There is no denying that the gentlemen of today are taking care of themselves more and more. The male grooming and treatments industry is booming at the minute in which we have looked at quite a few here on The Gentleman Select. From mail order subscription boxes of face washes and moisturisers to shaving kits and beard care, it is a vast and buoyant market place. One thing however which I feel is still to grow further is the physical act of a gentleman walking into a spa, not for a massage, but for a facial treatment. Personally it is something I hadn’t done before until recently, just before Christmas, when I paid a visit to the Zen Lifestyle Spa in Edinburgh to see what their treatments were all about and try one out for myself.
Now as I say heading to a spa usually for me involves a sports or deep tissue massage before relaxing in the steam room or sauna so it was certainly very new for me to be trying out a facial treatment. Two spas, one Hanover Street and the other on Bruntsfield Place make up the Zen Lifestyle brand, a multi-award winning day spa, skin clinic and beauty salon which caters for both ladies and gents with over 100 treatments, many of which are bespoke, aiming to really breath new life and zest back into your skin. Specifically I visited the Hanover Street location, a very handy 15 minute walk from Edinburgh Waverley train station. The spa itself as you walk in is wonderfully decorated with modern interiors and crisp, fresh white colours. I found myself staring like a magpie at the cool, metallic globe shaped lighting!
After a refreshing cucumber water I was taken off to the treatment room by one of the therapists where I got myself ready for an initial assessment of my skin. As we progressed I really got an insight as to how detailed and professional Zen Lifestyle and its therapists are in their work. The girl asked me a broad range of questions from what skin products I use, to my daily routine and in general how I find my skin tends to develop throughout the day. From this she was able to put together a Zen Custom Facial which would best suit my skin using some wonderful products from the Dr.Murad range, amongst many others which they have available in the spa.
With my particular session being a custom facial, it involved a number of different elements from a simple steaming with hot towels, to a cleanse and clay style mask which was very soothing on my face. For me the most interesting part of the process was when the therapist recommended we do a very mild peel on my skin. Again this was unchartered territory for me. I’am sure there are not many men out there who can throw a hand up and say they have had a peel on their face however I would throughly recommend it. I would describe it as the smallest hint of tingling and not in the least bit uncomfortable.
For the Zen Lifestyle custom facial you can choose between a 40 and 60 minute treatment and although I can’t confess to remembering every section of the process, mostly because I was nodding off in the ultra relaxed environment, I can assure you it was extremely beneficial. Immediately after we finished I was eager to check my face out in the mirror to which I was very pleasantly surprised. Being the wintery time of year it is, our skin does tend to have that dull, lack of sunlight appearance and for me, the treatment completely eradicated that. It looked stimulated and much brighter with a healthy glow.
Conclusively wether you are male or female, I would 100% recommend paying a visit to one of the Zen Lifestyle Spa’s. Throughout the whole process I felt relaxed in which I genuinely could notice a massive difference in my skin following the treatment. The knowledge and attention to detail from the therapist was evident throughout in which this is also reflected in the eighteen national beauty awards which Zen Lifestyle has. I’am confident their staff would put together a treatment to really elevate and rejuvenate your skin this winter. Head over to their website here and get yourself booked in now.
