Saving face

THIS is the first photograph Helen Williams has happily posed for since she was 13.

Chronic acne meant she hid away from the world, avoiding cameras at all costs - even on her wedding day.

"I had to have a quiet word with the photographer," she says. "I told him about my problem and suggested he put a sock over the lens or something."

In the end, he decided against the sock and opted for a soft focus lens instead. So, while Helen made it on to her own wedding pictures, she is a fuzzy presence at best.

Helen, 37, of Rawcliffe, began to notice a change in her skin when she turned 13. Her friends had the odd pimple, but she had erupting red spots she masked with heavy make-up.

"I tried every lotion and potion going," she says. "I even tried toothpaste and surgical spirit, but nothing worked.

"My confidence was very low and I couldn't leave the house without my make-up mask."

Outwardly, her friends regarded her as a bit of a comedian, but inside she was desperate. She would run a hot bath every night, fill the room with scalding steam and "work" on her spots for two hours.

"Can you imagine that - two hours every night?" Helen says with a laugh. "If it wasn't so sad it would be hilarious."

When she was 15 her doctor prescribed a contraceptive pill with a vital side-effect: it dried up her spots. But this wasn't a long-term solution because it raised her hormone levels and put her health at risk.

She stopped taking the medication and her acne came back with a vengeance. Her only option was to revert to using her make-up mask.

"It got so bad I was using this thick, completely waterproof make-up. Iit didn't even wash off when I went swimming," says Helen. "Even my husband never saw me without it."

The marriage ended, but her skin problems continued unabated.

Now in her 30s and working as a trainee financial consultant at the 1Stop Mortgage Shop in Bootham, her confidence hit an all-time low.

Then she happened to see the programme ten Years Younger on Channel 4 and the amazing results that were achieved using facial peels.

She also learned that a beauty clinic, face etc, just yards from where she worked, offered the treatment.

"I met Sharon, the owner, and immediately felt I could trust her," explains Helen.

"She encouraged me to speak to other women who'd had the treatment, she spoke at length about what to expect and, most important of all, she was honest."

After much thought, she opted for four medical-strength facial peels at ten-day intervals.

The programme of treatment cost £500, including aftercare.

"I knew this was the way to go," says Helen. "I was 36 and had more bumps and craters on my face than a teenager. This wasn't the time for faffing around." Her face was thoroughly cleansed before Sharon applied a chemical gel from brow to chin to remove the upper layers of dead skin.

"The longer you leave it on the more it stings," says Helen. "After about 20 minutes you really want them to take it off.

"I know some people find it painful, but I didn't think it was bad. Maybe I have a higher tolerance to pain or maybe I just really wanted it to work."

You can't touch your face, not even to wash, for 24 hours and the skin remains pink for a short time before it begins to literally peel away, revealing a fresher, toned layer beneath.

"I could see a remarkable difference after the first treatment," says Helen. "After the fourth, I felt like a new woman.

"I used to wear the heaviest foundation and concealer available. Now I don't wear any at all. I just slap on a bit of powder and lippy and I'm done.

"I've got a new chap in my life now and I happily let him see me without make-up. He says I'm gorgeous - and I feel it!"

So has her success prompted a desire for more "renovations" - a nip here and a tuck there perhaps?

"No chance," says Helen. "I'm very happy with myself now.

"I'm not a vain person, I just wanted my life back. Now that I've got it, I'm not going to waste a moment."

Updated: 11:47 Tuesday, March 29, 2005