The blurb
The luxury London salon chain was born in 2005 in Notting Hill, and was original from the start – as the capital’s first high-end waxing-only bar. Founding sisters Danielle and Marie-Louise Featherstone dreamt of turning waxing from an often tedious, ‘ouch-that-hurt’ experience into a luxurious pleasurable treat. They’ve managed that – you’ll be lulled into bliss by Strip’s sumptuous decor and attention-ladling therapists – and built a celebrity-studded clientele, with Victoria Beckham, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Sienna Miller among its fans.
Strip has since expanded, opening branches in Islington (its flagship store), Soho, Chelsea, the City and Loughton. It has hugely expanded its repertoire beyond waxing – it now also offers bespoke WOW brows treatments, advanced laser hair removal, micro-needling, thread vein removal, skin rejuvenation and pigmentation and more. At front-of-house, Strip Boutique stocks gorgeous lingerie and swimwear by Stella McCartney, and Heidi Klum Intimates, Koral activewear, Heliocare sun products, delicious Ortigia bath products and skin smoothing aftercare to keep you prepped between treatments.
The process
I went along to Strip’s Chelsea store, the chain’s largest. It boasts therapists who are ‘second to none’, and mine was a lovely girl called Teddy, who led me downstairs to a treatment room. I’d had a phone conversation before my first visit and chosen to have my skin pigmentation treated by laser therapy (advanced laser technology is on offer at all the Strips bar Soho). Pigmented lesions, which include sun spots, freckles, age spots and red ‘cherry’ spots, can result from sun exposure and ageing. I reckon some 25 years of basking on beaches from Bali to Boracay had left me with pale brown blotches on my facial skin – mostly noticeable to me, if I’m honest. But if they could be reverted to their original even colouration, what’s not to like?
On my first site visit, I had a tiny skin test: this involved a laser beam from the GentleMax laser machine being targeted on to a pea-sized pigmented patch (melanin). There was a quick burst of heat, a tiny sting to my skin, and it was done – the worst bit was the lingering smell, like burning hair. Even that wasn’t too bad.
Frankie was amazing at calming my white-coat nerves (yes, I know it wasn’t a proper medical process but anything where you’re lying on a table feels to me like an examination). She managed the whole treatment with minimum fuss and maximum efficiency. I was sent away to observe how my skin reacted. If I had a bad reaction – ie, very irritated skin or itching – it would be game off.
As it was, the tested patch of skin quickly turned into a tiny red scab that fell off in a matter of days. Underneath was dewy fresh, pinkish that day by day faded to an even tone. Game on. I returned a fortnight later for the full treatment to the other pigmented areas, which took about 30 minutes tops.
The result
As before, the treated areas of skin scabbed over in days to eventually reveal new, pinkish skin. Within 4-6 weeks, I could assess the treated areas. When I compared the before pics with the final result, I could tell my skin had noticeably improved in terms of skin colouration, tone and texture – I reckon definitely worth enduring the tiny stings and strange whiffs in return for a smoother, more even skin tone.
