Upper Cambourne · CB23 6EP

Facials in Cambridge

Facial treatments for Cambridge and the villages around it, carried out by Shannon Dry Aesthetics at our Upper Cambourne clinic. Your skin gets looked at properly before anything is chosen for it.

  • Skin analysis first
  • Free parking on site
  • By appointment

Ask about a facial

Tell us what your skin is doing and roughly where you are travelling from. We will come back with a straight answer on what would actually help.

Treatments carried out by Shannon Dry Aesthetics · Upper Cambourne, CB23 6EP

Getting here

Every route ends in the same place

Find your town for the road in and an honest door-to-door drive time.

All routes end atUpper CambourneCB23 6EP

What a facial actually involves

A facial is a sequence of steps carried out on cleansed skin. The surface is cleared, congestion is softened and released where that is useful, and the skin is left with the products it needs and nothing it does not. The step that decides whether any of it works is the one at the start, where your skin is actually looked at.

Most treatments sold as facials are the same handful of steps in a different order with different products on them. What varies, and what matters, is whether those steps were chosen for the skin in front of the therapist or picked off a menu before you walked in.

What happens in the appointment

Typical length1h 20m

  1. 010:00

    Consultation and skin analysis

    10 min

    Your skin is looked at properly under a lamp, and you are asked about products, medication and anything that has reacted before. This is where the rest of the appointment gets decided.

  2. 020:10

    Double cleanse

    10 min

    The first pass takes off makeup, sunscreen and the day. The second works on the skin itself. Nothing after this step lands properly if this one is rushed.

  3. 030:20

    Exfoliation

    10 min

    Loosening dull surface cells so what follows can reach the skin underneath. The method and strength are chosen from what the analysis found.

  4. 040:30

    Steam and extraction

    15 min

    Warmth softens the contents of congested pores so blockages can be cleared. Included only where it is useful and comfortable, not as a fixed part of every facial.

  5. 050:45

    Massage

    15 min

    Facial massage across the face, neck and shoulders. It is the part most people remember, and it is also where tension around the jaw and brow gets worked out.

  6. 061:00

    Mask

    10 min

    Chosen for what your skin needed on the day rather than picked in advance. This is the quiet stretch of the appointment.

  7. 071:10

    Serum, moisturiser, SPF

    10 min

    Finishing layers, and a short conversation about what to use at home. Sun protection goes on last, every time.

A full facial usually runs to about an hour and a quarter. Not every step appears in every appointment. The skin analysis at the start decides which ones are useful for you, and steam and extraction in particular are left out where they would not help.

Who it suits

Facials are worth booking when there is something specific you want to change, rather than as a general treat. The people who get most out of them tend to fall into a few groups.

Congested skin

Blackheads, blocked pores and the bumpy texture across the nose, chin and forehead that does not respond to whatever you are already using.

Skin that has gone flat

Dull, tired-looking skin with no obvious problem to point at. Usually a build-up of dead surface cells and a routine that has stopped doing anything.

Skin that reacts to everything

If products keep stinging or leaving you red, the useful part is working out what is causing it before adding anything else.

Before an event

A wedding or anything else you want to look well for is worth planning several months out, as a short course rather than one appointment the week before.

Never had one

If you have never had a facial and want to know exactly what you are paying for, the sequence above is the honest answer.

What it costs

Prices are confirmed at your consultation, because the length and the content of the appointment depend on what your skin needs. You will be told what the treatment costs before it is booked, and nothing is added on the day without being discussed with you first. If you are considering a course rather than a single visit, ask and we will price the course.

What happens at your first appointment

The first visit starts with a conversation rather than a treatment. You will be asked what you are using at home, what you are taking, and whether anything has reacted before. Your skin is then looked at properly under a lamp, which is where most of the useful information comes from.

Only after that is the treatment decided. If a patch test is needed, it is done at that appointment and the facial is booked after it. You leave knowing what was done, why, and what to do at home in between visits.

Qualifications

Every treatment is carried out by Shannon Dry Aesthetics. These are the qualifications behind that.

  • NVQ Level 3 Beauty TherapyThe standard professional qualification for facial treatments in the UK, covering skin analysis, facial electrical treatments and contraindications.
  • VTCT Level 4 AwardQualification number 50088889, an advanced award regulated by Ofqual and awarded by VTCT.

Questions

How often should I have a facial?

Skin turns over on roughly a monthly cycle, so monthly is the usual rhythm while you are working on something specific. Once your skin is where you want it, every couple of months is enough to hold it there.

Will my skin break out afterwards?

It can, particularly after a first facial on congested skin, because clearing blockages brings some of them to the surface. It normally settles within a few days. It is better to know that before rather than after.

Can I wear makeup straight afterwards?

You can, but it is better not to for the rest of the day. Skin is warm and a little more permeable after a facial, and leaving it alone for a few hours gets you more out of the appointment.

Do I need a patch test?

For a standard facial, usually not. If anything active is going to be used, or you have reacted to products before, a patch test is arranged first and your treatment is booked after it.

Do you treat men?

Yes. Congestion, shaving irritation and dull texture are among the most common things we see.

Where exactly are you?

Upper Cambourne, CB23 6EP. It is about twenty minutes west of central Cambridge on the A428, and parking is free and on site.

Book a facial in Cambridge

Tell us what you would like to change and we will tell you honestly whether a facial is the right thing for it.

Ask about a facial