This Facialist Stuck Her Fingers Inside My Mouth, and My Skin Looks Amazing

Unless I’m visiting my dentist’s office, I’m not really used to having anyone put their fingers in my mouth. But being game for anything—and desperately seeking a disguise for the fact that I’ve been tired for about 25 years now—I headed in for the facial that everybody’s talking about: the Bespoke Sculpting Inner Facial at Joss Beauty. My facialist was the incredible Charlotte Connoley, a former model who has since joined forces with super-facialist Nichola Joss—Meghan Markle’s skin guru—to offer incredible treatments from her Covent Garden bolthole. Soaking up Joss’s wisdom (and her inner-mouth technique) while developing expertise of her own, Connoley has become something of a skin whisperer who needs only a passing glance to work out exactly what your complexion is crying out for.

Read on for more about my experience with the Bespoke Sculpting Inner Facial.

What Is a Bespoke Sculpting Inner Facial?

The Bespoke Sculpting Inner Facial works from the inside, out—quite literally, utilizing lymphatic massage and contouring techniques inside the mouth. The inner-mouth massage works to alleviate tired muscles and improve the overall tone of the skin. Joss, who designed the facial, describes it as “intense and deep and works to remove and reduce tension build-up.”

The lymphatic massage works to relax the muscles that rarely stop moving. “Think about all the things you do with your face alone every day—talking, reading, smelling, listening, eating, drinking, thinking, hearing—and the lack of the muscle release,” says Joss. Resting and sleeping don’t provide enough relaxation, so Joss (and her team of estheticians who understand the technique) do it manually. “We work the inside of the mouth as well as the outside, and the inner massage is only a couple of minutes max—most of the work is done on the outside of the mouth.”

Benefits of a Bespoke Sculpting Inner Facial

• Improves the tone of the skin

• Detoxifies

• De-puffs

• Firms the muscles

• Offers a personalized treatment

As mentioned above, the unique inner-mouth massage portion of the treatment works to stimulate tired muscles, firming the skin over time. “It really helps remove tension which helps remove the build-up of toxins also, so muscles can work with more strength, but appear softer, duller, and younger,” says Joss. “Toxins also affect the vitality of the muscle and age of the muscle as well as affecting the skin cells. Removing them allows our bodies the ability to regenerate and restore far better.”

The sculpting inner facial also works by relieving tension and stress from facial muscles, thereby de-puffing the face. “We use reflexology and pressure points to eradicate fluids and puffiness and give a feeling of softness and lightness to the jawline and cheek area, where we hold lots of tension,” says Joss. “We respond as organic physical beings to touch therapy not only on a cellular level but a mental and emotional level, as well. It’s a hugely beneficial treatment for well-being and beauty, combined.”

Of course, being that it is a bespoke facial, it’s also personalized, so each client receives a custom treatment. Apart from the fact it goes further than any facial has gone before (INSIDE THE MOUTH!!!!), the personal diagnosis is exactly what lies at the heart of this facial: It’s completely tailored to you and your skin and uses products from a range of brands that Joss and Connoley have come to rely on.

What to Expect from a Bespoke Sculpting Inner Facial

The treatment contains everything you’d expect from a good facial. First comes a deep, thorough cleanse (which is somehow so much more satisfying when someone else does it for you). There are also plenty of masks and skin treatments, and as always, mine were dedicated to hydration.

But the main event was the facial massage, and I’d heard that Connoley’s lymphatic-drainage techniques have the ability to practically restructure your face. She started by kneading up and down my cheeks, pitter-pattering over the forehead, and circling the eyes all whilst I mentally took note, hoping to replicate some of her magic at home. When she ran her fingers tightly along my jawline, I could actually feel the knots crunching (grim) and melting away. Her approach is pretty forceful (none of that softly-softly bullsh*t that gets you nowhere), which is why it works so well to boost the circulation at the surface of the skin, as well as nimble up the facial muscles.

Then came the snap of the latex gloves. Gulp. Here it was—the facial massage inside my mouth. Now, I’m not sure I could ever really prepare somebody for what this sensation is like, but what you should know is that it hurts. Like, really hurts. Connoley hooks her knuckles into a corner of the mouth you never knew existed (it’s right under that nobbly bit of the cheekbone, btw) and pushes the skin upward while a single tear trickles down the face. Boy, it’s KILLER, but it has this insane effect on the overall structure of the face. You look perkier and more lifted, and the effect actually lasts.

The Final Takeaway

I left the treatment looking as glowy as if I had run a half marathon and with cheekbones so taut it looked like someone had pegged my face back. A few weeks on, life had begun to cloud my skin once more, but having followed Connoley’s massage advice to the letter, I can safely say the newfound cheekbones are here to stay.