Kate Lacey
What it is: A facial with Nichola Joss in which she aggressively massages the inside of your mouth (hence “inside-out” facial)
Who tried it: Pamela Edwards-Christiani, PEOPLE Style and Beauty Editor
Why she did it: To look younger and more contoured without the help of a needle or scalpel
How crazy is it on a scale from one to Kim Kardashian’s blood facial? Considering Pamela cried during the treatment, we give it an 8
I recently had the pleasure –– and pain, actually –– of experiencing one of Nichola Joss‘s signature toning facials that includes a deep massage, both on the face and inside the mouth (she wears surgical gloves). Now, my skin has seen the likes of laser treatments, LED lights, oxygen, you name it, but I have never cried out of pain from a facial. Until now.
Let me first preface all of this by saying that Nichola is absolutely lovely and an extremely knowledgeable skin care expert (she’s Sanctuary Spa’s Global Beauty Ambassador). Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow and plenty of other gorgeous celebrities (with firm jawlines, I might add) are some of her regular clients that have experienced this facial multiple times.
Before we started, Nichola explained that there would be the usual deep cleansing, toning and a masque prior to the deep massage using Sanctuary Spa products (the Secret Facial Oil is heaven). I was in quite a relaxed state, about 30 minutes into the treatment, before she put on the gloves and proceeded to drag her knuckles along the inside of my jawline.
That’s when the tears began. She talked me through the entire process, explaining how our facial muscles can atrophy over time. She compared this vigorous stimulation and deep tissue work to a solid gym workout. She also assured me that your face gets used to this stimulation after multiple treatments.
The Verdict: The crazy thing is that if she offered me the same treatment right now, I’d take her up on it. After she completed the process on one side of my face, I could absolutely see the difference. I wiped my tears away once I saw how much more toned and lifted the left side of my face looked as opposed to the right. She moved on to the other side, I cried again, but I truly loved the final results. In fact I had dinner with friends afterwards and two of them asked if I’d just been on vacation.
–Pamela Edwards-Christiani
Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho/Getty
