10 Next-Gen Facials To Transform Your Skin & Supercharge Your Christmas Party Prep

If there’s ever a moment when your skin deserves star treatment, it’s the run-up to Christmas. Between late-night parties, packed social calendars and cold-weather dullness, your complexion is working overtime. Luckily, that’s where our pick of the top next-gen facials come in. These aren’t your standard spa spritz-and-cleanse sessions; they’re high-performance treatments offering everything from an instant, camera-ready glow to targeted solutions for fine lines, pigmentation and sun damage. Think of them as your festive-season secret weapon.

Below, we break down why advanced facials are worth the hype, and reveal our favourite treatments for a deep-cleansing reset, a glow-giving boost and targeted results that will have you feeling confidence throughout December and beyond…

What is an advanced facial?

An advanced – or ‘dermatology-grade’ – facial is a treatment that is specifically designed to resolve a skin issue or to achieve a complexion goal, delivered by a medical or aesthetic expert. That means they are a lot more targeted (and can use stronger devices or actives) than traditional ‘relaxing’ facials you may get at the spa. The latter tends to more generally focus on cleaning and moisturising your skin in a soothing yet not necessarily results-driven manner.

A key benefit of an advanced facial is that they can be customised to target your specific concerns, including acne, pigmentation problems, or fine lines. Depending on the treatment and practitioner you choose, that means after your facial’s traditional cleansing and exfoliation steps (and before moisturisation at the end), you could benefit from a peel to target uneven pigmentation, microneedling to smooth and firm, or skin-soothing LED light therapy.

Why is an advanced facial perfect for before your Christmas party?

Many advanced facials can be enjoyed as ‘one and done’ treatments, meaning you can see certain results straight away (although the benefits can also get better overtime with a session of treatments). This makes them especially good to book in for in the run up to a big event, including your festive parties.

What’s more, while advanced facials are known for being thorough in their approach, they are also designed to keep downtime to a minimum – with some offering treatments where you can confidently head straight to a social occasion more or less post-session. That’s why if you want to solve an annoying skin concern, including dull, tired-looking skin before your Christmas party, you can trust them to deliver skin-boosting results super quickly.

Our favourite advanced facials:

FOR A REFRESHED FACE: LASER GENESIS

If you want your skin to look clear, calm and glowing before stepping into a busy run of parties, Laser Genesis is the treatment for you. This non-invasive laser works by delivering controlled warmth into the deeper layers of the skin, stimulating collagen and helping to smooth fine lines, soften uneven texture and dial down redness. One of its most surprising perks is how it feels. Instead of the sharp snaps or heat often associated with lasers, Laser Genesis creates a steady, comforting warmth over the skin – a bit like a soothing hot stone massage. A session is also seriously speedy – just 20 to 30 minutes – and there’s no downtime, so you can emerge with an immediate, rested-looking glow. The best results – aka smoother, more refined skin – then emerge over a series of treatments. FIND OUT MORE

FOR FADING PIGMENTATION: ULTRACLEAR 3DMIRACL

UltraClear is a high-tech laser platform that removes dull, damaged skin cells with precision, and for party-ready skin, the standout setting is 3DMiracl. This is UltraClear’s gentlest mode, and best of all, it is suitable for all skin types and tones. It works by superficially resurfacing only the outermost layer of your skin in order to smooth texture and even tone. The treatment only takes 10 to 15 minutes, it isn’t high on the ‘ouch’ scale – closer to a gentle warmth than a burning sensation – and results appear fast. Yes, you do have to wait while your skin peels a bit in the first few days, but afterwards your complexion looks smoother and brighter after just one treatment. A course of three to six treatments then goes further, smoothing fine lines, fading pigmentation, and refining texture. FIND OUT MORE

FOR NEW-AGE MICRONEEDLING: DERMALOGICA EXO BOOSTER

If you already know and love the skin-smoothing benefits of traditional microneedling, this treatment takes things up a notch by infusing your skin with a high-tech exosome booster. These exosomes are tiny, cell-signalling molecules derived from Lactobacillus (so yes, they’re ‘vegan exosomes’), and they’re designed to help the skin repair itself more efficiently. The treatment begins with microneedling to create micro-channels in the skin, which kick-starts your natural healing response and encourages fresh collagen production. These micro-channels then also help the exosome booster penetrate more efficiently, helping support skin regeneration, while calming inflammation. It’s a great option if you want stronger results than standard microneedling alone, especially for concerns like rough texture, early ageing, dullness, or lack of firmness. FIND OUT MORE

FOR A QUICK PEEL: IS CLINICAL FIRE AND ICE

iS Clinical’s Fire & Ice facial is a fast‑acting glow reboot for your complexion that effectively bridges the gap between a pampering facial and a more intensive peel. The result: visibly brighter skin in just one session. Blending a fruit acid-based chemical peel (‘fire’) with calming, hydrators and antioxidants (‘ice’), the treatment works to exfoliate dull surface cells, unclog congested pores, and hydrate your skin. While not as stingy as some deeper peels, you are going to feel the ‘fire’ mask for the five minutes it works its magic, but that at least makes the calming, soothing part even more enjoyable – and there’s no long-lasting redness. That means you can achieve the on-trend super glossy ‘glass skin’ that looks great on camera and at festive events with relative ease pre-party. FIND OUT MORE

FOR FACIAL MASSAGE: SARAH CHAPMAN GLOW ZONE 

Convinced you don’t have time for a treatment? The Glow Zone at Sarah Chapman’s Skinesis Clinic is your solution. Offering quick but results-driven facials that focus on improving skin texture, hydration and radiance in as little as 20 minutes, you can even squeeze one in between your Christmas shopping. If you struggle with dryness, there’s the hyaluronic mesh-needling treatment that infuses your skin with peptides and hyaluronic acid. For instant tightening, there’s the RF Powersculpt & Lift, and for tailored LED light therapy, a LED Glow Pod. Our favourite though is the Glow Intense facial. It combines potent skincare with specialised massage techniques, so you emerge with more visible cheekbones just in time for any party that evening. FIND OUT MORE

FOR A LIFTED LOOK: EMFACE

If you want to sculpt your skin without needles or downtime, Emface has you covered – as Alice discovered when she tried it at 23MD Clinic in Chelsea. While you’ll get the best results from a course of four treatments, the device delivers its skin-toning energy through sticker-type ‘pads’, meaning it’s totally non-invasive and you can head straight to your festive events afterwards with confidence. That’s because the facial combines HIFES (a type of muscle stimulation that improves facial definition) with synchronised radiofrequency, which heats the skin’s tissues without damaging the top layer, to lift and smooth by stimulating collagen and elastin production. This helps you benefit immediately from a mildly more-contoured look. FIND OUT MORE

FOR A DEEP CLEAN: HYDRAFACIAL

Brilliant for targeting blackheads and congestion, HydraFacial has revolutionised the meaning of a ‘deep clean’. The pen-like device uses a controlled jet of water and varying tips to deliver a thorough skin cleanse and hydra-dermabrasion (aka water-based exfoliation), followed by a gentle glycolic acid peel that softens up gunk in your pores so it can be hoovered up via the device’s painless suction extraction technique. Targeted serums are then pushed deeper into your skin to maximise their benefits, before a touch of soothing red light therapy concludes the experience. Consider it your quick-fix for instantly fresh and glowing skin. FIND OUT MORE

FOR A RADIANT GLOW: WOW FACIAL

Designed to give you instant glow-boosting results that you can take straight to your evening event, WOW Facial is a six-step hyper-personalised facial, customised to your skin type, tone and age. Starting with a tailored cleanse and choice of four acid peels (to brighten, smooth, clarify or treat dark spots), the standout feature is the WOW Fusion microneedling device. This infuses the brand’s skincare actives deeper into your skin, leaving it brighter and more evenly-textured. LED light therapy then follows, plus a collagen sheet mask, and tailored skincare application; maximising your results and leaving you with a long-lasting, healthy-looking radiance. FIND OUT MORE

FOR WIDE-RANGING BENEFITS: CELLUMA

You might actually spy your practitioner using CELLUMA‘s LED light therapy devices as part of a longer facial treatment, as well as on their own, as the technology treats an array of concerns, all without downtime. There’s the blue light wavelength for helping clear acne; red light for boosting collagen production and reducing fine lines; and infrared light energy to soothe inflammation. Plus, throughout the 30 minute treatment, you simply relax under the LED panel, basking in the light – so it’s a good mental reset for stressed out festive minds. Results do take longer than some other facials on this list, but you don’t even have to head into clinic: the CELLUMA PRO is also available for at-home use. FIND OUT MORE

FOR SKIN SMOOTHING: SKINSTORM

SkinStorm really is a ‘does-it-all’ facial, with elements of resurfacing, needling and peeling working together to smooth and firm your skin. All that activity could, in theory, leave you red and sore, but that’s where the device’s ‘cold therapies’ come in. There’s the ‘ice peeling’ step where AHAs are infused with super-cooled dissolved oxygen to exfoliate with less irritation; ‘ice needling’ to trigger wound-healing while numbing pain; and a blast of resurfacing crystals teamed with healing LED light. Then, best of all for pre-event, is the ‘needle-free filler’ effect, where high-pressure oxygen pushes hydration deep into your skin to instantly (if temporarily) plump it up. FIND OUT MORE

BYONIK is a laser-based facial with a real point of difference. Unlike traditional heat-based lasers, it uses a Pulse Triggered Laser (PTL), which non-invasively delivers ‘cold’ low-level laser energy into your skin at time intervals adjusted for maximum cellular response. This is paired with a deep cleanse, an enzyme peel, and the application of hyaluronic acid gel, for a treatment that encourages skin repair and targets lines, enlarged pores and uneven tone. The best news: one treatment is enough to start seeing results, and it can even be used on inflamed skin, including active acne. FIND OUT MORE

Want your skin to look its very best this Christmas and beyond? Why not book a consultation with our skincare specialist Shenaz to get the advice and 20% off her product recommendations.