The Tweakment Ladder: How To Take Your First Steps In Tweaks

Given the huge number of tweakments available, it’s increasingly hard to work out where you should start. Should you try things in isolation? Are there some tweaks that work best together? If so, which ones need to come first? If the whole thing feels overwhelming, you’re not alone. This is where the Tweakment Ladder comes in. 

Designed as a way to ease you gently into the world of skin-boosting tweaks, the Tweakment Ladder suggests that you think about the various categories of treatments as steps on a ‘tweakment ladder’, with the simplest options at the bottom, and the more challenging (and expensive) ones further up the ladder. Here’s how it works in a little more detail:

1) Active skincare

Before you even start with tweakments, the first rung on the ladder should be your skincare. Consider it your firm foundation on which to build your tweak-based house. Why? Because the right skincare can coax your skin into optimum condition so it looks great, and will respond better to any tweakments you try. It can also help you focus on the concerns that you may want a good tweakment to address, such as hard-t0-shift pigmentation or fine lines that haven’t been smoothed away by improving your day-to-day skin moisturisation.

2) Advanced facials 

Want to dip your toe into the world of tweakments? Advanced facials are an easy way to start. One step up from the type of traditional facial of ‘cleanse, massage, moisturise’ you might experience at a day spa, these beginner-friendly tweakments incorporate a little bit of microneedling, or radiofrequency into your facial treatment, to supercharge the glow and tone of your skin. Advanced facials are specially good for first-timers looking to improve their complexions before a big event, and you can find out more about them in our comprehensive advanced facials guide.

3) Skin-conditioning injectables 

The next step on the ladder is the category of ‘injectable moisturisers‘, aka your Skinboosters and Profhilo. These are gaining a lot of interest (and for good reason), with their ability to deliver long-lasting hydration to dull, tired faces, but with super natural-looking results. It is achieved by injecting a runny layer of hyaluronic acid, or a solution of skin-stimulating amino acids, just beneath your skin like a serum placed on the inside of the face. The tweak then kickstarts the production of collagen and elastin and improves skin hydration. Plus, it’s a quick and minimally-invasive option that doesn’t have much downtime, so it’s still fairly beginner-friendly.

4) Toxin injections 

You might be surprised to find toxin – aka wrinkle-relaxing injections – placed mid-way up the ladder, but while these are perhaps the best-known tweak of all (and highly effective in the hands of the right practitioner), let’s consider what they are really good at. Injectable toxins are famous for dampening down muscle activity to soften frown lines and crow’s feet, so they are a step up from solely focusing on surface-level skin quality. They also offer the best results when you actually need them. After all, they aim to tackle the sort of lines and texture changes that come especially with age (as collagen and elastin production slows down), which other tweaks might be unable to touch.

5) Dermal fillers 

With the recent vogue for lip filler and cheek enhancement, many people may have started their tweakment journey by adding shape and volume with dermal filler. That’s not necessarily a ‘no-go approach’. However, as with toxins, make sure you have a thorough consultation with a well-trained, trusted practitioner before you jump in, as this type of tweak can truly transform your face (and that means for better, or for worse). Dermal fillers are brilliant for adding structure to a jawline, reshaping a nose, or replacing lost volume in cheeks and lips, but if you want a natural-looking finish (and who doesn’t) you want to make sure the technique and product used will actually give you the results you deserve, rather than leaving you looking ‘odd’ or ‘overfilled’.

6) Pigment-busting lasers or IPL

If clearing pigment or removing thread veins are your main concern, you will need a tailored tweakment approach for the best results. That’s where the specific category of lasers or IPL devices that help break up pigmentation clusters and vascular lesions, for a more even-looking complexion, come in. These tend to be more invasive than the injection-based tweaks below them in the ladder; you are blasting away pigmented patches or lesions after all. However, in good news, while previously this was a category all-but off limits to anyone with Black skin due to the risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, there are an increasing number of innovative devices making treatment safer and more effective for melanin-rich complexions. Just make sure you go to someone with experience in your skin colour and ask to see their before-and-afters to prove their expertise, to keep you and your skin safe.

7) Energy-based devices 

The final rung on the ladder is the energy-based devices. These collagen-boosting and skin-tightening devices promise transformative results, but also tend to have the largest degree of downtime and potential side effects out of the tweakments categories. So while you can achieve impressive results just like Alice herself, they should not be jumped into lightly. Energy-based devices are actually a large and diverse category, including ultrasound, certain lasers, and plasma, but what really brings them together (alongside their use of energy to achieve their effect) is that the best results require multiple sessions and a tailored treatment plan. You should be very aware (and happy) to commit to the time (and money) required before booking in. If you are, then please do enjoy the results.