“January is the time to ramp up your skin and add an element of nutritional help—alkalizing greens, marine collagen, and fish oils,” says facialist Nichola Joss, the woman responsible for the glowing complexions of Meghan Markle, Alicia Keys, and Jennifer Lopez. Based in London, the Scottish-born mother of two has also earned a cult New York following with her noninvasive facials, which she performs for a week every month at Serge Normant at John Frieda in Chelsea wearing black rubber gloves—which allow her to work inside the mouth with her signature deep massage movements and healing energy. “The face has many reflexology and pressure points and when massaged correctly, they can reduce tension, give relief to migraines, and aid jaw clenching and grinding teeth,” she explains in her Highland lilt. “It also naturally lifts the face and adds volume to muscle tissue as well as adding bounce, radiance, and youth to skin tissue.”
Her approach extends to prescribing a unique three-times-a-day massage-centric regimen for daily maintenance—a version of which Joss breaks down below. “Jennifer, Meghan, and Alicia [Keys] all have stunning skin, as they are so good at looking after their skin with strict routine I gave them,” says Joss. J.Lo has even taken advantage of Joss’s massage technique on her body (“She’s 47, and no cellulite” says Joss, who is herself in her 40s but looks dramatically younger with her bright complexion and tousled rock-chick hair).
And though her roster of regulars speaks for itself, Joss cites the Queen as a dream client, having grown up near Balmoral, the Queen’s Scottish estate. “Her beauty throughout her reign is astounding, and has added to her grace and overall demeanor.” But working with Her Majesty’s potential granddaughter-in-law for the past several years has been rewarding in the meantime. “Facials are super-important to Meghan, and then her daily at-home maintenance makes sure she has the best-ever skin,” Joss says. “She’s anti the mannequin look, as I call it. She likes effective natural products and treatments to de-stress and anti-age.”
At the moment Joss works with a variety of products (Sanctuary Spa oils, Sisley Paris’s line, Anne Semonin serums and peels, Elemis masks and resurfacing products, and Collistar’s black serum for facials and body treatments for massage), but (breaking news!) her eponymous line will launch this fall. “It’s all based around skin massage and movement,” she says. “I want to change how you look at skin care. It’s physical and active, and will change what we are doing and why we are doing it.”
Nichola Joss’s Skin-Care Routine
Morning
1. Cleanse with a facial cleansing oil, deeply massaging the skin outwards and upwards to awaken the facial muscles and open the face.
2. Apply anti-aging serum.
3. Massage in your day cream or oil.
Early Evening
1. Double cleanse: The first cleanse removes topical grime and pollutants acquired during the day, while the second cleanse goes deeper and purifies the skin tissue, as well as rebalancing pH levels.
2. Spritz with facial toner to regulate skin’s surface.
3. Apply anti-aging serums and moisturizer with active ingredients.
4. Have a fun evening.
Late Evening
1. Using your favorite facial oil, spend 3 to 4 minutes (while in bed relaxed and supported) massaging the skin, working from the center of the face outward and upward toward the hair line. Pay particular attention to jaw line. Using the first two fingers, apply deep pressure sweeping from the chin to the outer jaw edge; do this 12 times. Feeling for tension underneath the cheekbone, work on those muscles with your fingers, massaging away the stress of the day.
2. Using index fingers, apply pressure on top of the bridge of the nose and work along the eyebrow deeply and slowly. Then gently sweep under the eye back to the ridge of the nose.
3. Finally, massage around your face feeling for any other tension points. Then finish by sweeping down the neck from under the ear across the décolleté, finishing at the opposite shoulder.
4. Sleep well and regenerate.
Joss will be in residence January 29 to February 6 at Serge Normant at John Frieda, 336 West 23rd Street, New York, nicholajoss.com.
[“source-smallbiztrends”]
