Not keen on your crow’ s feet? Stick a patch on them, studded with miniscule 0.5mm plastic needles. They create‘ micro channels’ for the hyaluronicacid serum that follows, allowing it to penetrate deep enough into the skin for it to actually do something. Doesn’ t sound torturous enough? Go to town with an at-home‘ dermaroller’( a sort of mini paint-roller featuring 0.1mm metal needles; try the Environ Cosmetic Roll-CIT, `8,200 approx) instead. BUZZ OR BULL? Buzz.

Medical facialist Kate Kerr is one of the countless fans of professional micro-needling,“ which involves a roller with much longer needles to cause controlled trauma.” Dr Kiran Lohia of Lumiere Dermatology is also pro this procedure. She says:“ As compared to intense laser treatments, micro-channeling can be used on any kind of skin. There’ s no bruising and minimal redness after the procedure. We use this technique in the Purite Facial and it costs about `5,000.” We actually quite like sticking the patches into our flesh, in a masochism-with-benefits kind of way.

As we welcome in another year full of incomprehensible trends, unpronounceable ingredients and nigh-on-inexplicable treatments, we ask: which are bang-on and which are best forgotten?

By Ingeborg van Lotringen( with inputs by Meghna Sharma)

Ice therapy has blasted on to the beauty scene like an Arctic blizzard. From repairing muscles to promoting weight loss, collagen formation and fighting acne,‘ cryo’ is beauty’ s new answer to practically all your woes. Sub-zero spa rooms and facials with icy air or-30 ° c metal balls are coming to a salon near you. BUZZ OR BULL? Bull.“ Whole-body cryo can reduce muscle soreness and boost the immune system, and I can see some future for cryo in acne treatments,” says Tracy Mountford, Medical Director of the Cosmetic Skin Clinic in London. But, adds plastic surgeon and skin expert Marko Lens,“ There is no scientific evidence that whole-body cryotherapy aids muscle recovery, slimming, wound healing, or has any effect on wrinkles.” Though Dr Lohia says that“ lesions like actinic keratoses, viral warts, and seborrhoeic keratoses can be treated with cryotherapy”, and it can cost anywhere from `20,000-`50,000.

Photographs: ShuTTurSTOCk. COM