www.michaeljohn.co.uk