10 best beauty treatments

Amanda Lacey Signature Facial London Just walking in the door of Lacey’s elegant all-white shop and treatment room in Belgravia makes you feel more glamorous. But it’s Lacey's wonderful hands, legendary skin knowledge and heavenly range of products that do the real work. Her bespoke treatment (on a blissfully heated bed) thoroughly cleanses and restores the complexion, using lymphatic drainage massage to stimulate and smooth the skin. You leave feeling a cleaner, brighter, younger you.

£130 for an hour; amandalacey.com

Aveda Deep-Tissue Massage London If you find standard massages too soft, head to Aveda. This is not for the faint-hearted; indeed the thumb, finger, palm and elbow technique used by the therapist may bring a tear to the eye. But you are closely monitored so the pressure is never too much. And it’s worth it to feel your circulation boosted and those stubborn knots truly eradicated.

All about eyesFrom £80 for an hour; 020 7759 7355

Beata Aleksandrowicz Facial Therapy london 'I give people back the face that they feared they had lost,’ says Aleksandrowicz of her special brand of facial massage. Focusing on connective tissue work and lymphatic drainage, but also drawing on reiki and reflexology, facial therapy removes tension and re-educates the muscles, making lines disappear and skin quality improve. The results are dramatic.

£87 for an hour; puremassage.com

Coco Huntman Aromatherapy Full Body Massage the ritz, london This Romanian masseuse is many an international jetsetter’s must-visit when in London. One session under her steely hands and you will understand why. She really is world-class, though not for the timid.

From £95 for 50 minutes; theritzlondon.com

Colour Me Mine Daniel Hersheson salon, Harvey Nichols, London This joint consultation with the salon’s head colourist, Sibi Bolan, and in-house make-up artist, Lauren Hersheson, will help you boost your natural skin tones, update your look and teach you new make-up techniques. No wacky styles here; these girls want you to look your natural best. Four hours later you’ll leave with a new hair colour and make-up palette, feeling like a subtly new you.

From £200; 020 7201 8797

Daylesford Hay Barn Signature Treatment Gloucestershire Top-to-toe best describes this treatment, from the Indian head massage down to the foot reflexology. And there is plenty more in between, such as a body scrub and facial lymphatic stimulation, all using deliciously natural Daylesford products.

The definition of luxury. £175 for 150 minutes; daylesfordorganic.com

Deborah Mitchell LIA Facial Heaven Shropshire and London Widely hailed as the natural facelift, this treatment uses lymphatic drainage, massage and acupressure to smooth out all signs of tension and puffiness, leaving skin brighter and cheekbones sharper. The sweeping strokes across your face send you into a blissful trance – which is no surprise as Mitchell employs her holistic healing techniques and, if you’re lucky, a few psychic insights, too.

£145 for an hour at Heaven, Shropshire, and the Hale Clinic, London; heavenskincare.com

Decléor Fruit Herbal Velvet Sensation Titanic Spa, Huddersfield This award-winning eco spa is a great place to make a day of it with girlfriends. We love this blissful all-over body treat, beginning with gentle exfoliation on a heated plinth in the dimly lit hammam. After showering, an aromatherapy body massage helps rid the body of toxins.

The ritual ends with a tailored mini facial. £90 for 90 minutes; titanicspa.com

Elemis Face and Body Sensation Verbena Spa, Feversham Arms, North Yorkshire This Roman-inspired treatment uses extreme temperatures to boost circulation and induce relaxation. After foot-cleansing and body-brushing, lie back for a zingy cool-gel massage with hot stones. Finish with a Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial or Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift for a plumped-up face and blissed-out body.

£70 for 55 minutes; verbenaspa.co.uk

Emma Hardie Natural Lift and Sculpting Facial Oxford and London If you want facial rejuvenation without needles and a clear complexion without painful extractions, look up Hardie. Her wonder-treatment repairs and lifts skin tissue – purely by massage. She likens what she does to 'yoga for the face’. You emerge feeling as relaxed as if you’d been chanting for an hour, with the bonus of looking so much younger.

£80 (Oxford) or £130 (Hale Clinic, London) for an hour; 01865 516027 (DT)