Microdermabrasion is classed as a medical facial, which sounds scarily extreme. But once you’ve tried it, you’ll wonder why you ever wasted your hard-earned dirhams on jasmine, wild rose and other fluffy-sounding spa facials. Sure, they’re enjoyable, and you leave feeling relaxed and pleasantly pungent, but to be honest your skin won’t look much different.

Medical facials, on the other hand, get results. Eternel MedSpa offers a gaggle of them, including microdermabrasion and galvanic treatments, as well as a more intense range of lasers and peels.

When we arrive at the spa, the knowledgeable Australian therapist switches on a bright light and asks lots of questions about our skincare routine, examining our face with scrupulous attention to detail. We turn down her initial recommendation for a TCA peel (apparently your skin can alter its pigmentation if you go out into the sun afterwards, and we don’t want to end up looking like Michael Jackson). Instead, we settle for the alternative recommendation: microdermabrasion, a treatment that blasts a fine spray of crystals over the skin to buff it until it’s smooth. Our skin is prepped with a Nimue cleanser containing fruit enzymes, then steamed and subjected to an extraction session – never enjoyable, but meticulously thorough. To extract stubborn blackheads, the therapist uses her gloved fingers, a medi-lance and even a pair of watchmaker’s tweezers, which she sterilises between each appointment. The microdermabrasion itself doesn’t last long (maybe 15 minutes), but it’s followed by a soothing mask, a fruit acid toner and moisturiser.

Our skin seemed slightly blotchy following the treatment, but it settled within hours, and the results were impressive. Microdermabrasion stimulates collagen production, so for the next week and a half our skin was glowing with health. This is the real deal – we’ll never fall for a fluff facial again.
Eternel MedSpa,Villa 397 Jumeirah Beach Road, Jumeirah 2 Opposite Gate 5 Jumeirah Beach Park (04 344 0008). Open Sat-Thu 10am-8pm. Dhs450.