L'Oréal Blackett does cardio with her face at this unique new fitness concept
You probably have a few questions about this new ‘fitness concept’ now open at Selfridges Trafford in Manchester.
Something like: ‘Eh? A ‘FaceGym’. Really?
Yes, exactly that.
‘So, do you mean like doing bench presses with your eyebrows and erm… press ups with your bottom lip?'
Well… yes, kind of.
In layman's terms there are 43 muscles in your face and FaceGym works to tone them up and whip your skin into shape. Meghan Markle is even said to be a fan.
‘So, it’s a spa then?’
Not quite. There’s certainly clever marketing at play here, but FaceGym stress it’s not just a facial, it’s a workout. Unlike spas, there's no candlelight, no deep house soundtrack, no hushed beauty therapy voices; there’s trainers, not spa therapists, and the facial workouts aim to train your facial muscles through non-invasive technology. FaceGym is all action, no faff.
Like your average gym class, your face will go through a warm up, cardio, sculpting and cool down before it lifts, sculpts, tones and tightens. So an actual workout. Though there’s probably no burly men grunting loudly in the weights section...
It's a non-invasive, zero-risk, face lifting solution that really works...
The 30 minute classic treatment (costing £50) is a quick blast of intensive and nimble-fingered prodding. It's rigorous, like...well, a workout. Firmly and swiftly, the trainer sculpts your cheekbones, lifts your brow and elongates your neck with firm, rapid movements. It's both a relaxing and energising experience - it gets your blood pumping. Your skin is also zapped with electric pulses (they use a tool that works like a Power Plate) to help penetrate collagen infused serums deeper into the skin. It makes your hair stand on end and your eyeballs twitch but it's a necessary inconvenience for what was later smoother and noticeably more 'toned' skin. Again, this is a no faff, all action experience.
In beauty circles, FaceGym is a big deal. We can see why.
Founded by Inge Theron, an ‘undercover Spa Junkie’ columnist for the FT, FaceGym recently launched a flagship at Sak’s Fifth Avenue, New York. Now open in Selfridges Trafford, Manchester is the concept’s third UK city globally.
'I realised that to truly achieve a natural face lift one needs to look beyond the skin and work on the muscles and facial framing first,' writes Inge on her website.
We’d assume Theron would know the secret to great skincare better than most. After ‘visiting 57 spas, sweating through 32 types of fitness classes, experimenting with 25 anti-ageing treatments and enduring 15 detoxes’ which she documented in her column, Theron is something of a facial workout expert.
While the idea of working out your facial muscles isn’t entirely new or even strange (trust us, we’ve tried ‘face yoga’) a FaceGym will sound very LA to a Manchester audience.
What kind of results should we expect and, most importantly, how much will it cost?
“It's a non-invasive, zero-risk, face lifting solution that really works," writes Inge, in a nutshell.
Unlike some generic spas – full of patchouli oils and candlelight – FaceGym, like an actual gym, is results driven. This is reflected in the prices, which range from £50 to £225.
Traditionally, the gym is not always a pleasant place for some people. Workouts are gruelling and they are supposed to be. There's always a whole lot of squatting and sweating. But, going to the gym is usually worth it. The same could be said of FaceGym. A full body workout has taken a whole new meaning...
