It was a pouring wet Thursday lunchtime in Glasgow when I arrived at Essence Medical to experience something I had never done before: my first cosmetic procedure. The glossy clinic, tucked away in an unassuming building in Cowcaddens - a short walk from the underground station - has been run for the past 15 years by Dr Kieren Bong, a specialist in aesthetics whose talents have honed the faces of several television presenters, West End performers, and former contestants in the Miss World and Miss Universe beauty pageants. At 41, I have never experienced anything more painful than an eyebrow wax in the name of beauty and while I would describe myself as 'Botox-curious', I have mostly been deterred by the price tag - and a fear that I might like it more than I can actually afford it.
READ MORE: How did we get here?: How Scotland's cosmetic sector has changed - and what's next What was it like to try one of Glasgow's most in-demand facials? Glasgow's Elanic secures £2m for new city centre private hospital The procedure takes around 20-25 minutes and is relatively pain-free (Image: Colin Mearns/Herald×) With a few fine lines starting to appear, I jumped at the chance when Essence Medical invited me to try out their latest anti-ageing treatment - a form of radiofrequency microneedling which uses a device called Sylfirm X. Although the technology has been popular for years in the United States, it has only been available in Scotland for the past five months. Dr Bong was one of the.