Where once the subject was taboo, now taking up cosmetic treatments is seen as normal. Women's Editor Saragh Foster visits a new beauty clinic.

WHEN you first enter Face Clinique, on Darlington's busy Woodlands Road, the thing you notice is the smell. It's only just begun to trade and there's a scent of new leather, no doubt coming from the sofas in the spacious waiting room. The place looks modern, fresh and clean; more comfy lounge than sterile clinic.

Though it may not be very old, it's been a long time in the planning. It's been created by Paul Ambler, whose first career was as a dentist but who has now become involved in more cosmetic types of treatment. He says he'd always set his sights on being in charge of his own business. "I've been a dentist for 20 years and I've been doing facial aesthetics in other salons locally but always with the intention of setting up a dedicated clinic, mainly because that's the environment it's best in," says Paul. "I still have a National Health practice, but I only work there a couple of times a week now."

From carrying out cosmetic dentistry, Paul felt the logical next step was moving on to things like Botox. At Face Clinique, he offers treatments for the face plus a whole range of dental work, and says he thrives on the variety.

"It's far more rewarding, far more interesting, and the scope of what you can do is almost unlimited with the new procedures coming out each year," he says. "People are seeking you out because they want to rather than because they need to."

And they are now much more inclined to come and have cosmetic treatments. Since he first started in the field, Paul's seen a shift in people's attitudes. "There wasn't really cosmetic dentistry 20 years ago, nobody would admit they'd had Botox - now they don't care who knows," he says.

But while the clinic does do Botox - a well-known anti-ageing therapy involving injections to the face - it offers many other options. The first priority for Paul is to assess the client's skin.

"Unless they ask specifically if they can see the beautician, they would normally see me to be assessed by the computerised skin scanner," he says. "It shows up wrinkles, pores, spots and skin texture and it will give a percentage, so I'll put the person's age and skin type in, and 50 per cent is average. We'll then do a scan at the end of the treatment and the skin will have improved. We're moving away from the subjective to the provable, otherwise it's just somebody saying 'yes, you look better'."

Among the treatments Paul performs are those that sound quite cutting-edge. If he's convinced that they're effective, he's keen to offer them to clients. "The beautician would do the minor ones, then we've got the non-surgical facelift, and then we go on to microdermabrasion and LED light therapy (to combat ageing and acne) and up to Botox, dermal fillers and chemical peels nearer the top end of what we're doing," he says. "There's also mesotherapy, which is a homeopathic treatment. It's like a skin prick technique where we're just putting tiny amounts of the homeopathic medication under the skin and that can treat cellulite and fatty areas."

What Paul is eager to point out is that there are no magic cures. He has enlisted a nutritionist to help promote a sense of balance. "The idea is to combine the treatments with sensible nutrition and exercise," he says. "The whole point is to give a broad picture."

When clients come for their assessment, Paul also asks about their smile, and if they're not entirely happy, he can suggest some dental options. A key addition to his kit has been an aquacut machine. "There's no drilling - it's like a sand blaster - and because of the way it cuts, you very rarely need any anaesthetic," he says. "It will take out an old filling wonderfully."

The main advantage he can boast is that the customer is boss - whatever treatment they would like he's more than happy to deliver. Paul says that choice is always central. "One of the things we are trying to push is that it's not the dentist or the beautician, it's not anybody else who decides what you're having," he says. "It's up to the client to choose what they want, after we've given them all the information they need to make that choice."

* Face Clinique, 16 Woodlands Road, Darlington DL3 7PL, 01325-381-888.