I’m usually sceptical about hard-core facials, the kind that rely on household-bleach-strength acids to burn away the top layers of the skin. Eve Lom’s cleanser, used everyday as a scrub with a soft muslin cloth is about as heavy-duty as it gets.

But I was persuaded to try a glycolic peel at Medicetics, a beauty “clinic” in London’s Connaught Street, (aka Blair Family HQ) where peels, injectibles and even laser liposuction are de rigeur for its Alpha-female clientele.

I’m sceptical about them too - the Alpha-female clientele.  They have expressionless shiny faces, ambassador’s wife blow-drys, they drive zippy little sports cars or giant SUVS, they never smile, they look like they’d grab the last parking space from you, or steal the taxi on a rainy day.  They don’t look younger; they do all look the same.

If I sound a little grumpy, it’s because it was a two-parking ticket day; I’d used up all my change in the meters for a previous meeting (yet still got a ticket) and now, as I waded through my credit cards for the meter outisde the clinic, trying to find one that actually worked, I wondered what on earth I was doing. Was all this worth a facial? What was the point? Wasn’t Medicetics just another one of those cash-cows for the Botox doctors?  A “skin-clinic” without a dermatologist in sight?

Well, yes, and no.  Dr Vicky Dondos freely admits she isn’t a dermatologist.  She gave up a career as a GP to follow a career in banking, then discovered a passion for aesthetic skincare.  She now works alongside a plastic surgeon, and her therapists have a sound background in the beauty industry.  I still think I’d rather go to a clinic with a dermatologist, but it seems that these days, with a few exceptions, dermatologists are busy with mole-removal and acne cures, while a whole new industry of Aestheticians (was that even a word not so long ago?) has sprung up to look after the rather more glamorous side of skin.

Like I said though,  Dondos is a GP  and that’s got to be a big plus.  Being a GP and having a head for business shouldn’t be mutually exclusive things, particularly if your medical knowledge can only help to ensure your practice follows sound health and safety procedures.

She gave my skin a thorough going over and best of all, didn’t try to hard-sell me a product line.  My Eve Lom cleanser was not only fine - it was commended for serving a dual purpose of cleansing and exfoliating. She said I had very good skin considering my age and the fact that I’d just returned from two weeks in the sun.  (Big thanks to my mother for those Burmese genes!)

So what do most women come and see her for?  ”Basic advice,” she says.  ”Right through to uber-facials with mesotherapy, or laser treatments, pigmentation problems, injectibles, laser hair removal..”

Her clients are women who want results, who have started to notice changes in their skin, who don’t like the way it’s looking dull all of a sudden.

“I’m not trying to correct their skin, I’m trying to bring back a bit more brightness and youthfulness.  My policy is to be gentle.  The older the patient, the less Botox I use.  It’s about achieving balance on the face.”

Her own skin is flawless, as is the skin of the therapist who gets to work on me - she used to be one of the international trainers for E’Spa, so I feel confident in her hands.  Nonetheless, I’m nervous about the glycolic acid and when it goes on and starts stinging and pinching my face I tell the therapist that it’s absolutely fine, but really I’m about two seconds away from jumping out of my seat and shouting: “It’s not fine!  It feels as if it’s burning my skin, all scratchy and unpleasant.  This is not me, I’m a natural girl, what am I doing here?!”

Glycolic acid is loved by the beauty industry because it reacts with the upper layer of the epidermis, weakening the “glue” that binds the dead skin cells together and dissolving it, so that the top layer lifts off easily revealing a younger-looking layer of skin underneath. So far, it’s not loved by me.

The painful bit is over in minutes.  The therapist hands me a mirror, a brave move when you consider how bright the clinic’s lights are.  What do I notice?  Well, my eyebrows need doing.  And my skin is shiny.  Nothing else.  She warns me I might look a little red for 24 hours.

“Try and leave the moisturiser on for as long as you can,” she asks.  As soon as I get to my car I wipe it off.

Nothing happens at first, but a few hours later my skin feels as tight as if I’ve just taken off a face mask. The tightness continues.  The next day it still feels a little tight.  And it’s more even-toned, it has a freshness about it, a brightness.  It’s not red at all - in fact it never did go very red.  It looks like it does when I put a bronzing powder all over it.  Four days later it’s still looking good.

I’m not sure I’m ready to join the Alpha-female contingent.  But I can see there’s a place for this facial, a twice-a-year sort of place, perhaps at the end of summer when you need to slough off a few extra dead skin cells after being exposed to the sun, and during winter, when a grey pallor proves to be resistent to your usual exfoliant.  I’ve never had a facial give results that last so long.

Those Alpha-females.. they might be on to something.

You can see Dr Vicky Dondos at Medicetics, 37 Connaught Street, London W2, tel; 020 7402 2033.  My facial cost around £95.