Credited by the ever-youthful Hollywood actress Jennifer Anniston as the secret to her taut skin, the radiofrequency facial is a must for those who wish to achieve a firmer, contoured and smoother complexion over time.
It’s great for softening fine lines – especially the nose to mouth lines – as well as lifting the cheeks and tightening the jawline, to help smooth out fine lines and wrinkles.
Expert facialist Tina Simpson, who is based at the Jess Taylor salon in Glasgow’s upmarket west end, has been offering beauty treatments for over a decade, after leaving her role as an IT technician.

Tina Simpson, expert holistic facialist.

She provides relaxing radiofrequency facials to clients who want to achieve rapidly younger looking skin in weeks.
Speaking of her move from a technology based role into beauty, Tina said: “I was always good at maths so I just thought it was the next best thing, but it wasn’t really my passion.
“My last job was actually in a bank and I hated every second of it, I used to cry every Sunday night and was really stressed about it.
“I knew I had to find something else.”

Jess Taylor salon in Glasgow’s west end.

Tina knew her passion was trying to help others, something which was hands on and could help others to feel good about themselves.
She decided to go down the route of holistic beauty and threw herself into studying the industry.
She worked with the Beatson cancer centre for eight years offering treatments to the inpatients who had been diagnosed with cancer.

“I was fortunate enough to get a job at the Beatson Cancer Charity centre as a beauty therapist,” Tina, who also offers holistic massage, explained.

“It was very rewarding to be able to look after the patients.
“I loved every minute of it.”
After leaving the Beatson centre three years ago, Tina began developing her own products from home, experimenting with only essential oils, natural products and plant based remedies.

She launched her beauty line ‘Awesome Hugs,’ last year and uses products from the range on all of her clients when she’s offering a facial or massage treatment.
“Most of my business is through word of mouth,” Tina said. “Most of them include products that I’ve used on patients.”

Some products from Tina’s Awesome Hugs range.

“I basically had to research the right products which I could use on those who were going through cancer treatments and my skin is also extremely sensitive, so I had to go cautiously.
“We didn’t want the patients to have an adverse reaction, so it was literally pure oils like grapeseed oil, calendula oil, and coconut oils.”

My experience

Before starting her facials, Tina performs some Reiki healing on her clients and encourages them to take deep breaths which enables them to let go and relax.
After a few moments of her reiki treatment, the tension leaves my body and I’m feeling blissfully zoned out in the heated bed.
Using one of her range’s gentle cleansing scrubs to melt off any makeup residue, Tina follows this with the radiofrequency machine and a minty charcoal mask which smells divine.

Tina explains that the machine uses radio frequency waves to heat up the deeper layers of the skin, thus stimulating the skin’s natural collagen production.
I picture this huge machine grinding into my skin, but am pleasantly surprised when Tina whips out a tiny gadget which barely tickles my skin.

The treatment feels a bit like a hot stone massage using some form of heated jade roller, and helps to tone and firm the skin for a more contoured and plumper appearance.
It’s the most relaxing facial I’ve received yet, and I’m made all the more sleepy when Tina ends the anti-ageing and restructuring treatment with a head massage and mini reflexology treatment.

Tina uses a Radio Frequency SkinMate Elite device to massage the skin and penetrate beneath the pores, encouraging new skin cells to come to the surface.
The radiofrequency facials send waves or current energy into the lower part of the skin to help it find the moisture. The more moisture that you have, the quicker the machine can find it. It then activates your collagen and elastin, which breaks down wrinkles and leaves you with new, tighter and healthier cells over time.

“It’s not a quick fix, it’s a facial that needs to be built on for the best results,” Tina advises. “If you come for one every four weeks you will see amazing results in a few sessions.
“It’s important to keep up a good skincare regime in between treatments for best results.”
Tina can often be found in the kitchen at home inventing and creating all homemade, holistic and organic products which help to tackle skin issues such as acne, redness, sensitivity, wrinkles and sagging.

“The patients actually use my products, because they don’t have any ingredients in them like parabens,” Tina said,
“I like to find out what is going on with the client, I like to take my time and make sure they can relax and provide them with the space where they feel safe and can let go.
“We have such busy lives, especially us women who have eyes on the back of our heads! I want my clients to switch off so I tend to do a bit of relaxation before we start.”

The Results

My crows feet look reduced after just one session, my acne scarring on my chin is gone and my skin looks softer with less visible pores.
Tina ensures the experience feels less like a chore and more like a pampering treat.
The relaxing radiofrequency facial costs £50. Tina is based within Jess Taylor, in Cresswell Lane, De Courcy’s arcades, in Glasgow.
Visit www.facebook.com/tinaawesomehugs/