A little while back I got to enjoy an Accent Ultra RF facial (R740) at U’Chique Body Sculpting which operates out of the Romney Park Hotel & Spa in Sea Point.

I’ve heard a lot of people refer to this as a laser facial, but the truth is it actually uses two different radio frequency technologies to heat up the tissues in your face with the ultimate aim of plumping and tightening up your skin.

You see, the unipolar frequency creates a lot of heat deep within your skin to create an ‘injury’ that your body ‘heals’ by creating more skin-plumping collagen. The bipolar frequency provides more superficial heating that helps tighten up your skin by causing your collagen fibres to contract while boosting your skin’s circulation.

Now, hearing all that, a lot of people are inclined to go ‘ouch’, but the truth is it doesn’t hurt at all. If anything, it feels fabulously relaxing, like a hot stone massage. Something about how the machine manages to alternate between being very hot and then very cold has a way of putting the blitz on any would-be discomfort. Also, there’s no redness afterwards. Your skin just has more of a healthy glow thanks to the circulation boost.

Anyway, I really enjoyed my treatment and appreciated that it was performed by Eunice Grobler, the machine’s owner. She really knows her stuff and could answer all my questions. I also liked that it only took all of twenty minutes or so and, afterwards, I could slap my make-up back on and head out the door.

In regards to results, Eunice said the skin along my jaw looked a little tighter but, personally, I didn’t see a major immediate difference, but that’s okay. Collagen-encouraging treatments are an investment in your skin’s long-term future; not the type of thing where you walk out and BAM your face is suddenly plumped up and ‘toit’-looking. It’s the same way you can’t water your pot plant and then sit there going ‘where the hell are my damn flowers?!’ The creation of collagen takes time. So much so that, if you decided to have a series of treatments, you’d have to space them out a few weeks away from each other. Ultimately, you want to ‘water’; wait for growth and then ‘water’ again, if that makes sense.

Currently, if you’re blowing R600 or so on a random spa facial that merely involves a steamer and having a long succession of overpriced skin care products applied to your face I’d most definitely swap it out for a collagen-encouraging facial like the Ultra Accent treatment. The products used in the spa facial will be washed off the moment you hop in the shower but the benefits from an Accent Ultra treatment keep on appreciating deep within your skin for weeks afterwards. There’s also no doubt about whether it ‘works’ or not; RF facial treatments have been around for a while and are a safe, proven method to stimulate more collagen. Ultimately, one of the best things you can do to improve your skin’s firmness, prevent wrinkles and fend off Father Time for as long as possible.

To book a treatment, give U’Chique Body Sculpting a shout on (021) 439 4555. The machine is also capable of rupturing and emptying fat cells so it’s often used to refine jaw lines and reshape the body. You can read more about that on U’Chique’s website over here.

Love, love

Leigh