Self-confessed laser junkie Isamaya Ffrench road tests the LYMA Laser

I love lasers. I remember as a child being told they could burn through your retina in a wink. There’s something about the Sci-Fi-ness of that blinding neon red light that makes all other beauty treatments feel a bit, well, antique. Lasers are the modern woman’s scalpel. They’ve practically touched every part of my body. I’ve had them in my mouth, I’ve had lasers blasted on my neck to totally resurface my sun battered décolletage; I’ve had them in my nether regions to remove unsightly amounts of hair, I’ve even had them injected intravenously to kill off the apparently present ​“bad bacteria” in my blood, and, my facialist tells me lasers are used as a postnatal treatment ​“down there” to tighten loose skin. So when a new laser, claiming to ​“change everything” comes onto the market – I’m the first in line.

Laser stands for ​“Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation” in layman’s terms: it’s used for regenerative processes in the body and aesthetic treatments are wide-ranging and the most effective of any treatment I’ve seen. If you’re at all versed in lasers and skincare you’ve probably heard about how rapidly and semi-permanently they can regenerate our dermis: they can resurface skin, get rid of visible veins, vascular lesions, broken capillaries, pigmentation, hair reduction – you name it, there’s a laser for it. Each laser has its own particular expertise, some are much more powerful than others, others detect sun damage while others look to aid acne scarring, there’s no one laser to rule them all.

After my rave days, my first encounter of laser for aesthetic practices was with Jasmina Vico at her clinic on Wimpole Street. Jasmina is a laser aficionado. With a device that looked like something you should park in your garage rather than have in a wellness clinic, she explained the various uses of the laser device and how they can transform your skin, and from the first moment she tried lasers on my skin I have never looked back. The results are long-term, visible and so satisfying – it’s worth noting at this point that they’re not cheap.

I got in contact immediately with the founder, Lucy Geoff who has dedicated her life to developing and producing the LYMA Laser with a notable team of scientists around her. The laser, she told me, was originally developed as a medical laser in a research unit in Leipzig, the primary purpose being to heal a range of injuries, including degenerated cartilage, torn tendons and respiratory inflammation. Over time, the research team realised it was having an incredible effect on the skin where the laser was being directed through. The patients’ skin had visibly transformed. This powerful, portable device was profoundly reversing the signs of ageing: wrinkles, redness caused by inflammation, pigmentation and even acne. The results were unparalleled by anything developed for the beauty industry, especially for home devices which are understandably thoroughly regulated as many lasers, if used incorrectly, can be harmful.

The LYMA seemed to be completely different – you can, and I did, shine the light directly into your own eye (!). In researching ways to rejuvenate damaged cartilage, the team had created a whole new category in rejuvenated skincare.

The nuts and bolts of how this laser works remain rooted in ​“biomodulation”, which Lucy explained is the application of red and near infra-red light over injuries or lesions to improve wound and soft tissue healing and reduce inflammation – this is the core purpose of the laser. At one end of the LYMA sits a tiny red light infra-red (near invisible) medical-grade, continuous output laser (the one I shone into my eye) and that’s where the magic happens. This laser is not only able to reach the deepest layers of the skin, but also the fat and muscle tissue underneath, with sufficient power to stimulate skin regeneration. This means the laser reaches the very bottommost layer of skin tissue to produce collagen which then generates new skin cells (along with other connective tissue like elastin). The laser also has an LED optimal antibacterial light that works in conjunction with the infra-red light to target the skin’s surface and is ideal for anyone suffering from break outs.

There are so many false claims out there regarding skin rejuvenation. I have heard them all. Scepticism around at-home devices which are generally not strong enough to perform to a medical grade standard is fair, and only adds to the lustre of the LYMA Laser as a solution. Twelve months into lockdown, like most people, my skin has been up and down. You’re advised to use the laser for at least 20 mins a day and my boyfriend did grumble when 30 minutes after turning the lights out I stubbornly sat there with the LED plastered to my eye in the dark casting the bedroom in a blue LED haze. Like everything, I have to try things myself before making a claim, but shockingly the thread veins under my eyes had disappeared within a week. Being a natural sceptic, I almost didn’t want to admit that it was the laser but I mentioned it to Lucy and she confirmed that it was definitely the work of the trusty LYMA.

Being a woman in my 30s, Lucy did mention that I won’t see the kinds of visible results women and men with older skin tend to see with things like wrinkles and rosacea, but I just can’t stop thinking about that totally rejuvenated wrinkly knee on the LYMA website and therefore, lined skin or not, the LYMA is staying strapped to my face for the foreseeable.