Look younger without surgery? The secret behind Gwyneth Paltrow's youthful skin

Publish date: 2024-10-24

Can you look younger without surgery? FEMAIL trials the £4,000 'ironing treatment' behind Gwyneth Paltrow's youthful skin

By Anna Pursglove

Published: 10:54 EST, 28 January 2014 | Updated: 10:58 EST, 29 January 2014

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This year, 41-year-old Gwyneth Paltrow let slip a little beauty secret. Her famously flawless complexion is not just the result of good genes and an organic diet but has been given a helping hand by a cosmetic procedure called Thermage.

Dubbed ‘the ironing treatment’, Gwynnie says the procedure has taken years off her face and suits her much better than rival wrinkle-busting treatment Botox which the actress claims made her look 'crazy, like Joan Rivers'.

Designed to tighten and smooth skin by promoting collagen production in its lower layers, Thermage smooths out wrinkles, tightens saggy jowls and reduces hooding around the eyes. Furthermore the treatment has no down time. Fans say it is the ultimate lunchtime beauty fix.

Anna Pursglove before Before thermage

BEFORE:  Anna Pursglove complained she had deeper wrinkles since turning 40

After two sessions of Thermage After thermage

AFTER: Anna has noticed that her skin is less crepey and more elastic after two sessions of Thermage

I am almost exactly the same age as Gwyneth Paltrow and share her blonde hair and pale skin (although sadly that’s where the similarity ends). I figure if Thermage can take years off Gwynnie then it might work for me too.

Since turning 40 I have noticed that the skin of my neck and eyelids has got slacker while the folds running between my nose and the corners of my mouth have deepened. The skin under my chin is also beginning to sag. I would give anything for Gwyneth’s dewy complexion.

And so I present myself at the Knightsbridge clinic of Dr Rita Rakus. Trusted by stars including Amanda Holden, Nancy dell'Olio, Lisa Butcher and Karen Brady, Dr Rakus, it is a leading light in the world of ‘non-surgical facial rejuvenation’, in other words she can make you look younger without using a knife. 'The demand for Thermage is massive since Gwyneth talked about it,' she confirms.

'I’ve got people flying in from all over the world for it.'

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As Dr Rakus prepares the treatment room, she tells me that Amanda Holden (a year older than me yet looking a least a decade younger!) is a fan of Thermage.

'She is part of that generation of women who want to look their best but don’t want that very "done" look,' she explains.

'What women tell me time and time again after having Thermage is that people comment on how well they look but never guess that they’ve had any kind of cosmetic procedure.'

As Thermage fan Linda Evangelista puts it: 'For me, it’s for enhancement, like hair colour or make-up.'

I confess, however, that I am nervous about the treatment. Friends who have undergone the procedure tell me that it is very painful and Gwyneth herself describes it as “a laser” that feels as though 'someone’s smacking your face with a rubber band that has an electric shock in it.' That doesn’t sound good.

Dr Rakus starts off by tackling the science bit. Gwyneth, she tells me, is in fact wrong about Thermage being a laser.

Gwyneth swears by 'Thermage' and says that Botox makes her look 'crazy'

Gwyneth swears by 'Thermage' and says that Botox makes her look 'crazy'

The treatment actually uses radio frequency (RF) energy. When the RF pulse from the hand-held Thermage tip hits the skin, the energy travels into its deepest layers where the plumping collagen is found. The energy actually damages the collagen making it recoil, tighten and then repair. The effect at the surface of the skin is both a tightening and a plumping one.

And yes, acknowledges Dr Rakus, early forms of Thermage were quite painful because of the heat produced.

It did indeed feel a little like being shocked or burned. However a new tip for the hand-held device through which the RF is delivered (called a ‘Comfort Pulse Technology’ tip) means energy can be delivered very effectively to the lower layers of the skin without any associated discomfort.

I lie back in the treatment chair. Before we begin, a grid is drawn on my face (I look a bit like an extra from The Matrix), which allows Dr Rakus to make sure the heat is spread evenly. To begin with, she says, we will use a low setting and once she establishes how sensitive I am to the treatment, she can up the intensity.

As the treatment begins, repeated passes are made over each area of my face and with each pass of the hand-held tip I feel heat followed by cold (the cold is from cooling gas built into the treatment head). I can honestly say that Dr Rakus is right - the procedure is almost completely painless (other than a sensitive spot reaching from my jaw line down my neck).

In fact I’m so relaxed that as she glides the Thermage device across my face, we begin discussing the many benefits of the treatment.

In addition to having no recovery time, Dr Rakus tells me, in some people the treatment produces a tightening effect immediately, which then develops over the following six months. The effects of the procedure can still be seen two and even sometimes three years later particularly if a top up treatment is given at around six months.

'I have been variously told that I look slimmer, fitter, younger and more rested. However, none of my friends suspects that I have had cosmetic assistance'

She does, however, add that the effectiveness of Thermage very much depends on the condition of the skin in the first place. Heavy smokers or those with excessive sun damage are likely to see less satisfactory results as the tone and elasticity of the skin is so compromised.

Moreover, says Dr Rakus, Thermage works as well on the body as on the face. Aged hands, baggy knees, saggy tummies, drooping bottoms and wobbly cellulite can all be improved using the technique. It is also suitable for use on any skin tone whereas some rejuvenating lasers cannot be used on darker skins.

So why isn’t everyone having Thermage? After all Botox now seems to be available at virtually every beauty salon and dentist’s surgery.

Dr Rakus explains that not only would a Thermage machine be extremely dangerous in non-skilled hands (incorrect use could result in facial burns and scarring) but also the technology itself is very expensive. Consequently a session of Thermage (lasting around an hour depending on the surface area of skin involved) costs £2,990 for the lower face and neck and £3,990 for full face and neck.

And yet, says Dr Rakus, her clinic is not simply filled with an endless stream of actresses, TV stars and footballers’ wives.

Ordinary women with modest incomes are coming to her in greater and greater numbers seeking facial rejuvenation.

'Yes these treatments are expensive but you’ll get results lasting years

'Many women will save hard and spend the money that they would have spent on face creams, cosmetics and the like each month on Thermage instead. If you think of it as less than £100 a month then you begin to see where women find the money.'

And nine months later (after one top up session at six months) can I see a difference? Well, everyone else certainly can. In fact I got a very satisfactory tightening effect in the days immediately after the treatment but it has been over the last few months that the effects have really started to show with my jaw line and jowls much improved and my skin less crepey and more elastic.

I have been variously told that I look slimmer, fitter, younger and more rested. As Dr Rakus promised, however, none of my friends suspects that I have had cosmetic assistance with my newly freshened appearance. None of them has compared me to Gwyneth Paltrow yet but I live in hope.

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