Review of the Graal Clinic, Marbella: in 20 years of working as a health, lifestyle and beauty journalist, I have been lucky enough to experience many beauty, anti-ageing products and treatments. The results can vary but overall, very few are truly life-changing and effective long term. Really great treatments require the sound, safe knowledge and skill of a truly experienced practitioner.
Those ‘in the know’ – beauty writers, anti-ageing specialists, celebrities and models – soon develop a discerning ‘little black book’ of the best in the industry. One name that is so often celebrated is Dr Elena C. Arias of the internationally respected Graal Clinic in sunny Marbella.
The luxury Graal Clinic is leading the way in Europe by offering the very latest procedures, products and techniques. The rule appears to be, for the best in anti-ageing if Dr Elena is not offering it, no one is!
I was curious to meet the elegant and talented Dr Elena and finally had the pleasure of doing so over 8 weeks ago when visiting Puerto Banus on a yoga holiday. Thanks to my mum’s genes (!) I am a young looking 40-something but stress, sleep problems and work demands (I travel a lot) has meant my skin has suffered a lot!
My skin issues…
For some 15 years I have had a small but noticeable scar above my left brow – a raised bump of skin, circular (about 0.5 cm width) that protruded. While friends have always said they never really noticed it, I certainly felt self-conscious and at a loss for how to remove or hide it well.
Secondly, my skin was tired and lacking it’s ‘juiciness’ and glow. I do look after my skin and I am careful to over-expose it to the sun and elements, but dehydration and lifestyle issues can get in the way of my once healthy skin tone.
Finally, I am prone to a classic grumpy frown line right between my eyes (above my nose) . It seems to be an inherited thing as my siblings have it too, so I was curious as to what Dr Elena would recommend.
The experience…
The Graal Clinic is located minutes from the promenade of the sophisticated area of Puerto Banus, Marbella. The clinic is immaculate and has a sense of discretion and exclusivity about it – from the security entrance to the waiting area. Hygiene is clearly prized and I was requested to put shoe covers on my sandals to ensure no germs were being brought in from the street.
From her picture Dr Elena is super-glamourous and I can confirm she is just as gorgeous in the flesh! What a good advert for her services. But do not expect this elegant, very intelligent lady to be at all superficial or all about looks.
Far from it, she is a medically trained doctor with a host of hard-earned qualifications, including the very best training in aesthetic procedures. She is often called up to speak at anti-ageing conventions and conferences.
Yes, while a lot of her clientele are the beautiful and wealthy of the Costa del Sol (and her native Russia too), the clinic attracts regular clientele – mums, teachers, businessmen and women – all keen to boost their appearance and to be in safe hands while doing so.
Dr Elena’s warmth, humour and absolute honesty puts me at ease instantly. She is a seamless professional and really knows her stuff. My discerning, journalistic, hawk-eye means I have a good sixth sense for clinics that are all glitter and marketing, but this place is impressive and incredibly professional.
Dr Elena inspected my skin and assessed it for potential treatments and approaches. As I was only in Marbella for a week, while I was super-keen to try out some of her ongoing treatments, my schedule meant I was limited to a single appointment on this occasion. I looked at her eagerly – what can she do for me??
Scar removal… in seconds
A lot! She started with my scar. I have to be honest and admit there was some trepidation in agreeing to having my scar bump cauterised. This a procedure where the skin is literally singed (burned) away and requires a very steady hand. After applying a local anaesthetic cream, my scar was gone in under 6 seconds!!
Facial rejuvenation!
Next, she introduced me to a facial rejuvenating treatment called Plinest Fast. Excuse the technical words, but it is a polynucleotide gel for intradermal infiltration (yep that means under the skin – needles!) into the face, hands or scalp.
The Plinest care line is a face and body regenerating anti-aging programme based on nucleotides, hyaluronic acid and vitamin E and is a pain-free experience.
Dr Elena applied a local anaesthetic cream, followed by needle insertions of the treatment around the full map of my face.
I did feel the odd tingle prick but nothing unpleasant. It looked pretty shocking seeing my face with all these pin-pricks but that’s how the treatment works – the Plinest ingredients are then able to get right under the dermis of the skin and work their magic.
Bye bye frown lines…
Finally, Dr Elena worked her wizardry on my stubborn frown lines with a few gentle and carefully inserted jabs of Botox. My treatment for all three took about an hour in total and I was able to rest with a soothing (if a little scary looking!) face mask – see image above.
Dr Elena then talked me through after-care and gave me some sterile swabs for keeping my scar wound clean while it healed. She assured me there would be no sign of it within 7 days as long as I kept it clean and protected.
Results… wow!
She was right! A week on, the skin where the bumpy, ugly scar had been was as smooth as when I was a teenager. Likewise, the Plinest Fast had clearly got to work and my skin felt and looked incredibly youthful and radiant. When I got back to the UK, countless people commented on how well I looked and by then the Botox had kicked in too and I was looking and feeling really refreshed – fantastic.
I waited for 8 weeks to check my before and afters and the results are excellent. No frow line, smooth and glowing skin, and best of all, no scar anymore. It was so liberating to be rid of it.
So, yes the Graal Clinic’s reputation is well deserved. They offer non-surgical procedures at the highest standards which means they are safe and the products are guaranteed to be of top quality.
Best of all, you get to enjoy the sunshine and delights of Marbella while you are here and return home looking and feeling really wonderful! For more information go to:
www.graalclinicpuertobanus.com
Contact:
Graal Clinic Aesthetic Medicine
Cristamar Business Centre, Local B-73
29660 Puerto Banús, Marbella
+34 666 258 002
