Over the years, if one thing has been revolutionised more than technology and medicine, it's the beauty industry. From vampire facials to chemical peels – we have seen it all and the likes of Kim Kardashian have done it all.
But in case you thought that was the limits, you'd be surprised at what this new peel can do!
On today's list of what weird stuff one can do to their face in the name of preserving beauty, we have Germany's BDR aka Beauty Defect Removal facial – famously known as the Benjamin Button Facial – which involves a peel, microneedling and an LED treatment.
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Why is it called the Benjamin Button Facial, you ask?
Well, first things first: The BDR is all about eliminating signs of ageing such as wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation. The name is derived from the acclaimed 2008 movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — itself based on an F Scott Fitzgerald short story — where a man ages backwards.
The facial works in three steps, starting with a peel and dermabrasion to refine the skin's surface. It then proceeds to micro-needling, which stimulates collagen and elastin production.
The final elements are a massage and LED for detoxification, drainage and to boost cell renewal.
Ellen Scott, writing for the Metro.UK, recently took it upon herself to check out the "faff" surrounding the treatment. In her words, the peel that stayed on for about 10 minutes "tingled quite a bit."
She said: "My skin felt prickly and hot, which tends to be a sign that makes me scrub a product off my face immediately. I was reassured that this is what the peel was meant to feel like, but it did feel a little concerning."
Next in line was the micro-needling, which she claimed "feels like brushes, too – a little ticklish, a little prickly, but nowhere close to painful." Scott, in fact, found it so relaxing, and admitted: "I fell asleep. A deep, drooling sleep."
While Scott wasn't quite alert to explain the last and final step involving the massage and the LED light, in her own words: "I had a very deep nap, woke up to my therapist asking me how it was, and while my brain felt groggy, my skin felt super soft, hydrated, and fresh."
Apart from the €350 price tag, the facial does come with perks even if one isn't looking for major anti-ageing solutions.
Scott revealed: "It's most worthwhile if you're concerned about sagging or dullness rather than redness or blockages, but you will get the benefit of silky soft skin even if you're not concerned about signs of ageing."
Just when you thought there was almost everything under the sun that films could inspire in the real world, you get the curious case of the BDR facial!
