It is a well proven fact that collagen production in skin can be stimulated by injury. Oh course, it goes without saying that the injury must be well controlled or else we could simply hit each other in the face with cricket bats and all look like Jennifer Aniston and "happy slapping" could take on a whole new meaning.

The question is not one of whether to inflict limited and well controlled damage but more one of how best to do it. There are several options: we can burn the skin with chemicals, this is known as a chemical peel. We can also burn the skin with light and this is how we carry out laser skin resurfacing. We can "sand" off the top layer of skin with a process called dermabrasion. All of these methods work well but have significant "down time" ( for down time read hiding at home with a huge bucket of pop corn and a large stack of DVDs) and a reasonable degree of aftercare.

About four years ago we learned how to reduce laser beams to pin prick sizes which produced pepper pot delivery of light. This breakthrough allowed the treatment to be carried out in several stages with only 3-4 days of down time after each session. In my opinion, the Pixel laser is still the best option for reducing eyelid droop in clients who do not want, or are not yet ready for surgery. Combined with Nlite laser, which reduces the downtime, acts as an anti-inflammatory and an analgesic and improves the results, it is the Rolls Royce of treatments.

However, over the last year there has emerged another way to achieve the Holy Grail of new collagen in skin. Not by burning or sanding it but- wait for it- by stabbing it! Dermaroller is most definitely the new kid on the block when it comes to skin rejuvenation and the method consists of rolling over the skin with a small roller set with dozens of tiny needles 1.5 mms long. That doesn't sound very long but believe me it is plenty long enough to go through the upper layer of skin, or epidermis, and into the growing layer of skin, or dermis, which is the area we want to stimulate as it is where our collagen and elastin fibres are produced.

The treatment is performed after carefully anaesthetising the skin for approximately one hour with a specially formulated topical anaesthetic. This makes the treatment uncomfortable rather than painful. Each area in turn is rolled in several different directions to create thousands of minute holes in the skin. This treatment can be carried out on body areas as well as faces and is brilliant on stretch marks.

This is the really clever part because the holes start to heal as soon as the treatment is finished which means that this is the first true rejuvenation treatment which has a down time of only the day of treatment. By the following morning, mineral make up can be applied and there is no disruption to the normal routine. Even my male clients have returned to work the following day.

The skin is usually extremely dry for up to ten days and then returns to normal, developing a real sheen in about 2weeks. Changes in collagen content take many weeks to progress which is why I recommend leaving an 8 week gap between sessions. Improvement will continue for up to 6 months after treatment.

A full face session costs £500, full face and neck £600 and half face £300. Appointments take up to three hours to complete the anaesthetic and treatment.

For one day only we are offering a huge £100 off a full face or face and neck and £50 off a half face session so book on March 3rd and take advantage of this fantastic offer.