Tweak of the Week: SkinStorm by Crystal Clear

This week’s Tweak of The Week comes to you from the Liverpool clinic of Dr Darika de Bacq Rose, where I went to catch Sharon Hilditch MBE, and try SkinStorm, the new device she has created which promises treatment-layering for dramatic skin change. 

Price: varies according to clinic
Downtime: none
Learn more about SkinStorm by Crystal Clear

This video is sponsored by Crystal Clear.

SkinStorm is all about improving the skin through a multi-layered, mechanical treatment – like an advanced facial on steroids. It’s made by Crystal Clear, a brand best known for its microdermabrasion and microneedling machines, found in high-end salons throughout the UK. Crystal Clear founder Sharon Hilditch MBE joined Dr Darika and I at the clinic to give me my treatment to answer my questions about SkinStorm. 

What does SkinStorm involve?

‘SkinStorm is all about treatment layering for dramatic skin change,’ explains Sharon. We use six different elements of treatment and it’s all water-based, with ice and light – so it’s like the thunder of storm [hence the name].’ There are elements within the treatment – like the microdermabrasion and ice-needling steps – that are designed to stress the skin to some extent in order to bring about lovely fresh, rejuvenated skin. But the clever thing about SkinStorm is that it combines these modalities with steps that encourage healing, meaning patients don’t leave the treatment with sensitised skin and facing downtime.

‘We use topical dissolved oxygen,’ explains Sharon. ‘It’s soothing and it’s infused into the solutions, so while we’re treating the skin quite aggressively in some of the treatment elements, we’re still respecting the skin and we’re de-stressing it.’  To find out more about this topical dissolved oxygen, I turned to Chris Smith, the chemist behind the formulations used in the SkinStorm system.

The clever thing about SkinStorm is that it combines aggressive modalities with steps that encourage healing.

‘One of the things that excited me the most about the new SkinStorm system is that it calms the skin by using a combination of low temperature and oxygen for stimulation. This allows me to formulate with very high levels of active ingredients to treat the skin in a system that is inherently cooling and calming,’ he explains. ‘Some treatments, by design, almost insult the skin to stimulate a response. But we can stimulate this response from oxygen and from low temperature – which lets me deliver high levels of active ingredients without worrying that they may have a negative side effect.’

The SkinStorm steps

The full SkinStorm experience starts with deep, vortex-style cleansing infused with the special topical dissolved oxygen to feed the skin while it deep cleans. Next, the skin is blasted with resurfacing crystals while it simultaneously receives healing red LED light. The next step is ‘ice peeling’ – where a potent blend of AHAs infused with super-cooled topical dissolved oxygen (the ice part) is applied to the skin. This means that the irritation often associated with peeling is eliminated.

Then comes ‘ice needling’, where tiny channels are made in the skin with a needling roller to kickstart that wound-healing response we’re looking for with microneedling, but because the skin is kept so cold, you don’t feel a thing. Last but not least, ‘no-needle filler’, where plumping hyaluronic acid is pushed right into the skin using high-pressure oxygen for an instant – temporary – plumping effect. Finally, I’m given a cooling alginate mask, and put under the TriFusion LED light – a combination of red, green and blue light for an extra boost of rejuvenation.

Who is SkinStorm for?

‘It can help anyone,’ says Sharon, ‘whether they have a congested teenage skin or an ageing skin like mine, where I need to build new collagen and get a nice brightening effect. It’s brilliant for really firming and plumping the skin and working on lines and wrinkles.’ Dr Darika particularly likes that with SkinStorm, there is no need to apply topical anaesthetic to patients’ skin to make the microneedling element comfortable. ‘With this system, the needling is very well tolerated and very comfortable without any anaesthetic at all. So that’s pretty impressive,’ she says.

Despite all that needling, peeling and resurfacing, my skin was left super calm – there was a distinct lack of redness (what we call erythema) thanks to the super-cooled serums, those lights and that special dissolved oxygen. There was also a noticeable improvement in clarity and texture – my skin felt so smooth.

Learn more about SkinStorm by Crystal Clear

This video is sponsored by Crystal Clear.