A Collection of Exceptional Stories, Tips, Recipes, and Memorable Moments from the Ladies and Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton
Exfoliation that helps the skin look younger and turbo-charged ingredients that help the skin act younger comprise the anti-aging dream team, says Skin Authority founder Celeste Hilling, who’s a science-minded sleuth about skin care. Hilling’s products are used in the new Transformation Facial at The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Amelia Island, which focuses on “powerful ingredients that deliver anti-aging results.” Hilling likes glycolic acid as a vehicle to slough off dead, dry skin cells. The skin’s top layer is essentially a plate of armor composed of keratinized skin cells, she says. “It doesn’t reflect light, which can give skin a dull, lackluster cast. And it doesn’t allow effective skin-care ingredients to penetrate.”
Following the Transformation Facial’s tried-and-true exfoliating steps are a lifting facial massage, a hydrating mask and an ingredient from the newest frontier of skin care: human growth factor. The ingredient is now being used to help reverse the signs of aging, says Hilling, who bottles them in her Wrinkle Reversing Serum, a best-seller, which finishes the facial. “Studies on it showed significant increases in production of collagen, hyaluronic acid, elastin, fibroblasts and epidermal thickness in about a month,” she says. In other words, it makes mature skin act like it’s 18.