Sometimes you visit a place and the minute you step foot through the front door you just know it’s going to be a good experience.

This was the case last week when we [ Sue, Julie & I ] made our way across the Pennines for my date at a Yuva Medispa, Alderley Edge.

First impressions definitely do count ; the warm welcome we received from Lorna the Clinic Manager, and the beautiful, stylish reception that greeted us were second to non.

I mean just look at it… beautiful hues of cream and gold with accents of pink and green courtesy of the numerous plants and succulents.

It also smells delicious thanks to the various diffusers scattered around the premises.

Yuva Medispa is situated in the leafy suburbs of Manchester at Alderley Edge, which is  just over an hours [ very scenic ] drive from Sheffield. It is ideally located to access key transportation links; Manchester airport is just 15 minutes away.

The word Yuva means “youth” in Sanskrit.

The clinic opened in April this year and is the brain child of Dr Raj Acquilla. He had a vision  of taking the traditional [ and often clinical ] medi-spa idea and creating something unique. A place where patients would look forward to visiting in a beautiful and aspirational environment.

He has certainly achieved this.

Dr Raj Acquilla is one of the UK’S most respected aesthetic doctors. He is renowned for his natural looking results and aesthetic eye. Amongst his many accolades in 2014, he was listed as one of the top cosmetic doctors in the UK in Tatlers Prestigious Cosmetic Surgery Guide.

I had the pleasure to meet him briefly.

I have no idea what I said. As usual I rambled on like a blithering idiot about being from Sheffield and the beautiful decor . It’s ‘ a thing ‘ I do when I’m slightly nervous. The brain says no but the mouth just carries on regardless!

The new state-of-the art spa features spacious treatment areas including three Injectable Rooms with a pre-treatment room attached to ensure total privacy, an Aesthetic Suite, a Skin Bar for patient aftercare, a Relaxation Zone and a welcoming consultation space to ensure a smooth experience while showcasing treatments from the country’s leading practitioners.

They offer a range of treatments including anti-wrinkle injections, dermal fillers , the Liquid Facelift, skin peels, body shaping and skin tightening, Laser hair removal and  Laser tattoo removal.

We were given a quick tour of the clinic  to see all of the above for ourselves [ it is stunning ] before my friends left to go shopping. I made my way to the Relaxation Room , where I sat and had a coffee.

I love this concept; a room patients can go too before and after their treatment to relax and chill with a beverage.

There’s a full range of drinks, biscuits and fruit available , lots of reading material and views out into the clinics grounds.

Apparently in the early mornings if your lucky you may catch sight of a rabbit or two.

Suitably watered I was invited  upstairs to one of the treatment rooms where I met my therapist [ the lovely ] Louise.

I was booked in to have the Extended Hydra Facial MD which is a 6-step process.

We had a brief chat about my skin, any concerns I had and what the treatment would entail. This was followed by a quick cleanse before I was taken back downstairs to have my skin scanned.

Skin scanning assesses amongst other things – sun damage, pigmentation , hydration levels and any areas of concern.

All in all my skin wasn’t as bad as I had envisaged. Despite using an SPF daily this is an area I need to work on. I need to up the ante and a new sunscreen was recommended. It’s already on the Birthday list.

It’s not all bad however …

I’m 46 years old and my actual skin age was assessed at 42. I’ll take that !

HYDRA FACIAL WITH DERMALUX LED PHOTOTHERAPY TREATMENT 

The 6 stages are:

Detox – lymphatic drainage helps to Increase circulation of the lymphatic system. This increases blood flow to the area, bringing oxygen to support the cells whilst also bringing fresh clean lymph to restore hydration, tone and firm the skin, and eliminate toxins.

Cleanse & Exfoliation – dead skin cells are gently exfoliated to reveal healthy new skin whilst simultaneously a serum containing lactic acid , glucosamine and many botanical extracts is delivered deeply to cleanse and nourish the skin.

Brightening Agent – this gentle glycolic and salicylic solution helps loosen debris from your pores ready for the extraction stage whilst brightening the appearance of the skin.

Extraction – effortless extraction helps to remove blackheads and draw out impurities of any congested areas using a serum of natural salicylic acid and honey extracts.

I loved this part …you could practically feel the badness been ‘sucked’ away from your skin.

Hydration – HydraFacial Vortex-Fusion technology delivers a cocktail of Hydrating hyaluronic acid and the most powerful antioxidants, peptides and multi-peptides to replenish the skin leaving it hydrated and plumped up.

Rejuvenation – red and infrared LED light is used to reduce redness and further stimulate Collagen. This light also supports the natural production of Vitamin D , leaving you skin glowing.

The whole process takes about an hour and 15 minutes and it’s pure bliss. It’s an amazing treatment that left me feeling wonderful and my skin glowing.

The next day my skin looked even better, very clear and it felt so soft. I have a couple of areas of light scarring that appear to have plumped out considerably.

Having experienced a panic attack when I had a MRI scan the only area  I found abit hairy was the Rejuvenation stage. I had to ask that the machine [ below] was moved further away from my face so I didn’t feel so enclosed .

This was no problem, the bed was lowered slightly , I didn’t feel claustrophobic and was left to chill for 20 minutes while the LED light worked it’s magic. It’s extremely bright but Goggles are provided to protect your peepers.

I fell asleep!

To Complete the treatment a moisturiser and SPF were applied and I was good to go.

While I composed myself with a glass of water, Louise ran through aftercare and all the products she felt my skin would benefit from . She gave me all the details to take away with me.

Lastly I was shown the ‘gunk’ extracted from my skin below. This consists mainly of the serum that was applied to assist extraction but if you held the tube up to the light you could see the ‘plugs’ removed.

Gross … but very fulfilling.

I think what sets this clinic apart from others I have visited in the past is the attention to detail. Private consultation rooms, Relaxation Zone etc.

I also love the fact that there are dry shampoo and hair fragrance in the Rest Rooms for everyone to use. More often than not when your having a facial you have to wear a headband. Having a full fringe I often finish my session looking like  Cameron Diaz  in  THAT scene from ‘ Theres something about Mary’

I left here looking presentable and able to join my friends to continue the afternoon shopping in near-by Wilmslow.

I can thoroughly recommend Yuva Medispa…

if your anything like me you’ll never want to leave.

Tracey x

Alderley Edge Clinic – Wilmslow Road, Alderley Edge, Cheshire SK9 7QL Tel: 01625 322430 

Mayfair Clinic – 43 Brook Street, Mayfair, London W1K 4HJ Tel: 0203 096 2045

• Thankyou to Niche PR and Yuva Medispa for inviting me to review the Clinic and the complimentary Hydra Facial treatment. As always all thoughts are strictly my own.