The latest facials use oxygen to help cosmetic creams penetrate the deepest layers of the skin. Facial phobic Amanda Brown is won over.

I'D NEVER had a facial and was beginning to think I'd never be tempted, especially with the growing trends for paralysing your facial muscles with Botox and injecting fat from your bottom into your frown lines.

But when an offer to try the latest Bio-Oxygen facial came in from Image at Horsemarket, Darlington, I decided it was time to tackle my facial fear head-on.

The system, used by Jennifer Aniston, Caprice and other people you'd kill to look like, involves applying an oxygen pressure injection which helps the cosmetic creams and serums to penetrate your skin, travel down through the cells of the epidermis and on to the deepest layers, where they can do most good.

The £65 treatment begins with a detailed questionnaire to tailor the treatment to your needs. A "before treatment" picture is taken, thankfully, before make-up was removed. Then my face was exfoliated, treatment fluids were applied and then it was time for the oxygen blast.

The oxygen is applied using a small pressure gun which fires out jets of oxygen into your skin. It's an unusual sensation - rather like someone tapping sharply on your skin - but one you soon get used to.

Senior beauty therapist Linda Burrell concentrated on my problem areas and I soon relaxed to the rhythmic tap-tap-tap of the Bio-Oxygen machine.

After the first part of the facial, which infuses the skin with oxygen, Linda applied a collagen mask which, when dampened, clung to my face. Then came the most unusual part - I was given a mask to hold over my nose and mouth so I could breathe oxygen scented with an essential oil as the mask did its work. I opted for a citrus oil, which did wonders waking me up after the relaxing treatment.

So what would I look like?

Don't be alarmed when you first look in the mirror after your treatment and think you look like a peeled potato. The shininess, down to the serums and lotions used, soon subsides to leave you with soft, plump, glowing skin.

All day, I kept looking in the mirror at my healthy-looking skin. And not surprisingly, I also shed my fear of facials.

WIN BIO-OXYGEN TREATMENT

THE Bio-Oxygen system was spotted by Image owner Nichola McGann and senior beauty therapist Linda Burrell at an exhibition at London's Olympia. They decided almost straight way that this was a machine they wanted for the salon and became the first in the North-East to offer the treatment.

One lucky reader can win a course of Bio-Oxygen treatments on a problem area, worth £200. Just answer this question: Which television series does Jennifer Aniston star in?

Send your answer to Image competition, Features, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, Co Durham, Dl1 1NF, by Tuesday, August 20.

For more information about the system or to make an appointment, contact Image on (01325) 357402. Image also has a website with details of its treatments at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/imagebeauty.skinclinic.