Dove Spa Skin Diagnostics

Source: dovespa.co.uk

This is the second of two posts following my trip to Dove Spa Merry Hill for a Hydra-Mineral Facial. You can read about my experience with the Hydra-Facial facial treatment here.

This post will be covering the Skin Diagnostic, which I've mentioned previously but this time I actually have my previous results to compare against and felt it would make an interesting post. Well interesting to me at least!

Although the Skin Diagnostic is completely free, you do need to request it, it's not automatically included as part of the facial unless otherwise stated. Obviously your therapist will always carry out a manual skin analysis as part of your facial. The Skin Diagnosis however is a little more scientific  and uses an electronic multi-dermascope to measure your skins water, oil, pigmentation and elastin levels.

I'm not sure whether its because I'm a guy or maybe my IT analysis background but I do like having actual facts and figures to work with.

The reason I requested the skin diagnosis on this visit was because I've visibly noticed a huge improvement in my skin from all the products I've been using over the last few months. I was curious to see if those improvements would show up on the machine!

The first thing the machine measures is your skins water content. The last time I had this my skin was actually in the dehydrated category. Since using Hydraluron and more recently the Bravura London Hyaluronic Acid Serum, I knew my skins hydration had improved. I was amazed at how much though.

Not only had I moved out of the dehydrated category but I'd shot passed the normal category and into the good band. They state anything over 60% as good hydration. I was 75%!! This was also a whopping 11 hours after applying my skincare. This is enough evidence for me that hyaluronic acid needs to remain a fixture in my skincare routine.

The next thing that is measured is oil content. This was actually a very surprising result for me, because I've always been on the oilier side on my t-zone and normal on my cheeks. This time I was showing as normal on my t-zone and normal to dry on my cheeks. I guess a lot of my excess oiliness was probably due to having dehydrated skin and excess sebum was my skins way of coping.

Melanin levels were checked next. I had hoped considering it being winter plus  I've also been doubling up my sun protection and using Glycolic acid treatments, that these would have improved but they haven't changed much.

Lastly my elastin levels were checked and my skin age was calculated. Again a sadly disappointing results. My elastin levels came out as normal for my age and my skin age was calculated as 30. Which is my actual age so I guess it's not that big a deal but last time it was 19?! Maybe the machine was having a blip.........last time.

So what are conclusions? Firstly, that the hyaluronic acid serums have most definitely worked to increase my skins hydration levels. This was visibly apparent anyway but I now have evidence. Also, I could think about applying a richer cream or possibly a facial oil to my cheeks during the day to balance out the slight dryness in this area. I still have a bit of shine on my T-zone so I definitely wouldn't want to go richer all over. 

Although I've noticed a definite improvement to appearance and tone of my skin, for some reason this wasn't reflected in my results for pigmentation. I have faith in the glycolic and salicylic acid treatments and will continue with them along with the Pai Rosehip Face Oil. My therapist did explain that even the smallest freckle on the skin can affect the pigmentation results though. 

To improve the elastin results, although they weren't particularly bad, I feel they could have been better,  I'll be exploring products to help with this area.

It's worth mentioning that our skin changes from time to time and the results may not be a direct reflection of the skincare I'd been using. Seasonal changes are a big factor. My last Skin Diagnostic was the end of September 2012, just after Summer. Also the time of day was different. Diet, sleep and exercise are also factors to consider.

Nevertheless, I still find it all completely fascinating and if you have a Dove Spa near you then I highly recommend having your skin diagnosed.  Remember it's completely free and you may learn some interesting facts about your skin!

Check Dove Spa for more details.

Pampered Prince